Sturgeon primer

[Fish mojo]

I'd like to call out all the sturgeon pros to give some details for equipment, rigging, and techniques for boat sturgeon fishing. Rod/reel/line recommendations. Hook size, leader, (do you use the pre-tied Brad's leaders), how much lead, bait, how to tie bait...
Thanks.

ps. if anyone has a seat for the Sturgeon Challenge, I need a spot.

[TH]

I was hoping this would get a little more attention!
Always use a new tip.

[Tacklebuster]

This is gonna be a long post so get comfortable...

This is just my opinion and my opinion only. I'm sure someone is just itching to pile on this but it works for me and I will put it up against anyone on the river, hands down.

When targeting keeper size to shaker size fish, I use light gear. A good rod rated 10 to 25 with a 6500 amb. spooled with 50 pound braid. This set up will work from the estuary to just above Portland with outstanding results. I use a 4/0 hook and the lightest weight you can get away with. This may entail letting a lot of line out but it's the only way in my opinion.


My leader lenght will depend on my bait and how fast the current is going. On a good ebb tide when your wind socks are pulling hard, I like a shorter leader. I probably only have about two inches from the end of my bait to my swivel. Be sure and cut your bait so it doesn't have any drag to make it spin. Smelt (remove the tail and cut your gill plates off. Hitch all remaining fins tight to the body).

On a slack tide or slow current, I like a longer leader. You will usually find the bite to be more aggressive when the current is ripping. I can't stress enough about using minimal weight.

In the summertime when the peelers are making their way to the feeding/spawning grounds, you have to change your game plan. That's when you bust out your mop handles and winches. You know, the gear you usually see people fish with yarding in 4 pound shakers. I won't get into the fishing set up or technique for the peelers because of "heated" debates that usually follows such a thread. Feel free to send me a pm and I will square you away.

I guess in the end it's all about what your confident in. That is what will put you into fish each and everytime. You don't need a long rod for a boat either. I get a chuckle when I see a surf rod in a rod holder I like a good 7 foot rod and will usually modify a 8 or 8 1/2 into about a 7 1/4. Keep a loose drag and a good eye on your rod tip. Feel the bite, don't hammer the hook home just because you see pressure on your rod. I will often look away from my rod and keep the line between index and middle finger.

Feel free to pm me for any tips or techinques. I love taking fellow anglers out and putting them on a ton of sturgeon. I would offer you a seat in the challenge but I'm probably going to sit this one out.

[2slow]

Tacklebuster--Thanks for the tips. Just a couple of clarifications. You defined short leader as a couple inches below your swivel. What would you call a long leader? How do you remove the gill plates from your smelt? I understand that how much weight is determined by the current and depth. How do you determine what is an adequate amount of weight? Thanks for the time.

[Tacklebuster]

To me, a long leader is say six to eight inches from the end of your bait to the swivel. To remove the gill plates, take a sharp fillet knife and make a slice at the base of the plates. You can then rip them off. I like to cut the tail at the base at an angle. You will find you can get a good scent trail going when you cut it just right and hit a vein. With Salmon gear in the Portland area, I will use 6 to 8 ounces of lead. I prefer 6 but will use 8 if I have to. Cast 6 ounces out and back it back until it sits on the bottom. Pick your rod up in about a minute to make sure you are sitting on the bottom.

The sturgeon will get very sensitive in the winter time. Braided line and the least amount of weight you can get by with is essential this time of year when the water temp drops. When your bait is pitched way behind the boat, it also cuts down on the movement and will sit still. Braided line is a must when fishing this way because you have to feel your weight thumping on the bottom. A lot of the times the keeper size fish will barely make the rod tip bump when biting and will just give you steady pressure. The little guys usually make the rod tip bang around.

Let me know if you need any more help.

[2slow]

Thanks for the tips Tacklebuster! I am always appreciative and thankful for someone who is willing to share their knowledge to help others. Hope I am able to share something with you sometime!

[Pilar]

Fish Mojo .. there's a bunch to know about Sturgeon fishing. Only one thing matters though.

Location, Location, Location

If you fish the Portland harbor and watch the boats, you will see them in certain spots, day in and day out. That's because the fish move through those locations and you get lots of action.

Other things to know

Light gear is good for Gators. Over the years I have gone lighter and lighter. *The* rod, bar none, to have is the HSR-932C by Loomis. About $200, Magnum Heavy, 7'9", Extra fast tip, 12 to 25 line and 1/2 to 5 oz lure weight. When you see this rod you will not believe that they (Loomis) actually recommend it for sturgeon even as a one piece. A close second but very much stiffer and longer, 9', is the Kenai Killer in a 2 piece.

Abu reels are ok until you get an over size or big legal fish and then you will wish you had a 50H Diawa with a drag sized for a 200+ lb. fish. We catch several peelers in the Portland Harbor every late winter/early spring and they just go wherever the hell they want to. You have no option but to follow the fish until they wear out.

The reason I use the light rods is
1) Graphite .. it makes you clairvoyent and very busy reeling in fish.
2) Sturgeon pull at your bait and normally do not give an obvious strike.
3) It's a lot more fun to fish at or near the limits of your gear.

This rod reel combo can be used with 40 mono or 50 tuff. Caution about exceeding the rating of the rod with Tuff, you have no fuse and the rod will blow if overloaded. Mono has a great deal of stretch and will forgive you if the rod is being abused by a huge fish or your questionable fishing technique (high sticking).

