Sturgeon Rods and Rigging?

I know there are some older posts about this but figured since I was rigging up a couple of new rods this morning it was time to start a new one. If someone has a old post about sturgeon rods, line and tackle feel free to add it to this one.

Picked up a couple of new Shimano Voltaeus rods for this year to try out. VTC-70MH. That 7′ medium heavy fast action and rated up to 20# line. Working on spooling them up with 65# power pro this morning. I like the rods. They seem to have pretty good back bone with a lighter tip. They seem some what similar to a salmon rod I used a few years back. Wish I could run out right now and see if they are going to be to light or not.

We have used a few medium rated rods over the years but fishing with this you are just watching the rod wondering if it is going to snap or not. The fish did come in on them but I dont like being us sure of my tackle.

So what are you guys using for rods and line? Im sure a few of you have been out hitting the shelves looking at gear this year to. Did see a very nice St Croix Mogo for about $80 at gander that I think would make a very nice sturgeon rod to.

12 days and counting.

I would like to hear more on leaders and hooks you guys use also please!!

Rather than retype all of this, I will post a link.

It has a photo. to view.

Link Here

Mayn use catfish rods with braided line. Main thing with these sturgeon rods is to have a rod with good backbone and yet as very fast tip to detect a bite.

I use Abu 7000i reels and I do like the reels to have a bait clicker.

In regards to weights, the no roll or bank sinkers from 4-7 oz work great depending on current.

Hooks, circle or non circle. I use to use circle hooks and have went to aberdeen hooks in 3/0.

My rods consist of a Moyer MH 7′ rod with 80 braided line.

Another rod is a Cabela’s 7′ King Kat with 65# braided line.

Another one I built that is 8′ MH salmon blank with 80# braided line.

They all work good but the MH can handle the fish a bit better.

I use a heavy Muskie Rod 80lb fireline 2oz weight short leader about a foot with fireline and a 5/O circle hook very simple.

Pic of this setup

There are as many set ups as there are sturgeon fisherman. That’s the great thing about the mighty sturgeon, they are not fussy.

With that said they are not fussy about who’s under powered gear they wreck or try to wreck to exhaustion.

Our boat will again be using the Team Catfish 3/0 Double Action Hooks. The advantage to these is that they can be “set” or just lift up the rod to set the hook as with any circle. Gama 3/0’s and 4/0’s are good hooks too. I do think the sturgeon angler should consider the weight of the hook when selecting them. Lighter weight would be a plus to help the sturgeon suck the bait off the bottom. Of course with a larger sturgeon, they won’t have any trouble sucking up a 12/0 hook.

Leaders, man there’s a lot of theories out there!

I just use 8 to 12 inches of the 80# test line, while others use up to 6 feet of leader. Some like mono for leader. Personally I believe it’s what ever you have confidence in will work the best for you.

I’m a big Garcia 6500 guy for channel cats and sturgeon. Since I use circles, the reel is locked in and there isn’t a need for a clicker.

If I didn’t have the luxury of having both 6500’s and 7000’s I wouldn’t think twice about using the larger reel…why, because the sturgeon are not model specific in there quest for dinner.

Ditto with the fishing line. We’ll be using 80 pound Tug O War braid this year. Thousands of sturgeon have been caught on lighter test line, but since they aren’t line shy…why respool?

I truely hope all of you get to experience the jaw dropping leap of a plus 50 incher on the end of your line this year. What a HOOT!

If you haven’t seen this already, this was the FW’s first over 50 inch sturgeon. She doesn’t like holding fish, but she talked herself into holding on if it was over 50 inches for the picture.

Out of 5 pictures the fourth one is hanging on the living room wall. She came unglued for the fifth picture.

Which rods are you using Brian?

My thought on using a rod with a soft tip is to allow the fish to suck the bait into their mouth. I would imagine that the sturgeon, like many other fish that feed off the bottom are used to their food being easily drawn into their mouths. now throw in the no stretch braid many of us use on a stiff tip fishing pole and there is not much give in the set up.

For those of you that have not hooked up with a sturgeon yet for as big as some of these fish get they bite like a minnow. Couple of slight movements or bumps on the end of the rod and you could have a 50#er on.

All my sturgeon rods are the St Croix Triumph TRC70MHF’s.

When guiding, I’ve found many people don’t recognize a bite. But once they see one, it won’t be forgotten because of how small it is compared to the fish.

Here’s a good video from Jon Jordan’s 2010 trip created by Matt Grow.

Al, make sure you tell your Mrs. Al that she’s going to get a little slimy holding up her fish! LOL!

Great Sturgeon face at the end Jon.

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I would like to hear more on leaders and hooks you guys use also please!!

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3/0 circle hooks. 2 to 4oz no roll sinker depending on current speed. About a foot to a foot and a half leader. Old rule of thumb here was faster the current shorter the leader you want to run. Good sized barrow swivel to tie the leader onto to prevent line twist. I make my leaders out of what we are using for the main line. If we where fishing water with more snags I would think about going with a lighter leader. You keep nice fresh bait on that hook and the sturgeon wont care a bit about the hook or what type of line is attached to it.

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Al, make sure you tell your Mrs. Al that she’s going to get a little slimy holding up her fish! LOL!
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Naw, I told her about storeing the crawlers in her mouth, I’m afraid adding the slimey part might put her over the edge…:)

Just curious though, do you run into many snags up there??
Wondering if using a slightly lighter poundage for the leader might make for less lost line?

btw..just got back from Throne Bro’s and getting one of my 6500’s spooled with 65# master braid line, wife must have been in a good mood though, ended up spending way more than I figured she’d let me get away with…them guys are waaay to helpful.

Al

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Just curious though, do you run into many snags up there??
Wondering if using a slightly lighter poundage for the leader might make for less lost line?

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I can’t recall ever losing a hook up there Al.

There is one rocky snagy area as you round the corner heading into 4 mile bay. Other than that area I would be surprised if we loose one set up a year.

Thanks guys, I won’t worry about it then.

Al

Even in waters where you do get snags… I’m not sure that using a lighter leader with this kind of gear makes any difference anyway. You have 2 basic snag types: below the swivel and above the swivel.

If your snag is below the swivel, say you hook a tree trunk or the current wraps your line around a branch, you’re going to either straighten the hook or snap the swivel’s weak side (or open split rings), most likely. You may or may not get the whole rig back, but you are more likely to get the weight back than not.

If your snag is above the swivel, as in getting your weight hung up in a notch between rocks, you’re probably going to lose your whole rig anyway.

The trick is to have a 6″ piece of 1×2 or similar, in the boat. Pull the line taut, wrap it around the little piece of wood and give it a fast, hard jerk. It’ll come loose at that point… whether you have any terminal tackle left or not is another question.

The muskie expo is this weekend in st. paul. There are deals to be had if ya need to add a rod and reel setup to your arsenal.