In terms of size, the White Sturgeon is the largest of the North American gamefish species. Sturgeon over 1400 lbs. have been documented as recently as the early 1900's. Populations occure from Canada's Faser River system South to Monterey Bay in California. The largest populations currently occure in San Fransico Bay, Columbia River, Fraser River, Sacremento River and Tillamook Bay. Other smaller populations exist in the Rouge, Umpqua, Smith, Klamath and in Coo's Bay. A long lived fish with an armor plated skin, their only real predators are man and penipod. Gill netting for salmon in the Columbia & Fraser River basins has had a dramatic impact on sturgeon numbers in recent decades but fishing still remains good. Matthew Clark