Guess the Gamefish Shown in this Nighttime Underwater Video
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.02.16
Hint: You’ve probably never caught one.
Depending on your skills as an angler, and your location, that might leave a rather large number of gamefish species, so we’ll provide a few more clues:
- Location is a section of the St. Croix River, which divides Minnesota and Wisconsin
- It is nighttime during the cold-water fall period, which is when this species is most active
- Depth is 35 feet
Answer: The species lurking in the dark depths is a lake sturgeon. (Yes, lake sturgeon inhabit both lakes and rivers.)
To learn more about how this cool video was captured, we reached out to the angler who filmed it, Aqua-Vu’s Chris Munchow. (You might remember his name from two previous OHUB stories that highlighted his expertise – and that of his young son – when it comes to muskies.)
“I’m using the Aqua-Vu Micro 5 Plus DVR/DT in this video,” Munchow said. “All of our Micro camera systems feature infrared (IR) lighting. We also are incorporating IR as the primary light source on two of our new full-size systems, the new HD700i and the 760czi.”
As you can see from the photos below, Chris and his son know a thing or two about finding and catching sturgeon in the fall.
Important note: Regardless of whether the father/son team is pursuing muskies or sturgeon, all these trophy fish are handled with care and released to fight again. After all, a 50-inch muskie is at least 15 years old, and perhaps as much as 30. A 50-inch sturgeon is at least 20, and they’ve been known to live more than 50 years!
