Rod, Reel and Tackle

• A medium-duty saltwater rod spooled with 20- to 30-pound line is a must. Sturgeon average about 20 pounds in most regions, and some in excess of 100 pounds and more than 7 feet long have been landed.
  
  You'll need a supply of 40-pound leader material and 5/0 or 6/0 hooks, plus 1- to 2-oz. sinkers for holding your rig to the bottom where sturgeon feed. Bring along bottom rigs designed for two hooks with a snap at the bottom for the sinker.
  
  

Hunting Grounds for Big Sturgeon

• Sturgeon forage the bottom of riverbeds and bays where the mouth of a river empties into the sea. Take time to review a topographic map of the water you'll be fishing to identify troughs, drop-offs and areas of still water around structure, such as submerged boulders. Sturgeon congregate in these areas for their food supply. You can use fishing-finding sonar on a bay to hunt for these brutes, or use the depth finder to study the bottom and identify the deepest points at the mouth of a river that flows into a bay.
  
  

Bottom Fishing Techniques

• Experienced sturgeon anglers bait their bottom rigs with pieces of shrimp or chunks of baitfish. Shad is a sturgeon favorite. Big sturgeon in many ways behave like big catfish, meaning the smellier your bait, the better. Try chicken livers, chicken necks and cheese baits secured to the hook with a piece of string.
  
  Cast your bait upstream and slowly retrieve it across a trough where sturgeon are most likely to be feeding. Keep moving. If one area is unproductive, try another. Cast into deep pools and still water, especially behind exposed boulders.
  
  Let your rig flow with the current, but keep your line tight. Casting and retrieving from one end of the river mouth to the other is an effective technique, because sturgeon cruise back and forth in these areas looking for food bouncing along the river bottom into the bay.
  
  Be patient if you get a strike. Sturgeon are wary fish that will be in no hurry to bite down. Strikes are also lightly felt--more of a tap than a savage yank, so resist the temptation to snap up the rod tip. Instead, wait at least five seconds before setting the hook.