By Dale Hainer
TFN Reporter

Throughout the Bluewater region of the Great Lakes, sturgeon fishing is open year round with the exception of inland waterways. Inland waters opened the end of April. 

As the Musky is the wolf of the local waters, the sturgeon is the monster! According to the OFAH record fish registry, in 1982 a Toronto man landed a 168 pound lake sturgeon from the mouth of the Nottawasaga river at Wasaga beach. Are there larger ones in the St. Clair river??? the answer is definitely yes!!! Commercial fisherman have reported Lake Sturgeon in excess of 300 pounds getting entangled in their nets, often destroying hundreds of yards of commercial gill nets and even busting up the large trap nets.

The long weekend in may typically signifies the beginning of the Sturgeon run in the St. Clair river. Anglers from as far away as Toronto show up with stout fishing tackle in hopes of tagging one of these prehistoric giants. The lake sturgeon has been resident to the great lakes for the past 10,000 year. They have a large distinct black shark-like tail and rows of exo-skeleton armoured plates along their sides. Female sturgeon enter reproductive states at about 25 years of age and males begin producing sperm at about 10 years of age. Sturgeon will reproduce about every 5 years. This cycle allows for about 10 percent of the population to be spawning each spring. While hens may live as long as 150 years, males tend to be old at 60.

Early Natives sought the sturgeon as a large part of their cultural base which not only provided fine meat, the first caviar, leather from the tanned
skins and oils for various consumption and light. Early commercial anglers attempted to slaughter the sturgeon into extinction as a nuisance fish which often destroyed their nets. By the mid 1800's the commercial value of the sturgeon increased and by the turn of the century the market locally hit over 8 million tons. Shortly after the turn of the last century, sturgeon numbers plummeted due to over harvest and loss of habitat. Removal of the forests caused siltation over spawning beds and dams that were constructed on tributaries of the great lakes often shut off access to the sturgeon's historic spawning sites.

Protection of the sturgeon has come slowly over the last millennium but more is being done recently. The lake sturgeon is considered an endangered species throughout much of north America. Closed seasons and restrictive harvest limits have been put in place. Locally the daily catch limit of sturgeon is one with a regular fishing licence. 

There are a number of strategic shoreline based spots along the St. Clair parkway that turn dozens of sturgeon annually to anglers. These spots can easily be identified in the late evening by the anglers with the long stout rods, often more than 10 feet in length with large capacity spinning reels and heavy monofilament line. A glob of worms or other offerings such as liver and chicken giblets are strung on an oversized hook and cast out with up to 6 ounces of lead to keep it on the bottom. A bell is attached to the end of the rod that signifies a "hookup" of a fish in the dark of the night. Sturgeon are bottom feeders and often travel at night.

There is no limit if you hold a conservation licence. Many sturgeon have been tagged by biologists and they ask you to report any such findings.
Catch and release is an important factor for contributing to the sturgeons future.

Some Sturgeon Info Links:

• GREAT LAKES LAKE STURGEON GENETICS
• Giant of the lakes (pdf file)
• Great Lakes Sturgeon Website