Vindicated after 20 years-Tailwater Cumberland River sturgeon

20 years ago ,we saw a 6-8 ft sturgeon in Cumberland River tailwaters.Lots of people laughed when we told them--but guess what.A friend of mine 's son caught this 32 incher below Burkesville on worms while fishing with his uncle.Don't know what species of sturgeon this is,still waiting on KDFWR biologist to review pics.Fish was released back into river in great shape.Talked to head of fisheries today,they have never released any in river below Wolf Creek Dam,only in lake.






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I sure hope it went back in the water...........

Once heard a very loud noise that sounded like a rock falling in after falling off of a cliff & saw what looked exactly like a whales back sticking out of the water when they surface & dive back down like you see on tv. The size of the tail was unbelievable. We hauled *ss out of there. Corps & Fish & Wildlife said it was more than likely one of the old remaining land locked Sturgeon from when Cumberland was formed. This was at the dock at Piney Woods on White Oak.

Hear they fight hard, hope it was released to get bigger.

I have seen 6 or7 caught at the dam this year. All of them were under 20 inches. All were released.

my mom and dad caught one, one night up pitman creek right after or during a striper busts. it was only 15-18 inches but it looked like the picture above... it freaked them out, they have fished pitman creek for many years and never seen anything like that... it was released after about 20 pictures were taken. they were catfishing with worms when they caught them...

Fish was released.Brought it to bait shop in a cooler of river water.Young man and his uncle had never seen or heard of sturgeon,didn't have a clue what it was.

Thats awesome! Did they mention if it was a good fight? The ones I have seen caught on TV seem to fight pretty good but they are usually monsters.

Don't know how it fought.Only thing for sure 11 yr old little man was mighty excited!

From the picture it appears to be a short nosed sturgeon. Wikipedia has a picture of one about the same size and the head is identical I think.

First of all, I would like to say congratulations to the all of you on such a unique catch of Lake Sturgeon. TWRA and KDFWR in cooperation with USFWS, TVA, and the TN Aquarium have been releasing them in the Cumberland River since 2006. KDFWR has began a restoration program on the Cumberland River above Wolf Creek Dam. It is possible for those fish to move through the sluice gates of Wolf Creek Dam, but it is probably more likely that this fish as well as the others you guys have mentioned moved upstream from stockings of Cordell Hull that began in 2009. It is great to hear that the sturgeon in the Cumberland River are doing well. I hope that you guys as well as many other anglers continue to see these fish in your catches. Just remember Lake Sturgeon are a threatened and endagered species that we are trying to restore, so please release these fish as quickly as possible and report your catches to your local KDFWR biologist or TWRA's Jason Henegar at 615-781-6573. Thank you and good Fishing!!

Very cool story!