First sturgeon trip of 2017

[Kent]

Barry, Kory and I just returned from a cut-short sturgeon trip. The original plan was to fish Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

Thursday was a picture-perfect day with beautiful weather and the sturgeon were biting.[] We landed sixteen surgeon, ranging from about 3' to 7 1/3'. I also had a large one brake my 80 pound leader when I tightened my drag just a tad too much.[frown] That was a wild adventure for me, because I fell back into my boat and crushed my water jug.

Friday was the opposite of Thursday. Wind was howling and for the most part (Barry was a minor exception) the sturgeon were not biting. Barry landed sturgeon of about 5', lost another one and I believe Kory may have lost one. I didn't have a bite. We cut the day short, not before the trim quit working with the outboard slightly raised.[frown] And of course, the Armada developed a intermittent noise (I think brake related).[shocked] Boat is at Lee's Marine and Armada goes into the mechanic on Wednesday.

The linked video is an unusual video. The sturgeon was brought in quickly and released quickly, but for whatever reason it decided to rest for a few moments before taking off. When it did take off we all got showered.

As always, another great outing with Barry and Kory.

[url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u7Fjt74LfI&feature=youtu.be"]Link[/url]
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[doggonefishin]

I could have done without the apocalyptic wind, but it was a fun trip. Thanks for the invite!

Here are a few more pictures from this week.
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[BURLEY]

Nice video. I have been wanting to do a sturgeon trip since I got my boat 2 years ago. What river did you fish and where did you launch? Is a self guided trip reasonable for a first timer or is a guide suggested? I have a 16 ft. deep V Tracker.
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[Kent]

[quote BURLEY]

I have been wanting to do a sturgeon trip since I got my boat 2 years ago. What river did you fish and where did you launch? Is a self guided trip reasonable for a first timer or is a guide suggested? I have a 16 ft. deep V Tracker.

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PM sent.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sounds like another great trip, well at least the first day was and the water looks pretty clear[]. Hopefully you will get both mechanical issues resolved. What brand of video camera was used for the video?
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[Kent]

Kory uses a GoPro. Kory usually brings an attachment for his hat, but forgot it and had to use his chest strap which wasn't ideal for that type of video shooting.
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[Kent]

[quote wiperhunter2]

... the water looks pretty clear[]...

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The water was a little more stained than usual, but I don't think the sturgeon mind. There was also a lot of chunks of grass being drug in the current that would get on our fishing line, but no seaweed (which was a nice change). The volume of water was about triple of normal and actually worked out great because even with a moderate up-river wind, with the prop down, the boat didn't swing up river, like it typically does.
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[Moosedog]

Where did you get the pad that is on the butt of the rod? What brand is it? It looks kinda handy.
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[smittyts]

Looks like you had a good time. Sad the trip was cut short though.
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[Kent]

[quote Moosedog]

Where did you get the pad that is on the butt of the rod? What brand is it? It looks kinda handy.

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I don't recall, for sure, where I got it but Cabela's has it:
[url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/Luna-Sea-Cush-It/1441816.uts?productVariantId=3365161&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03606716&rid=20&gclid=CL72y6TY-dMCFQ6paQodt9gA4g&gclsrc=aw.ds"]Link[/url]

I purchased the largest one and still had to ream it out some in order to allow room for the butt on my sturgeon rods to fit inside of it. Landing a large sturgeon, without one, or something similar, can be painful.[blush]
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