2024 Sturgeon Classic a huge success

25 Teams spend all day on the lake

By Barb Pert Templeton

The results of the 2024 North Channel Sturgeon Classic, hosted in Clay Township on Saturday, Oct. 12, presented an impressive group of avid fishermen, many who took home cash prizes for their efforts. 

The 10th annual event included 25 teams registered on-line and about half of the teams were first-time participants according to Mike Thomas, secretary of St. Clair – Detroit Sturgeon for Tomorrow.

The Sturgeon Classic is a fundraiser for two local non-profit organizations, the Pearl Beach Lions Club and the St. Clair-Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow. 

The tournament is unique because it’s a catch and immediate release event with digital photos taken onboard each vessel and then texted to tournament judges to report each fish as it’s caught. 

“The Classic has always been a catch-and-release tournament,” Thomas said. “This year, the Classic was held in October for the first time and the sturgeon harvest season closed September 30th.”

Also, for the first time, the Sturgeon Classic was hosted during the daytime hours, with fishing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants enjoyed amazing weather complete with sunshine, light winds and cool temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s. All 25 teams stayed on the water to fish during all eight hours of the tournament, Thomas said.

A total of 68 sturgeon were reported during the eight hours of fishing. Twenty teams (or 80%) reported catching at least one sturgeon. Five teams reported catching five fish or more. Team 7 Dirty Old Hooker caught five sturgeons. Team 8, – Rod Busters, caught five sturgeon, Team 21, No Pressure reported six fish and Team 24, South River Contracting, nine fish and Team 25 Beer Money caught five fish. 

Teams were encouraged to report all the sturgeon caught during the event. A total of $2,500 in cash prizes are awarded for the top three longest sturgeon recorded. There were also four additional prizes including shortest sturgeon, two randomly drawn mystery fish and the highest total combined length for all sturgeon registered by a single team.  

Statistics provided by St. Clair Detroit Sturgeon for Tomorrow said the first fish (Fish 1, 62 1/2”) was caught at 9:15am and the last fish (Fish 68, 40”) was hooked just before 5pm. The most productive hour was from 3 to 4pm when 14 fish were reported. At least two of the registered fish had been previously tagged by the Michigan DNR. The teams were encouraged to report their tagged fish catches to the DNR. 

The largest sturgeon registered was 74.0” in length and the smallest was 17 1/8”. A total of 16 

(23%) sturgeon recorded were over 60” in length, while 19 (28%) were less than 30” in length. 

Five of the recorded fish fell within the 42”-50” slot limit size range, but no fish were harvested 

during the event (tournament rule prohibits harvest during the event).  

At 11:50am, “South River Contracting” caught a beast that measured 70 3/8”. That fish held first 

place until 12:48pm when “Rod Busters” landed a daytime dinosaur that measured 74 inches. 

That fish stood up through the rest of the day and took home the 1st place prize of $1,500. The 

third place fish, a 67 ¼” beauty, was caught by “Dirty Old Hooker” at 4:13pm, the St. Clair -Detroit Sturgeon for Tomorrow press release stated.

An awards ceremony was held after the day of fishing at the Clay Township Park. T-shirts and hats were available to purchase for the teams competing in the tournament. 

At the ceremony cash prizes were awarded to the top three longest sturgeon registered. In addition, four other prizes were awarded for two randomly drawn mystery fish, the highest total combined length for sturgeon caught by a single team, and the shortest sturgeon. Team 24, “South River Contracting”, won the highest combined length for sturgeon caught with a total 329 1/8” for 9 sturgeons. End to end, they caught over 27 feet of sturgeon! The smallest sturgeon, a 17 1/8” fish, was recorded by Team 7 “Dirty Old Hooker”.