I went down to the river the other day...and look at what I caught
That's me in the middle, in case you didn't recognize me.
If you are interested in old photos of this type, I have a page dedicated to them at this site http://www.oldreels.com/vintage_photos.htm All the photos were taken in the area that I am fishing today.
For an actual update, I have decided to see if I could catch a smallmouth every month of the year in 2010. I fished twice in January and caught 1 smallmouth of 16". The air temps were in the 40s that day, but the water temp was 38.
Don, sounds like you caught a young one. The sturgeon has 5 rows of scutes along their bodies, sharp little protuberances it inherited during the days of the dinosaur. On younger sturgeon they can be fairly sharp, but as they get older they get worn down and dull. Amazing how many sturgeon will roll in the line almost as if they know they can cut it with the scutes. Even more amazing is watching a 6 or 7 foot sturgeon go aerial. Just about every 40+ inch sturgeon I caught attempted at least one jump, although some were just too big to get any air. Largest one I caught below Bonneville Dam on Columbia was just shy of 10 feet and we saw a dead floater in Astoria that was close to 12', stories of some even larger than that. Amazing for a fish with no teeth!
Great old phots. When I was running yachts I was up in the Detroit River and a couple of old timers that hung around the docks claimed they had some monster sturgeon in certain parts of the river, but I never had time to try fisging for them.
In the early 1960s they caught about a 3-foot sturgeon here in the Peace River in Florida - it made the news and the com fish company donated it to the University of Miami (I believe or maybe Univ of Florida), because it was so rare.
I'm guessing there must be some regultions in taking hose great big ones. Are there?
Yes...I am not sure what the current regs are since I no longer live up there, but the slot limit was 42-60 inch when I lived in Oregon. Smaller or bigger had to be released. California had a higher max slot limit.
Reproduction rates are reason for limit on larger, mature fish.
I'm guessing there must be some regultions in taking hose great big ones. Are there?
The photos on my website are all of fish taken from the Snake River in Southern Idaho. All of Idaho is only catch and release fishing for sturgeon. Many 8-10+ foot sturgeon are taken every year, and most have been caught several times before.
That's fisheries policy with lots of species around the country. Redfish and snook have slots to save the breeding stock in Florida, they close seasons on sook, and with reef fish like certain species of grouper and snapper. Florida even had moved to protect Lemon sharks recently. For tarpon in Florida, you have to have a permit o kill one- a great piece of legislaion developed by the Boca Grande Tarpon Guides Association to stop people killing fish just to take a piture.
Some policy works, some doesn't. Jew Fish or Goliath Grouper, which can get over 1,000 pounds (and attack more divers in Florida than sharks do) started being protected years ago. It worked too good and their populations have exploded. They will flat clean off a reef of smaller grouper, snapper, lobster and stone crabs (And the occasional spearfisherman who attaches fish to his belt. A guy drowned under the Sunshine Skyway three years ago that way).
Thanks for the info- those big sturgeon have always fascinated me, I'm guessin a 14 or 16/0 Penn might get a work out.
Several years ago I wrote an article for the Reel News about the sturgeon that at the time held the world record for the largest fresh water fish caught on rod and reel - 360 pounds. It was caught right down the road from where I live. This fish was caught using a Mitchell salt water spinning reel. Garcia used a photo of the fish and fisherman in lots of advertisements. Most angler's today do use Penn SW reels.
