Sturgeon Regs Reminder

On a couple of different occasions this year I’ve fished with guys that had a tag and (against my wishes) wanted to harvest a “hoover”.

During each trip there was discussion about others catching a fish and giving to a person with a tag. I made it clear that if I personally caught the fish it was going back…..period.

I guess I didn’t realize however that the law was also in my favor. The person with the tag legally needs to catch their own fish…..even if it’s in the same boat.

I know most, if not all, are in favor of not keeping these fish, however I did witness another boat in the area “pass off” a large fish to another boat, which I assumed had a tag, as the fish was never released. I didn’t realize it, but I guess you cannot do that.
Just an FYI to those who might not know.

Thanks DTRO!

I know it’s legal to take a sturgeon…not condeming someone that does…but just knowing that a female can’t spawn until it’s older than 15 years…kinda turns me off.

I do have an urge to try sturgeon…curiosity mostly…but what am I going to do with a 50 inch fish if I don’t like it?

Have fun fishing them…they are so much fun to catch!

Thanks for clearing that up. Like Brian I am curious about how it tastes. I have talked to a few people who really like it but rarely have it. Most of these guys ate it years ago. It is supposed to be a firm meat.

I think my next new taste is going to be eel. I have had freshwate eel sushu before!

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I have had freshwate eel sushu before!

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Not sure I would admit to that!

I’ve had it smoked it’s awesome, I’d never keep one unless I couldn’t revive it……

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I have had freshwate eel sushu before!

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Not sure I would admit to that!

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I don’t know why but one food I enjoy is sushi.

But guys don’t think I want the leftovers from your cutbait

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I don’t know why but one food I enjoy is sushi.

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I don’t know why either…

With all the small fish you guys are catching it seems like the tag should just be good for 1 sturgeon any size. That way if someone wanted to try it they wouldnt have to keep a giant old fish.

That’s a question I’m looking into Mike.

97% of all sturgeon over 50 inches are females…you would think that we would want to keep them??

I dont think they are looking at it as a male/female aspect. The 50″ minimum now makes it neccessary to harvest a mature fish.. or a fish capable of spawning. A fish of spawning age has likely produced some offspring before being removed from the fishery(harvested). These things dont mature until around 25 years old, and only spawn every couple to several years… it makes sense to me having to harvest a mature fish.

They wont make any babies if they are consumed before they ever spawn.

I would say it’s more of a bag limit restriction than anything. The >50″ limits harvest to a very low number vs everyone and their brother taking one fish. The population can sustain the low harvest number, no matter what the size.

My question was:

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If most LkS are females when they reach 50 inches…why is above 50 the targeted slot? Are they out of their prime spawning life?

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And the reply from Rod Ramsell

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Howdy Brian…

I just got back in from setting nets in one of

our walleye rearing ponds, so even though I’m a little damp and chilled

I’ll try to see if my mind is still alert enough to answer your

questions. First…Good question! I wish I had a good biological answer

for it, but I don’t. A lot of our regulations are old and founded more

on sociological demands and not on the true science of biology or

ecology.

In your question, the vast majority

of 50″ females are still in their prime and a productive part of the

population. At what size do they outlive their ability to contribute to

the productivity of the population? That I can not answer at this point,

because I am still learning about this animal myself, and what may be

true for a population in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago system (for example)

may be entirely different than what is happening in the St. Croix.

Variables such as growth rates, relative weights (condition), fertility

of the water, water quality, mean water temperatures, etc, etc. will all

yield different variables in how populations develop in general (not to

mention the variability of individuals within the population!). In

short, why a 50 inch harvest minimum? I don’t know. Is it correct,

probably not, but at this time I don’t know what the correct harvest

size would be. If I were “king”, I would make LKS

catch and release only (or a year around closed season until such time

that we could determine what the safe harvest size and number would be

for the St. Croix system. I have spent most of my career working with

Esocids, and there is a point where you can go overboard on setting size

limits too high. But that is a long winded story for another time.

Rod Ramsell, Fisheries Specialist

>>Minnesota DNR, East Metro Fisheries

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Catch and release year around… I dont know about that, my schedule would be all screwed up!

