White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
White Sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America. They can weigh over 1,500 pounds, and be 20 feet in length. They used to often live for over 100 years. They are a slow growing, late maturing anadromous fish. They remain in fresh water while young. Older juveniles and adults are commonly found in rivers, estuaries, and ocean environments. Mature adults spawn in large rivers in the spring and summer months.
Sturgeon have a cartilage skeleton like a shark, rather than bone. They are not sharks, however. Sturgeon have no teeth. They use their expandable, suction-tube mouth to swallow food whole. They have four sensitive barbels they use to locate their food. A Sturgeons body is lined with five rows of scale plates that are tough and hard, called scutes. They are shaped like diamonds, cover them from head to tail and are hard enough to discourage some predatory fish from eating smaller juveniles. Sea lions, however, regularly kill and eat young Sturgeon.
An angler could be easily mislead by this ancient fishes' body design, bottom feeding
characteristics, and catfish like barbels into thinking these are just big, slow,
poor-sport fish. This is a serious miscomprehension of the Sturgeon. They are strong
fighters, and often jump like a Tarpon. It is quite a sight to watch a 10 foot long
Sturgeon clear the water surface by eight feet, shaking its giant body in the air
defiantly. Many men catch one giant Sturgeon, and say it was a great thrill, but
they'd rather not do it again. It can be an exhausting experience. Following are
two pictures from Florida showing just how acrobatic Sturgeon can be. They are a
different species of Sturgeon than we have in the Columbia River, but their behavior
is the same.
In Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, the fisheries management agencies
have set so called "slot limits" on sports fishers. Small Sturgeon, usually those
below 42" in length, must be released unharmed to grow larger. Those between about
42" and 60" can be kept for table fare. Those longer than about 60" must be released
unharmed because they are so valuable as spawning stock to keep the Sturgeon populations
viable. (Check your State's or Province's regulations for exact slot limits.)
Columbia River commercial fishing for Sturgeon, is second only to the former Soviet Union's. Curiously, the big spawners must be released by sports anglers, but the commercial fishermen may retain them for their very valuable roe which is processed into caviar. The Columbia River also supports an intense sport fishery for Sturgeon, as does the San Joaquin Delta in California, Willapa Bay in Washington, Coos Bay in Oregon, and the Frazier River in British Columbia. There are also many other lesser fisheries in rivers such as the Umpqua in Oregon. The White Sturgeon is also an important fish for Native American fishermen on the Columbia and Klamath Rivers.
Are Sturgeon good table fare? Emphatically yes! Their meat is white, firm, and very mild. And if you get a "keeper -- one within the proper slot limit -- you have lots and lots of fine filets. For this reason -- and for their great fighting ability -- they are greatly prized. Perhaps too much so.
Fisheries management agencies assure us that the runs are sustainable at the level of take now occurring; but such agencies have made similar declarations right up to the time when other fisheries have collapsed, so don't be to sure about their affirmations. What is clear is that reducing the sports catch without similar reductions in the commercial and Indian catches will not adequately protect the fishery. Sustainablility is an issue about which every sports angler needs to be both concerned and well informed.
Following are a few photos to whet your appetite for Sturgeon fishing. After the photos, we'll explain where and how to catch them.
Paul Lumsden and friend with a keeper Sturgeon. ↓
Dave Lerwick watches as Ray Richard plays an oversize Sturgeon. ↓
Ray's oversize Sturgeon is about played out. ↓
Ray's oversize Sturgeon is fully played out. They turn belly up when whipped. It
is then very easy to remove the hook and safely release these marvelous, ancient
monsters. ↓
How big do Sturgeon get? Here's one caught a couple of years back. Believe it or
not, this one is much smaller than those the early pioneers used to catch. ↓
A curious phenomenon has recently been discovered at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Thousands of Sturgeon congregate at the base of the dam in late winter, stacked like cordwood on the bottom of the river. As long as this link remains good, we'll keep this interesting video available.
Sturgeon ball
Sturgeon Fishing Techniques
Acipenser transmontanus in the Columbia River is truly a big-game fish. Catching and releasing oversized Sturgeon is an amazing experience. In my 25 years as a dedicated Sturgeon fisherman, I have seen quite a few Sturgeon up to 10 feet in length or more leave the water like a Trident missile after being hooked. Their jumps are high, and their massive size produces an awesome splash when they hit the water again. If you successfully play and subdue a huge Sturgeon, you will ache the next day from the battle. They are very big and powerful. An added bonus while targeting oversize Sturgeon is that you just might catch a Sturgeon within the so-called "slot limits" -- a keeper between 42" and 60" length (check local fishing regulations, as slot limits change). This size Sturgeon makes excellent table fare. The oversize and undersize Sturgeon must be released unharmed.
When specifically targeting Sturgeon I use a heavy halibut-rod type of outfit and 80 pound braided line; but I have caught Sturgeon with 30 pound line on numerous occasions, while fishing for salmon and steelhead. These leviathin monsters will readily attack a steelhead spinner.
Lines: -- For Sturgeon, the braided lines with little to no stretch, such as Tuf line or Spectra, are a tremendous help to the angler. Prior to these super braids appearing on the market, I used a very tough and hard monofilament if at all possible. The reason why these types of lines are important is that a Sturgeon bite is often soft (but not always!) and the fish may nibble on the bait for some time before it is really taken. Patience is really important here. When you are fishing in swift water at 45 feet in depth or more with 10 to 32 ounces of weight, an attempt to set a hook with that stretchy line may not even be noticed by that dinosaur gumming your bait. When you feel that Mr. Sturgeon has your bait firmly in its mouth a braid line gives you direct no-stretch contact between your rod tip and the point of the hook. Be sure all of the slack is carefully removed just before you set the hook. With the new braids you have immediate hook penetration. With 80 pound line you won't break off a fish unless you really work hard at it.
