Sturgeon & Mussels

[BURLEY]

Not wanting Kent to have all the fun catching sturgeon, I went up Thursday and Friday. Thursday was a little slow with only 2 fish. a 7'0" and a 4'6". Friday started slow. My first catch was this small mussel clamped onto my 9/0 hook.

I Then was able to bring 4 sturgeon to the boat: 4,6,7, and 8 footers, and had one pull the hook after a 15 minute battle when it saw the boat and lunged to the bottom. 
The last catch of the day was the same as the first. Another mussel. They must be the most aggressive thing in the river to latch on to my hooks and hang on like they do.
     

I snagged this old shell, Amazing how big they can grow.
     

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[Kent]

We also managed to catch all three (sturgeon, mussel and shell) on our trip. The Snake River seems to be a highly productive body of water.

[TubeDude]

"Like a box of chocklits..."

Interestingly, I once fished for the less common green sturgeon in the lower Klamath River...in California...where the preferred bait was a wad of freshwater mussels.  They were easy to find and pick up in the shallows and then were shucked and impaled on the hooks...and fished in the slow, deep holes...casting from the bank.  Those green sturgeon are shorter but thicker than the white sturgeon.

[BURLEY]

[Fritzfishin]

I've got fresh water clams in Indiana on jerkbaits.... explain that ?

[BURLEY]

I've got fresh water clams in Indiana on jerkbaits.... explain that ?

Mushrooms or bad moonshine.

[DailyAngler]

First two pictures are golden clam (corbicula fluminea)  widespread invasive species. Third picture looks a lot like a marine species. Interesting catch, thanks for sharing

[a_bow_nut]

Looks like another good trip. It's fun when you never know what might be on your hook. On our trip we got perch, a sucker and a pike minnow along with six sturgeon.

[Kent]

First two pictures are golden clam (corbicula fluminea)  widespread invasive species. Third picture looks a lot like a marine species. Interesting catch, thanks for sharing

That third picture is a common catch up there.  They have always been the empty shells.  I have caught many on my anchor and also snagged a bunch on my sturgeon hooks.  The ones I have snagged the hook has gone through the shell.

[BURLEY]

First two pictures are golden clam (corbicula fluminea)  widespread invasive species. Third picture looks a lot like a marine species. Interesting catch, thanks for sharing

 Thanks for the information. Sure is strange to have such a small clam to be so aggressive.

[TubeDude]

First two pictures are golden clam (corbicula fluminea)  widespread invasive species. Third picture looks a lot like a marine species. Interesting catch, thanks for sharing

 Thanks for the information. Sure is strange to have such a small clam to be so aggressive.

I doubt it is a matter of aggression.  The clams/mussels lay on the bottom in "beds" of multiple individuals.  Each keeps it's shell partially open while "filter feeding" microorganisms out of the water.  But if a hook drags into the open shell it will quickly close on it.  Just can't picture mussels rising to take a dry fly.