Snake River sturgeon fishing

[f5guy]

Hi everyone,

     As many of you know, I am an avid fisherman. Usually I chase the local, and elusive, tiger muskies. This year however, I was invited to fish for sturgeon on the Snake River near Mountain Home, Id. A buddy whom I used to musky fish with, is now a full time sturgeon guide in that area. So, my other buddy Sage and I took him up on his offer to take us out for a day a few weeks back. 

     We fished all day in some great scenery, and Joe didn't disappoint, and put us on fish! He put us on a bunch of fish! We ended up catching five fish apiece. My fish went 7 ft, 7 ft 10 in, 8 ft 4 in (see pic 1), 8 ft 3 in, and 8 ft 4 in. The middle 8.4 was the heaviest fish of that day at about 250 pounds. Sage's fish went 5 ft, 7 ft, 7 ft 3 in, 8 ft 2 in, and the longest of the day at 8 ft 5 in and about 225 pounds. (see pic 2). It was a real blast, and those things pull like a bus! After five fish I felt like I was on the losing end of a bar fight. I was sore for days!

     The bonus is that the river is right near the end of the runway of Mountain Home AFB, so we got to see Eagles taking off all day 👍 If you're ever in that area, and want to take a shot at catching one of the biggest freshwater fish in the US, send me a message, and I'll put you in contact with Joe's guide service. It's worth every penny! Fred K.

 

 

Pic 1: My 250 pounder fish

Pic 2: Sage's 225 pound fish

Pic 3: Me fighting my 8 ft 3 in fish and silently praying for death....

Pic 4: Snake River scenery

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by f5guy

[Drifterdon]

Thanks for sharing Fred.   Those are some amazing fish!   I can't imagine hooking a fish that big.

[f5guy]

1 minute ago, Drifterdon said:

Thanks for sharing Fred.   Those are some amazing fish!   I can't imagine hooking a fish that big.

 

Thanks Don! It really was one of the best fishing trips that I've ever had. So much so that Sage and I are about to drive 6 hours through a snow storm to go do it again in a few hours 🤪 Take care, Fred.

[ChesshireCat]

just heard a couple days ago that they shocked a 72.6" tiger musky a few minutes from my house.  That fish would be dangerous!  Also much larger than the state record Musky. The lake that tiger lives in is known to have them in there, but also seem to be hard to catch. Had a few follows and maybe two or three on, but have yet to actually get one in. If it ever stops raining, I plan on running four to six inch streamers at them. If I get hits, I'll move up to eight and ten inch ones.  Yesterday I went over to have a good look at three of the best small mouth streams in the midwest, and they all were in a massive flooding condition. I doubt I'll be in there six weeks from now, and will have to learn where all the new holes are again

gary

[Drifterdon]

29 minutes ago, f5guy said:

 

Thanks Don! It really was one of the best fishing trips that I've ever had. So much so that Sage and I are about to drive 6 hours through a snow storm to go do it again in a few hours 🤪 Take care, Fred.

Safe travels and stay warm Fred.   So jealous.    

[Dutch]

Fred, I have a friend who is also an avid fisherman. He would definitely be interested. Please send me Joe's info.  Safe travels & kind regards, Dutch

Edited March 26, 2023 by Dutch

[f5guy]

25 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Fred, I have a friend who is also an avid fisherman. He would definitely be interested. Please send me Joe's info.  Safe travels & kind regards, Dutch

 

Thanks Dutch! Attached is a pic of Joe's boat. It has the number for the guide service that he works for on the side. Tell him to tell the service that he wants to fish with Joe. The guy has an amazing ability to find fish! Take care, Fred.

[Specter1075]

10 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

just heard a couple days ago that they shocked a 72.6" tiger musky a few minutes from my house.  That fish would be dangerous!  Also much larger than the state record Musky. The lake that tiger lives in is known to have them in there, but also seem to be hard to catch. Had a few follows and maybe two or three on, but have yet to actually get one in. If it ever stops raining, I plan on running four to six inch streamers at them. If I get hits, I'll move up to eight and ten inch ones.  Yesterday I went over to have a good look at three of the best small mouth streams in the midwest, and they all were in a massive flooding condition. I doubt I'll be in there six weeks from now, and will have to learn where all the new holes are again

gary

Are there any official reports or pictures? Tiger Musky dont get larger than true musky because they dont live as long. A 72" tiger would be bigger than the record for biggest musky. I must say, Im pretty skeptical. 

