Got my rod together, now what? Need help!

[DonBo]

Many of you know I'm going after sturgeon in a Wisconsin lake starting Saturday. Never fished for them before. Got my 7' heavy rod all rigged up with 150 yards of 50lb Power Pro. Got my 5/0 octopus hooks. Now what? How do I rig it? Assuming I'm gonna anchor or slowly drift. Lindy type rig? Thought I could just slide an egg or bell sinker on the line and stop it with a split shot so I don't have to add a swivel. Good idea or no?

What about bait? Crawlers? A bunch of crawlers? Minnows? Combination of both?

What if I actually catch one? Do I need a huge net or can I just grab him by the tail?

Anything else I'm missing? Thanks for the help.

[Mudcatman]

I would run a swivel personally. Pinching a sinker on superline probably will not hold your main weight very good. Swivels also help with line twist, which is very common while wrangling these beasts.

Hard to beat a big ball of crawlers when going for lake sturgeon. I would tell you shad, but their probably not native to that system, or maybe they are. If you wanted to go with a crawler/meat combo, its hard to beat a bunch of fatheads crammed on a hook.

I net them all the time. Just dont grab them under the gill flap. I've heard bad things about that. (Fish ripping and gill damage)

Good luck!

[DonBo]

Okay thanks. I'm off to the lake! Wish me luck.

We got Wi-Fi up there so anyone else want to give me some tips I'll be able to check when I'm not on the water.

[croixflats]

3 ft leader after the sinker with a swivel to the hook. Nightcrawlers or fatheads or both. You will want to anchor let them come to you, they circle an area so it is possible to catch the same fish in one day.

As far as handling use a net these guys are strong and when they decide to flop no stopping them. I am able to handle 50 inches in a 24 inch net but bigger would be better. A 60 inch better off with a 36 inch net.

The best thing would be unhooking next to the boat with a pliers but we all want to get a good look at what we just caught so have a clear area to set the fish down on to work on getting the hook out and measuring. The hook can be a bugger getting out so you may want to crush the barb down a bit or all the way.

Picking up the sturgeon grab by the tail then under chest/Belly area and cradle to support the fish. Be careful to have good footing when holding if they decide to flop they can knock you off balance, been there done that, almost went for a swim a couple of times.

Good luck DonBo your going to have a blast.

If they are not biting deep head to shallower water next an inlet and deeper water. Early season they scrounge around in waters of 15 to 20 ft While transiting to colonising and deeper water. At least in the river, I'm not to sure about a lake.