Sturgeon Fishing

Well, Mike T. and I tried our luck with Sturgeon on Sunday afternoon. We fished from 10:30am till 1:30pm with 3 fish boated. The biggest fish was around 38″ with the others a little smaller. These fish were all caught on nightcrawlers(3 on a hook), we also used cut bait and only had one run, we also lost 4 more on crawlers. All fish were caught in 16′ of water with a sand bottom. Should only get better from here on out. Also talked to another guide who managed a 23.5″ and 27″ walleye trolling cranks in 18-22′. Fall is here, go get’em

Has,

What kind of advice could you give to a sturgeon rookie(Me) who would like to try his luck? Any specific rigs and baits? Without giving away your spots, what type of areas would you look for to fish? Thanks for your help.

Gator Hunter

I have caught several sturgeon in the fall vertical jigging in 30′ of water on the upriver side of Catfish bar. They came in Oct & Nov, but I havent fished there this time of year. The biggest was 48″.

Gator Hunter,
In the fall I like to look for main channel areas, places were the river narrows with a soft sand/mud bottom. Places were the water moves the bait to the fish. Here on the Croix that would be the Hudson narrows, by the railroad bridge or the afton channel area. We were fishing on top of the deeper holes in 16′, and off our backside it would drop off to say 30′ or so. We were using what we call a slip 3-way rig. Take a 12″ piece of line tie your hook and swivel(just like a lindy rig), then attach another swivel to your mainline(so it can slide up and down), then tie a 6″ dropper off that swivel with a 3-8oz weight depending on the current. Thats it. Put a whole bunch of crawler on and bingo. I was told that in the Columbia River they take nylons and but crawlers in them so the sheephead and other fish can’t peck them away. Good luck.

I like one rod set out with bait. The other I jig with a buckshot spoon/minnow head. When I hope to pick up some sturgeon I jig the spoon right on the bottom (instad of 6’12” for walleyes. I let the spoon lie right on the bottom often and just twitch it enough to stir up the sand on the bottom.

Thanks alot guys. I appreciate the info.

Gator Hunter