Tennessee-based fisherman and video producer Joe Jellison, aka Chatt Cats (with 37,000 subscribers on YouTube!), visited the St. Croix River in early October to fish with the Northwoods Angling team. While Jellison catches lots of blue catfish in his home waters, he came to the St. Croix River to catch lake sturgeon.
The first fish he catches is 50.5 inches long, Jellison’s new personal best sturgeon. Fifteen minutes later, he caught a 19-lb. channel catfish, another new personal best.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he says. “Everybody should experience something like this.”
The anglers frequently express their excitement over catching this unique species, which have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. The Ojibwe people have ancient connections to the creatures, and call sturgeon Numa, Nahmay, or Namé, meaning the king of fish.
At one point, the group catch a small sturgeon which puts up a good fight, and they discover the fish carries a tag from the DNR. By recording and reporting the number on the tag, they’ll be able to get the fish’s life history and help sturgeon conservation at the same time.
Fishing details:
- Water Temperature: 58°
- Bait: Live nightcrawlers and cut gizzard shad
- Tackle: 7’11” Medium heavy Tomcat rod spooled with 80 lb braided line on a Penn Fathom lw20 carolina rigged with an 80 lb leader
- Method: Anchor fishing
Bonus video!
Walleye and sauger fishing with Larry Smith Outdoors: