Credit: Joe DuPont |
In three decades of capturing and tagging white sturgeon, researchers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game have handled more than 4,000 fish. Of those, fewer than ten have measured longer than 10 feet, and the people taking part in the sturgeon-sampling work hadn't caught one that big in more than five years.
As the year 2021 wrapped up, that changed in what regional fisheries biologist Joe DuPont called an "amazing week" on the Snake River in Hells Canyon.
In a recent IDFG blog post, DuPont writes that his group was having difficulty hooking a sturgeon one day, as the fish were biting very lightly and, "if you didn't get to the rod quickly, you missed your opportunity."
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DuPont said the team adjusted their strategy by staying focused on their rods, so that when the rod moved, they did not wait to set the hook. It's a strategy that soon paid off.
"When it launched itself into the air, we all gasped at its size," DuPont said of the sturgeon on the line. "An hour and 15 minutes later, we boated this monster that measured 10-feet, 1-inch long. Not only was this fish long, it was also fat. It taped 50 inches around its belly!"
DuPont said researchers had never caught and tagged that particular fish before, "which was surprising seeing it has been around a long time."
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