Impressive Sturgeon!

[cpierce]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/british-tourist...25516.html

What an amazing catch!
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[SmartWeed]

That is a really nice sturgeon. I believe 4 meters = 13.12 feet; 500 kg = 1102 pounds. It's not as large as this turn of the last century fish that was caught in the Snake between Weiser and Ontario.

This fish was reported to be around 1500 pounds and was landed using a team of horses.

Then there was this fish that was caught in 1911 in one of my favorite bass stretches of the Snake.


Or this one that was landed in 1918 just upstream from the fish in the photo above.

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[cpierce]

Hopefully we will eventually have some sturgeon that size back in the Snake R. They only take 50 to 100 years to get that size!
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[idahoron]

I might be completely wrong and full of horse hocky. I don't think the river can produce that kind of fish any more. Look at it this way. Back then Salmon moved up to the base of Shoshone Falls. Sturgeon followed the salmon runs from the ocean. When the Salmon died there must have been unlimited food for these monsters. When the Dams were put in the sturgeon were locked and the salmon were locked out. I just believe that these type of fish can no longer be produced. But I might be wrong. Ron
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[MMDon]

I'd say you are probably correct Ron. Not enough of a food source to support that kind of growth.
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[thebug]

i disagree ron
3 years ago i went to the alligator hole and helped reel in a 12 ft fish. The F&G have caught a 13.5 ft one below swan falls. there is a fish that lives in the top end of strike at crane falls who is 11.5 ft. plus there are a plethera of 9 footers kicking around from twin to swan falls so there coming back but its way slow growth plus like you say there are no longer salmon coming up so teh fish have to adapt
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[cpierce]

Maybe the sturgeon holes would benefit from more carp bowfishers just upstream of them! Just make sure the swim bladder is well ventilated and feed your favorite giant sturgeon. Now there is a good use of a recycled carp! [laugh][laugh]
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[idahoron]

We are talking about 1500 + pound fish. Those don't exist in the river any longer due to the lack of Salmon. I would be interested where you got the info from on the 13.5 at swan falls. That would be an anomaly for that section of the river now days. I have a F&G report that basically says the opposite. But back in the days of salmon that stretch would have produced hogs like the Hagerman area did. Ron
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[fishin4days]

I'm curious about that too... the F&G / Idaho Power study I read reported few fish below Swan Falls and none anywhere near that size. Also, of the 200+ I've caught over the last two years I have yet to measure one that's actually over eight feet from the fork to the nose. Just my $0.02...
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[idahoron]

You must have read the same report that I have. Ron
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