[ST0RM]

I too, spent the weekend fishing Fred. Nothing nearly as large as your Sturgeon though. Impressive tally. While I've never seen a Sturgeon mount, if thats possible, it would an entire wall!
-Jeff

[f5guy]

On 3/26/2023 at 11:05 PM, Specter1075 said:

Are there any official reports or pictures? Tiger Musky dont get larger than true musky because they dont live as long. A 72" tiger would be bigger than the record for biggest musky. I must say, Im pretty skeptical. 

 

Agreed. I'd need to see a pic of this fish. All of the musky boards are dead quiet about it, so I'm guessing maybe it's a typo?  A 52"er, yeah, no problem, but still a very rare fish. 72"?? I'm skeptical too. Do you have an article or anything Gary? Thanks, Fred.

[f5guy]

16 hours ago, ST0RM said:

I too, spent the weekend fishing Fred. Nothing nearly as large as your Sturgeon though. Impressive tally. While I've never seen a Sturgeon mount, if thats possible, it would an entire wall!
-Jeff

 

I'm glad to hear that you got out Jeff 👍 There's no such thing as a bad day on the water!

 

Heh heh..... I don't think I'd ever mount a sturgeon..... way too big, and way too ugly 😂 Fred.

Edited March 28, 2023 by f5guy

[Specter1075]

Just mount the tail end of it and use it for a caviar dispenser.

Edited March 28, 2023 by Specter1075

[f5guy]

Hi all,

     I just got back from Idaho and another trip. Yesterday (Sunday) the wind was blowing 40 mph on the Snake River, but today was much better. Unfortunately, the storm made for a tough bite today (Monday). We got three fish, one apiece. Sage's dad (another Fred) joined us and caught his first ever sturgeon at 8 ft 2 in early in the day. Then it was Sage's turn with a 7 ft 6in that we released at the boat. Right at the end of the day it was my turn with an even 8 footer. It was a struggle all day, but Joe worked his butt off to put us on fish, and succeeded. Good fun! Fred.

 

Pic 1) Sage's dad Fred and his 8.2 footer

Pic 2) My 8 footer

Edited March 28, 2023 by f5guy

[f5guy]

4 minutes ago, Specter1075 said:

Just mount the tail end of it and use it for a caviar dispenser.

 

Pass!! 😆

[f5guy]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:32 PM, Drifterdon said:

Safe travels and stay warm Fred.   So jealous.    

 

Thanks Don! Mission accomplished 👍 Fred.

[Specter1075]

What do you use for bait on these guys, Fred? Ive gone for river sturgeon in Manitoba a few times, but they are a lot smaller at 60-80". We use a tandem rig with shrimp and worms for those.

[f5guy]

34 minutes ago, Specter1075 said:

What do you use for bait on these guys, Fred? Ive gone for river sturgeon in Manitoba a few times, but they are a lot smaller at 60-80". We use a tandem rig with shrimp and worms for those.

 

We use crappie fillets, and sometimes the heads pinned onto a single 5/0 barbless Owner 2x strong hook. They like that crappie in the Snake! Fred.

[Specter1075]

Yes, it appears those dinosaurs do love what you're doing! Looks like a cool spot to be fishing for them as well! My Manitoba spot was at the base of a hydro-electric dam, so it was neither picturesque nor peaceful.

[f5guy]

1 minute ago, Specter1075 said:

Yes, it appears those dinosaurs do love what you're doing! Looks like a cool spot to be fishing for them as well! My Manitoba spot was at the base of a hydro-electric dam, so it was neither picturesque nor peaceful.

 

But hey.... you still got on fish 👍 

 

We did get to see some Idaho ANG A-10s flying around today, so that was cool too! Take care, Fred.

 

[ChesshireCat]

On 3/27/2023 at 1:05 AM, Specter1075 said:

Are there any official reports or pictures? Tiger Musky dont get larger than true musky because they dont live as long. A 72" tiger would be bigger than the record for biggest musky. I must say, Im pretty skeptical. 

that's exactly what I said when I heard he statement. The DNR does a yearly shocking in that lake, but rarely release data. It's a hard lake to fish because the water is so clear, but do know there are some big fish in there. Biggest tiger I've seen in there would be in the forty four inch range, and that's been a few years back. There's another lake further south that I've seen several fifty to fifty five inch musky come out of, but these are true musky's instead of being a hybrid.  Tigers could get that big because they tend to retain most of the traits of a northern pike, and they are well known to reach some serious sizes where the food is good (Europe mostly). I've seen northerns in photos out of Canada that were well over four feet long. As a rule a huge one around here is gonna be about forty five at best. As for the life span I have no idea, but suspect they'll live twenty years in good water. I remember when they released the first batch of them in that lake, and that's pushing forty years by now, and some folks get hook ups every year if you use the right stuff.  Myself; i'm constantly chasing that seven pound small mouth (I've caught two). 

