Rod for Sturgeon/Catfish

My teenage son and I had a blast with a guide on the St Croix first time fishing for Sturgeon.

I got a great deal on a Abu Garcia Revo Toro Beast HS reel (Revo T2 BST60-HS).

Looking to pair it with a capable, but inexpensive rod. I would like it to be as versatile as possible but still handle Sturgeon.
Would like to try catfish with the rod (for the first time) as well.

We don’t have a ton of money, so I would like the rod to double as a pike rod if it is possible.

For Sturgeon I have read the following suggestions for gear:
-Ugly Stick Big Water or Tigers (length?)…inexpensive.
-80lb Team Catfish braid Tug O War line, or 65 lb Power Pro line
-Team Catfish 3/0 double action hooks
-3 or 4 oz No Roll sinkers
-barrel swivel above 80 lbs
-Cast net suggestion for harvesting shad?

Any suggestions?

Would the 7 ft Ugly Stick Tiger casting MODEL#USTB1230C701 work well?
Shakespeare rates it as medium-heavy.

I hesitate to go to the Ugly Stick 8 ft Bigwater casting MODEL#USBWB4080C801 because it might not be sensitive enough…Rated Heavy.

Any thoughts?

The ugly stik tiger rods are pretty good for cats and sturgeon. Really soft tip and plenty of backbone. They run any where from $65-75.

The Rippin lips MH also works great. They can be found on amazon for $39.99. The casting style are one piece and spinning is two piece.

I have both and have had no problem bringing in big fish.

I’ve also heard good things about the okuma battle cat. I just got one late last fall but haven’t had the chance to use it yet. Dtro on YouTube has one that he’s used for both cats and sturgeon.

rschmidty wrote:

The Rippin lips MH also works great.

Not big enough for sturgeon.

Okuma evx musky HEAVY

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And hey, great choice on the reel! You’ll appreciate a ride with decent backbone like the okuma evx.

It is a big channel cat in heavy current rod, and a great sturgeon rod.

The cabelas king cat rods have been pretty good to me. Decent backbone with a soft enough tip to detect the strike, and easy in the wallet. At $30/each, i couldnt be happier. For this style of fishing, I can’t justify dropping big bucks on a rod.

I paired mine with some penn GTI reels i bought off ebay. They are good, tough, reels that are reliable. Total cost for my combos – including a spool of 80# power-pro is about $80. After years of use and abuse abd tons of fish labded, they are still going strong.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rschmidty wrote:</div>
The Rippin lips MH also works great.

Not big enough for sturgeon.

I get that the rod you posted would fit that bill for being strong enough and certainly stronger than the MH rippin lips but do you have other suggestions that maybe is more versatile. The reason I suggested it was to answer versatility but still capable part of the question. Certainly there are better “Sturgeon” specific rods and the one you suggested seems to fit that bill.

I have had no problem getting a 60 inch fish into the boat in under 5 minutes with the MH rippin lips. To me what is equally important is the reel and lbs of drag that can be applied. The reels I use have 33lbs of drag and it allows you to put more pressure on the fish to get them in sooner reducing the stress put on the fish from fighting them too long.

Dream Sturgeon Setup

I have two Battlecats and I am very happy with the way they Dan pull sturgeon up

rschmidty wrote:

allows you to put more pressure on the fish to get them in sooner reducing the stress put on the fish from fighting them too long.

I love that statement.

I’ll just drop my rod argument. You would appreciate the upgrade I guarantee it.

Really like rschmidty’s point about drag pressure. Drag pressure and cranking power are what bring a fish in. I would add one thing though. Give me medium action rod that can be bent all the way to the reel seat and I can land a fish with drag pressure alone. What you lose is control of the fish, especially boatside. A rod that is bent all the way is a wet noodle when your fish goes for the prop or anchor line. A 7′ rod that is only bent half way down still gives you a a 3 or 4 foot stick to help control the fish with.

Another consideration. Do you use circle hooks? Some guys that use them exclusively seem to gravitate towards rods with slower actions. Having a deeper bond in the rod seems to help keep the line tight, and you don’t need a long backbone to set the hook with.

I would agree NoFish that with sturgeon especially you need both. I’ve seen friends have a heavy strong enough rod but a week reel that doesn’t allow the rod to do its job. I think length of the rod can also factor in. Usually a longer rod will allow you to control the fish a little more.

Most sturgeon guys I know use circle hooks. For a couple reasons, it reduces the chances of gut hooking a fish that is still making a comeback, they bite so light so it increases the chance they may hook themselves. Having a sensitive tip that isn’t too fast is important for detecting the bites and setting a circle hook but there are a lot of options out there that don’t bend all the way through.

Try the heavier versions of the Cabelas tourney trail rods.

I got the Ugly stick tiger.

Buying this whole set-up is really an investment in my son.
Teenage boys today are really hooked on computer games and I want as much time with him as possible before he moves on to college. Hauling in 35-40 inch Sturgeon really got him excited and he really wants to hook a 60 incher now.

I am not an very experienced fisherman…5-15 days fishing a year for the last 40 years and I am brand new to Sturgeon/Cat fishing and river fishing in general.

I appreciate all of your comments. Do people go out for Sturgeon or cats in the spring on the St Croix or is the water too high, or not productive?

Thanks again!