Sturgeon corkies

[Jettin' Fool]

I was at the free seminar at North River Saturday as I had to pick up my boat. Sturgeon Frank was the speaker on Sturgeon fishing and talked about using corkies with your bait. There was some confusion about the legality of the tech. if Salmon fishing was closed. I was in the back and couldnt hear all that was discussed.

Does anyone know if it is legal when Salmon fishing is closed?

Also, if you use them do you see it as a benefit to getting bit more often. What colors do you use?

Thanks

Fool

[jet]

I really think they are just to float the bait off the bottom.

Jet~~~

[Jettin' Fool]

The guide said they didnt float the bait at all it was just a little color to help the fish find your bait. He prefered chartruese or glow corkies. I was going to try it on a rod next trip out to see if it made a differance on bite ratio.

Fool

[Biteme]

salmon usually wont eat a smelt on a rope. I too use birdies and spin glows occaisonally to float the bait up out of the sculpin and to give a little vibration. Good question though I dont think enough salmon have been incidentally caught doing this to make it a real issue.

[jfia]

I have almost always done best for sturg when the water is off color. Im sure this is because more food is displaced after a rain or rise in the water but if sturg need to see there food then why do they have whiskers and how could they see my bait when the visibility is next to nothing? A strugeon finds his food by smell and feel. This is how they feed on shellfish. The use of a birdy or spin and glow adds vibration to your offering and a little boyance to hold it above the crabs. The vibration excites the fishes lateral line and therefore he/she is more likely to bite your offering. Some of the guides have been using this in the lower columbia for years with excelent results. If you are fishing for sturg with a corkie and you hook a chinook or any other none target species the only problem from a law enforcement standpoint would be if you were to keep the fish. I have caught salmon in the Columbia with smelt while fishing for sturgeon and have let them go so is there a problem with this. Should I stop using smelt because I might catch a salmon with them? So if using a corkie makes you more confident of a fisherman then add a corkie to your bait and fish on.

[Up-4-Air]

When the corkie was being discussed, a guy in the front of the room almost quoted a passage from the Oregon regs. that said you shouldn't have that corkie on there if salmon and steelhead is closed. Frankly I don't believe it helps anyway. One thing Frank did talk about that I've been doing for a long time is cutting my smelt in half. I don't do it to save bait either. Don't cut it straight across. Cut it at an angle to produce a longer cut surface. That will add alot more scent and it fishes just fine. Besides, a whole smelt is a waste of bait. Also, clip the tail off with a pair of scissors. You can do this when you package your bait rather than when your in the boat. It keeps the smelt from twisting the line.

[drift fishing fool]

for all of your info, from the 2003 fishing regulation, "it is unlawful to angle for sturgeon with lures in water closed to salmon or steelhead angling" and corkies are considered lures. so i guess as long as the river is open for salmon/steelhead the corkie thing is ok

[Jettin' Fool]

Thanks for clearing that up that Drift Fishing Fool! I havent done the corkie thing and wanted to know the regs before I did.

Thanks again

Fool

[ 12-15-2002, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: Jett'in Fool ]

[Sturgeon Tom]

Sturgeon use all there senses to feed, encluding sight. That's how they chase smelt and shad. They can see on the bottom as well, they have adapted through time to see in very low visibility.

[KingFisher85]

Sturgeon liners! You guys out there lining them sturgeon now with corkies. First its the salmon now sturgeon. :grin:

Now from what I have been told. Sturgeon don't feed with there eyes. They smell there food. So why would anyone want a corkie on for sturgeon fishing. I can see if you soak your corkie in some smelly jelly and then put it on. Or if you are using a corkie as a knot protector on your slider.

[Tacklebuster]

Very interesting topic that I am glad has been brought up. Sturgeon do use sight as a tool to find food but mostly smell and they feel vibration. If you are fishing in a 80 foot hole, visability on the bottom is not worth talking about. There is none. The fish will pick up on vibration and will make a bite more aggressive.

I know a guy that fishes a crankbait with no hooks directly above his bait in the estuary. The wobble motion and the rattles in the crankbait stimulates the fish and he often has tremendous take downs in the rod holder. It sounds a little far fetched I know but it is a deadly technique. I can haul the mail when it comes to catching these critters and he outfished me that day.

It also works to float your bait a little off the bottom when the crabs are a problem. The fish do use sight but smell and vibration is a big factor in their hunt for food. I have always wanted to try this around the Portland area but haven't as of yet. Maybe this weekend [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

[5-Cents]

I have not tried this either and in fact I just read about rigging this way a few weeks ago. I have heard of using a large spin-n-glow above your bait to float it off the bottom and give it a little action... makes sense.

Here is a link to a sturgeon fishing page with some great information, click on the tidewater rig to see a diagram of a bait with a corkie or spin-n-glow Sturgeon Fishing Page

The rest of the article is nonsense so pay no attention

[Pilar]

I've seen some pretty far fetched rigs for sturgeon. I have to tell you that nothing matters more than being upstream of feeding fish.

It's the old MK V smelt for me. Accept no substitutes. Go dip your own in Jan/Feb. and have enough put up so that you can turf any bait that looks like it has been molested. Keep a fresh bait on the hook and if not bit in 5 minutes or less reel up and see a bare hook. Or if not bit in 1/2 hour, move or fish a different part of the tide. Some of the hottest holes I know of do not work at all on the wrong tide. Yes, even in the Portland area.

Sturgeon key on scent. They might use those beady little eyes in shallow water but not down deep. Any diver knows that the light levels, even in clear water at 80+ feet are minimal. In murky river water even less. Fresh Shad or fresh smelt are the best baits because the fresh blood smell attracts the sturgeon. Lots of other stuff works too.

The techniques, baits and rigs are easy to master. If you are not catching fish and the guy next to you is, then he knows something you do not.

I'm guessing it has something to do with Location, Location, Location. Use your GPS and do a driveby. Come back another day and try that spot.

I guarantee you that it has nothing to do with corkies or whatever else you want to put on your line besides meat and a hook.

The rattling plug idea is intriguing. I might have to try that some time.

[Sturgeonbait]

Stugeon can't see much I don't think what is there to se from the bottom of the river any way their nose holes are bigger than their eyes look how scratched up they are to.