Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 12 yo Angler in Idaho Reels in 10 Ft Monster Sturgeon, Ties Catch-and-Release State Record

This young fella got it done.

Never fished this part of the country. Definitely on my bucket list.


Link to story with several pics


BY EPOCH INSPIRED STAFF TIME MAY 12, 2022


A young angler in Idaho, just 12 years old, recently reeled in a ginormous sturgeon from Snake River — his monstrous fish nearly broke the state record.

Tyler Grimshaw from Vernal, Utah, was with his father, Lance, on a guided fishing tour near Mountain Home in southern Idaho when he made the monumental catch. Fishing guide Joe Weisner, 36, had spent the earlier part of the day with a group of sturgeon clients and met the boy and his dad, close friends of his, later that evening in late March.

Right out of the gate, Tyler snagged a whopper. “About a 7-foot sturgeon,” Joe told The Epoch Times, adding that Tyler, who’s been fishing for his whole life, has hooked “a ton of these fish.”

But apparently their fishing haul had just gotten started that day. About 15 minutes later, Tyler felt an elemental tug on the line.


“As soon as it was hooked, it jumped and I knew it was a really big fish,” recounted Joe, who works at Jones Sport Fishing. “I didn’t know how big it was; I just knew it was extremely big.”

Tyler fought the sturgeon for about 30 minutes when Joe realized it was truly exceptional. “Very rarely do I have fish go more than 30 minutes on a fight,” he said.

Twice more the river monster leapt from the water, one time jumping just 5 feet from the boat, which Joe said “was terrifying, because the fish was so large.”

Despite the 12-year-old’s meager 80 pounds, his considerable experience gave him an edge on the colossal bottom-feeder. Resting his rod on the gunnel on the side of the boat, he squatted on the rod, using his bodyweight as leverage.

“While the fish is running, the boat is holding the weight of the rod,” Joe explained. “Whenever the fish is running, you don’t want to be trying to fight the fish, because you’re not going to stop a 300- or 400-pound fish.”

They followed the sturgeon up and down the river for nearly an hour, until it ran out of steam and gave in.

“He did it on his own,” said Joe of the 12-year-old angler, who’s been in the news before for his massive catches. “It’s pretty fun to watch.”

After the successful struggle, the boy, his dad, and the guide broke out cameras and measuring tape to pose with the trophy catch and confirm the near-record.

Due to state fishing laws, it’s illegal to pull a sturgeon from the water; harvesting isn’t allowed. So Tyler settled for tying the current Idaho state record for catch and release (The current state sturgeon record, a 675-pounder caught in 1908, will thus likely stand indefinitely).

Tyler’s catch measured 9 feet, 11 inches, from nose to tail tip, having a “massive girth” and weighing over 400 pounds. It was within a half-inch of the record; though, according to regulations, it must exceed it by two inches to qualify.

But that doesn’t detract from the significance of the momentous catch, according to the guide.

“I’ve been fishing this section of the river for nearly 10 years,” said Joe. “We see hundreds and hundreds of these fish a year … this was substantially larger.

“This one was just a truly incredible, significant fish, a very rare fish for southern Idaho.”

The existence of the sturgeon tells him there are likely bigger specimens to be had by record-seeking anglers in the state.

Tyler is among them, for he’s hardly given up. He now sets his sights on exceeding his catch, quite possibly making that new state record a reality.

I bet that was a rush. It's all downhill from there, Kid.
A lady we know hooked one near here a couple years ago...on a 4lb line while fishing for perch. They estimated it to be about 6' long. It cleared the water at one point. There was no way to reel it in on that light tackle but they played it as long as they could. The problem was that they only had an electric motor on the boat and it couldn't keep up with the fish. It finally outran them and stripped her line off the reel.

Dang, kid, way to go! Well played young man. I've fought a few big sturgeon and they'll darn near yank you off the boat on a hard run.

Congratulations! Love that pic of him biting the tail.

What 12 yr old would love catching a trophy dinosaur fish?!?!

Congratulations to him!!

Monster beast. Congrats kid.

Having reeled in a 9' one that kid had work cut out for him. Great job.

How old do you reckon that fish is?

Poor little boy is forever scarred.

That is incredible and catching one is on my bucket list.

Good deal and glad to hear they're that far up the system. I was aware of their presence in the Hell's Canyon reach, but did not know they were up past the next few dams. Don't have the gear myself so will have to do a guide some day. There were true monsters in the system back when mega tons of salmon ran the channels with pics of teams hauling them out of the water. That source of grub is long gone now.

What's the story on not being able to remove the
fish from the water?
Are they endangered? Are they inedible or poison?
Dangerous to the angler? ? ? ?

Not familiar with Idaho law but there is a slot limit on white sturgeon here in Ca. Can't be under 40" and can't keep it if over 60". Protecting the big breeders is the plan. Also barbless hooks only which makes them even harder to catch.

They're delicious. Very firm flesh with no bones. Not at all fishy. Luxury fare if you can get it.

Sturgeon are ancient. A 10 footer could be 100 years old or more.

Considered endangered, now protected species due to the over harvest for caviar (eggs) in the 19th century.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon

Wow!

The Lord is kind.
It looks like He gave that boy a memory to treasure the rest of his life.

Holy schitt!!!!

Big frigging fish!!!



I bet Billy/Crappy Hamster caught a bigger one when he was 8 yrs old.

It was the day after he put 15 shots into one hole at 100yds with his stepdads 8mm 98 mauser.

👍👍😄😄😄🤔🤔🤣🤣🤣

LOL. On a Cane Pole. 😜

Well, yes, but the real problem is the same as with salmon. White sturgeon are a migratory species, and the dams are preventing migration, and therefore preventing reproduction.

The IDFG sturgeon stocking program has been successrful in re-establishing the fish in it's natural range, as well as several river sections where they never were, e.g. above Shoshone Falls and below American Falls dam.

They are now also farmed to a modest extent, mostly with the goal of producing caviar, but the Chinese have entered that market, with predictable results. That and a 7 to 8 year wait until you can sell your crop deters all but the most intrepid entrepreneurs...

Yep. Dams are a big part of it.