Chnookie joins the oversize club!!!

Hoosier Daddy · 06-04-2001, 08:13 AM

Hey gang. I caught my first sturgeon on the 26th, and between the excitement of it and being busy too, I just haven't been able to write about it yet. My hands were still shaking as of yesterday!!! Well, OK, exaggeration. It makes a good story though, so here goes.

I went out with a guy from work who has done quite a bit of sturgeon fishing. So we go up to the Fishery at like 3 in the afternoon, and run up to Ives Island to catch some shad (also my first). Had a blast doing that for about two hours, then we pull up to go fish for gators. We run back down to a spot just downstream from the boat ramp, there were a couple other guys there too. Anyway, we chop up a few shad, he shows me how to tie them on, etc., and we plunk. We sit there for a while and then we run back to the boat ramp to pick up his buddy who just got off work. We run back down, and put back in. At this point, I am just hoping to catch a sturgeon. Obviously hoping for a keeper, but I wasn't rigged for oversize. I was using my heaviest rod, which isn't all that heavy, and is a little too light in the tip. Also, the only reel I had available was an old Penn 309 of unknown condition. All seemed to work fine before I got out there though. Anyways, we sit for a few minutes, the other two guys in the boat get two shakers, and I get nothing (on whole shad). Meanwhile, we are kind of drifting back and forth in the current. With three of us in the boat, one of us had to fish out the side, and that was me, so as we drifted, I was getting little bumps just from the lead dragging bottom. But it unnerved the other guys, because I had the bail open and the clicker on, so every drift sounded like a potential bite. You see where this is going. After a while, I get a bumping noise when we aren't moving. Everybody perks up, and after a couple minutes of it, it is suggested that I pick up my rod and feed out a little line. Fine, I do it, and the line just keeps going out. Couple seconds later and I put the boots to it, and fish on. So here I am fighting a fish, no idea how big, because I am using a fairly light rod. My buddy is convinced I am going to break the rod, and the fish still isn't moving. About five minutes into the standoff, my reel decides it doesn't want to reel any line in anymore. So here I am, unprepared doofus, with a rod too light, a reel too crappy, and a fish too big, and it's getting dark. The solution we came up with was this. We took my line, put a bunch of slack in it, then cut it, and the third guy blood knot's it onto his rod and reel, which was standard sturgeon gear. I was so impressed with how he tied that line with a fish running out on it that his new nickname is "Blood Knot". So now I get to really have fun, the rest is actually kind of anti-climactic. I fought the fish for about 30 minutes, we got her to the boat, guessed her at about 7 feet, unhooked her, and let her go. Unfortunately, it got too dark for my camera to get any pictures (no flash), so I didn't get any shots of it. But man was it fun. Talk about exciting! I still have bruises from the rod butt to show for it too. I had a blast and came home SO wound up, my wife could hardly believe it.
Now I just have to get a decent rod, and see if Ollie Damon can save the reel for me, or buy a new one. Wow!!! Just what I needed, another hobby!!

06-04-2001, 08:33 AM

Isn't that a blast? The first sturgeon I ever caught was on a trip for oversized...all of 12". He got points for effort though. Next fish was a bit more respectable 82".

Nothing like a tug of war with a dinosaur to get the heart pumping.

Nuttinbutnet · 06-04-2001, 09:20 AM

Welcome to "THE CLUB".

Tanner · 06-04-2001, 03:28 PM

Chnookie,
Iwsn't that a blast. If you are going to get into fishing for the "Godzilla Fish" (Thats what we call em). You might want to consider getting a fighting belt. A lot more comfortable than having that much pressure against your.... Well, you know.

Hoosier Daddy · 06-05-2001, 06:52 AM

Yeah, if I get into it, (yeah right, IF :0), I plan to get a tougher rod, come up with some kind of fighting belt, and get a new reel or get mine fixed. That was fun. "Blood Knot" just sent over the trimmed remains of his fish saving knot, so now I have the hook and leader, and knot that landed my first oversize, even if I have no pictures.

fish forever · 06-05-2001, 07:33 AM

Great story,
Fisherman's, Freddies, and GI joes have fathers day sales going on now for Sturgeon rods and reels if your looking.

Had a similar incident on Sunday - only we tried to nail knot someone elses line onto one of our boats fishing rigs. Boat next to us was fishing for oversize with a Salmon Rod - got into a big one and it snapped the rod in half and broke off with about 200 yards of line out. Next thing we know we see some white tuff line floating by our boat going upstream. My buddy fishes the line put of the drink and tries to tie it off to a cleat while at the same time we splice the tag end onto a spare reel. We just finish the knot and the fight is on - only to have this monster get wrapped around our anchor buoy. She ended up sawing off the line in the anchor buoy, but it was a riot while it lasted.

rob allen · 06-05-2001, 07:50 AM

Woo hooo Congrats chinookie good job :O)