More Quality Sturgeon

Dan & Bill were with me this morning for a half day trip, looking to get into some sturgeon. We headed to the area quickly and wasted no time setting up with the electric motor. I really love anchoring without all the extra work!

With lines in, we waited, but not long! About 5 minutes into the day, we were locked and Dan was fighting the first one. Although not a true giant, it was definitely a great starter fish. The fight was also a good one with most of it taking place, deep. After the usual time, I netted our first one and Dan released it after some pictures.

We resumed fishing, but this time waited quite a while for our next bite. I had also moved a couple of times as well before we hit another. Unfortunately it turned out to be a juvenile and although nice to see, not what we were looking for. Our next fish also wasn’t what we wanted either but Bill landed this one too. As luck would have it, he fought a huge freshwater drum and wasn’t disappointed in the battle. This was also the first one I had seen so far this year and required some pics before the release.

I had done plenty of idling over various areas just searching for something to stop on before finally anchoring on a good looking spot. Well it didn’t take long for us to find another player and Dan was tight to his second big fish of the day. I hadn’t even been able to get the third line in the water when it hit! Just like the first one however, this fish also stayed deep for the fight. It was powerful and gave him a great battle before coming to net. Dan held it up for more pics and released it back unharmed once again.

With limited time remaining in the morning, I decided to hold in this area and it was well worth the wait. Shortly after, Bill finally got his chance to battle a really good fish and this time it actually jumped. It was quality and he spent a good ten minutes before bringing it to the boat. Multiple long runs made for an even greater battle, but it was no match for Bill. Next up was the holding part and he had no problem before the release.

I was debating a move but decided to remain in the same area, hoping for another bite. Apparently it was the right decision as Dan was soon hooked up again! This fish seemed rather small and was coming to the boat quickly so I decided to get one of the other lines back in the water, until it was right at the boat. It was then that we realized that it wasn’t small. It took off with a leap and splash that scared the crap out of me and I brought the line back in as fast as I could. This thing went ballistic right beside the boat when it saw us and now the fight was on.

Dan fought the beast and several good runs were made in the next ten minutes along with some of his fancy footwork. The fish kept to the bottom pretty much but went under the boat from side to side many times causing Dan to reach around the motors. Sometimes it’s great to be tall and have long arms!

This turned out to be the last fish of the day, but not for lack of trying. After the release we had reset the lines and waited another 30 minutes without even a touch. We packed it in and headed back to the ramp to take out with a sense of satisfaction for the day.

Both Bill & Dan had been with me the previous year and battled some sturgeon then too. This trip was equally as good and they got to play with several more before we called it a day. With any luck I will have them back again next season when they are here again. Overall it was another successful day for sturgeon. Along with an exotic species, the drum!