Best sturgeon pole and reel?

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Specialed
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What is the best sturgeon pole and reel? Rod length, reel type, and the best line # test? I am going to get a new set up but want some advice from all you pros on what is the best set up before I start shopping. Thanks for taking the time in sharing your knowledge. It is most appreciated, SpecialEd
 
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Fishing for sturgeon out of a kayak is a lot of fun. If you have a heavy duty salmon rod and reel that will work just fine. I often use my Okuma X-HVY, Mag taper 8'6" 20-50lb 1-6oz rod with a Shimano Cardiff on it. That works great for 4oz and below and is OK but less fun with 6oz. My favorite outfit is a Daiwa Saltist 40a mounted on a Lamiglas BFC70H. I also have a Medium action Tiger Stik with a Penn 320. I have caught a bunch of oversized out of my kayak with each of those rods. The Lamiglas is by far my favorite. It is very sensitive and yet really strong. If I was on a budget I would go with a Tiger Stik and Penn 320 combo.

As an FYI, I got the Lamiglas at Dick's in Hillsboro for $129.97 this past December. They still had two left...
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the question you asked is an impossible question to answer without more info, are you bank fishing, boat fishing, will you be specificly targeting over-size, going to st johns... bonneville, the eastuary? Myself I am set up for oversized... they are solely what I want to catch, but my heavy gear takes a lot of fun out of the little guys. I see guys fishing with salmon rods.... and landing VERY large fish, but I wouldn't do it. I use an ugly stic and a penn gti 320 reel and 90 lb main line.
 
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I'll be fishing from a boat in the St Johns or Multnomah Channel area, targeting legal size keepers. I have a 13' boat I will be fishing out of...Thanks hitman!
 
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Mostly personal preference, many poles will "work".

I have a Lami cert-pro from bimart and imo they are a good balace between a soft tip and enough backbone to control a big fish. You can get them on sale for around 70. My guest poles on my boat are Okuma Celio 7' and they are incredible poles for the money... fact if the conditions are rough I like them better than my lami and for 40 bucks you just can't go wrong. they have the same pole in a reel combo for 65 or so when on sale. My son has reeled in tons of fish on his and I can't find a flaw. The tigers that hhm spoke of are hands down the most commonly used, great workhorses that will last a lifetime of abuse.

I have used salmon poles and while its kinda fun for the first fish it also takes 3xs as long to get the same fish up and if he is big then you have zero control.
 
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What size mainline do yo use. Thanks, SpecialEd
 
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I use 65# braid for main and 50# dacron for leader.
 
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head up to Bobs sporting goods in longview, they have several rods and reels that you could build a combo out of for under $90, more important make sure you get a good assortment of lead and sliders, qaulity hooks and a tackle box for just your sturg gear, and last but not least... five cases of sturgeon feast jelly, iv,e been an ultra clam fan since the beginining.... but those channel fish frickin adore the feast, you could chop off one of Bin Laddens fingers and smear it with the feast and still catch a fish!- good luck:cool:
 
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I dont know, ultra clam is a top contender. More important than which scent is to have scent.
 
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Sturgeon fishing

Sturgeon fishing

I ALMOST always boat fish for sturgeon. Shakespeare ugly stick tiger 7'-0" one piece medium action (I also have the medium heavy) with a abu-garcia ambassadeur 7000i C3. 20lb mono on the medium, 30lb mono on the medium heavy. There are better feel rods out there, but such a big bang for the buck, its hard to beat and the feel is good. I use store-bought sturgeon rigs with 50-65lb wire leaders. My biggest last year was 83", about 120lbs. Caught on the 20lb test line; about a 45 minute fight ("he's kicking your ass, man" :lol:), catch and release, of course (too big to keep). It is so much fun! Boats in the area crowd around for the show! Watch the bite, it is so small for such a beast. Good luck out there. And welcome to the best fishing forum there is. (period)
 
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Standard blue collar boat rig is a Shakespeare Tiger Stick with Diawa Sealine 50H spooled 65# Power Pro. I think the Sealine cast better than the GTI and is a bullet proof reel that's easy to maintain.

