Anyone Fish the WI Sturgeon Season?

[Sam Ubl]

I grew up fishing Sauk Prairie Dam with my dad for sturgeon during the season, although we never landed the 50 incher you need. I remember catching several in the mid-40's, and lost a fish pushing 100 pounds on a jig.

We would set up in the late evening with GIANT gobs of worms on the bottom and wait. One morning at sunrise I started jigging out of boredom. . . I hooked the MONSTER we'd been waiting for. For 2 hours I fought her on 6 pound test and entertained the other 20 boats out there doing the same as us.

Sturgeon have a rubbery mouth and a long fight will eventually wear a hole where it's hooked. I imagine that's what happened that time as the fish came to the surface and as my dad lunged down with the net, she turned funny and the jig popped out like she was never there. I about died.