Bring in the New Year with a 2010 “paddlefish” habitat donor patch, hat

Oklahoma anglers will not catch many fish bigger than a trophy paddlefish, and this year the fish is showcased on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s 2010 habitat donor patch, available now through the Department’s Outdoor Store at wildlifedepartment.com. The patch is also available embroidered onto a khaki, camo or orange camo baseball cap.
Paddlefish caught by Oklahoma’s anglers routinely weight over 50 lbs. and are found mainly in the Neosho, Grand and Arkansas River systems. Each spring when the paddlefish embark on mass migrations upriver to spawn, the Wildlife Department operates a full service Paddlefish Research and Proccessing Center near Twin Bridges State Park in Northeast Oklahoma, where anglers can have their paddlefish cleaned and packaged for free in exchange for biological data and eggs from their fish. The Wildlife Department uses the data to help make management decisions that benefit paddlefish and the sportsmen who enjoy catching them.
Paddlefish eat microscopic plankton and will not bite a lure, but rather, are caught by snagging. Top paddlefish spots include locations on the Neosho River such as Riverview City Park in Miami, Conner and Twin Bridges (above Grand Lake), the Kaw Lake tailwaters, Ft. Gibson Lake and Oologah Lake.
All proceeds go to the Department’s Land Acquisition Fund, which is used to provide public hunting and fishing access. This program has helped the Wildlife Department make available thousands of acres of land for public hunting and fishing.
To purchase a habitat donor patch, visit the Department’s Outdoor Store by logging on to wildlifedepartment.com. Patches are $10, and caps featuring the patch are $15. Caps in camo orange color are in limited supply and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Outdoor Store order forms also can be found in copies of Outdoor Oklahoma magazine. Additionally, patches can be purchased at the Wildlife Department headquarters in Oklahoma City. To view the new patches and those from previous years, log on to the Department’s Web site at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/land.htm <http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/land.htm> .
The colorful patches have displayed a different game or fish species every year since 1986, and collectors can purchase a patch from any year.
For more information about the Wildlife Department, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.