Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3906 Feb 28- Mar 13 | Page 27

S 25 Feb 28-Mar 13, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 6 Rolling Your Own Sturgeon Leaders, Pt.2 turgeon fishing has certainly common to see 5/0 Kahle style hooks changed over the last few decades. crimped onto 60 or 90 lb. test nylon coated wire. Sturgeon fishing used to be relegated As sturgeon fishing evolved as a desperate winter- as a sport, the size of tackle time activity for those started trickling downward. who lived by that mantra Many things contributed to that of “a bad day fishing is trend: With the discovery that better than the best day sturgeon fed heavily on grass, at work” and had to do ghost, and mud shrimp, lines something before cele- became thinner and stronger, brating the opening of reels became more precise, ocean salmon season. and people realized that the It used to be that outsized rods were actually people were handi- keeping them from detecting capping themselves the subtle bites of sturgeon. by using totally inap- I suppose a short book could propriate tackle. Back by Steve be written about the evolution before slot size limits “Hippo”Lau of sturgeon tackle, but the were the rule, rods and critical part in all this has been reels tended to be on the the changes in sturgeon leaders. heavy side ... you know, just in case. Take that most common of all Rods that were more appropriate for sturgeon hooks, the wide gapped marlin trolling and 6/0 sized reels Kahle hook, for instance. The wide filled with 50 or even 60 lb. test line gap design has its many uses, and I were common. On the business end of things, it was suppose it was chosen because the FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY BODEGA BAY cont. “The weather was beautiful with gray whales migrating south. We will continue to do these trips weather and interest dependent, but now is the time to get out and watch these whales migrate while pulling up a limit of crab. I was back out again with 8 anglers on Saturday, and they were back at the dock within two hours with limits of crab. I have postponed my haul-out unit March in order to take way it is bent closely resembles the natural bend of shrimp, but it was never a very strong hook design. Rolled from standard wire and left in its round wire state, this hook has led to a good number of “lost fish stories” when the hook simply straightened out under strain. Somewhere along the way, I suppose in the 80’s, the octopus style hook started replacing the Kahle hook among the sturgeon sharpies. Produced with a heavier wire stock and then forged, the octopus hook is many times stronger than the tradi- tional Kahle design. Rare were reports of octopus hooks ever straightening on big fish. T he game was upped when Japan exported their premium brands of hooks to the U.S., most notably those from Gamakatsu and Owner. These Japanese hooks proved to be stronger than their Norwegian and American cousins. In addition, they were incred- ibly sharp right out of the bag, and sturgeon practically hooked them- selves on them. As more and more people picked up on sturgeon fishing, it became evident that wire leaders were not necessary at all for success. Leaders made from nylon monofilament were more than adequate for the job and were easier to tie than it was to crimp wire. When I tied my Sturgeon Death Rigs, I used mono in clear, yellow, red, green, blue, black, and camo, and all were equally effective, proving color was not a factor for overall success, so that is one less consider- ation to worry about. The latest trend has been the use of the PE superbraids as a leader material. Imagine using 100 ... 150 ... even 200 lb. test braid as a leader material! I have yet to try this latest twist in sturgeon leaders, so I can’t personally comment on it, but can certainly do some “research” on it. Next time: Final little details that may make a big difference. advantage of the good crabbing throughout the month of February.” Powers was out on a scientific research trip to the Cordell Banks within the past week, and their mission was to collect yellowtail and chilipepper rockfish loaded with eggs, and they found multiple species that were released with a descending device. On the way out to Cordell, there were schools of anchovies ‘all the way out and all of the way back.” - Dave Hurley HALF MOON BAY Sanddabs, Crabs and Perch Top Angling Menu Until Rockfish Season Fish ALASKA 3102 Q ueen CONTINUED ON PG 26 of H earts Sanddab action along the central coast has been excellent. These fish were landed on February 2. Photo courtesy of HULI CAT SPORTFISHING, Half Moon Bay. GET ON BOARD! www.captainstevesfishinglodge.com P.O. Box 39143, Ninilchik, AK 99639 Fishing: “Barn Door Halibut” • Salmon • Rockfish • Ling Cod Two 30’ Alumaweld Boats with Cabins and Bathrooms Alaska [phone] Clean & Comfortable, Lounge and Full Service Bar, Great Food, Conference Room, Satellite TV, Sleeps up to 24. [email protected] Fish with the Smith Brothers – Alaska & California’s Finest! Saltwater & Freshwater Full Time Charter Boat Since 2004 Bodega Bay • Bullards • Oroville • Collins • Berryessa Salmon • Rockfish • Lingcod • Crab • Kokanee • Trout C apt . L es F ernandes [phone] 3811 www.BodegaBayFishing.com Deep Creek, Anchor Point & Homer Lodging: Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle Light Tackle Rockfishing 650-728-3377 • Salmon Fishing (when allowed) • • Whale Watching • • Nature Trips • • Full Bait and Tackle Shop • HALF MOON BAY Official IGFA World Record Lingcod caught here in 2007 Rockfish & Crab Combos Available Now BOOK EARLY! www.hulicat.com 650-726-2926 Want Sturgeon? Trophy Stripers? Call Dragon Sportfishing! Fish The Delta In Style Aboard Capt. Hayden Mullins’s 60’ Luxury Yacht! Pillar Point Harbor 5 Miles North of Half Moon Bay www.fishingboat.com www.hmbfishing.com Coast Guard Approved - Professional Crew 35+ years Experienced Captain 925-766-7350 • www.dragonsportfishing.com Joshua Browning was fishing off a pier in Benicia in late January when this keeper sturgeon came knocking. Photo by JOSHUA BROWNING, Benicia EL GRANADA - The weather has been tremendous along the California coast in this unseasonable winter, and the good weather has allowed at least one party boat to continue to head out for crab and dabs. The port is one of the best locations to score sand dabs along the coast, and Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat is scheduling these trips depending upon interest