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Marlim or Winchester?

I believe the snake river is the only place in the us to find them. Don't remember the best bait but I think the stinkier the better, kinda like catfish.

I laid into a 300# tarpon down in florida several years back that was scary when it came out of the water about 10 feet straight in the air. It was about 6 ft long and I could have put my whole head in its mouth. The live crabs we were using for bait were bigger than any I have ever had in a restaurant. I wanted to take the bait home. This was in water about waist deep.
 
Cowboy, I bet that was an experience. That is one saltwater fish I have never caught that I would like to. If you think that is exciting, imagine a marlin that weighs close to 1000 lbs jump right beside the boat, hooked, with an eyes as big as your head. I have never seen this in person. The largest I have seen in person hooked is around 400. The largest I have seen free jumping eating tuna is probably actually close to 800-900lbs. I have seen some dead ones that will go over 700 lbs. They are huge. How much would one of these sturgeon weigh that are considered to be "big".
 
Actually there are a few different sub-species that exist all over. Out here I do believe we have the "white sturgeon" sub-species. The live all over the west - check this out: http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_wsturg_fact.html
How's this for big: "White sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America and can weigh over 1,500 pounds, be 20 feet in length, and live for over 100 years"
No wonder you need a mule team to pull a big one out!
 
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Are those sturgeon found in the rivers only.

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We have White sturgeon that are found in the Snake river in the shallow areas down stream from reservoir dams. I dont know if they like the areas of deep water upstream from the dams but I don't know why not since it is the deep holes in the shallow areas that we normally fish for them. [ QUOTE ]
But those sturgeon must live a long time in order to get that big in fresh water.

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There is a great deal of uncertainty about how long these sturgeon live but it is believed that the 10 to 12 footers are in the area of 100 years old. Some web sites concur and some say that 50 years is about it for sturgeon.

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Also, I am not familar with the tackle that you are talking about 4ked Horn, but what we use for billfish are 80 Internationals that hold nearly 1000 yards of 80lb test line.

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That is HUGE. Here the most popular size reel is the Penn 330GTi. Mine is a 321GTi which is a little smaller and a left hand crank. It holds exactly 140 yards of 50 lb monofilament. The sinkers we use are pyramid shaped and the favorite weight for staying put in the current is 8 oz up to 12 oz. My pole is a 12' Shakespear UglyStik heavy action. I think it is their BWB1200. BW standing for "Big Water". It's rated for up to 50 Lb test. The extra heavy is rated for 60 I believe but I didn't like the handle layout if I remember right.

The rigging is simple and always the same. The main line has a slide swivel and a bead slipped on and then a barrel swivel tied to the end. The sinker is tied to 10 lb test and then that is clipped to the slider swivel. This allows the line to slide freely after the sinker has landed. The 10 lb test allows you to cast the sinker but it will break away if it gets snagged in rocks on the bottom. The bead protects the mainline swivel knot from the slider swivel tube during the cast.

The leader which is heavy braided line is supple so it offers no resistance to the sturgeon as it positions the bait for swallowing. It has a loop or is tied to the main line swivel at one end and is snelled to the hook at the other. The hooks must be barbless because all of Idahos catchable sturgeon are catch and release. We are using Mustad 6/0 long shank hooks that are just over 1/16" diameter but I have a hand full of "octopuss" hooks that are about 3/16" diameter in case the Mustads prove to be to small.

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What do you guys use for bait. Chickens, dogs/cats, small cows?

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Cats? Hmmmm?

Right now we are using pickled smelts that are about 6" long and .75 cents a piece. I am thinking of trying raw tuna since it holds its scent for so long or the type of worms I read guys use in Wisconsin.
 
I dont know why, I couldn't see the movie, but wow. That is a huge fish. That is up there with marlin. Some have been caught over 1600 and some have been spotted that estimate over 2000, but that is impressive for a freshwater fish. Are they only used for caviar, or can they be eaten? That is the advantage of having a boat, back up real fast and pull him in. Most boats have a door that opens about 10 inches about the water line. Some boats have winches. A 20ft fish is huge. That would take several "grown men" to pull him out of the river. I saw a fishing show the other day, I think it was that courtney and kelly show, some of you may know the one I am speeking of, and they caught a sturgeon; he was a baby though from what you guys are saying.
 
There are no 20 footers around any more. The biggest I have heard of in recent times is 12 foot.
 
You are right there are several sub species all over the us. I think the white is found in several places as well including the columbia river. Its been a long time since I thought about sturgeon fishing and I was trying to recall some facts from childhood. I was getting confused with old wives tales and facts from long ago in a part of my brain I'm sure I've killed several times.
 
That rig sounds similar to the rigs we use for cobia. Have you guess ever tried circle hook. I have seen numerous billfish caught on them and have yet to see one bend. If you are patient, the fish will hook hisself perfectly everytime and not get off. If we do not watch out, we are going to have to add a fishing section to this forum, or get a good tongue lashing from one of our wonderful moderators for this thread. If you want to try something that stinks, get you some menhadden or shad; they have got to be the worst bait I have ever smelled. We use them for king mackeral.
 
Holy smokes!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif When you guys hijack a thread you hijack it!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Last time I looked over here there was only 2 and a half pages now it like 5 or 6!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Thats a serious hijack!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
No doubt the tractor would, but I have landed more fish than not, that greatly excede the rating of the fishing line. It is the drag system that makes a reel what it is. Marlin have been caught on 2lb test line. That is incredible. It takes patience, a very good captain, and a high class reel that has a lot of line on it. Just as an example. My 80 class reels have 80lb test line on them, but the washers in the drag system on put about 30-35lbs of tension on the line. If the drag is turned to the full positions, which is the highest, it will put about 60lbs of tension on the reel. This allows the angler to pull a fish up. If the line snaps, it is usually from faulty line that is too old, has abbrasions on it, or from the angler applying too much pressure to the line, via his hand stopping the spool from turning when the fish is running. Bigger fish do take a lot more time to tire on lighter line and these fights often result in the fish being hurt. I have caught a 50+ dolphin on 15lb test line. Now those are beautiful fish to watch jump out of the water. But it ends up being the game of who can wait longer, and endure the pain of fatigue the best.
 
"snake river" is that the river evil kenevel jumped? maybe a jumping stergen messed up his trajectory.
 
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