Kevin Newell
04-02-2007, 11:42 AM
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/annie_john_tony_sturgeon_springer.jpg
Annie, John an Tony with the results from their combo Springer/Sturgeon trip on Sunday 4-1. The sturgeon on the Willamette were very cooperative even after they got hammered on Saturday during the derby. A 46" & 50" sturgeon with a nice hatchery spring chinook thrown in for good measure.
When trolling for salmon I always let them really take it and make sure the customers "wait ... wait ... wait. GET HIM!" We don't miss many or lose many fish by doing this.
The same is true for sturgeon. I don't set the hook at the first little nibble. I let them eat on it until the rod loads up a little and stays down a few inches rather than just bouncing up and down. When the rod is just bouncing up and down they are either pushing on it with their nose or they don't have it all the way in their mouth. When the rod is loaded a little bit we grab the rod out of the rod holder and set the hook hard with no hesitation. Using this technique results in good hookups that don't come off half way to the boat.
I have also been using 7/0 hooks on the Willamette which keeps some but not all of the small sturgeon off and the bigger hook gets a better bite into their mouth, again resulting in fewer lost fish. We have had less than 5 fish come off on the way to the boat this year, it definitely works!
Annie, John an Tony with the results from their combo Springer/Sturgeon trip on Sunday 4-1. The sturgeon on the Willamette were very cooperative even after they got hammered on Saturday during the derby. A 46" & 50" sturgeon with a nice hatchery spring chinook thrown in for good measure.
When trolling for salmon I always let them really take it and make sure the customers "wait ... wait ... wait. GET HIM!" We don't miss many or lose many fish by doing this.
The same is true for sturgeon. I don't set the hook at the first little nibble. I let them eat on it until the rod loads up a little and stays down a few inches rather than just bouncing up and down. When the rod is just bouncing up and down they are either pushing on it with their nose or they don't have it all the way in their mouth. When the rod is loaded a little bit we grab the rod out of the rod holder and set the hook hard with no hesitation. Using this technique results in good hookups that don't come off half way to the boat.
I have also been using 7/0 hooks on the Willamette which keeps some but not all of the small sturgeon off and the bigger hook gets a better bite into their mouth, again resulting in fewer lost fish. We have had less than 5 fish come off on the way to the boat this year, it definitely works!