I hope the pics turn out ok. While in Boise for Thanksgiving I had the pleasure of fishing with an old friend. He is a seasoned sturgeon fisherman and on occasion posts on the BFT Idaho board. Both my older brother and I got to catch big sturgeon in the 8 foot range. We caught a 6 foot, two in the 8 foot and Joe landed one that pushed 10 feet. What an amazing thing to see and fight fish like this. Id Fish and Game is actively stocking fish all the Snake River. They are catch and release only and may not be removed from the water as it will injure the fish. Joe gave us some good tips and advice on how to catch these giants. I also am under gunned in the fishing pole department and will be buying a sturgeon set up. We took the Reelfast out but with out a stomp grate I had trouble with plugging up. I am not real good at slow manouvering in strong currents but managed with only some bumping and bouncing. A "sled" is the ticket for the Snake River reach above Brownlee.
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Great report Dan, looks like you guys had a great trip and a ten footer to boot, what a deal. Did Joe tell you what a 10 ft sturgeon might weigh?
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Hard to judge weight. My tape was too short so we knew the boat had an 8 foot beam so we turned them accross the stern and released them but were able to tell a pretty good length based on how far they stretched. We didn't waste much time letting them go as the fights were long and hard. One I caught jumped 3 times. The current was strong and we had to get off anchor to work them. Oh yea an anchor ball. I have to get one.
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Way to go Dan. Sure looks like more fun than the 14" and smaller fish that I was catching on that same day. Those sturgeon have a brown tint to them that I am not used to seeing. I wonder if it is the time of year, or perhaps a different diet in that area. Hope you said hi to Joe for me.
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They are river fish and live in shallow water. 20 foot or less. Joe says hi. The fishing will be better later in Febuary so there is some time to get ready for a try at them. The river fish seem to bite better in the winter. I promised not to reveal the exact location of these bruisers but you should try to get in touch with Joe. I can pm you his email address.
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Dan, thanks again for the trip. Next time you head up, jump in my sled and I'll return the favor.
Hi Kent. That big fish probably weighed around 300. It was a monster for sure. The reason the fish are more brown is the water is shallower, and just like people, the melanin in their skin darkens with exposure to the sun. I've seen the same thing in Bass and Trout as well.
Fishing is really poor right now due to the weeds in the river. We fished Friday, and got one little dude. Had to reel in every 5 minutes and pull the weeds off the line. I'll be fishing the lake for perch for a while. It's time to load up the freezer...
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Thanks for the help. You should consider getting an early start on that guide thing. That stretch has to have some nice fish all the way to SF.
Its fixing to get winter here again so that means the boat is grounded. I have some things to tweak on it anway. But when spring starts I will definately be up for a run on the sturgeon. Good luck on the steelies. Let us know how you do. Dan
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Dan,
The Clearwater was slow. We managed 2 fish. Here is a picture of mine...
![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31637;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31637;)
[#ff0000]Picture edited for size. Maximum width in post is 450 pixels. Do not cut and paste from a photobucket. The pics are too wide.[/#ff0000]
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Thats a beauty. Are the Clearwater fish usually Bigger?
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Clearwater B-Run fish typically average 12 to 20 pounds. 12-15 is normal. Salmon and Snake River fish are usually around 6 top 8 pounds. Might be why I like the Clearwater so much...
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10 ft. sturgeon from the Columbia River average around 550 pounds. Don't know if that would be much different on the snake since they are the same species.
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RyanCreek,
I got the length, age, and weight charts from the local sturgeon biologist, and there is a huge difference in weight from reach to reach in the same river based on food resources and water conditions. From river to river it varies even more.
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So how much do you think the 10 footer you caught weighed? I was thinking there would be a difference in a river sturgeon and a lake sturgeon weight.
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I know that Snake river sturgeon do run smaller. The columbia river sturgeon can run to the ocean, but in the snake I don't think they can because of a bunch of hyrdoelectric dams. So it wouldn't surprise me if the snake river fish weigh less. In any case I think a 10 ft. snake river sturgeon would have to be over a few hundred pounds.
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I know that Snake river sturgeon do run smaller. The columbia river sturgeon can run to the ocean, but in the snake I don't think they can because of a bunch of hyrdoelectric dams. So it wouldn't surprise me if the snake river fish weigh less. In any case I think a 10 ft. snake river sturgeon would have to be over a few hundred pounds. [/reply]
First, I think that fish was closer to 9 than 10. Second, I'd guess it was 350+. Regardless, it was ginormous, and made my arm hurt for 2 days...
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Joe, that is a good hurt though
] How about your back, how long did it hurt?
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Kent,
Suprisingly, my back held up fine. That's unusual, as I'm usually a train wreck in the back department. I'll be out doing a cast and blast tomorrow, ducks, geese, pheasants, sturgeon and trout. Might throw the boat in the lake and try for some slab perch too, if time allows. I'll post a story in the Idaho board tomorrow...
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We had fun, shot some ducks, missed a few opportunities on pheasants, and got bunch of trout. Check out the iDaho board for a fuller report...
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