Sturgeon help for a beginner HELP!!!

[icehunter]

K so we all know that open water season is once again here for 5 days before winter sets back in. I am not looking for a spot to fish em,just a gear question. Living 1.5 hrs from the NSR leaves me only weekends to fish. And out of that maybe only once a month if I am lucky to get away.So question is...without breaking the bank acct....

I am looking at a Shakespeare rod..its a ugly stik Elite salmon/steelhead Model is usessp902xh...and a Penn battle II reel. The reel( BTL116000) comes in 390/40 pound line capability...or the model ( BTL115000) comes with 300/30 pound capability.

Both are available for a total of $200.00 or so from Cabelas.I am just looking for a good starter setup...advice or helpful comments are always appreciated..

[The Fisherman Guy]

That setup isn't ideal, the Battle 2 in the smaller models isn't designed to fight 60lb fish in heavy current, the drag isn't up to the task. You will need at least the 6000 or 8000 series.

Keep in mind you are hunting big game, you'll need the right gear to tackle them.

The rod will work, but you may find better success with a Shakespeare Tiger or Catfish. Pair it with a Penn Squall 20 and you are in business.

As for line, I would not use anything under 50lb. I run 65lb braid with confidence.

Good luck and tight lines

[icehunter]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

That setup isn't ideal, the Battle 2 in the smaller models isn't designed to fight 60lb fish in heavy current, the drag isn't up to the task. You will need at least the 6000 or 8000 series.

Keep in mind you are hunting big game, you'll need the right gear to tackle them.

The rod will work, but you may find better success with a Shakespeare Tiger or Catfish. Pair it with a Penn Squall 20 and you are in business.

As for line, I would not use anything under 50lb. I run 65lb braid with confidence.

Good luck and tight lines

Thank you...I know 50 pound braid is minimum..Was just looking for some really good suggestions as to how to gear up and try catching one of them.

[kinwahkly]

Pm Wyane Christe on the forum and he will give you some tips.

[icehunter]

Originally Posted by kinwahkly

Pm Wyane Christe on the forum and he will give you some tips.

Already did that...but I hate buggin a guy at home and such. Figured this would be a good way to get some helpful tips as to gear to get.

[PlatinumBarMan]

I got in touch with an ex-sturgeon tagger and guide who learned himself 35 or so years ago from the man with the Alberta sturgeon record. Since then he's landed thousands of sturgeon and although now "retired" he still gets out to land some monsters. I met up with him at a local fishing store here in Edmonton last summer and he rigged me up with as close to his preffered setup my budget would allow. I ended up with a beefy 10' ugly stick and an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6601 classic C4 bait caster reel. He rigged it up with 20 lb mono line; now some may say this is too light and I questioned him as well but he insisted this is all you need and he's been able to efficiently land 80-100 lbers on it when needed with no issues or long fights which could harm the fish. He did comment he fishes the pool side of the current seams so I'm guessing if you're fishing consistently in fast current then you may want to beef up a bit. I also asked about fluorocarbon or braid and he said he has tried them and fluorocarbon in this weight isn't worth the money since it's too stiff and doesn't spoil off or cast well and braid doesn't have the stretch needed for his liking. He said with braid it's harder to get good hook sets and he felt it was harder on the fish overall. But he did add perhaps he's just old school but he had tried braid and those were his thoughts. Then he showed me how he makes his sturgeon rigs and even rigged one up for me in the store and showed the knots he uses for each spot and everything. Was pretty cool and end result is a hook free for the fish to run without picking up the weight (until the final part of the fight), and the weight is on an intentionally lighter weight line so if it does get snagged it will break off before the main leader line so you don't lose the fish. He also commented the sturgeon in the south sask seem to prefer minnows whereas in the north sask they prefer worms (a few of them balled up on the hook with the final 1" or so dangling). He also showed me a couple of his go to spots on the NSR not far from the city and I marked them on google maps. The next day I was on the river and landed my first sturgeon. Looking forward to plenty more this year. Apologize for the long winded response but figured I'd share some of what I learned from the old sturgeon expert. Good luck out there

[Bjay]

Used to fish the Columbia for sturgeon. Got them to 9 feet. Used shin beef and a 7/0 hook, barbles. They can't get the beef off the hook so will keep trying to pick it up till they are hooked. Used pieces 3 to 6 inches long and about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. put beef on the hook then put the hook through a very small piece of surgical tubing to hold the beef on. The blood leaves the beef and ends up white. Good for all day.
Columbia Old Guy

[RavYak]

Both of those reels have tons of capacity and 25 lbs of drag which should be plenty for what you will catch here. Sure a 60+ lber might be a little fun but if you outfit for that size of fish then you are kind of overdoing it since 20-30 lbs is the average size.

