Surgin' sturgeon: Success story continues on the Rainy River

Lake sturgeon fishing began in earnest this week on the Minnesota side of the Rainy River, and those seeking the state’s largest fish are bobbing above more huge sturgeon than anytime since the late 1800s.

A new sturgeon population assessment concludes the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods contain 92,000 lake sturgeon 40 inches or longer. Put head to tail, that is a string of fish more than 60 miles long.

“We’ve known big fish numbers are on the rise,” said Tom Heinrich, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fisheries specialist in Baudette, Minn. “The assessment results document that. Not long ago a 50-inch sturgeon was quite the catch. Today, no one blinks at a 50-incher.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/300169731.html