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."