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I haven't heard many reports from people specifically targeting sturgeon yet. I have heard they are biting well, but was looking for some more specifics. How many are people getting in a day? What are conditions like? Thanks

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crappiespence is up there right now, been chattin with him this mornin, spence says its a zoo!The access is packed at wheelers and said there is at least 50 boats in four mile bay alone with many more fishing the river. So far this morning he has witnesses many fisherman battling fish. most, if not all the boats are targeting sturgeon. The bite is on and lots of fish are being caught. I will be up this thursday to try my luck. The river is still having a solid sturgeon bite as well with many fish coming from the frontier and vidas areas. But when theyre are goin, it doesnt seem to matter where you fish.

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This is great news. I was going to come up Friday morning for a weekend of sturgeon fishing. I am heading up Thursday instead to maybe catch an eye or two. Then sturgeon for the rest of the weekend.

Had a buddy up there this past week caught a nice 56" jiggin for walleyes. I can't wait!

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many, many fish were caught yesterday. There is still alot of ice on 4 mile bay, but also a good area of fishable water. Crappiespence and his partner caught only 9 fish yesterday, but when you boat a 64 and a 63 incher, the other 7 dont really matter too much. Rain today, followed by wind. I will be up on wed or thurs for several days, looks like ill still be in time for the hot bite

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how much weight you guys using. i had 4 ounces on this morning and didn't think it was enough.

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just got back and everyone was converting to sturgeon fishing as we left. lots of boats fishing sturgeon yesterday and way fewer on fri. we saw lots of boats hooked up on fri. as we ran by there was 3 battling fish. walleye not biting.

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Just a question about sturgeon fishing. Is it not illegal to target them before season? I thought targeting a fish out of season was not cool. Just wondering.

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Just a question about sturgeon fishing. Is it not illegal to target them before season? I thought targeting a fish out of season was not cool. Just wondering.

They are in season and legal to target right now on the U.S. side on the rainy river.

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sturgeon is open to catch and release all year. with a spring and fall harvest season. A special tag is required to harvest a fish. theres a slot etc. its in the regulations.

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From the MN Fishing regulations booklet:

LAKE Sturgeon

April 24-May 7 and July 1-Sept. 30

1 per license year. (Fish must be 45-50", inclusive, or over 75".) Immediately upon reducing a fish to possession, you must validate and attach your sturgeon tag. Harvested sturgeon must be registered within 48 hours. See page 55 for more details.

May 8-May 15 and Oct. 1, 2011- April 23, 2012

Catch-and-release only. (No tag needed.)

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Sturgeon fishing is not open all year - check the regs - no fishing is allowed between May 16th and June 30th.

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I thought the season started after the walleye closes? confused

Most guys just target them after walleye closes to avoid the crowds. The regs can be a little confusing at first glance, but if you check them over a couple of times you'll understand what's going on in most situations.

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Just got back from being up there all weekend. Targeted sturg most of both days and ended up boating 30 fish for two boats all weekend. The big fish for each boat was a 61 and a 60. We found that the bite was best for us right from day light to about 11. Did mangage to catch around 6 walleyes on the sturg set ups but nothing big enough to tell about. Good luck and Good fishing

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ben, were you in the group fishing the lake? or were you fishing the river? headed up wed and they are talking it could get rather windy for thurs and friday, may be confined to the river. Any info would be great from ya, or anyone! thanks, da slabber

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Fished west of Vidas on Saturday and boated two 65" Sturgeon. Pretty good but wasn't fast.

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I was fishing out of vitas all weekend. We didnt really want to deal with all the boats out in the lake so we decided to go find a spot on the river. We had almost no boats fishing around us on sunday might of just been because of the lack of people due to the poor walleye fishing all weekend.

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thanks guys didnt have regs to look at and dont fish them so didnt know was just curios and wondering. Good luck to everyone and I know from sat fishing there is alot of them in there to catch.

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So for a guy that doesn't normally do the sturgeon thing, what part of the river is the best bet to launch at?

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In terms of launch conditions or fishing?

The river is full of fish, I honestly don't think one area is better than another.

The public launch on Wheelers Pt is a good (but busy) option as it allows you to fish both the lake and the river. Sometimes though heading upstream (Clementson) away from everyone can pay dividends.

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So basically just plop down anywhere? I guess more of asking if I should be looking for deeper holes VS anywhere on the river.

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As simple as it sounds, yes just plopping down (on the US side of the river) can be as easy as it gets. A couple of theories I have is that bottlenecks in the river can concentrate migrating fish making it a bit easier, mouths of tributaries seem to be a key area, and of course where the river dumps in LOW is a popular spot for obvious reasons (lake fish heading up river).

Really though I seriously think a guy could find fish just about anywhere in the river. It's fun to find you own secret spots though. wink

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
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    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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