I'm gonna be (Shortnose Sturgeon fishing)

[MuskieBait]

When I'm dreaming
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna dream of life list trophy fish like you

When I planning
Yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who plans the route for you

When exploring
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who fish new place with you

When I tripping
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who drives all day with you

But I would drive five hundred miles
And I would drive five hundred more
Just to be the man who drive a thousand miles
To come knock at your door

When I kayak
Yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the friend who kayaks hard with you

It's gonna be wet
Yes I know it's gonna be
We're gonna be soaked head to toe through and through

But if I get cold
I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the wife who tough it out with you

 

[MuskieBait]

As we're waiting
It is so hard to contain
I'm gonna be excited just as much as you

But I would drive five hundred miles
And I would drive five hundred more
Just to be the man who drive a thousand miles
To come knock at your door

Tadalada Tadalada Taladaladalada Taladalala
Tadalada Tadalada Taladaladalada Taladalala

I have found fish
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the guide who share the fun with you

When you're hooked up
Well I know that I'm ready
To capture every fighting moment for you

 

[MuskieBait]

If you triumph
I'll let them know and they will hear
I'm gonna yell "congrats", "hell yeah" and "woohoo"

When we look back
I am certain that we will see
We'll see this crazy group who loves to fish with you

But I would fish five hundred miles
And I would fish five hundred more
Just to be the man who fish the world
Who may just come back for more

Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) - Species #476

 

[MuskieBait]

Eli, Ken, Michael and George would like to thank Joe Tilley for his great hospitality and a fantastic time, and Alisha (Eli's wife) for being our professional photographer.

Day 1:

Eli: 3 Shortnose
Ken: 4 Shortnose
Michael: 4 Shortnose
George: 3 Shortnose
Joe: 2 Shortnose

Day 2:

Eli: 1 Shortnose lost
Ken: 0 Shortnose (only fished half day)
Michael: 4 Shortnose
George: 1 Shortnose lost (only fished half day)
Joe: 4 Shortnose

***

Additional bonus new lifer:

Saithe (Pollachius virens) aka Pollock - Species #475

Additional tasty morsel (but very annoying anti-sturgeon bait thieves):

Atlantic Tomcod (Microgadus tomcod)

 

[wschinke]

Looks like an incredible trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

[frozenfire]

Fantastic report!
Will we get to see some gopro footage?

 

[MuskieBait]

Unfortunately, I didn't use the GoPro. I'm a shorter guy, with shorter arms...and even on the 10 foot kayak, it was a good reach to switch the camera on when I'm on a fish. The water was too cold to fudge around too much risking a flip...so I just focus on brining and landing the fish.

 

[frozenfire]

I see what you mean. I'd stay focused on landing the fish and making sure all is well instead of fiddling with the camera too.

Absolutely awesome fish though. These ones you caught seem like they're much more easier to handle than the ones out west.

Fraser sturgeon fishing is on my bucketlist.

 

[MuskieBait]

Shortnose Sturgeon are on average much smaller than White Sturgeon. Shortnose Sturgeon are sexually mature around 20in, and adults range between 3ft to 4ft in length. Fish over 48" are considered trophy, with 40" fish considered as a worthy catch.

Meanwhile, White Sturgeon obtains much bigger size.

I've caught 1 White Sturgeon that was 59" fork length. That fish took about 8 minutes to land from start to finish (had it on camera so the recorded time was accurate). I've caught 1 Lake Sturgeon that was estimated at 36" fork length. That fish took about 5 minutes to land since it ran into 2 other lines on the first run. The two larger Shortnose Sturgeon I landed this weekend was 37.5" fork length and another that was estimated between 38-39" fork length. They also took around 4-5 minutes to land.

I fought my White Sturgeon on a rod intended for much larger sturgeon, while the Lake Sturgeon was fought on a 7' MH Penn UglyStik and a Shimano Baitrunner 4500B. The Shortnose Sturgeon were fought on a 7' MH Shimano Clarus and an Okuma Komodo 364. So it's not like we're undergunned either. I do have to say, being on a kayak, you have less leverage on the fish, and we tend to fight the fish out a bit more for our own safety. Tailing or bringing aboard a wildly flopping sturgeon that is wider than the kayak is not fun, if not dangerous, so we made sure they are nice and docile before bring them aboard to unhook. It is often too tippy to unhook them at boatside since their rubbery sucker mouth holds the hook really well.

Current also factor into the length of the fight. In the case of the White Sturgeon, it was fought in much stronger current. We needed 22oz of weight to hold bottom. In the case of the Lake Sturgeon, we only fished with 1.5oz of weight. For the Shortnose Sturgeon, we fished with 3oz of weight due to recent highwater from Patricia. Depending on the sturgeon species, some have larger pectoral fins (such as White Sturgeon) to allow the fish to plane or pin better in the current.

In general, I find sturgeons, regardless of species, shares the same stamina and determination. The difference is really simply the size of the fish. With a large White Sturgeon, the bulky body provides a lot of resistance in the current, and in the case of the Fraser, the current is simply much stronger than many other sturgeon waters.

My next sturgeon target is the Shovelnose Sturgeon...a diminutive sturgeon species that reaches 3ft in length only, but commonly less than that. Although they can be caught on lighter gear, you may need to use heavier rods to cast larger sinkers - to keep the bait from drifting in the moderately strong Mississippi current; and to cast out to the deeper flats where they feed. As such, it's hard to really compare their fight to other sturgeon.

 

[MuskieBait]

If I'm eating
Oh I know it's gotta be
It's gotta be some Tomcod oh so good

This is the face of "yumminess"

Hope you are licking the screen