Hooked my first sturgeon....

[ghostguy6]

.... and it got away but not before breaking my new rod:mad: Time to get heavy weight rod and reel.

http://img.mypicgallery.com/sigsandavatars/img-0384.jpg

http://img.mypicgallery.com/sigsandavatars/img-0385.jpg

[the local angler]

cool. all the more to have an excuse to buy more fishing gear.

[Johnnyg313]

what were you using for bait if you don't mind me asking

[Deano85]

Were you targeting sturgeon with that rod?

[SushiUnagi]

Wow thats insane! How long did the fight last?? Hope it was a good one!

[Stump thumper]

That is awesome. I am going to go sturgeon fishing this year and hope to latch onto my first one.

Too bad it got away. I just picked up a bigger rod and reel. Don't want to loose my first one due to equipment failure.

[ghostguy6]

what were you using for bait if you don't mind me asking

No bait, I was using a 5 of diamonds targeting walleye and pike. The fight didnt last long at all, maybe 2 minutes before the rod snapped. Just after the rod snapped the line broke at first eyelet. I also noticed a nice gouge in my sunglasses after the rod broke.

The good news is I found the reciept so maybe I can get a replacement.

[ishootbambi]

No bait, I was using a 5 of diamonds targeting walleye and pike. The fight didnt last long at all, maybe 2 minutes before the rod snapped. Just after the rod snapped the line broke at first eyelet. I also noticed a nice gouge in my sunglasses after the rod broke.

The good news is I found the reciept so maybe I can get a replacement.

you sure it was a sturgeon??? if it was, and im not saying its impossible, but it would be the first time i ever heard of a sturgeon on a spoon. they are just an overgrown sucker...not a predator. i suppose you may have snagged it, but it was likely not a sturgeon at all. did you see it or just assuming that a broken rod means sturgeon?

[sheepguide]

you sure it was a sturgeon??? if it was, and im not saying its impossible, but it would be the first time i ever heard of a sturgeon on a spoon. they are just an overgrown sucker...not a predator. i suppose you may have snagged it, but it was likely not a sturgeon at all. did you see it or just assuming that a broken rod means sturgeon?

Ive caught lots of suckers on spoons and spinners!

[ishootbambi]

Ive caught lots of suckers on spoons and spinners!

ive caught the odd sucker over the years, but never have i heard of a sturgeon on anything but bait. i laugh every time i hear of a guy talk about his deadly sturgeon lures. 8 inch spoons, and giant bucktail spinners. i saw a guy on the river once with a 12 inch rapala jointed stick. i told him he was properly armed :lol::lol::lol: another good chuckle is when guys talk about their steel rods and mammoth trebles to toss out a steak or a dead chicken on a cable and come back tomorrow to claim their prize. the truth is that sturgeon are a bottom feeder, and seldom do they hit anything remotely hard. most often if you arent sitting right there watching your rod, or better yet holding it, you wont even know you had a hit. when its windy (which here is almost always) it makes it a lot tougher to be successful. if it was a sturgeon my guess is a snagged fish.....but a better guess is not a sturgeon at all.

[Jayball]

you sure it was a sturgeon??? if it was, and im not saying its impossible, but it would be the first time i ever heard of a sturgeon on a spoon. they are just an overgrown sucker...not a predator. i suppose you may have snagged it, but it was likely not a sturgeon at all. did you see it or just assuming that a broken rod means sturgeon?

i was thinking the same... could have been a lunker pike... sturgeon seem to be more bottom feeders. Then again again if the hook was on the bottom for a couple secs... ya never know. better luck next time... ;)

[spopadyn]

I was on the Pembina river at the provincial park about 30 years ago when a guy with a little pocket fisherman hooked into something big. It snapped his pocket fisheran in two and eventually pulled it from his hands. F&W were at the park at the time and stated - thats what happens when you hook into a sturgeon. We never saw it, but I highly doubt it was a 20lb pike (I have caught those before).

Seems pretty possible to me.

[AxeMan]

How do you break your rod? Don't you set your drag? The only thing that should happen at worst is that you get spooled out and then the line breaks. Getting spooled is unlikely as well because you can move down the river with the fish. I landed my 25 pound sturgeon on 10 pound line and a light to medium rod with no major fuss. It was a good fight but he wore down after a bit. I was not targeting sturgeon at the time; fishing for walleye when the sturgeon took it.

Maybe your rod was cracked or damaged before this. Hit them up for warranty.

[steve]

This is a serious case of operator error.... (unless rod was damage pre-hook up)

My first sturgeon was on 8 lb. mono, and a Ugly Stik Lite when I was a kid, by myself.

[PoorTurtle]

I was on the Pembina river at the provincial park about 30 years ago when a guy with a little pocket fisherman hooked into something big. It snapped his pocket fisheran in two and eventually pulled it from his hands. F&W were at the park at the time and stated - thats what happens when you hook into a sturgeon. We never saw it, but I highly doubt it was a 20lb pike (I have caught those before).

Seems pretty possible to me.


Pembina River ........Sturgeon..........Don't think so!
NSR and SSR are the only rivers in AB with Sturgeon

[Safety D]

That sounds like a rotten cornish hen on a big hook with a winch to pull it out story !!!

[spopadyn]

Pembina River ........Sturgeon..........Don't think so!
NSR and SSR are the only rivers in AB with Sturgeon

You are correct. Should have checked before I rambled off a childhood story. F&W were wrong and I was gullible. Glad you corrected before a hundred anglers targeted the pembina (Athabasca river system).

