Hemlock Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Below is an article from the Lake of the Woods Enterprise Newspaper (Kenora, Ontario) Quite the story, quite the fish. Picture proceeds the article. -------------------------------------------- Angler recounts two-hour battle to land giant sturgeon MNR biologists estimate big fish at between 170-180 pounds By Dan Gauthier for The Enterprise Saturday June 25, 2005 Winnipeg resident Cam Coleman now has the fishing story of a lifetime to tell, but he’ll have no need to exaggerate how big this “monster” was. While fishing for walleyes on Black Sturgeon Lake June 10, Coleman caught and released an 85-inch – that’s over seven feet long – lake sturgeon, with a girth of 35 inches. Coleman said it was a two-hour battle with the massive fish – MNR biologists have estimated it at between 170-180 pounds – before he got it into shore with the help of a passing boater. “There was no way we were going to land this in the boat,” said Coleman, who owns a cottage on Black Sturgeon. Even when they got to shore and out of the boat to handle the sturgeon, Coleman said the big fish still had a mind of its own. “We wanted to take it to the left, the fish wanted to go to the right,” said Coleman. “So we were scrambling through logs and trees. It was a nightmare.” Measuring the fish once they got control of it also proved difficult as the largest tape measure he had was only five feet long. A rope had to be used to measure the length, while the tape was large enough to measure its girth. “It was awesome man, it was almost like wrestling a croc,” said Coleman of handling the big fish. “I figured he was between 150 and 200 pounds because when we lifted him, he was heavy.” Coleman said he was out that afternoon jigging for walleyes when he noticed a large fish near the surface that he thought might be a large muskie. He took 10-12 casts near the big fish before it took the bait – a jig with a minnow – on his light rod with only eight-pound test line. “All of sudden I felt a hit and I set the hook,” said Coleman. Once the fish started to move he noticed that it didn’t “run” like a muskie. Coleman said it was about 10 minutes later before it surfaced and he realized it was a lake sturgeon. “I didn’t realize how big it was at that point until we had tired it out and got it right up beside the boat,” said Coleman. Coleman said he is checking to see if it was a line-class record and a provincial or world record, although the fish was caught out of season. The season is closed from May 16 to June 29. He said it’s the first sturgeon he has ever caught and the first one he has ever heard of being caught on the lake. “Nobody ever fishes for them or catches them (on Black Sturgeon Lake),” said Coleman. “It’s just a fluke to catch one.” Tom Mosindy, biologist and supervisor of the MNR’s Lake of the Woods Fisheries Assessment Unit, said sturgeon must have been on Black Sturgeon historically, but it is unusual to catch one now. “I think it’s just a lone individual of a remnant population,” said Mosindy. MNR biologist Scott McAughey found a dead sturgeon on the Winnipeg River in 2004 that was six-foot, seven-inches long and an estimated 160 pounds. Mosindy estimated that the big sturgeon would be over 100 years old, possibly 150-200 years of age. “I think that is the most amazing thing,” said Mosindy adding that it’s possibly one of the oldest animals recorded in the area – including human. “It certainly was a phenomenal catch.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEECH21 Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 And I thought my 50 inch lake sturgeon was big...WOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Johnson Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Awesome story! Incredible fish!Good Fishin,Matt Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Wettschreck Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 All I can say is.........WOW!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanson Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Unreal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivebucks Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 This story was good timing as I topped that fish several times this past weekend (only my fish were white sturgeon). We were out on the Colombia River in Oregon this past weekend targeting the big White Sturgeon. It's an amazing world class fishery there. Over 2 days of fishing with 3 guys, we caught 9 fish over 6 feet long. The biggest was a 10 footer estimated around 450 lbs by the guide. My best was a 9 footer that weighed approx. 400 lbs. and 3 others that were only 150-175 lbs. If anyone wants some great big fish fishing that's the place to go. Now a lake sturgeon this big is incredible. We were using 80 lb. test and the big ones still took 30-40 minutes. I can't imagine walleye gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCCO9803 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Outstanding catch! I think the most amazing part is the fact that, that fish may be over 100 years old! Nice picture too. It's too bad people are going to be ripping these guys for taking a picture of it because it was out of season (IE* The muskie picture thread). I don't care who you are or what the season is, you take a picture of something like that. Again congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dalake Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 A few years ago I watched an In-Fisherman segement on white sturgeon on the Columbia and decided right then and there that I need to try that someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msm1018 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Quote:A few years ago I watched an In-Fisherman segement on white sturgeon on the Columbia and decided right then and there that I need to try that someday. this story has done the same to me, but only for white sturgeon, considering what Fivebucks said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gspman Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Actually I can top it. On the msnbc site today there is an article of a 646 giant mekong catfish that was netted by locals. The thing looks like it could swallow the 2 men that are holding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rundrave Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 fish gspman was refering to: big catfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Mike Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Congratulations Mark. That sure beats the 16" Walleye we caught on Island Lake.Indiana Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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