# ........Not braggin just an amazing photo-post Sturgeon pics



## docklight (Apr 3, 2008)

Four fish caught in the Oconee River near Milledgeville,
not sure of the year, total weight 655 lbs. That's an average
of about 164 lbs. each !    What are they?


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## threeleggedpigmy (Apr 3, 2008)

Look like sturgeon.


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## Nicodemus (Apr 3, 2008)

Yep, that would be sturgeon.


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## secondseason (Apr 3, 2008)

Are there still Sturgeon in the Oconee?

Great picture! Thanks for sharing!


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## Hoss (Apr 3, 2008)

Those are some big ones.  Be nice to know the story behind em.

Hoss


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## robertyb (Apr 3, 2008)

Sturgeon were fairly common back then. I do not know if any are currently in the Oconee but they are being restocked in the Coosa River basin.

What strikes me as unusual in this picture is the four Blacks shown. Apparently a father and his sons. They are in  the middle of a group of Whites and in most of the period pictures I have seen they would have been off to one side or the other and not prominately shown.

Great picture of the times.


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## browning84 (Apr 3, 2008)

secondseason said:


> Are there still Sturgeon in the Oconee?
> 
> Great picture! Thanks for sharing!



As far as I know sturgeon are being reintroduced into GA waters and are not a legal fish to keep, you must release sturgeon in GA waters but I am not sure where they are introduced. It is in the fishing reg. book


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## THREEJAYS (Apr 4, 2008)

Wow ,that would have been fun


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## chewie1014 (Apr 4, 2008)

Sturgeon...almost certainly shortnose since they were taken from the Oconee.  Shortnose Sturgeon are still found in the Altamaha River Basin (which includes the Oconee and Ocmulgee) but not any further than the Altamaha River itself.  It is also found in the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers.  Once dams were introduced to the river, it restricted the movement of the fish.  It would have been very rare for that many fish to be harvested in one day on the Oconee.  Not impossible, just rare.  Shortnose sturgeon are anadromous and spend most of their life in saltwater and transition into freshwater to spawn and lay their eggs along shoal beds.  While they were known to move into the Oconee and Ocmulgee, it was very rare.  

Another species, Gulf Sturgeon used to be throughout the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers, but have since disappeared once the dam for Lake Seminole was built.  Eight radioed fish were released into Seminole in 2002 to see if they would group up with others that may still be there but unknown.  As far as I know, none other have been found.

A final species, Lake Sturgeon, could be found as recent as the 1960s in the Coosa River Basin.  Reintroduction efforts are underway to return this species to the river basin and have been successful to date.  For more info on this effort, click this link:  http://www.georgiawildlife.com/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=305

Now you know...


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## chewie1014 (Apr 4, 2008)

Oh, and for the record, all sturgeon species in Georgia are protected from harvest and must be released if caught.


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## t bird (Apr 5, 2008)

Impressive picture!!! You here of one being caught every  few years in the Oconee. Released of course


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## dawg2 (Apr 5, 2008)

Yep, sturgeon, nice fish!


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## Trooper (Apr 13, 2008)

thanks for sharing,old history there- very cool


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## MSU bowhunter (Apr 18, 2008)

robertyb said:


> What strikes me as unusual in this picture is the four Blacks shown. Apparently a father and his sons. They are in  the middle of a group of Whites and in most of the period pictures I have seen they would have been off to one side or the other and not prominately shown.
> 
> Great picture of the times.



That is what I was thinking...but someone did tell me that in some areas everyone was just someone else.  It didn't matter back then to some.


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## ccbiggz (Apr 18, 2008)

I've seen a HUGE sturgeon on the Altamaha River. It looked like it was a foot wide across the back.


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## Handgunner (Apr 18, 2008)

How would you like to hang into one of those with a Zebco 33? 

Nice picture, and huge fish!


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## ajgunner (Apr 19, 2008)

Here are a couple of sturgeon caught up here in the Columbia River just below Bonneville dam. We can only keep the medium sized ones but it is still fun to fish for "over sized" fish. I don't know anything about the giant one but it was caught local and was on on a local web site. 
The one being released I personally caught last July. It was 10 foot 2 inches long and estimated to weigh in around 300lbs. It took me 45 minutes sitting in a chair with a shoulder harness to bring it in. We caught 3 others over 8 feet that day.


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## docklight (Apr 23, 2008)

now my comment about those 
in the old photo weighting 
164 lbs. each don't look like much


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## SGADawg (Apr 23, 2008)

robertyb said:


> What strikes me as unusual in this picture is the four Blacks shown. Apparently a father and his sons. They are in  the middle of a group of Whites and in most of the period pictures I have seen they would have been off to one side or the other and not prominately shown.



