3 Rivers Fishing Adventures

Crazy tag data on this one! Not so much for how it moved, rather for how many times it's been caught and how there has been no growth and even maybe got a bit smaller.
We noticed it was super skinny and definitely appeared unhealthy to me.

We caught it on 10/4 and measured at 38.5".

Originally was tagged on 9/11/15 about a mile upstream from where we caught it. At the time it was 37.87 inches long with an 11.89 inch girth and weighed 8.6 pounds.

Reported by an angler on 9/4/20 about 2 miles upstream from where we caught it. Reported as 39 inches long with 12.25 inch girth.

Reported by an angler on 10/21/21 about 3 miles downstream from where we caught it. Reported as 39 inches long.

Reported by an angler on 8/3/25 about 3.5 miles upstream from where we caught it. Reported as 38.75 inches long.

Reported by an angler on 10/24/25 from the same area you caught it. Reported as 39 inches long.

Reported by an angler on 10/25/25 about a half mile upstream from where we caught it. Reported as 39 inches long.

11 years and re-caught 6 times with virtually no growth.

Another slower night on numbers for Rich and Ben.
We started off with a few big Drum and then Ben's first Sturgeon was an absolute unit! Add another one to the 60+ column for the year.
Thanks for the trip guys!

A short few hour trip for Dale and his grandson Riker. The weather was great but the bite was slow. ☹️

We did find a couple though!

Thanks for the trip.

More tag reports:

1- 900067000257290 45.5" Caught on 10/2 at 22:59

Tagged 8/25/2023 near the 36 bridge and 44 inches. It was caught by an angler on 10/7/2023 near Bayport.



2- 900067000236005 35.5" Caught on 10/3 at 20:44

Tagged on 10/26/2024 near the Stillwater liftbridge and was 34 inches. It was caught on 8/4/2025 near Stillwater and then on 9/6/2025 near Bayport

A much slower (and colder) night for Melissa, Matt, and Austin.
We did find some fish though!
Austin caught another tagged fish and it was likely the skinniest Sturgeon I've ever seen. It was literally all head. We weren't able to top Melissa's 59.5" PB that we caught in the Spring, but Matt and Austin both caught their first Sturgeon and it was a beautiful night on the river!

Thanks again for the trip!

As I was sitting at the dock waiting for Ann and Audrey to arrive. I was chatting with Travis (a previous guest who was heading out to fish). I look over my shoulder and hear "Welcome to the Jungle" playing and see a Monkey and an Elephant getting into the boat. I was like, wait, what??

That should give you an idea how the night went. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. 🤣😆😁

Thanks for all the laughs!!

An awesome night for Bob and his boys Lucas and Oliver! The sun went down and the bite turned on.
Several nice fish boated (which were all firsts for them). Lucas boated a 50+ and we even caught another dang turtle. 20 years out there and never caught a turtle and this is the second in just a week. Weird
Oh we we caught another tagged fish too.
Thanks for the fun night guys!

Whisker Seeker Tackle
SmackDown Catfishing

More tagged fish reports!

#1 Caught 9/25, we measured it at 45.5"
Was tagged 8/6/24 by the 36 bridge. Was 43 inches and 12.1 pounds.

#2 Caught on 9/26, we measured it at 46"
Tagged 6/11/25 below the dam in St. Croix Falls, 45.1 inches at the time. It has not been reported by other anglers since.

#3 Caught on 9/26, we measured it at 48"
We tagged this one this year on 6/4/26 below the dam in St. Croix Falls. 47.8 inches at that time. No other anglers have reported it.

#4 Caught on 9/26, we measured it at 27"
Tagged on 10/17/23 near Bayport. 23.5 inches at that time for a growth of 3.5 inches in 3 years. No other anglers have reported it.

#5 (No Pic) Caught on 9/27 We measured at 37.5"
This one was tagged on 1/26/24 near the powerplant and was 34 inches at that time. No other anglers have reported it.

I've been out on some foggy nights but last night with Chow, Carlos, and Harry was simply another level. Without GPS navigation there was zero chance of getting back to the ramp. It was incredible!
Unfortunately the fishing slowed down for us too but we did manage to catch a handful during a short bite window.
Carlos also brought a surprise and we had some caviar snacks while catching Sturgeon. 😀

Thanks for the memorable night guys, that was crazy!!!

This fish has been on quite the journey! Tagged in Stillwater in 2023 (it was 23"), then caught in Chaska on the MN River in 2024 and then we caught it on Wednesday near North Hudson.
It's now 27.5"