Sturgeon..... a living fossil.

Amazingly, sturgeon have survived virtually unchanged form prehistoric times, making them not only one of the oldest fish on record; but also a living fossil. These gigantic fish can reach close to 20' in length; but most of them are much smaller than that. Sturgeon live in many of the rivers in North America,and also in Europe, and their roe is made into caviar, making them one of the most valuable fish in existence as well.

I can remember seeing pictures of sturgeon that were caught near Bonners Ferry,, Idaho; but even then, the sturgeon population was very depleted, and now they are considered near extinction. Any of them that are caught have to be released. Here is a video of a smaller one being caught, so you can see what they look like up close, and also an old picture of one caught near Bonners, back in the days when they were heavily fished for and eaten. The video shows someone fishing for the sturgeon with a regular fishing pole; however the large ones like the one shown in the photograph were caught on heavy baited cables that were put out into the river, and then the sturgeon fisherman went along and checked each cable for a sturgeon. Since these fish were 100-200 lbs in weight, it usually took several men to bring them ashore.

 

Very interesting indeed, and a bit freaky, to think how long some things can survive virtually unchanged. Strange.

 

The first video show a fisherman catching a small sturgeon on a rod and reel. It still took him a long time, and I think the video actually shortened the time it took for the angler to land that sturgeon. The very large ones, now illegal to catch and keep, were actually caught on sturgeon lines.

I remember being told about those when I was a child. They were strong wires or cables that were attached to a tree, or other solid object, and then the lines were put out into the river and left. When the lines were checked, if they had a sturgeon on the line, then the lines were reeled in; possibly using a winch, since the fish were so heavy, even if they were too worn out to fight much by then. One of these large fish would feed a family for a long time.