I have 5 Tiger Sticks, 4 with the Diawa Sealine and one with a 320 GTI and have fished them all. I prefer the medium action rod but will use the heavy when using whole shad and heavy led.

The Tiger Stick/Sealine will also work good on halibut and tuna. I stay away from level wind reels because they can seize up when you hook a hard running fish like a tuna.

When taking someone new sturgeon fishing I'll let the rookie use the GTI so I don't have to worry about the line winding back onto the reel.

The rod that I last used is a custom rod that I wrapped myself, Calstar GFX700L acid wrapped. I liked the action of it for sturgeon and can't wait to use it on a tuna. I have it paired up with a Penn Baja Special. This setup cast great.

This has been my opinion, it's free so take it for what it cost you.
 
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If you need a left hand crank, this will limit your reel choices.
Know before you plunk down cash.
 
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i have to admit the gti is a lesser reel, mine came on both my poles as a combo, and have never changed them, I do not let newbies cast my rods simply because of how poorly they cast.... I also hooked into a monster last year, and after a forty minute fight the drag on that reel has never seemed the same and the reel is now quite noisy. Both reels will be retired as soon as im ready to drop the $300 for the two new reels I want. I like the fact that these poles are cheap, I use two poles and have one rigged and ready to go down always... kept track two days in a row of how often my gear was out of the water.. 40 minute one day and 35 minutes the next, 40 minutes is a lot of time in my book, time equals fish. I also donot like the foam grips on these heavy rods, they are cold, and a sensitivity killer, all my oversized fish have barely tapped the bait it seems. I don't like wearing gloves, and always hold my pole, do most my sturgeon fishing in the fall and winter so if its wet out the foam just holds water and freezes my hands.. then I have to put it in the holder to warm them up. Soon I will have a rod built and it will have cork, which is warm and durable, but both of these "blue collar" set-ups have caught dozens of sturgeon and are well worth the money.
 
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Anyone ever try a Penn 309m?

Anyone ever try a Penn 309m?

I found one for $60 at Big 5 and it looks to be pretty solid. It holds 475 yards of 30#mono so I'm thinking I will buy it and fill it with 50# test mono:think:, should get a few hundred yards or so on. I picked up the Okuma Celio 7' for $45 at Bi-Mart:dance:. It was $59 at Dicks so I felt good about saving $15. :clap:(I couldn't resist the emoticons-can hardly wait to get on the water...)
 
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I was at bimart today and they have the combos on sale 25% off so you should take it back and upgrade, with the sale the same rod with a reel is only 60 bucks. Its a great cheap reel to get started with then in a few years when it gives up on you just upgrade to a Penn or whatever.

If you are going to use mono (I wouldnt) then 40# is plenty. I easily landed a 8' sturgeon on 40# last year.
 
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How many yards of braid do you use?
 
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300 yards of 65# braid fits perfectly on penn 320/321 and the Okuma that comes with the rod/reel combo
 
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Thanks man-I went back today and switched em out so I have the rod and reel...I'll be ready to fish in no time! Thanks to all for taking the time in helping me get started...Cheers!
 
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Knocked, cocked and ready to rock dock!

Knocked, cocked and ready to rock dock!

I've picked up the power pro 65# and some 50# Dacron trolling line to make leaders out of. I also got a couple each of round cannon ball weights in 6, 8 and 10oz. I already had some 4 and 5 OZ in both the disc and drop type. Are the cannonball ok or should I pick up some pyramids? What size & type of hook and how long of a leader are you all using? Thanks, SpecialEd
 
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I will get you in touch with my lead guy, 7 cents an ounce for anything you want. I keep a few pyrimids around but usually use cannonballs.

Leader length changes for conditions imo and I use a 6/0 hook.
 
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Set up for sturgeon

Set up for sturgeon

I usually use 5/0 or 7/0 hooks for keeper/shaker size and go up to 9/0 if I am targeting oversize specifically. I use the Gami octopust barbless hooks. I use the heavy dacron leader(96lb. I think). Leader size depends on bait you are using, longer if you are half-hitching something( squid, shad, smelt, etc.) and shorter for pickled stuff, sandshrimp, worms, etc. and then sticky thread the smaller stuff on the hook. I use canonball sinkers because that is what I have.

Evan
 
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