sturgeon

[Russ-Judy]

we just got an e-mail with pixs of Justion Gibbons catching and holding a 42.75# sturgeon from the St Croix River north of Taylor Falls--unreal and ugly- he did the      c and r so its back in there

[JohnWester]

pics

[JohnWester]

Justin's story:

I was out camping on the St. Croix River north of Taylors falls at my Sturgeon hole fishing spot. I was fishing with a fathead minnow off the bank, staying warm by a nice fire on a crystal clear night.  It was getting late, sometime after 11:00 PM. I had my rod in a rod holder and the jingle bells on the end of mine line started to ring indicating a bite. I picked up the rod, set the hook and fish on! I was floored at the sound of this huge fish coming clear out of the water and making a splash like you wouldn't believe. Sturgeon love to jump after they are hooked and can you imagine something 5+ feet long come flying out of the water and its at the end of your line?  I yelled to my friend Mark to grab the lantern and spotlight. The battle was on. For about 3 solid minutes the fish took out drag and then the fish snagged Mark's fishing line. We cut Marks line and I continued to battle the fish. I realized that I wasn't ever going to get this fish up on the steep bank we were fishing on so I told Mark to grab my waders and being the great friend that he was helped me get into them so I could fight this thing from the waters edge.  It was pretty comical trying to stand on one leg fighting this fish while your buddy puts your wading boots on.  A few times the fish took me dangerously close to a log jam but I was able to turn her before I got into trouble. Finally I got a good look at her and couldn't believe the size of this Sturgeon! She had one more good run in her before I was able to grab her and bring her ashore. The battle I estimated lasted 15-20 minutes.

My friends I was so excited I was shaking. It is not everyday you catch a 5 foot + freshwater fish! I grabbed the scale and stood there in amazement! As I slowly pulled the fish off the ground and it read 20lb..30lb....40lbs.... and finally stopped. on a new personal record of mine, the fish weighed in at 42.75 LBS!!!!

Took me a few minutes to revive her and then she swam off into the darkness. Whohoo!!!!!!!!!! It is fish like this that keeps me fishing, making memories, and feeling awful fortunate to have an opportunity to catch and release an a amazing fish. And my friends, there are bigger ones to be had in the St. Croix. The Sturgeon are really making a comeback in many rivers in Minnesota. People talk about Muskie fever? This angler has Sturgeon fever! I'll need to get a bigger rod, and a bigger scale if I start catching them much bigger!  What a thrill they are to catch!

For reference the lake sturgeon is the largest fish native to Minnesota as well as the Great Lakes. Coming from a fish family more than 60 million years old, sturgeon are sometimes thought of as "living fossils."  They can reach a very large size, and a specimen weighing 310 pounds was caught commercially in Batchawana Bay of Lake Superior! The Sturgeon can live for over a 100 years and the fish I caught was most likely older than I am!  The Minnesota state record for lake sturgeon (caught on hook and line) is 94 pounds, 4 ounces from the Kettle River caught back in 1994.  This record is prime for breaking.  In comparison, the state record for Muskellunge is 54 pounds.

Good fishing to ya!
       
Justin