(Editor's Note: Many thanks to MDC's River Recovery Team member Paul Horner for directing me to interesting information on our local Grand River.
The catching of a federally-endangered and extremely-rare pallid sturgeon by an angler at the Chillicothe Coval Gann Grand River Access a few weeks ago was another chapter in the story of our local Grand River's superb fishing history.
A few anglers know just how good the Grand can be at times, but there are many folks who have lived near the Grand for years and have no idea of the diverse fish species that have swum and are swimming there.
This pallid sturgeon was actually the second caught this far up the Grand, with another documented as being taken May 10, 1998, also near the Chillicothe access.
That fish was examined and determined to be one of 24 pallids tagged and released into the Missouri River at river mile 299 on July 24, 1997, and in less than a year had swum several miles up the Grand to arrive near Chillicothe where it was caught.
Pallid sturgeon aren't the only unusual fish found at one time or another in the Grand.
It has been documented to contain more than 60 species of fish. Most common are channel catfish, black and yellow bullheads, carp and carpsuckers, a couple species of shiners, green sunfish and some really huge flathead and blue catfish.
Other endangered species that have been found in the Grand include the Topeka shiner, paddlefish, mooneye and blue suckers. Paddlefish have been caught as far above the Missouri River as the Weldon River near Princeton. In addition to these endangered species, stockings and pond and lake overflows have brought additional unusual fish into the Grand with largemouth bass, crappie and bluegills all being taken occasionally.
Two smallmouth bass were captured in Shoal Creek back in 1973, but none have been reported since. Spotted bass were stocked in the Grand River basin from 1965-71 and recent studies found populations of spotted bass still are in Grindstone, Big and Marrowbone creeks.
Escaped walleyes from several Iowa reservoirs have created populations downstream and walleyes are occasionally taken in the Weldon Fork and Thompson River, with a locally-popular walleye fishery in West Muddy Creek near Princeton. Redear sunfish and various Asian carps are also now found in the Grand River basin, with a bighead carp taken near Chillicothe in 1994 the first documented capture of this species in the basin.
Catfish are the most important sportfish in the Grand River basin, with large numbers of channel catfish and bullheads being caught each year, and reports of huge flatheads and blue cats not uncommon.
In June 2006, my father-in-law took a 96-pound blue cat from the Grand near Bosworth and it was the second-largest taken that week, with a 100-pounder retaining bragging rights. Many years ago, a 150-pound blue cat was caught and weighed near Chillicothe.
The Grand River has evolved from a deep, clear prairie stream to a flood prone and often muddy river, but there are still lots of fish, including some strange and exotic ones, lurking in its waters. It's a great place to fish, with a big fish possible, and there may even be another 150 pounder out there!
Bill Wehrle is outdoor sports editor of the Constitution-Tribune. His column appears in this space each Thursday.