Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing...Page 2

Angling Opportunities:

There are two distinct methods that can be used to fish for sturgeon. Needless to say, no matter where you target these fish, good quality, heavy duty gear, is required to land a fish over 5ft.

Shore Fishing

There are a number of spots in the Fraser Valley, where Sturgeon can be targeted from shore. Keep in mind, that there are many spots where one is able to fish from shore, that have not yet been discovered, or are not fished very often. It never hurts to try a new spot. All you have to lose is a little bit of time and maybe some gear. On the other hand, you could be rewarded with a honey hole that produces quality fish. Especially in the more populated areas of the lower Fraser Valley, there are many wharfs, docks, river mouths and other points of access, where Sturgeon fishing is very good with fish in the 5-6ft. range. The gear used to fish from shore goes as follows:

Rod: 11-12' two piece bar fishing style rod; main advantage of such long rod is its ability to launch an 18oz. piece of lead a long way. Brands such as The Ugly Stick or Penn will do the trick. Make sure the rod is rated to throw heavy line and lead.

Reel: one can opt for a standard large capacity spin-casting reel such as a Diawa or Shimano to properly match the rod, or use a large capacity, deep sea fishing level winf reel such as the Penn 321 or 330. I like to use a bait-casting reel with my shore rod. The bait casters tend to have a much better drag system and are of better quality. The other advantage is that I can simply get away with having one reel. I just switch my bait-casting reel to my boat rod, and I am ready to go. The reel should be capable of holding at least 200 yards of 100# tuff line.

Boat Setup

If you are lucky enough to fish from an anchored boat, your outfit will be a little different.
Rod: 6-8', one-piece rod will do you best. Many people use 6' Halibut rods such as Penn, which I find a little too short and stiff to enjoy a fight with a 4' fish. Much better and just as affordable are rods such as the Quantum Big Cat which are 7 ½ ' in length, with the top 1/3 of the rod very flexible and sensitive and the bottom 2/3 nothing but backbone.

Reel: Like I have mentioned above, a large line capacity, quality bait-casting reel is a must...

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