It’s common knowledge to those of us who live in Augusta, Maine, that there are sturgeon in the Kennebec River. Both Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon are to be found there. “The largest Atlantic sturgeon observed in the Kennebec River in recent years was 7 ft. 2 in. in length and was determined to be 40 years old,” according to the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.
But it’s one thing to know there are sturgeon in our midst, and quite another to actually see one leap from its world into ours. After living here for 23 years, I finally spotted my first sturgeon the other day, while I was crossing the river at about 6 a.m.
Sturgeon routinely make their presence known to those of us who walk along the river, but we usually have to settle for a loud splash after one of these giants has fallen back into the water. By the time you hear that sound and look for the source, the sturgeon has disappeared, and the only thing to be seen is the rippling surface of the river.
What happened last Friday was different. As I walked across a low bridge spanning the river, I just happened to be glancing at the water at precisely the moment when a bluish-gray sturgeon breached the surface about 100 feet away from me.
The fish was at least six feet long, maybe more. It flew into the air in a clean vertical leap as if propelled by some invisible engine and just hung there, suspended, for a second before crashing noisily into the river and disappearing from view.
The entire episode probably lasted no more than five or six seconds, but it was a breathtaking experience to be remembered . . . for years to come.
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