I caught that fish on my medium rippin lips 7’6″ rod and 30 pound mono, big game solar. My absolute favorite channel cat fishing setup hands down. You will bring more channel cats to the boat with this setup, do your best not to horse them as many channel catfish are actually skin hooked-but can be landed.
So I was Catfishing and a big sturgeon bit.
Not moments after I hooked up I realized it was a large fish, then it jumped for me and all I could say was holy shtt! I knew I was in for an epic battle with this gear.
Fish immediately runs upstream.
Now, I’m fishing spotlocked in the main channel sand dunes, with my kicker supporting my trolling motor to hold position and fish this spot.
So seeing fish run upstream I immediately turn my attention to my other two rods, wanting to quickly reel them in… Except one of the two has a fish on it. I literally was disappointed! Mostly because this sturgeon might best me. The sturgeon didn’t give me time and I had to drop spotlocked, set it to jackrabbit and crank the boat 90 degrees to save the sturgeon. All I can think is I have a kicker running, two lines out the back and one of those has a fish too.
I get a moment where the Sturgeon is yanking line upstream so I set it in a rod holders, last thing I want to do, and I tend to the back rod. Quickly reel in the empty rod, hook in keeper, set on floor. Then grab the rod with a fish on it and reel as hard as I can, successfully the hook came out of the fish, so well in fact that it flew at me and ended up hooking the wires behind one of my depthfinders. Oh man this sturgeon has got my stinkin number I’m thinking, and I was pretty sure this sturgeon could go 70″ of course. Quickly I save the humminbird and put the hook in the rod keeper and on the floor. I knew it was going to be 20+ minutes.
That was a lot to write but I did it fast fast. Back on the sturgeon just in time for her to start to work my skill.
Ended up being a 25 minute fight from start to finish and the last 20 minutes I did my darndest to stay right on top of her and wear her down!
I eventually started thinking about how I’m going to land her and decided half way through the fight, the first time I got her 10′ off the bottom that I’m going to have to land her on one side of the boat or I’ll end of breaking at least one of the 12 rods laying on the other side.
This fish was smart I tell ya. She would run the line toward my trolling motor or to my kicker.
I shut my kicker off and started it two times during the fight to chase this fish. It’s a pull start ) but I’ll tell you when it was off she didn’t run the line that way.
Because I knew I needed to be on one side of the boat I really had to do the 90 degree jackrabbit to keep out of trouble. It was insane I tell ya. So much darn fun.
She started to take me shallow, when she got me into 15′ I knew if I didn’t do something I’d lose her so I charged at the main channel hoping and begging that I could convince her to follow me, since she had been doing that every other time I didn’t want her to but this time she cooperated and I got back to the middle of the river with her.
It wasn’t too long after that she came UP! When she got the surface she was pooped! The thing I worried most about the whole fight was about to happen, I grabbed the line with one hand, threw down the rod and when for the nose grab.
Guys, I’ve broken line many times grabbing it by hand and the 34 fish I had caught earlier that same day and the 30 the day before had me do gosh dang nervous to grab that line. But what do you do…
Grab her big honkin nose, lift her a little and try for a belly cradle and I lose her!!
Ah.
Grab the rod, lift up only a moment and she was there laying, rested on the surface for a tail grab.
I cradle her belly and up with her I go. Lay her down nicely and take a breath!
Turns out it isn’t my biggest sturgeon I don’t think. I estimate at 60-61″ and 60-65#.
This fish was exhausted. Normally I would work that fish in 5-7 minutes. Everytime. Took me 25. Swam away healthy, but I could tell she was tired!
I emphasise big rods when targeting for this reason.
Two guys in a nearby boat kindly pictures which I am grateful. I would’ve taken less than a minute before I had pictures and released this sturgeon but they sure enjoyed seeing a fish and it seemed to have really made their day. That part of the catch I wasn’t expecting. I’ve been wanting a boat side picture for a while and this was the fight, and the fish, that’ll live with me for a long time thanks to the photo.
Good luck and be prepared to land that fish of a lifetime for a safe release to be another fisherman’s fish of a lifetime. This sturgeon, she’s been around the block. One smart cookie that kept me busy for 25 minutes.
Edit: I forgot to mention I ended up 1/2 mile from where I started… I guess she just didn’t want anybody to know lol
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