Sturgeon Equipment

Hey guys, looking for some input for the upcoming season on the Rainy River.
I’ve been up there twice now with my buddy and I love the experience. This is the first year I’ll be out of my own boat which I just picked up Tuesday I’m planning on ordering a couple of Ugly Stik Tiger casting rods in the MH variety. I’m stuck on reels and hooks. It seems that a fan favorite are the Ambassadeur 6500’s. I have an older 6500C from my father ~1990 or so, 4.7:1 gear ratio, 21″ per handle turn, 12/300 or 20/190 line capacity. Does that seem acceptable to everyone else? If so, I’ll still need a reel for my girlfriends rod.

Also, curious about how many use a dacron leader, what line you’re using (I’m leaning towards PowerPro 80), and hooks. I see a lot of recommendations of the Gamakatsu Octopus Circle’s and Team Catfish Double Action hooks so I’ll probably order some of each if someone could give me a size range to pick up?

Thanks all for the support, I appreciate it!
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Tom’s tackle sells pre rigged leaders/hooks. That’s what we’ve always used.

I have had two of the piscifun alotz400 reels I use for sturgeon and musky for the last 2 seasons. At $129 they are hard to beat.

If you already have the 6500 I’d use them if you are buying I would go a different direction.

For what it’s worth, my opinion is that the Abu 6500 is significantly undersized for Rainy River Sturgeon. Will it work? Sure it will. Is it ideal for stopping hard running fish or steering them in the current? Not so much. Bump up to a 7000 or something with a higher drag rating. I prefer at least 30lbs of drag rating. I personally use the Piscifun Alijoz 400 with a M or MH MadKatz rod.
My leaders are always just the same 80lb PowerPro or Suffix that I use as mainline. Using Dacron or something heavier can help in protecting them when they roll in the line and also handling the line when unhooking.
For hooks, I’ve tried a lot and really prefer the 9/0 Trokar APC. Many years doing this, and I haven’t found anything better.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m assuming you’re talking about the Alijoz 400? Also, are you using the 8.1:1 or 6.6:1 version?
I’ve only got the one 6500, so either way I’ll need to pick up a reel.

dbright wrote:

I have had two of the piscifun alotz400 reels I use for sturgeon and musky for the last 2 seasons. At $129 they are hard to beat.

If you already have the 6500 I’d use them if you are buying I would go a different direction.

Appreciate the input! Based on yours and dbright’s input I think I’ll pick one of those up. Are you using the 8.1:1 or 6.6:1 version? Also, which MadKatz rod are you using?

Both of mine are the 6.6:1.

dbright wrote:

Both of mine are the 6.6:1.

I’ve been curious about this reel for a while and I think I’ll pull the trigger as well. Thanks for a little real life review.

dbright wrote:

I have had two of the piscifun alotz400 reels I use for sturgeon and musky for the last 2 seasons. At $129 they are hard to beat.

Piscifun is just awesome. No input as far as the sturg tho.

You will want the lower gear ratio to help pull them in. I like to use a line counter on my sturgeon, catfish, and musky sucker rods. It is a lot of fun to count how far they run and it is an accurate way to tell your buddy to put his beer down and grab the net.