My yearly Rant

[DTro]

Once again another end to a short season is upon us today.  The St Croix Lake Sturgeon season each year goes from the first weekend in Sept to Oct 15th.   There is a harvest season that is open until the end of Sept and everything that follows until the end of Oct is strictly catch and release.

 

There are a large growing number of fishermen who desire to be able to have the opportunity to pursue these great fish  on the St Croix (and elsewhere) year round, but instead the MNDNR says that we can only fish for them a handful of weeks out of the year.   I have yet to hear a really good reason in which there cannot be a catch and release season  year round.  These are strong, durable fish that can easily deal with being caught several times over their life (tagging studies have confirmed this).   I would have to guess that the hooking mortality rate is very very low.  Rarely do you gut hook a Sturgeon,  they can easily adapt to being pulled out of deep water,  and they are just plain tough customers.

 

I remember at one point, a few years ago, reading a statistic that said there were an estimated few thousand fish in the lower St Croix and I agree, if the population was that low I could understand a need to keep tight wraps on a fishing season, but that number cannot be anywhere near the correct figure.  If its possible to go out for a couple of nights and nearly catch 100 fish from one spot, the population simply HAS to be exponentially greater.

 

IMO the Lake Sturgeon is one of the greatest Sportfish in MN and its time for the MNDNR to loosen its reigns on the season by not only extending the length of the season on the Lower St Croix, but also opening the Upper St Croix, Mississippi, and St Louis rivers, (and their tributaries) to catch and release fishing. I truly believe we are beyond the days of guys killing everything they catch,  especially when it comes to Sturgeon,  and the time has come to make a change.

 

Unfortunately instead,  law breaking  “catfisherman” will take to the water for the rest of the year. 

[CaptainMusky]

Those are some beauties! That is a fish on my bucket list for sure.

[Jameson]

Thought this was going to be about using two lines.

Either way, agree with both takes.

[jentz]

In the last pic is that a harvest tag?Did you eat the fish? Maybe because their such good table fair the seasons are so controled.C&R seasons Could lead to more fish removed than someone would think?MAYBE??????

[TruthWalleyes]

In the last pic is that a harvest tag?Did you eat the fish? Maybe because their such good table fair the seasons are so controled.C&R seasons Could lead to more fish removed than someone would think?MAYBE??????

LOL.

As it stands today. You must catch a fish over 60" within the 3 week harvest time to keep a fish. Catching one over 60" is no easy task. I wonder how many are harvested from the Croix each year? 15 Maybe?? I'd be OK with NO harvest and a complete C&R Year round. I don't know enough to take a stab at an appropriate harvest level. I guess while sturgeon fishing you tend to catch about everything else that swims, and that would be plenty to fill your belly.

[MnCatGuy]

I'd agree with yearly CPR fishing for sturgeon if we were presented with some data that more acurately reflects the actual population of fish in the Croix. Between what I've seen caught and whats been marked on the locator I'd guess that the population is stable. I'd like to see scientific data that proves this rather than making a guess though.

As far as "catfishing" for sturgeon goes... I hate it. IMO all that does is give cat/sturgeon fisherman a bad name as a whole.

[DTro]

I think the number is much higher than anyone might think.  I know East Metro DNR Fisheriers has been doing a lot work with creel surveys, tagging, and netting of Sturgeon.  I know that its on the radar for sure, and rumor has it that they are on the verge of making a year round statewide catch and release season.   I’m just doing my best to give a little shove however and wherever I can. 

 

I can tell you this, I recently had a 24hr contest out on the Croix with 50 anglers.  The goal was to catch a “slot” fish in each 1ft increment starting at 2ft.   I had 77 fish entered with the length distribution pretty evenly spread over the total fish entered, and 13 fish were over 50”.   Not one of them however was over 60” (which is the threshold for harvesting one).  In fact, I know a LOT of guys that spend a LOT of time out there this year and zero confirmed 60”ers and I can only think of 3 or 4 from last year.  It’s a rare fish out there for sure and I would be surprised if more than 2 fish were harvested from the Croix this year.   On a side note, one of the boats caught 80 fish during the 24hr contest.

 

The “catfishing” thing is what it is, I guess.  Pretty tough to enforce and really not doing any harm IMO.   The fish sure don’t know what day it is on the calendar.     But then again, I really don’t have an issue with people Musky fishing for Pike, or Crappie fishing for Bass.    I really don’t agree with any closed seasons when it comes to C&R fishing…and I know someone will call me out on the winter flathead thing, but notice I said “fishing” .  Plus its not hooking of wintering flatheads that bothers me, its being able to take them home once you do.

 

Bottom line is that there is not good reason we can’t be out there catching Sturgies in Nov, or April or May, or heck even in January through the ice

[TruthWalleyes]

  I had 77 fish entered with the length distribution pretty evenly spread over the total fish entered, and 13 fish were over 50”.  

Like many others i'm sure, i had 21 in the boat during that period and 4 over 50"...That was just me riding solo. I bet the boat with 70+ fish had 3-4ppl. There are a lot of sturgeon caught. I've had up to 50 fish days by myself in the past.

Pretty darn sad to hear you say no 60" fish though. I managed 1 last year and tried even harder this year but to no avail.

[harvey lee]

By the sounds of the catch, why even jeopordize the specie?

If fisherman are catching a boat load of fish, sounds good to me.

[MnCatGuy]

By the sounds of the catch, why even jeopordize the specie?

If fisherman are catching a boat load of fish, sounds good to me.

That's actually a good point, Harvey.

I can only come up with 2 reasons why the St. Croix sturgeon season should remain the same.

1.) I'd argue that a large number of lakes/rivers with special regs (on any species) either do nothing to improve overall size or numbers. Sometimes they even have a negative effect (stunting, small size structure). With the sturgeon on the Croix we actually have a special reg THAT IS WORKING. Why change that?

2.) I put aside time in my fishing calendar to target primarily sturgeon from Sept - Oct 15. I like the way I have my seasons set up, I don't want to change that.

[DTro]

It works so well we should try it with walleyes.

Please explain in detail how catch and release regulations could possibly jeapordize a fish population?

[harvey lee]

I believe there is alot more to just changing the regs or trying to compare one specie to the other.

I do not believe the walleye or for that matter any other specie has the slow growth rate the sturgeon has. The DNR could change the walleye season to a total catch and release and that would not bother me one bit, I could easily throw all I catch back, Ill eat gills and crappie.

Screw up the sturgeon population and it could be 30 years or more before it gets back to where it was if something went wrong.

I am fine with whatever the DNR decides as they have the people on staff that can look at the entire picture for this or any other specie.

Just because a few would like to cath 80-100 fish does not mean one takes those kind of chances.

We are not fish biologists here on this HSOforum and really do not know what the end game could be with making any change.

We can guess all we want but I would hate to think we would take those chances for a few.

If you have the need to kill a 75 year old fish, go to the Rainy river and tag one there.

I am all for keeping the regs tight as we can remember what happened to the sturg on the Rainy river and the LOW's. maybe it would never get that bad but why even take any chance to run that fishery again or damage the specie in any system in Mn.

[TruthWalleyes]

I'm hesitant as well harvey as it is a species that does not recover fast. IMO, too many people fish them with gear that isn't big enough resulting in breakoffs, etc and fish swimming around with hooks and yards of line can't help. Those caught and released are likely living today as long as nobody does the classic gill hold.

[DTro]

Well I certainly understand that, considering the population could be fragile, but the DNR itself admits it doesn't know alot about Sturgeon and hooking mortality.

Little information is known on lake sturgeon angling catchability and hooking

mortality. During this study, 17% of marked lake sturgeon were recaptured at least one

time and a total of 37 lake sturgeon in this study were captured multiple times in one

year, suggesting high catchability. In a study in the Kettle River using similar methods

but over a longer time period (20 years) and smaller section of river (22 miles), 49% of

lake sturgeon were captured multiple times, with one fish captured 12 times. Kozfkay

During this study it was recommended to have a short catch and release sturgeon season on the upper st croix during cool water periods because they were unsure about hooking or delayed hooking mortality. So isn't water also cool in the spring too? What about November?

I just wish every now and then the DNR would be a little less conservative, especially when it comes to catch and release regulations and I really do think at times the guys that spend tons of hours on the water catching these fish can have just as much or even more knowledge about certain things then the guys that are supposed to be studying them.

[Scott M]

Try emailing for a response on keeping the season open. Last thing I heard was the DNR was going to use their rule-making powers to change the pertinent verbiage to catch and release throughout the year.

