Smacking Fat Dinos

  We cherish the good days, shun the bad.

 I thank my higher power for the opportunity to share my day with others.

Today was a great day. The fish bit good when the tide was ripping.  Honestly we didn’t mark many sturgeons today.  But the ones we found or sucked to the boat were hungry. 

  We started with 8 rods out and baits scattered around the boat in 62 foot of water.

   62 foot is a hard depth to fish in Pittsburg. The bottom is soft and slipping is a common occurrence. We definitely slipped off of our first stop. We drug the anchor for a few minutes before it stuck. When it finally did we started to lay into the fish. At 1030am (7am start) we were done with our limits for 3 passengers.  In that time frame we also threw back 3-4 shakers and an oversized fish that was 66&1/2 inches.

  I must say my crew today was on the mark, setting the hook by themselves on ½ of the final 9 fish caught for the day.

   Learning to set the hook isn’t hard. It’s just a matter of timing and knowing when to reel hard and set the hook when it loads up. Reeling to tighten the slack in your line in deep water is important. Not a little tug and reel. An aggressive, fast reeling motion until the hook is buried.  Most folks just yank and in the deep water, the bow in the line from the current allows only minimal hook setting distance.

 A very hard concept for the seasoned angler but simply picked up if you can manage to let loose of old habit. At any rate, my guys did great and the trip was a fantastic success.

Looking for a spot?  

• ·         Figure out when you have a smaller tide. One with minimal current.
• ·         Pittsburg: Find a contour that has some fish on it. Anchor up on them and get cracking.
• ·         Roe and Ryer had fish: We stopped on the way home to finish off the bait and wacked a few more shakers and another 58 inch fish that was released.

Overall the sturgeon fishing is on fire 5 keepers total.  This Friday 10/19/12 is my last day for 2 weeks.  I’ll get back to sturgeon fishing after my shutdown at work. (Returning early November 2012.)