:bigeyes:Up to 6 feet long and 200 pounds! :bigeyes::bigeyes:
Lake sturgeon, Ohio's largest fish species, can exceed more than 6 feet in length and weigh more than 200 pounds. They have no scales, but instead have bony plates along the back, sides and belly. They have a distinctive shark-like tail, long, pointed snout, and four long barbels (used to locate prey) in front of a suction-like mouth. The upper body ranges from olive to gray, graduating to a yellow or milky white belly.
ODNR cooperates in an interagency tagging study to collect information on sturgeon populations in Lake Erie and connecting waterways in the lower Great Lakes. Since 1995, more than 4,000 sturgeon have been tagged. Recaptures of these highly migratory fish will help biologists learn more about the population, migration movements and possible spawning grounds.
One of the sturgeon reported in Ohio waters this year was the recapture of a fish tagged from a current monitoring project in the Lake St. Clair and Detroit River region; the first recapture outside the Lake St. Clair/Detroit River system.
“We are very optimistic about the comeback of Lake Erie's sturgeon and hope to someday find evidence of spawning grounds, including spawning in Ohio streams,” Davies said. “A Cleveland angler caught a 5 1/2-foot sturgeon on the Cuyahoga River last September. Two other adult sturgeon caught in the Maumee River last year could be an indication that sturgeon are returning to these streams.”