I'm guessing that the 2 men in hats on either side caught the sturgeon they have their hands on.  very possibly the black man in the center caught the center fish since he is the closest person to it.  Maybe the others are his sons.  Just a guess.

Anyway, great picture of a time gone by.


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## Timberchicken (Apr 23, 2008)

*Stergeon nearly landed in boat*

Had one almost jump in the boat one summer while trotlining below Jesup on Altamaha River. Missed landing in 14' john boat by only few feet, got soaked. Buddies in boat behind me were able to witness it.


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## Resica (Apr 23, 2008)

THunter said:


> Sturgeon are horribly ugly fish.  Why anyone would want to catch one is beyond me, even if the caviar is good.


It's probably a whale of a fight!!


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## chewie1014 (Apr 24, 2008)

Resica said:


> It's probably a whale of a fight!!



IT IS!  I hooked into a shortnose on the Altamaha about 7 years ago and it was one of the best fights I've ever had.  Man they pull like a truck.


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## huntmstr (Apr 24, 2008)

I have seen that pic before.  There's a framed copy of that pic hanging at BB's Pizza in Wrightsville, if memory serves correctly.



THunter said:


> Sturgeon are horribly ugly fish.  Why anyone would want to catch one is beyond me, even if the caviar is good.



If you ever hang into one, you will be singing a different tune.  They jump like Tarpon, pull like bull sharks, and fight like freight trains.  Awesome fish to catch!!!


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## Holton (Apr 26, 2008)

Anyone have a idea of a date of the picture? 

Interesting in many respects.


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## Hunter Haven (Apr 26, 2008)

great pic!! Thanks for sharing it. I love the pics from the old days... a time before I was born..


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## Bassfearme (Apr 26, 2008)

*Age of photo*

The round white hats some are wearing are called Boaters and they were worn from the 1880's - 1930's. The hats the younger boys are wearing are called Eight Quarters and were popular from the late 20's & early 30's. I would estimate the picture to be very close to 1930.


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## bowfish71 (Apr 30, 2008)

There is a framed copy of this picture in the bass pro shop in macon, if my memory serves me correctly it was in 1934 or 1936.  I have seen sturgen on the savannah river and man are they an awesome sight to see.


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## ClydeWigg3 (May 1, 2008)

See Huntmstr's avatar?  Probably what was being said, or thought anyway, in the other picture.

We still have plenty of sturgeon in FL (Suwannee River).  They'll jump in your boat and have killed several people by doing so.


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## docklight (May 12, 2008)

any more photo's 
of this amazing fish
please post them


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## ajgunner (May 13, 2008)

Hey I recocnize that dock. Was this with a guide or someone you know???


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## arrow2 (May 13, 2008)

I'm headed to Portland Or. Thurs morning to try to catch on of those prehistoric fish. I'll post some pictures when I get back. I hope. Never fished for them with hook and line, but speared many through the ice. They are excellent eating if they are cleaned properly.


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## ajgunner (May 14, 2008)

The shad run should be just getting started. They will gorge on them for the next 4-6 weeks. If you want to catch the big oversized fish you should rig up with whole shad. It seems pretty strange hanging a 15-20 inch fish on a hook but if you want BIG fish you need to use big bait. Even fishing for keeper size fish you should have no problem catching and releasing lots of them. They really go on a feeding frenzy once the shad start coming in. Are you going to be with a guide or with friends or relatives???


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## docklight (May 14, 2008)

ajgunner said:


> Hey I recocnize that dock. Was this with a guide or someone you know???


.......Sorry I found these on the i-net.


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## ajgunner (May 14, 2008)

That photo with the 5 guys on the dock is just a couple miles south of downtown Portland. You can see the city in the background. That is 5 nice keeper size sturgeon and judging by the look of what I can see of the boat, it probably was a guided trip.


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## trickworm (May 16, 2008)

I think a couple of years ago there was a record sturgeon caught below the lower dam at sinclair . I think the guy got Ga record and a line class record . The fish from what I remember was 120lbs and caught on 10lbs. line .I know those fish can live for a couple of hundred years . they are one of the oldest fish on earth


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## Old Dead River (May 18, 2008)

they are definitely in the oconee I'm aware of several personal accounts of them being witnessed. One was caught in the Lake Sinclair tailrace in the 1990s. A writeup and photo of this fish were published in the Union Recorder. However, I've recently been told that there was a controversy involving that fish and that it may've been shot...

def worth researching. perhaps the union recorder has the original article on file and any subsequent coverage.

sturgeon take an extremely long time to mature. definitely justifiable for them to be protected.


