The river goes quiet when you get into one of those huge white sturgeon. Not only do they weighs heavy, there’s an old momentum to them as well. White sturgeon are essentially living fossils, with a nearly identical body plan since two-hundred million years ago. When you’re standing on the bank and your rod is doubled over, you’re interacting with history. It’s less about trophy hunting and more about respecting biology of biggest fish in fresh water found in all of North America.
The chart above show just how slow and steady their growth really are. Sturgeon also debunk the myth that big fish grows fast. At one year old, a white sturgeon will likely measure less than ten inches. It won’t top five feet in length until it’s nine years old. And since they grow so slowly, when you catch a six-footer on the water, he or she could of been older than your grandparents. When you realize that, it puts things in perspective. You’re no longer thinking about putting dinner on the table; now you’re thinking about conservation. The bluntness of the growth reference section drive home the point… A fish over eight feet in length is often decades old. He (or she) has lived through floods, droughts, and more then his fair share of hungry predator to reach this size. It isn’t just good sportsmanship to release him…it’s an ecological necessity.
Why We Must Protect White Sturgeon
Even though we may grumble about them sometimes, the regulations are there for a purpose. The rules vary by each state as their particular fishery require or has different health issues for spawning population. For example, Washington and Oregon manage the Columbia River system together. California manages the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In general the slot sizes often range between 40-60 inches (fork length), but rules varies by state and waterway. So make sure to understand what the law says for where you are fishing.
And don’t make the number one mistake on the river… measuring total length, just go from the bottom of the mouth to the middle of the tail fork. This will help avoid the heartbreak and unnecessary conflict with warden personnel caused by accidental violations. Carry a rigid measuring stick in your boat’s rod holder and use it before reaching down to unhook anything.
This physical form helps make them big and long-lived. Unlike most other species of fish that have scales, these guys has five rows of bony scutes (armor plates) down their side and back. Their tail is also shark-like and uneven. This is called a heterocercal tail. It give them great thrust power when swimming in currents. Their four sensory barbels near the mouth serve as whiskers to pick up scents and vibrations in dirty water below them. That makes for an ideal profile in the deep river pools where they gorge themselves on small fish, worms and clams. Because they’re so stout and bottom-dwellers, they’re not going to be surface fighting fish, more like a bass or pike.
There’s one more wrinkle in the picture. Spawning biology. Maturity doesn’t come on until females is twenty to twenty-five years old. And even when they mature, they may only spawn once every four to eleven years. Because of this rarity, each big female represent an extremely precious resource for recovering populations. Harvesting a thirty-year-old sturgeon removes a reproductive asset that won’t be replaced for generations. Ever.
The data further indicates that spawning will occur once water temps hit between fifty and fifty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. If it gets too warm or too cold, the spawning event is aborted and they wait another full cycle. Spawn’s aborted and they’ll have to try again next cycle (which takes a full year). It’s this fragile biology which shows importance of practicing catch-and-release with the bigger individual.
They take the proper equipment and a bit of patience to catch. Circle hooks is best to prevent fish from being hooked in the gut. A heavy fluorocarbon leader attached to braid line are necessary. Bump your bait on the bottom and be sure to work around any deeper holes where the current seams intersect slack water. It’s always better to use fresh bait rather than frozen as the scent trail has more punch in cold river water.
If you hook an oversized fish, grab a sling net and hold it flat in the water; quick exposure to air will kill muscle tissue quickly. They’ve been fighting the battle of survival since birth so don’t disrespect their hard-won effort by pulling one up out of the water too soon when they return to the depths.
They earned their size slow and deserve our respect.