Sturgeon, Anyone? (Plus a Rare Endorsement)
- This topic has 12 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated Apr 16, 2007 at 9:01 pm by
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Hey guys –
Having been moved by the excellent advertisements for the Nature Conservancy airing with Discovery Channel’s equally excellent “Planet Earth Series,” I decided to investigate this conservation organization.
I don’t know anything about sturgeon. But you are right about the Planet Earth series. Stunning. (Especially in HD!) I’ve only seen the first three installments but have a couple others recorded.
Zach,
We have a healthy sturgeon population here in Maine, but they’re protected, so no one fishes for them.
One night last summer a handful of us were fishing for stripers on a submerged sandbar a few hundred yards from shore and one guy hooked what he thought was the striper of a lifetime.
If you can figure out how to keep a big gob of nightcrawlers from flinging off on the back cast, you might have a chance.
I’ve never caught sturgeon, but I’ve seen them a few times up close.
As for the The Nature Conservancy, I’m glad to see it endorsed.
Hi
It may depend on what kind of Sturgeon you have White or Lake.
On the Canadian west coast the White’s feed on the post salmon spawn carnage/debris and the Smelt run. From what I understand Whites are far more aggressive than Lake Sturg.
I,ve talked with some of the folks out there . From what I,ve been told there is a very definate pecking order in pool alignment/placement- big fish having the prime spots( nothing new there:), but it does make a difference on how a holding spot/pool is fished.
Lake Sturgeon is what we have here. Big gobs of worms is the bait of choice. Here they are found in numbers below Hydro Dam Tailwaters re- big flows /heavy current. From talking to the folks who know- a couple of feet either way off the feeding lane = no action.
Both the West Coast Whites and the local Lake Sturg. are being chased with big weight( 2-6 and ++++oz ) rigs.
Bit of a fly fishing challenge, to find a system that would gain entry:))
Will
Zach,
I’ve fished for sturgeon every year for the past 5, always out in the Columbia watershed – either the Columbia itsef or the Willamette. this type of fishing is leave-the-flyrod at home type. Bottom feeders in deep water and heavy current. On the Columbia, we’ve had to go as heavy as 40 ounces of lead to get down 90-100 ‘ in very heavy current. Fishing whole American shad for bait (around 4-5 lbs). I’ve always fished them in late spring, when the shad run is on, and the sturgeon follow them up out of the ocean.
On the Columbia, we’ve had to go as heavy as 40 ounces of lead to get down 90-100 ‘ in very heavy current. Fishing whole American shad for bait (around 4-5 lbs).
Hmm – hey Zach, maybe you can find a custom rod builder who’s willing to make you a fly rod in about a 175 weight!
The Nature Conservancy is a fine organization and I have visited a few of their properties which were beautiful. My only disappointment is that on most, if not all, of their properties they do not allow fishing not even fly fishing.
It seems like it has been months since I have had a chance to visit the site. Great to have a few hours to myself today to see what is new!
The Nature Conservancy rocks in my opinion! I have been a member for the past 15 years and have nothing but good to say about them! They have done wonders on the Blackfoot River here in Montana making sure that river frontage is kept from being over developed. Plus they have bought big ranches with the soul purpose of obtaining that ranches water right so they can give that water back to the river and change that ranch land back prairie land like it once was. I know they work very well with other organizations like Trout Unlimited and the Rocky Mountian Elk Foundation to make sure that people can enjoy the land and rivers for years to come.
I think that once they feel like a river is healthy again and the fish populations are stable they would have no problem at all with people fishing. I know for a fact on the Pine Butte Swamp preserve here in Montana they allow some hunting. I would have to believe that if they didn’t allow fishing there must be a reason for it.
JT
I live in Indiana, which isn’t a hotbed of fly fishing, and I am pretty certain that they don’t allow any fishing in any Indiana properties. I assume that it might be due to some, even fly fishers, being careless with with trash, whether that be leader packages, etc. They do allow deer hunting on some preserves here, but I assume that is due to over population. Don’t misunderstand, I think they are great, I was just disappointed I couldn’t fish on
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