A Few Birthday Sturgeon
September 16, 2018
September 15th 2018
Ray had booked a day with me a while back as a birthday gift for his girlfriend, Alena. He was hoping to get into some sturgeon and I was pretty sure we would. I just didn’t know how big or how many they would catch!
With this being the weekend, I knew there would be other boats on the water and I just hoped the traffic wouldn’t be too bad, this late in the year. A quick idle over the area had us anchored up in no time. With the lines in, all we could do is wait!
I had been marking some good fish on the screen but it took quite a while before we had our first bite. When I reared back to set on the fish, I only got a piece of it and I felt the hook pop out. Too bad as this one had some weight! We continued fishing the area and eventually I set into something that didn’t really feel like a sturgeon, but Alena reel in a very small one. Although not what I wanted, it was the right species. We remained on this spot for a while longer but eventually moved to another area nearby and re anchored. I had seen good concentrations of fish here and was sure things would get better.
We had been getting plenty of bites with our move but mostly by junk fish. It turned out that we were able to land two bass and one sucker but were still awaiting our first real sturgeon. They were now understanding what was needed when the fish hit and on one of the bites, Ray set into something quite heavy. He finally had the fish we were looking for but it too came unpinned after about 10 seconds. More disappointment was had, as he was left with a slack line once again!
With not much action going on, I decided to idle over the area again looking for some fish. While I was searching, we were flagged down by someone that was hooked up here as well. They weren’t really prepared for what they had on the line nor rigged with proper tackle either. We helped them out after waiting for quite a while by netting their fish. I even had to get in their boat and show them how to hold the fish for the pics. The only good thing about all of this was that they actually released the sturgeon instead of keeping it like so many others do!
After the ordeal, I continued my search for more fish and eventually anchored up on a few good marks. I had hoped that Karma would bring us some good luck with the good deed we had just done!
As it was mid afternoon now the boat waves were at a high with all the traffic on the water. We were forced to hold the rods instead of actually leaving them in the rod holders and everyone felt for their next bite! This isn’t a bad thing as you can feel just about everything, including all the floating weeds that gather on the line drifting in the current. I had to bring the lines in several times just to take the weight of the debris off the lines. Eventually I did feel a bite though and set into a nice fish for Alena to battle. This thing fought really well and she finally got to feel the power of these sturgeon.
With all lines in and the area cleared, Alena battled her fish for almost ten minutes. It took her from one side of the boat to the other several times and I had to maneuver the rod around the motors a couple of times as well. Although it didn’t jump, it did give her quite a workout until I was able to net her catch. She had finally landed a fish worthy of some pics! It was quite funny watching her try to hold this thing but she managed to raise it up enough for a few good shots before the release. Little did she know that it wasn’t over yet!
I reset all the lines and got back to fishing and not long after, Alena had a bite. I instructed her on what to do and she was tight lined once again. This time however, she brought her fish to the boat much quicker as it was only a juvenile. Despite its size, it still fought like a champ and even jumped a couple of times as well.
We were back in after the release and about ten minutes later, Alena was locked up again. She definitely had the hot hand as she was putting on a clinic! This fish was in the medium size category but fought like a giant! It took to the air in a spectacular jump that Ray was able to capture while he was filming. She also knew what to do now as she had battled a couple of others already. After a lengthy battle filled with many runs, I was finally able to net what turned out to be the last fish of the day.
Although we continued fishing for a while longer, we weren’t fortunate enough to get any more bites and eventually packed up and headed back. This was a great birthday present for Alena as she got to do battle with several sturgeon, for her very first time. Ray on the other hand wasn’t as fortunate as he only had one chance and the hook just pulled out. Despite the disappointment of losing his fish, he couldn’t have been happier for Alena! She had done battle with a few dinosaurs and won! What a great way to spend your birthday!!