Smelt is the bait of choice. It is no coincidence that peak sturgeon fishing happens during the smelt run on or near Valentines day. They gather in the Big C for a feast every year. Literally migrate here from other rivers up and down the coast to gorge on the smelt. Catch your own smelt and vacuum seal them. The stuff you get in the store is OK but $$$ and you don't know where it has been. Adding some stink to the smelt works too. Stretchy thread and Sandshrimp (leftover steelhead bait . live works best) or pickled squid. Just hook through the adder bait and wrap it with thread to hold it on the smelt.

The typical rig for lower river is a sliding sinker, 200# barrel swivel, dacron leader, smelt and just enough weight to hold your bait still in the current. Ball weights are OK but tend to roll around. Use the tomahawk or flat round weights. Most places 6 to 10 ounces is a good range to have on hand.

These fish are like a snake. They have no teeth and swallow the baitfish head first. Your hook should be in the head end of the bait. I use an 18" leader of dacron 80# snelled to a 6/0 Gamakatsu hook, break the barb with pliers. The other end is tied in a 2" loop using the 'Surgeons loop' knot. To make a bait I use a wire threader and push it down the smelts throat along the backbone and out 2" from the tail. Pull the leader through until the hook is all the way in the mouth. The curve of the hook should be at the corner of the mouth and pulled tight. A hanging hook will not work most of the time. Half hitch the tail 2 or 3 times to keep the bait from spinning in the current. Have several rigs already baited so you can keep bait in the water when you start to get bites as a rush of fish swims through your hole.

To bait your pole just push the loop on the leader through the open end of the swivel and push the bait headfirst through the loop. This makes a quick change bait. You can be on the way back to the bottom in a minute or less. The fish will move on if you are not enticing them with bait in the hole.


Fishing (75 boated fish for each guy in the boat) goes something like this. You wake up at midnight and drive someplace like Kelso or Troutdale and dip a bucket full of smelt for the 3 guys in the boat.

Get some coffee and head to the river. Launch before daylight and navigate using DOD technology (GPS) to your spot. Anchor up and reset if necessary before the other 200 boats show up.

Remember Location, Location, Location

At legal time (1 hr prior to sunrise) cast out and your bait will most likely never hit the bottom of the 90 foot hole or slot you are in. Let the games begin as you reel in fish after fish and have to reel in and set your pole down to have a cup of coffee or 5 minutes to use the bucket or drink a barley pop.

On the day I am remembering we were limited out x3 by 0800 after fishing since 0600 and boating 7 or 8 keepers and releasing anything under 48". We fished all day and I landed 75 fish including 15 that were big enough and one that was over 7'. We quit after expending 30# of fresh smelt.

The guy in the next boat over was using store bought smelt and got 2 bites while we quit fishing to cook and eat breakfast in the boat. They left disgusted about 0900 when we started fishing again and got a triple keeper thing going on with many of the adjacent boats mired in it. That day with many smelt swimming in the river the fish would not touch a frozen bait. Use fresh or go home. This happens every year.

That is one extreme. The other extreme is more typical and is boring and slow. You cast far downstream so that the boat moving in the current does not drag your gear around on the bottom of the river. You know it will sit unmolested for hours. You watch your rod tip for long minutes and even hours, learning the difference between the boat rocking due to wake and the slow, steady up and down pull of a biting fish.

The Bend is your friend if you can pick up the rod without jarring it and as the fish pulls the tip down you yank back for all you are worth and get the hook stuck in the gator. It does no good to set after the bump. You have to catch the fish in the act of sucking your bait up before he spits it out trying to get the head end in his mouth. Once you figure out the bite, you will catch fish if you are in the right spot. A big abrupt jerk on your rod is often a shaker throwing off your hook. Slow, subtle pulls often mean a larger (only been hooked like a thousand times as a shaker) fish that will go on your rope if you land him.

I'll say it again Location, Location, Location.

Sometimes you can miss the slot or hole by as little as 20 ft and miss all the action. You know this is the deal if you join a line and only 2 or 3 boats close together are on the fish. All the rest of the boats have guys slumped over asleep and the 2 or 3 happy boats have guys jumping up to set a fish and others standing and reeling or resetting the bait. Have several spots figured out and they will work for you year in and year out. Use landmarks to triangulate your location or use the sonar and the GPS to mark the spot.

Look for places where rivers dump into the big C. or the downstream ends of islands, the edges of channels and the seam at the edge of the current. But most of all pay attention to the other fishers .. some of them have been doing this for years.

Hope this helps.

[ 12-02-2003, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[BrokeItOff]

Thank you pilar that was a very nice post.

[Miss B Haven]

Pilar- I coulda swore this "You have no option but to follow the fish until they wear out" said this "You have no option but to follow the fish until they wear you out" earlier today!

I liked it better the first time! :grin:

[twoboy110]

Kudos to you gents who put in some much time responding to a thread like this! Man am I impressed with your willingness to offer up the advice!

[finclipped]

Good info on the sturgeon! I think the smelt dipping is limited to like 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM in the Cowlitz (not positive) but be aware.

[Pilar]

I believe it is all night in the Sandy and this day was like 5 years ago when you could do the all night chain reaction fishing thing.

Day old will work but quivering smelt works best.

[justasillyolgirl]

WOW Pilar!!! Thanks for all the info. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[Fish mojo]

Great reply, Pilar. I'm printing that one and saving it. You Da Man!!!