gary

[f5guy]

10 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

that's exactly what I said when I heard he statement. The DNR does a yearly shocking in that lake, but rarely release data. It's a hard lake to fish because the water is so clear, but do know there are some big fish in there. Biggest tiger I've seen in there would be in the forty four inch range, and that's been a few years back. There's another lake further south that I've seen several fifty to fifty five inch musky come out of, but these are true musky's instead of being a hybrid.  Tigers could get that big because they tend to retain most of the traits of a northern pike, and they are well known to reach some serious sizes where the food is good (Europe mostly). I've seen northerns in photos out of Canada that were well over four feet long. As a rule a huge one around here is gonna be about forty five at best. As for the life span I have no idea, but suspect they'll live twenty years in good water. I remember when they released the first batch of them in that lake, and that's pushing forty years by now, and some folks get hook ups every year if you use the right stuff.  Myself; i'm constantly chasing that seven pound small mouth (I've caught two). 

gary

 

Hi Gary,

     I'm guessing that the whole 72" tiger musky report is some sort of misprint. They simply don't get that big. Also, their life span is only about ten years at best, so around here they top out at about 52" realistically. The Utah state record is just shy of 54", but there's a lot of controversary over it as the fish in the one pic that is available clearly does not look to be that big. And with the biggest pure strain muskies topping out at close to 60", I just don't see a 72"er happening.

 

     We've got a few lakes around here that are super clear as well, and just like your lakes, they make for some tough fishing. In those lakes I will use a long 50lb test florocarbon leader that I make myself. The muskies rarely get teeth on them, and if they do, they still hold up well unless the fish engulfs the lure. There's certain lures that they tend to inhale, so for those type's I'll use an 80 lb floro leader. The smaller pound test leaders make a huge difference in those, clear water, tough fishing lakes for me.

 

      As for your smallies..... a 7 pounder is a real tank 👍 Congrats on those!  Regards, Fred.

[ChesshireCat]

13 hours ago, f5guy said:

 

Hi Gary,

     I'm guessing that the whole 72" tiger musky report is some sort of misprint. They simply don't get that big. Also, their life span is only about ten years at best, so around here they top out at about 52" realistically. The Utah state record is just shy of 54", but there's a lot of controversary over it as the fish in the one pic that is available clearly does not look to be that big. And with the biggest pure strain muskies topping out at close to 60", I just don't see a 72"er happening.

 

     We've got a few lakes around here that are super clear as well, and just like your lakes, they make for some tough fishing. In those lakes I will use a long 50lb test florocarbon leader that I make myself. The muskies rarely get teeth on them, and if they do, they still hold up well unless the fish engulfs the lure. There's certain lures that they tend to inhale, so for those type's I'll use an 80 lb floro leader. The smaller pound test leaders make a huge difference in those, clear water, tough fishing lakes for me.

 

      As for your smallies..... a 7 pounder is a real tank 👍 Congrats on those!  Regards, Fred.

I can't think of the name, but it's called "Blue" something leader materials. They do a lot of off shore stuff with hard mono.  You won't see it out west much, but it's the best I've seen. The state record for a Musky here is 42lb and it seems that it was listed as a 60" fish last year. (they didn't publish as much data this spring in their hand outs). I've caught three or four 22" large mouth bass on a fly rod, and actually tied the record fish for last year, but never turned it in (never thought about it). Besides I've been chasing one fish for two or three years now, and he's at least a 24" bass. Also a very expensive bass! I've broken two rods on him. 

       I have a bucket list of fish to catch, and one may not happen. Peacock bass are real high on my list right now. Very hard on equipment, but just got to catch a few before I die. Another major one is to go to Labrador CA for Brook trout. Maine is good, but Labrador is way better. Downside is that it's expensive. Smallmouth fishing may already be done around here for the year. We have had some big time flooding on most of the best smallmouth streams, and it'll take you a year and a half to learn the streams all over again. (last I looked the water is at least ten feet above flood stage) Lakes don't look real bad, but are still about a foot and a half higher than the norm.

gary

[Tank]

Sounds like lots of fun. 👍👍

Edited March 29, 2023 by Tank

[stu_fishing]

Nice!

 

Well, I am working full time on sturgeon conservation here on the Danube 😉

 

To be found on IG @sturgeon_conservation or on YT https://www.youtube.com/@life-boat4sturgeon

[kellyF15]

I have a buddy that retired there that is always fishing for those.