STURGEON BAIT:
Using or not using the correct bait can make or break an outing. The most popular baits for sturgeon are nightcrawlers, fathead minnows crushed up and put on a hook, some type of cutbait which is usually a species of sucker.
The best bait, however, is fresh shad. Just about any sturgeon angler that has taken the time to go net some will agree that shad put the most and biggest fish in the boat. I’ve never understood why people only use them for sturgeon and cats around the St.Croix watershed. They work marvelously for every predatory species that swim in these waters. Shad are generally harder to find in the summer months, but not impossible to do so. If you have a good sonar, just drive around until a school of shad shows up on your sonar(show up as a red blob). If you don’t have a boat or a sonar, target isolated backwaters wither somewhat narrow points of entry. Shad like to move into these types of backwaters in the evening even in the summer months. Any currentless area will have a good chance of holding once the water is in the 40 to 50-degree range. Lower water temps like that can cause random schools of shad to roam around rip-rap shorelines. Shad can be found in many slack areas adjacent to current. Any warm water discharges will attract lots of shad most of the year with the exception of the summer months. Many water charges will hold shad, but not at as high of concentrations. Shad can only be obtained legally through netting them with a cast net in a season running from July 1st to November 30th(only applies to St.croix and Mississippi). To use a cast net(legally), you have to send in an application for one to the Minnesota DNR to get a tag for your cast net. The DNR also strongly encourages you to record what you catch either on paper or electronically and report it to them once a month. Any sturgeon fisherman worth his or her salt should definitely take the time to locate and net some shad. When using shad, generally bigger baits catch bigger fish. The biggest baits anglers use are usually four by four inch chunks of bigger eight inch plus shad. As mentioned before, piling on lots of smaller shad will work as well.
If you are are fishing for sturgeon in water temps above 55 degrees, what you want are nightcrawlers and lots of them. There is no need to buy them as they are easily found throughout much of the valley. The best time to find them is right after it rains at night. To catch them, move slowly along the ground on your knees. You will need a low power flashlight(preferably a headlamp) because the light will reflect off the moisture on its body. Catching crawlers(most of the time) requires you to snatch it up rather quickly because they will recede back into their hole quickly as well. If you want some crawlers and the ground is dry, any heavily fertilized grass usually yields good numbers of them. Quite a few crawlers can be found in several residential neighborhoods. Another well known method of obtaining crawlers, a take car battery, jumper cables and two moderately long metal rods. All you do is stick the metal rods in the ground, attach the jumper cables and wait for the crawlers to rise out of the ground. With night crawlers living in most of the St.Croix watershed, finding a good source of them really isn’t all that challenging.
The last highly effective bait that is readily available throughout the WHOLE St.Croix watershed are all the species of redhorse(species that live in the river). These are all over the place in the upper St.croix river and can easily be caught just about anywhere with a split shot and crawler. That notion mostly applies to the lower Croix above Bayport as well. Once you get below Bayport, it is necessary to target narrows in the river, creek and river mouths, fishing in the creeks and rivers connected to the river. Redhorse are much more readily caught in deeper
TACTICS by SEASON:
With sturgeon and most other fish….. Location is everything, but this is especially important because with these bottom feeders it’s a complete waiting game. You can definitely move around, but you can’t do it constantly like with most game fish. That means you need to make sure you make a good choice when it’s time to sit and watch your rod tips for six hours. The most sensible way to break this down is by season which also means by changing water temps.
In early-mid spring, bigger sturgeon in the Croix are quite active. The season for sturgeon is closed this time of year because the fish planning to spawn and are at their most vulnerable point. When the sturgeon are spawning, it is very discouraged to fish for them. These fish take two decades to mature and only spawn every four to five years. Might as well let them. It still would be nice for the catch and release season to extend into late March or mid-April. It would not be surprising if the St.Croix yielded Rainy River sizes and numbers. Especially that time of year.
