rod/reel for sturgeon fishing rainy

[cbrooks]

I'm looking at targeting lake sturgeon next spring. I was wandering if a 8 foot St Croix premier musky rod with moderate action(This my trolling rod for muskies)lure weight 1-8 oz. is a good rod or should I buy something different. In the musky world this rod is consider to have a soft tip. From what I read a soft tip is what you want in sturgeon. Any advice is appreciated.

[DTro]

You got a winner there!

Good Luck

[cbrooks]

Perfect. Can't wait for next Apirl

[fishuhalik]

thats what i use. works great!

[cbrooks]

Got another question. Is there trick not to get tangle up in the anchor rope? Does this happen often? I imagine the big ones do what they what do.

When releasing sturgeon do you keep it in the water or are they like catfish and don't have to be too concern with how they are handle? I will only be C&R on these fish.

[bobbymalone]

When releasing sturgeon do you keep it in the water or are they like catfish and don't have to be too concern with how they are handle? I will only be C&R on these fish.

Are you a muskie dude?

They are tanks and love to ham it up for the camera. Pick 'em up. Do a power lift, hold them like you are rocking out on a guitar. They'll be fine as long as you get them back in the water fairly rapidly.

As far as the anchor rope is concerned, you can try to steer them away but if they are determined to get tangled they will get tangled. We have a rule in my boat that the person fighting the fish has to make the call of anchor up if they think they have a beast on.

[mainbutter]

Big sturgies will put your musky gear through its paces, but you'll be fine!

However if I was going to chase sturgies seriously, I'd get another setup. I like softer rods with lots of bend while fighting big fish. Think the kind of rods used for deep sea jigging, or flathead/blue catfish rods. For reels, I wouldn't look anywhere else than at a Penn Senator. I just like senators for bait fishing and as fighting reels, and a softer rod will make fighting more comfortable.

[cbrooks]

[Are you a muskie dude?

Is it that obvious . I spend more time fishing for walleyes than muskies last year. I consider myself more of a muskie/pike/walleye guy. I probably will get serious in sturgeon fishing. There a awesome fish. I can see the popularity growing in sturgeon fishing. I just got a little taste of it this fall by accident.

Well I plan on using my muskie trolling rods that I mention above. The reels I will be using will be shimano Tekota 600 series or a Catalina reel. It will have a 100 pound test line braided, with floura for a leader. Circle hooks of course. I read another thread on here(sturgeon tips and webpages) that mention what terminal tackle to use. The late Ed Carlson had some good info on there that I will try. I got a Frabill Big Kauhana(sp) net. I should be set for gear. I have a pretty good idea where to go on the river. Thanks for the info Bobby and Mainbutter. Any other suggestion is appreciated. I hope to get a big enough one that I will have to pull anchor . This might be a trial and error on what setup to use.

[fishuhalik]

while rod selection is faiirly important, dont get too bent out of shape over it. the thing i love about sturgeon fishing is its simplicity. for bass/muskie/walleye/panfish they could be biting on 1 of 20 different presentations at any time, and bait/rod/line choice is critical. for sturgeon all you need is alotta crawlers (& fatheads if you wanna get crazy) a sinker, a swivel, thick braid, & a rod & reel hvy enough to not break.

[Canuck]

A little thing to think about. Lake Sturgeon do NOT bite, they suck up the bait, therefore a very soft tip is very important. They have the lightest indicator on the tip of the rod. That is one of the reasons why people go to Circle hooks, personally I like the feel of setting the hook. Hundred lb line might be alittle over kill, I have not landed anything over 65" and the largest I use is 30 lb Berkley Big Game, use your rod and reel.

On the Catch and Release, THANKS. Your net will help in that as well. Hold the fish in the net while you get your camera ready and then lift the fish into the boat, craddle it and take your pictures, that shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes and a sturgeon and take that.

I use my softest channel cat rod, lots of backbone and still a very soft tip, for reel I drop to by Abu 6500 as the retreive is alittle faster than the 7000 that I use for kitties.

[DTro]

I've actually contemplated rigging up a giant spring bobber for detecting bites on windy days.

[cjac]

I've actually contemplated rigging up a giant spring bobber for detecting bites on windy days.

I thought the same on the drive home after the whoopin' I was handed last April in tough conditions. Still trying to wash the stink off my hands from that trip.

I use a 7'10" Croix Avid flippin' rod and a 7'9" Shimano Clarus steelhead rod, reels are a Cardiff 300 and a Luna 253, 65# Sufix on both. Funny part is I threw the Avid in as a last minute add-on per Dtro's advice last Fall and it was a great call. We literally grabbed it off the rod rack in my garage and threw it in.

