A Giant Sturgeon Surprises Anglers At Gavins Point Dam Near South Dakota

We've all heard our fair share of fish stories in our day, you know the kind that somehow grow a little bigger every time they’re told. But this one? This one doesn’t need any exaggeration. It’s already a certified Missouri River sea monster.

Back in April, something huge was pulled from the waters near Gavins Point Dam, not too far from where plenty of South Dakota and Nebraska anglers like to throw a line in the water. According to Dakota News Now, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission was out surveying the river for paddlefish when they ended up with a surprise catch, a rare lake sturgeon tipping the scales at 70 pounds and stretching nearly 5 feet long!

This wasn’t the sturgeon’s first time making headlines. The fish had actually been tagged nine years ago by the Missouri Department of Conservation near the confluence of the Missouri and Osage Rivers in Missouri. At that time, it was a much more modest 29 pounds and around 4 feet long.

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Since then? Let’s just say this fish has been spending a little time in the aquatic gym.

Over nearly a decade, this underwater traveler swam an impressive 681 miles upstream, while adding another foot in length, and packing on more than 40 pounds. Biologists now estimate the fish is around 20 years old, which in sturgeon years basically makes it a freshwater dinosaur.

Stories like this one hit especially close to home here in South Dakota, where the Missouri River has a long history of being home to a variety of sea monsters. Throughout the years, anglers from all over have been casting lines near Fort Randall, only to find out that you never quite know what’s lurking beneath the surface.

And speaking of Fort Randall, longtime fishing fans might remember the state’s most legendary catch. Back in April of 1979, A-Z Animals.com reports that Don Gregg hauled in a jaw-dropping 120-pound, 12-ounce paddlefish right where the Missouri River meets the Nebraska border. That record still stands today.

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So the next time someone at the bait shop in Sioux Falls, or around a campfire in the Black Hills, starts telling you about “the one that got away,” maybe give them the benefit of the doubt. Because in South Dakota’s lakes and rivers, some of these fish stories actually check out.