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Ice sturgeon


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People catch them randomly out on lotw while jigging for eyes, i pulled my first thru the ice this winter at 40" near long point, hopefully some folks will give you more info on the rainy, i don't get down there enough in the winter.

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if i wanted to catch a sturgeon through the ice i'd use a tip up, load a bunch of cut fatheads on a circle hook, maybe some worms too, and use just enough weight to keep your bait on the bottom. i'd start in the deepest water in the area and go from there.

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Ok thanks for the advise. I got my first sturgeon in the st louis river not long ago 43" and now i am hooked. Hoping to find a bigger one this weekend.

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Ok thanks for the advise. I got my first sturgeon in the st louis river not long ago 43" and now i am hooked. Hoping to find a bigger one this weekend.

FYI not legal to target them on that river. Hopefully that will change this year though. Just don't admit your fishing for them and your in the "Clear" law wise.

Sturgeon are great. I spend most of september and half of october on the St Croix river fishing for them. Rainy is a fantastic sturgeon fishery also and has a much more liberal season than the Croix. I believe there are currently no other "Legal" places to catch the sturgeon in MN.

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Oh for some reason I was under the impression they were legal to target for catch and release only right now. Maybe i will just head out on low then

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Only on the rainy right? Probably on low too? Or should ichange my weekend plans spool my reels with pp and hit the croix?

I got nothing against someone catching sturgeon, just wanted to make the original poster aware of rules on the St Louis...which I'd love to go sturgeon fish fyi.

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The only places to legally target them in MN are The Rainy/LOW and the St Croix.

I figured since this was posted in the Rainy river forum the question was directed toward that body of water. smile

Lots of "catfishing" happening year round on the Croix though.

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Ok, to clarify...

Rainy-open to CPR

LOTW-open to CPR

St. Croix-closed til next fall

All other bodies of water-closed year round (for now)

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I noticed the rainy forum, but since the St Louis is right next to Duluth, i just thought it should be clarified. Don't know why i don't catfish year around, it's just an unenforceable law suppose

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I am aware that sturgeon are not to be targeted on the St. Louis, I cought mine with a live minnow 6" off the bottom on a tip up, my brother also caught a 49" that weekend with a live minnow on a jig head while jigging for walleye. We were not "targeting" sturgeon.

We talked to the DNR at the landing when we came off the ice and they told us that there will most likely not be a season for sturgeon on the St. Louis for 20 years. They have been stocking them in the St. Louis River since the early 80s and recently (2011 I believe) was the first time that any of the stalked fish had reproduced. That being said they want to wait until the new spawn start to reproduce before considering the sturgeon an "established" species in the St. Louis River, at that time they will open a season the sturgeon in the St. Louis River.

The two DNR officers there were glad to hear that we caugh some sturgeon, they seemed happy for us and didn't give us any heck about it. We even showed them pictures we took of the fish. I didn't find out until later that you are not even supposed to take a picture with them, but they didn't say anything about it which leads me to believe they are not super strict about it. I'm guessing if we had one in our truck it would have been a diffent story though.

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Ya every DNR I have ran into coming off the St. Louis has been very nice, even offering to help load my stuff into the car...I had my first sturgeon encounter this last spring sucker fishing 45mins later snapped my line,but I would love to be able to CPR those fish legally...Its insane a fish can be that powerful, couldnt imagine through the ice

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Your always ok taking a picture with a caught fish, especially an accidental out of season fish. They can be great memories that your in your legal right to capture with a camera. Thanks for the info on the St Louis river. Very interesting, sturgeon are a very delicate species. Congrats on your catch.

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Yep - the MN definition of "release immediately" allows you to take a picture before sending the fish back on its way. That is an item that seems to have a lot of misinformation and confusion out there on.

It should be noted that you can also legally fish Sturgeon all year, very close to Duluth. The WI part of Lake Superior is open to Sturgeon fishing. I won't claim it is easy to fish though, Chequamegon Bay is your best bet and once you drive that far you might as well just go to the Rainy which is a lot better. I'm still looking forward to the day when WI and MN expand the C&R seasons more on Sturgeon, hopefully it comes soon!

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Quote:
I'm still looking forward to the day when WI and MN expand the C&R seasons more on Sturgeon, hopefully it comes soon!

Its in the works. How soon? hard to tell.

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Lots of "catfishing" happening year round on the Croix though.

I remember a couple years ago, somebody on here posted a bunch of pictures of the sturg they caught on the Croix while ice fishing for walleyes.

Ice fishing for walleyes in 40 feet of water, with 30lb braid, 5/0 circle hooks, and gobs of minnows.

If I remember right they got flamed up pretty bad in here.

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No luck on the rainy today. Was out there for quite a while without even a bite. I will probably try lake of the woods tomorrow. Anyone have any advise on where i should try near baudette for walleye or pike? I am unfamiliar with the lake but have an app that shows depths of the lake.

Brought my girl friend with on this endeavor and really don't wanna get skunked on the trip so any advise is greatly appreciated.

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I remember a couple years ago, somebody on here posted a bunch of pictures of the sturg they caught on the Croix while ice fishing for walleyes.

Ice fishing for walleyes in 40 feet of water, with 30lb braid, 5/0 circle hooks, and gobs of minnows.

If I remember right they got flamed up pretty bad in here.

I keep this story handy for such occasions. smile

The Minnesota DNR is aware of a large sturgeon caught last week in the St. Croix River and expressed concern Monday that the fish may have been caught illegally.

“We suspect that this is going on,” said East Metro DNR Fisheries manager Jerry Johnson.

But Johnson said that enforcing fishing out of season regulations and then proving allegations is very difficult. Sturgeon season is open normally from early September until mid October.

“Technically it’s illegal to fish for a fish that’s out of season,” said Capt. Greg Salo, DNR Region 3 enforcement manager.

Last Wednesday night Nick Radke of Bayport was fishing on the St. Croix River when he hooked a 62-inch sturgeon. He and his fishing partner had to use a power auger to create a bigger hole to land the fish. Radke took a few pictures and says he released the fish back into the river. He told KSTP that he caught three more sturgeon the next day. If he were targeting that species, that would be in violation of fishing regulations, said Salo.

“We need to get him to admit that,” Salo said. And so far Radke has not. A KSTP-TV reporter called him Monday and Radke said that he had done nothing wrong.

On a sportsman’s web chat site Radke revealed that he was using 30 pound test and a heavy duty Abu Garcia 6500 reel, and a walleye jig tipped with two fathead minnows to catch the fish.

There are other large species in the river that are in season like northern pike and catfish.

The DNR said Monday they had discussed KSTP’s story about the sturgeon catch, but were not pursuing a case against Radke because the case would be simply too hard to prove.

and....I'm sure a lot of you seen the one that was caught recently by more "catfishermen" on the Croix LOL

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