My sturgeon combo for example only has 12.5 lbs of drag and 330 yards capacity of 30 lb braid so half the drag and much less capacity. I have had no trouble landing any of my sturgeon so far(personal best 48 inches around 30 lbs). I would recommend something with more drag as I was pretty much maxed out on my largest fish(can always thumb it though as it is a baitcaster).

[SKSniper]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Both of those reels have tons of capacity and 25 lbs of drag which should be plenty for what you will catch here. Sure a 60+ lber might be a little fun but if you outfit for that size of fish then you are kind of overdoing it since 20-30 lbs is the average size.

My sturgeon combo for example only has 12.5 lbs of drag and 330 yards capacity of 30 lb braid so half the drag and much less capacity. I have had no trouble landing any of my sturgeon so far(personal best 48 inches around 30 lbs). I would recommend something with more drag as I was pretty much maxed out on my largest fish(can always thumb it though as it is a baitcaster).

Better to over do it with the small ones, than be under-gunned when you hook a big one IMO. Get them in quick and get them back into the water quick. I have a Schimano 4000 spin reel (recommended by a "knowledgeable" store employee) and I could barely reel my big one in, I had the drag as tight as it could go and it still ran upstream with ease, I will be upgrading to a 5000 shortly. We owe it to these beautiful beasts to have proper gear so they have best survival chances....go big or go home

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by SKSniper

Better to over do it with the small ones, than be under-gunned when you hook a big one IMO. Get them in quick and get them back into the water quick. I have a Schimano 4000 spin reel (recommended by a "knowledgeable" store employee) and I could barely reel my big one in, I had the drag as tight as it could go and it still ran upstream with ease, I will be upgrading to a 5000 shortly. We owe it to these beautiful beasts to have proper gear so they have best survival chances....go big or go home

12.5 is doable with my baitcaster because as mentioned I thumb my line when needed and in doing so I can increase my drag pretty much till my hook bends or line snaps(same way I break free from snags). I have never had to fight a sturgeon for more then a couple minutes.

With a spinning reel I believe you have to rely on drag a bit more and you probably want 20 lbs at a minimum. The 25 lb rating on those battle 2's is about as good as you can get in a spinning reel without going to an ungodly size so . There is also no reason to go with a 6000 over 5000 as you don't need the extra capacity(probably never use 100 yards let alone 300+).

Similarly you might be better off finding a different 4000 with higher drag rating(yours probably is only 15?). One thing I can't stand is having a monstrous tough to cast reel when it isn't necessary.

[SKSniper]

Originally Posted by RavYak

12.5 is doable with my baitcaster because as mentioned I thumb my line when needed and in doing so I can increase my drag pretty much till my hook bends or line snaps(same way I break free from snags). I have never had to fight a sturgeon for more then a couple minutes.

With a spinning reel I believe you have to rely on drag a bit more and you probably want 20 lbs at a minimum. The 25 lb rating on those battle 2's is about as good as you can get in a spinning reel without going to an ungodly size so . There is also no reason to go with a 6000 over 5000 as you don't need the extra capacity(probably never use 100 yards let alone 300+).

Similarly you might be better off finding a different 4000 with higher drag rating(yours probably is only 15?). One thing I can't stand is having a monstrous tough to cast reel when it isn't necessary.

Is the drag rating usually marked on the reel? I have never noticed one on mine but I will go look. I am open to suggestions, as I don't really want a massive reel either!!

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by SKSniper

Is the drag rating usually marked on the reel? I have never noticed one on mine but I will go look. I am open to suggestions, as I don't really want a massive reel either!!

I don't think so but maybe, usually I think they just put capacities and ball bearing numbers(because that is so important not lol). If you know the model it is easy to look up though.