Fish, paddlefish family

American paddlefish

Polyodon spathulanon-native species
Origin
Non-native species
Fishing
all year
American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

About the species American paddlefish

How to recognise it

A scaleless fish with a long flat paddle-shaped snout and a large mouth. It grows to a large size.

Where it lives

It originates in North America and is farmed in ponds here.

What it feeds on

Plankton, which it strains through its gills.

Closed season, minimum size and daily limit

What the Fisheries Act says about American paddlefish. For guidance only; check it in the fishing regulations of the district.

Fishing all year round

§ 10 of the Decree

no closed season

Under the decree the species may be caught from 1 January to 31 December (Section 10, paragraph 2). This does not mean it may be caught in every water at any time: the closed season, the permit and the fishing rules of the district can restrict fishing.

Summary of Act no. 216/2018 Coll. and Decree no. 381/2018 Coll. (as of 6 Nov 2026). It may be out of date or contain an error, and exceptions apply on some waters. The permit and the fishing regulations of the district are binding. The fishing law, rule by rule.

Where it was recorded

Fishing districts around which a record of this species exists (GBIF).

We do not yet track where this species occurs in individual fishing districts. So far we have records from the GBIF database only for species with numerical water-temperature data.

Catches of American paddlefish

Approved catches by anglers on this portal.

Nobody has logged a catch of this species yet. Be the first; once approved it will appear here and on the leaderboard.

Similar species

Photo credits
  • American paddlefish: Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
  • Siberian sturgeon: Photo: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Minimum sizes, protection periods and permitted fishing methods are set by the fishing regulations and the conditions of the specific fishing district. Check them before you fish.