sturgeon bites

jetsled1 · 01-07-2003, 06:23 PM

OK all you experts,

My son and I have been sturgeon fishing a couple of times lately and hooking a few shakers but we are confused, (nothing new), but we have a couple of questions. When do you set the hook, at the beginning of the bite, or how long do you wait, we hooked some both ways, what do you guys do? We also had some bites that looked like a trout, real sharp then nothing then real sharp we would set the hook and nothing, but when we reeled in, a chunk of the smelt would be torn away, Crawdads? I even snagged a sturgeon in the tail, are they swimming over the top of the bait looking for it, then the bait is getting cut as we rip it along there sides, is that what we are seeing?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all, this is a great site Jen. Keep up the good work.

[ 01-07-2003, 08:19 PM: Message edited by: jetsled1 ]

steelheadslayer · 01-07-2003, 06:56 PM

Keep checking back, you'll get a lot of info pretty soon. When you see the trout like bite, I have been told thats when they're spitting it out. You want to hit em when they start pulling down. It works OK for me. Do a search, there will be lots of good info that you can get without waiting for responses.

fish_on · 01-07-2003, 07:18 PM

Hit them when you think you've got em. I usually wait untill their pulling pretty good. Some of the guys I've fished with set the hook hard enough they don't have to reel them in they just come flying out of the water. (kodiakfisher) :tongue: Just practice a bit you'll get the hang of it.

finclipped · 01-07-2003, 07:43 PM

I think they bite a little bit different depending on what time of year it is and where you are fishing. Below Bonneville they seem to bite a little more aggresively, but it can be just a tick. Above Bonneville, I hit as soon as the rod nudges on second or third nudge. Below Bonneville and down in the estuary, I wait for a slight pull. Either place, you usually have time to pick up the rod, take out the slack and wait for the trigger. If you think they have it in their mouths, by all means set the hook...

Tilla · 01-07-2003, 07:45 PM

A good Sturgeon bite is a pumping action as they suck in and out. Get 'em on the downstroke and the bait is furthest down their throat.

Green Machine · 01-07-2003, 08:17 PM

A quick tap, tap, tap is usually a bullhead or crawdad. I agree, some days they slam it, other days they just mouth it. It's ok to wait a little. If they want it, they won't leave a free meal. Make sure you reel in all your slack, but don't put tension on the line they can feel. Sometimes you will have to put your finger on the line to feel the bite. All depends on # test and how much weight. LOL

Green Machine

brshooter · 01-07-2003, 08:23 PM

I think I learned more about a sturgeon bite using lighter gear. I struggled at first with the heavy gear. They called me "Whiff Boy". Then I fished a bunch around Kelley Point with salmon gear (12-25 rod spooled with 50# Tuff Line). The lighter gear really let me get the feeling of what they were doing. You can feel every move as they pick it up and drop it. When you get those first taps, carefully remove the rod from the holder with minimum movement of the tip. When you feel the pick up, hit them. Once I got the feel, it was no problem switching back to the heavier gear I use up in the gorge.
Keep at it. You'll get it.

Fishplay · 01-07-2003, 08:59 PM

The feeding habits on that particular day have a lot to do with it for me. Sometimes they are very sensitive to any movement on our end. Sometimes they are so agressive they just inhale the bait and buckle the rod.

Very light bite:
At first sign of the bite I like to very gentally remove the rod from the holder. I then like to reel down on them ever so easily, rendering any slack. The bite generally comes in sets. tick tick tick.........tick tick tick tick.......
It's a matter of timing. You want to be ready to stick them at the begining of a set.
On these days you want to be certain you are using only enough lead to stay on bottom. This way when the fish picks up the bait he is less likely to feel the lead.

Normal bite:
Retreive rod from holder. Wait till you feel a constant pressure as though your bait is being swam away with. Then Nail'em!!!!

