Atlantic Sturgeon

[DumBbaSS]

A few years ago while living on the Magothy River I saw a dead Sturgeon washed up on shore. He was maybe 3 feet long and I thought not to long ago there were monsters that once roamed the bay and ocean. So I found out a few fun facts about them and thought I would post them here

1996 July 1996, approximately 3,000 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon were stocked in the Nanticoke River.
Female fish mature when they are 10 to 15 years of age and only spawn once every 2 to 6 years
Their diet consists of worms, crustaceans, insect larvae, and mollusks

• The oldest Atlantic sturgeon was captured from the St. Lawrence River and was aged to be 60 years old.
• The largest Atlantic sturgeon recorded was caught off Canada and measured 14 feet long and weighed 811 pounds!
• The species name of Atlantic sturgeon "oxyrhinchus" means "sharp snout".
• Early settlers reported huge schools leaping from the Susquehanna and James, and referred to sturgeon as navigational hazards.
• An American officer during the Revolution had his leg broken by a ten foot sturgeon that leaped into his boat as he rowed across the Potomac at Georgetown.

Has anyone ever seen one of these critters?

[mdram]

ive fished the nanticoke a bit, and never seen one

[Dave]

I have caught one @ lake Erie years ago as a kid, ended up getting a small reward for taking a snap shot a releasing it.

[Steve]

I saw a few when I was just a wee tike. They were as long as the Jon boat we were in. They just gently drifted alongside looking for a handout.
Very prehistoric-looking.
A number of years ago they were game fish, with a 125# minimum.

[Sam]

Very cool info, Tom. Check this link out.

[DaveH]

That does look prehistoric:alien:

[lipyanker]

caught one in 2001 on in the Delaware just below Fort mifflin made a nice run tough even though it was only about 27 inches to turn I was rigged light for short stripers reported to the authorities easy to release even after a nice fight