This fish actually was most likely an ocean-run fish caught in waters off British Columbia … not the Missouri River in North Dakota as the recent e-mail I received would have me believe. It is most likely a white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), not a lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescen).

Nevertheless, lake sturgeon are making a strong comeback in Minnesota. This ancient species is monstrous and mysterious, with a history nearly as tragic as that of the American bison. It is among Minnesota’s most remarkable fish. This toothless, scaleless, boneless throwback to the dinosaur age is a fish few anglers have ever seen, much less slipped onto a stringer. Even seasoned sturgeon anglers can spend literally hundreds of hours to catch a single one of these uncommon, hard-to-locate fish.

Females of the species take more than 20 years to reach sexual maturity, and both sexes can live for more than a century. This is also the biggest fish that swims in Minnesota, reaching over 100 pounds (though unofficial reports from the turn of the century indicate sturgeon more than 7 feet long and weighing more than 300 pounds!).

Ojibwe Indians arrived on the shores of the pine-rimmed waters of Minnesota in the 1400s and built a life around the lake sturgeon. Just as the prairie tribes relied on bison, the Ojibwe depended on lake sturgeon for meat, skin, oil, and other necessities, such as a fixative derived by boiling the cartilaginous spine. The Ojibwe mixed this glue with red ochre to create a durable paint still visible in pictographs along the Minnesota-Ontario border waters.

Minnesota continued to boast good populations of lake sturgeon 200 years ago. But the fish were rather easily exploited, and they were almost fished to extinction in the late 1800s for their flesh and for their eggs, which can be made into caviar.

But sturgeon fishing is booming. Lake of the Woods and the straight, broad Rainy River, which flows 86 miles west from a hydropower dam at International Falls are the favorite places. But you’ll find more and more sturgeon in the Red River and, if you try hard enough and long enough, the Minnesota River, the Mississippi as far north as the St. Anthony Falls dam in Minneapolis, the St. Croix and its tributaries, the Canadian border waters as far east as Lac La Croix and Lake Superior .

Don’t go with light tackle if you’re angling for sturgeon. Check out some sturgeon fishing tips and history from the Minnesota DNR at http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/baudette/sturgeon_advice.pdf and http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/julaug00/sturgeon.html.

Detailed information on lake sturgeon is available at http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/wsrivers/sturgeon_handout.pdf. For more info on the white sturgeon, which can grow to about 18 feet long, see http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/fishhabitats/sturgeon/index.html.

Everything needs work … but a lot less than what a lot of folks would tell you. Regardless of what the manufacturers try to sell you or your neighbor down the street with the 175 horse Merc on his bass boat tells you, fish could care less how you manage to get there. They’re more interested in what’s on the end of your line and how you present it.

Granted, you’re not going to get anywhere particularly fast in this boat. You’re also going to be limited to one friend and, at most, a kid. But fishing should be about enjoying yourself outdoors not racing your boat around the lake. Just because your boat may not be the nicest or neatest or fastest doesn’t mean your stringer has to be empty at the end of the day.

Stay tuned to Minnesota Outdoors. We’re going to fix this baby up, showing you how it’s done along the way. We won’t be doing anything fancy that requires exact measurements, levels, marine plywood and electrical wiring. Just a few dollars for some basic supplies, some elbow grease and a bit of planning and thought.

If you think it’s warm for April here, try Quetico. Routes on at least some of the lakes are open and a few folks are headed up for an April trip. That’d be something … cool, sunny days … no bugs … slow fishing likely … but a great time to watch and observe the critters.