I'm gonna be (Shortnose Sturgeon fishing)

[MuskieBait]

When I'm dreaming
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna dream of life list trophy fish like you



When I planning
Yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who plans the route for you



When exploring
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who fish new place with you





When I tripping
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who drives all day with you



But I would drive five hundred miles
And I would drive five hundred more
Just to be the man who drive a thousand miles
To come knock at your door

When I kayak
Yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the friend who kayaks hard with you



It's gonna be wet
Yes I know it's gonna be
We're gonna be soaked head to toe through and through



But if I get cold
I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the wife who tough it out with you





As we're waiting
It is so hard to contain
I'm gonna be excited just as much as you





But I would drive five hundred miles
And I would drive five hundred more
Just to be the man who drive a thousand miles
To come knock at your door

Tadalada Tadalada Taladaladalada Taladalala
Tadalada Tadalada Taladaladalada Taladalala

I have found fish
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the guide who share the fun with you



When you're hooked up
Well I know that I'm ready
To capture every fighting moment for you









If you triumph
I'll let them know and they will hear
I'm gonna yell "congrats", "hell yeah" and "woohoo"















When we look back
I am certain that we will see
We'll see this crazy group who loves to fish with you



But I would fish five hundred miles
And I would fish five hundred more
Just to be the man who fish the world
Who may just come back for more

Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) - Species #476



Eli, Ken, Michael and George would like to thank Joe Tilley for his great hospitality and a fantastic time, and Alisha (Eli's wife) for being our professional photographer.

Day 1:

Eli: 4 Shortnose
Ken: 4 Shortnose
Michael: 4 Shortnose
George: 3 Shortnose
Joe: 2 Shortnose

Day 2:

Eli: 1 Shortnose lost
Ken: 0 Shortnose (only fished half day)
Michael: 4 Shortnose
George: 1 Shortnose lost (only fished half day)
Joe: 4 Shortnose

***

Additional bonus new lifer:

Saithe (Pollachius virens) aka Pollock - Species #475



Additional tasty morsel (but very annoying anti-sturgeon bait thieves):

Atlantic Tomcod (Microgadus tomcod)

[zippyFX]

Oh so awesome!

Looks like you guys had a great marathon trip.

I am so glad it worked out after all the effort you guys made to get out there.

Now that is an expedition.

[Eli]

That shit is epic. I'm heading back in a year for some more. I can easily see this becoming an annual trip for me as I don't mind the drive at all.
BTW, I had four fair sturgeon on day 1, one fouled, and one lost.

[MuskieBait]

Thanks for the correction. I thought you had 3 fair plus 2 fouled. I didn't count the fouls in the report.

After experiencing it, I think the fouls happened when the sturgeon are trying to find the baited hook, and accidentally gets fouled. My two fouls felt like the typical slow pull bite I felt from the other legit Shortnose bite that I had. I couldn't tell apart from a bite vs. a foul.

I certainly wasn't lifting the rod to check for a bite or using any jigging motion when the fouls came about. It was, as Joe said, about 30% foul hooked rate for me. In any case, I don't count those fish...but more of a curiosity why they get foul hooked.

I thought the 3 hooks rig was the issue...but seeing that you fouled hooked one as well, I don't think it really was the case. The double hook though...I cut that off after the first fish. It was just trouble waiting to happen. I still foul hooked them without any double hook on the line.

If I'm available next fall, I'd like to go back as well. I'll fish there until an Atlantic Sturgeon is caught!!!

Glad to have been part of this epic shit show Until next time

[OldTimer]

Definitely a great adventure. Good show!

Do the short nose put up a worthy fight?

[MuskieBait]

Pretty much like any other sturgeon. I was using a MH Shimano Clarus rod, an Okuma Komodo 364 baitcaster with 40lb braid, and the leader was 30lb mono. It was geared up just in case bigger sturgeon was on the line. The small ones came in fairly easily within 2 minutes. The 40"+ fish took between 3-5 minutes. But to be honest, if we were in boats and we had a net, even those could be brought up to the surface and into the boat in less than 2 minutes. Since we were in the kayak, we want to make sure the sturgeon are adequately tired (but not over exhausted) to make sure we can tail them and they don't kick us into the water when we pull them up onto the kayak.

My last fish, also my biggest of the day estimated around 45", actually came to the surface too quickly...and it spun and twisted so much that it was eventually tail wrapped. That was a challenge trying to get that fish into the kayak.

[Eli]

BTW, Ken, that third landscape shot is beautiful! It looks like a Tom Thompson painting. You gotta send me a full size image of that.

[MuskieBait]

If I'm eating
Oh I know it's gotta be
It's gotta be some Tomcod oh so good



This is the face of "yumminess"



Hope you are licking the screen