Fishing

Here's a few pictures from my President's Day fishing trip on the Snake in SW Idaho. Overall the sturgeon fishing was rather slow but I did catch one that made me "put my back into it"
The picture quality is kind of poor after resizing them and I forgot to comb my hair but I still thought they would be worth while to share.


It was only 30” long and wasn’t large enough to put up much of a fight. It was caught on a shrimp.

This carp as well as a pikeminnow (squawfish) thought they were sturgeon when they ate my sturgeon bait. The picture is kind of deceiving because this carp was only 18” long and I could hardly tell I had a fish on when I reeled him in.

Even though this guy was only about 12” long I took a picture of him because the camera was handy. He is also my first LMB for 2005.

This is a picture of me “putting my back into it”.

The sturgeon was about 65” (+/- 2”) and put up a 15 minute fight. It was caught on a 16” rainbows head/guts that I had only caught 15 minutes before this guy decided to bite. The fresh bait seemed to be best but we did catch one other sturgeon on a sardine and had bites on some of the frozen 6”-10”rainbows. We also caught several rainbows, pikeminnows and a few large shinners when we were collecting fresh bait. Overall it was a fun trip and the weather was mild but it was nice to take a shower when I got home.

Here’s something from the F&G website that I thought would provide some good information for those of you interested in sturgeon fishing. modify sturgeon tackle to save fish ... ask the officer

By Gary Hompland, Magic Valley Fish and Game Regional Conservation Officer
Question: "At the sporting goods store I overheard a heated discussion about sturgeon fishing gear. Some use light line and stainless steel hooks while others use heavier line and cold steel hooks. What are rules and the pros and cons?"
Answer: These issues have been debated between sturgeon anglers for some time. As general rule, anglers choose the lightest pound test line possible for the best feel of the hook or terminal tackle.
When sturgeon anglers, especially bank anglers, use light line (less than 50 pound test) and light leaders many larger fish break off. This results in sturgeon that are well hooked dragging several hundred yards of fishing line around in the river. Then this line entangles in river debris the fish becomes a slave to its tether, often starving to death. Fish sometimes become wrapped up in line and suffer deep cuts and deformities. Many dyed-in-the-wool sturgeon anglers support heavier lines to reduce break-offs.
Stainless steel versus cold steel hooks has also been a hotly debated topic. The fishing rules allow both types of hooks to be used as long as they are de-barbed. If a fish breaks off with a stainless steel hook in its mouth or gut, it will take a long time to rust out. Cold steel hooks rust out quickly and free these entangled fish more rapidly. Regulations to prohibit hook size and type quickly become useless when the rules become confounded by fishing for species other than sturgeon.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has little data to indicate how many fish are killed or injured annually due to the use of light line or stainless steel hooks. Fish captured in the Snake River for aqua-culture research at the College of Southern Idaho reveal many large, older fish contain hook scars from previously being caught and handled by anglers. Several fish also contained severe cuts from fishing line. In a few instances CSI researchers and department biologists have discovered large balls of fishing line, swivels and hooks in the stomachs of fish found dead.
Many anglers ask why it is illegal to remove a sturgeon from the water, if it is just to take a quick picture. The short answer is that the sturgeon skeletal system is not adapted to supporting the weight of the fish out of the water. Lifting sturgeon out of the water may result in internal injuries which can eventually lead to death. Additionally, it is not uncommon for sturgeon to fight for more than 30 minutes and lifting them out of the water can be compared to putting a bag over your head after you run a 10K race. Anglers are also encouraged not to "play" sturgeon to total exhaustion as this can also be fatal.
Snake River white sturgeon are a gem to Idaho, much like the Idaho star garnet. These living dinosaurs deserve to be treated respectfully by modern anglers. Modifying your fishing equipment is the ethical thing to do to reduce unwanted injuries and death to this living legend.

Have you caught many sturgeon as small as 30" long? Out of approximately 50 sturgeon I have seen caught in the last two years I only saw one that was just over 30" long, and very few under 40" long. I have wondered if this is because there are few small sturgeon in The Snake River (hopefully not) or merely because of where we have been fishing, or perhaps because of the size of the hooks used?


Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley.
-- Anonymous

I caught the 30" sturgeon on a 3/0 hook. I've only used 3/0, 4/0 & 5/0 hooks. The bait that you are using might also affect the size of sturgeon that your catching. I would say that sturgeon under 40" make up about 1/3 or more of the catch in some of the holes I fish. I know a couple people that have caught sturgeon under 25" but I have never seen one that small.

Thanks. Perhaps the hook size has a lot to do with it. I am using 7/0 and 8/0 Octopus style hooks. Perhaps one of these times if I find I am missing several bites I will try a smaller hook and see what I hook. Probably will hook a squawfish or a catfish, but who knows maybe a smaller sturgeon will be on the end of the line.


Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley.
-- Anonymous