Sturgeon

[SES]

My brother caught this sturgeon off of the bank at his house on the French Broad. Sorry about the crappy photo, but I just figured photobucket out and it's my first post with a picture. Only took a few years to figure out how to post a pic.

 

[AllOutdoors]

:cool:

 

[MidTNKayakAngler]

From my understanding Sturgeon are native to the Tennessee Rivers. These fish were almost wiped out due to over harvest in the early 1900's.

TWRA started restocking these fish in the early 90's to get the native fish of Tennessee back in our waters and they are now starting to show up. I've heard of several being caught over the past 2-3 years, nothing big all in the 20-30" range. These fish grow very large 300# and live for may years 150.

The one in the photo looks to be around 30", nice catch.

Possession of sturgeon is illegal and considered state endangered.

TWRA asks that you report any catches to the agency so they can keep track of how they are doing.

Jeremy

 

[chunkandwind]

A buddy of mine caught one on Barkley last week.

 

[easy45]

pretty cool

 

[RF270]

I caught one last summer on the Caney Fork...Be sure to notify the TWRA and they will send you a very nice certificate recognizing the catch.

 

[rukiddin]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

 

[Craddock1]

A friend caught one of these at Kingston and was written a ticket for taking it to his truck to take pictures.

 

[Setterman]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

I believe I saw one of your sturgeon on the Holston below Cherokee a week or so ago. Send me a PM and I'll be happy to pass along the details.

 

[Vermin93]

Very cool. They fish them in the Columbia river in Oregon and there are some absolute monster-sized ones there.

 

[Crosshairy]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

If one is caught in the Mississippi River, is that also supposed to be reported, or is it only in TN waters where stocking programs exist? A friend of mine caught one on the river that was only about 18" long a number of years ago. I didnt realize they tolerated muddy water as far south as Memphis, but there are apparently some of them around.

When he caught this fish, it was prior to this reporting program being established, but it would be good to know for any future catches.

 

[SES]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

The fish was released unharmed. I gave him the number to call,but not sure if he called it. No shocker where he caught it. I believe several thousand sturgeon were released at the boat ramp next to where he lives.

 

[catman529]

Aren't the dams preventing them from spawning?

 

[rukiddin]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

The fish was released unharmed. I gave him the number to call,but not sure if he called it. No shocker where he caught it. I believe several thousand sturgeon were released at the boat ramp next to where he lives.

Ok. Gotcha. I equate these little fish when they are released to house dog running out of the house when a door is left open. Some stay around close, but some will haul butt as hard as they can and not stop till they hit a barrier. Haha

 

[rukiddin]

Aren't the dams preventing them from spawning?

At this time, age is the main limiting factor right now. Females need to be around 15 years old before they reach sexual maturity. There are some that should be close now. We are getting reports of some fish making a "run" in the spring but we suspect these are males. As with humans, sometimes we think we are ready to breed before we actually are. Hahaha

Currently with the movement data, we are seeing no significant spring runs but we are noticing quite a bit a movement currently with the water beginning to get warmer.
As far as spawning goes, there are some areas below the dams that are ideal spawning habitat. These fish will also use other tributaries to run up also. My biggest concern when these fish actually do start spawning is their vulnerability. They are by nature, very docile fish.
Plus so far we have had one fish that was tagged near knoxville and went through the lock and is now in the paint rock area of watts bar. We also have fish that were released on the French broad river, now residing in Guntersville. So these fish can get through the dams, but we're not sure how frequently.

 

[rukiddin]

I work with these fish everyday!!! I'm either tracking their movement or trying to catch them.

I do hope the fish was released unharmed. If anyone catches a lake sturgeon, please contact the twra with approximate weight and length and location and any pics you may have. They will send you a certificate for your catch. Or you can send me a pm with your info. These are a very neat fish and they have the potential to reach huge sizes.
We also have individuals tamper with and throw our receivers on the bank that track our tagged sturgeon. The ignorance of these people is truly sad because we are attempting to help the fishermen of the state so someday there is a recreational sport fishery for them!
If anyone ever has any questions about these fish, please don't hesitate to contact me via pm. We are beginning to find some early released fish (2001-03) that are getting some really good size to them. Some upwards of 50lbs!!!

If one is caught in the Mississippi River, is that also supposed to be reported, or is it only in TN waters where stocking programs exist? A friend of mine caught one on the river that was only about 18" long a number of years ago. I didnt realize they tolerated muddy water as far south as Memphis, but there are apparently some of them around.

When he caught this fish, it was prior to this reporting program being established, but it would be good to know for any future catches.

Not sure to be honest with you. On the Mississippi, they might not be Lake Sturgeon. They could be pallid sturgeon.