Caught my biggest lake sturgeon on 12 lbs test, number 4 mosquito hook and red worm.

Mr. Mays,

While you can estimate a fish’s length from a photograph—and sometimes use a chart to approximate its weight—any values would only be estimates without proper verification.

Releasing the lake sturgeon was absolutely the correct action, as they are under a no-harvest regulation. Lake sturgeon were extirpated from Kentucky in the 1950s, and the last documented catch occurred during that decade. In 2008, we began a restoration effort, and since then we have stocked more than 90,000 lake sturgeon statewide. We now receive several catch reports each year. Our long-term goal is to eventually establish a naturally reproducing population, but because lake sturgeon are such a long-lived species, evaluating the success of this effort will take several decades.

Because of their protected status, lake sturgeon are not eligible for state-record consideration. State-record entries must be for species that can be legally harvested, as the process of certifying a record fish typically results in the fish’s death (though this is not always the case depending on the resources and knowledge of the angler).

Congratulations on your catch, and thank you for doing the right thing by releasing it.

Best Regards,

Fish and Wildlife Program Manager
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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