The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Thanks for the comments, I knew it wasn't a Tench when it jumped out of the water, it did put up a scrap on my float tackle. I was just happy to get it out and put it back, I'm not sure how it got in the water, I've later found out there may be more than one present. I'm not sure I'd want to catch it again though. Although I suppose that catching something different is just one of the attractions of angling.

I had 3 given to me and they were put into a largish water. They grew very well indeed reaching over 40 lb in a few years. They also jumped or tail-walked when hooked. One was caught about 5 times over a weekend.

Sadly, more and more are being stocked. Being a member of the shark family they have to constantly swim to stay alive and can be a nightmare as they consequently have to feed so much.

I have caught a lot of them in France. One session we had a lake exclusively booked and there were 12 sturgeon in there. Between 4 of us we landed I think it was 23 in the first night and that continued through the week with several a day. The poor things just get caught over and over again as well as being constantly foul hooked because of their hard shark type fins picking up lines.

This is why so many French fisheries stock them as they are used as clearers of lost tackle. It is usual to have to remove several tangles of line from them. The first couple of venues I caught them from I thought they were great fun but once you start to realise you are catching the same fish several times a day, the novelty soon wears thin. I don't think they feel a lot when hoovering with that great mouth. Anything light is simply breathed in.

A lake I used to fish had 3 sturgeon, biggest about 15lbs. The most stupid fish I have ever come across. They were always the first fish to be caught and we're often caught several times a day.

Crossed post with Olly, I wonder if it was the same lake.