UTER
Photo: Rob Foster, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Acipenser fulvescens
How to catch Lake sturgeon
Lake sturgeon feed in 36–70°F water and bite best at 45–60°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 2 waters; in October they are at their peak in Minnesota fresh water.
80 pts · trophy at 60"Feeds 36–70°FBest 45–60°FIn season nowRiverLake
About
The ancient sturgeon of the Great Lakes basin and the North — a century old, a hundred pounds and more — protected nearly everywhere, but speared through the ice on Lake Winnebago in February and caught-and-released on the Rainy River in spring.
How to fish it
A gob of crawlers on a sliding sinker rig on the Rainy River's deep holes in April; release in the water. Winnebago spearing is by license and harvest cap.
What it eats
nightcrawler gobscut bait on the bottom
Live bait for it
NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader10–20 lb fluorocarbon
Hook#2–3/0
Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
Braid10–30 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check Wisconsin DNR or Minnesota DNR before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Fresh water by state