Winner of the Sportsman’s Lodge Sturgeon Contest

Here’s the winner….

…with the losing sturgeon<<<

I’m thinking they didn’t cover off on holding and releasing fish during the rules meeting….but I spose they could have harvested this one.

I agree Brian, that looks brutal on the gill plates and gills.

That’s just sad!

I agree its a bummer on the gill hold.. the longer pictures like that are public without comment, the longer its going to take to fade out the gill holds on them. Similar to the old days of holding pike by the eye sockets.. its not very common practice anymore.

The best solution is education.. word spreads and is eventually common knowledge.

Maybe it would be a good thing fo someone to try to convince the DNR to have a CPR page in the regs, and a diagram on how NOT to handle fish?

Ahh ignorance…I think while we inform the uniformed we should also school certain bait shops up there I wont name any names but a hint is is starts with a log and ends with cabin bait. These guys were encouraging us to commence on the systematic killing of all sturgeon within site. They were promoting genocide because of the sturgeon’s supposed veracious appetite for walleye eggs! An old man was in there going on about killing every one of those buggers he gets his hands onto..

Much work needs to be done to educate all in proper handling and preservation of not only sturgeon but all the so called “less popular species”.

My first Flathead…the second largest fish I had landed at that time, all 15 lbs of her…was held up by the gill plates for a photo. After dropping her once, the fella I was with said…”Grap it in the mouth”…and I thought..are you freaking crazy?

I take the time to let folks feel the “teeth” of a flat and the membrain that protects your hand. It seems that once a person goes through those steps, it’s easier for a first time cat person to hold on and then support the lower half with the other hand.

But for some reason, many people like the “classic” two hands inside the mouth catfish pose.

I ‘spose it’s the same with Sturgeon…and they don’t get thier clothes dirty.

If I can use a broad paint brush…I would say that most folks in the Baudette area don’t know what they have up there. Until what? a year or so ago, most of us didn’t know what they had up there!

I’m wondering if Sportsman’s Lodge and a certain bait shop have internet access…

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I’m wondering if Sportsman’s Lodge and a certain bait shop have internet access…

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“internet!! shoot that some type of new hippie drug them longhairs get you into!!???