• Characteristics - buff or olive drab above, lighter below; covered by heavy plate-like scales; flattened snout; long, threadlike filament attached to top lobe of tail fin (often missing); 4-8 pound fish common
• Distribution - Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, occasionally in larger tributaries
• Foods - insect larvea, small mollusks and other bottom-dwelling organisms
• State Record - 12 pounds - Des Moines River, Van Buren County, April 1974 - Randy Hemm, Douds, Iowa
• Expert's Tip - most shovelnose sturgeon are caught accidentally by people fishing for catfish on the bottom

For more shovelnose sturgeon information, see our printable pdf (124K) or Iowa Fish & Fishing.