STURGEON FISHING

i have never fished for sturgeon (have caught by accident on river) anyway i will be up to yellow lake by webster WI over labor day (i have a camper at a resort on yellow) and i have always thought about fishing for sturgeon.
i need a few basic pionters.
1. type of hooks and hook size.
2. type of sinkers and wieght.(this is a lake no current)
3. type of leader and/or leader material.
4. bait
i will be using my muskie rods.
thanks for any help

SLACK

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i have never fished for sturgeon (have caught by accident on river) anyway i will be up to yellow lake by webster WI over labor day (i have a camper at a resort on yellow) and i have always thought about fishing for sturgeon.
i need a few basic pionters.
1. type of hooks and hook size.
2. type of sinkers and wieght.(this is a lake no current)
3. type of leader and/or leader material.
4. bait
i will be using my muskie rods.
thanks for any help

SLACK

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1. 2/o to 4/o Gamakatsu circle hooks. Just start reeling when you have a bite.

2. In the river we fish with no roll sinkers, 2-4 ounce. Can be bought at Moores.

3. You can use the same material at your main line. Many use 50-80 pound Power Pro.

4. Crawlers and fresh cut bait as well as whole fat heads.

Hmmm sounds like you’ve fished for them before Francis!

Or did Peggy tell you?

fish any time,

thanks for the help.

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Hmmm sounds like you’ve fished for them before Francis!

Or did Peggy tell you?

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Aaaah…..it was Julie

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Aaaa…..it was Julie

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I always knew she was the fisher person of the family.

Well, you haven’t seen Tyler yet. At the age of 9 he is holding his own very well against his old man and Julie.

Hey BrianK,
Do they sell this stuff at everts? i might be down that way friday evening.

Let me check…

Yep! Everty thing!

ANYBODY USE FROZEN SHAD? DO THEY STAY ON THE HOOK FINE?
THANKS DREAM’N

Frozen shad does stay on the hook. Usually I’ll hook the front half through the eyes. The back half, if I use it, I try to hook through the spine under the dorsal.

I’ve had excellent luck with frozen shad. I’ve also had shad that just fell a part. The freeze dried stuff is …well I’ve never caught a fish on it.

THANKS FOR THE QUICK RESPONSES!

You can freeze shad once. After that it is shot. Keep the frozen stuff on ice too, like crawlers. The cooler you keep them, the less mushy they will be.

…and be very very careful if you thaw them in your FW’s microwave!!

And be prepared to have shad scales on EVERYTHING!

I am going to give shrimp a try this year. I’ll buy some raw ones for dinner with the girlfriend for brownie points, after I stow away a few in the fridge. You’d think sturgeon would feed pretty heavily on crayfish. If I could catch some crayfish out of the Croix beforehand, that would be even better!

I almost hate to menation this…but check the regs on St Croix crayfish. I recall Steve D. taking about a change a few years back. I don’t think they can be used on the Croix…even if caught there.

But don’t take my word for it.

They have you coming and going on Crayfish.

Page 70, 2009 Minnesota Fishing Regulations”

Crayfish Crayfish may be used as bait only in the body of water where they were captured. The use of live crayfish as bait on the St Croix National Scenic Riverway (north of the Boomsite Boat Launch) and within Voyager National Park, units of the National Park System, is prohibited.

From the way this is worded you would think that you can use crayfish on the St Croix River as long as you are south of the Boomsite Boat Launch. But think again!!

Page 15, 2009 Minnesota Fishing Regulations

It is unlawful to:
– harvest bait (minnows, frogs, crayfish or other wild animals) from infested waters (pages 16 & 17).

Page 17, 2009 Minnesota Fishing Regulations
Minnesota Infested Waters
Zebra Mussels: St Croix River(downstream of the St Croix Boomsite Recreation Area)

So since the St Croix is infested with Zebra Mussels you cannot harvest bait period – from the Boomsite south to Prescott.

SO!! PLAIN AS MUD. NO CRAYFISH ON THE ST CROIX RIVER ARE ALLOWED.

Meh, too much work soaking in water until they pinch onto you anyway. I had a feeling you couldn’t use crawdads on the Croix; I thought I heard that. I really didn’t plan on using them, but it is good you guys pointed out that it is a no-no, less someone here reads it, decides to try it and then gets in trouble. I thought I heard it, but I think the difference is I thought it had to do with VHS. Good correction and good info.

Just to be clear, it is NOT illegal to harvest bait in all infested waters. There is an exception for waters invested ONLY with eurasian milfoil. It is the next sentence after the one Steve posted, and it helps make his point clearer:

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Exception: Harvest for personal use is permitted in waters infested SOLELY with Eurasian watermilfoil. Harvested bait must ONLY be used in the water from which it is harvested. Bait may only be harvested using a cylindrical minnow trap not exceeding 16 inches in diameter and 32 inches in length (pages 70 & 71).

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So, as Steve said, it’s clearly illegal to harvest any bait (crayfish, minnows, chubs, suckers, shad, sheephead, etc) from the infested section of the Croix because the Croix is not covered by the infestaion rule exception. This seems to be a real PITA! I was unaware that the “water from which it was harvested” exception pertained only to milfoil until I re-read that page today. Thanks for the heads up, Steve.