NOT just a fish story!

Bassboss · 04-07-12, 08:25 PM

Guys I'm telling ya, sturgeon and FUN to catch!

I know this is long, but I tired to make it exciting, lol.

~~~~~~~

We started out the day around 2:00 PM. Me and my dad had just got out fishing licenses the day before and were headed to a section of the Wolf River that is open year around with my little brother. I was looking forward to, and expecting, to catch my first smallmouth of the year... or so I though!

Started fishing a little 3" tube... snagging frequently on the rocky bottom, but usually being able to pull it out with out breaking off. Now we all hear stories of people catching big bass and describing the hook set as seeming like they set into a big log, and then it moving. But lemme tell ya, THIS is like setting into a big log. I'd been hopping my tube out in the deeper part of the river when I thought I had snagged something, so I started bugging wipping the rod to try to get it out, but it wasn't long until I figured this WASN'T just a snag. My drag started screaming and it--what ever it was--was moving upstream, and fast. The only thing I could do was set my drag and hope it tiers it self out, with my 8lb leader, their was no way I could have man handled this thing in anyway.. Well about 15 minutes into the fight, all ended. My leader snapped, and that was it. All I was left with reeling in my 15lb Tuf Line XP braid in to the end my rod. Slightly disappointed but still having had fun, nor knowing what it was I had got my self into, I went back to my tackle bag to retie. It was there that I realized I hadn't brought any leader material with me, so I was forced to tie my tube directly to the main line.

After tying my tube back on, I headed back to the river bank and continued fishing. Still full of adrenaline and excitement I hollered over to my little brother, "Man, wouldn't it be something else if I hooked into another one of what ever that was." Well sure as sh!t, that very same cast, hooked into another whatever-it-was, but this time much closer to shore. I wasn't really really sure if it knew it was hooked at first, and it seemed smaller. But not wanting to risk it getting tangled up in the nearby bridge pylon, I set my drag hard, this time I could due to the lack of a leader. Just hard enough for the rod not break, while still tiering the fish. I'd soon change my mind about it's size as it was making an ever more powerful and even longer run upstream. After 15 minutes and no end it sight, it was getting down to the wire, I could see my 4lb mono backing. Then suddenly, it the beast began to tier. I started making a little headway gaining line, but the fight was far from over.

I'd got the fish 20 - 30 yards away when I saw a wake on the water's surface, however it would soon make another powerful run upstream. I set the drag even tighter, my main fear now was the rod breaking. I had it high in the air as to tier the fish, the rod was in full arch, and surely near the breaking point. Than again, it slowed down, I was however getting the fish close enough to me and my brother to see was it was, a sturgeon, and a pretty nice one by the looks of it! I was finally getting the point where I had control over the fish, we were over the hump and the tables had turned in my favor. We were very near the bridge pylons, and if the fish made another long run between them, it was as good as gone. I'd finally got it close enough where I could touch the fish. Its rough skin was unlike anything I'd ever felt on a fish with the texture of fine grit sand paper. As soon as I touched it however, it made another run, not nearly as long as the others, but still with every bit of power it had half an hour ago when the fight began.

It was now just a game, I pull, you pull back. Every time I got it to the point where I could land it, it would make another run. But final, the battle was over, the fish was exhausted, and my forewarns were tight. I handed my rod to my little brother as I went into the shallow, frigged water, I had brought the fish to. I was then I unhooked it from the back where I had snagged her, and put my arms under it, and lifted it out of the water. I set her back down, and took a measurement, she was every bit of 50 inches. After setting the fish back in the water I began to revive it, holding onto the tail and moving it's head back in forth getting water in its gills. After several minutes the fish showed signs over renewed strength, and I let go as I watched her swim off into the depths.