I'm a novice in comparison to others, but I know enough that the keys are, as mentioned, a soft tip with a solid backbone and a smooth drag. Tekota reel is a good choice.

[topcat3820]

Does that mean you've made it down to the Rainy, Jimmy? If you haven't, you shouldn't be comparing those fish to our Winnipeg River variety, IMHO... two very different animals in two very different environments . We're not talking about those little dinkers like you're used to up here ...

Most of your tips are valid to a point... especially the one about the soft tip for bite detection, & I'll agree that there's no need to ever be using 100 lb. test mainline. The fish in my avatar came in on a 50 lb. PowerPro mainline & a 40 lb. Big Game leader. It also exploded a very nice 8 ft. muskie rod just by rolling her head when I thought she was done & we ended up hand-lining her in... THAT wasn't fun .

[cbrooks]

Great advice everyone. I'll look into a spring bobber setup. I'll go with my musky rod setup I mention above. Who knows maybe I will be glad I had my 100 pound line if I'm really lucky.

I might have to look into going to the Winnipeg River for sturgeon fishing. Nice fish

[mainbutter]

I'll agree that there's no need to ever be using 100 lb. test mainline.

agreed! Especially because I have more confidence in using 40-60lb mono for main line than I do 100lb braid, particularly in rivers.

Plus you can spool up more yards for less $.

[DTro]

I guess I’m in the minority amongst those that spend a lot of time fishing them. I will take braid over mono every single time. Not only does heavy mono suck to work with (tying knots etc), you can’t get very much of it on a spool. and it cuts heavy wind and current better (might I remind some people that it took 15oz of weight in some places last year on the Rainy). Best of all, when taken care of, braid will last several years.

I see nothing wrong with 100lb braid. I usually go with 80 just because it’s easier to find and a little cheaper. Going anything lighter than 65lb is risking a broken off fish. You would be surprised how easy 50lb braid and smaller will instantly go pop if it hits something sharp under a load. That is the reason to go bigger, not for the tensile strength.

But whenever I can, I try to match my gear to what I’m fishing for. You have a legitimate shot at a fish over 100lbs when fishing the Rainy River (especially in the spring) so IMO 100lb line is not overkill whatsoever. Just be sure to set your drag accordingly so you don’t mess up your reel or snap a rod when that fish decides to go on a bulldog run.

The best part is that you will most likely getting that fish to the boat in a timely manner and getting it back into the water healthy.

[cbrooks]

I think I will stick with braid on my line since this rod will double as a musky rod. It will have 100 lb Cortland master braid-bronzeback. It has more diameter than your average braid on the market. I will be sure to set the drag accordingly. The reel has plenty of line it so I should be OK with bulldog runs...I hope.

[Canuck]

Terry, Been on the Rainy at least once for the past several years. The Wpg River has some nice fish but I believe the Rainy is alot better in numbers and size but Andrew is starting to prove that wrong.

Dtro is correct on Braid cutting the current alot better and the last couple of years the current has been strong. I used 16 oz I think 2 yrs ago and believe if I had braid may have been able to cut the weight down. I feel you have to keep the bait in one spot and be able to feel the pick up. One of the other reason I use mono is I use the same set up on the Red for Kitties when using the circle hooks and the debris (rocks) on the bottom of the Red I just found too many break offs. I have not found debris on the Rainy even upstream beyond Beaudette. I might actually throw in a 3 or 4th set up next spring with braid. A couple of our crew use braid and they like it.

Trial and error and what YOU like are the best. Keep a tight line and good luck.

[topcat3820]

You've gotta' stop using that green Weed -Whacker line, Jimmy... haven't you finished that spool off yet ???

This was the weekend before the tournament last April & we were using 3 oz. with no problems in either the river or the bay... mono is never used, other than leader material .

Sorry, cbrooks... I misunderstood & thought you were talking about 100 lb mono... . You'll have no problems with your setup, IMHO .

[cbrooks]

I should have explain myself better .

[Big Jeff]

I’m really interested to see or talk about any of these spring bobber ideas for sturgeon. I love them in the winter and I just received a new tiger ugly stick that has a stiffer tip as my second rig. Wondering what would work for a spring bobber when using up to 8 oz weight. Are people thinking of a wire coat hanger bent up or are their other ideas out there?

All this chatter has me thinking I may need to spend a night in the garage dreaming up a great bite detection. Last year a friend of mine who did better than all of the rest simple left his clicker on and every time it seemed he wasn't missing any but not sure.

[TruthWalleyes]

I use a two anchor system to keep the boat tight and in one spot. Then its a matter of reducing how much your boat rocks side to side inthe wind, so i try to position head into the wind. Now, the rods are pretty still so bite detection becomes easier.