I have been fishing sturgeon all my life with my dad, but I no longer live with him so I’m looking into buying my own rod for sturgeon fishing Fraser river Canada BC, I prefer bait casting reels I found this One and I need a few opions! Thanks
Reel: 6500C3 med/heavy
Is that similar to what your Dad used to fish White Sturgeon with?
Well we have always used Baitcasting reels, but his where a bit outdated
If it was me tackling white sturgeon… There’d be no place for any Abu product in my boat! Look at a diawa saltist size 30 or 40 depending which reel you want you’ll get up to 47″ of line per turn of the handle! Pus a smooth drag and a high capacity spool. With Abu you get a cheaply made piece of junk from china 
Isint the Saltist a salt water setup? And I don’t have a ton of money to spend also what about the daiwa millionaire combo?
Yes the saltist was designed for saltwater use but it makes a phenomial sturgeon, catfish, Muskie or big game reel. Should be able to find a 30/40 size reel for around 150-160$ just don’t waste your money on a c3 Garcia. Spend the money on the reel and buy a cheaper rod. Ugly stick should have a decent 7.5′ rod for around 40$.
We are talking white sturgeon right?? Fish that can grow to over 10ft and weigh over 500lbs? If your looking to save some money look at some of the penn combos maybe a penn 209 with a 8 foot heavy action rod.
Welcome to IDO by the way 
That’s funny, at the moment I’m using a pen 209 but it broke the other day, I’ll look into another one maybe and thanks nice to be welcomed here!
I would have no problem using the C3, they are pretty strong reels. If you need a little more reel you could always get the 7000 series abu. I love my C3’s!!! I use them for musky, flathead catfish, so far so good. I have used the tourney trail rods for walleyes and had REALLY bad luck breaking tips. If you want to save some money, I would get a Shakespeare Ugly Stik Catfish rod, $30 dollars at Walmart! Very strong(backbone)and has a good tip action. If you want a little nicer rod get the ugly stik tiger either M or MH action. Probably one of the strongest rod for your money. That is just my opinion, but some people think you need a winch in a tree to catch anything with size. Good luck and let us know what you get. For the money a C3 with a MH Ugly stik tiger, cheap route C3 and US catfish rod. I have 6 US catfish rods
Seconding a MH Ugly Tiger. My primary flat and sturgeon combo is a Tiger and 6500C3. The tiger has a fast tip and lots of backbone.
Again, welcome to IDO!
My primary heavy rod is a Shimano Talora with an Abu 7000iHSN BIg Game reel.
I wasn’t nuts about the big game at first (bought it by accident not paying attention to some things about it at Cabellas)… But it’s grown on me.
Then again, I’ve caught more cats and sturgeon on my 8’6″ Cabellas Fish Eagle II med action worth a Shimano Sahara 4500 spooled with 20# Berkeley Crystal than I have with any other rig this year.
My best advice: buy something. Pretty much anything. Give it a try. Sell it and try something else. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
That way YOU can find out what works for you… no other way to find out!
I’m also a big fan of the Ugly Stick Tiger. I mostly have used mine for saltwater species and it’s a great rod for the money. I just picke up an Abu Alphamar 20 and I love it. It’s tough, light and has 27# of drag. I plan on targeting some Goliath Grouper and Sharks this winter. I also have an ambasador 7000 big game, solid also.
Since I’ve never actually fished for White Sturgeon I’m not comfortable commenting with any certainty. I did do some research a couple years ago when we had a trip planned, but that’s as far as it went.
Many of the over sized sturgeon guides use the Abu-Garcia BG-7001-HS. If I recall, the reels pre 2006 or ’07 didn’t have the carbon drag and it was recommended to me that if buying used those drags should be up graded.
Penn International 975 and Penn 320 series reels we also recommended.
A 12+ foot fish requires a little more beef then the little 50-60 incher Lake Sturgeon we get around here.
Normally they were using 4 to 6 oz sinkers, but occasionally up to 12 ounces for the deeper water with current. I mention this only because it should be kept in mind when selecting a rod.
My notes don’t say anything about best rods except like our sturgeon, they should have a light tip and strong backbone.
My best recommendation would be to google White Sturgeon guides and check out their gear. I developed a chatting relationship with a fella from out West, but since changing computers several times I’ve lost his info.
Sure would love to see some pictures of those Whites if you ever have the chance. They’re always a hoot to look at!
I realy shouldn’t be commenting on combos specific to White Sturgeon either but…
I would think an outfit ballanced out for 50# mono or 100# braid would be bare minimum for those beasts. If you were to go with mono you would probably need some serious line capacity on the reel. I can’t imagine going too heavy on White Sturgeon.
What about the shimano TLD (20 or 25)
I’m either gonna pick that on up payday or save up for a saltist, what would you guys recommend?
The TLD wouldn’t be a terrable choice. I’d still recommend the saltist over it though. The saltist is a metal framed reel while the TLD is graphite.
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The TLD wouldn’t be a terrable choice. I’d still recommend the saltist over it though. The saltist is a metal framed reel while the TLD is graphite.
Wasn’t there a history of them breaking frames?
A history of the saltist or TLD breaking?
The TLD
Ahhhh, im thinking about just going with the saltist, just need to find a spot to get one, my local shop has to order them and only have the 50 and they want 350$ for it
Go to muskiesfirst.com and put a wanted ad for a 30/40 saltist in the buy,sell trade forum lots of Muskie guys bought them and don’t like them. You should be able to get one shipped to you for under 150$.
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