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## arrow2 (May 19, 2008)

ajgunner said:


> The shad run should be just getting started. They will gorge on them for the next 4-6 weeks. If you want to catch the big oversized fish you should rig up with whole shad. It seems pretty strange hanging a 15-20 inch fish on a hook but if you want BIG fish you need to use big bait. Even fishing for keeper size fish you should have no problem catching and releasing lots of them. They really go on a feeding frenzy once the shad start coming in. Are you going to be with a guide or with friends or relatives???


 Just got back  from Oregon yesterday, had a great time, we hired Kyle Ballatisti of fishingthegorge.com, what a great guy. We caught a bunch of shakers (small ones ) and one 75 incher. I think the hot weather that moved in on Thurs hurt us some but we had a great time with an excellent guide. I'm going to try to head back out later this summer. Really want to hook into those huge ones. The shad were just starting to run, story of my life should have been there yesterday.


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## Twenty five ought six (May 19, 2008)

I worked in Jesup from 1975 - 1981, and there still was a commercial sturgeon fishery in the Altamaha then.  The sturgeon were caught with drift nets and limb hooks.  The limb hooks had treble hooks and were baited with a big gob of fish guts.

I was interested in catching one on a rod and reel, but couldn't find any one else who was interested.

There is a named "sturgeon hole" where Penholloway Creek enters the Altamaha below Jesup.

The way that the sturgeon was harvested was interesting.  The roe of course was what was valuable.  Harvesting roe and converting it to caviar requires certain skills, and of course the roe has to be fresh as could be.  So when the one of the locals caught a sturgeon, they would take it to Brunswick, ice the whole thing down with out cutting anything, and ship  it on the daily passenger train to New York.

The state government was also promoting a live eel fishery at that time.  It seems to have petered out.  The deal with that is that the fisherman would put out the eel traps, trap the eels, then put them in plastic bags with oxygen, and ship them to Japan.  The Japanese were the big market, but apparently wouldn't buy them if they weren't alive.

Supposedly the shoals between Dublin and Milledgeville were the spawning grounds, and the upper end of the sturgeon's range.  Even in the 1970's, someone would usually catch one in the high 200 lbs range.  

If someone were really interested, a search of the local weeklies would turn up a lot of pictures.


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## Old Dead River (May 20, 2008)

Twenty five ought six said:


> I worked in Jesup from 1975 - 1981, and there still was a commercial sturgeon fishery in the Altamaha then.  The sturgeon were caught with drift nets and limb hooks.  The limb hooks had treble hooks and were baited with a big gob of fish guts.
> 
> I was interested in catching one on a rod and reel, but couldn't find any one else who was interested.
> 
> ...



wow! thanks for the interesting reply. by weeklies you mean the local newspapers might have pictures of sturgeon caught from that era?

How big of an operation was the commercial sturgeon fishing? Did the Altamaha used to run rampant w/ them?

hmmm, if they spawn around this time of year they could still be around these parts and I know of some dandy shoals near milledgeville.

I'd say a sturgeon is about the most exotic fish you could catch in North American fresh water - just ahead of the bowfin (grinnel) which is another prehistoric monster which hasn't changed a bit in a few millions years or something like that hahaha


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## Twenty five ought six (May 20, 2008)

> by weeklies you mean the local newspapers might have pictures of sturgeon caught from that era?



Yes.  They will publish anything.  Or they used to.  They are so consolidated now that there is not near as much local news as there used to be.



> How big of an operation was the commercial sturgeon fishing?



It was a very small operation overall.  Mostly done by people that you would consider "seasonal workers", or part-timers.  It was kind of a lottery--if you hit, you would make several hundred dollars, but if you didn't you just had a good day on the water.  A lot of "good old boys" that ran bush hooks would bait up for sturgeon.  They would use rope, and the biggest treble hook they could find.  They tended to catch a lot of gators too.

I don't think the sturgeon were ever real plentiful--if they were it was pre-WWII.  Even when I was down there, netting one was considered something of a novelty.

Probably in terms of dollars, the commercial shad fishery was larger.

Again, it was always a wonderment to me.  Hook and line fishing for shad is a big thing on the upper St. John's River (the headwaters), and in states to our north, but I've never seen much interest in such fishing in Georgia.  Every time I would suggest it to someone, they would shrug it off as a waste of time.  One reason I think is that other fishing in the area is so good.

Also in other areas, the H&L fishing is done in smaller water areas where the shad spawn, and I'm not sure anyone knows where those are on the Altamaha.


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## docklight (May 20, 2008)

wanted to add two more pics that i found..........
your post to this thread is just what i was looking
for on this truly amazing fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     at one time in the past it must have had a real
impact on the people of this and other rural parts
of Georgia.


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