Fishing Forum

There have been a couple great sturgeon reports lately, thank you guys. I read the low impact sturgeon guide from idaho fish and game, but I have so many questions.  My questions are less about rigs and more about logistics. I have never tried, but I would love to try and be prepared.

Where to launch boats?

How deep to fish?

Tips for landing fish?

Speed to fish and size hooks?

Describe your rod, reel, line?

Best time of year?

1. At launch ramps as indicated on maps. I am a shore fisher for them so I am not concerned with launching.
2. On the bottom. Sturgeon are bottom feeders for the most part and their mouth is like a suckers and on the bottom of their head.
3. HOLD ON! fighting belts are recommended and reel restraints are too so you don't get a rod yanked away from you. Think of how they fight huge 8' ocean fish, because that is exactly what it is like. Pre set drag, double check knots, look for frays in the line and cut it to get them out, keep the deck clear.
4. From a stop. There is no speed. I use 8oz sinkers, bank type and 6/0 barbless circle hooks.
5. I have 2. A conventional 13' Ugly Stick surf rod with a Shimano TLD 30 spooled with 80 braid and a 50yd top shot of 50 mono and 15 mono for my sinker dropper. My other is a 12' Ugly Stick spinning mounted with Penn Battle 2 6000 spooled the same as the conventional.
6. I prefer the fall, but people fish them all year.
The question you did not ask is baits. Many will not give up their recipes for bait. Some just use mort's. I use mort's that I have pickled in a juice that I will not give the recipe for but will say that Sturgeon find their food like catfish, smell.

I'm willing to answer some of your questions on the open forum. 

In the areas I fish, I have caught sturgeon in water from ~12' to 60' deep.  If one is fishing the river (as opposed to the slower current in one of the many reservoirs) they tend to be found in deeper holes (they don't need to fight the strong current); however, if one is fishing one of the reservoirs they do not need to be in a deep hole, so there is a much wider range where they can be found.  Because they tend to be in schools and they move around it is extremely helpful to have side imaging to be able to use to locate the sturgeon. 

In Idaho, it is illegal to remove a sturgeon from the water, so we use various landing tools to help bring them alongside the boat.  Here are two of the ones that I have made and also the tool I use to quickly measure and release them.








If the sturgeon is over ~4' we toss the anchor rope (it is attached to a floating cushion) so that the sturgeon doesn't get wrapped around it.  We also raise the prop so that the line doesn't get caught in it.

Speed to fish is zero (one anchors up and fishes on the bottom).  I use from size 6/0 to 9/0 barbless (Idaho law) hooks.

One must use a rod, reel and line that is heavier than one would ever use in Utah.  I use rods that are rated anywhere from 100 to 120 pounds.  From a boat, I prefer a 6 or 7' long rod, but from shore I use a 10' or 12' long rod.  Some reels that we use are:












I use (depending upon the capacity of the reel) 65 pound PowerPro line and 50 pound soft Dacron for leader, or I use 100 pound PowerPro line and 80 pound soft Dacron for leader.

Idaho law requires that one rig like this:



They can be caught any time of year and I'm not sure one time is better than another.  I prefer to fish from around March to mid November.  It is miserably cold to fish for them (especially from a boat) during the winter months and it gets extremely hot in Idaho during the summer (which is hard on the angler and also the sturgeon -- to be landed in warmer water).

The above is strictly my opinion and if you want to ask further questions please PM me.

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I would add one caution for everyone wanting to head to Idaho and fish The Snake River from a boat.  Some areas are safe to use a prop boat, some areas are only safe from a heavy-duty jet boat, and some areas are not safe from any type of boat.  Even in the areas that are safe for a prop boat there are numerous dangerous rocks and sand bars just under the surface.  I am extremely hesitant to use my boat in any areas that I have not received input from others who have already boated the area.

Great answers, thank you so much, I guess shore fishing you use spinning and baitcasting reel to cast it out?

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Is the river maybe better fishing because they are in predictable spots? Im far more confident fishing stillwater personally

(04-19-2021, 01:39 PM)kentofnsl Wrote: [ -> ]I'm willing to answer some of your questions on the open forum. 

In the areas I fish, I have caught sturgeon in water from ~12' to 60' deep.  If one is fishing the river (as opposed to the slower current in one of the many reservoirs) they tend to be found in deeper holes (they don't need to fight the strong current); however, if one is fishing one of the reservoirs they do not need to be in a deep hole, so there is a much wider range where they can be found.  Because they tend to be in schools and they move around it is extremely helpful to have side imaging to be able to use to locate the sturgeon. 

In Idaho, it is illegal to remove a sturgeon from the water, so we use various landing tools to help bring them alongside the boat.  Here are two of the ones that I have made and also the tool I use to quickly measure and release them.








If the sturgeon is over ~4' we toss the anchor rope (it is attached to a floating cushion) so that the sturgeon doesn't get wrapped around it.  We also raise the prop so that the line doesn't get caught in it.

Speed to fish is zero (one anchors up and fishes on the bottom).  I use from size 6/0 to 9/0 barbless (Idaho law) hooks.

One must use a rod, reel and line that is heavier than one would ever use in Utah.  I use rods that are rated anywhere from 100 to 120 pounds.  From a boat, I prefer a 6 or 7' long rod, but from shore I use a 10' or 12' long rod.  Some reels that we use are:












I use (depending upon the capacity of the reel) 65 pound PowerPro line and 50 pound soft Dacron for leader, or I use 100 pound PowerPro line and 80 pound soft Dacron for leader.

Idaho law requires that one rig like this:



They can be caught any time of year and I'm not sure one time is better than another.  I prefer to fish from around March to mid November.  It is miserably cold to fish for them (especially from a boat) during the winter months and it gets extremely hot in Idaho during the summer (which is hard on the angler and also the sturgeon -- to be landed in warmer water).

The above is strictly my opinion and if you want to ask further questions please PM me.

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I would add one caution for everyone wanting to head to Idaho and fish The Snake River from a boat.  Some areas are safe to use a prop boat, some areas are only safe from a heavy-duty jet boat, and some areas are not safe from any type of boat.  Even in the areas that are safe for a prop boat there are numerous dangerous rocks and sand bars just under the surface.  I am extremely hesitant to use my boat in any areas that I have not received input from others who have already boated the area.

Is that last pic a Battle 3/10,000 ?  My battle 2 has been great and when I buy another spinner I am thinking the 3.

[quote pid='1116110' dateline='1618844015']
Is that last pic a Battle 3/10,000 ?  My battle 2 has been great and when I buy another spinner I am thinking the 3.
[/quote]

It is an LJ9000 sold on Wish.com.

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[quote pid='1116104' dateline='1618841149']
Is the river maybe better fishing because they are in predictable spots? Im far more confident fishing stillwater personally
[/quote]

I will offer my opinion, but the answer is no, if you also mean fishing from the shore.  Fishing from the shore one is limited to only fishing a small area, because there are extremely limited areas that one can fish from the shore and if the sturgeon aren't there that day you are just out of luck.  Also, the easily accessible shore-fishing spots are heavily fished.

With a boat one can try many different areas and also if one has good electronics one can search for them.

I love this it is not cheap

Penn Battle II & III Spinning Fishing Reel

6000 are 8000

Ugly Stik Tiger Elite Spinning Fishing Rod


where we fish is top secret, where we fish if the wind is not blowing it does not seem like the water is moving 

 getting ready to go watching the wind will take two under water cameras to put on the line by the hook
and another just drop it under the boat may be going alone and see if I can get a good video.