–Voluntarily submit a jaw sample on the Upper Missouri or Fort Peck Dredge Cuts, and receive a free paddlefish hat!–
The Upper Missouri paddlefish season is still going strong and will continue a few more weeks through June 15. Good runoff this spring has allowed successful white-tag holders like Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to harvest their paddlefish near Fred Robinson Bridge. Great job, Governor!
July 1 marks the beginning of the archery-only paddlefish season in the Fort Peck Dredge Cuts below Fort Peck Dam, through August 31. Archery anglers need to purchase a 2023 blue paddlefish harvest tag to target paddlefish in the Dredge Cuts.
All harvested paddlefish must be immediately tagged and reported within 48 hours. Reporting options include self-reporting stations on the Upper Missouri (like Governor Gianforte did in the photo below) and Fort Peck Dredge Cuts, on the phone hotline at 1-877-FWP-WILD or 406-444-0356, or online at MyFWP at
fwp.mt.gov.In addition, anglers are encouraged to provide a section of their harvested paddlefish lower jaw at the remote creeling stations. The jaw section is used to age harvested paddlefish and ensure that sustainable harvest is occurring.
If anglers fill out all the required information on the envelopes and submit a jaw section, they will receive a free paddlefish hat! Anglers should try their best to provide as much info as they can, both on the fish and themselves. Without a legible name and mailing address written on the envelope, it can be difficult to get the correct person.
Thanks, and good luck fishing!
Feature photo: Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, reporting his paddlefish at a remote creeling station | Info via FWP social media
