Northwest Fishing Reports

Any reccomendations on what type of pole/reel/line to use for these fish?

I would be fishing primarily off the bank.

You want like 30 to 50 pound braid main line, a strong downrigger road, a big bait caster full of strong briad, like an ambasader will work great and then a 2 oz or so weight with 18 inches of heavy dacron line on a 5/0 or so hook with sandshrimp wrap in a bunch of magic thread

BIG. I watched a guy land an oversize sturgeon below Priest Rapids Dam. It took him about 30 min. to land and was close to 100 degrees out, poor guy.

They were using 10'-12' rods and the biggest Ambassador I have ever seen. If I remember correctly they were using 8oz of weight and a full chicken drumstick. Didnt get a good look at the hook or line. But I would imagine something down the line of 50lb-80lb braid and a 7/0-10/0 hook

So I've been looking at an Ugly Stik Big Water Casting Rod. It's 12', heavy power, the line weight is 12-40lb, and the lure weight is 2-12oz.
I'm not very familiar with casting reels so I've been looking at spinning reels. I found a Shakespeare Tidewater SS Spinning Reel the specs on that are 260/25 line capacity and the gear ratio is 4:3:1.

How does this sound for a begginer? I'm not out to spend a fortune, but I do want to have the right equipment so I can increase my budget if necesary.

Thanks for all the help so far.

i have been out this year and have done well you really dont need much gear wise if your on a budget i used a good salmon rod with 30 # test mono and did fine my budy was using his steelhead rod with 20 mono but you have to play the 6 foot beast and not make him water ski on the water when you real

i would go with a baitcaster over a spinning real but thats just me
a good baitcasters drag will probably outlast a spinning reals drag too
the rod sonds fine though

t-mac wrote:So I've been looking at an Ugly Stik Big Water Casting Rod. It's 12', heavy power, the line weight is 12-40lb, and the lure weight is 2-12oz.
I'm not very familiar with casting reels so I've been looking at spinning reels. I found a Shakespeare Tidewater SS Spinning Reel the specs on that are 260/25 line capacity and the gear ratio is 4:3:1.

How does this sound for a begginer? I'm not out to spend a fortune, but I do want to have the right equipment so I can increase my budget if necesary.

Thanks for all the help so far.

It sounds almost like my surf casting setup for Mexico - I've picked up a Cabela's Whuppin Stick 12" - $70.

(The guy at Cabelas told me the Whuppin Sticks and Ugly Sticks are actually the same rods - Shakespeare makes em both.)

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... m23&Go.x=0

Then I paired it with a Pflueger Medalist 6080 spooled with #30 braid. I found it on sale at Cabelas for $65 (don't see it there now).

http://www.landbigfish.com/showcase.cfm?PID=3444

I have been using it both here and in MX for a couple years now and it has worked out really well. And with the spinning reel instead of a casting reel I can launch a 4oz sinker easily over 100 yards.

A few things I'd like to point out when setting up for Sturgeon, first about them:
1. Sturgeon are a very fragile fish and they take many years to grow to spawning size.
2. Sturgeon live a very long time, 100 years is not uncommon.
3. Sturgeon are relics from the past, one of the oldest living species on earth.
4. Playing a Sturgeon too long is a sure death sentence. Lactic acid builds in their muscles then poisons them.
5. Sturgeon have very sensitive skin.
6. Sturgeon love to roll when being fought.

What to take away from those points:
1. Do not play the fish for a long time, get them to the boat or bank as soon as you can.
2. Do not use light gear for Sturgeon fishing, heavy Salmon rig and better. No river gear!
3. Do not use Spectra braided line for Sturgeon fishing, it cuts their skin, Dacron is OK, Mono is better.
4. Do use 50 to 80+ Mono for Sturgeon.
5. Do keep the Sturgeon in the water; the only reason to lift them from the water is to put it in the fish box.
6. Do have a great time angling for those relics of the past, remember lots of beverages, it's easy to get parched out there.

I'm sorry but "run what ya brung" just doesn't work for Sturgeon. They could be off the list of fish to catch very easily, for ever. Lets do it right and have a great time with this wonderful resource.