sturgeeon in th bay

[edwals]

I've been out on the Raritan Bay the last couple of days and I've been noticing some big splashes every now again.  At first I thought there were dolphin but latter found out they are Atlantic Sturgeon.  One came right out of the water 10 feet from my boat yesterday and it was definitly a fish, about 4-5 feet long.

Has anyone else encountered these monsters and have they been there long and are they fishable?

[rugman]

We get them in the upper Hudson river .Do not keep them it is a big fine

[mgm]

I have seen sturgeon splash for years.....on a PB I fish on there is a picture of one that was caught while fishing for fluke...that is a real "fluke"....in any event it was released as it is illegal to possess a sturgeon as it is a protected species....not sure how they would be fished for anyway.

[Pfishingruven]

Cool to see them in the wild.  I have only seen them at an aquarium.

You cannot "purposely" target or fish for Atlantic Sturgeon in any NJ waters right now.  I think they may be prohibited in other states as well.

 

[Hunter 2]

Thats cool.

[Salty Dog]

In the early 1900's there was a big sturgeon fishery in the Hudson.Man caught these huge (300#)fish and put on gradious displays at dockside ,of cutting them open,almost a spectator sport,and harvesting their row.Sturgeon row is one the finest caviars know to modern man.After they reaped the harvest,they cut the fish down from their perch and discarded the rest of the fish back into the Hudson.There was a big article written on this in the National Geographic.

[Spearfish]

I snagged one between the channels once while pulling umbrella rigs.  It was about 3 feet long.

[kpcoe]

Came across them last year off of the Rockaways...thought they were bonita at first(because of reports that people were catching them), then after numerous jumps and a better look relized they were way to big and jumping instead of gliding along.  Some came very close and figured I better get outta there before one of these beast landed in my boat!  Must have been an awesome sight in colonial times with thousands of them around!

[Stray Cat]

Was out in the bay yesterday and told my brother about the splashing I saw on the way out torwards the hook, he thought I was seeing things. I witness the large splashing 3 times, later in the day he wound up seeing them too.

[kpcoe]

found this somewhere on the internet...."Atlantic sturgeon under six years of age stay in the brackish water where they were born before moving into the ocean. They may be 3 to 5 feet long at this stage. In areas where the Shortnose sturgeon are also present, the adults of that species can be, and historically were for centuries, confused with immature Atlantic sturgeon. Atlantic sturgeon may take anywhere from seven to twenty-three years to become sexually mature, depending on the sex and temperature of the water. When mature, they travel upstream to spawn. The females may lay 800,000 to 3.75 million eggs in a single year, doing so every two to six years. After laying their eggs females will travel back downstream, but males may remain upstream after spawning until forced to return downstream by the increasingly cold water. They may even return to the ocean, where they stay near the coastline. Sturgeon can often live to the age of sixty years old. Accounts of sturgeon over the age of one hundred were not uncommon in colonial times. The species is also known for its occasional 'leaping' behavior, during which the fish will emerge completely out of the water in a forceful motion that can be hazardous to anything unlucky enough to be struck. The exact reason why sturgeon leap remains unknown"...

[Vinnym]

  I was fishing the tip of the hook on Monday and saw them. It is an awesome site. I have been seeing them around the bay, mostly near the hook, for about 3 years now. It seems they are coming back nicely. It is a heavy fine to posses them so if you hook one...Release it!

[MartyS]

We usually just cut the caviar out of them and throw them back.

(Kidding)

[BeN F]

I had one wash up at my job last week it was about 5 ft long I had no idea what it was they are weird looking fish

[gottog]

I know of two seperate cases where they've breached the water and landed inside a boat.  One hit an older gent square in the chest and almost knocked him out.
 

[mgm]

I recall stories about leaping sturgeon in the Suwanee River in FL.......here is one link, there are a lot if you Google the subject.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060817-sturgeon.html