Sacramento River Sturgeon
Big fish in nice weather, that’s what sturgeon fishing on the Sacramento River is all about. We fish for sturgeon below Butte City, CA, in the same waters where we pursue striped bass. Often we’re targeting both sturgeon and striped bass in the same day. The great thing about sturgeon is, if the water is muddy, we can always catch them.
When it comes to catching sturgeon and taking home some great eating sturgeon meat, California is the place to go. While other famed sturgeon waters are struggling with numbers and seasons in which keepers can be caught, here, on the Sacramento River, the keeper slot for sturgeon is generous, and the fish, big.
Anglers are allowed one sturgeon a day, three per year, on the Sacramento River. The keeper slot is a favorable 40- to 60-inches, and most of the keepers we get are over 50-inches, with a good number over 55-inches. That’s a big keeper sturgeon with a lot of meat you’re sure to enjoy.
We fish for sturgeon on the Sacramento River using shrimp and lamprey eels for bait. The sturgeon fishing is simple and relaxing, as we just toss it out, let it sit on the bottom and wait for the sturgeon to find it. Catching two to six sturgeon a day is common on the Sacramento River, with an average size of about 50-pounds. Being able to retain sturgeon year-round, and keeping three a year, makes it a truly unique fishery.
While sturgeon can be fished year-round on the Sacramento River, I typically target them in the spring, summer and early fall months. At this time the weather is nice, the sturgeon are active, and with so much river to fish, crowds are not a concern.
