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[black][black][size 3]What a trip! All three of us caught the largest fish of our lifetimes! Here are the vital statistics (note, the weights are estimates from an average weight chart) of the white sturgeon that we caught:
Nate:
48 inches 33 pounds
49 inches 35 pounds
54 inches 46 pounds
56 inches 52 pounds
68 inches 94 pounds
Channel cats:
21 inches 3 pounds
21 inches 3 pounds
29 inches and at least 8 pounds
Ira:
54 inches 46 pounds
71 inches 107 pounds
72 inches 111 pounds
74 inches 121 pounds
77 inches 137 pounds
Kent:
42 inches 21 pounds
46 inches 29 pounds
53 inches 44 pounds
56 inches 52 pounds
56 inches 52 pounds
57 inches 55 pounds
58 inches 58 pounds
60 inches 64 pounds
64 inches 78 pounds
65 inches 82 pounds
68 inches 94 pounds
69 inches 98 pounds
[/size][/black][size 3][black]69 inches 98 pounds
80 inches 153 pounds
85 inches 185 pounds
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[black][size 3][black](Note that I had a second pole permit – best $12.50 I have ever spent.) [/black][/size][/black]
[black][size 3][black]
[/black][font "Times New Roman"][/font][black]Wow, 25 sturgeon and well over 1,900 pounds of fish reeled in! We also had two break off, and lost several others to long releases, and missed countless bites. Thank you Lundman and Joseph M. for the valuable tips on how and where to catch these beautiful huge fish. It was a pleasure to fish with Nate and Ira. I could have done without my tent blowing into the lake, and Ira could have done without the mouse that scampered along the side of the boat. Need to either fix my Penn -- worm gear destroyed reeling in too many large fish -- or better yet need to purchase a heavier reel. Pictures below[/black].
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Awesome guys!! Cant wait to see the pics! I bet the trip far out weighed the minor mishaps.
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Wow! We'll be waiting for those pictures!
Senkonate
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WOW ! Kent that is some greating. Get them pictures posted.
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looks like you found your new occupation kent. sturgeon guide. thats pretty impressive. is this the time of year they bite more than other times?
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Way to go Guys, what a haul. Kent, I guess the 85 incher gave you a good fight but I was wondering after catching a sturgeon that big, was it as big as the one you lost last year when we fished with Lundman? Can't wait to see those pictures. WH2
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Nice! Sturgeon are great fish! Beautiful? Well you're reaching there! HA! Again, great trip![/size][/black][/font]
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Way ta go guys!! Congrats on the great Sturgeon trip. Boy, now I'm jealous!
I hope to someday make a Sturgeon run![:/]
BTW,, Kent ol'e buddy think of it like this. if your tent hadnt blown into the water what a boring trip it would have been simply catchin' all those monsters.
Again, congrats Guys!
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Sweet! Sounds like it was a fantastic trip! Congrats on catching so many nice fish. Lookin' forward to seeing the pics.
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Well, here are a few of the pictures.
[inline "Ira's 77 incher 9-17-04.JPG"]
Ira's 77 incher.
[inline "Kent 85 inches 09-18-04.JPG"]
My 85 incher.
[inline "Nate's 29 inch cat.JPG"]
Nate's 29 inch cat.
[inline "Nate's 68 inches 9-17-04.JPG"]
Nate's 68 incher.
[inline "Ira's.JPG"]
One of Ira's doing a back bend.
[inline "Nate's.JPG"]
One of mine.
[inline "Kent rod bend.JPG"]
Nice rod bend.
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One thing I forgot to mention in my original post is that once we landed doubles. It was a fun challenge to keep them from tangling at the boat. I was impressed when I got in my 60 incher (my largest to that time) until Ira reeled in his 77 incher.
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Hey Kent,
After you upload the pics, post the message, then go back and edit the message (I like two broser windows/tabs open for this, one with the original post, then one for editing). Then place your cursor where you want the pic, click on the little framed picture that appears in the toolbar above your editor window. When you click this picture, another window pops up, it will always have http:// in it. I usually delete this entry, then just copy and paste (right mouse click) the link to your picture from your original post window into the new box. Then hit the submit button, and you should be golden. Then just repeat these steps for all the pictures.
