<p>I'm trying to link a story on here about the kid who just caught an 86" Lake Stugeon in Wisconsin. Copy and paste isn't working for me, any help?</p>
The black bit behind the head are the gills... big Sturgeon gills always look a bit weird in pics, way more weird in that stupid position. Had they handled a Musky the same way there would be a damn riot.
Congrats to the young angler for the catch but damn, that kind of horrible fish handling is something I'd expect from somebody who has never fished before not "Serious muskie anglers"
It sucks - a few years back there was a news story from the St. Croix about a big sturgeon where the fish was "released" afterward as well - during the story the guy had a half-inch rope through the sturgeon's gills and had it tied to a dock for the news crew. Caught it in a boat, too, so he obviously dragged it behind his boat for miles, first. But it was "released". People just do not respect the sturgeon. I mean, they complain when you hold a bass by the lip when the average bass is just a few years old, but hoisting a 100+ year old lake sturgeon up on a winch and then pretending to "release" it is somehow OK. Sick. We need to shame people for bad sturgeon-handling. It's disgraceful.
I'd have settled for about a dozen quick pics of that thing then an immediate release. No more than 3 minutes out of the water. Really there is no sense for stuff like this. Looks like a scene out of the movie Jaws or something. People should be concentrating on keeping big fish horizontal as much as possible. When a big one gets held vertical, organs can get moved around or entangled. Internal things can rip. And cause more added stress on fish too. Lack of common or proper knowlegde probably came into play here. I bet a lot of people dont know the proper way to handle really big fish. Its why sites like this one or so crucial for information like this right here...
Holding an 70 year old dude up by his ankles, with his head smashed on the deck, wouldn't be very healthy, would it? On the other hand, part of me does sympathize. They were probably weak, tired, and totally freaked out, at that point. They also had no clue how to handle a fish that huge. But at the same time, the picture just smacks of a lack of respect/awe for a creature that truly is awe-worthy.
I would say poor handling is not uncommon but certainly not the norm, the majority of big fish anglers understand what it takes. The problem might be that more people are participating, of course those who catch them on accident are usually the worst - most the time they aren't too happy about catching them... I've been to the Rainy River once, which might well be the best Lake Sturg fishery in the world (since we can't legally angle on the Bago system...). Saw several poorly handled fish, mostly holding the fish vertically by the gills. On the Chippewa, I've seen the "drag it around by the tail maneuver a few times... I've see the gill and tail vertical holds on the Mississippi too, mostly in pics
I know of a few Sturg have been drug around on stringers and "released," at least once by a guy who asked what a "4 foot sucker-mouth fish" might be and if it were any good to eat... And not in legal harvest or C&R waters...
Truth be told, handling a fish that big out of water is going to be hard. If you aren't prepared to get wet and give the fish the support it needs, then release it in the water. Here we are in the Musky belt, the proper fish handling drum is beat very hard - if a person is going to target big fish, they need to figure it out first not while the fish is at boatside...
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http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_28826754/its-shark-no-its-7-foot-lake-sturgeon
Amazing fish, really.
It says they released it but judging by that stupid photo, I honestly doubt that fish was in any shape to survive.
Eli
What the heck is that black thing around its neck? Some kind of collar?
Looks like how people pose with a shark that they've butchered, not a beast that you're going to release =/ Poor fish..
At least the father's face will live on in infamy..........
The black bit behind the head are the gills... big Sturgeon gills always look a bit weird in pics, way more weird in that stupid position. Had they handled a Musky the same way there would be a damn riot.
Congrats to the young angler for the catch but damn, that kind of horrible fish handling is something I'd expect from somebody who has never fished before not "Serious muskie anglers"
It sucks - a few years back there was a news story from the St. Croix about a big sturgeon where the fish was "released" afterward as well - during the story the guy had a half-inch rope through the sturgeon's gills and had it tied to a dock for the news crew. Caught it in a boat, too, so he obviously dragged it behind his boat for miles, first. But it was "released". People just do not respect the sturgeon. I mean, they complain when you hold a bass by the lip when the average bass is just a few years old, but hoisting a 100+ year old lake sturgeon up on a winch and then pretending to "release" it is somehow OK. Sick. We need to shame people for bad sturgeon-handling. It's disgraceful.
I'd have settled for about a dozen quick pics of that thing then an immediate release. No more than 3 minutes out of the water. Really there is no sense for stuff like this. Looks like a scene out of the movie Jaws or something. People should be concentrating on keeping big fish horizontal as much as possible. When a big one gets held vertical, organs can get moved around or entangled. Internal things can rip. And cause more added stress on fish too. Lack of common or proper knowlegde probably came into play here. I bet a lot of people dont know the proper way to handle really big fish. Its why sites like this one or so crucial for information like this right here...
Holding an 70 year old dude up by his ankles, with his head smashed on the deck, wouldn't be very healthy, would it? On the other hand, part of me does sympathize. They were probably weak, tired, and totally freaked out, at that point. They also had no clue how to handle a fish that huge. But at the same time, the picture just smacks of a lack of respect/awe for a creature that truly is awe-worthy.
I wonder how common this mishandling is? In Idaho, you can catch sturgeon but you can't take them out of the water. Here are some tips for releasing lake sturgeon: http://www.stcroixriverfishing.com/Articles/Sturgeon2014.html
I would say poor handling is not uncommon but certainly not the norm, the majority of big fish anglers understand what it takes. The problem might be that more people are participating, of course those who catch them on accident are usually the worst - most the time they aren't too happy about catching them... I've been to the Rainy River once, which might well be the best Lake Sturg fishery in the world (since we can't legally angle on the Bago system...). Saw several poorly handled fish, mostly holding the fish vertically by the gills. On the Chippewa, I've seen the "drag it around by the tail maneuver a few times... I've see the gill and tail vertical holds on the Mississippi too, mostly in pics
I know of a few Sturg have been drug around on stringers and "released," at least once by a guy who asked what a "4 foot sucker-mouth fish" might be and if it were any good to eat... And not in legal harvest or C&R waters...
Truth be told, handling a fish that big out of water is going to be hard. If you aren't prepared to get wet and give the fish the support it needs, then release it in the water. Here we are in the Musky belt, the proper fish handling drum is beat very hard - if a person is going to target big fish, they need to figure it out first not while the fish is at boatside...
Upon closer inspection I'm pretty sure the three guys in the photo are union bosses and the fish is in fact Scott Walker with his guts still in.
Eli