As Holiday Surprises Go, Sturgeon Got Off Hook

The thing about fishing is, you never know what you’re going to catch.

Jurupa’s Tim Cerny, with his yellow Power Bait and four-pound test, thought he was going to catch a trout in Irvine Lake last Saturday. Instead, Cerny latched onto something not often seen in these parts--a sturgeon.

When the fight was over, he brought the prehistoric-looking creature to the scale and weighed it in at 26 pounds 2 ounces, then threw it back.

White sturgeon were stocked at Irvine several years ago to establish a fishery, but not many are caught. Cerny received a free pass to the lake for letting his fish go.