Aggressive bite:
Hope you can remove the rod from it's holder without it becoming two peices!
On these occassions ( usually when smelt is in ) you will want to attempt a hookset rather quickly to reduce the number of deeply hooked fish.

Hope this is helpful. Keep on trying. It's a learned method just like steelheading.

corrirod · 01-07-2003, 10:52 PM

What I like to tell people on my boat that are first time sturgeon fisher"people" (PC) :

When you see the bite, slowly pick up the rod so as not to disturb the line, as the fish bites...tap tap tap...slowly lower the rod towards the fish. Upon each set of taps continue to lower your rod tip until you reach a good hookset position. What you are doing by lowering your rod tip is you are allowing a small amount of line to travel thru your sliding weight which helps feed slack to your bait, which in turn helps the sturgeon inhale the bait. Typically, by the time your rod is in good hookset position the bites become more intense and when they do........Tag'em!

One way to add some "slop" in the rod is to use monofilament line. Most people use Tuffline because there is no stretch and you can use less lead in faster current however, when possible, using mono seems to help take out some of the error on the hookset, especially when using heavy gear like Uglysticks.

Once you get the hang of it though you'll increase your hit rate alot, not perfect, but much better. I find that most of the time when I'm having trouble hitting fish it's because I'm parked over a school of little fish. The smaller they are the harder they are to get hooked.

Sturgeon 42 · 01-08-2003, 08:49 AM

If you want to see how Sturgeon eat go to the Sturgeon pool at bonneville Dam, you will see Herman 9 footer and others 42 to 6 footers. My wife and I went up on a Saturday morning and they were feeding them the dead smolts and old trout(for the big ones). The small one took the head only and slowly sucked it in( the slow bite per BRSHOOTER), The large ones sucked it like a vacuum, it was very interesting to watch and promptly went home and applied knowledge and caught keeper......... :grin: :grin: :grin:

6wapiti6 · 01-08-2003, 09:30 AM

I could not agree more with Sturgeon 42. I watched those fish eat and came away with a whole new outlook on hooking them. Sturgeon have a rough plate on the roof of thier mouth that they grind thier food against. They do this by sucking in and spitting out the food repeatedly until they have eatin all of it. I guess I'll repeat what was already said, but try to get most of the slack from the line and set it when you feel a tug downward on rod. Don't wait or they will have spit it back out. I really like tuff-line or power pro for sturgeon fishing beacuse there is a lot less stretch in the line and I think you get a better hook set...just my $.02 though.

5-Cents · 01-08-2003, 10:48 AM

5-Cents .02 :grin:

First of all I would suggest using a braided line if you are not already. I recently switched to a braided line and their is a huge difference in feel. You can feel te bite much better.

This being said I was using heavy 1 piece salmon rods (25-50lb line) and we missed a lot of fish. I switched to Ugly Stick Tigers (medium action) and used them for the first time last time out and we darn near nailed every fish that bit. You can feel the bite much better with these rods combined with the braided line and that directly impacted the hook up ratio.

Using this setup when you do get a bite you can feel when the fish is sucking in the bait because the line immediately tightens. One mistake that I think a lot of people make is hitting the rod WAY to hard and pulling the bait away from the fish. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] Remember that these fish dont see too well and they are using their nose to find your bait. If you set and dont feel the fish let the bait sit there, 9 out of 10 times the fish is waiting to finish the meal. A lot of times when I miss a fish I will bounce the weight a couple of times to make sure that I have all the slack in and wait for him to come back. When they do most of the time you get a more aggressive hit.

Just so you know I have caught huge fish that bite light, huge fish that bite huge, little fish that bite huge and little fish that bite light. There does not seem to be a real pattern. The one thing that does seem to make a difference is the more current you are fishing in the bigger the bite. I think the fish can not rest as easy and eat when the current is moving at a good rate. I love to fish in a good current!

