sturgeon through the ice

[windriver]

After reading an article in the Idaho Statesman about ice fishing for Sturgeon at a private lake in Parma called "Poor Fish" Ranch I was intrigued. So with no real expectations a friend and three of my boys left Rexburg at 3:00AM on Monday. We arrived around 9:00 and met the very friendly proprietor Jim Schwartz. After signing the paperwork, paying the fee and promising to treat his sturgeon with respect we were off to the lake. The lake is about the size of the Rexburg Nature Pond but is full of sturgeon between 2 and 6 feet long.
We drilled 4 holes together in order to accommodate the large fish as we didn't want to scrape or bump them on the holes when we landed them. The small sturgeon pecked at our pickled herring throughout the day. They were actually difficult to hook on the barbless hooks. Every once in a while the big boys would get aggressive and really bite hard. The five of us landed around 30 sturgeon over the course of the day and each person landed at least one really good one that for fought incredibly hard. Of course there were a couple that fought for over 10 minutes and we never saw them as they came unbuttoned too soon.
Overall I had a great time and my kids got a very unique experience. If it freezes again next year I would definitely try it again. (See pics)
Windriver
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[hooknhunter]

Very cool.
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[wiperhunter2]

Wow, that is a long drive but the results speak for themselves, awesome. Thanks for sharing this report and pics with us, if you don't mind me asking, what does it cost per person to get into this Poor Fish Ranch?
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[MMDon]

That is so awesome! Congrats on a great day and landing some nice Sturgies!
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[windriver]

Right now he charges $25 dollars a day per person. He has a small bait shop with the herring and stuff you need as well.
I'm not advertising for him but you can Google the information on his Facebook page just put in Jim Schwartz ice fishing sturgeon Parma Idaho
Windriver
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[Ktrout]

I guess they don't jump when you hook them under the ice []

That looks like a lot of fun.
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[wiperhunter2]

Well thats not a bad price for a chance to catch a Sturgeon. Did you spend the night up there or do it all in one day?
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[Kent]

I am definitely going to be heading up there. It would be a blast to land one through the ice.
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[windriver]

No the jump is something that is definitely missed through the ice but we did have a couple on that were big enough to really peel some line off the reel. One in particular we had on a short sturgeon rod for a long time and never saw it.

Windriver
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[windriver]

If I go next year I will spend the night and fish CJ or some other body of water. This time we just did it in one day from 3:00AM got home at 11:30PM.

Windriver
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[EZOP]

Curious of the clarity of the water, was it cloudy or clear? Some dive friends want to head over and swim with the fishes.
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[windriver]

The water clarity was pretty cloudy. Those big fish swimming around on the bottom stirred up the mud pretty good.

Windriver
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