Summer: This is by far and away the hardest time of the year to locate and find active sturgeon. Once opener hits, it is usually best to fish any spots where sturgeon are still hanging around from spawning. This notion is definitely a stretch, but it does produce; more so in the upper St.Croix where water temps tend to be lower on average than the lower Croix. It’s usually best to fish any dams, mouths tributaries or even up into the tributaries. The higher the water temps get, the more worms produce for sturgeon. Other baits such as shad and cut sucker still produce and can catch a few bigger fish than worms. Worms can be a pain to use in the summer because everything in the river can and will pick at your bait. The best depths for summer sturgeon are usually 15 to 22 feet. They can, of course, be deeper, but the most consistent fishing seems to be at those depths. Another important fact about St.Croix sturgeon in the summer is that they will rarely ever bite during the day. The ones that do take a bait when it’s light out will be either be at evening or right at dawn. Do not expect to catch them in the middle of the day in the summer. If anything, high water makes St.Croix sturgeon much more active than they’d ever be this time of year. Once high water hits, just fish the same spots that produce in low water. No need to go deeper or shallower. Kind of a silly sounding idea since I said 15-22 feet as a go to depth for average level. The only other type of spot sturgeon will be predictable at in the summer are eight to ten foot bays and side bays where they’ll hang out at the edge of the current.
Fall: Fall is the time of year when about 70% of sturgeon fishing on the St.Croix takes place. It’s when the water temp starts to dip and the sturgeon start to become active. They usually start biting in late August or early September. The biggest factor that dictates this along with most of their habits is water temperature. This is the time of year when worms still work very well, but it is very helpful to use shad whenever you can get your hands on some. Sturgeon still bite primarily at night this time of year but is becoming fairly more common. September also brings on the pointless St.croix harvest season which lets you keep one fish per year of 60 inches or over. The quality of fishing slowly progresses throughout September with mostly smaller(less than 40”) fish being caught. Once October rolls around, the progressively dropping water temps start to bring bigger fish. When this time of year rolls around, worms begin becoming less and less effective due to the voracious appetite of St.Croix’s massive mud puppy population. This is when shad start to become much easier to acquire. Any semi-knowledgeable Croix sturgeon fisherman knows that a pile of bite-sized shad on a hook means more and bigger fish; especially as the water temps continue to drop into the low 50s. Mid October is when sturgeon fishing truly kicks into high gear and many anglers begin to pull in several fish in the 60” range. The area of river from Hudson, WI to Stillwater, MN is rather heavily fished this time of year. This definitely not the only part of the river that yields good numbers of large sturgeon, but just the part that is advertized the most. If there is any time for someone to try their hand at sturgeon on the Croix, it is late October to early November. Soaking some cut shad or sucker this time of year will give you the easiest chance at a 50+ inch fish on just about any part of the river below Stillwater. Early November is also when turnover usually occurs in the river which means numbers of fish start to show up in deeper 35-50 foot depths. This can often result in very good fishing on certain deeper areas of the Croix around Hudson, Afton, and Prescott. As November moves along, shad should be the only thing you’re using for bait. You should pile on as much shad as possible because Late November often brings the biggest sturgeon the St.croix has to offer. Most years, one or two lucky fishermen get their hands on a 77 to 79 inch sturgeon….. or bigger.
Winter: Since the catch and release season was put into effect in 2015 which lasts until March first, ice fishing for these dinos has exploded in popularity. Unfortunately, most of the river can not be fished in the winter due to unpredictable and hazardous ice conditions. Ice fishing for these beasts is a very simple way to target them, but also extremely effective. The bobber method used by most sturgeon fisherman can detect the lightest of bites. Another effective method is simply using a spring bobber on a rod which is placed directly over your hole. Most people frequent the river in front of lakeside park in Bayport. Those who are willing to take some risk for a greater reward will be found fishing on the rim of the open water area created by the warm water discharge of Allen. S. King Plant. This is easily the most well known spot for sturgeon through the ice. Prescott is another section of the river that holds large sturgeon in its rather deep basin. It has to be very cold as the river in Prescott requires a bit more time than the King plant to be safe to walk on. Once safe, this section of river can offer far better fishing than the King plant, not to mention, it offers much more room to fish.
