The Ultimate Photo Thread

[BackwoodsBassr]

Drifting for Steelhead , hooking something completely different and much bigger.
Thursday , was out with my bud James , a few hours fishing after work . Started around 5. 30 pm , drifting some deeper slower holes.
My float vanishes beneath the surface , hard , pulsing head shakes and then as if the bottom moved , I suggested to James I had something very big on the line . James replied , a sturgeon I bet . Well if it is a sturgeon , I'm gonna get a look at it before it breaks me off.
I muscled up on the rod and started to pull the fish up , again with the head shakes , then as if NASA commanded it , lift off , a big sturgeon jumped clear of the water shaking its massive head and coming down with a massive splash . James and I looked at each other in amazement and ( the , I can't believe what I just saw jaw drop ) . In all my years fishing rivers ,I have never had a sturgeon on the line before and this one didn't disappoint . After the magnificent jump , it was a test of line , rod and my arm to bring this dinosaur to shore.
I must admit , the hardest fish I've ever encountered to land by far , my rod was a 3 piece RAVEN my friend built for me , 13 and half feet long , Raven line @ 8 lb. test and an 8 lb. Berkely Vanish leader . The rod was maxed out , but held true and the line was strong and after 20 minutes and a very weakened right side of my body , there it was .... we removed the hook from it's mouth and a 4 inch long lamprey from its dorsal fin , took some beauty pics .... placed it carefully in the current and watched it slowly vanish back to the rivers depths . What a magnificent fish ...

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oh wow that must have been a rush and a half. as if you landed it that's sweet! Must have been a well built rod too.

 

[Sparta]

amazing catch!!! notta steeler!!!!

 

[Brian]

Great fish Notta...

 

[miles]

nice notty, I have been hearing they are scaring people up there by jumping right in front of them. Someone else said they caught one but i was sure it was BS lol

I understand it was 100% incidental but the MNR may be interested in it. Just takes a second to ring them up, they may want to know something about the fish and the area it was caught. Who knows maybe there are more of them around than we think and the CO's don't give a hoot.

 

[float^drifter]

hell of a surprise man those sure are very rare.

 

[Chunk]

great pictures here for sure one day i will post one i hope

 

[Knuguy]

Holy schmokes, Notta, that's notta steelhead but it's some freaking fish!!! Wow! Must have been quite the adrenalin rush!

NVCA has been(are doing?) surveys of sturgeon on the Notty. I'm sure they like to hear of fish being caught.

 

[NOTTA STEELER]

Actually , this year I have seen so many sturgeon , more than ever before . This is the first time I've ever had one take a bait like a Steelhead , head shakes , jumping and long runs . Wow , my arm sure took a beating and my Raven outfit held tough . My buddy that was with me that day also hooked into a sturgeon relatively the same size just yesterday and almost landed it before it broke him off . He actually caught two other fish as well ,that was his very first sturgeon and he also caught his first and second resident Browns .

 

[axl]

What a beast!!,what bait were you using if you don't mind me asking ?.

 

[bullshark]

Another one from Superior.

 

[chris f]

thanks for posting the story and pics nottasteeler, that must have been awesome to battle that sturgeon, land and realese it . nice brownies as well.nice fish and pic bullshark

 

[salmotrutta]

Awesome sturgeon..what a catch

Looks like bullshark caught goodentight's smiley steel's cousin

 

[NOTTA STEELER]

What a beast!!,what bait were you using if you don't mind me asking ?.

We were simply running a dew worm under a float for steelhead . An accidental catch seeing that in 17 years fishing the river , that was my first sturgeon .

 

[xxxSIBxxx]

couple weeks ago.

 

[NADO]

We were simply running a dew worm under a float for steelhead . An accidental catch seeing that in 17 years fishing the river , that was my first sturgeon .

Thats it Dave, i'm picking up Sturgeon gear for my next trip down! haha jk, nice fish. Most anglers never meet one in their entire lifetime.

 

[fishing89]

incredible cath notta...i gotta head to that river and try for some sturgeon in the summer, ive heard stories lol

 

[buck]

.

 

[fishing89]

damn...thats what i thought as i was writing that lol


so i guess i'll have to fish for "bass"

 

[Knuguy]

darn...thats what i thought as i was writing that lol
so i guess i'll have to fish for "bass"

It's illegal to target sturgeon or out of season fish, so if you say you are targeting bass you need to be using appropriate bass gear.

 

[fishermandan420]

there is a place you can go look at them if the water is right, but it is defcon 6 top secret. please dont target notty sturgeon. i believe they are listed as a threatened species, but are basically endangered. most times tangling with sturgeon as a bycatch result in hooks left in the fish