Sturgeon newbie

[Rob]

Hey guys, taking my wife out for sturgeon tomorrow and looking for some tips. We used to plunk for catfish all the time on the Potomac before moving here, but don't have any experience with sturgeon. We have a couple of 10-foot spinning rods loaded with 30 lb test, pyramid and egg sinkers ranging from 2-10 oz, barbless 4/0 and 5/0 octopus hooks, and some pickled herring & squid. Any tips on how to rig up for the best chance of success? Any input on what the bite feels like would also be appreciated. Are they going to take off with it, or just nibble around waiting for a hook set? Also, what size fish are we talking about here? We'll most likely fish from Mary Young down in West Linn. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[HereFishy]

Try starting with a 4oz weight on a slider. With a 4/0 hook on about 3 feet of leader. When they hit, it will definitely be more of a slow nibble than an explosive strike. Good luck.

 

[Admin]

Rob, I hope you had success. We have some reall Sturgeon slayers here, unfortunately thay can't answer questions as fast as we would like them to. ) Try next time to ask questions not in a last minute.
Tight lines

 

[Rob]

Thanks for the tips! Rigged up as you suggested, worked like a charm. Not much different from the Carolina rig I used to use for cats back east.

 

[HereFishy]

Any pics? I went out Saturday for sturgeon on the Willamette. I was a little ways below you though. My dad and I launched at Cathedral Park. It was my dad's first time sturgeon fishing and he was STOKED to catch "the biggest fish he'd ever caught". (It was MAYBE keeper length. We were C&R so I didn't even think to measure.) We hooked in to 15 or 16 and boated 10. All in all, it was a relaxing day. Sounds like your day turned out the same. Good job, buddy.

 

[Rob]

Sounds like you guys had a great day out there. Really cool that your dad was able to bring in his first sturgeon! We wound up changing plans a bit and heading to Kelley Point Park. Didn't have nearly as many fish as you guys, and none bigger than the one in the pic, but still had a lot of fun. Looking forward to getting out there again soon!

 

[cdumitru78]

Sounds like you guys had a great day out there. Really cool that your dad was able to bring in his first sturgeon! We wound up changing plans a bit and heading to Kelley Point Park. Didn't have nearly as many fish as you guys, and none bigger than the one in the pic, but still had a lot of fun. Looking forward to getting out there again soon!

Nicely done man, that is super nice! I go to Kelly Point now and then but always try for carp in the channel on the left side. I actually never drove past that point, guess I gotta look around more! Any recommendations/tips, I might have to try sturgeon too, that looks like FUN!