A Beast of a Beating

Day two with Herm and there were big whitecaps when we arrived at the water. What was supposed to be a light SW was actually a huge W/NW. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to fish the beasts!

As I headed out, I was running in two to three footers and was pretty sure it wasn’t going to happen. I thought I’d make the long run regardless and was pleasantly surprised the further I got away. The winds were from a different direction here and seemed much lighter! I was now running in a SW and maybe a 1 to 2 foot chop. We were going sturgeon fishing!

Although it was still a little rougher than I would have liked, it was doable and I set the lines and waited for a bite. After thirty minutes of nothing, I relocated and here it didn’t take long. Within five minutes Herm was locked up on his first sturgeon of the year. He had fished them previously with me and was anxious to battle a few more of these dinosaurs again.

This first fish didn’t fight like most and came to the boat quicker than usual. As it turned out, the fish had wrapped in the line several times and was being dragged backwards. Once I untangled the thing, it fought some but all near the surface. I netted it without much of a workout for Herm but I was sure he would get beat up soon!

After a couple of pics before the release, I got the lines back in and waited for the next one. We weren’t waiting long when I noticed one of the rods moving and set into another fish. This one felt heavy and I passed Herm the rod in hopes of a longer battle. I soon got my wish!

Although it didn’t jump, it did give him quite the fight. The entire time the fish remained on the bottom and just made long runs instead. After about ten minutes, we were finally able to get a visual and soon after it was in the net. As it turned out, it was a long male and quite strong too! A quick release after some pics and we were hard at it once again.

The next fish came in easily too and was a little on the small size. A boat side release was in order and I just unhooked her without any trouble.

The next bite took a little longer than I had expected and just when I had decided to make a move, Herm locked up. He was in the process of reeling the line in when it just went heavy. I guess timing is everything!

This time the fight was a little different as it took to the air pretty quick. It also sounded just as fast right after, screaming line from the reel. Of all the fish so far, this one definitely seemed much heavier by the way it was acting, but I hadn’t seen the jump and wasn’t sure. Several minutes later we finally were able to land it and it was definitely the biggest one. Herm would have to hold it on his lap for the pics this time! As with all the sturgeon, it was released quickly and unharmed to fight another day!

With the lines reset once again, we hoped for something much bigger and were about to get our wish. Herm grabbed one of the rods that got bit and was tight to another fish almost instantly. I decided to bring the other one in and got bit as soon as I had the rod in my hands. We were doubled up! I told Herm that if his fish didn’t feel too big to exchange rods as mine had weight. When we did I saw that his was actually a catfish and I just unhooked it at the boat.

This was definitely the sturgeon that I had wanted him to fight and I had my wish. It was about to beat him up pretty good too! I cleared the back of the boat to give him room to do battle and we were about to get a visual. Way off in the distance she breached and she was large! It was going to be a long fight and a tough one too!

The first ten minutes were a struggle with the fish making many long runs. Its weight was the difficult part for Herm as he had to reel her back each time. The last ten minutes of the battle were even worse as Herm was tiring from the previous ten and the fish was nowhere in sight. This was definitely a long fight as he had been struggling for almost 20 minutes before he actually had it near the boat. I tried to net her once but between her weight and how she was positioned, she never fell into the bowl and took off again. I guess I just pissed her off! Poor Herm ended up reeling her back up from the bottom on more time and battled it even longer! The next time I tried to net her, I succeeded and Herm was exhausted. The fight may have been over but another struggle was about to begin!

I had prepped everything for the pics and heaved the monster over the rail and onto the tarp for her protection. I even had to help Herm to get it on his lap. Multiple shots re taken and we both returned her to where she belonged. We were officially done for this area and about to move elsewhere for much smaller fish!

The remainder of the day was spent fishing for bass & walleye and we caught them both. Herm had needed a break and he got just that as he went back onto his ultra-light. He was relieved too as the fights didn’t last nearly as long!

By 3:00 we were done and called it a day. We had planned on fishing for sturgeon and done it successfully today. The bonus was the real giant that Herm landed in the end. He had spent two days catching all kinds of fish and would also be bringing a limit of walleye back with him as well. Hopefully he won’t be too sore tomorrow, but I’m betting he’ll be suffering somewhere on his body. Probably in more places than he’d like too! This was definitely a very successful two days on the water filled with plenty of laughs and great times. I can’t wait to get him back out for bass in a few weeks. Maybe he’ll even catch a few more big ones on his ultra-light again!