Landing a sturgeon in kayak

Anyone not familiar with sturgeon fishing will be sure to have a blast when they get to try it out for the first time.  Of course, as with most species of any size, there are a few things to learn first.   What bait, what type of rig, techniques in hooking the fish, and of course how to land it.

For the kayak angler, few fish can be more intimidating the first time than a big sturgeon.   It will fight you, and it has sharp scutes over most of the body.   The natural inclination may be to use a net, however I advise against this, the net will only serve to create a hassle.

For sturgeon (at least the shortnose and small atlantics we have here), the best way to land it is to simply grab it by the tail and haul it onto your lap.   The scutes around the tail will be blunt and cause not problems for you.   Once in the kayak, you can hold sturgeon around the head and remove the hook.     Oh, and good to know is that the larger the sturgeon is, the more worn down and blunt the scutes will be.

In this video I have a little battle with a 42 inch fat shortnose, eventually wearing it down enough to lift by the tail into my lap.   Take a look and see how it's done so you are prepared when you make it out for you shot at a big sturgeon!

Oh and there is a little footage of an Atlantic Sturgeon at the end.  Notice the shape of the nose, and how the mouth is narrower than the eyes on the Atlantic.