I am heading out tonight and looking for places to start. Sounds like the bite has been a little slow? Whether you have been catching them or not, could you maybe let me know how deep you were fishing and structure. Have you been seeing pods of shad?
Not looking for any specific spots, just want a little info before getting out there.
Hey Mike. Last weekend shallower was better. 18-20 FOW adjacent to deeper water is where we got some. We were using crawlers and live and dead fatheads on the same hook.
Good luck!
The only 3 I We got this year so far came out of 20 FOW, all 3 also came off a little cube of cut bluegill. I can’t get a bite on worms and fatheads.
The pattern that I have noticed is a lot of skunked nights on the water 
Seems like it is always 20′. I’ll probably have a cut sucker on one in case a channel is in the area.
That’s what I was thinking with the cut gill but thats what the sturge wanted I guess. 22fow flats seems to be my magical # @ 60 degree or less water… I love 22′ 
You guys missed the most important tip…”Its too f’ing windy to fish for sturgeon”. 
We couldn’t fish where I wanted because the boat wouldn’t hold. We could use a couple anchors better suited for the river. Even in the less windy areas, the boat was swinging all over.
That stinks. Last Sunday there was a steady 10MPH SE wind so the boat was facing the wrong way most times (anchor on downstream side) and the tuna boat wakes made the boat bounce all day. Really tough conditions as well.
Did you get anything at all? Even a sheepie?
Nothing except my nephew missed 2 runs on some rocks we found that were a little out of the wind. We were hoping for at least a channel to talk about.
Last night was brutal, 6 spots with about 20-30 min at each spot with only one good sheep thump to show for it.
Here I was noting the still air all night and thinking to myself, “St. Croixer has the perfect night to slay them”.
We had water temps of 74 degrees. Anyone suppose they are more scattered with warmer temps and the as the shad tighten up their schools, so do they start congregating in feeding areas?
I have no idea. Not even investing in that as a theory, just trying to spark conversation about it.
i guess its just better to be lucky than good but i had a pretty good outin last nite. however i did fish 4 straight nites tho. hopefully the warm weather wont shut them dwn again
ive targeted funnel area or places that will draw fish near deeper water. ive found them as shallow as 12-15for but lastnite i found them in 30-35for
shad and crawler combo has been the ticket
here’s some stats from last ntie
we ended the nite with 21 sturgies and a small flatty.
stats for lastnite
josh
41, 50×18, 56×20, 48×17, 40, 45, 50×17, 48, 48.5
myself
49×19.5, 32, 42, 43, 42, 32, small flat, 42
Lumpy 45, 42, 28, 40, 41
here’s a few pics from this wkend
56×20
49×19.5
50×18
48×17
Kingkat gettin a wrkout
48 from friday nite
flatty from friday nite
i guess being persistence does pay off at times
never give up, nice job on finding them 
The other night they came out of 20-40 FOW on a sandy bottom next to a narrow shelf of shallow water. We got 2, 46 and ~36 (guessing, saw it but didn’t boat it).
Damn Phil! If I ever see you out there I am shadowing your boat!
That doesn’t look or sound like luck to me Phil! nice job.
Quote:
That doesn’t look or sound like luck to me Phil! nice job.
No kidding! Nice Job!
Quote:
That doesn’t look or sound like luck to me Phil! nice job.
Dittoes! 
thanks for the kind words gang, but i think lady luck does play a big role in my success.
actually, if i had to narrow it dwn to one thing that seems to be helping me. id say its country music.
i havent caught a fish listening to anything else and my boat is now strictly COUNTRY 
Quote:
id say its country music.
Male or female country? Solo, duet or band.
“Hello, My Name Is Johnny Cash”….
I’m pretty sure that songs about rings of fire and shooting people in Western gambling meccas aren’t going to boost your catch rate.
Maybe something like “Pray for You” by Jaron and The Long Road to Love is going to get their sense of humor bouncing and keep them distracted long enough for Pug to dive in and hook them onto your line for you, BK.
Isn’t that how you guys usually work that out? 
He’s only jumped out of the boat once…..
…that you know of. 
Quote:
He’s only jumped out of the boat once…..
…that you know of.
…or at least that I was there for.
John Denver’s rocky mountain high has been good for catchin 65+ inch sturgeon on more then one occasion
Quote:
John Denver’s rocky mountain high has been good for catchin 65+ inch sturgeon on more then one occasion
…and off to iTunes I go!
Two words that don’t go together.Country and Music.
Putting aside the sturgeon’s musical preferences . . .
I’ve got some chicken livers and some old shrimp in the freezer. Would there be any point in trying them out for sturgeon or is it best to leave those for bank fishing and stick with the fatheads and crawlers?
Quote:
Putting aside the sturgeon’s musical preferences . . .
I’ve got some chicken livers and some old shrimp in the freezer. Would there be any point in trying them out for sturgeon or is it best to leave those for bank fishing and stick with the fatheads and crawlers?
As far as I know you’ll pick up carp, channel cats and sheephead with these, but not particularly effective for sturgeon.
Emphasis on “as far as I know”.
Realtor Ron (RIP) like using shrimp with a drop of anise oil, then left in the sun for a day.
I tried it for a couple years for sturgeon. All I ever caught was big channels. Day old shrimp left in the sun makes stink bait smell like a bouquet of flowers. 
Quote:
Day old shrimp left in the sun makes stink bait smell like a bouquet of flowers.
I tried that on my unfruitful excursion to Black Dog a month or so back. It was stinky, but not nearly as stinky as the jar of chicken livers I let sit out in the 95 degree sun for a day.
I think I’d gladly eat stinkbait on a cracker after smelling that stuff.
Used to fish with this dude down at the Mississippi fishing pier in Brooklyn Center (by the 694 bridge)… he would always bring rotten liver with him.
He called it “la ooh-nah-nah”… always made me chuckle when he would act like it was gourmet catfish food.
On the other hand he would kill the 5-7 lb cats in an area where we typically got them in the 2-3 lb range. So I tried it.
All that happened (other than that I started carrying latex medical gloves in my gear bag) was that my bait ow made me gag instead of just cringe.
You could always tell when he was fishing just as you opened the door of the truck… by the smell. 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
