How big do paddlefish get?
The largest paddlefish on record was speared in Lake Okoboji, Iowa, in 1916. It weighed over 198 pounds. The Montana record is 142.5 pounds. Fish living in lakes and reservoirs often grow faster and larger than those living solely in rivers. What is the paddle for? We’re not exactly sure what the paddle, or rostrum, is used for. However, we do know what it isn’t used for. The paddle was originally thought by scientists in the early 1900s to be a shovel used to dig up mud and silt as the fish searched for small food organisms. But the paddle is not a shovel, a scoop, or a spear. This much you can see, if you look closely at the paddle and notice that it has no scratches on it. Besides, we know that paddlefish are mid-water filter feeders and are not feeding off the bottom. We do know that the paddle and the head are covered with tiny sensory pores, and that it probably uses these pores to detect food organisms, changes in water velocity and/or temperature. The paddle may also function t
