Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
Decided to try a trip after the sturgeon once from the shore. Went with luckybob, wiperslayer1 and Tincanfsh. Got there about 8:15 AM and found that the ideal spot had been taken, but we were able to set up close by. Good bites were few and far between all day long. Learned that the sturgeon in that part of The Snake River prefer fresh fish for bait; whereas, where I fish from my boat we catch them on bottled herring and crawlers. A guy who was fishing with whitefish fillets was doing better, by far, than anyone else. One guy there wasn't even fishing for sturgeon, and was fishing a minnow on the bottom. He caught one sturgeon and had a second one break off his light line. I can't recall the last time I saw so many people snagged. We donated several pounds of lead to the rocks. I understand why the sturgeon are slowly dieing off in that area, because with so many people breaking off, with or without a sturgeon on the other end, those sturgeon have got to eating a steady diet of hooks. It was so snaggy that it seemed like about 75% of the time when one got a good bite they were rewarded with being snagged when they jerked to set the hook. The guy who was catching the most sturgeon, once set his hook, only to find that he was snagged in the rocks. I will never forget the sound of 80 pound Berkley Big Game monofilament snapping! The guy did have a sturgeon hooked and a guy a little while later snagged the broken off line and reeled it in. I managed to land a mighty 33 inch sturgeon (the smallest I have ever caught) that had worn fins and also had a kink in it's body -- definitely not the finest sturgeon that I have ever caught. I believe it was luckybob who said he thought it was trying to commit suicide, and perhaps he was right. With the sturgeon fishing being slow, Tincanfsh kept going to his trout rod, and got rewarded with two fat rainbows and lost another one at the shore. Luckybob lost a sturgeon after fighting it for awhile, and all of us missed (mostly to the rocks) some good bites but that was about it. The weather was gorgeous and the company was a lot of fun.
[signature]
Posts: 98
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2005
Reputation:
0
Hey Kent, nice report...sounded like some tough fishing with all the rocks.
[signature]
Posts: 1,919
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
0
You know kent, its an interesting perspective you provide.
The idea that you could snag up, then hook up a fish, potentially leaving the fish snaged to the bottom to die a slow death.
We all take the risk of accidentally killing a fish each time we go out, its just an unfortunate part of the expirience.
I know this was the first time you have tried this, and based on the findings I would bet that it will be the last time.
But undoubtedly there are many who know the risks and take them regularly. Like you said it may be the end of the fish in that part of the river over time.
Isnt whitefish considered a game fish in idaho?
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
[size 1]"Isnt whitefish considered a game fish in idaho?"[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]Yes it is, and it is legal to use game fish as bait in Idaho. One of the most popular baits used for sturgeon is trout, fished whole or cut up. I purchased some fresh trout at Smith's and tried it for bait, but found even sturgeon don't go for white-fleshed trout.[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]Some sturgeon undoubtedly get hung up on the bottom, but even the ones that don't would be swallowing many hooks, because the hooks would still have bait on them. The law requires the use of barbless hooks, but I doubt that eating several barbless hooks still isn't a good diet for them.[/size]
[signature]
Posts: 937
Threads: 1
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
2
Sorry to hear your latest trip was less than stellar as far as catching goes. When I went I found it to be pretty snaggy too but I used a long slender weight like a wrap around decoy weight and I was abe to get it off several snags. My bait was cut up trout with entrails included. Our first fish was caught on trout gills/guts. That sturgeon also had mangled fins, curious what caused your fish and my fish to be so screwed up. I've heard that they will roll when hooked so i wonder if they broke off and then rolled in the line causing it to cut into their fins? Just a theory.
[black][size 3]"It is legal to use game fish as bait in Idaho". Only thing is you can only have your legal possesion limit of the fish you are using. I wished I could have used whitefish but I was unsuccessful in catching any before my trip.[/size][/black]
[signature]
Posts: 227
Threads: 3
Joined: May 2004
Reputation:
1
Good report Kent. I don't have much to add. Thank you for driving us up there. I enjoyed getting to know everyone and sharing fishing experinces. It was great weather and I enjoyed being on the riverbank all day. Kent I guess you watched your tape of the BYU game???