Leader: -- I prefer braided nylon leader in 96 pound test. Many anglers used braided Dacron which also works well. The leader length is important and will vary with the type of bait used. When targeting oversized fish, I most often use whole Columbia River shad. I also like to use a whole side fillet of shad, or half a fillet.
- When using whole shad as bait, I prefer them in the 2 pound range. I like about a 30” leader with a snelled 9/0 hook. This way I can place the hook in the nose of the shad and half-hitch the leader up the body to the tail, where I lay on at least two hitches together. This lets the fish hang head down, about 6 to 12 inches from the weight and slider.
- When using squid, smelt, and all other baits, a 18-24 inch leader is fine, rigged the same way as the shad, just on a smaller scale. I use the shorter leaders on all varieties of baits other than whole shad. The main axiom to remember is "KEEP YOUR BAIT ON OR VERY NEAR THE BOTTOM."
Baits: -- There are many varieties of bait that Sturgeon are interested in. They can be amazingly eager to take just about anything you offer them at times. But at other times they can be really lock-jawed. I know people who have done well even with plastic baits. However, the rule is to “match the hatch.” In Sturgeon fishing speak, this means whatever is happening in the river is what they will key onto. In the winter and spring, frozen smelt are excellent; but beware, as soon as fresh smelt enter the river, you better use fresh smelt. Anchovies and herring enter the estuary at the Columbia River mouth and are hard to beat there, and even higher up the system at times. Sand Shrimp, Squid, Pickled Baits, Clams, Shad, Nightcrawlers and Prawns all have their following, and at times will be the star bait.
- Roll Mop Herring: Yes, grocery store purchased pickled herring. For years this was the go to bait. I place a small square 1" x 1" piece onto a cotton cheese cloth or a piece of deer bag. Roll it up and put it on a 5/0 octopus style hook. I use the same leaders for Roll-Mop as I use for shrimp and other small baits.
- Shad, smaller fish, and Squid can be rigged in many ways, and I am not really sure if it matters too much how you do it. My technique is to hook the nose of the shad and half hitch the leader up to the tail so the spin is minimized (I often remove the fins). Squid is rigged in the same way with the tentacles downstream.
There are many other types of baits that can be excellent but be sure to check the regulations and stay within the law both for baits, and keeper slot-limits, as regulations change from year to year.
Here is my basic boat set-up for Sturgeon:
Finding Fish: -- Sturgeon, like any other fish, have definite activity periods. Some days the bite can be steady all day, but on most days there are definitely peak times. The bite varies with bait, current-speed variations, water levels, weather and barometric conditions, and depth. Most of my Sturgeon fishing has been in water 40 feet or deeper. Many think that Sturgeon will be in the deepest pools, because they see them there on their fish finders. But this can be horribly misleading. They will often seek the deep water when they are inactive. When they are actively feeding, I have caught large ones in 10 feet of water. They may be up on a sandbar eating freshwater clams, hanging below a creek or stream waiting for salmon to roll out after spawning (like a huge Alaskan halibut does on spawing streams), or even hanging below a fish ladder picking off migrating shad. Sturgeon are where you find them. But, you can generally increase your odds by fishing bait that is common in the river, fishing water more than 30 feet deep, keeping your offering on the bottom, and using your depth finder to choose areas to fish and even for seeing fish on the bottom.
Another word on hook setting: Keep your drags stiff, I mean just loose enough that you aren't in danger of losing your rod or going overboard if a big Sturgeon takes a run for the Pacific. Thumb on the spool when setting the hook -- but surely don't leave it there! Most of us who fish Sturgeon keep a fighting belt onboard. You will be very pleased you have one when doing battle with a big one.
Landing a Sturgeon: -- If you feel confident that a Sturgeon is a keeper and is hooked well I wear a left hand glove and lift the fish into the boat by holding the tail and the leader for measuring. If the fish is either too long or too short they can be easily returned as the barbless hook is easily removed. Sturgeon are tough fish and if you handle them carefully, non-keepers will take off with afterburners on (splashing you in the face!). Oversized fish will often give off a huge bubble or two just before they give up and when they do they will often roll onto their backs and just lay there. This makes it nice and easy to remove the hook, after which you can coax them onto their bellies and they will move off with amazing power.
These fish are a wonderful resource and can be the trophy fish of a lifetime -- at least for catching and photographing. But you cannot keep the oversize ones.
Probably the biggest predator of Sturgeon is the commercial fisherman. Thousands are legally harvested every season. Sports anglers take a significant number every year as well. Natural predators of Sturgeon are seals and sea lions which take huge quantities of Sturgeon every year. In recent years it appears that these ocean going predators have found a gold mine in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. I am very concerned about the Sturgeon balls below the dam which occur in winter as being easy targets for these indiscriminate marauders. Seals and sea lions were an unusual sight in past years in the upper river below Bonneville Dam, but they are multiplying in numbers, and now I see them on a winter's day everywhere from my vantage point, many tearing apart a Sturgeon. We hope that the fisheries management agencies will adequately protect this grand fish so our children and grandchildren can also enjoy the thrill of catching such a leviathan.
-- Steve Lumsden, 2009