What a beautiful fall day on the National Scenic Riverway of the St Croix! Leaves are turning colors and with the weather today, it was one of those days a person waits for all year! I recieved a short notice call from De Mars guide service (aka Comancharo15) to see if we could drum up a sturgeon or two. We headed to Steve’s secret spot…arrived at 1:30 this afternoon with mostly cloudy sky’s and a slight wind out of the Northwest. We were using channel cat setups, medium heavy rods, 5/0 circle hooks, 2 oz sinkers, a number of different brand and size lines. Fresh cut bait was the key Steve said. It sure proved right when Steve worked at bringing a bruiser in out of 41 feet of water.
Within 10 minutes of starting, we had two short sturgeon in the boat!
The only legal fish that came in today was this 54 incher of Steve’s. The picture just doesn’t do one of these monsters justice!
The action was so fast, that I literally couldn’t open my Pepsi…one fish after another! It was amazing! At the end of the day, we had three doubles and one triple and MANY right after each other. I think I described it best when I said "They are biting like Sunfish!". When all was said and done, the tally for three and a half hours came to…
31 sturgeon…and two channel cats in the boat.
This last picture is a "little" 48 incher.
Thanks for the short notice guided trip Steve! It was a hoot!
Great report, were you using PowerPro?
Three rods had 80 lbs Power Pro and one had 20lb Big Game. I could have toned down the strenght of the line…but with Power Pro’s 18lbs mono diamiter…why?
Ps Thanks for reminding me to order some Big Game from Catfish Connection for next year!
Brian,
WOW. what a trip. very nice.
Jack..
Brian,what kind of sturgeon are they? And is there a limit on them? Are they a rough fish or can they a guy eat them?
Ryan Hale
Thanks Ryan! I completly over looked that important point!
Minnesota’s season on Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) will be ending on the 16th of October. After Sunday, it’s illegal to target them. We are allowed to keep one fish per year, per angler – it must be 50″ or more.
Edit: This is a 2005 report, the laws have changed on size. Check the current regulations for the state you are licensed in.
I’ve never had sturgeon before. I’ve heard it’s real good smoked or grilled. My problem is….what happens when I take a 50 inch fish home…and I don’t like it? Dog food?
Steve and I released all fish.
I ate some Sturgeon caught down in Oklahoma last summer. I wasn’t real impressed. However, I’m sure like most fish, it all how you clean and take care of the fish after cleaning. The meat was tough and chewy in my opinion. Very fishy tasting also.
I would think after being a bottom feeder for 50-100 years they might make a good thermometer.
Catch and release for me. My live well is too small. 
Those fish sure are prehistoric looking.
Cool report Brian. I am like most anglers…anything tugging on the other end of my line would suit me just fine.
Brian,
Come on up with us to Rainy River in the sping of 2006 for a walleye/sturgeon weekend!
Just so you know and or care:
1. Mercury in fish is highest in large, old predatory fish (walleye, pike, bass…). Bottom feeders are typically low in mercury b/c they eat low on the food chain.
2. The type of mercury in a thermometer (elemental, Hg) is relatively harmless and completely different than the type in fish. The stuff if fish (organic mercury, MeHgCl) is REALLY nasty. A drop of the pure stuff on the skin will kill you.
Just had to put that out because it’s part of my graduate research, and I feel that the DNR and FDA is doing a really poor job on edjucating fish consumers.
Now the PCB’s in that sturgeon would be a different story…
…and I say again…you learn more on IDA by accident….than….
That is a great report Brian, Thanks
When I used to work up on LOW there were guys that tried to eat them, smoke them, etc. Everything I heard was they are terrible to eat. Like someone mentioned earlier, they are bottom feeders and have been in the water a long time. These type of fish have some of the highest PCB & Mercury levels you will find in freshwater fish.
Oh, and for those of you that like Turtle, you would really be suprised at the levels in a turtle, no matter what lake they come from.
The rule of thumb I use when eating fish is, the less time they were in the lake, the safer they are to eat.
I checked it out, Sturgeon are listed on the WDNR as a restricted consumption b/c of mercury. Less than one meal a month. This is probably a non-typical bottom feeder in terms of mercury content due to it’s extreme age.
Regardless of taste quality and heavy metal content you gotta admit these dinosaurs are fun to catch.
My nephew got his first try at them 2 weeks ago in WI and loved it. The little ones sure have a tough armor. 
Great report. I can’t wait til i get my first (hopefully a big one) sturgeon.
HI Cheri,
and when you do get that first Sturgeon, I KNOW we will be calling you “SturgeonGirl”
it has a nice ring, Doesn’t IT????
Jack…
Ya, gee, you’d think I was some name changer or something everytime I catch a new fish.
Nope, I am Catfishgirl until I lose the next bet.