If you do see one big bounce then nothing it is usually a fish spitting the bait out or hook out. You really have to be watching to see some fish bite, thats why they got big. It could also be a fish rooting around looking for your bait. Let it sit and see if he comes back. If not check your bait.

If all else fails when you pick up your pole and you are missing the fish, hold your pole and close your eyes. When you feel a tug set the hook [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

Hope this helps.

Small Fry · 01-08-2003, 10:58 AM

5 Cents I like this one.

(If all else fails when you pick up your pole and you are missing the fish, hold your pole and close your eyes. When you feel a tug set the hook)

But I have to agree somethime thats all that works.

kodiakfisher · 01-08-2003, 01:56 PM

Small Fry

from the reports of your last fishing trip you might give the closing your eye and waiting for the tug thing a try. :tongue:

Although you did anchor your boat on a nice fat keeper for your wife that was really nice.

I used to set the hook hard enough that sometimes all I would reel up are lips. Now I have managed to hook more fish with light hook sets if there is no fish set it down 9 out of 10 will come back to take it.

Kodiakfisher.

Small Fry · 01-08-2003, 02:10 PM

Kodiak

Man in just 30 plus days you have become a pro at this sturgeon thing.

If I catch all the fish what will the others on the baot catch. I have to make sure Lori catch's fish once in a while. If you say anything to her I'll have to hurt you!!!!!!!

( Bad Doug no bait)

Fish Slayer · 01-08-2003, 03:00 PM

I think you should set the hook when the rod is getting hit a bunch. Like if the rod tip is going tap, tap, tap, tap fairly fast then you should set the hook. But if the rod tip goes down really slow then it's probaly not a bite. This is just how I seem to hook most of mine. And sometimes you may have to wait a while to get a good bite.

puffins crew · 01-08-2003, 03:46 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by corrirod:
[QB] What I like to tell people on my boat that are first time sturgeon fisher"people" (PC) :

When you see the bite, slowly pick up the rod so as not to disturb the line, as the fish bites...tap tap tap...slowly lower the rod towards the fish. Upon each set of taps continue to lower your rod tip until you reach a good hookset position. What you are doing by lowering your rod tip is you are allowing a small amount of line to travel thru your sliding weight which helps feed slack to your bait, which in turn helps the sturgeon inhale the bait. Typically, by the time your rod is in good hookset position the bites become more intense and when they do........Tag'em!

Good advice Rod, this method works very well. I have gone as far as "feeding" some line back to a soft biting fish, to help them inhale the offering.

But, the last two times I have fished with "Pilar" we were raining death from above. No soft bite about it, if your line was in the water, it was getting hit, HARD.

We had six poles in the water, with six fish on at one time. Three of witch were keepers. And yes, we had six people fishing. :tongue:

Peace, Tom

biederboat · 01-08-2003, 03:49 PM

Sometimes what looks like a short bite is your boat drifting around (and subsequently dragging the weight around). Make sure you walk your bait back a good bit and use sea anchors to stabilize the boat, sometimes even that's not enough.

Biederboat

Land Shark · 01-08-2003, 06:29 PM

I sturgeon fished the Willamette for a number of years since I was working right beside the river.:-) I learned alot about the bite of a sturgeon. Like it has been said already, you never can tell if its a big or little fish . But thats half the fun ! I did notice that sometimes when the fish were biting very light sometimes they would "scrub" the line several times before they would bite again and sometimes they would stop after feeling the line {weird}. I also have seen some fish when I have tried to set the hook and miss .come to the surface and roll as if to look and see if there is somebody up there!..NO lie ! :grin:

01-08-2003, 06:51 PM

Re: 5-Cents .02 :grin:

So..... now you can quit your day job, give it to me and start "Sturgeon Guiding." Huh.

:tongue:

They bite like Carp, dang it, unless they are an oversize taking a whole shad, then they bite like great big Carp.

If you rip and miss one, bounce the weight a few times and leave it in the exact spot. If you have not had a bite in awhile, take a couple turns on the reel, bounce the weight a few times and try this spot for a bit. Secret sinker call em' in tip.

Another reason I tie pieces of bait on (yes I know the whole smelt is the only ticket sometimes) is that you can keep on rippin' and your bait keeps on tickin' with multiple hook ups, without the long reel up and changing bait every rip or fish.

Some good tips in this thread. :smile:

Rick

[ 01-08-2003, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

kodiakfisher · 01-08-2003, 06:52 PM

Small fry
I wouldn't be busting my chops how many people do you know that can hook a rod and reel in the bottom of the Willamette and fight it all the way to the top. Talk about a light bite!! :grin: :grin: If I remember correct I seemed to have hooked more fish than you the only time I was in your boat. :shocked: I can only hold back soo long.

I still use this rod and reel combo today. Thanks small fry for hooking me up on the invite for that trip. Yes it was small frys rod that I hooked my sturgeon rod on. It did meet the min 42inch requirement it now sits in my garage. The rod and reel that is

You forget small fry I grew up fishing in Alaska as a young one catching Halibut same gear same technique. I will say that any oversize will kick the @#*& out of any halibut up there. Setting the hook on a bottom be it halibut or sturgeon is the same. It is actually easier to detect sturgeon bites due to no ocean swell constantly moving your rod tip while halibut fishing.

Kodiakfisher

dahsboard_fisherman · 01-08-2003, 06:57 PM

hook them right before you think there gonna drop it. when you feel the doink doink then thats after they drop it and the weight hits the bottom. sometimes they hit three times in a rown when they hit a second time then wait a sec and hit umm. its confusing. :whazzup:

Tilla · 01-08-2003, 08:24 PM

Holding your rod rather than putting in a rod holder may eliminate mistakes while "carefully" removing the rod from the rod holder.
It also allows you to steady the rod in windy or boat wake situations.
This may force you to enjoy your favorite beverage with only one hand.

Tacklebuster · 01-08-2003, 11:05 PM

Ah yes.... Welcome to the chess game I call sturgeon fishing. First off, there is a lot of good tips thus far and you can't go wrong with any of them. Different people have different techniques that help them hook and land fish. The one thing that I think everyone will agree with is that the stronger the current, the better the bite.

I have seen sturgeon bite different day to day, hour to hour, spot to spot. The smaller ones will usually give your pole the "bang, bang" in the rod holder. It also depends on what you are using for bait. When I fish the estuary and use shrimp or anchovies for bait, 70 percent of the time the sturgeon will inhale this bait and you will get a steady pull or the drag will be peeling out of the reel before you can get it out of the rod holder.

Around the Kelley Point area, I have found the fish not as aggressive and will take their sweet time when eating a smelt. Unless of course the smelt run is in full force then they will sometimes hammer the bait like down in the estuary. Bottom line is you need to put a lot of leg work in and find your niche.

I personally will not even look at an ugly Tiger stick unless I am targeting Hogs or if the current causes me to use more than 8 ounces of lead. I fish one of either two poles rated 10 to 20 or 8 to 17 spooled with 30 pound tuff and as little weight as I can get by with. Have your reel spooled with 300 yards of line cause with the light stuff, your going to need it. I also cast and then bounce my weight as far back from my boat as possible when fishing.

I will weight for something steady at the end of my line before I try a hookset. It will take you some time but eventually you WILL know when to lay the meat to them in a certain bite. Sometimes you have to hit them right off the bat when the bite is fast and aggressive, other times you will have to "feed" them the bait for awhile. I like to fish in the heavy current with the lightest gear possible. I am a firm believer that you will hook and land more fish that way. I will put my technique up against any others on any circumstance and not change a thing.

The best thing to do is fish different types of water, current, bait, and conditions until you get comfortable. For me, the challenge is getting into a pod of feeding fish and getting the hookset.

Good luck and post your results

[ 01-09-2003, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: Tacklebuster ]

5-Cents · 01-08-2003, 11:16 PM

Small Fry,

Some times to catch a fish you have to act like one

Shane

01-09-2003, 08:52 AM

I will put my technique up against any others on any circumstance and not change a thing.

The problem with you Chris is you have no passion for what you believe. :tongue:

Summer Steelhead trip, my treat? Bring the Jolly Roger.

:grin:

[ 01-09-2003, 09:52 AM: Message edited by: ****** ]

ibeanfishin · 01-09-2003, 09:02 AM

i'm with Tackle Buster, it takes what it takes- do what you do- no given set rules. Just hook up for the dance.

:grin:

jetsled1 · 01-09-2003, 09:10 AM

Tacklebuster
So if I understand you right, you are basically using salmon gear for sturgeon right, I have thought about doing that but did not want to damage my gear, do you have to release from the anchor on very many keeper size fish to land them or can you play them to the boat with salmon gear?

Thanks
jetsled1

5-Cents · 01-09-2003, 09:36 AM

jetsled1,

I was using salmon gear until recently. I have landed 7 ft fish with a heavy salmon pole and 40lb Maxima. I only had to drop off anchor one time and that was an oversize fish. The 7ft oversize only took 35 min to land. I dont think I would have landed it any faster with an Ugly Stick.

The problem is after 7 months and about 50 sturgeon trips and 100's of fish, 3 oversize and probably 20 keeper size fish I burned out two reels and the eyes on two of my rods are messed up. Now the reels were not top of the line and the poles were Berkley one piece rated 20-50lb line.

The new Ugly Sticks will probably last forever, they handle heavy weight way better and I can definately feel the bite much better. I coupled the poles with Penn 320 GTI reels spooled with 80lb tough. The medium action Ugly Sticks are still a hoot to fight fish on and in the long run you will have less wear and tear on your gear.

As far as your question goes you can land keeper size on salmon gear.

Pilar · 01-09-2003, 02:38 PM

You have to catch them in the act, literally. Very few fish will hook themselves and volunteer until they get to be 6 foot or better. The keeper size seem to be pretty tentative most of the time and the bite can be hard to see. Maybe they were trained by getting caught and released while they were growing. Use a sliding sinker, soft dacron leader, rig your bait head down with the hook in the mouth and be patient. This fish requires tons of patience and you will be successful.

The trend towards salmon gear for sturgeon is a good one and should help alot of fishers get into fish. The HSR 932C by Loomis in a GL2 is perfect for sturgeon if not inexpensive. One piece and 7'9" it is the stick for all sturgeon up to 6'. The Ex Fast tip is very limber (you will see every bite) and the Mag Heavy action will quickly grind all but the biggest fish to the boat. The new Berkley AIR IM-7 rods are much cheaper and less sensitive but also work well in the 15 to 50# line rating. I would go with the one piece for strength. You can totally see the fish pick up and spit out your bait when you use a salmon rod. You often miss this type of bite on heavier gear. Don't worry about the peeler size fish. If you get one while fishing in the lower Columbia river, let go your anchor and you will eventually boat the fish even with a light rod. Many of you have seen me use this rod (932C) and just hammer the gators with it. :grin: Ugly stik Tiger is for Peelers.

I disagree with the type of bite not indicating fish size. I often call the size of the fish as it is biting and I'm right most of the time. The following applies most of the time.

Shaker .. Keeper .. Peeler ...

Shaker ~ The little guys are eager, careless and slam the bait. This bite is bang, bang, bang.

