Sturgeon Point is an point of land that extends into Lake Erie. It was on this five-acre point that the resort of Geneva-on-the-Lake got its start July 5,1869. Cullen Spencer and a friend, Edward Pratt, took note of a trend that occurred in the township following the Civil War — people from Cleveland were coming out on the train to camp, fish and swim. They leased five acres at Sturgeon Point and established there a “Pleasure Grounds” where folks could pay to picnic, camp and enjoy Lake Erie. The grounds became very popular and amenities were added by the investors in the coming years. A merry-go-round was one of the first attractions they added. Sturgeon point is named after the lake sturgeon that would congregate at this point certain times of the year. These were large fish that grew to 200 pounds or more. The were considered a nuisance fish by most fishermen; the only value they had was as fertilizer. But in the latter half of the 19th century, people began eating them and their eggs. They developed quite an appetite for the fish, and by the early 20th century, the fishery was depleted.
A Lake Sturgeon washed up on a Pennsylvania beach in 2000. Read the Pittsburgh Post Gazette story.
Another fish species that once was common to Lake Erie but has been lost is the Blue Pike or Blue Walleye. It once accounted for 50 percent of the commercial fish take from Lake Erie; the last time a specimen was found and confirmed as the subspecies was 1983.
Blue Pike/Blue Walleye.
An extinct subspecies related to the yellow perch.