Neat Sight this Morning

[bd-]

I was running back to the ramp this morning, and a nice sized paddlefish jumped clear out of the water in front of me. He was probably about 60 pounds. He shot straight up into the air high enough that his tail was almost a foot or two above the water, before he crashed back down.

He looked like a big old gray shark, except for that long paddle nose.

I have heard of them jumping like this before, and every once in a while I'll be fishing on the main river and something so big will crash the water that I'll think "I bet that was probably a big paddlefish." I've never gotten to see one jump completely out of the water right in front of me like that though. He was probably 50 feet in front of my boat when he jumped.

That's one thing I love about the outdoors - no matter how much time I spend fishing, I still see completely new and amazing things all of the time.

bd

[j19bill]

I bet that was something to see.

[MNfisher]

Man, being an avid outdoorsman gives you opportunity to see Gods creation like many people unfortunately never get to experience! The amazing sunrises, fish in their natural habitat, deer and other animals living in their own habitat, and many other natural occurring activities all happen before our eyes!

Some of my best days in the bow stand I have never shot or even seen deer, but other amazing things that occur in the wild.

We are all blessed beyond belief to be able to experience stuff like this not only a few times, but consistently!!!

[Buccaneer]

BD - A couple weeks ago my son and I were flying up-river in the channel and between Drakes Creek and Langford Cove had the same thing happen. A whopper paddlefish came blasting out of the water and did a barrel roll and belly flopped back in. At first I was thinking it was one of those Asian carp but the mini-swordfish look was certain. At 60 mph and about 20 yards from us it was an amazing sight.

[Jeremy]

Last week I saw a similar thing. This is the first year I have really taken fishing seriously. I'm a horrible fisherman but I am learning and having lots of fun. I was on Old Hickory around 8pm not too far from the Rockland area. I had been out for about 2 hours without a bite when I just happened to catch a view of a fish with a long nose jumping clear out of the water. It scared the crap out of me to be honest. I caught zero fish that night but I still came away with a story. I love it out on the water and one of these days I will learn to catch some fish. In the meantime I will keep having fun.

Jeremy

[Alphahawk]

That's one thing I love about the outdoors - no matter how much time I spend fishing, I still see completely new and amazing things all of the time.

bd[/QUOTE]

X2 on that statement.

[jad2t]

The question is - Why do they jump out of the water like that?

[tkwalker]

The question is - Why do they jump out of the water like that?

I have witnessed this many times through the years on the river ... Here is my uneducated guess ... Paddlefish are primarily Plankton eaters (Thats why the almost scoop like mouth and Gills have evolved plus they are of the Sturgeon Family) But they also eat very small ,almost micro size, minnows and shad ... So sometimes I think the out of water exposure maybe from an over shoot while chasing the school of minnows ...

Another theory is that it may be a MATTING RITUAL, Something similiar to what the Grass Carp do ... ??? <'TK><:)

[nomad60]

That's one thing I love about the outdoors - no matter how much time I spend fishing, I still see completely new and amazing things all of the time.bd

Amen.