Kayla Odegard Tiberio of Grand Forks shared this story of a big lake sturgeon she caught recently on Lake of the Woods while fishing with her husband, Joe Tiberio:
鈥淢y husband and I were pre-fishing for a walleye tournament on Lake of the Woods last week. We are fairly new to the whole Active Target (Lowrance brand forward-facing sonar) world. We kept seeing these giant marks 5 to 7 feet below the surface in about 37 feet of water. We pitched at a few of them without any luck. I FINALLY got one to bite using a black jig and a leech.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淭urns out they were sturgeon.
鈥淭he fish came in pretty easy right away and then all of a sudden took us for a ride. I thought about cutting the line, but we decided not to and just see how it played out.
鈥�(The sturgeon) had surfaced about five times and finally I was so tired, I told my husband to just try to get its head in the net and we鈥檇 go from there.
鈥淢y hubby netted the head, I dropped my rod and reached over to pick it up. We didn't have a long-enough measuring stick but using marks on the floor, it was around 60 inches.鈥�
The sturgeon was her first, Odegard Tiberio says, and landing the big fish took about 30 to 40 minutes on the 8-pound test line she had on her reel. Based on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has on its website, a 60-inch sturgeon would weigh anywhere from 40 to 66 pounds, depending on its girth. Judging by the girth of this particular sturgeon, it鈥檚 a safe bet to say the fish was closer to 66 pounds than 40 pounds.
鈥淎nd yes, we now can tell the difference between a big walleye and a big sturgeon using Active Target,鈥� Odegard Tiberio said.
Do you have a fishing tale you鈥檇 like to share with Herald readers? Send your tale, along with a photo, to Brad Dokken at bdokken@gfherald.com. Please include the angler鈥檚 name, town of residence and whether the fish was kept or released.
The Trust Project
