April 20th, 2007 - Sturgeon Excursion

[eyepatrol]

Thanks Hanson. When I was on LakeMaster's site last night it was hard to tell if their LOTW map included the area of the Rainy River. I might just order it and even if it doesn't, well, it's another map in the file.

[hanson]

I don't think the paper map has the river on it. I know the GPS chip has it but I'm pretty sure the paper map doesn't.

[harvey lee]

Eric, if you have a Lowrance GPS, I will let you use my chip for it.

[eyepatrol]

My locator isn't "chip compatible".

I've got another map source I can contact.

[fiskyknut]

PNUTS.....I got that LM software and a guy can print off some really nice paper maps of the river with that. If you know anyone down your way with the LM LOTW software you could have them print you some good maps maybe? Hansons right the chip only shows up to Baudette.

Keith....Holes and narrower channel runs are key, though the Sturgeonfish can show up in places you kind of don't expect them. Someone mentioned 30 foot + holes. You won't find much for any 30 foot holes above the area known as 'the willows' which is a few miles downstream from Baudette. Those real deep holes are found on the lower river and I kinda doubt the river will be open down that far. Darn good fishing to be found around Clementson and Frontier and the river should be opened up that far by then anyways????

There is alot of info in the archives of the Rainy river forum and the LOTW forum in regards to Sturgeon fishing up here and if a guy wants to run a search you can find alot of good info from years back from a few local folks who've fished the rivers Sturgeonfish for a long time. I am heading for the pond shortly and don't have time right now but will maybe try and post some links to some of my posts from years back in the next couple of days, but if a guy has ambition you can refine the search with keywords as well as user names and find alot of info going back 5-6 years.

There were links posted on last years excursion threads too if I remember right?

Think Spring all....It's bound to happen!!!!

Regards....fiskyknut

[fisherking01]

Sounds like you have a better plan than me, I'm a bit lazy for that doing that work, maybe that's why I've had a motor ripped off of my boat on the rainy!

OK if I follow you??

[eyepatrol]

Quote:

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PNUTS.....I got that LM software and a guy can print off some really nice paper maps of the river with that. If you know anyone down your way with the LM LOTW software you could have them print you some good maps maybe? Hansons right the chip only shows up to Baudette.

Keith....Holes and narrower channel runs are key, though the Sturgeonfish can show up in places you kind of don't expect them. Someone mentioned 30 foot + holes. You won't find much for any 30 foot holes above the area known as 'the willows' which is a few miles downstream from Baudette. Those real deep holes are found on the lower river and I kinda doubt the river will be open down that far. Darn good fishing to be found around Clementson and Frontier and the river should be opened up that far by then anyways????

There is alot of info in the archives of the Rainy river forum and the LOTW forum in regards to Sturgeon fishing up here and if a guy wants to run a search you can find alot of good info from years back from a few local folks who've fished the rivers Sturgeonfish for a long time. I am heading for the pond shortly and don't have time right now but will maybe try and post some links to some of my posts from years back in the next couple of days, but if a guy has ambition you can refine the search with keywords as well as user names and find alot of info going back 5-6 years.

There were links posted on last years excursion threads too if I remember right?

Think Spring all....It's bound to happen!!!!

Regards....fiskyknut

---

Ummm....you mean "basscatcher", right?

[eyepatrol]

BY THE WAY.....if anyone is interested, we have room for one more in our cabin/boat! Leaving Thursday morning and coming home Sunday. Let me know if you want to go!

[Scott M]

Basscatcher, Please put me down!!!! I won't be up till Friday evening. I will try and email. Had plans fall through last week, I left a post on page 15. If you haven't filled it, I'll take it and bring up whatever your groups wants for food, drink, etc. Have a friend in Baudette but he may be working and is having motor problems; this sounds like a more sure deal.

[eyepatrol]

Send me an e-mail as soon as you can.

[email protected]

[Scott M]

*You've got mail*

[Mark Christianson]

I just called Schusters to find out what the river is looking like.

The guy said its open from Rainy Lake to Frontier. He said Frontier is about 20 miles from the resort.

Its less than 2 weeks away now, and the forecasts sure dont look to promising.

We have a few people in my group teetering, and its got me teetering now too.

I know a lot can happen in the mean time, but it sure would be nice to see some drastic changes in the weather.

[eyepatrol]

Can we simply trailer down the road a bit and launch at some other access where open water in the river exists?

[hanson]

Basscatcher-

Thats currently the plan unless the river starts to open up at Mach 1 speed. 4 mile bay is currently froze solid as well as the river at the public launch and in front of Schusters Resort. Sportsman's Lodge has a live webcam of the river and they are pretty much neighbors to Schusters. From the looks of things on the webcam, she is froze about as solid as you can get. The ice doesn't even look black or honeycombed so I don't think it is going out anytime soon.

We'll probably head east of Baudette to the many launches along the river. Like BigLakeBa$$ said, thats about a 20 mile drive from Schusters.

All we can do is hope for some warm weather to unlock things.

[harvey lee]

I just got off the phone with Tim Anderson of Bigfishhunt guide service and he was there this past weekend.He stated they did pretty well on eyes and sturgeon. They fished somewhere around Birchdale and that area where it is open.

He is a new guide link sponsor as of today.

[eyepatrol]

Sounds good. Except for fishing out of Riverbend this past winter (which they took us to where we needed to go), I don't know the area from squat. Not sure if my fishing buds know the area, but does anyone care if we tag along behind?

[harvey lee]

Eric, I am sure we will have a game plan and all are welcome to follow.

[eyepatrol]

Thanks Tom. My only concern is to find the boat access the first day. Once we know where that's at, we'll be good to go.

[fiskyknut]

The public access points all have those brown 'public access' signs showing you where they are basscatcher.

Sounds like the river is darn near open to Frontier as of last nite according to Gail at Clementson resort.

[Tyler Holm]

The Extended forcast for Baudette is starting to look much better. Several days with sun and 50+ degree highs.

[eyepatrol]

I just about posted the same earlier this morning, but then if it does take a turn for the worse, I didn't want to be the one who jinxed it.

Right now it looks promising though.

[harvey lee]

Eric

I discussed this with a resort owner from the Baudette area and on the river. We will be fishing and if the weather continues as promised, we should be in pretty good shape. The only thing we dont know at this time is exactly where on the river it will be. There could still be a problem with docking the boats overnight at Schuster's docks so all we will need to do is load the boats at night when we are done fishing. The warm forecast will really help us out if it holds true.

Look out you 60+ inch Sturgeon as Tom is leaving in a week.

[eyepatrol]

Sounds good Tom. I'll probably give you a ring tonight to see if you're around Saturday.

[wall_eye_assasin]

Basscatcher and Harvey, Only one more week to go. Hope the weather cooperates but if not I got an extra 12 pack just in case. Steaks look great Basscatcher and Ill give you a call Saturday or Sunday. 6 more days wooooo hhooooooo.

[eyepatrol]

Did you get my e-mails from a couple nights ago? Everything look okay?

[hanson]

Sturgeon Tip of the Day - Proper Handling

Alright folks, less than 1 week to go until the Sturgeon Excursion. Wooo Hooo!

We've talked about a few things that I feel are important to sturgeon fishing success- boat control, gear, and terminal tackle. But what do you do when you get one of these prehistoric creatures in the boat?

Most fisherman typically don't have a clue as they've never handled a fish this large and heavy before. For the most part, a sturgeon will be pretty docile when in the boat. They won't flop, roll, or kick around too much but rather lay on your boat floor nice and quiet.

Once in the boat, have a needlenose pliers handy to unhook the fish ASAP. A sturgeon's mouth is pretty tough and rubbery and you'll need a pliers to get proper leverage to remove a hook.

Once the hook is removed, its photo time! This is where I'd like to point out that there is a correct way, and a wrong way, to handle a sturgeon. The correct way is to hold the fish from a 45 degree angle to as horizontal as possible while supporting the weight of the fish. What I like to do is grab the tail with one hand, and support the belly right behind the pectoral fins with my other hand.

Here's a great photo of the proper way to hold a sturgeon.

This fish was 50" so is pretty typical of fish found in the Rainy.

What I don't like to see is a fisherman holding a sturgeon straight up vertically. I think anyone who knows anything about handling big fish knows that a vertical hold places an incredible amount of stress and pressure on the spine and internal organs of the fish. If you are going to hold a fish vertically, good Lord, do NOT hold it up by its gill covers. You may think they are built in handles but holding a 40+ lb fish up by its gill covers is not a good idea. So put quite simply... NO VERTICAL HOLDS please!

Along these same lines, is hanging a 50lb fish on a scale really a good idea? Thats an incredible amount of pressure placed on the mouth of a fish and if there is ever a time you are going to hurt a sturgeon, its when he flops off the scale onto your boat floor. Thud! What I would suggest if you need to know weight is getting an accurate length and girth measurement and using a conversion formula.

Here is a link to a chart the MN DNR put together using research data from their tagging studies of Rainy River Sturgeon- Length/Girth Conversion Formula for Rainy River Sturgeon From my experience, it is very accurate.

For really big fish, cradling them in your arms is probably the best way to hold them for a photo. It supports their weight and keeps you out of their gills. This fish was a 50+ lb, 58 incher.

These fish are really cool, and have been swimming the waters in Minnesota for a long time. I think its awesome that we have the opportunity to successfully target and catch them. I think the least we can do is treat the fish with respect, handle them carefully, and have a successful release.

Happy Fishing guys!

[harvey lee]

Great post Chris. As you can see in my avatar, I am guilty of holding this sturgeon in a less than desirable way. I need to change how I hold them for sure. Hopefully I have another opportunity to photo one.

My avatar should show exactly what not to do. After thinking about it, the picture does show how it could put stress on the fish for sure.

I guess I can be the example of what not to do.

[hanson]

We've all been guilty, myself included. One just needs to learn from past experience and try not to replicate it. I do know how exciting things get in the boat and sometimes good judgement goes out the window. Hopefully we can educate folks so when the big fish does end up in the boat, they'll know what to do.

[harvey lee]

The excitment part you have exactly right. I remember that fish today and exactly how everything went down. One needs to think about the fish a little more in all the who-ha.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Good post, Chris!

For those who have never caught a sturgeon before, I would like to also recommend that you bring several old towels with. These things are incredibly slimy. They feel like sandpaper covered in snot--no kidding.