Minnesota teenager reels in 70-inch sturgeon

(KSTP) – One Minnesota teen already has a fishing story of a lifetime.  

Dawson Erickson, 14, of Thief River Falls caught a 70-inch sturgeon last week while fishing off a dock at Ballard’s Resort on the Rainy River near Baudette along the US/Canadian border.

It took the teen about an hour to reel in the massive fish. The family took some photos of the sturgeon before releasing it back into the water.

“When it ran, you could not stop it,” Dawson Erickson said. “You just had to stand there and hold onto the rod and hope for the best. I mean, it was an unstoppable force. I always wanted a photo of me laying down with a fish bigger than me.”

At school, Erickson’s big catch has made him the big man on campus. The teen now says a lot of his friends want him to take them fishing.