Baby sturgeon close-up
- from the Wisconsin River
| I took my yearly sturgeon
fishing trip with bud Frank on October 6-8, though I just entitled this
bit "Wisconsin River 2001," as the big sturgeon stayed away from us and
doesn't deserve the "sturgeon" title.
We still bought the customary
flat of night crawlers, overkill but you never know.
As usual, we started things
off with the ever present freshwater drum --> |
first fish, a shiney
drum
|
this time Frank brought his
oldest son, Lucas,
and a jumbo can of peanuts
to go with the worms
Dramatic late-afternoon sky,
lines in the water, the rumble of trucks
on the interstate and "XRT's
Live From the Archives" on the boom-
box - yep, we're from Chicago..
 |
Lucas' first fish, a drum,
though he didn't count it, since dad handed him his rod and said, "here,
reel this in for me." Can't fool some kids.. |
Dawn breaks - hurry up
sun, and do your thing!
|
| Frank's brother Dan joined
us on Sunday, and he wanted to get on the water at 6 AM. Things were
tough with a 4:30 wake-up after a late night of Scrabble. Plus air
temperatures bit into us at a frosty 27 degrees F. Once that boat
started moving it felt even better ;o) |
Lucas and a small walleye, as
Uncle Danny looks on.. |
Luke holding up Uncle Dan's
walleye, a "keeper" at 16 inches.
|
| We had caught walleyes the
previous day on nightcrawler gobs, but Dan brought a bucket of minnows
so many more found the boat on Sunday. Had Frank and I brought our
lighter tackle, I think we would have done well to divert our efforts toward
old goggle eyes. |
The "Night Stalker," Dave
who let us launch our boat and dock at the Salle Compound. To show
our gratitude, we presented him with the Night Stalker cap, which he was
thrilled to receive. "I slept in it last night," he joked.
He was already going to christen his boat The NIGHT STALKER.. |
get the Night
Stalker
Walleye
Hat here..
|
Our loan sturgeon of the trip,
a juvenile of two feet.
|
..and a puny cat rounded off
the last morning
|
| With this small sturgeon,
we were really able to get a glimpse of its structure. At this size,
the armor "spikes" and plates are more pronounced, providing protection
for the pint-sized fish. When they get larger, the armour doesn't
grow at the same rate, becoming spread out and less pronounced. At
the size they become, I don't think they need the protection anymore, at
least not from other fish.
On our trip back Monday afternoon,
we learned of the jet fighter that was dispatched to intercept a commercial
flight on its way to Chicago. Turned out that the trouble was just
from a mentally unstable passenger from California. This was a reminder
to us that our world has deeply changed, though I was grateful to disconnect
from it for one short weekend. And we'll get that big one next year
(spoken like a one-time Cub fan :o)
Jim
|
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