Fishing Forum

Barry, Randy and I spent 3 days shore fishing for sturgeon last week. Launched the boat for about 10 minutes and in the process of getting the boat ready to launch, losing a baseball cap over the side of the boat and trailering the boat me managed to break three parts on the boat.[mad] I should have accepted the fact that it was too windy and just left the boat on the trailer.

Because of the wind, the trip became a fishing-from-shore trip. We met a nice gentlemen at the Mexican restaurant, that Craig and I enjoy eating at, and he kindly offered to share a couple of his favorite sturgeon shore-fishing- locations. We took him up on his kind offer and I added two more locations to my growing list of places to fish from shore.

We managed to land 13 sturgeon, have three break off, and two others came unbuttoned. Of the ones landed they ranged in size from 31" to 83".

Barry hooked a monster sturgeon and the fight was on in a major way. Barry would gain a few feet and then the sturgeon would burn the drag for several feet. Barry fought that sturgeon from one end of the large pool, we were fishing, to the other end three times for at least an hour. During all of that time it was a literal stalemate. Finally, the sturgeon was able to get to the swift water, where the large pool empties back into the main river, and break off. We were all sick that we were unable to land that sturgeon and see how large it actually was. It surfaced a couple times and the head was enormous and so we can only guess at how large it actually was. All we were left with are some exciting memories and the attached picture of a bent rod and some video that Randy shot. Another fun trip with a couple of enjoyable fishing buddies.
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Who is that sorry looking dude trying to get pulled into the water by that big sturgeon? Fighting a fish that big for that long was something I don't think I will ever forget. Legit one hour battles involve problems that one isn't used to, such as dehydration, heat exhaustion, mental and physical fatigue, among others. It was quite the experience. (and I hope to repeat it, is that crazy?)


Thanks again for a memorable trip
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Thanks Kent for another great Sturgeon trip! Shore fishing has it's challenges but it also has it's rewards. The biggest thing for me was to be more prepared this time to fish from the shore. Last time all I had was my levelwinds which are limited in both casting and retrieve rate. That combination equals a ton of lost tackle. This year with my new pole and reel I still lost tackle, but just a fraction compared to last year! I really enjoyed the adventure of finding new places to fish this time. We ran into people at a restaurant that helped us out, we got to meet a nice farmer to gain access to his road and we even talked with a film crew who were doing a piece for Sturgeon for National Geographic. Like a box of chocolates...you never know what your going to get.
Fun trip, can't wait for the next one!
Here's a few pics.
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Wow! what a great shore fishing trip for the three of you. Sorry to hear about the boat problems. Glad to hear that you got new shore fishing areas. Good Carma is real and you deserve a lot of it, as you are always treating others to good fishing experiences. Maybe a few cool and calm days will occur this summer for another trip to the river of monsters. I know that I will be watching the forecasts. Hope your boat recovers from the abuse.
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Just Curious - what kind of tackle are you using? Is that just a surf rod & reel? You using 50 or 80 lbs braided line? Any leader? Circle hook?
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[quote doggonefishin]... One hour battles involve problems that one isn't used to, such as dehydration, heat exhaustion, mental and physical fatigue, among others.[/quote]

I'll bet that you the fisherman felt some of that too! []
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Another GREAT fishing report guys!

Oh, if only you could have gotten a pic of the big one.

But still, that one just under 7 feet long is still a real catch!
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[quote OCF]

Is that just a surf rod & reel? You using 50 or 80 lbs braided line? Any leader? Circle hook?

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Fishing from the shore it is extremely helpful to use 12 foot rods and heavy spinning reels. Having never surf fished I can't say for sure but my shore-rods are probably surf rods. My spinning reels are Fin-Nor Offshore 8500 or 9500 reels. I use 100 or 65 pound PowerPro line and 80 or 50 pound Dacron for leader. I use 6/0 octopus barbless hooks.
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[quote BURLEY] Good (K)arma is real and you deserve a lot of it, as you are always treating others to good fishing experiences. [/quote]


While the fishing was not as fast as it was on some other sturgeon trips I've taken, we did have a fair bit of good Karma on this one, not all of which has been mentioned in the thread. []



[quote kentofnsl]My spinning reels are Fin-Nor Offshore 8500 or 9500 reels. I use 100 or 65 pound PowerPro line and 80 or 50 pound Dacron for leader. I use 6/0 octopus barbless hooks.[/quote]


I think we were able to definitively prove on this trip that your setup is quite adequate for what one is likely to encounter with the fish.
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