Every once in a while I’ll talk to a sturgeon angler that said they caught a tagged sturgeon but didn’t report the tag number because the tag was to black and corroded. I alway feel that was a missed opportunity for another speck of information on these creatures. I really didn’t understand what people were saying when they say “the tag was so black it couldn’t be read”.
The other night I found out!
After unhooking the fish and getting it’s measurements, I took a look at the tag. Pitch black. I started thinking there has to be a better tag if after time they can’t be read.
With a bit of finger nail scratching that black came off and the tag looked just like the day it was attached…at least on the front side.
I sent in the info on the DNR website and Joel Stiras replied quickly.
“We (the MN DNR) caught that fish on 8/29/06 about 5 miles downstream. At the time it was 41.38 inches long with a 12.95 inch girth and weighed 10.9 pounds. This is the first time that fish has been recaptured and reported. We had a note in the database that this fish had a short/flattened snout.”
So this fish grew just under 8″ in that many years. That seems a little high for the average St Croix River fish…I think.
Check out the photo’s below. The first shot is of the untouched tag and the second is after I did a little scratching.
Attachments:
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