sturgeon pole and reel help

high_arc · 11-20-2002, 02:55 PM

OK, I want to try sturgeon fishing. Unfortunately, I have no pole or reel. My friend has a boat and he has gear for himself. My problem is that I can't talk my wife into letting me purchase a new rod and reel. So, any suggestions for a rod and reel to purchase that won't break the bank and still work fine from the boat? Thanks

O'City Fisherman · 11-20-2002, 02:58 PM

Down at fishermans they have 6' rods for $20.00. I think that you can find a reel there for around $50-60. You should be able to get into a set up for under $100 for Rod/Reel/Hooks/Swivels/Sinkers....

[ 11-20-2002, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: O'City Fisherman ]

Miss B Haven · 11-20-2002, 03:30 PM

Ugly Stick is your best choice if you want cheap. I would not go any less than that. Reels are tougher in the cheap variety, cheap penn probably, but the drag won't last long. Take vice grips for it. :grin: If you really want to Sturgeon fish you;ll spend $50 just on line (Tuff variety). It's very important for getting down, staying down and sensing the bite).
If you're talking Bonneville Sturgeon you really won't last long with cheap gear. You'd be better off borrowing gear and saving up for the good stuff. :smile:

[ 11-20-2002, 04:34 PM: Message edited by: Miss B Haven ]

wetaline · 11-20-2002, 03:53 PM

Go w/ an Ugly Stick tiger (on sale at GI Joes / and fishermans will price match and vise versa) - $60 .... i'd say the 20-50lb medium action is a good do-it-all-sizes weight rod.

Dont skimp to much on the reel or you'll end up w/ a toasted drag if your playing any full size fish i.e 60 inch plus and if the gear ratio is bad you'll have a soar arm cranking in leads.... I've got a Shimano Triton 200-g and a penn 320gti. I'd say go w/ the penn 320 - not to spendy and good for both under/oversize and makes quick work of getting leads back...

Like the Wiz said.. .line can be spendy but worth it... go w/ a super braid (tuffline or whiplash) of some sort... 80lb or more... you'll save a lot of gear and use a LOT less lead to get down.. If you go w/ the 320 have them put a good amount of backing on their first... fishermans sells it in bulk... That way if you scuff it up, you dont have to replace a whole reel full...

So w/ my recomended set up your looking at 60+70 (guessing) +20.... $150 and you'll have a set up that should last you a long time... all this equipment is pretty bomb proof and takes a lot (i mean a lot) of abuse.....

[ 11-20-2002, 04:55 PM: Message edited by: wetaline ]

O'City Fisherman · 11-20-2002, 03:58 PM

Wetaline,
How does your Shimano handle with 50+ inchers? I have the same real and have yet to use it. Sometimes it is nice to use a smaller real.

skrimmy · 11-20-2002, 04:01 PM

MissB, that UglyStik is not only cheap, but it IS a great sturgeon stick! I've got the BWCG1140 model, it's 6-6 medium-heavy. Mated to Penn 113HLW with some heavy TufLine. It provides enough fun for keeper size and I've caught numerous oversize up to 13' on it. It's 7 years old and still in great shape. I'd buy the rod all over again, but maybe a different reel. Wetaline makes some good reel suggestions.

brshooter · 11-20-2002, 04:04 PM

You may not need to buy anything. Unless I am fishing in the gorge, I use salmon gear. Usually an Ambassadeur 6500 spooled with 50 pound tough line. I like a rod with a soft tip and plenty of backbone to handle 6-10 ounces of lead. I think using salmon gear is much more fun than using the meat stick when targeting keepers & shakers. Much better feel for a beginner to learn with.

Wannabe · 11-20-2002, 04:07 PM

Fishermans has a Penn combo outfit that could fit the bill for you for under a hundred bucks. It's a Penn 320/and rod combo and goes on sale fairly often for under that price. Tight Lines
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wetaline · 11-20-2002, 04:14 PM

O'city -

It does fine on the 50 some inchers... actually have caught many oversize on it, but ovesize is much more enjoyable on something larger.

O'City Fisherman · 11-20-2002, 04:24 PM

I have the Diawa Sealine 400H and this does great.

DAB · 11-20-2002, 04:27 PM

Fishermans Has a rod called -- Sturdy stik --Made by shakespeer -- and usaly runs about $20 , if you get one get the long one 6 ft 6 in. The short one is to short. I have 2 of these rods, I have used them my self, They are not the best rods going but will work.
You might try a hawk shop, a friend of mine who is a guide gets a lot of his rods and reels this way. You can get good rods and reels for not to much money at a hawk shop.
DAB

BigWaterBigFish · 11-20-2002, 04:36 PM

Boy, i know your world ... I was in the same boat before my divorce (don't divorce her, good women are hard to come by), and it's good to be penny-wise. Have to side with some of the previous replies ... the Ugly Stick is a great value and if you get one with the right guide you can use it for shore casting, boat pole and it can be used for sturgeon as well as chinook. Check Joes, BiMart and Fisherman's ... they use this as a loss leader alot, runs about $59 on sale. WALMART has a combo of this pole and a Penn 302 for about $115 or so from time to time. Easier to find at the Hood River or Salem stores. The guys are right about wearing out the drag on the Penn but if you're handy with a screwdriver and have some serious patience, you can go to Ollie Damons and get some ceramic drag washers as replacements (about $10 or so). I fish weekly during the summer and fall and usually have to change out every other year.
The other method, takes time though, is to hunt the estate sales like I do ... my two sturgeon rods are rebuilds of some stout rods I found for $10 or so. Have found some good reels from time to time but to be honest, I have usually spend more time and $ on reconditioning them than if I would have gone down and plunked the $ on a decent reel.
An excellent boat reel is the Penn 320GT, runs about $70 to $80 normally, sometimes at the boat or hunting/fishing shows for $60 ... I have one with two spools, one for 80lb braided dacron (western monofiliment cos) and the other for 40lb mono, so I can be set for sturgeon or chinook.
Father always told me ... never go cheap just because of fear of the present and never buy in a hurry ... you'll always doubt your purchase and never be happy.

fish_on · 11-20-2002, 05:25 PM

Sturdy Stick-$20.00
Penn 209-$59.00
300 yds powerprow 80#-$30.00
Lead-$20.00
Hooks, Swivles, Sliders-$20.00
Smelt-Free/$20.00
Catching a nice 59.75" strugeon and winning the sturgeon pool-$priceless

That's about as cheep as it can be done and will get you keepers and oversize for quite some time.

11-20-2002, 06:36 PM

BiMart had a Okuma combo that was under $50.00 for both rod and reel. They looked fairly good.

high_arc · 11-20-2002, 06:50 PM

Thanks alot for all the usefull information. I really appreciate it all. I did a cut and paste of it all and saved it as a word file so I wouldn't forget all of it when I go shopping. Thanks again.

graybeard · 11-20-2002, 07:00 PM

I just bought 1 of those Okuma Sturgeon rods at Bi-Mart. It felt so good after I tried it I bought another. Graphite, for $39.99 per. It's rated for 50 lb test line, and is 9 ft. long. Nice feeling rod. I'll use it for trolling heavy stuff in the bay and for sturgeon. Have a Penn 321 mounted on it.