A 9-year-old in Tennessee who was on a quest to catch a bigger fish than his siblings, caught and released a nearly 80-pound fish on a family fishing trip.
The Tennessee Wildlfe Resurces Agency shared pictures of the boy, Coye Price, and his big catch.
"Coye Price with a sturgeon caught on Old Hickory Lake. This 9-year-old was on a quest to catch a bigger fish than what his sisters have reeled in, when he hooked this monster in the area around Spencer Creek in 25 feet of water. The sturgeon weighed in at 79.8 pounds, dwarfing the 39.8 lb striper, caught by his sister Caitlin, and the 58 lb. blue catfish, caught by sister Farrah.
An inhabitant of large rivers and lakes, the lake sturgeon is one of three native sturgeon species found in Tennessee. While they were formerly found in the Cumberland, Mississippi, and Tennessee rivers, lake sturgeon populations have dramatically declined and are listed as endangered in Tennessee. The reasons for the decline over the last century are a combination of over-fishing, habitat loss, and the damming of rivers. Being a bottom feeder, their diet consists mainly of snails, insect larvae, mollusks and crayfish.
Potentially one of the largest and longest living fish in Tennessee, the lake sturgeon is reported to grow to eight feet in length, weigh up to 300 pounds, and live 150 years. Efforts have been underway to restore reproducing populations of this primitive species to Tennessee waters. Since 2000, over 220,000 lake sturgeon have been stocked into the Cumberland River and the upper portion of the Tennessee River." the organization wrote on Facebook.
Photo: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.