4 Foot Sturgeon - Old Hickory

[JKTrevecca]

Good morning! A friend of a friend caught a 4 foot long sturgeon yesterday near the skimmer wall in Gallatin on Old Hickory. Here is the best part. It was on a night crawler!

If I get pix I'll post them for you all. At this point, it's just a story but the source is reliable and not one to exaggerate any more than the rest of us.

[jaybird]

Not surprised it was caught on a night crawler. Up north, that is the only bait they use for them.

[tkwalker]

Good morning! A friend of a friend caught a 4 foot long sturgeon yesterday near the skimmer wall in Gallatin on Old Hickory. Here is the best part. It was on a night crawler!

If I get pix I'll post them for you all. At this point, it's just a story but the source is reliable and not one to exaggerate any more than the rest of us.

Did he release it? <'TK><

[TNBronzeback]

Thats awesome....such a cool fish.
I would love to see a healthy population in the river.

[skillet]

I fought one of those dinosaurs last year, about the same length. Hung it below the dam. Fought it for about 20 minutes, got it next to the boat, deezelteck tries to wrap his arms around it. I was in the process of putting my rod down and when I did it shook the hook free and jumped out of his grasp!!! What a cool looking fish and fun to fight!!!


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[SAMBOLIE]

Did he release it? <'TK><


If the picture is of the fish chances are it was released.
If the picture is of the skeleton it is likely that Jimmy caught it.

[deezelteck]

I fought one of those dinosaurs last year, about the same length. Hung it below the dam. Fought it for about 20 minutes, got it next to the boat, deezelteck tries to wrap his arms around it. I was in the process of putting my rod down and when I did it shook the hook free and jumped out of his grasp!!! What a cool looking fish and fun to fight!!!


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Most definitely a rare occurrence. The one Skillet brought to the boat, was probably close to 4 foot long. Powerful fish..

The TWRA officer I spoke with about it, said the fish was probably older than me and Skillet combined. That would make it 60 to 70. This was a year after the event..

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[Alphahawk]

Most definitely a rare occurrence. The one Skillet brought to the boat, was probably close to 4 foot long. Powerful fish..

The TWRA officer I spoke with about it, said the fish was probably older than me and Skillet combined. That would make it 60 to 70. This was a year after the event..

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Nice fish no doubt...but the TWRA offer is not even close on the age. That fish would have been 14-18 years old.


Regards

[TNBronzeback]

Nice fish no doubt...but the TWRA offer is not even close on the age. That fish would have been 14-18 years old.


Regards

I agree with ya there on the age/length. If that fish was 60-70.....i would put it at the 6'-8' range. Ofcourse lots of factors go into that, climate, forage, health....ect.
If things go good with the stocking program, we should have some big, healthy fish in the next 10 years or so. They are a riot to catch too.

[JKTrevecca]

Did he release it? <'TK><

The fish never left the water. It was brought up to the side of the boat. They tried to pull it into the boat for a pic out of the water but the fish won the battle. It would have been released regardless.

No pix were taken so it's just a tall tale at this point but I have no reason to not believe the story. Pretty cool stuff.

One of my college friends took a trip out west earlier this year and hired a sturgeon guide. They were catching 7-9 footers that weighed several hundred pounds. They never took them out of the water either.

I had no clue we had Sturgeon around here. Pretty cool fish!

[deezelteck]

Now yall have wrecked the story.

Skillet, you caught a teenager, not a grandparent..😆

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[MNfisher]

One of my college friends took a trip out west earlier this year and hired a sturgeon guide. They were catching 7-9 footers that weighed several hundred pounds. They never took them out of the water either.

!



Those are white sturgeon and it's illegal to remove them from the water. That's why you see all the pics of people wading next to 9-10 footers. We have lake sturgeon. I hope ours get to be a good size! They are a blast to target and catch!


Mike

[agelesssone]

Two winters ago, near the steam plant (Gallatin), I saw TWRA officers running juglines and asked them what they were fishing for.
They were doing a sturgeon survey and had two juvenile (30 inchers?) in their livewells.
So we do have an established population, albeit a small one.

[skillet]

Now yall have wrecked the story.

Skillet, you caught a teenager, not a grandparent..😆

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So...better than the one you caught....oh wait...😂😂


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[tkwalker]

Those are white sturgeon and it's illegal to remove them from the water. That's why you see all the pics of people wading next to 9-10 footers. We have lake sturgeon. I hope ours get to be a good size! They are a blast to target and catch!


Mike

Mike, that is why I asked the question. I was hoping and assuming everyone knew the law. Here is a thread on this subject from our archives http://www.fishingtn.com/showthread.php?p=22810 <'TK>< :)

[spottedbass]

From the TWRA web site: Lake sturgeon are a primitive fish easily identified by an unusual body shape and the presence of sharp bony plates along the back and sides. These fish are long lived (~154 years) and grow large (~310 pounds). They are considered "State Endangered" so possession of lake sturgeon is illegal and anglers must release them to the water, unharmed, as soon as possible.

Does not say it is illegal to take them out of the water.

[MNfisher]

From the TWRA web site: Lake sturgeon are a primitive fish easily identified by an unusual body shape and the presence of sharp bony plates along the back and sides. These fish are long lived (~154 years) and grow large (~310 pounds). They are considered "State Endangered" so possession of lake sturgeon is illegal and anglers must release them to the water, unharmed, as soon as possible.



Does not say it is illegal to take them out of the water.



Yeah that's just the law in the northwest with the big white sturgeon


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[massman]

didn't they release more into the Cumberland a little while back ?
they are fun to catch we would go to New York state to catch them LOL

[nofish]

I ran a service call at a Twra facility at the back of the gallatin steam plant property and they had several 8' diameter tubs that they had a bunch of sturgeon in that they were getting ready to release. They were a couple of feet long and I think he said they were releasing them in the the Tennessee river. He said they have been doing very well in the Cumberland river system. What a cool looking fish. On a side note they had alot of rare mussels that were endangered that they were repopulating there and they grow mussels for other states that aren't able to do as good of a job of it.