Sturgeon Baits

If you thread the hook through the mouth and out the anus of the Anchovies and throw a half hitch around the tail it lay flat on the bottom.  My Dad, and I now,  keep an ongoing bucket of shad, herring and anchovies. It is a continuous, awful smell of defrosted bait, Sturgeon nectar and squid oil. Frozen in-between and defrosted the night before.  I always use it as a last resort.  In my experience, fresh anchovies and shad seem to target the keepers.

Big Ditto regarding trying squid...    I started fishing for sturgeon back when Lamprey was legal and the favorite bait much of the time.    Yet last year was my first time fishing well up river "Boardman area" from Bonneville Dam.  It was by far the most successful trip I have ever had for keepers.    I was surprised that the bait which worked best for us on that trip was squid, especially that which had become rather ripe after a day not being kept cold.  Just grocery store squid and not the pickled "Sturgeon Candy"    I had always stuck with the "offer them what is naturally in the river" rule of thumb but but went with the suggestion of a local.  Now I am willing to give anything a try if others have had luck with it. 

Deepcolor is the man when it comes to sturgeon
A smaller fish smells a nightcrawler and knows it to be the smell of something worth searching out. Thus, I think that bigger fish will be attracted to fish or squid smells since they are potentially a good sized meal for them.

I'm not the newest Member of the NWKA Forum any longer, but may well be the newest old dude to finally start chasing Sturgeon. That said, I agree with you Paul, "Deepcolor is the man when it comes to sturgeon" and having spoke with you as well, and reading your threads, I'd say you have some great ideas too.

As for the theory, "A smaller fish smells a nightcrawler and knows it to be the smell of something worth searching out. Thus, I think that bigger fish will be attracted to fish or squid smells since they are potentially a good sized meal for them". Nobody has mentioned or perhaps I missed it, there's also a quantity consideration to be made. Regardless of what bait your drowning on the bottom, there's more of the little guys running around than oversized and apparently, more than keepers too. So as ratio's go, the smaller ones are more apt to be where the bait lands. The exception might be, the truly deep holes where the big boys lie and wait, pushing the smaller ones out of their areas.

I spoke with a local grocery store last night.  They said that they could order squid for me.  They've never done it before so they are not sure what they are getting.  Is $5/lb expensive for squid? 

Also, I know you all like "fresh" baits but if I don't have the option for fresh, will the "Guides Choice" jarred stuff work?  I might call them.  There website has frozen stuff they can send......
http://www.dgbait.com/order.html

When you guys have caught keepers, what was in their stomach?

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Ok, this might be a dumb question but what about the little anchovies from a can. (kinda like smoked osters)  I see that you can get them in water only or in salt water only.

If there isn't any sauce on them, do you think that they'd work?   and if not, would you take regular crackers or some Ritz?

When you guys have caught keepers, what was in their stomach?

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Crawfish, freshwater clams/shells, undistinguishable "fish" bits/chunks, in the columbia: smelt,  During Springer season: Plug cut herring and herring heads, dyed pink/orange prawns.  And in areas with heavy sturgeon fishing pressure,  bait from other Sturgeon fishermen, rollmop, squid etc (common in PDX harbor)

When you guys have caught keepers, what was in their stomach?

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Crawfish, freshwater clams/shells, undistinguishable "fish" bits/chunks, in the columbia: smelt,  During Springer season: Plug cut herring and herring heads, dyed pink/orange prawns.  And in areas with heavy sturgeon fishing pressure,  bait from other Sturgeon fishermen, rollmop, squid etc (common in PDX harbor)

Dude!  You're stealing all the thunder from my January article in NWS!!!   Shhhhhhhhh!   

-Spot-

When you guys have caught keepers, what was in their stomach?

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Crawfish, freshwater clams/shells, undistinguishable "fish" bits/chunks, in the columbia: smelt,  During Springer season: Plug cut herring and herring heads, dyed pink/orange prawns.  And in areas with heavy sturgeon fishing pressure,  bait from other Sturgeon fishermen, rollmop, squid etc (common in PDX harbor)

Dude!  You're stealing all the thunder from my January article in NWS!!!   Shhhhhhhhh!   

-Spot-

Some of us are still new to the NWKA Forum and I just recently discovered you are the distinguished wordsmith for NWS that you are. Then there's that other guy, Zee is it?
It was actually because of that column, I just recently subscribed for two years. Awesome work guys!!

"And then the thread was Reborn"

I've heard that sturgeon like salmon/steelhead roe but most people don't use it because of the cost.  I've got a ton of Steelhead roe that I won't use for anything else.  Should I try it?

I was able to find some frozen herring and was thinking about defrosting some, covering it in Sturgeon feast and refreezing.  Is this a good idea?

Thanks!

Defrosting and refreezing will likely destroy the texture of the herring and make it a bit mushy.  You might consider adding the sturgeon feast or other flavor/scent while brining the herring instead.  This will firm up the meat a bit so that it stays on the hook better.

Defrosting and refreezing will likely destroy the texture of the herring and make it a bit mushy. 

I've previously just jammed the bottle down their throats and injected them with scent while on the water.  (that sounds bad)  I'll just stick to this method then.

Local sand shrimp. They should still be alive. Magic thread them on. Have had good luck with shad and herring too. Biggest sturgeon I caught was using shad. Although I have not tried much else I also believe most any stinky fish would do well.

I've only ever used fresh anchovies.

I've heard that sturgeon like salmon/steelhead roe but most people don't use it because of the cost.  I've got a ton of Steelhead roe that I won't use for anything else.  Should I try it?

I've gotten them on roe, but I found out (the hard way) that eggs are messy stuff to have in the yak, dripping down the side of the yak, and on your hands, and on your rod, your reel, your leg, your seat, your trunk when you put the seat away, and every time the temp raises above 60 and warms up the trunk carpet (that has been washed 3x's) I'm still reminded... (Damhik!)