Bank fishing for sturgeon

[nativefish]

Looking for recommendations on the necessary gear to go bank fishing for sturgeon. I'm thinking about spending under 200 for rod reel and some leads. I am thinking ugly stick will probably get the job done and possibly a shimano cardiff 401. Am I on the right track? what lb braid should I be using and what brands do people prefer. Thinking im going to do most of my fishing on the willamette. Just seems like a fun thing to do rather and increase my angling abilities besides steelhead and salmon. So will a 9 ft ugly stick work or am I gonna be wishing I had a 13ft rod basically is what im asking, and the line thing.

 

[Airs98]

A couple of years ago when I was sturgeon fishing on the lower Willamette I was using a 12ft Uglystick and a Daiwa Saltist 30H reel spooled with 30# maxima chameleon. Of course if I had a 14ft Lamiglass that would work even better. In many spots you will need to cast over 100 yards to reach the deeper holes from the bank.

 

[frodog]

For the line I prefer 80 lb. tuf line as far as the rod goes and reel go I fish from a boat most of the time with an ugly stick tiger rod med-heavy action and a penn 320 gt reel. my bank set up is 12ft. ugly stick with penn 220 gti. I really like this set up and for the money hard to beat rod was $60, and reel was $55. Hope this helps.

 

[fish4life]

A 10'-12' rod that will handle casting up to 10 oz weights a reel that will hold 200+ yards 30# mono. I wouldnt use braid off of the bank and i have caught keepers on 30# mono without a problem. Look on craigslist for your weights because if you are buying them from a store they will be expensive. Ugly Stik would be a good choice but I would go with at least 10'. Also make sure reel has a high retrieve ratio or you get hung up a lot more.

 

[nativefish]

okay, so any recomendations on reels that are left hand retrieve, and any other alternatives to ugly stick that can handle the amount of weight that i intend to be casting, and thanks for the advice on mono instead of braid, makes sense.

 

[ZeeBorn]

My setup is an 12' Ugly Stick and a Daiwa Sealine x30sha with 30 lb mono. You can use braid for bank fishing but you will need a shock leader made from a length of 50lb mono tied to the end of your mane line to absorb the shock of casting and so braid doesn't bind on its self under the initial strain of the cast. This leader needs to be long enough to go around the spool of your real at least 5-6 times. For your reel make sure you get something that will disengage the level wind mechanism when you cast. No need to wast a bunch of energy making that thing go back and forth like a mad man. Or better yet, get a real like mine that doesn't have the level wind at all. This kind of real will give you the most efficient use of your casting energy and it's not hard at all to level the line with your fingers as you retrieve.
Anyway hope that helps, good luck!

 

[bass]

My setup is an 12' Ugly Stick and a Daiwa Sealine x30sha with 30 lb mono. You can use braid for bank fishing but you will need a shock leader made from a length of 50lb mono tied to the end of your mane line to absorb the shock of casting and so braid doesn't bind on its self under the initial strain of the cast. This leader needs to be long enough to go around the spool of your real at least 5-6 times. For your reel make sure you get something that will disengage the level wind mechanism when you cast. No need to wast a bunch of energy making that thing go back and forth like a mad man. Or better yet, get a real like mine that doesn't have the level wind at all. This kind of real will give you the most efficient use of your casting energy and it's not hard at all to level the line with your fingers as you retrieve.
Anyway hope that helps, good luck!

Great explanation as to why not to use braid from the bank! I have not tried it and glad I haven't! It is the same reason that you want to use a dowel or something to wrap around when you break off braid rather than pulling against the spool. Thanks for the tip.

 

[The Nothing]

Interesting comments.....

my ~$200 setup: 11' Lami Surf King. Abu Garcia Cardinal 178 spinning reel. 65# TufLine(all at Fishermans)

I've proven that to be a killer Willamette sturgeon setup way too many times. Never ran a shock leader, but you will want to wear a glove when casting. Setup is good for anywhere on the Willy or Columbia except for Bonneville.

 

[joesnuffy]

Get a fishing Kayak and get a short rod