Finally Fishing Sturgeon

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October 29th 2018

 

First day with no wind in a while and I headed to fish sturgeon with Michael & his two sons, Shawn & Brandon. They had fished plenty, but never for these beasts. I was sure we would get them today!

After idling around for a while, I finally settled on an area that showed some signs of life. With the anchor easily in place, the rods were rigged and the wait began. Unfortunately we were in a weed drifting area and after 15 minutes were forced to move to another spot. It was next to impossible to keep the lines clean!

Our second stop looked promising and weed free enough to produce fish. I don’t think we were here for 5 minutes before I set into some weight. Brandon was up first but needed a little help from his brother to hold the rod. This fish was heavy and it was a struggle for him to fight the fish! It surely didn’t feel like any bass they had ever hooked into before! This was the real deal and I was glad they were experiencing it firsthand today!

After close to ten minutes the combined pair finally brought the fish to net and everyone was in awe at its size. It was definitely bigger than anything they had ever caught Brandon had reeled in a fish about half his size in body weight, with a little help from his bro of course! We shot a bunch of pics quickly before the release and reset the lines looking for more.

Shawn was up next and a short while later I loaded the rod again. Now it was his turn to feel the power of the beast! This fish took plenty of line, several times! Although it never jumped, the fight was still great. This fish was powerful and the runs were amazing. After 5 minutes or so he finally brought it to net and the battle was over. The first part anyway as now he had to hold it for the pics! Moments later it was returned unharmed and she swam off perfectly.

We reset all the lines again and now it was their father’s turn next. I really wanted everyone to feel the power of these fish and hoped for another bite. As luck would have it in these conditions, it wasn’t a problem. We may have waited longer than I had hoped but we eventually got bit. Michael was now tight to one of his own and loving it. His fish even gave us a great jump close to the boat and although not as big as the previous two, still a good fish. He brought it to net in a little under 5 minutes and we shot several more pics. Now they had all landed one, but I still wanted more!

After remaining in one area for a while with nothing to show for our efforts but drive byes and one carp, I made another move. We reset the lines in a new section, awaiting another bite. The winds had started to pick up around 1:30 and now it wasn’t as easy to see the bites. We did manage to see one however and I reared back on more weight. Shawn got the rod as his brother was the one who landed the carp earlier. This fish acted small in the beginning but soon grew! As it neared the boat it became much heavier and at one point went around the anchor line. I literally had to pass the rod under the rope and it wasn’t easy! The fish had done a 180 and was 100 feet behind the boat as well. We were lucky to still have it on! At one point it went ballistic, rolling and twisting under the water and the line popped. Although it still remained hooked, it felt more like dead weight now. I knew that his fish had rolled in the line, tying itself up in a knot. He was now fighting the weight of the fish and the current at the same time. He was actually pulling it backwards! In fact when I finally netted the beast, it had been re hooked in the body. That must have happened when the line popped during the crazy rolls earlier! He was lucky to have landed it under these circumstances! We quickly shot several pics and returned her to where she belonged.

Time was getting on now and the winds were creating two footers where we were, making it impossible to see the bites. I instructed them on how to hold the rods and minutes later I felt a bite. This time when I set into the fish, I passed the rod to Brandon hoping that he would land his last fish of the day. I also hoped that the fight would warm him up as he had been cold for most of the day. The misty rain and now windy conditions didn’t help but the battle might! His brother helped him less this time and he eventually had the fish to the boat. Unfortunately it sounded and ran out at least 50 feet of line, extending his time on the rod. He was definitely warming up now and minutes later, glad it was finally in the net. We had also drifted considerably while he was fighting the fish and the anchor wasn’t holding anymore. Unanimously they decided to end on a high. We packed everything up after the pics and returned to the ramp.

Today couldn’t have worked out any better with everyone landing their first sturgeon ever. We could have switched up anytime to bass & walleye but they chose to remain with a fish that they may never target again. In the end it was definitely a good choice with 5 good fish being caught. They also saw the largest fish that swim in the St. Lawrence & caught the biggest fish of their lives in the process. We had ended on a high before the winds picked up too bad and exited the lake just in time. This was a perfect ending to a great day on the water and nobody got hurt. It was a win, win all around!!