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After being tutored by Kentofnsl last year, I couldn't resist trying for sturgeon again this year and since I couldn't go with him earlier I went with my dad and son and nephew. None of them had ever caught a fish over about 7 lbs and I was eager to help change that statisic. After much research, I found a shore accessible stretch of the Snake River with good potential for sturgeon.
After about one hour on the water, the game was on after about 15 mins my dad had his biggest fish of his life at his feet, a nice 57" sturgeon.
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Several lite bights and two hours later, game on again, this time for the boys. It was all they could do just to hold on to the rod. I played mediator alternately fighting the fish and trading over to each boy as they recuperated enough to fight again. After a 25-30 minute battle from a very determined sturgeon we got it to shore. 69" long, nearly one foot longer than either of these boys is tall.
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I stuck two other nice sturgeon but they cut my line on lava rock. Our bait was fresh brown trout caught a few days earlier.
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That is AWESOME! I've never heard of anyone catching Sturgeon from shore before! Those kids will NEVER forget that trip! Congrats and I'm jealous!
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Way to go Nate! I'm sure that your family will have some great memories and stories to tell for years to come.
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Nice job Nate! I've got a buddy that fishes for them from shore and they do very well.
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very awesome pictures.
nice to see good ole dad playing with the boys.
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Sweet deal, I'm jealous!! Thanks fo sharing the pictures and way ta GitR Dun!!
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Appearantly there are a number of places to catch sturgeon from shore. You need to find a deep hole, 20-40 feet, with good current and a current seam where the fish can grab bait as it floats by. My dad and the boys will never be the same. My dad started talking about going to Alaska again and taking several of his grand kids and me as guide. Can't beat that for residual effect for one big fish. My son doesn't want anything to do with tiny trout any more. "When can we go sturgeon fishing again" is all I hear now, aahhh sweet music. I gotta get a bigger rod/reel though, 10' casting with 50-60 lb line.
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Great report Nate and some great pictures. Is the spot you were fishing closer than the long drive to CJ Strike?
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[font "Impact"][#ff4040][size 3]Great report Nate. Sounds like all you guys had a blast. I bet those boys will be telling their grandkids about that adventure.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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I am duly impressed! Sturgeon from the shore, that is awesome!!
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WOW. Nice fish! Great job!
It is always nice to see 3 generations of a family having such a great time. Thanks for the great pics!
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Great looking fish - that snake river can be a fun place.....
One observation from an old shore sturgeon fisherman is that your leader in picture #1 is a little long - try to make it at most 6" - this will make casting much easier and keep your bait on the bottom better - thus reducing line twist and keep your bait from spilling in the current.
It is good to see we have another sturgeon fisherman in Utah.
We are few but we know the thrill of the battle is worth the effort.
Thanks Again for the report....
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Thanks for the pointer. As this is reasonable new to me I'm still refining bits and pieces of my technic. The long leader may actually have contributed to many of the bites that didn't last long because the bait was swinging too much.
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I visited with Tim Thomason of Thomason Outfitters recently. He has guided for sturgeon for years in Idaho. He told me that they had studied sturgeon's eating habits, on sturgeon that were being held in an enclosed environment, and had found that sturgeon prefer a bait that is stationary on the bottom. He told me that is the reason that they cut the tail off of the trout that they use for bait (because leaving the tail on -- with the tail pointing up the leader -- the tail will catch in the current and cause the bait to flutter back and forth in the water). This last trip I tried an experiment of only using about six inches of leader on one rod, while fishing with herring and crawlers. I caught sturgeon rigged that way, but I also continued catching sturgeon on the rods with about two feet of leader, which is the way that I typically fish. I have tried cisco (legal to use as bait in Idaho) both with and without a tail, and have gotten a few bites fishing it both ways, but never hooked any fish on cisco.
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[font "Impact"][#ff4040][size 3]I'd love to try that sturgeon fishing. I had a buddy that passed last year, and we were going to go. He lived for that sturgeon fishing. He went up to Idaho every year.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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