In early May, local angler Samantha Simons, fishing with her boyfriend Jeremy Deard at the Chillicothe Coval Gann Grand River Access and using nightcrawlers for bait, was amazed when she reeled in a "white sturgeon", the first either of them had ever seen.
Pretty sure it was some kind of rarity, they took pictures of the 30 inch fish, released it and took the pictures to the Chillicothe MDC Office to find out what they’d caught.
There MDC Resource Scientist Darby Niswonger, coincidentally presently working on a pallid sturgeon endangered species project on the Missouri River, identified the fish as a pallid sturgeon, one of only two (the other was over 10 years ago) ever known to have been taken from the Grand River this far from its mouth at the Missouri River.
Without seeing the actual fish she was unable to tell if it was tagged as a hatchery stocked sturgeon or was actually a "wild" fish born in the river. Either way it was an extremely-rare fish this far upstream in the Grand River.
Pallid sturgeon, which are distinctively almost snow white and Federally “endangered”, and lake sturgeon are the only two species of larger fish (the rest are minnows, darters and cavefish) that are classified as endangered under Missouri Wildlife Code 10-4.111 and anglers are not allowed to possess them. Anyone catching a pallid sturgeon is required to immediately release it.
The Missouri River Recovery Team project, a cooperative effort involving MDC and their Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa counterparts plus the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Geological Survey, involves capturing pallid sturgeon in several locations in the Missouri River, one of the few rivers still containing any of this rare species, monitoring their movements if hatchery stocked and carrying tags, and retaining some for brood stock and raising little ones for release back into the Missouri River. Even in the Missouri River, they've found pallid sturgeon to be few and far between.
Just recently some of these young hatchery raised pallid sturgeon were stocked in the Missouri River at four locations, including one stocking just upstream from the confluence of the Grand and Missouri Rivers. About 550 sturgeon were stocked at each location, all tagged so they can be identified if later caught. Hopefully, this study and stocking efforts may someday increase pallid sturgeon numbers to the point where they are no longer "endangered".
This project is ongoing and the River Team folks would certainly be interested in any other pallid sturgeon sightings. Darby's not working presently due to the birth of son Cash Daniel Niswonger, but Paul Horner at MDC would appreciate any calls involving pallid sturgeon and can be reached at 660-646-3140, extension 247.
You can't keep a pallid sturgeon if you catch one, but at sunset on June 30 you'll once again be able to catch and keep a daily limit of 8 bullfrogs/green frogs (possession limit 16) when their annual season opens. Frogs may be taken by several different methods, some requiring a fishing license and some requiring a hunting license. Check the regulations before going out after frogs to be sure you've got the right license(s).
Fish are biting and frog season's about to open, so don't let summer's heat and mosquitoes stop you from having some great outdoor fun.
Chillicothe, Mo. —
