Tuesday October 13, 2026
The Napa Valley Register —
There is something swimming beneath the surface of the Napa River that looks like it belongs in another era.
It wears a suit of armor, has a shark-like tail, and can grow longer than most people are tall. It has survived millions of years of evolution, outlasting the dinosaurs. And if you’re lucky enough to hook one, you’re in for a fight you won’t soon forget.
I’m talking about the white sturgeon, one of the most extraordinary fish swimming in California waters.
With sturgeon season having opened Oct. 1, it’s time to dust off the heavy tackle, prepare some bait, and go hunting for a river monster.
A living dinosaur
Sturgeon belong to an ancient family of fish whose evolutionary history stretches back at least 200 million years, to the early Jurassic period.
Think about that for a moment. The ancestors of these fish were swimming around long before Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth.