2017 Sturgeon Pictures

Post Em Here

Here is one from last weekend.. Fishing was pretty good last weekend.

Fishing has been alright.

Ok I’ve been meaning to ask for over a year now.

Are there good sturgeon waters accessible by pickup on the ice?

I’ve never set foot on the St. Croix ice so I don’t know where all the thin ice areas are. I have an idea where some are; power plant discharge, neck down areas like the lift and swing bridge. Are there any other no drive zones?

biggill wrote:

I’ve never set foot on the St. Croix ice so I don’t know where all the thin ice areas are. I have an idea where some are; power plant discharge, neck down areas like the lift and swing bridge. Are there any other no drive zones?

Hehe

Hey Charlie are you and Jeremy gonna. E out there tomorrow night

Charlie Vaughan wrote:

Hehe

Was hoping for a little mor help than that. Just want to keep the truck on the topside. I’ll figure out where to fish on my own. Thanks.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charlie Vaughan wrote:</div>
Hehe

Was hoping for a little mor help than that. Just want to keep the truck on the topside. I’ll figure out where to fish on my own. Thanks.

You might want to think about trying one of those spots you were talking about staying away from.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charlie Vaughan wrote:</div>
Hehe

Was hoping for a little mor help than that. Just want to keep the truck on the topside. I’ll figure out where to fish on my own. Thanks.

Biggill, the ice is pretty good out there when we have cold weather Bayport is good ice. You guessed right. Narrows, large sandbars and that discharge will have bad ice around it. But most places in the bayport section are reachable by vehicle. To be honest you can catch a sturgeon about anywhere in that basin. There are no big secrets out there. Its more about good bait and being on the ice at the right time.

Thanks. I’m pretty familiar with the area and finding sturgeon in a boat, just not familiar with the ice. I’m also pretty set on getting away from crowds which can lead to driving on uncharted areas.

Have you talked to @BeachBrian ?

Disclaimer: I don’t know the ice conditions.

What I do know is one year we fished near the opening at the King plant with a wheelhouse. We were a safe distance, but I couldn’t believe how close trucks would park near the open water. We accessed it on the same side just to the south. I believe point road.

I’m sure the other helpful people posting here will be happy to help you out with the details.

I haven’t been out there in a few years and not at all this year Mike. I can’t give any “safe” recommendations.

I am looking for someone with a house to fish in for sturg. I have two cameras and a TUCR sturg rod I want to give a work out.

Ive got a couple days off early next week…

But you know more general info (access and where to go) than me BK? I think you can judge safety and where to drive once you are out there usually by the other traffic. If @stcroixer were still on here, he may be able to help.

Don’t drive into open water. Stay away from the narrows and the warm water discharge near the King Power plant, there’s a dam on the WI side, don’t go near it.

I’ll be at Mallards about 5 pm today for more details.

biggill wrote:

Thanks. I’m pretty familiar with the area and finding sturgeon in a boat, just not familiar with the ice. I’m also pretty set on getting away from crowds which can lead to driving on uncharted areas.

I would not take the truck to any uncharted areas. We fish quite a bit away from bayport. There are times we can drive a truck but the ice changes so fast in some areas that I would not recommend making your own trail. Stay below Highline point and north of the dam. Some areas that I fish we will see 14 inches turn into 6-8 inches in a couple days. The best way to explore is on a sled or wheeler and then by foot.

been out 3 times this week and have yet to have one on the line. Not sure what i am doing wrong but would sure love to hook into one and catch my first. i use a weight with a foot leader and a big amount of minnows on a number 5/0 hook. maybe my location and depths are incorrect? Any help would be appreciated. Pm if needed

Its slow right now havent heard of many coming up.

