Page 60 - 2015 Lake St. Clair Guide Magazine

MAN VS. FISH How we got the 100 Pound- hands and lift...then you try and hold the we thanked them for the help.
er Continued from Page 58...When it tail and I’ll reach down and grab its head
jumped the 2nd time at 1st I froze with my and lift...use everything you got!” So we hausted we just sat there taking it all in
jaw dropped then both Dennis and I were
whoooping and hollering like two kids on
Christmas Morning. Another boat that was
fishing nearby stopped and shared our ex-
citement as they watched! It was a man
and woman and it was her birthday and he
told us he told her he’d show her a big fish
tonight. Little did they know how big this
fish was!
After 2 more jumps the monster finally
surfaced and I was in awe...” How are we
gonna get that thing in the boat?” was run-
ning through my mind as I looked at this
Pre-Historic Giant. I grabbed our big net
and tried 3 times to get it in the net and
it was just too big! So I put the net down
and grabbed a hold of the giant’s tail and
had to use both hands to hang on! Dennis
put the rod in the holder and I told him to
bear hug it and lift with all his might...and I
said, “Dennis...Lift!” To which he replied...”
I am! I am!” and the fish wasn’t moving!
So we let go and Dennis grabbed the rod
and it was still hooked. As I tried the net
again I heard from our spectators in the
boat watching, “I think you need a bigger
boat!” The net didn’t work so I told Den-
nis, “ Ok I am gonna grab the tail with both
Author of our story....Donald McChristian Jr.
with a 57” Sturgeon on the North Channel
Page 60
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What a fish! We were so beat and ex-
got it half way in and I said, “O.k. Dennis let for a good 10 minutes then I called Jim
go of the tail and grab down here and lift Felgenauer the President of St. Clair-De-
again with everything you got!” Slowly the troit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow and
beast made its way into the boat and was said, I think I’m done fishing. Jim asked
on the floor and the high fives and whoo- why what happened and I told him we just
pin and hollerin started to echo from Algo- caught and landed a 68” 100 pounder and
nac to Port Huron!
After measuring
the length at 68”
and the girth at 32”
Dennis knew the
weight chart so well
he said, “This is my
100 pounder Don!
My dream came true
thank you so much!”
We quickly got the
fish on Dennis’s lap Dennis Moritz from Roseville with his 105#, 68”
for a few pictures
and both grabbed Sturgeon on the North Channel of Lake St. Clair
hold of the Prehis-
toric Fish and slowly lowered it over the it kicked our butts! I could hear Jim’s happy
side. We couldn’t hold it upstream with chuckle as he congratulated us.
its size and the current and it slipped from This is what it’s all about...mak-
our grip! Luckily the Spectator boat was ing sure every fisherman has the chance
still there and I asked if they could go to to experience catching a Pre-Historic Fish
the fish and put their hand in its mouth that is almost as big as you that was al-
and float downstream with it and revive most extinct and now with the help of
it so we didn’t have people like Mike Thomas from the Michi-
to pull the anchor gan DNR, James Boase from US. Fish and
cause we both were Wildlife, Jim Felgenauer who founded St.
beat! They gladly did Clair-Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow,
so and as they held all the Board Members and all the People
it we hear, “Oh my who buy a membership we can catch these
Goodness I cannot awesome fish right in our backyard in the
believe I am touch- St. Clair River!
ing this cool huge
fish!” Then we saw Oh...and yes Dennis’s fish won
a big splash and they the Tournament for us but that day and
cheered as it swam fish will forever be etched in my mind and
down back into the that’s worth more than any Tournament
depths of the river! winning ever in my book!
They thanked us for After the tournament ended we
the experience and fished til 5am and I caught a 57 incher!
What a night!