Boat for sturgeon

[Outbound]

There's some sturgeon fishers here right?

My wife and I are kicking around the idea of buying a new boat next year, so obviously that means I start research now right? LOL We're looking at a ton of options and one that has come up is the Lund SSV 16 with a 40HP Honda outboard and the flat floor/casting deck add on. I grew up in Abbotsford and ran a 12ft and 9.9hp on the Fraser to get to gravel bars but never sturgeon fished from it. It was too sketchy for that. The sturgeon fishing we did was from a friend's 24ft Custom Weld jet boat. We do most of our fraser fishing above the mouth of the Vedder.

Would the 16ft Lund be comfortable and stable enough to use for sturgeon fishing on the Fraser?

[cameron0518]

I had a 16' lund rebel with a 40hp that sounds the same as you described. Definitely was comfortable and not the price tag of a jet boat.

[sako79]

I use the 14 ft G3 lightweight guide boat and a 9.9 Mercury and we caught lots of sturgeon

[Outbound]

Cool, thanks for the info guys!

[blackbart]

I think a decent rule of thumb is make sure your boat weighs more than the fish you are trying to catch......

[ElectricDyck]

Lots of dudes fight a sturgeon from shore....you can fight one from a canoe....more about the type of water your boat can handle and less about the sturgeon...

[Leaseman]

There's some sturgeon fishers here right?

My wife and I are kicking around the idea of buying a new boat next year, so obviously that means I start research now right? LOL We're looking at a ton of options and one that has come up is the Lund SSV 16 with a 40HP Honda outboard and the flat floor/casting deck add on. I grew up in Abbotsford and ran a 12ft and 9.9hp on the Fraser to get to gravel bars but never sturgeon fished from it. It was too sketchy for that. The sturgeon fishing we did was from a friend's 24ft Custom Weld jet boat. We do most of our fraser fishing above the mouth of the Vedder.

Would the 16ft Lund be comfortable and stable enough to use for sturgeon fishing on the Fraser?

How high sides on it?

I have fought a ton of sturgeon over the years. The biggest issue I see is the amount of time it takes you to land the fish. Play it too much and you stand a good chance of hurting the fish. Make sure whatever you get, it is stable enough to take the fight to the fish. Normal fish up to 7' should be fine, but bigger would to me, mean a harder longer fight in a smaller boat...I have seen dozens of smaller boats being towed by sturgeon....funny to see, but too much stress on fish!

My opinion!

[weatherby_man]

How high sides on it?

I have fought a ton of sturgeon over the years. The biggest issue I see is the amount of time it takes you to land the fish. Play it too much and you stand a good chance of hurting the fish. Make sure whatever you get, it is stable enough to take the fight to the fish. Normal fish up to 7' should be fine, but bigger would to me, mean a harder longer fight in a smaller boat...I have seen dozens of smaller boats being towed by sturgeon....funny to see, but too much stress on fish!

My opinion!

I agree with this. Some of the bigger sturgs will take you for a ride if youre in a small boat and it can stress those fish unnecessarily. Having said that I have caught them from shore, in small, and large boats and never run into a situation I couldn't handle. Being the Fraser, on the side of safety I would get the most boat you can afford.

[Outbound]

Thanks for the info guys. The SSV 16 has a 20" transom, so I think the sides are closer to 22" or 24" though I can't find any exact numbers.

[geologist]

I plan to take my 14' Lund SSV onto the Fraser. It has a 25 HP main and a 5 HP kicker. Hopefully it will be enough to handle the mighty Fraser. Just need to replace the Danforth with a grappel style anchor.

The beam is around 70" and the sides are deep. The 16' will be even better.

[ElectricDyck]

People canoe in the fraser, downstream of the mission bridge anyway...anchors can get stuck, it's smart to have a way to pull your anchor out backwards, I fasten the chain to the business end of the anchor and have a few zip ties tieing the chain to the top of it so if it gets stuck you can snap the zip ties and pull it out backwords...also good to have a float so it its stuck and a tug with big load is coming down river you can leave it and get out of the way without losing it..

[Outbound]

I plan to take my 14' Lund SSV onto the Fraser. It has a 25 HP main and a 5 HP kicker. Hopefully it will be enough to handle the mighty Fraser. Just need to replace the Danforth with a grappel style anchor.

The beam is around 70" and the sides are deep. The 16' will be even better.

Let us know how it goes! :) You'll definitely want an anchor system like ElectricDyck describes. Any boat I run on the Fraser will have one, and like he says being able to detach if needed is a great idea. When we were on our friend's big Custom Weld boat and hooked a good fish, he'd actually cut loose from the anchor to float down stream and follow the fish. Then we'd go back up and retrieve the anchor.

[sames14]

I have a Fraser river anchor, rope and chain for sale. I am in Maple Ridge. Haven't posted it yet.