Smother sturgeon in honey & brown sugar and smoke the H out of it!!!

[slapaho_injun]

I've always wanted to fish for sturgeon. But, I'm even more interested in how they taste. I'm hoping they don't taste like chicken. What other types of fish do they resemble in flavor/texture? I've only had one type of fish that was smoked/salted. And that was blind robin way back in the day with my dad.

Texture is firm and meat flakes nicely. Very few bones . Very white meat. Tastes very similar to the smoked salmon but just not as sweet? If that makes sense. The salmon I think tastes like candy. Sturgeon is very close. I definitely prefer the filets when smoking just about any fish. I keep the skin on but carve out the rib bones , remove tail etc.....I do cut off each spiny bone on the outer skin for sturgeon but I’ve heard others don’t? I’ve tried both ways and prefer to remove them.

 

[slapaho_injun]

View attachment 371573

So how did it taste ? Did you like it ?

 

[Leonid]

So how did it taste ? Did you like it ?

The test is ok but for me something is missing(hard to describe exactly but I am filling that I need spices.I will try to add la grille salmon before putting to smoker)

 

[nanuk]

in Saskatchewan, sturgeon are protected species. The limit is "0".

I work next to the North Saskatchewan River, and there are some HUGE sturgeon in this river.
the South Sask River had some MONSTERS pulled out years ago.

currently, the largest that are caught (and released) are only around 60-70 lbs.

 

[browneyesvictim]

You can call me crazy if you want... but I fish for them from a kayak. This one I caught last year is somewhere in the 8-10 foot range and is somewhere around 300 lbs. Caught on the Columbia River near the Gorge. This one was released unharmed. There is a limited season and limited size you can keep. By law you may not remove them from the water. That is a difficult thing to do anyway from a kayak. We just sit sideways and hook your ankles under them to hold them to "try" and get a photo. Sometimes you cant get the whole fish in the picture frame, and nearly impossible to measure. Therefore its only a guesstimate on the size.

 

[nanuk]

I saw a picture of a skeleton that was supposedly sucked into a turbine intake and died against the debris grate.

its weight was put somewhere in the 1800-2000 lb range. IIRC, it was 15ft or so long, and fat.

I can't imagine the age of something that is 10feet and 300lbs!
Amazing fish those.

 

[slapaho_injun]

Crazy cool pic !!

 

[slapaho_injun]

We can keep 10 Shovelnose Sturgeon (we call them sand sturgeon - they are much smaller - usually 24-36") here in MN ....but the big Lake Sturgeon have no season and are off limits. I caught a Lake Sturgeon that was over 5' long this year but had to release him right away. Didn't even get a picture.