Age Doesn’t Matter

September 12th 2018

 

I had a group of three this morning that wanted to try for sturgeon. Pierre, Bruce & Charlie decided that even having chance at one was the way to go. I told them that the odds were in their favor as we headed out to fish. I hoped that I was right!

It didn’t take long to find what I needed to see and set the anchor in place. I had idled over a good concentration of fish and was pretty sure one of them would bite. With lines in, the wait began!

We had been anchored in the first area for about an hour and despite marking all kinds of fish, we still hadn’t gotten a single bite. I decided to relocate and began searching for another area and more fish.

The second spot looked good and apparently it was because it didn’t take 3 minutes before we were bit! I reared back on something heavy and knew someone was in for a great fight!

Pierre was immediately given the rod and instructions on what to do. At 81 years of age he would be the oldest person ever to land a sturgeon in my boat. All he had to do was suffer through the pain for another 5 or ten minutes! I could tell that this wasn’t the first big fish he had fought by the way he took control and later found out that he had caught plenty of tarpon and big game fish in his life. Other than the fish going from one side of the boat to the other, around the motor, he kept the rod in his hands the whole time. At one point the line began to rise and the breach was inevitable. Everyone saw the actual size of his fish when it leaped into the air and the fight was on! It sounded to the bottom immediately after and kept him bust for about ten minutes before I was able to net the beast. He had succeeded in landing his first ever sturgeon and was able to tick a giant freshwater fish from his bucket list!

I prepped everything for a few pics and sat him down to hold the fish for the photos. There was no way he would be able to do it standing! With a little help from the other two, I was able to get some great shots both together and alone before the release. This fish swam off unharmed to fight another day!

I set the rods back and readied everything, anticipating another bite. I was still marking some good fish under the boat and was pretty sure we would get at least one more. About ten minutes in, it happened and Charlie was given the rod to fight the fish. With lines cleared he was able to do battle with another monster and what a battle it was. It didn’t jump just once, but rather 4 times while he fought his fish. Several times when he thought he was gaining line, the sturgeon sounded and took it all back and more. This ended up being the best battle I had seen so far this season! Eventually it was all over though when I slid the net under the beast. What I had thought was just a good one turned out to be even larger than the previous one. It was much heavier and a pretty good reason why it fought so hard!

Charlie held the fish up for some great shots before releasing her back once again. It still amazes me as to why someone would want to kill such a beautiful fish! Unfortunately there are more guys out there that keep these things, rather than release them back where they belong!

I set the lines one more time afterwards but unfortunately wasn’t able to get bit again. They did manage to bring a perch to the boat, but no more of the dinosaurs wanted to play. Time had elapsed quickly with the big game search but we had accomplished what we had set out to do. Pierre had done battle with something he had never caught before, at 81 years of age! The second fish was just a bonus!

I’m sure these guys will be talking about today for a while, or at least until they get out again. With any luck the fishing will be even better if they do! All I know is that the memories from this morning will remain etched in their minds for quite some time. It was definitely worth the trip!!