Walleye Hungry wrote:

been out 3 times this week and have yet to have one on the line. Not sure what i am doing wrong but would sure love to hook into one and catch my first. i use a weight with a foot leader and a big amount of minnows on a number 5/0 hook. maybe my location and depths are incorrect? Any help would be appreciated. Pm if needed

Don’t run a leader. Either use a standard jig, jigging spoon or let the slip sinker slide directly to the hook.. Otherwise you just don’t get a good bite detection and risk your leader getting all spun up because you are dropping straight down. Mud puppies hit harder than the sturgeon do sometimes. Make sure you have a very light detection system for those bites. Stay away from the crowds as much as possible. Soft bottom use light weights (1/8 oz area). Hard bottom/sand you can use up to 1/2 oz if you want. Fatheads should work just fine but you might want to bust them up a little to let the Juices/smell out. Current is your friend when fishing for sturgeon. There are areas that offer seams. If you can find that you will find some sturgeon. This is not required but does make a spot better than others. hope this helps?

50’s fish…

Nice sturg!!

Good tips Joe. I sure wish I could pattern them through the ice more consistently, either that or get some motivation to move more often. My theory is they are just roamers and either you find a path they like to frequent and ambush them, or just wait for them to find you. It seems like a lot of it is more luck than anything. Last night we set up in a random spot out in the basin (like totally random….ok let’s just try here) and I literally dropped a bait on one the first time I put my line in. My bobber never even stood up, it just kept going down. That was fun! We had a good night last night with a few over 50, but here’s the thing, I was going in with 4 or 5 skunks, so yeah 25 hours without one fish. Keep at it and you will stumble into them. I also recommend running a sinker right down to your hook and using a strike indicator like a bobber or tip down or bells and pay very close attention. The mudpuppies will drive you insane at times, but you have to respect every bite, because one of those times you lift up it won’t move.

nice bud

atta boy Darren! It is funny how you can just get away from everyone and sit in the middle of nowhere and catch some nice fish. We have found a specific patter that has worked very well this year so far. I hate to claim it as a solid pattern till we get further into the season but so far so good.

One thing we do know is that these fish will move into a specific area at dusk to feed. When they come in they are active!

61″. The bite from this fish was just one slight twitch.

Thanks to those of you that were willing to help. Managed my first two sturgeon through the ice and kept the truck on the dry side.

This is my first year attempting sturgeon through the ice. Man is it incredible. I live an hour away from the Croix and have made it to the Croix 5 times in two weeks. 3-5 fish a night has how the fishing has been. Heading down this weekend. Saw a 64″ come out last weekend.

Keep it up guys!!!
Awesome fish all of them!

So, sturgeon definitely bite lighter in cold water slow current then in warmer water, BUT do they still fight as hard guys?

Hub houses seem to really pay off.

It’s hard to compare the fight to open water since conditions are different, but there are times all you can do is hold on. As with open water they really like to do circles, especially as they make their final battle towards the hole. Because of this we instantly reel up all lines as soon as we are hooked up and a reason I won’t set up next to another house and would appreciate anyone else doing the same. I don’t mind people fishing close (especially when its all catch and release anyways), but when it comes to this kind of fishing, it becomes a real mess when you do. These fish move around a lot, there is no reason to crowd in anywhere. As far as the bite goes, I don’t think it’s any lighter than open water, but you can be more effective if you pay attention to every bite. Yes, hub houses are recommended. The bigger the better. Also while I’m at it typing away, I just wanted to mention getting these big fish topside because it’s not super easy. Many ways to do it, but we like to drill 3 overlapping holes in a triangle pattern. It gives you more room to fight the fish and also to land it, but even then when it’s a big enough fish there is still nowhere to grab them when their head takes up three holes. If you have gorilla arms, you can go shoulder deep (depending on ice thinkness) and grab the tail instead or… you can work the head up the hole and gently put a finger in behind the gill plate and slide it up on the ice. Never support the fish’s weight by the gill plate, rather use it to get the head started on to the ice and then slide the rest of the body out. The tail grab method works great when it presents itself, but then you also have to be careful because the pectoral fins will catch on the sides of the hole(s). They are not meant to be bent that way. At any rate, please remember we want to be careful with these fish so that many generations can appreciate the enjoyment they bring. Get em out, get a quick pic and then right back in.

Darren, what about a mouth grab to get them going out of the hole?

I’m going out this weekend for my first ice Sturg trip…and I can’t wait!
(lucky I’m going out with some experienced ice guys)