General Types of Spots to Look For(not in any particular order):
1. Any immediate narrow in the river that leads to a deep hole or feeding flat downstream
2. Any heavy current that bounces off of a point
3. Any deep holes in shallow areas of the river
4. Mouths of creeks or rivers(especially in upper Croix)
5. Mouths of bays
6. Discharges of water(power plant, dam, hydro dam)
7. Steep drop offs or rises in depth that creates an underwater narrow
8. Deep Flats(once water turns over)
CORRECT HANDLING and lANDING of STURGEON:
Properly landing sturgeon will differ if you are in a boat or on shore. If in a boat, landing sturgeon is most effective by using the biggest of muskie nets. When netting a large one, try to get the head in first then curl the tail back around so the fish can fit inside the net. Once the sturgeon is in the net, grab the net with both hands(do not grab the shaft) and lift it into the boat. Landing Sturgeon from shore is pretty easy. Once the fish is close enough to be landed, grab the base of the tail, place your hand under the head and lift it onto the shore.
The proper handling of a sturgeon is important just like any other fish but requires a little bit more knowledge due to their unwieldy size. It is important to (just like with muskie) use heavier gear so you don’t wear out your fish to a point of complete exhaustion that is one point before death. There are several ways to mishandle a sturgeon that can and will injure a fish. Here are all of them. If you fish for sturgeon regularly, you should be using a setup that can subdue a 40 lb fish in at least six minutes. Once your quarry is in the boat, the one thing that every sturgeon angler should know is to NOT HOLD IT BY THE GILLS! Holding a fish by this body part can severely injure any sturgeon. Also, don’t ever hold one by just the tail as this can cause severe damage to the spinal column of really any fish above 40 inches. Don’t ever use the mouth of a sturgeon to hold it up as this puts very unnecessary stress on that part of its body. One slightly better way to hold a big sturgeon, but still not good for it or a picture is to hold it up by placing one hand under each pectoral. Sturgeon get mishandled so often because there are so many convenient handles on them, however, handling them correctly is quite easy. There are several foolproof ways to handle them. Number one is to place one hand under the head/pectoral fin and one hand around the base of the tail. The Methods used with larger fish are to hold it up horizontally by bear hugging it. Another is to just place two hands under the fish far apart enough to support it. Remember to not hold your hands too close together for fear of bending the fish in half. These three easy methods of holding sturgeon can prevent you from harming your next fish.
Sturgeon Setups
Lake sturgeon are the largest species of fish in the great lakes basin. This means some tough equipment must be required, Right? Exactly. These fish will find the weakest link in anyone’s setup and break it. Do lake sturgeon have the the stamina? Ask any walleye fisherman that frequents the St.croix or Rainey rivers. A good portion don’t like sturgeon because every now and again while they’re trying to catch some river gold, a sturgeon comes along and the angler is deciding whether to cut the line or fight this fish for 30-45 mins. Any self respecting sturgeon fisherman should use a minimum of 65 lb, a medium heavy rod and any spinning/baitcasting reel with decent capacity and a ten plus pound drag.
Reel: Picking a reel for sturgeon really isn’t all that hard. It should hold at least 150 yards. It needs to have at least ten lb drag. There is no point in fighting a 50 inch sturgeon for 20 minutes because it’s pulling five pounds of pressure. The most popular Popular Spinning reels are any of Okuma’s bait running models.
Line: Choosing line for sturgeon isn’t all that hard either. You should basically use 65-100 pound power pro. Whatever your reel can handle. If your reel has the capacity, 80-100 pound line isn’t a bad idea; especially for fishing from shore. You should want to have at least 100 yards on your spool if you usually fish from a boat. If you are stuck on shore 150-200 yards is ideal. Once open water fishing gets well below freezing, some people switch their reels to straight mono.
Rod: Choosing a rod for sturgeon requires a little more insight. You can’t just go out and buy any old broomstick(that would be nice). Sturgeon bites often look like those of a sunfish, therefore, an ideal rod is one with a fast action tip and a very strong backbone. Most people in boats use rods from six and a half to eight feet long. Sturgeon fishing from shore often calls for a longer rod to increase casting distance.Nine to eleven feet is recommended if you want to get it out as far as possible. Another nice perk for shore fisherman is that a longer rod gives a good height advantage when reeling over snags.
