Slowly, what little slack was in the line grew taught, and when my son Kazden set the hook, there was no give. Instantly, line spooled off the reel, Kazden’s rod bent and he was locked into fighting position. When the monster sturgeon jumped, everyone in the boat gasped.
“Hang on, Kaz, this is going to take a while,” shouted my good friend and guide, Jody Smith. “That fish is all of 9 feet!”
The rest of us in the boat started bringing in our lines, figuring we’d pull anchor and chase the behemoth fish. “Leave ’em out there,” instructed Smith. “It’s too shallow to go after it and this is where the sturgeon want to be.”
Seconds later, all of
