Gulf sturgeon
Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi
A state link is a recorded source association, not a catch guarantee or confirmation that targeting is legal. Check current regulations with the responsible state agency.
- Peak months
- Typical depth
- to 100 feet
- Typical size
- Catch minimum
- National record
See state records · Browse all fishing records
Recorded profile
- habitat summary
- Sturgeon are anadromous, a term used to describe fish that spend a part of their lives in saltwater, yet travel upstream in freshwater rivers to spawn. Such fish return year after year to the same stream where they were hatched. For Gulf sturgeon, which are found from Florida to Louisiana, this means a move from salt to fresh water between February and April and a move downriver between September and November. They spend the winter in the Gulf of Mexico in sandy-bottom habitats six to 100 feet deep, where their diet consists of marine worms, grass shrimp, crabs and a variety of other bottom-dwelling organisms. They eat very little while in freshwater rivers. Gulf sturgeon can be found from the Mississippi River in Louisiana, east to the Suwannee River in Florida where they inhabit both salt and fresh water habitats, annually cycling between the two. Gulf sturgeon migrate into brackish and salt water during the fall and feed there throughout the winter months. In the spring, they migra
- diet
- eat and valuable roe, and dam construction, dredging activity and other man-made habitat alterations. feeders – they feed on organisms located in or on the bottom, such as crabs, grass shrimp, lancets, brachiopods, and marine worms.
- preferred bait
- Not recorded
- preferred lures
- Not recorded
- techniques
- Not recorded
- peak months
- Not recorded
States with a source record
Source evidence by state
LoveToFish is a national fishing guide. Fish species coverage spans all 50 states. Ramp, charter, bait shop, and creator directories currently cover Florida. Verify current local regulations with the responsible agency.