Georgia fishermen accidentally catch rare Atlantic behemoth in one of its few freshwater breeding refuges: ‘Thought I got hooked on the bottom’

Two Georgia fishermen accidentally caught a federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon on July 31, 2026, while fishing for striped bass. The friends caught the fish below the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam on the Savannah River near Augusta. This rare species still returns to these freshwater waters to reproduce.

Micah Degier and his friend Jack Herrington had been working the river bottom when Degier hooked the enormous fish, according to local news outlet WRDW. News of the catch was first shared on the CSRA Whitetails & More Facebook page.

Degier told WRDW, “I thought I got hooked on the bottom.” Then he says his line started pulling. “Three seconds later, we see a huge sturgeon jump out of the water,” he said.

Degier and Herrington let the fish go.

After fighting the monster, Degier and Herrington brought it to a nearby sandbar. They got out of the boat, removed the hook, and released the fish, estimated at 6 to 7 feet long. It eventually swam off on its own.

Atlantic sturgeon rank among the largest freshwater fish found along the Atlantic Coast and remain protected under federal law. According to NOAA Fisheries, Atlantic sturgeon can reach 14 feet long, weigh up to 800 pounds, and live for up to 60 years.

The fish also faces significant threats. NOAA lists four U.S. Atlantic sturgeon population segments as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This includes the South Atlantic population associated with the Savannah River.

The Savannah River remains one of the relatively few waterways where the species continues to reproduce. NOAA says Atlantic sturgeon hatch in freshwater rivers, migrate to the sea as juveniles, and later return to their natal river to spawn as adults. In Georgia and other rivers farther south, adult sturgeon spawn during late summer and fall as water temperatures decline.

Atlantic sturgeon commonly migrate upstream from coastal and marine waters into freshwater breeding areas, and the Savannah River population has documented spawning activity. However, locks and dams on the Savannah River also impede access to upstream spawning habitat, according to NOAA.

Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources said in its 2025 Wildlife Conservation Section report that the Savannah River and Altamaha River populations of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon are among the largest known within their ranges and significant to the species’ recovery.

NOAA says it is illegal to target or keep Atlantic sturgeon and recommends careful catch-and-release practices when anglers accidentally hook one. The agency advises keeping the fish in the water whenever possible and minimizing handling. The fish Degier hooked reportedly appeared uninjured during the encounter.

In another incredible catch, two Massachusetts fishermen recently battled what they thought might be a shark, leaving what they called “war marks” on their boat.