We'll count the rings and that will tell us the fish is 20 years old, but it was already 35 inches long when we captured it 20 years ago.

If they can't see them, they can't spear them, and that is what it boils down to.

Water quality appears to be improving from south to north. In some areas, I've heard it's clear down to 10 feet.

There are a lot of stories out there, some probably written and stored with old photographs in shoeboxes in closets.

This could call into question every study ever done with sturgeon ages. I may be able to go back and adjust ages and get true mortality rates for the past 60 years. Because we know how many were harvested each year, we'll be able to know how many die from natural causes every year and how that changes over time.

If we can make this work. It would be a first, in the world.

It's kind of Mother's Nature's way of balancing things out. The exploitation rate will be very low this year, which is good for the population. It hastens the rebuilding process.

There will always be a spearing season. We don't close seasons.

If you see a Christmas tree on its side, that means a danger area, so stay away from it. It could be thin ice, open water or a crack.