Terminal Tackle for the Sturgeon Excursion

Just about three weeks left before Sturgeon Excursion!

I’m betting that many will be getting their boats ready in the next few weeks. Remember to check your boat registration stickers and the condition/pressure of your trailer tires.

Since we have many new folks coming up to Wigwam Resort this year, I thought I would get some general info out.

For terminal tackle many will be using a 2 or 3 oz No Roll Sinker, a swivel rated above 100 lbs and a 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu hook. Thirty pound mono or super braids in the 50 to 80 pound range will work fine.

Sturgeon are not leader or hook shy, no need to worry about color or trimming the ends of your knots.

A heavy bass rod works well on most fish, but if you get into a biggie…well last year Anchor Mans bass rod was making some very strange noises. Please do not bring under powered walleye or bass rods. You won’t be doing yourself or the fish any favors by taking an hour to land one.

The perfect rod will have a very soft tip for detecting bites. Seldom will you get a bite that bends the rod over. Most of the time it’s what I call a “sunfish bite”. Soft tips are good for detecting this…but the rod also needs to have the backbone to land fish in the 20 lbs and up size.

Wind is not your friend while sturgeon fishing. Many will have two anchors along to keep the boat from swinging.

Rod holders make fishing more enjoyable.

Now that you have your 50 pound fish to the boat, how will you get him IN the boat!? All of the cat guys have large nets…some have HUGE nets…although a net make life more pleasant, running out any purchasing one isn’t really a financially sound decision since you might only use it once a year.

Check out the Beckman line of Muskie nets if you feel you would like to stay dry.

When you get the fish up next to the boat, put one hand just a head of the tail then use your other arm to cradle the fish and support it’s middle weight…then just lift him in. If you run into a REALLY big fish, it might take two of you to do this. The good thing is that most of the time when a sturgeon comes to the top…she’ll be tuckered out and will hold still enough to bring ‘er aboard.

Please do not lift these guys out of the water buy their gill plates. Alway supporting the monsters weight by cradling it.

A camera is a must have. Many have tape measures that go to 72 inches..at least. If you plan on using a scale, please weigh the fish in your net.

Support your fish in it’s mid section and hold on to just a head of the tail while taking photos. Again, please don’t hold them by their gill plates.

Here’s a good photo of how to hold a sturgeon.

The larger fish 50+ inches may take some reviving. Try to have everything ready to get the photo taken and get those fish back into the water quickly. Holding on just above the tail, hang on to them until they are ready to swim away. Or better yet, place them back into your net until they are ready to go. Sometimes on a big fish 15 minutes is needed to get them to burp and swim. That’s a long time beside a boat!

I hope many of you see your rod tip shake and have the opportunity to see a 50 inch long fish go from 30 feet of water to airborne in a matter of seconds…and then back down to the bottom again. I get goose bumps just thinking about the last one that did that to us last year. There were two of us and we just stood there with our mouths open like we were seeing a UFO.

You might wonder how a fish can do that without blowing it’s swim bladder. Sturgeon are of a few fresh water fish that are physostomus, (don’t ask me to pronounce it, I can barely spell it!) meaning their gas bladders are connected to the gullet by a duct. Walleyes, crappies and perch are physoclistous, that uses their blood to put gas into and release gas from their swim bladders.

With this duct, they can release the gas in their bladders much faster, hence the 30 foot depth change. Many times when reviving a sturgeon you will see a “burp” of bubbles coming out of the gill area. Generally it’s because your hand is supporting the bladder area under the fish and pushing the air out.

Edited for the 2009 Excursion

Great info Brian thanks for sharing..I assure you I wont ever pick one up by there Gill plates…

Every once in a while I’ll come across a photo of a proud fisherman holding the catch of his life time…with a HUGE smile on his face…bending up the gill covers of a monster sturgeon. I get shivers.

It’s not that they do it to hurt the fish…it just that they never thought of it or were taught other wise.

Great info Brian and thanks for sharing!

Two anchors huh? Wonder if I can catch the one I lost up there last year?! Looking forward to seeing everyone up there. Will be bringing some homebrew.

Great info Brian! Take notice of the pictured rig has a circle hook. Circle hooks have less of a tendancy to go deep on these fish.If its choppy, or your boat is swinging at all, it can be very difficult to detect bites. I have yet to have a circle swallowed on a sturgeon and thats taking 100’s of fish into account. The hookup ratio is the same as octopus hooks.. or at least I havent noticed any different. Another advantage of the circle is they tend to always hook the fish in the corner, or bottom of the mouth which are very solid locations on sturgeon, and much easier to remove a hook you can see.

Take notice of the reel in Brians photo.. that is a 7000c3 rigged with 80# power pro. The 80# is a bit of overkill for sturgeon, but its very handy if you have to grab the line at any time without cutting off a finger if the fish moves(hand landing a fish). 50#-65# power pro is ideal for super line, 20#-30# test for mono performs well, the lighter will cast better.

As Brian also said,, your not doing the fish any favors by fighting it for an hour on a bass rod. It can easily take 20-30 minutes to land a big sturgeon(50″-60″+) on heavy equipment. Those fish are fast, powerful, and they have a lot of stamina. Fishing with too light of equipment could leave you fighting one fish most of the day if you ever hooked into that fish of a lifetime. I highly recommend fishing with at least a Abu 5000 class reel, 6500 or larger is better, if you use spinning, 50 or 65 series are ideal, and have the line capacity and craking power made for catching big fish. I suggest to purchase or borrow a rod designed for fighting big fish. There are lots of good cat rods out there designed for lifting power that still have the tip sensitivity, and the power to handle heavy line. 65# test does no good if your rod is making strange noises with 15# of load. Good rods can be found and purchased for $35-$70. If anyone needs any suggestions on some of the very best rods for sturgeon applications, many of us who frequent the cat forum can make many great suggestions. The best rods will have a very light/sensitive tip, a ton of backbone, and a very long fighting grip and foregrip for excellent lifting power while its greatly reduced fatigue on the fisherman(makes a huge difference when fighting large fish).

Would a Diawa Sealine 27 with 30 pound mono on a cat rod work ok?

You betcha!

you guys have no idea how bad I wanted to make this trip but to many days taken off already for FLW it has gotta be a blast though have fun guys and take lots of pics

There’s a couple guys that can’t make it because of tournies..so you aren’t alone Erick.

We’ll take a couple extra pictures for ya!

hey brian, 2 questions, how much anchor line will i need? and are we fishing just the river or does anyone go into LOW?

For a back anchor, 50 is plenty. For the front anchor it’s going to depend on what type of anchor you have and how big your boat is. Seldom will we be in over 30 feet of water.

The GAP is the furthest I’ve heard anyone going out. If I recall that’s about a mile from the entrance to the river. Most fish within a quarter to a half mile from Wigwam. If it’s windy I’m sure we’ll move into the river for protection.

Who will protect the group from Kooty???

Dr…that is YOUR job!

Quote:

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Who will protect the group from Kooty???

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Bahhhhhb

If we are fishing the river, how is the current?

Think a 3 oz. no roll, and a 3/0 circle hook will work?

Thanks.

Yes. As of last week, there was little to no current. .3 to .5 mph on drifts, so I’m told by the walleye fisherman.

Since they are slip sinkers…you’ll be fine.

I have 3 ouncers on my rod and I do have sinkers down to 1.5 oz along if you want some.

I have extra hooks from last year too in case anyone needs them.

Old post but still applies.

I think you’ll have better luck with crawlers than you will with dead/cut bait this time of year.