Those are some great pics, congrats.
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Actually you can now select "Inline" to the right of upload attachment then when you select the "Picture" on the top left you can also selcet inline and it will post them for you.
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Curtis -- not sure if the one I lost last year was larger or not. Hard to say. Last year I was only using 30 pound test line and this year I was using 50 pound test, and that makes a huge difference in how much pressure one can put on the fish. Many of them jumped this trip, just like they did last September. Great fun to see those huge fish tail dance and head shake.
Enich -- I have heard that it slows down in the winter months. All I know is that I have done extremely well in early September twice, fairly well in the spring, and got skunked in the summer once, and in October once. Getting skunked was likely a case of not knowing (then) where to fish during those times of year. Also, it makes a huge difference whether or not the wind blows. Friday, and Saturday until 7:00 PM, there was almost no wind at all, which made for excellent sturgeon fishing conditions. They often bite extremely soft, and when that wind is blowing up that canyon it can become difficult (to say the least) to detect a bite, when the boat is rocking and turning. A few times they grabbed the bait and headed out without any warning. I would have likely lost my rod once if Nate had not grabbed it as it headed out of the boat, and on another occasion I had a difficult time getting my rod out of the rod holder, because the fish was already pulling so hard. Several also just took the bait and held onto it, and we didn't know we even had a fish on until we started to reel.
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Hey way to go guys! What pound test did you guys use and what king of rods?Were you using a penn 6/0reel and rod?Penn reels are great for heavy fighting fish!Man i would love to hook one up with my penn 650![sly] Gonna have to go up there one day and try and hook up with one of those fish!
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Nice catch . Congrats to all of you .
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Nice fish, what do you use for bait for prehistoric monsters like that? i bet that it makes it tough to come back to utah and catch dinky little fish after being on the mighty snake going after dragons of the water
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I don't think that a do-it-yourself sturgeon trip could get much better. Kent was a great guide. He put us on fish and proceeded to kick our butts. Everything was great, the fishin, the companions, the weather (until the hurricane the last night), and the price (cheaper than a 3 day Green River trip), and nobody trying to crowd the spot. We saw only about 5-6 boats the entire time.
These guys kept teasing me about my "ultralight" gear, a Cabelas 9' Depth Master trolling rod with a Shakespeare trolling reel loaded with 30 lb mono. I think I maxed it out with my 68" "pup" and I might still be trying to get an 85" fish to the boat had I hooked one. Sad to say, I was sorta glad all my fish were "small". I'd have to invest in a little heavier gear doing it again.
Thanks again Kent and Ira, a great trip!!!
PS. I got some great video footage and if I can get some digitized I'll try and post it somehow.
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A few answers to many questions. We were using a variety of rods and reels (nothing particularly expensive, but heavy enough for the task at hand). I was using a Penn that bit the dust after reeling in a few fish. Thankfully, I had two spare reels (no surprise to anyone who has ever fished with me). Ira and I were using 50 pound Berkely Big Game Monofiliament Line, and Nate was using 30 pound test monofiliament. For that area 50 pound test seems to be about right. Thirty will likely work, but if a big one is hooked you will be following it with the boat a long ways, and your partners will miss out on fishing for quite awhile while you are reeling in the big one. Wiperhunter2 and Lundman experienced that situation last year when I was only using 30 pound test line. Even with 50 pound test it took about 20 minutes to land some of those sturgeon. TudeDude, me not catching a larger catfish than 4 1/2 pounds is still embarrassing, and on lighter tackle could still be ALMOST as much fun as reeling in a large sturgeon. Ideal bait is bottled herring as an attractant and anywhere from two to four night crawlers on a 6/0 or 7/0 hook. Caught them in water from 20 feet to about 26 feet. The water in that area goes up to over 70 feet deep, and my fisherman contact, who often fishes that area, has caught them in water from 20 feet to over 70 feet deep.
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Was it a river or lake you were you fished?
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