I can visualize now.. undecided headng out the door to the truck, hitch the boat.. then stare out the windshield and try to decide which way to head… cats or sturgeon.

That sounds like a headache!

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then stare out the windshield and try to decide which way to head… cats or sturgeon.

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Cats. Thats an easy one!

Sturgeon fill that void when the flatties don’t cooperate… spring & late fall.

Or if you can’t catch a flathead, you become an “expert” sturgeon angler.

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Or if you can’t catch a flathead, you become an “expert” sturgeon angler.

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That’s me…one trip out with C15 and I’m an expert! He’s a good teacher!

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On a couple of different occasions this year I’ve fished with guys that had a tag and (against my wishes) wanted to harvest a “hoover”.

During each trip there was discussion about others catching a fish and giving to a person with a tag. I made it clear that if I personally caught the fish it was going back…..period.

I guess I didn’t realize however that the law was also in my favor. The person with the tag legally needs to catch their own fish…..even if it’s in the same boat.

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I never plan to harvest a Sturgeon but I’m questioning whoever told you that the The person with the tag legally needs to catch their own fish…..even if it’s in the same boat. The Minnesota Regulations books appears to read otherwise.

In Minnesota it is legal to party fish. On Page 10 of the Minnesota Regulations states:

A party is defined as a group of two or more persons anglging from a single watercraft or if not in a watercraft maintaining unaided visual and vocal contact with each other. The total number of fish possessed by the party my not exceed the combined limits of the numbers of the party.

So if I were fishing Sturgeon and my buddy in the same boat had a tag the and I didn’t the total limit of the party is one Sturgeon. Based on the understanding of this rule explained to me by the DNR it then doesn’t matter who catches the fish, as long as the limit is maintained. No where does it say on page 9 of the Sturgeon Tag Criteria the angler who lands the fish needs to have a tag. If thats the law then it should reflect that. It does clearly say you can’t bring it to another boat to give away as that would be a “seperate party” but if you are in a party as defined by the rule books I think you could legally give a Sturgeon to someone with a tag in the same boat.

This party rule is the same rule that allows you lets say on opener when you have 1 fish less than your limit of Walleyes for 2 anglers you can both still fish for the last Walleye or whatever. If this law didn’t exist someone would have to put the rod down. And I’m sure a few have you have put a clinic on and caught your limit and helped someone in the same boat catch theirs out on the water. Thats party fishing, it combines the limits and lets all anglers fish together and share the fish.

So I would like an explanation of how this rule doesn’t apply as again, I’m not for harvesting Sturgeon but this law seems to say otherwise as if you have 1 tag in the boat, I don’t see anywhere in the rules where you can’t party fish to fill that tag.

Thanks!

I don’t think the Sturgeon tag is transferable to another angler….

You have to catch your own fish with a sturgeon tag. Its not the same as *party fishing* for common species. The same would go for 2 anglers fishing in a lake that had trout and wasnt designated, you dont need a stamp to fish it for other species, but if you catch a trout and you dont have a stamp, it must be released. You can not give the fish to a fishing partner in your boat that has a trout stamp.

I hate so say it.. but handing a sturgeon off to another boat is completely BS and should not happen period even if it was legal.

If you want a fish that bad, go take your chances and try to catch it. If you catch a legal fish yourself within the season and you have a tag… you have every right to keep that 1 fish for the season.

The only way a sturgeon is ever being kept in my boat is if its dead.

Maybe the best solution would be is to get some people talking to the dnr to try to change the fishery over to a catch and release fishery year around.. that will take care of the harvest issue in a hurry!

Thanks for the clarification on that. Thats a good example with the trout stamp and a non designated trout lake. And I’m totally with you… I wouldn’t mind 100% catch and release year round!

Thanks for the clarification Dave, I was getting confused too…

Gibbonski, there’s this young lady at the dnr that I met. She is a walking statute and rule book. When the DNR loses here…it will take years to replace her.

The reason I bring her up is that everytime I think I have something figured out by reading the laws…or rules…I ask her about them and she cites another law or rule that I should look up…and sure nuff… that one says I (generally) can’t do what I wanted.

So with all that said, it’s very easy for someone to read the laws in the wrong way.