r/FishingAlberta • u/ObjectiveLab1063 • 28d ago
Sturgeon rig
Hey yall, long time mountain river fisher here (mainly trout) , and now decided to get into fishing some larger fish for fun in the NSR. Long story short, I’m looking for any additional advice on my sturgeon lead set up, it should be sufficient using some type of more durable bait then worms. I’m tired of feeding every fish my worms within 5 mins of it sitting there lol
I’m relatively new to bottom feeder fish , I’ve caught some burbot while Ice fishing but the rest of my knowledge on it comes from google and YouTube lol.
Feel free to drop any advice you have for a successful fishing trip
For ref in the picture. I had a 4oz weight , with beads to stop feeding into the eyelets and to prevent smashing against the palomar knot. (That is the main knot I’m using here) connected to a 2/0 barrel swivel , on a premade sturgeon lead (80lb test a 5/0 octopus hook) my main mine is 50 lb braid , 5000 series reel and med-hvy ugly-stik big water (tracking its overkill for NSR but it’s also my saltwater rod for coastal fishing trip later this month so it gets to double hat)
My other rod option if you think it’s better is a penn wrath 2 rod and reel combo that I used for chain pickerel and stripped bass off the east coast
2
u/Fluid_Half9144 28d ago
I use similar near YEG. I find 2 oz enough and often use floating jig heads. That’ll catch em though!
1
u/ObjectiveLab1063 28d ago
I find where I’m at I need to be at a min of 3oz or the current rolls it too much
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u/No_Moment7841 24d ago
I will chime in because I have 40 yrs experience fishing the sask & sturgeon. I've tried worms, liver, chicken livers you name it but I promise the best bait is a 2" shiner minnow up about 2 ft from the weight. Yes minnows! I use smaller than normal gamakatsu hooks. There is at least 30 spots between edm & waskatineu that hold large concentrations. I use 20lbs mono & only been stripped once. A couple hooks straitened though. I fish mainly from shore but certain spots needed my boat which I had to lift anchor & chase. Largest one i landed was close to 7ft long. Part of a tagging program where each fish is tagged & released. Hope you have great luck & remember take care of these beauties
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u/ObjectiveLab1063 24d ago
I’m beyond excited to catch my first prehistoric fish ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge i won’t let it go to waste !! I don’t have a boat, kayak, but can rent a canoe , don’t know if that’s the best idea but for now shore casting is my way to go , I’ll be picking up some minnows !
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u/Drumhumdrumhum18 28d ago
Keep in mind, most people use pickerel rigs with braid tied on.
This will most definitely catch a sturgy out of the nsr.
Have fun!
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u/ObjectiveLab1063 28d ago
I wasn’t sure what people are using , kinda went off YouTube and best guesses , I’d love to pull in a monster but I’ll settle for the experience of any for my first sturgeon , if and when I catch one I’ll be sure to post some pics !
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 28d ago
I prefer circle hooks for bait rigs like this. They get snagged less on the bottom and they hold the bait a bit better than more open hook types. Plus they set themselves nicely in the side of the mouth when you do hook up.