OMG - Osage Missed Giant !

[Johnsfolly]

You don't see too many posts on OAF about a missed opportunity, but I had an experience that was both exhilarating as much as it was disappointing. With my 2017/2018 fishing season coming to an end, I had planned a trip with a friend to fish a creek feeding into the Osage that gets a decent run of redhorse suckers in the spring. The Missouri pole and line record river redhorse was caught in this creek back in 2016!. We made these plans a couple of weeks ago. I was concerned about the rain earlier in the week, but thought that the additional water might get those fish thinking about running upstream to spawn. The creek was coming down each time that I checked the gage height. I did not pay attention to the rain that came in on Thursday, which pushed the creek up again.

As we were driving to the access, there were several indicators that we may be in for a challenging day. The first was the running water in the dry creeks along the road, then going over a creek that was running high and muddy when it was often no more than a low clear running creek, standing water in the lowland fields, then we came to a low water bridge over a dry creek that had water running over the road way. My buddy had no issue running through the water. We came upon standing water in the road. Again no issue driving onward. The next creek low water crossing was covered by rushing water. Now we did not go any further, but turned around and went the long way to the creek. Along the way past several flooding fields along normally low running creeks.

This was what we encountered when we got to the confluence with the creek and the Osage, high, muddy and full of debris. The river was running less muddy than the creek so we fished the seams between the two waters.

We fished worms using 1 oz weights. Throughout the day we really only had 6 or 7 "real strikes" from fish. We couldn't get a hook set. On one of those strikes on my rod in the river I got into a yellow fishing line. I pulled in a much as I could about 30 to 35 feet of line. It was still hung and it broke off. About an hour and a half later, I get a strike and set the hook and it feels like I have a fish, but still a weird pull. As I am reeling it in In notice that I am hung on the same yellow line. That could explain the feeling of having a fish. As I am reeling it up, I feel a surge on the line. So I am tangled with the yellow line that has a fish on the end! I begin reeling it in and the head of the fish broke the surface. The head was about 7 to 8 inches wide and there were distinctive bone plates running down the back and sides of this fish, a STURGEON! This fish was close to four feet in length! it begins pulling drag. The fish broke the surface a couple of more times and my line frays against the yellow line and it's gone. I was heartbroken. I'm not really sure how I would have landed this fish. He must have spooled the previous fisherman. Although I missed on landing a bucket list fish, I have a fishing encounter that I will never forget!

 

[Ham]

Ouch, that does sting. You could have gotten lucky and got the yellow line close enough to go all indigenous ppl on him and hand line him in or maybe tie the yellow line onto your line with a quick uni to uni, but no doubt odds were stacked against you. 

Ahh Springtime heros or heartbroken 

[MOPanfisher]

Cathing a sturgeon in MO would have been cool for sure.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Caught mine in the Mississippi on a jig and Minnow at Winfield dam. 

 

[Ham]

John, you and I need to do a Mississippi River trip.

Cast net up Shad god Bait.

 Carolina rig cut Shad below a sand bar. 

3 inch gulp minnows below wing dams 

Small jigs to try to catch a “gamefish “ shad

 chunks of worm on smallish hooks for whatever

white bass, yellow bass, drum, sturgeon, stripers, bass, panfish, catfish, gar, etc 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Real big cats

[MoCarp]

The Missouri River near KC has several cool species like sturgeon, also the Kaw river in KS blue suckers are more common there than anywhere 

 

[Johnsfolly]

27 minutes ago, Ham said:

John, you and I need to do a Mississippi River trip.

Cast net up Shad god Bait.

 Carolina rig cut Shad below a sand bar. 

3 inch gulp minnows below wing dams 

Small jigs to try to catch a “gamefish “ shad

 chunks of worm on smallish hooks for whatever

white bass, yellow bass, drum, sturgeon, stripers, bass, panfish, catfish, gar, etc 

Sounds great. Just have to work out the logistics. May have to wait until stuff gets settled.

[Ham]

I understand. I hope we can work it out. 

[Terrierman]

I have caught small sturgeon on the lower Osage when I lived in Jeff City and fished that river a lot.  Also eels, herring, suckers and other not so usual ones.  Have had some really good wiper days below the lock.  It's a cool river to fish.  Some of the tribs are great smallmouth, goggle eye and bluegill spots.

Too bad you lost that nice sturgeon.  But take heart, it wouldn't have counted anyway since you didn't hook it in the first place.