Fishing for Sturgeon at Night

EDITOR'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, tell me about night fishing for sturgeon. How, where, when and why do you do it?
Answer: You fish for sturgeon at night generally in the same way you do during the day, using the same gear and setup. You will tape little light sticks on the tips of your rods or else have a light beaming on the rod tips so you can see the strikes. A lot of guys put bells on their rod tips. If you use bells, you need to take a few, because when you set that hookset so hard, the bell usually goes flying in the other direction. There's really no difference from fishing in the daytime, but sturgeon will be a little more active at night. Although they feed all the time, they tend to feed more at night. You can fish shallower holes at night because they come up into the shallower pockets. But as far as techniques and everything else, those are the same at night as during the day. You just need to plan on spending a little time out of bed.

Question: What time of year is best for sturgeon fishing?
Answer: Anywhere from March through October is good sturgeon fishing. You can still catch them during the winter, but the fishing tends to be a little slower.

Question: If you're fishing at night, how long does a night trip usually last?
Answer: You'll generally meet up at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. and are on the water about 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. You'll fish till 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. and be back at shore by 6:00 a.m. in the morning.

Question: How do you get a sturgeon out of the water to make a picture?
Answer: You can't lift a sturgeon fish out of the water. That's one of the regulations. Because it's catch-and-release, you can't gaff them, so it's all freehand. I'd like to say you lip them like you do a bass, but these are big fish, so you're mouthing them. If you're fishing from the bank, you can get right out in the river with them. It's an experience having a 6-foot sturgeon beside you. When you're in the boat, try to have someone hold the sturgeon's head and someone hold the tail but still leave the fish in the water.

Question: So, a sturgeon usually lies still long enough and docile enough for you to get a picture, right?
Answer: Yes, a sturgeon will. Once you let go of the head and you only have the tail, a sturgeon will take off quickly.

Question: What's the biggest sturgeon you've ever caught?
Answer: On the Snake River, the biggest one was 8 feet, 4 inches and probably weighed about 300 pounds.

Question: When did you catch this sturgeon?
Answer: I got that fish four years ago. I caught a 7-foot, 4-inch sturgeon this past year with Wayne Gendron, a friend of mine from Springfield, Missouri. That fish probably weighed 225, 250 pounds.

Question: All these fish are still in the river, right?
Answer: Yes, every one you catch you have to let loose.

Question: How old will a 7-foot sturgeon be?
Answer: I've been told several times what the ages are per fish, but I don't know for sure but would say probably 30, 40 or even up to 50 years old. Biologists have documentation of sturgeon taken that have been 100-years old.

Question: The 7-foot, 4-inch sturgeon Wayne caught was estimated by a biologist to be 90 to 100 years old, so this is one of the few places in the world where you can catch fish older than you are, up to and over 100 years old. Where are they catching sturgeon that are 200 years old?
Answer: On the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam live some sturgeon that may be 10- to 12-feet long. Also in Hells Canyon in the Snake River below the Hells Canyon Dam, anglers there catch sturgeon in the 10- to 12-foot range.

Question: How old could these sturgeon be?
Answer: One hundred fifty to 200 years old.

Question: Do many people fish for sturgeon?
Answer: More and more.

Question: Why?
Answer: Sturgeon fishing is fun. If you've ever had a pure-strength battle with something, then that's what sturgeon fishing is all about. It's you against the fish.

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.