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
[size 1]"Kent I guess you watched your tape of the BYU game???"[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]Yep I did.[/size]
[signature]
Posts: 1,281
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2004
Reputation:
0
"Ghost gear" is a problem for popular sturgeon holes. There are ways you can rig your rod to minimize sturgeon deaths due to ghost gear. Hears a link to some info the Idaho F&G have in the fishing regulations. Scroll down the the last page (page 29/page 6 of 6)
Sorry I forgot the link.[crazy]
Here you go.
[url "http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/rules/clear.pdf"]http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/rules/clear.pdf[/url]
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
Brian I didn't see any link in your post.
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
[size 1]"That sturgeon also had mangled fins, curious what caused your fish and my fish to be so screwed up."[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]I understand that the sturgeon in this part of The Snake River were raised in a hatchery and planted when they were 20" to 30" long. Perhaps their fins got worn off in the cement runs at the hatchery. All I know is I have no desire to catch any more sturgeon that are in such  state.[/size]
[signature]
Posts: 1,165
Threads: 22
Joined: Jun 2003
Reputation:
1
Hi Kent - looks like your expanding your sturgeon fishing re'sume.
Shore fishing will put your line breaking ablity to the test.
For all you folks that haven't broke 40 lb. test - you will need a glove.
Also it will make you attach your weight with 12 - 14 lb. test so you can break-off just your weight.
And last but not least - fighting a 6' to 8' fish from the bank is quite a feat!!! Hope you get a chance to experience it ....
Thanks for the report Kent....
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
[size 1]"For all you folks that haven't broke 40 lb. test - you will need a glove."[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]I was breaking 80 pound test! I learned that by using a large stick I could wrap the line around the stick and pull with both arms. Even then, when it broke, I almost fell over backwards a few times. I am fishing with Dacron line, I can only imagine how it feels like to break 80 lb. mono. As I mentioned above, when one guy broke his 80 pound mono I couldn't believe how loud it sounded, and I was 50 feet away from him, and there was the roar of the falls on the river.[/size]
[signature]
Posts: 15,421
Threads: 1,297
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
11
[black]"That sturgeon also had mangled fins, curious what caused your fish and my fish to be so screwed up."[/black]
[black][/black]
[black]Received some interesting information from a guy who lives in Idaho and often fishes for sturgeon. Yesterday he wrote:[/black]
[size 1][/size]
"The reason the fish have worn fins (or so I hear) is because they go right up under the spillway, [black]where the current is ripping, and they lay on the bottom, using the[/black] current to push them to the river floor. That wears on the fins, especially when they switch turbines and it sends the fish flipping."
Regarding fish ingesting hooks he wrote:
"Several years ago the Idaho Power biologists found a dead 7
footer. That fish had all sorts of hooks encapsulated in it, completely surrounded by scar tissue. It had died of a bacterial infection of the gills, the fish version of pneumonia. I'm not saying ingesting garbage is good for them, but it apparently isn't fatal."
And regarding how to avoid becoming snagged on the bottom here is his approach:
"I use lighter line (40 pound) and12 pound test droppers, with railroad spikes for weights. I have never lost a fish or any hooks to snags down there. It's a completely different set-up, going lighter like that. You need to hang up on the bottom, and break the dropper when you get a bite."
[signature]
Posts: 937
Threads: 1
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
2
Thanks Kent, that info is interesting reguardless of how accurate it may be concerning the fish in the spillway. Also interesting the bit about the encapsulated hooks.
As you may remember, I used 30# line when I went with you and this last time as well. I couldn't believe how tough it was to break 30# mono. I'll be using at least 65# superline next time with lighter droppers. The abraisions on the rocks took out too much of my spooled line.
By the way I will be getting a bigger rod/reel for Christmas I just found out. My shoulder and arm will never be the same (  wife)[pirate][pirate][pirate][  ]
[signature]
|
