Conservation Federation of Missouri!

Missouri’s 2010 paddlefish snagging season March 15-April 30 is likely to get off to a slow start, but anglers will find plenty of keeper-sized spoonbills when the water warms up and the action gets underway.

A larger number of spoonbills should be available to anglers this year, thanks to a larger than normal stocking of juvenile paddlefish in 2001.

JEFFERSON CITY–Missouri’s paddlefish snagging season likely will get off to a slow start this year, but when the action picks up, anglers will find plenty of legal fish.

Paddlefish season opens March 15 and runs through April 30. Snaggers use heavy fishing rods, hefty lead weights and oversized treble hooks to snag fish that can tip the scales at well over 100 pounds. The paddlefish itself is a holdover from the dinosaur era. They are primitive fish with cartilaginous skeletons and a rostrum or “paddle,” whose sensitivity to electrical fields enables them to detect food.

John Hoskins retires from the post of Conservation Department Director Jan. 15. He took over the job July 1, 2002.

John Hoskins counts protecting Missouri’s unique system of conservation governance among his proudest achievements.

JEFFERSON CITY–Retiring Conservation Department Director John Hoskins says he has occasionally lost sleep during the past seven years, but he says the rewards of the job outweighed the worries. He says conservation succeeds when people understand nature and have fun outdoors.