red fish
Posts: 1812
Location: Berkeley Pier
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Subject: huntin for dinos... tips?
ok, my goal, before the end of this year, is to catch a sturgeon from the shore, or pier. ive been doing as much research as i can, because i have never really been dino hunting before... |
Okay, that is a lofty goal, but possible..I assume you mean a keeper sturge..
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i know its mostly a sit and wait game, but i want to make sure i am waiting in the right area. |
Any of the sturgeon areas from Ken's list will produce; the thing you want to do is pick a couple and figure out how to fish them. http://www.pierfishing.com/resources/index.php?id=fish:white_sturgeon
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| from everything that i have learned, the sturgeon should be starting to make their migration up into the delta soon/now. this would then seem like the prime time to intercept them on their way up. however, i have also read that only parts of the population will spawn every year, and that the remainder will stay in the more salty bay areas. thus, i am going to assume that fishing a transition area such as the carquinez strait or suisun bay will most likely increase the chances of hooking into one. |
This is a fair assumption, but not a rock solid rule for a shoreliner. You are trying to get the same fish the boaters are going after; difference is, you are shorebound, other than picking up and driving another locale. Follow the reports the boaters use as well, as you will more than likely be fishing in the same area, although under the confinement of the land.
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| if anyone has any good spots that may yield good shore fishing results for me, or any advice in finding a good spot, please let me know. |
A good spot is relevant to shore/pier fishing, as, a good spot from shore could be considered (1) keeper being caught a day, whereas, some will call (2) caught a day for an entire pier a great spot.
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| i will probably be using ghost or grass shrimp on a traditional sturgeon leader with 2 hooks on 60 lb nylon coated wire. |
Either of those baits are top baits, and, any way they stay on the hook will work. Any sturgeon rig will work; the main thing is that it holds the bottom; a rig that planes up off the bottom does not get bit, so adjust the weight accordingly and add weight near the hook (note different rules apply in terms of leader length east of 680/hwy 4). Holding bottom is critical to detecting a bite, especially in the Carquinez Strait and other rough ares with 12-60 feet of water and fast moving current (a spider-sinker is recommended where an 8oz pyramid is acceptable. If you can find a shallow area of 6-15' of water to fish sturgeon, you can get away with 4 to 6oz of weight easy and sometimes just a plain old surf-leader depending on the area.
[quote]i have not seen any good tips on hooking grass shrimp for sturgeon, so i assume just hooking a number of them by the tail so that the hook is covered with kicking shrimp, should suffice?[/hook] Hell, just hooking three good-sized grass shrimp on after the other string them on a single kahle hook has worked for general sturgeon fishing for me and Joey Pallota.
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| i have also heard that a strong outgoing will muddy up the substrate and increase sturgeon activity, but will this hold true up past the strait? i have also heard the the end of the outgoing will probably hold the most action, but it appears that this information is mostly gathered from boat fishermen, which may not apply to us shore fishermen. |
Location, location, location..as Brian would say... I found that incoming tide has been the best at a lot of spots I have had success in..especially along the Carquinez Straits. Incoming right before it tops out, but before it swings out... The out-going is treacherous on the straits, and, really, a lot of people pack it in and go home on the swift moving outgo because they can no longer hold bottom. Not impossible, but not the best time to fish. Other spots, such as some points that still have enough water to fish at low-tide can be good on outgoing.
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| lastly, i have heard of the famous "sturgeon pump" but it is not clear to me when to strike? does the sturgeon pump preclude the sturgeon from inhaling the bait and swimming off which then necessitates a strike, or does the strike have to occur precisely in the middle of a pump? |
When in doubt, swing for the fences.. the very first sturgeon I caught at night at Point Molate, I didn't even know I had it on, but I used to make a practice of setting my hook when I would reel in to check bait (just encase something is sitting on the line). Usually, on the third pump, if you can get to the rod by then (and if you can, set while it is pumping down instead of back (or up). If you see six pumps, you are getting late in the game.. There is also the bite that looks like a small striper, bullhead, kingfish, and the suicide bite where it just takes off and rips line.
IF there is a herring spawn that you can catch, and you can time it just right, that can be more of win/win situation if you can get there and have space. Again, follow what the people with radar are doing and where they are going.. Places like the Oakland Airport and the Sturgeon Triangle can all produce fish - timing>right tide>and few hours spent. There have been a couple times where I have come up and left with a keeper all within one-hour's time... I can't help but think the reward came from all the countless hours of nada and just hopeful ambition... good luck...tight lines, sharp hooks, fish on and all that....
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:26 pm
