Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What's the limit on Idaho Sturgeon?

Bottom Feeders TV show has them netting them.by the hundreds and cutting them open for roe at $20/Oz

Are they any good eating?

Idaho sturgeon limit is zero. Illegal to remove them from the water.

Idaho? It's catch and release only so the limit is zero. It's also illegal to net them. They can't be removed from the water, either. Very few are alive today who have eaten one, at least not one caught in Idaho, so very few have any experience on whether they're good eating or not. They used to catch and eat them, though, so I assume they would be good.

If someone is netting them and taking the roe, there are some legal authorities here who'd like to visit with them.

I caught one in Oregon. They taste great.

Caught one from the columbia river in washington. If I remember correctly it was just under the 5' mark. The meat was white and tasted great. But after just a little time in the freezer it really yellowed and didn't taste so great. First ever sturgeon so we may not have cleaned it correctly?

I’ve caught tens of thousands of shovelnose sturgeon for their roe and meat. I took the roe and made caviar which I sold on the open market.
Perfectly legal here in the Midwest as long as you have the licenses

We ate them out of the Sacramento River growing up. My Mother would make sturgeon balls with the meat. Back then anything over 36" was legal. That is no longer the case. My wife and I fished them a few years ago on the Fraser River in BC. Over a certain size that could not be removed from the water. All were chipped (if they weren't already) and sent on their way.

The Snake and lower Salmon Rivers in Idaho used to be full of them as far up as Shoshone Falls and they were very popular for meat and roe. In the late 1800's they were caught commercially here. The species found here is the White which can get up to 15' long. As more dams along the Snake were built, it screwed up the water flows and the sturgeon numbers plummeted. The dams divided the population into 8 or 9 small populations and none have flourished.
They say that they're only found below Shoshone Falls but some years ago I saw a small one in shallow water above that near Milner dam. Maybe they've tried to plant some above the falls.

Sturgeon meat is delicious--at least the kinds I've eaten. There are many types. Slabs of smoked sturgeon delicatessen style is my favorite. Not sure of species but I was told that the ones I enjoyed at delis in NYC and Boston were imported from northern Canada. Not sure if they were farmed or wild caught. I'd guess farmed, but don't know for sure.

RMerta, I'd love to hear more on your caviar prep process. I've happily eaten a few different types of roe from fish I've caught but never had a go at making caviar. Pretty obviously salting/brining is a big part of the equation, but as to ratios of salt and all other details I've no idea. Is there a heating element involved at all? I'm sure I can find recipes/processes online, but hearing some details from someone here who knows about it and does it would be great and appreciated. Funny, but just yesterday I enjoyed fried smelt roe spread on a piece of buttered toast. Great stuff.

My folks used to net white fish out of the empty canals in the fall. Several five gallon buckets full of them each year.

The fish were gutted and canned in pint jars with a bit of tomato from the garden, skin, bones, and all. Mom would make fried fish patties for us the rest of the year. They were not to bad. The bones were a bit crunchy.

Mom and Dad somehow got the idea that the roe was supposed to be edible. Mom fried up a few messes of the stuff.

There are not many thing I simply can not/will not eat. That fried fish roe was one of about a half dozen. I dislike crab, but can force myself to eat it. Not those fish eggs. Not even drowned in catsup. There was no disguising that crap.

Caught lots of em outta the Chehalis, Columbia and mouth of the grays river back when you could fish for em more than 3 days a year. Damn good table fare. 👍

We eat Lake Sturgeon here it is considered a delicacy here among native people. They occasionally come up in a whitefish net here and are released if alive. If dead the crew boils them and fight over the head. Never heard of anyone making caviar with the roe.
I have eaten whitefish roe which is considered a delicacy here also—it would take a very strong mean man to make me eat any more.

Kamo I sent you a pm

I had a friend claim he he caught one near cauldron Linn which is between Shoshone Falls and Milner. We thought he was just drunk and caught a catfish.

My grandpa always had a picture of a big one on the wall that he caught years ago near Hagerman. I remember it being about twice as tall as him.

Bb

My caviar tasted like butter with a hint of salt. The Russians loved me and my caviar