Lake sturgeon found in Rock River
A 58-inch lake sturgeon, estimated to weigh about 40 pounds, was retrieved from the Rock River at Rockton in May, according to Budd Andrews, who has photos of the dead fish. Andrews said he has seen a bigger lake sturgeon in the Rockton Race, the channel that breaks off the main body of the river to provide water for the North American Hydro generating station.
Andrews said he spotted the sturgeon pressed up against the water intake grate at the plant, where he is the operator. “Something could have been wrong with the sturgeon, it could have been sick or something, because fish swim in that area all the time and don’t get pressed up against the grate like he did,” said Andrews.
He showed me the area and there were large numbers of big carp swimming in the area, facing into the current. “There are big carp and buffalo in there a lot looking to feed,” said Andrews. “They sit in the current waiting for something to come to them.”
Andrews, a veteran angler who knows the upper reaches of the Rock and the Pecatonica River in Winnebago County as well as anyone, said he called the Illinois DNR when he saw it was a lake sturgeon. “They said they weren’t interested,” he said. “I was really surprised to hear that.”
Indeed. Just this month, the Associated Press carried a story—originally written by Scott Richardson of the Bloomington Pantagraph—about a lake sturgeon being caught below the dam at Lake Bloomington. From that mid-June story:
Though the calendar reads 2009, Chad Enright of El Paso came face to face with a chapter from the pages of prehistoric times recently when he was fishing with friends below the dam at Lake Bloomington. Enright, 17, landed what officials say is only the sixth lake sturgeon reported in Illinois in more than 70 years. The fish stretched 45 inches and weighed 21 pounds. The lake sturgeon, which can grow to five feet, dates back 130 million years to a time when dinosaurs roamed the land.
Lake sturgeon are listed as endangered in 19 or 20 states, including Illinois, where they mainly inhabit major rivers, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Their numbers plummeted because of overfishing and dam construction, the agency said. Efforts for the fish to rebound are hampered by the fact a female sturgeon isn’t capable of having young until they are at least 14 years old, and many don’t reach sexual maturity until their mid-20s. Even then, they spawn only once every 4 to 9 years.
“This one from Money Creek below the dam at Lake Bloomington, a small tributary of the Mackinaw River, is an exciting find,” said Illinois DNR stream fisheries biologist Gary Lutterbie in the story. By law, all endangered fish species must be freed. Enright’s fish was released after it was measured and photographed. He caught it May 5 while he was fishing with friends Shane and Jared Arbogast.
Lutterbie confirmed the fish as a lake sturgeon from a photo and the conclusion was verified by Mike Retzer of the Illinois Natural History Survey. Retzer told Lutterbie his agency had only five earlier reports of lake sturgeon in Illinois.
They included one from the Rock River in 1934; two in 1966, one from the Mississippi River near Bath and one near Quincy; one in 1996 in the Sangamon River near Petersburg; and one from the Illinois River near Peoria in 1998.
Lutterbie was especially excited to learn Enright and his friends had seen another sturgeon in the water when the first one was caught.
Well, well, apparently Andrews didn’t contact the right people in the DNR, otherwise there might be another addition to the short list. And Budd did say he saw another one, “a bigger one before I found that guy (the dead one).” Maybe he should have called the Wisconsin DNR, given that state’s long and continuing history with lake sturgeon.
By the way, the North American Hydro generating station at Rockton still produces electricity, which it sells on the grid to Rock Energy Cooperative, said Andrews. North American also owns producing generating stations at Beloit and Janesville, Wis., Budd said.
According to its Web site, North American Hydro is the leading independent hydroelectric power roducer in the Midwest, with approximately 40 stations in the region. Based in Schofield, Wis., North American—around since 1978—also provides products and services to hydro owners worldwide.
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You would think the DNR would take some interest in this find, although like the story said, maybe the wrong people were contacted by the man who found the fish. I try to give the DNR the benefit of the doubt, due to the crooked government Illinois is famous for and the issues they have to deal with as far as funding, etc. goes. However, this seems to be just another example, of what a joke the Illinois DNR really is. Congrats to Budd Andrews on a remarkable find.
again the dnr has shown it’s self to be non functioning department of a nonfuctioning goverment here in ILL.what a piss poor joke they are..
Before you all start stating your slanderous comments on the DNR, look at what they are faced with. Let me ask you two a question. If you had a job that you loved doing and it involved traveling around the central part of the state but your boss said you have $250.00 a month for gas to get your job done for the month, how would you feel? I have a close friend of mine that is a DNR Fisheries Biologist and he covers 12 counties in central Illinois and he gets that much money to do his job a month! That includes gas for his truck, boat, and generator!!! ....and this is just one thing that he gets to put up with on a daily basis! So don’t finger point at the DNR. They may not have the money to go get this specimen, or their moral may just be in the crapper because of the raping that has been going on in the DNR the last eight years!!!!!
Pretty quick to condemn DNR, based on sketchy information, at best. I can guarntee you that Andrews did not contact the Region 1 office in Sterling, or any fishery biologist. Dan Sallee, the fishery administrator at Sterling would have WALKED to Rockton, if necessary, to collect that fish. My bet is Andrews contacted either a Natural Resource Conservation Service office (Dept. of Agriculture, working with soil conservation programs, not part of DNR) or a state park. At a park, due to personnel cuts, you never know who you are speaking to, possibly the volunteer campground host or a summer maintenance worker-hired just to cut grass.
I have called TIP numerous time and have seen results every time. the last time it was on a vehicle shinning a light in corn fields. I called tipa and 2 days later the warden stopped by and thanked me, he arrested 3 guys in a mini van drinkin beer a 30 pack with 3 high powered rifles and 4 deer. I am glad these guys are off the highways now are familys are safer now. Good job DNR.
well you boys must be brown nosing or know someone..i called for a dnr officer 4 times in a week and not one single officer showed up ..not even a return call..glad it wasn’t a matter of life or death because death would have won out by a land slide..don’t preach to me about how good the dnr is in this state because i know better..the department needs restructured top to bottom cause it don’t work period..you know what we get as taxpayers for our money out of this department….nothing..but is a good place to put your fat hog’s out to pasture till retirement comes..
Come on guys, you know why we can’t find more lake sturgeon. THERE ALL HIDING IN THE STANDING CORN….
I agree that our fisheries biologists have their hands full, multiple counties, limited resources. Most of our fisheries biologists are intelligent, hard working regular folks. I have said it before and I will say it again. The type of fisheries biologists we have are the type of individuals we need running certain divisions at the DNR. They at least have a clue. I wish I could say this about all our divisions especially when it comes to our deer herd management. I think we all know how far those meeting got us…...
I just wanted to say in regards to my first post, I do believe there are alot of DNR employees that go above and beyond. I dont mean to be critical of individual’s efforts. I was just implying that the organization as a whole could be run more efficiently, to give more resources to those who need it within the DNR, and help them do their jobs better. Most of the general public probably thinks “DNR” and thinks of a game warden. But there are biologists, technicians, administration, educators, and countless others that are “DNR” employees. Furthermore, I’m in 100% agreement that they are underfunded, underpaid, and probably underappreciated and misunderstood by most of the general public. I hope that the current regime change going on in ILL will benefit everyone for the better.
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