Giant Lake Sturgeon Caught in Detroit River
A 240 pound 6 feet 10 inch Lake Sturgeon was caught in the Detroit River. Now that's a fish!
You don't see these elusive creatures everyday, but when you do, it is pretty special. A lake sturgeon the size of the one caught in the Detroit River is like seeing a dinosaur because it's at least one hundred years old.
According to FOX 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caught this massive lake sturgeon in the Detroit River earlier this week. The girth alone of this awesome creature was nearly 4 feet...now that's a fat fish.
If you have ever seen the show River Monsters, then you know this lake sturgeon is definitely good enough and certainly big enough to earn its own episode. Maybe the show's host and master angler Jeremy Wade may bring the camera's and make the trip to the Detroit River to see if he can angle in one of these beasts found in the Detroit River.
This particular lake sturgeon is one of the largest fish ever recorded in the entire United States.
The fish was a female and according to the USFWS, they believe she was most likely hatched in the Detroit River around 1920. Now that's an old fish.
The good news for anglers is, this particular lake sturgeon was quickly measured and released back into the Detroit River so she can make another angler have a once in a lifetime moment someday.
It takes forever for these fish to grow this size and the USFWS have been working hard for many years to help these fish survive and be able to continue to reproduce so these fish are able to be around Michigan for many years to come. So if you catch one, measure and take a quick selfie and get that sturgeon back in the water as quickly as possible.
The USFWS say there are only about 1% of the original population of lake sturgeon left for a variety of reasons and that is why it is so important to catch and release these amazing creatures.
There is one good sign outside of this massive lake sturgeon, several eggs have been found on the new Fort Wayne Reef that was built by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Hopefully the build a few more of these because if they work for sturgeon, they will work for other fish in the Great Lakes.