Before Pre-historic man walked this earth....the Sturgeon swam in its waters - our modern day Sturgeon is a carryover from those times. Some people say that Sturgeon can live for 50 years......some say 100 years....and a couple say the original species is still alive....swimming around in a land locked lake somewhere in Europe....
The White Sturgeon "Acipenser transmontanus" is one of approx. 27 species of Sturgeon. It is the largest and most recognized in North America and can grow to 20' in length and 2000# in weight. The Sturgeon of the Pacific North West (Columbia and Fraser Rivers) mature at an older age and larger size - than the Sturgeon of the Sacramento & San Joaquin Rivers. That is one of the reasons for the different size limits of the sturgeon. The size limit was adjusted to protect the female "spawning" sturgeon.
The record for the
largest Sturgeon from the SF
bay area is 468 lbs.
That record "may
never be broken because it was set prior to the max. size limit of 72"
set by Joey Pallotta out of Crockett, Ca.. As is common now a days, the
conservation of the species is more important than its record size.
Though anglers may argue that point.