Keeper! ~ As they get 3' and better this changes to a slow pull down and slow rise. This can look alot like the boat rocking until you start thinking about whether the boat is leaning the right way to make the pole do that. If only one rod is dipping then obviously that one is getting bit. The keeper size sturgeon bite very softly and the bite is very easy to miss. Next time you see this pick up the rod and balance it in one hand. If it is a nice graphite rod you will feel the fish pulling on your bait. You must strike and set while the pole is dipping down or you will miss. The final sturgeon general seal of approval is the fish peels line for at least 10 seconds and you cant stop him. Yep, that's a keeper. Swimming up river and not coming off the bottom is another clue. The speed of the tail strokes is another clue. Slow regular beats is a larger fish, dink, dink, dink is a dink fish. The little guys 'shake' your rod tip with their itty bitty tails going 90 miles an hour.

Peeler (Woo hooo!) ~ Once they get much over 6' you have to get in the heavy current to find them and the bite is then more like a train wreck. The pole bucks and the reel screams .... 'uh, I think I got one'. You need the yellow po for these fish .. graphite rods go to Bonneville to get busted.

Other things can look like bites but are in fact not. The boat will weave back and forth on anchor and drag the lead around on the bottom. This looks like a slow pull down and then a sharp jerk up. Cast far away downcurrent from the boat and minimize this problem. You can also let the bail open and set the clicker on. As the boat moves the line will go out and your gear will stay in one place. The problem is that it will go slack when the boat moves the other way. Slack enough that you may then miss a bite. So you end up tending your line constantly... you might as well stand up and hold the rod.

Another problem is fishing in low current or water even moving upstream (incoming tide). The fish will pick up your gear and swim towards you and you will not see it. Then you reel up slack, find the gear right under the boat and no bait. Or even better reel in slack and feel a fish throbbing on the line (oops, quick set the hook). So fish in a current if you can and/or on an outgoing (ebb) tide for best results.

The fish will swim through your line. This looks like a shaker bite, bang, bang. Setting the hook on that bite will result in a fish coming in tail first. Sometimes it seems that they are just laying on your bait and every hookset results in a snagged fish. Mark any spot you find like that with the GPS BTW, you just found a holding area.

Anyway keep practicing and do a whole lot of watching guys who catch alot of fish. They know something you are about to learn if you are patient and observant enough.

01-09-2003, 03:37 PM

[img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

Sturgeon 42 · 01-09-2003, 11:04 PM

******,Sounds like Tacklebuster is calling you out,He He He??? I used to fish with light tackle, but when you are catching a shaker every cast(sometimes) can become very tiring in a day. Keepers fight just as good on a Tiger stick............ :grin: :grin: :grin:

Tacklebuster · 01-09-2003, 11:12 PM

Rick,
I would [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img] a summer steel trip. Thought you would never ask. The Jolly Roger is looking forward to it.

JetSled1,
I have only had to chase 2 keepers on my Salmon/Steelhead rods and both of those fish were 58 inch fish in the estuary. The downside to fishing with light gear is you need Good gear. Fishing with cheap combos will not last long at all. I have been doing this style of fishing now for 4 years with almost the same gear I started with. You need a Good reel that will hold 300 yards of 30 pound tuff. The drag is the most important thing so don't pinch pennies in picking one out. My drag works just as smooth now as the first day I bought it 4 years ago. As far as your eyes on your rod goes, titanium is the only way to go. If you have good gear, it will last just as long as your Tiger sticks with Penn GT2 reels, you just have to take care of them. Back your drag off to no resistance when your not fishing and clean and lube them regularly. You will catch more fish and have tons of fun doing it, trust me

Sturgeon 42,
Keepers will fight good on heavy gear. There is nothing like hooking into a 50 plus inch gator on the light stuff though. As far as getting tired at the end of the day catching fish on the light stuff goes, thats one thing I will never complain about

[ 01-09-2003, 12:19 PM: Message edited by: Tacklebuster ]

Sturgeon 42 · 01-09-2003, 11:24 PM

Hey Tacklebuster you got back quick,good to hear from you, as for the tiring bit I meant the quicker I reel in the shakers the quicker I can be back out for more, I guess its still tiring with heavy gear if the fish are biting. I'll be out this weekend to see how it is doing. take care...... :grin: :grin: :grin: