Nate and Kate Shatto each caught a paddlefish, also known as a spoonbill, during a family trip to the Lake of the Ozarks, near Stover. The family, which included parents Ray and Laura, took a three-day trip over the first weekend in April.
Kate (13) and Nate (18) having been going fishing for spoonbills since they were around four years old. Spoonbills have a paddlelike snout and a shark like body.
Missouri’s official state aquatic animal, the paddlefish, is highly valued as a sport fish according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. It is valued for its flesh as well as for its caviar. The paddlefish is one of the most ancestral fish species alive today. It is the only member of its family left on planet Earth.
This was Kate’s second year to catch a paddlefish. Nate has snagged several over the years.
The family still fishes “old school” snag by dragging and pulling weights and hooks.
Nate’s spoonbill male weighed 30 pounds. He also got a huge carp. Kate’s spoonbill female weighed 65 pounds. The photos were taken by Laura Shatto.
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