Joppa Sturgeon?

[fly]

Fished Joppa and Merrimack channel on the drop this a.m. - anglers coming off at dawn reported agreat night but the fishing was slow on our shift.

I was in the channel in my kayak about 100yds south of the bouy line - flats side - when I got stuck into a very large and slow moving fish. I was fishing with my 10 weight with a shooting head - the fish took on the bottom. This was not a striper - no long runs, nothing dramatic, zero head shaking, never showed on top. The fish would tug in four or five foot bursts, always upstream, always low in the water. Everything I gained I would lose again.. over and over again for 45 minutes. I made some impression on the fish overall, but not much. I once caught a 125lb Tarpon and this felt in that sort of range. A couple of boats suggested it was a Sturgeon due to it's dedication to the upstream and low aspect in the water. It was a very gruelling match - I really put everything I had into the fish.

Even weirder, fifteen minutes later it happen again! Another 45 minutes of brutal slugging. This time one wrapped me in a branch and got off.

Apart from a couple of huge swirls and a browish white smudge in the water when the first one came off, I didn't see the fish.

Can anyone with experience corroborate how these things fight, and has anyone seen what sort of size they are?

PS. There was a boat with four anglers on it being led upstream by something huge, for ages - if you are reading this - what was it? Did you land it?

It's amazing to bump into these mysterious creatures.

[e-sea-e]

they are in there, sounds like thats what it was. someone on the board caught one or posted about it being caught last year.

[backman]

years back - 92 or 93 on the bar, this time of year on the incoming on a jig. It w as a sluggish, powerful and steady struggle and the only reason I landed it was because the fish beached itself.

I recall 47" and would have guessed 30 pounds. Very cool primitive fish; if I recall correctly it was a tannish, light brown. body and a white belly.

[tsheehy]

The angler in the boat lost the fish, I didn't see how.

Hopefully they will report in and give more details, but I never saw it make any surface commotion, even when it was up near the boat.

Were you in the tan kayak?

-- Tom

[Living Waters]

Someone on my boat saw a very large fish freejump down by #13 last week, possibly a sturgeon. We were up by #15, so he had time identifying what the fish was. His comment was "Wow did you see that?" The fish that you hooked into could have also been a carp. I've seen them eat big striper flies and know they cruise Joppa at times.

[fly]

Yes, tan paddle kayak.

I cave caught big carp. Didn't feel like a carp. These fish were only slightly dented by 45 minutes close, solid action vs. 10 weight.

[tsheehy]

I can vouch that "fly" was putting the heat to that thing for a while.. good bend in the rod, I was wondering how you weren't rolling over :)

-- Tom

[pkw1689]

I, too, saw parts of your battle & the fish did not seem to pull at all like a striper. More like a small submarine determined not to surface.

[lhonda]

Yep, sturgeon.

[ChuckD]

I know a guy who caught one while wade fishing up in Maine near the Nonesuch R/Ferry Beach. Took over an hour to land - he thought he had hooked a seal. I believe he was able to enter it as a state record. This thing was like 6 feet long and >100 lbs.

[hammer]

Sounds like a sturgeon. User "got fish?" caught one last year and I believe he posted pictures on this site. We've seen 2 sturgeon jump completely out of the water this year, but unfortunately, our line was not connected to the fish...

[cambrandt]

I've caught sturgeon on the west coast, once on a fly, and the bigger ones -- 50lbs plus -- tended to jump when they felt the hook. But Atlantic sturgeon may well be different. This certainly doesn't sound like a carp -- even a big one would be whipped by a 10-wt set-up within 15 minutes.

[FireFly]

Either a sturgeon or the navy seals are doing a covert mission on Joppa ;)

[lhonda]

This certainly doesn't sound like a carp -- even a big one would be whipped by a 10-wt set-up within 15 minutes.

15 minutes? Sheeit, Cam. With the proper rig, it shouldn't take but a few minutes to whip those bottom feeders. ;)

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n29/birddown/LNHandcarproundupresized.jpg

[in_the_water]

I heard it took them all the way to Lawrence but it they finally landed it...;)

[jewmont3]

Holy Crap! That thing didnt come from the merrimack did it!?!?

[Gadabout Guinea]

Holy Crap! That thing didnt come from the merrimack did it!?!?

no, that picture's been on the web for a while

[Joey Langan]

Ive accidentally caught a few sturgeon myself in the hudson before and what you described sounds exactly like a sturgeon. They just sit facing up current on the bottom and dont pull too much. Cool fish though.
Joe