[spopadyn]

Actually, after having read the gov't info on Sturgeon, I am kind of surprised that we are allowed to fish for them at all. They have a total estimated population of only 5000 fish. Man, this is quite endangered. (At least in Ab it is). Not judging, more thinking I should go try to catch one before an all out ban occurs.

Cheers

[TexasTornado]

Looks like a ceiling fan incident, it happens to me all the time........

[Paul C]

Ghostguy6, maybe you hooked a carp. I did see a large one caught last year near fort sask but the man had is drag to tight and broke the line.
Axeman and I just got a quick look at it. Most fisherman are use drag system to prevent what happened to you. Time for an ugly stick rod.:wave:

[buckmasterjr]

i caught a sucker at the pembina river with a jig. if it was a sturgeon then it might have bit and was not snagged:)

[braxxtonn]

so is there carp in the SSR , a friend of mine says he caught a huge carp in the SSR were the swift current creeks meets witth the sSr , i always thought it was a fish story:scared:

[ghostguy6]

I cant be 100% percent certain it was a sturgeon but I do know it wasnt a pike, it just took my line and went deep fast. Ive hooked my fair share of suckers and it didnt seem like a sucker either, just straight raw power.

I was watching a moose on the other side of the river so I was reeling in slow so my hook may have been on the bottom or very close to it. When the rod broke I was tighening my drag since I was down to about a 1\4 spool of line and it was going out fast.

Oh well I guess I'll never know exactly what was.

[Paul C]

so is there carp in the SSR , a friend of mine says he caught a huge carp in the SSR were the swift current creeks meets witth the sSr , i always thought it was a fish story:scared:
There is also cray fish. I was fly wishing in the nsr and the little devil swam by me with claws open ready to latch on to me.:rolleye2:

[Paul C]

I cant be 100% percent certain it was a sturgeon but I do know it wasnt a pike, it just took my line and went deep fast. Ive hooked my fair share of suckers and it didnt seem like a sucker either, just straight raw power.

I was watching a moose on the other side of the river so I was reeling in slow so my hook may have been on the bottom or very close to it. When the rod broke I was tighening my drag since I was down to about a 1\4 spool of line and it was going out fast.

Oh well I guess I'll never know exactly what was.
On the other side of this makes a good wishin story.:wave:

[Sundancefisher]

.... and it got away but not before breaking my new rod:mad: Time to get heavy weight rod and reel.

http://img.mypicgallery.com/sigsandavatars/img-0384.jpg


I might help to understand your situation...

You are not supposed to shoot the rod with your bow...you are supposed to cast it.

:lol::lol:

It is entirely possible you hooked a sturgeon. If you saw the fish...proof enough. If you did not see it I would judge this based upon the take and the fight. If the take was slow and steady followed by a strong steady pull as the fish swam away without being turnable...I would judge sturgeon. If the fish bit and then tore off like a banshee...maybe more than once and in different directions...probably large pike. I doubt a 10 lb quillback or northern redhorse would of broken your rod unless it was already cracked.

IMHO

[tchow]

Pembina River ........Sturgeon..........Don't think so!
NSR and SSR are the only rivers in AB with Sturgeon

Not so true... Watersheds that meet up with those rivers also contain Sturgeon. Myself, I have caught Sturg also in the Red Deer River, Oldman River, and Bow River.
The majority of the Sturg originate from the NSR and SSR coming out of Sask. Majority of my Sturg experience is from Southern Alberta.
Red Deer River meets with the SSR near the border. Bow and Oldman meet to become the SSR by Taber. The Oldman Dam, Bassano Dam and Dickson Dam will be the turn around for Sturg as they can no longer go upriver.

[ghostguy6]

I might help to understand your situation...

You are not supposed to shoot the rod with your bow...you are supposed to cast it.

:lol::lol:


It wasnt a bow, it was a Paraordnance 1911 SSP .45 at 25 yards:D

[madatter]

Actually, after having read the gov't info on Sturgeon, I am kind of surprised that we are allowed to fish for them at all. They have a total estimated population of only 5000 fish. Man, this is quite endangered. (At least in Ab it is). Not judging, more thinking I should go try to catch one before an all out ban occurs.

Cheers

There is no way to stop people from catching sturgeon unless you shut down fishing completely on the SSR and NSR,or ban the use of bait....
Most people do not target sturgeon but do get the occasional lucky fish.
Most people are out throwing a line in the river and hoping to catch something,and once in a while that something is a sturgeon.
Most people do not have the means to get to the honey holes where real sturgeon action gets going.....
I have only seen one sturgeon caught on a lure and it was snagged......put up an amazing fight that way!!

[Fishfinder]

On the other side of this makes a good wishin story.:wave:

:lol::lol: Yup tuff to say what it was. In any which way...musta been LARGE!
Rats, another "one that got away"!
Jus waiting for me fav rod to snap too harhar, the ol ugly stick is missing an eye, got a few cracks, etc. Yet to break though and won't stop using it till it does:D Thought I lost top half of it a few weeks ago, low and behold, found it wedged in buddies tailgate...PHEW!
AH well Ghost, tuff break:p like someone said previously, a good reason to go out and buy urself some new fun gear, go back to ur spot, and find that monster!!!

[Fishfinder]

There is no way to stop people from catching sturgeon unless you shut down fishing completely on the SSR and NSR,or ban the use of bait....
Most people do not target sturgeon but do get the occasional lucky fish.
Most people are out throwing a line in the river and hoping to catch something,and once in a while that something is a sturgeon.
Most people do not have the means to get to the honey holes where real sturgeon action gets going.....
I have only seen one sturgeon caught on a lure and it was snagged......put up an amazing fight that way!!

Very true.:)