Muskie Cradle for Landing Sturgeon?

Agarcia suggested one of these might be good for measuring and landing sturgeon from a kayak.  I've been thinking the same thing for a long time, but everyone around here uses a snare.  If I was going to design one it would be made of wood for floation and have a latching device so I can keep it closed like a splint around the fish to keep him from thrashing around and getting away.  When not in use you can store it in your other paddle holder.
Do you guys think it would work?

Thanks for tickling my funny bone!   I've never even been sturgeon fishing, let alone seen a live one, but I sure wonder how someone in a kayak, or even a skiff, can measure a live one.
Even what turns out to be 43"  of flopping fish would seem impossible to measure, let alone something close to the upper limit.  Getting a contraption like that out and getting the fish into it ought to make for an good entry to Funniest Home Videos! 
    And getting a live legal sturgeon into a yak: "If he's getting in, I'm getting out!"
 
Don't they sell some kind of laser measuring device where you just point it at two different spots and it calculates the distance?  Asking the manufacturer whether they make a waterproof version ought to make for an interesting conversation.  Hey, if we weren't nuts we wouldn't be kayak anglers - but it keeps us from going insane.

Agarcia suggested one of these might be good for measuring and landing sturgeon from a kayak.  I've been thinking the same thing for a long time, but everyone around here uses a snare.  If I was going to design one it would be made of wood for floation and have a latching device so I can keep it closed like a splint around the fish to keep him from thrashing around and getting away.  When not in use you can store it in your other paddle holder.
Do you guys think it would work?

I've thought of such a thing, but based from a powerboat, not a kayak. 

My untested sturgeon measuring method involves a 72" ribbon with a black stripe at 46".  it has a snap swivel on one end so  I can snap it to my line and let it run down to the sturgeon's mouth and trail along side it.  If his tail tip is between the black stripe and the end, he's legal.  I might upgrade the swivel to a small carabeener so it can be clipped on easier, but it aught to work. 

Chuck... I think the cradle might work if one end were weighted and had two long ropes.   The snare could be lowered vertically around the fish by the guy that caught it, then the second person could take the ropes and hoist up the tail of the fish.  Might be an america's funniest videos moment but I think it could work.  I would not want it to be a 72 inch scradle though... way too long to be handling.  Maybe 4 feet long or something.  Then use a tape to measure the fish.  If it's legal, subdue it before getting it out of the cradle and tie it off to pull into the yak.  Definitely a two person job and not a task for really choppy seas.


Fuzzy Tom... you can certainly land a live sturgeon in the kayak without too much risk, but you want to get it measured and either release or subdue it without wasting much time in case it flops.  If you take your time fighting them and make sure they are completely tired out, you have a fairly sizeable window of time to handle the fish before it gets enegized again.  I've landed plenty of sturgeon in my yak before subduing them with my club.

Erik

Hey Fuzzy Tom.... where there's a will.... there's a way!

ChuckE: I guess it's a matter of my being afraid what I'd learn if I violated the Inseam Length rule.  Not that I've had the experience of catching anything over 34", but I just thought those big ones should be dead before they shared space with my lower body in the yak.  But then, for me, it's never been a direct trip from the will to the way.  I seem to have had a lot of layovers in Not-the-Way.

P-Spark: That ribbon thing sounds like it would work, and if it didn't, it wouldn't do much harm either, but I've already said I've never seen a sturgeon.

 Did I read somewhere that the noose is put around the tail?  If so, I could see how that might keep a revived fish from moving too much so you could get a rough measurement.   

Thats kinda what I envisioned, only bigger/deeper. 

Get the fish close enough to noose the tail to a buoy to ensure its not getting away.  Guide him into the cradle for a quick measure.  Legal, snare and subdue it, not legal release. It would probably make things easier on releasble fish.  You guys have more experience on landing them in a yak though, this might just make more junk to bring along.