Hooks: Choosing the right hooks for sturgeon has a lot of variables that go along with it. People often use larger hooks for cutbait(shad, sucker) than for nightcrawlers. If you have a boat with rod holders, it is ideal to use circle hooks and reel into a fish when it bites. If you are using a reel with a very light clicker or one with a very light minimal drag setting, j-hooks are sometimes better. The most important thing to remember when using j hooks is to SET THE HOOK! That means a wrenching hookset to assure the hook does not come loose when you max the drag or when if it jumps. J hooks seem to be a little more popular with shore anglers. When using J hooks watching your rod is of paramount importance, but if you do they can work better than circles. The 4/0 to 8/0 Gamakatsu circle and octopus hooks are extremely popular for sturgeon fishing due to their strength and sharpness right out of the package. Team Catfish also makes their moderately popular double action circle hooks. Just remember; a bigger hook holds more and bigger bait.
Swivels: Any swivel you use for sturgeon should be at least 100 pound test. Spro makes some really strong and very compact barrel swivels. One important thing to remember is to NEVER for the love of God ever use a snap swivel anywhere in a sturgeon rig. REMEMBER, a massive sturgeon will find the weakest link in your setup and bust it.
Weight Clips: Weight clips are very useful in the sense that they provide an easy way to switch weights without having to retie. These also let you take off your weights with ease so your rods aren’t destroyed in their holders when traveling by boat.
Leader: For sturgeon leaders, using the same line as your main line is pretty common because it is less buoyant than a mono or fluoro leader as well as being more sensitive. Braid is also picked up easier by the light biters sturgeon are. Mono/fluoro, however, has its perks because it is much more shock resistant and more abrasion resistant. Those two perks usually matter to shore anglers a lot more than anyone in a boat. In heavier currents, it is very helpful to use shorter leaders. That also helps with bite sensitivity when vertical fishing. Remember, if your leader is too short the bait might get covered up by silt, but if it’s too long it might not spend enough time on the bottom. Mono/fluoro leaders usually help in heavier current because short braid leaders become very easily tangled even after they reach bottom.
Weights: Weights are a completely different matter of course because choosing the right weight depends on the current, whether or not you have a boat, what angle you are fishing in relation to the river(assuming), bottom type and how far one wants to cast. If one is fishing parallel to the current/with the current a lot less weight is needed because your line isn’t perpendicular with the current(90 degrees angle). This has more to do with shore anglers and becomes more of a problem in faster current. Four to even eight oz no roll weights are needed to combat heavy currents. Fishing with the current is always ideal mostly because it helps a ton in increasing sensitivity. What that means is that the line won’t bow and your leader won’t be wanting to be perpendicular to the weight. When the current is slow, two to three oz of any types of weights are very normal to use. No roll and pyramid weights are best for heavy current. Shore anglers are usually dealing with a lot more current so having anywhere from two to eight oz weights are quite handy. If you want to throw as far as possible, don’t worry about the current and use whatever weight your rod handles best. The last very important variable to consider is what bottom type you are fishing. Very fine silty bottom usually calls for a not too heavy(2-3 oz) bank sinker or bank sinker style weight so it doesn’t get covered up over time. Muddy bottom usually calls for a lighter weight as well so it doesn’t get awkwardly stuck in the mud and reduce sensitivity. Sand bottom with average grain size doesn’t really require any special size or shape. Same goes for gravel bottom. Remember, use as little weight you can get away with. If you fish weights(especially no rolls), make sure to inspect their condition because rough or sharp edges on the part your line goes through might tear up the bottom couple feet of your braid.
Beads: Beads serve the very necessary purpose of preventing any possible knot damage that can be caused while fighting a fish or casting. It serves as a barrier between the weight and the knot. Some people have even improved their chances by fishing four or five beads above the hook on their leader. Kind of an odd idea, but it can help, but mostly with crawlers.
Knots: There is one very well known rule when it comes to knots. NEVER tie a fisherman’s knot with braid.For braid Palomar knots are the usual go to. If you tie a snell just make sure the line goes through the eye twice or with any knot you tie with braid. Sturgeon will take full advantage of a faulty knot.
Other Important Items To Have
Net: Nets are a must in most boats. For a net, you basically want to go as big and strong as you can afford. You will potentially be using these to land six foot fish.
Anchors: Half the time, on the St.Croix, it is necessary to have two anchors. One in the front of the boat at a 45 degree angle to the bottom and one in the back at a bit more than a 90 degree angle. Having Two is a must if the river is ever any higher than normal.
I had no idea that good sturgeon fishing was that close to home. Will give it a try. 