Sterlet fish is a representative of the smallest subspecies in its family. Being only freshwater, it is found exclusively in strong currents. This "elite" representative of the Sturgeon family never makes large migrations. Preferring a bottom habitat, sterlet fish swims only in the evenings or at night in shallow water in search of food. It is very demanding on the topography of the river and the quality of the water and is not found in slow channels with a muddy bottom.
In autumn, in early September, sterlet fish moves to the wintering pits, where it waits for the cold, practically not eating. In the summer months, aquatic insect larvae, mollusks, and other fish roe are included in her diet. Due to the lower location of their mouth, sterlet pull it with a tube, sucking feed from the bottom, flooded snags or other items.
Maturity occurs from 4 years in males and from 5 in females when they reach a length of approximately 35 cm. In May, the sterlet leaves for spawning in May when the water warms up to almost 15 ° C. The places where the females lay eggs are sometimes located at a depth of up to 10 m.
In this case, the prerequisite is the presence of sand or pebbles and fast or medium flow. Each female lays up to 150 thousand eggs, the incubation period of which is 5 days.
Sterlet fish , the photo of which can easily be distinguished by the length of its nose, antennae and lower lip, is covered by bone shields located in longitudinal rows under which bare skin is distinguished from other types of sturgeon . Its color changes depending on the area, sometimes becoming yellower.
Sterlet fish is quite common in many rivers. Previously, it was found only in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, but today it has spread to the northern bodies of water, it is not a passage, but "settled" in them.
Being a commercial species, sterlet fish has excellent taste. Her meat is a unique product, which contains virtually no carbohydrates. Thanks to this, the sterlet, called the royal fish, is recommended for nutrition even for diabetics. In addition, it is unusually rich in proteins and amino acids, the lack of which in the human body often leads to disease.
Many writers, including Pushkin, and Melnikov-Pechersky, mention sterlet fish in their works.
What to catch it, the best known representatives of Pomor ethnic groups, who owned and own many ways and secrets of productive fishing. It was they who delivered this fish to the royal table of Peter the Great, and for Ivan the Terrible they caught it in the Moscow River.
Sterlet is best caught on donkey. This type of fishing does not require special skill. The main thing is to know the possible habitat of this representative of sturgeon, which is not at all “inventive,” so it comes to the hook almost as soon as possible.
Sometimes one throw can catch up to several adult individuals, as sterlet fish prefers to live in small schools.