~~~~~~

This was really a test of my tackle. 2500 Daiwa Exceler and a 7' M St. Croix, with 15lb Tuf Line XP braid. I gotta say, it preformed beautifully, having the rod flexed to the point it was for so long really had me nervous, but it held strong. The reel was more than powerful enough, and had the stopping power when I needed it, and the drag preformed perfectly.. nice and smooth.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was my biggest fish to date. I caught some real nice king fish back in Florida, so I'm not sure if it went as big as some of those, but a length/weight chart says that it went around 40 pounds. It is by far my biggest freshwater fish though.

Unfortunately my dad wasn't here to witness this, he was at Wall mart filling a prescription for my little brother who cut his hand up pretty good the day before. Dad telling me how much he wanted to catch a sturgeon when we were on the way there. Unfortunately he had to settle for a small walleye after he got there.

Thanks for taking the the time to read this, sorry I don't have any pics, I didn't have anything to take a em with.

bassinbob · 04-07-12, 09:31 PM

Great story. To bad your dad missed the action.

carolina-rig-01 · 04-07-12, 10:22 PM

Cool story Sammy. Too bad you didn't get any pictures, sturgeon are cool fish and I would like to catch one someday.

bcklash · 04-07-12, 10:40 PM

Cool story Sammy!!!!!

Bubba_Bruiser · 04-07-12, 11:48 PM

That belongs in a Field and Stream edition or at least Reader's Digest Sammy, nice story!

keithdog · 04-08-12, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

That belongs in a Field and Stream edition or at least Reader's Digest Sammy, nice story!

Kinda what I was thinking. That was well worth the read. Congrats on catching such a nice sturgeon. I bet your heart was neating like you'd just ran a 50 yard dash. lol

Bassboss · 04-08-12, 01:06 AM

Appreciated the kind words guys, glad yall enjoyed reading it.

bassinbob · 04-08-12, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

That belongs in a Field and Stream edition or at least Reader's Digest Sammy, nice story!

As long as he leaves out the "Sure as S#!T" part.

rrw4258 · 04-08-12, 01:01 PM

Sounds like an awesome battle! That is by far bigger than my largest fish ( a big buffalo)!

Ryan

joedog · 04-09-12, 07:06 AM

Good tale and well written Sam!

04-07-12, 08:25 PM	#1
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	NOT just a fish story! Guys I'm telling ya, sturgeon and FUN to catch! I know this is long, but I tired to make it exciting, lol. ~~~~~~~ We started out the day around 2:00 PM. Me and my dad had just got out fishing licenses the day before and were headed to a section of the Wolf River that is open year around with my little brother. I was looking forward to, and expecting, to catch my first smallmouth of the year... or so I though! Started fishing a little 3" tube... snagging frequently on the rocky bottom, but usually being able to pull it out with out breaking off. Now we all hear stories of people catching big bass and describing the hook set as seeming like they set into a big log, and then it moving. But lemme tell ya, THIS is like setting into a big log. I'd been hopping my tube out in the deeper part of the river when I thought I had snagged something, so I started bugging wipping the rod to try to get it out, but it wasn't long until I figured this WASN'T just a snag. My drag started screaming and it--what ever it was--was moving upstream, and fast. The only thing I could do was set my drag and hope it tiers it self out, with my 8lb leader, their was no way I could have man handled this thing in anyway.. Well about 15 minutes into the fight, all ended. My leader snapped, and that was it. All I was left with reeling in my 15lb Tuf Line XP braid in to the end my rod. Slightly disappointed but still having had fun, nor knowing what it was I had got my self into, I went back to my tackle bag to retie. It was there that I realized I hadn't brought any leader material with me, so I was forced to tie my tube directly to the main line. After tying my tube back on, I headed back to the river bank and continued fishing. Still full of adrenaline and excitement I hollered over to my little brother, "Man, wouldn't it be something else if I hooked into another one of what ever that was." Well sure as sh!t, that very same cast, hooked into another whatever-it-was, but this time much closer to shore. I wasn't really really sure if it knew it was hooked at first, and it seemed smaller. But not wanting to risk it getting tangled up in the nearby bridge pylon, I set my drag hard, this time I could due to the lack of a leader. Just hard enough for the rod not break, while still tiering the fish. I'd soon change my mind about it's size as it was making an ever more powerful and even longer run upstream. After 15 minutes and no end it sight, it was getting down to the wire, I could see my 4lb mono backing. Then suddenly, it the beast began to tier. I started making a little headway gaining line, but the fight was far from over. I'd got the fish 20 - 30 yards away when I saw a wake on the water's surface, however it would soon make another powerful run upstream. I set the drag even tighter, my main fear now was the rod breaking. I had it high in the air as to tier the fish, the rod was in full arch, and surely near the breaking point. Than again, it slowed down, I was however getting the fish close enough to me and my brother to see was it was, a sturgeon, and a pretty nice one by the looks of it! I was finally getting the point where I had control over the fish, we were over the hump and the tables had turned in my favor. We were very near the bridge pylons, and if the fish made another long run between them, it was as good as gone. I'd finally got it close enough where I could touch the fish. Its rough skin was unlike anything I'd ever felt on a fish with the texture of fine grit sand paper. As soon as I touched it however, it made another run, not nearly as long as the others, but still with every bit of power it had half an hour ago when the fight began. It was now just a game, I pull, you pull back. Every time I got it to the point where I could land it, it would make another run. But final, the battle was over, the fish was exhausted, and my forewarns were tight. I handed my rod to my little brother as I went into the shallow, frigged water, I had brought the fish to. I was then I unhooked it from the back where I had snagged her, and put my arms under it, and lifted it out of the water. I set her back down, and took a measurement, she was every bit of 50 inches. After setting the fish back in the water I began to revive it, holding onto the tail and moving it's head back in forth getting water in its gills. After several minutes the fish showed signs over renewed strength, and I let go as I watched her swim off into the depths. ~~~~~~ This was really a test of my tackle. 2500 Daiwa Exceler and a 7' M St. Croix, with 15lb Tuf Line XP braid. I gotta say, it preformed beautifully, having the rod flexed to the point it was for so long really had me nervous, but it held strong. The reel was more than powerful enough, and had the stopping power when I needed it, and the drag preformed perfectly.. nice and smooth. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was my biggest fish to date. I caught some real nice king fish back in Florida, so I'm not sure if it went as big as some of those, but a length/weight chart says that it went around 40 pounds. It is by far my biggest freshwater fish though. Unfortunately my dad wasn't here to witness this, he was at Wall mart filling a prescription for my little brother who cut his hand up pretty good the day before. Dad telling me how much he wanted to catch a sturgeon when we were on the way there. Unfortunately he had to settle for a small walleye after he got there. Thanks for taking the the time to read this, sorry I don't have any pics, I didn't have anything to take a em with. __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

04-07-12, 09:31 PM	#2
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	Great story. To bad your dad missed the action. __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

04-07-12, 10:22 PM	#3
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	Cool story Sammy. Too bad you didn't get any pictures, sturgeon are cool fish and I would like to catch one someday. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

04-07-12, 10:40 PM	#4
bcklash BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Elliston, Va. Posts: 4,372	Cool story Sammy!!!!! __________________ The soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. keep us free:

04-07-12, 11:48 PM	#5
Bubba_Bruiser BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South MS Posts: 3,659	That belongs in a Field and Stream edition or at least Reader's Digest Sammy, nice story! __________________ \,,,,/ ROCK ON! HRN4L!

04-08-12, 01:06 AM	#7
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Appreciated the kind words guys, glad yall enjoyed reading it. __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

04-08-12, 01:01 PM	#9
rrw4258 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellevue, Ohio Posts: 2,338	Sounds like an awesome battle! That is by far bigger than my largest fish ( a big buffalo)! Ryan __________________ Never Give Up!

04-09-12, 07:06 AM	#10
joedog BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: JANESVILLE,WI. 53545 Posts: 3,415	Good tale and well written Sam! __________________ "Fishing isn't life or death... it's more important than that."

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