Season 5 – Episode 7. Open Water. Lake Sturgeon. James Holst & Chris Granrud, owner of RainyDazeOutdoors, hit the Rainy River late April – 2010 looking for hard fighting Lake Sturgeon.
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seen the show
pretty cool 
It was a good show. Was that really the first time you two had ever targeted sturgeon?
Fun stuff!
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It was a good show. Was that really the first time you two had ever targeted sturgeon?
Yup. I’ve been in the boat running camera for others on a couple sturgeon shoots but this was the first time I was responsible for finding the bite or involved in the catching. What can I say other than “I LIKED IT!” Chris and I are going to switch into big fish mode this april and see if we can’t drop on a larger class of fish. A 65″ specimen would make my month. Of course Chris is going to need to pick up a rod or two heavier than a medium light St. Croix spinning rod… lol
I thought the best part of the show was the lack of other boats! 
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I thought the best part of the show was the lack of other boats!
That was one of the things I didn’t care for about fishing down near the lake… boats everywhere… constant boat wakes…
Once you get upstream of Birchdale the fishing pressure falls off and the fish seem to be just as plentiful.
Great show!
From what I’ve read and also experienced is that you have lake fish and you have river fish. Early spring you have the monster lake fish come in to spawn and then they move out, but you will have the resident river fish in there all year. I’ve read some really interesting stuff on this and locations where they winter.
Last fall we mostly caught 50”ers, but did manage one FAT 61”er. Those 65-75” fish are mostly lake fish I think and springtime is the right time. There are still some really big fish in there all year round though. We did witness a BEAST 65″er that trip. Man that was a big fish…
Can’t wait to get back up there again in April!!
Also, don’t forget about local waters. We caught a pile of 50+” fish this year on the St Croix and even a few 60’s, so don’t think you are forced to drive 7 hours from the Metro to catch them. 
Your chance at a 60” is tenfold up there though, especially in the spring.
James,
Have you tried pinching the barb off the circle hook? I took BK’s advice, and what do you know, no one got hurt! I’ve found lots of trouble unhooking sturgeon without removing the barb. I can honestly say that out of over 80 sturgeon boated out of the St. Croix this past season that I may have lost only 1 because of removing the barb. Even then it was mostly my fault for not keeping pressure on the fish.
Quote:
Great show!
From what I’ve read and also experienced is that you have lake fish and you have river fish. Early spring you have the monster lake fish come in to spawn and then they move out, but you will have the resident river fish in there all year. I’ve read some really interesting stuff on this and locations where they winter.
Last fall we mostly caught 50”ers, but did manage one FAT 61”er. Those 65-75” fish are mostly lake fish I think and springtime is the right time. There are still some really big fish in there all year round though. We did witness a BEAST 65″er that trip. Man that was a big fish…
Can’t wait to get back up there again in April!!
Also, don’t forget about local waters. We caught a pile of 50+” fish this year on the St Croix and even a few 60’s, so don’t think you are forced to drive 7 hours from the Metro to catch them.
I know one thing… I don’t know nearly enough about the sturgeon fishery present up there on the Rainy. River fish. Lake fish. Migration patterns and tendencies. Right now I’m in my infancy of understanding. But I do plan to be a quick learner. 
Thanks for the info, DTRO. Trust me… I’m all ears any time someone starts to talk sturgeon.
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James,
Have you tried pinching the barb off the circle hook? I took BK’s advice, and what do you know, no one got hurt! I’ve found lots of trouble unhooking sturgeon without removing the barb. I can honestly say that out of over 80 sturgeon boated out of the St. Croix this past season that I may have lost only 1 because of removing the barb. Even then it was mostly my fault for not keeping pressure on the fish.
I’ve not tried that. I do know they can be a bear to remove until you get the pliers deep on the shank of the hook and all the angles lined up right. Once everything is squared up they seem to come out easily. But I have struggled with them at times so it would definitely be worth a test run out on the river.
This is a very informative study:
http://limnology.wisc.edu/personnel/rusak/rusak_pdfs/rusak_1997_cjz.pdf
I almost hate to put it out there for everyone.
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We did witness a BEAST 65″er that trip. Man that was a big fish…
Here’s a 67″ x 30″ fish that Aquajoe caught a few years ago. It was an absolute hog! For those of you that don’t know Joe, he’s no small guy
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This is a very informative study:
http://limnology.wisc.edu/personnel/rusak/rusak_pdfs/rusak_1997_cjz.pdfI almost hate to put it out there for everyone.
Sweet, Thanks for the link. That will be some great information to review 
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