Features







 

Books

 

Fun & Games

Trivia Games

 

Contact Us


 

 

 

John's Journal... Entry 92, Day 4

Hiring a Guide for Sturgeon Fishing

click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Outdoorsman Thayne Barrie, an experienced sturgeon fisherman, owns the Sunset Sport Centers in Boise, Idaho. He and the employees who work at his store can help anglers obtain information on sturgeon fishing on the Snake River.

Question: Thayne, if someone wanted to come to Idaho to catch sturgeon, how will he go about finding a place to fish and getting all the tackle? Can he hire a guide?
Answer:
Yes, there are guides for sturgeon fishing. They run about $80 to $100 a day per person, and some go as high as $125.

Question: What does the guide provide?
Answer: A guide provides all the equipment, the bait, generally a lunch and everything else you need -- except for clothing. If you want to fish on your own, there are plenty of places where you can do it. You can fish from the bank. You'll need a jet boat if you want to fish from a boat because the river tends to be shallow in places, and you can ruin your props.

Question: Do the guides use jet boats?
Answer:
All the guides use only jet boats. If anybody wants information, all he has to do is call my store. We have all the gear he'll need to go fishing on his own and the information on where to fish. We also have all the information on guides if he wants to have a trip where he doesn't have to worry about all the gear.

Question: Do you rent tackle as well as sell it?
Answer: No, we really don't rent that kind of tackle because it's a specific kind of tackle.

Question:: So you really will be better off to hire a guide to go sturgeon fishing, right?
Answer: Yes. If you want to fish for sturgeon in this area and you aren't prepared, then I certainly recommend going with a guide.

Question:: Someone can locate a guide through your store, right?
Answer: Oh, yes. He can call us, and we can get the guide lined up for him.

Question: What time does a sturgeon fishing trip usually start?
Answer: You can fish during the day or at night. Guides usually will fish in the daylight for an 8-hour day, but they also can fish all night. I'm kind of a gentleman sturgeon fisherman. I like to fish in the daytime, because it's just a little easier. You can see what you're doing. I think it's more fun.

click to enlargeQuestion: Say we hired a guide who will charge us $125 a rod. So that's about $250 for two people to go sturgeon fishing from sunup to sundown. How many sturgeon should we catch and release in a day?
Answer: I'd say you should catch no less than two, especially with a guide, and as many as eight or 10. We've gone fishing some nights and fished till the next day and taken 17, but that's not typical. Generally you'll catch two to three per person. If you have a good guide, you'll probably get on a couple of fish apiece.

To learn more about sturgeon fishing on the Snake River in Idaho, call the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at (208) 334-3700, or click here to contact any of these sporting stores in Boise, Idaho.

TOMORROW: Fishing for Sturgeon at Night

 

 

 

 

 

Check back each day this week for more about Thayne Barrie -- Sturgeon Fishing on the Snake River ...

Day 1 -Sturgeon Fishing on the Snake River
Day 2 -Where and How to Fish for Sturgeon
Day 3 -Thayne Barrie's Greatest Sturgeon Trip
Day 4 -Hiring a Guide for Sturgeon Fishing
Day 5 -Fishing for Sturgeon at Night

John's Journal