Something Unusual

I was fishing in Baraboo this weekend when I spotted this very large dead sturgeon washed up on a point on one of the islands - must have been close to 6' long, almost as big around as a basketball, and looked (and smelled) like it had been dead a while. Water was around 68 degrees and very cloudy, and the wind was pretty strong, but I managed to land one 38" musky, a few northerns and a 14" largemouth in a few brief outings Friday and Saturday. I also had some nice photographic encounters with a pair of sandhill cranes and a loon, which I'll have posted in the next day or two. The drive up had me exploring yet another new route, this time through Shell Lake and Spooner, where I stopped at the Railroad Memories Museum for some old train shots.

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There were DNR sturgeon nets in baraboo on Tuesday August 11. The last we saw they had handled around 49 fish. Biggest was 83 inches and an estimated 160 pounds. Maybe they lost one. Too bad beautiful fish

Here's an interesting article co-authored by a friend of mine here in Wisconsin Rapids. An informative and easy read.
http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/storie...1/sturgeon.htm

A few ( many more like 10 years ago .. :>) while casting for Muskie I also saw a dead Sturgeon on the shore of Baraboo Lake . I would estimate 4-5 feet in length , with a girth as round as a ' log ' . Would of been in August or September ( early October ) - one of the best times of the year ! I have seen the DNR in Baraboo various times but cannot remember if that was one of the same time's . I do recall that I wished I had a Muskie that big !

about 25 years ago my buddy hooked into one on Lake Bastine in front of Lakeview. dragged him, another buddy and a 14' boat in circles for about 45 minutes before his 8lb test gave way. he likes to think it was a muskie but pretty positive it was a big sturg. good memories for sure. we all went back to Hiawatha and told the tale

Quite a few years ago, I was fishing in Baraboo in early November when one of Jeff Winters' clients hooked into one while jigging for walleyes in the middle of the basin. They only had a regular net, so Jeff asked to borrow my musky net and I pulled alongside and tossed it over. After fighting it for about 45 minutes on 6 lb. line, they succeeded in landing the sturgeon, which looked to be close to 50" long. Jeff wanted the client to hold it up for a picture, but after all that effort, the guy was either afraid to touch it or didn't think it was worth a photo, so back in the lake it went. I'm going to have to look back through my archives to see if I took any pictures of it.

Sure enough - Oct. 27, 2006.

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Hmmm ... that may have been a Muskie in Lake Bastine . Some very big ones have been spotted there over the years .

I saw a pic of the fish, huge! 4 people holding it... they figured it was alive before the flowage was established, that's cool...

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Originally Posted by timk

Hmmm ... that may have been a Muskie in Lake Bastine . Some very big ones have been spotted there over the years .

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Very well coukd have been. Never, ever came close to surface. We still talk about it often. One of my last trips with my Dad. Great memories. Man, we sure hit the Crown hard that night!

Every so often on a calm summer day I see the beasts porpoise and clear the air in Baraboo and Mud region. Lots of folks mistake the sturgeon for muskies but that's not the case. There's lots of them in the Flambeau River system and I see the same thing downstream of the TFF through Park Falls. Wish I had the time and tolerance to feed them gobs of crawlers to experience the fight. Someday.... I'm not sure what spawning success is like right now but a good number from the TFF are migrating upstream the Manitowish all the way towards the chain there. Their populations are definitely expanding and it's cool to see the dinosaurs.

I foul hooked one down by Nine Mile tavern one year on a lightweight rod while bass fishing. about a 3'er. man, those things pull. they are an awesome species. I was able to release the little guy in good shape.

Monday morning, on my way from Baraboo back to Bastine, by the islands just south east of the dam, I saw a very lengthy sturgeon do it's best superman impression about 30 yards ahead of my boat. I know some musky anglers in Minny that target sturgeon during certain times of the year and catch some giants and good numbers of them. Would love to tango with one with proper gear.