Can anyone give a crash course on catching sturgeon?
I have a vacation/fishing trip to Maine in a few months. And the lake has sturgeon in it. I have a couple extra heavy rods, a depth counter baitcaster, a boat with depth/fish finder, and can purchase whatever else I'd need if it isn't too crazy expensive.
But sturgeon is a bucket list fish. If I can get lucky and hook one on vacation that'd be pretty tight. Anything helps. Thanks.
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by OG_Chatterbait
Here in Canada my biggest in the river was 55lbs. Fun to catch. Creepy to hold. Sounds like you have the correct rod set up. We use minnows on a sliding pickerel rig. They stay close to the bottom so use a strong line with a weight. Also we can’t keep any, they are protected here. 55lbs is a baby. My buddy caught a 112lb last year.oh yeah. I forgot. Hold on to your rod!!!!!
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by ativanman19
Awesome news actually. Im glad I basically have the setup ready to go. I'll settle for anything double digits. I just wanna check it off the list lol. What exactly is a sliding pickerel rig though? Can you give me a layman's terms?
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by OG_Chatterbait
That's very helpful. Thanks for the picture. How about line and swivel test though? How strong should I go?
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by OG_Chatterbait
Very least 60-80
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by ativanman19
Mono, floro, or braid? Does it matter? I'd imagine they'd have boney mouths and floro or braid might be necessary. But I really have no idea lol.
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by OG_Chatterbait
We used to fish the Columbia river right across the border in Canada. We would use a big gob of fat nightcrawlers on a circle hook and then spray it with WD-40. Drop it down and wait for them to hit.
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by JakeInLasVegas
Why in the hell WD-40? Lol
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by OG_Chatterbait
The worm scent binds to the WD-40 and spreads out like an underwater oil slick.
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by JakeInLasVegas
No kidding. That's interesting. Learned something new today. Thanks.
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by OG_Chatterbait
Please don’t do that. We don’t need any more chemicals or pollutants in our water. People used to think this would work because there was a belief that it was made from fish oil, but it’s not. It’s a mixture of hydrocarbons and petroleum products. If you wouldn’t dribble diesel or motor in the water, please don’t use WD40 either.
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by GrayCustomKnives
That makes perfect sense.
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by OG_Chatterbait
You already have the equipment. For the setup, I just do kind of a drop-shot style: big heavy sinker at the end of the line with a hook tied about 1 to 2 feet above on a 6 to 10 inch leader. Find the biggest night crawlers you can and put 4-6 of them on the smallest hook you can get away with. Cast out (deadline) and wait. When they bite, you'll know.
PS: sometimes, you'll catch common carp with this method. Nothing wrong with that. But if you want to avoid it, target the strong currents areas where sturgeon like to hang out and carps avoid.
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by adhq
Sounds easy enough really. But carp would be great to hook into too. A drop shot makes sense. What kind of test should I go for when choosing line or swivels though?
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by OG_Chatterbait
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