After having a fantastic year in 2014 in so many ways, I ended just a little short of one of my goals, that was to crack the 100 mark for sturgeon in a kayak in one year. As of the last day in November when I last took the kayak to the water, I ended with 97; an accomplishment for sure, especially for just my second year fishing for sturgeon (I landed 77 in 2013). I thought that was it for the year but with the record setting mild temperatures we have been getting, I was able to get out for just a few hours here on December 28th!
Knowing I had only about 3 hours of on the water time due to rain that lasted till about 1:30, I was hopeful to get the 3 sturgeon needed to break into triple digits, but really unsure what I might find. Well, as it turns out, Sturgeon Alley is teeming with fish right now, even with the crazy high water levels from all the rain we've had, and the very muddy conditions. In just about 3 1/2 hours I landed an impressive 17 sturgeon, with the largest being 47 inches, bringing my yearly total up to a whopping 114!!!
Overall the average size today was probably around 32 inches. Not bad but not quite as big as I would have expected this time of year. I suspect somewhere in the river is a school of sturgeon that are cracking the 50 inch mark. Finding them though wouldn't be easy!
My buddy Chris managed to get out for a couple of hours of fishing with me and was able to tie his personal best with 4 sturgeon caught, plus he broke his personal best size with a nice 46" fish. Way to go Chris!
For anyone who hasn't fished sturgeon before, I hope you the pictures and movies here will entice you to give it a try! While these fish can be quite big, they should not be intimidating. To catch them, you simply need a little patience, the right rig, and good technique. Once the ice breaks up in April I will be back with lots of other kayakers, again fishing for these prehistoric animals! If your in the area and want to come give it a try, just let me know and I'll see what I can do to help get you out!
Second fish on your video was a whopper of a fight, Joe. Turned your rod into a perfect U a couple of times and did a good job of yanking the kayak around a bit too.
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