[TyGuy02]

I am for protecting the species in any way possible after my rookie experience sturgeon fishing on the Rainy this spring. One thing I noticed was that I would show people pictures of the sturgeon we caught and they would be astonished that people go fishing knowing that they cannot keep what they catch. My fishing partner and I purchased no tags but went out for the fun of it since we could fish C&R or with a tag and we opted for no tags and just having fun. Some people were just shocked, or thought we were stupid, for fishing catch and release. Maybe if we have more of these catch and release opportunities it will provide further momentum to the catch and release movement, because there are alot more people out there that keep everything they catch and government man can't stop 'em. Maybe that is why the season is limited on the St Croix?

[bobbymalone]

astonished that people go fishing knowing that they cannot keep what they catch.

The more people with walleye fever, the less people crowding my fishing spots.

[DTro]

Season or no season, if people want to poach fish they will. Those of us that want to enjoy our time on the water shouldn't be punished by those poachers.

ON a side note, only 2 days after the season closed and already I have seen pictures of "inadvertent" fish.

99% of my fishing is "just for fun". Last night I kept a few walleyes...the first fish I've kept since last Dec probably.

@Scott, thanks, i'm going to shoot off an email right now.

[MnCatGuy]

It works so well we should try it with walleyes.

Please explain in detail how catch and release regulations could possibly jeapordize a fish population?

The walleye thing doesn't work with me. I don't care how the state chooses to manage walleyes.

I can't explain in detail how CPR fishing could damage a population. I'm not a fisheries biologist, just some guy who likes fishing and spends a good amount of time doing it. My personal experience is that CPR fishing works well. Yes, some fish won't survive, but if using the proper gear and release tools it's a very small number. (Lots of people only fish occasionally and don’t use the proper gear for big fish like sturgeon, something to think about.)

People harvesting eggs is one concern the MNDNR possibly has with a year round season on sturgeon. Increased poaching could be another. I’m sure there are several other possible downsides to an open season. I think it’s a good idea to at least discuss them.

Like I stated in my original post, I'd have no problem with yearly CPR sturgeon fishing on the St. Croix IF the MNDNR can prove that it won't harm the population. If they cannot prove that, things should remain the same because we currently have an excellent sturgeon fishery. It took a long time to rebuild it and it would be a shame to see its demise due to poor management.

If I'm going to discuss an issue I think it's a good idea to talk about both sides of said issue. It helps one form a more accurate opinion. Not a bad thing in my book!

[Down Deep]

I don't know enough about the biology of the Lake Sturgeon to have even formed an opinion about the feasibility of a year round C & R season. I would certainly be open to it if the data was there to support DTro's idea. That being said I have made many trips to the Rainy River and have witnessed some very poor handling of these fish mostly being lifted up for a picture and being dropped from standing position to the floor of the boat and the length of time the fish is out of water. I would say that it is only logical that the more your remove and handle any fish out of the water it has an impact to their overall health.

Nothing stopping anyone from calling your state legislator and sharing your idea. You may just get some results.

[CaptainMusky]

I will temper my comments with the fact I have never fished for sturgeon or know much about them. Would there be any increased exposure to a "catch and release" season considering people are currently catching them when out of season? Are they worried about an increase in angling pressure? I do understand that these great fish can live a long long time but their numbers are so low that a big increase in mortality I would think would have a dramatic impact on future quality fishing.

Is there really concern over egg poaching? Perhaps this is motive for the current regs as well?

[MnCatGuy]

Is there really concern over egg poaching? Perhaps this is motive for the current regs as well?

I just threw that out there as one of many possibilities. Based on the history of the sturgeon worldwide it really wouldn't surprise me. I found this earlier.

American Sturgeon Caviar: Lake $12/1 oz - $48/4 oz - $94/8oz Farmed in the Midwest.

Link to caviar price comparison

I don't know if it's legal to harvest sturgeon caviar anywhere in the US or if it's only harvested from farm raised fish.

[DTro]

well, it looks like I might get my wish!!

[CaptainMusky]

You are so high maintenance Dtro. Squeeky wheel gets the grease. :-)

Only joking of course.

[50inchpig]

It's been proven that a friend in congress can get more done (or undone) in two weeks than any amount of emails, any amount of public interest/support, any advice or recommendation from the DNR or years of planning and scientific study.

It's not right, but that's how it is.