03-04-2005, 08:12 PM
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Here’s something from the F&G website that I thought would provide some good information for those of you interested in sturgeon fishing.[/size][/black][/font] [black][size 5]modify sturgeon tackle to save fish ... ask the officer[/size][/black]
By Gary Hompland, Magic Valley Fish and Game Regional Conservation Officer
Question: "At the sporting goods store I overheard a heated discussion about sturgeon fishing gear. Some use light line and stainless steel hooks while others use heavier line and cold steel hooks. What are rules and the pros and cons?"
Answer: These issues have been debated between sturgeon anglers for some time. As general rule, anglers choose the lightest pound test line possible for the best feel of the hook or terminal tackle.
When sturgeon anglers, especially bank anglers, use light line (less than 50 pound test) and light leaders many larger fish break off. This results in sturgeon that are well hooked dragging several hundred yards of fishing line around in the river. Then this line entangles in river debris the fish becomes a slave to its tether, often starving to death. Fish sometimes become wrapped up in line and suffer deep cuts and deformities. Many dyed-in-the-wool sturgeon anglers support heavier lines to reduce break-offs.
Stainless steel versus cold steel hooks has also been a hotly debated topic. The fishing rules allow both types of hooks to be used as long as they are de-barbed. If a fish breaks off with a stainless steel hook in its mouth or gut, it will take a long time to rust out. Cold steel hooks rust out quickly and free these entangled fish more rapidly. Regulations to prohibit hook size and type quickly become useless when the rules become confounded by fishing for species other than sturgeon.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has little data to indicate how many fish are killed or injured annually due to the use of light line or stainless steel hooks. Fish captured in the Snake River for aqua-culture research at the College of Southern Idaho reveal many large, older fish contain hook scars from previously being caught and handled by anglers. Several fish also contained severe cuts from fishing line. In a few instances CSI researchers and department biologists have discovered large balls of fishing line, swivels and hooks in the stomachs of fish found dead.
Many anglers ask why it is illegal to remove a sturgeon from the water, if it is just to take a quick picture. The short answer is that the sturgeon skeletal system is not adapted to supporting the weight of the fish out of the water. Lifting sturgeon out of the water may result in internal injuries which can eventually lead to death. Additionally, it is not uncommon for sturgeon to fight for more than 30 minutes and lifting them out of the water can be compared to putting a bag over your head after you run a 10K race. Anglers are also encouraged not to "play" sturgeon to total exhaustion as this can also be fatal.
Snake River white sturgeon are a gem to Idaho, much like the Idaho star garnet. These living dinosaurs deserve to be treated respectfully by modern anglers. Modifying your fishing equipment is the ethical thing to do to reduce unwanted injuries and death to this living legend.
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Here’s something from the F&G website that I thought would provide some good information for those of you interested in sturgeon fishing.[/size][/black][/font] [black][size 5]modify sturgeon tackle to save fish ... ask the officer[/size][/black]
By Gary Hompland, Magic Valley Fish and Game Regional Conservation Officer
Question: "At the sporting goods store I overheard a heated discussion about sturgeon fishing gear. Some use light line and stainless steel hooks while others use heavier line and cold steel hooks. What are rules and the pros and cons?"
Answer: These issues have been debated between sturgeon anglers for some time. As general rule, anglers choose the lightest pound test line possible for the best feel of the hook or terminal tackle.
When sturgeon anglers, especially bank anglers, use light line (less than 50 pound test) and light leaders many larger fish break off. This results in sturgeon that are well hooked dragging several hundred yards of fishing line around in the river. Then this line entangles in river debris the fish becomes a slave to its tether, often starving to death. Fish sometimes become wrapped up in line and suffer deep cuts and deformities. Many dyed-in-the-wool sturgeon anglers support heavier lines to reduce break-offs.
Stainless steel versus cold steel hooks has also been a hotly debated topic. The fishing rules allow both types of hooks to be used as long as they are de-barbed. If a fish breaks off with a stainless steel hook in its mouth or gut, it will take a long time to rust out. Cold steel hooks rust out quickly and free these entangled fish more rapidly. Regulations to prohibit hook size and type quickly become useless when the rules become confounded by fishing for species other than sturgeon.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has little data to indicate how many fish are killed or injured annually due to the use of light line or stainless steel hooks. Fish captured in the Snake River for aqua-culture research at the College of Southern Idaho reveal many large, older fish contain hook scars from previously being caught and handled by anglers. Several fish also contained severe cuts from fishing line. In a few instances CSI researchers and department biologists have discovered large balls of fishing line, swivels and hooks in the stomachs of fish found dead.
Many anglers ask why it is illegal to remove a sturgeon from the water, if it is just to take a quick picture. The short answer is that the sturgeon skeletal system is not adapted to supporting the weight of the fish out of the water. Lifting sturgeon out of the water may result in internal injuries which can eventually lead to death. Additionally, it is not uncommon for sturgeon to fight for more than 30 minutes and lifting them out of the water can be compared to putting a bag over your head after you run a 10K race. Anglers are also encouraged not to "play" sturgeon to total exhaustion as this can also be fatal.
Snake River white sturgeon are a gem to Idaho, much like the Idaho star garnet. These living dinosaurs deserve to be treated respectfully by modern anglers. Modifying your fishing equipment is the ethical thing to do to reduce unwanted injuries and death to this living legend.
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