07-06-2012, 03:44 AM
There are some people that could write (or have written) a book about this, not me of course.
If you plan on fishing from shore, a surf rod is a good choice. 10-12 feet is a good length, no need for the 15 ft surf rods. I agree with fishit on the ugly stik for a bank rod, but there are probably a number of other good ones. But Ugly Stik's are strong and not too pricey. I have a number of them in various sizes.
Surf rods are not ideal from a boat. The longer rods help with casting but not with fighting. And since you don't need to cast from a boat, they don't have much of any advantage except for maneuvering around the anchor. THe longer the rod the harder it is to to put pressure on the fish. I use my tuna rods from the boat (5.5 to 7 ft). You won't be able to find these rods in Utah or Idaho as they are made for tuna and they are super expensive anyways. One of the ones I use is perfect for sturgeon from a boat. 7 1/2 feet, exceptionally strong backbone, but has a fairly soft tip (it was for casting small anchovies with no weight). I fish with very inexpensive equipment for everything except practically tuna and sturgeon. So lots of different boat rod options, but you need to see the bite so a medium tip with a med/heavy to heavy backbone is ideal.
I do like using the Penn 9500 spinning reel to cast from shore, I can cast it really far. But there are big baitcasting style reels that if you get use to, you can cast really far without backlashes. Way more conventional reels to choose from. You can find lots that are not super pricey. My favorite boat reel is a two speed reel because you can put the reel in a lower gear (like 1 to 1 instead of 4 to 1) which allows you to move the fish easier. Two speed reels are terrible at casting so can't use it from the shore. They are pricey as well. I think the important thing about a conventional reel is that it is big enough to put enough line, but it is castable. I have a couple of Diawa Sealine 50 HVs that hold enough line and are made for casting long distances. They have enough power as well but most reels you can just over tighten the drag since you unlikely will have a strong enough drag to break 60 pound line with proper knots.
Seems like fluorocarbon is a weird choice for sturgeon line. I know it is more abrasion resistance than mono, but it breaks down much faster. With the braid, you rarely have to respool. I would never be confident fishing with mono for more than one season and you can continue to use braid. If you use a big game (I mean a large) spinning reel, I would fill it up with something like PowerPro. I realize that this is a thin diameter line and not the preferred type of line for many sturgeon anglers (it can rub the fish), but you won't have enough space to spool up with a large diameter dacron with a spinning reel.
For your conventional reels, I like dacron as it is easy to work with, less likely to cut into your spool with a big fish than powerpro (smaller diameter than dacron by a long shot), less likely to cut a fish than powerpro or mono and lasts a long time. To me the braids cost more upfront (are also easier on the fish) but save lots of money and grief down the road. But there are lots of mono using sturgeon anglers that get by just fine.
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If you plan on fishing from shore, a surf rod is a good choice. 10-12 feet is a good length, no need for the 15 ft surf rods. I agree with fishit on the ugly stik for a bank rod, but there are probably a number of other good ones. But Ugly Stik's are strong and not too pricey. I have a number of them in various sizes.
Surf rods are not ideal from a boat. The longer rods help with casting but not with fighting. And since you don't need to cast from a boat, they don't have much of any advantage except for maneuvering around the anchor. THe longer the rod the harder it is to to put pressure on the fish. I use my tuna rods from the boat (5.5 to 7 ft). You won't be able to find these rods in Utah or Idaho as they are made for tuna and they are super expensive anyways. One of the ones I use is perfect for sturgeon from a boat. 7 1/2 feet, exceptionally strong backbone, but has a fairly soft tip (it was for casting small anchovies with no weight). I fish with very inexpensive equipment for everything except practically tuna and sturgeon. So lots of different boat rod options, but you need to see the bite so a medium tip with a med/heavy to heavy backbone is ideal.
I do like using the Penn 9500 spinning reel to cast from shore, I can cast it really far. But there are big baitcasting style reels that if you get use to, you can cast really far without backlashes. Way more conventional reels to choose from. You can find lots that are not super pricey. My favorite boat reel is a two speed reel because you can put the reel in a lower gear (like 1 to 1 instead of 4 to 1) which allows you to move the fish easier. Two speed reels are terrible at casting so can't use it from the shore. They are pricey as well. I think the important thing about a conventional reel is that it is big enough to put enough line, but it is castable. I have a couple of Diawa Sealine 50 HVs that hold enough line and are made for casting long distances. They have enough power as well but most reels you can just over tighten the drag since you unlikely will have a strong enough drag to break 60 pound line with proper knots.
Seems like fluorocarbon is a weird choice for sturgeon line. I know it is more abrasion resistance than mono, but it breaks down much faster. With the braid, you rarely have to respool. I would never be confident fishing with mono for more than one season and you can continue to use braid. If you use a big game (I mean a large) spinning reel, I would fill it up with something like PowerPro. I realize that this is a thin diameter line and not the preferred type of line for many sturgeon anglers (it can rub the fish), but you won't have enough space to spool up with a large diameter dacron with a spinning reel.
For your conventional reels, I like dacron as it is easy to work with, less likely to cut into your spool with a big fish than powerpro (smaller diameter than dacron by a long shot), less likely to cut a fish than powerpro or mono and lasts a long time. To me the braids cost more upfront (are also easier on the fish) but save lots of money and grief down the road. But there are lots of mono using sturgeon anglers that get by just fine.
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