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Newbie. . .

1K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  eobowhntr 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, new to the site and just wanted to introduce myself. I hope everyone fishing season's are going great. I was recently introduced to sturgeon fishing, and think I am going to love it. We didn't catch any fish when we went out, but had three really big hits. Ive got a question about sturgeon poles and rods for anyone who might have any info on the matter. I am interested in getting a bank pole, and was wondering what size and brand to get. I used a 15' custom pole and casted about 80 yards on my first attempt. My question is, is this a good pole length for a beginner? What should I be looking at when buying a pole? Ive been looking at Ugly Stik rods, and they seem pretty nice, are they a good sturgeon pole? Also, what reels should I look at? The ones we were using were Penn and Abu Garcia, are these good choices? I dont want to use a spinning reel, and would prefer a level wind over a non-level wind. Thanks in advance guys for any help and info you might offer. I hope you guys can answer alot of the questions I might have. Thanks again.

Robert
 
#3 ·
15ft is pretty good, I'd say. I use a 13ft3 surf rod and it's been serving me well. If you've got the arms for it, 15ft is a deadly weapon. Might be a bit too long to store if it's a 2 piece. Mine is a 3 piece, so, I've no problem putting it inside my compact car. I cast on average 300-400ft (with bait) with my setup, Daiwa Saltiga and Van Staal 250, loaded with 50lb braid and 80lb mono topshot. I'm shore-bound, so, I need the extra distance.
 
#4 ·
First off I welcome both you and swarcle to the site. There will be lots of good information shared on this thread about bank fishing for sturgeon.

I am a bank fisherman also. I fish a 15 ft one piece Fenwick sturgeon rod with a Diawa 50 H reel loaded with 25 or 30 lb Big Game mono from the bank. This is what I started with many years ago and it has worked for me. I also have a 13 ft Lamaglas with a Diawa 50 H and it does a good job as well. All three of my rods are one piece. I also have a two piece 11 ft sturgeon rod that is easier to carry in a car. However after I got my one piece rods it just sits in the shed.

I use mono because it is more friendly to other lines in the water as it is not as likely to saw off another fisherman when fighting a fish.

There are two schools of thought on mono or braid. Neither is wrong, both will work great and both have good and bad points. The hook is more important than the line. Sharp hooks hook fish. Just pick what line you think will work and go fishing, have fun and "FISH ON".
 
#5 ·
If you want to have friends I would use mono.. People get really mad if you use braided.. If your fishing the Wily you can use any where from 11-15.. Because you don't have to cast nearly as far.... As far as penn's go I would use a penn 320.. Great reels have level winds.. I can cast my Penn almost as far as my 50 h..
Pm if you have any questions.
 
#9 · (Edited)
i used a 12' ugly stick and a penn 320gt2 lined up with 50# tuffline and usually a 12oz pyramind weight (or heavier).
it is hard getting used to casting these baitcasting reels with the heavy weights on them, they tend to birdnest easily and when i go bank fishing i still find this happening to me once or twice and then i am stuck for a half hour untangling my line.
but it is definately worth it when you hook up into one of them!!!
good luck
also i would use about 20# leader on my weight just incase i am hooked up to a fish and my weight gets snagged on the bottom (happens alot) this makes it easier to break off the weight when this happens. just be prepaired to spend about 30$ on weights everytime you go out depending on where you are going.
 
#11 ·
Thanks again guys for the help. I went out again with the guy and some other friends, no one hooked into anything!! I had a little bite, and another guy had a little bite, bu nothing came back for more. I used a 15 foot ugly stick with a penn 330 and had great luck casting, never backlashed and averaged about 80-100 yards every time. I think im going to pick me up one. We talked to a couple guys who had hooked into several oversize during the past few days, and only landed one, an 8 footer. At leat someone is hooking into some!!
 
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