A Idaho lake known for bass and crappie fishing is now famous for having produced the state-record white sturgeon.
Greg Poulsen, visiting from Utah, landed the nearly 10-foot, 4-inch sturgeon Aug. 5 after a marathon battle at C.J. Strike Reservoir.
White sturgeon, the largest freshwater fish in North America, are protected in Idaho and the state only recognizes catch-and-release records.
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The sturgeon released by Poulsen measured 124 inches (10.33 feet). The previous record was 119.5 inches, set in 2019.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which announced the record on Friday, explained that white sturgeon exceeding 10 feet are “exceedingly rare” anywhere but the deep-running Hells Canyon stretch of the Snake River.
Even in Hells Canyon, though, of the more than 4,000 white sturgeon counted during IDFG surveys over the past 30 years, only 10 sturgeon exceeded 10 feet.
“So, yes, they do exist, but these are very rare and special fish,” the IDFG stated Friday.
Sturgeon populations in Idaho have declined sharply from historic levels because of dams, pollution and over harvesting.
The release-only rule has been in place since 1971. But Idaho does list a rod-and-reel weight record for white sturgeon: a 394-pound fish caught on the Snake River by Glenn Howard in 1956.
The state also has record of a 675-pound white sturgeon caught via set line in 1908.
C.J. Strike Reservoir is an impoundment of the Snake River and Bruneau River.
Poulsen and his wife, Angie, and friend Wendy Guess – all from Eagle Mountain, Utah – are pictured posing with the record sturgeon in the water. Hoisting sturgeon even for photos is banned.
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