Missouri paddlefish season opens March 15

Mar. 9—The Four-State Area has earned a reputation for paddlefish, including the 164-pound world record caught at Oklahoma’s Keystone Lake in 2021, and a Missouri state record caught at the Lake of the Ozarks in 2022.

Missouri

Missouri’s annual spring paddlefish snagging season opens March 15.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the state’s major paddlefish snagging waters include Table Rock Lake, Lake of the Ozarks and Harry S. Truman Reservoir.

The paddlefish season for these and most other waters in the state runs March 15 to April 30; the season for the Mississippi River is March 15 to May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.

A fishing permit is required, unless exempt. The daily limit is two paddlefish, and the possession limit is four. No person is allowed to continue to snag after taking a daily limit of two paddlefish.

The statewide minimum length limit is 32 inches measured from eye to fork of tail, with a minimum length limit of 34 inches for Lake of…