Got two of these on a trip back to WA State awhile back. I'm not really smiling while attempting to hold it up. Thats pure pain. After an hour of being beat up by the 9' 300+ lb beast I was done. A couple of hours later I got into another one. The pic of the finder is the one I am trying to hold up, yep one fish on that screen I am going again in June.

Been years since I caught a sturgeon.

didnt there used to be sturgeon in alabama? or is that paddlefish im thinking of?

Alabama has both Hotshot.

I need to find the area where there at in AL. I go back once or twice a yr to WA and salmon fish. Last time I went the game and fish department closed down the salmon for a day or two so we hit the sturgeon. Those things are like fighting a missile in the water. At least in the Columbia where they have major room to play with you..... It took about a week for my back to recover after two 300lb fish in one day.

Alabama Sturgeon
Gulf Sturgeon
Lake Sturgeon
Shovelnose Sturgeon

i have some old pics of my dad with both and i thought he told me the stergon was was in the alabama river. the pics he had of the paddlefish he said were caught by hand wading in autauga creek......all were taken back in the 50's or maybe 40's

Hey Swamp,

Have you ever caught a sturgeon in Alabama?

No, but seen a few Gulf Sturgeon on Perdido River and Styx River. I see them on Escambia River in Florida just east of Pensacola every time I go catfishing. Those on Escambia are huge 10'- 14', you ought to see them when they are airborne.

Dams affected the spawning runs for sturgeon and paddlefish, which in turn affected their populations by reducing them.

Paddlefish are found on the Tennessee River. I don't know about sturgeon but do not believe so, and if so then in very small numbers (or so we know).

I'd love to see both proliferate.

I'd also love to go to Washington or Idaho and catch one sometime.

if you guys are familiar with wmi.org (the bassfishing report website) One of the guys posted a pic of a big paddlefish he caught on a crankbait fishing the alabama river. It was a couple of months ago, and i think it was miller's ferry area. i've never seen one in person. nor have i seen a live sturgeon, looks like they are awesome creatures.

I actually caught one on the Cahaba on a trotline in the late 70's. I was in high school at the time and just happened to take a picture of it. Fast forward to the late 80's. Working with our biologist on some radio telemetry work we were doing with paddlefish at the time. We were below Jones Bluff shocking and I asked one of our guys if they had ever rolled any sturgeons. He gave me the story about how they were non-existant that far up. I told him about catching one and he kept telling me that, "No, you didn't. It had to be a paddlefish". So, I brought him the picture to prove it. My picture made it all the way to the USFWS. All I remember is that they are one ugly fish that would ruin a fillet knife.

we used to catch padel fish on rod and reel below clabourn lock and dam in the 80's. never seen a sturgen that i could remember.