discount gear and tackle...

Mike, excellent article.  It explains a lot...including the reason for China Camp.  One more reason to not buy grass shrimp.

I used to pump ghost shrimp in San Diego all the time.

I didn't think they were this far north so I traded my suction gun to a local kid for a cast net.....

Anything that swims where ghost shrimp live will eat a ghost shrimp.

They are the best bay live bait that I know of.

MolBasser

One of the best places in the Bay Area to collect ghost shrimp with a pump is Crown Memorial Beach in Alameda.  I've done well there in the past, but now they're a bit more scarce.  It's frustrating because when I get to an area where I expect to find shrimp, I'll see suction marks in the sand where other fisherman have been before me.

MolBasser-

Not only do we have ghost shrimp (also known as sandshrimp) here in WA, I'm pretty sure their range extends up  into AK. People here also use them in the rivers for salmon and steelhead. They don't last long, sometimes not even the first cast, but the fish do like them.

I believe the shrimp they harvest is a non-native species, just like the stripers we fish for using them.  I like Chucks win-win of bait you can eat.

Just my 2cents but when I lived in Alameda for 10 years I would fish the Bay for Sturgeon 2 or 3 times a week during the winter. I was 5 min from the ramp and 10-15min run to good spots. I found the most constant bait was Ghost Shrimp, it might have been because most of the spots I fished where off Crown Mem. Beach witch had a huge population of them or my confidence in them as I lived a block from the beach and I had a bait reefer in my garage with hundreds of Ghost shrimp all winter long. I tried every bait possible White Shrimp,Green shrimp, Clams,Crawdads, Pile and Blood Worms,Mud Shrimp, Herring,Herring Roe,Salmon Roe,Salmon Bellies. I found Ghost and Grass the best. The other baits worked also but seemed to bring in a lot of bait robbers. The biggest problem with Sturgeon Catching is keeping your bait on the bottom I think because the grass and ghost shrimp were fresh didn't have quite as much odor I had a little more bottom time. I tried scents but stopped using them for the same reason.The only exceptions I found were when the Herring were spawning then Herring or Roe was about the only thing they would touch and when you had huge outflows of fresh water which cut down on the bait robbers which are mostly salt water fish. Although when fishing the Delta and Sac. River Clams,Salmon Roe and Bellies were my bait of choice.

Mike thanks for sharing your years of experience.  I have never gone for sturgeon before, but would like to give it a shot this year.

I was wondering about herring roe and you answered my question.  Back in high school, a neighbor of mine went and filled a 5 gal bucket with that stuff.  I remember a lot of it was on kelp and some of it, they scraped off rocks @ low tide.  Not sure where they went, but it was somewhere in the Bay during winter.

They weren't going to use it for sturgy bait, but rather curing it and eating it.  yum, yum.  I've never tried and doubt I ever will.

Stuart

I share Mike's opinion about Ghost shrimp being about the most consistent bait for Stugeon in San Pablo Bay.  I prefer it over Grass shrimp because it is a bit more durable and you can tie it on with thread if you're having junk fish / crab problems.  Often times I'll fish a two hook rig with Ghost on one hook and grass on the other just to cover the bases.

I feel strongly that live bait will greatly increase your chances with sturgeon.  They have the same sensory nerves in their snout that sharks have for sensing weak electromagnetic fields from living organisms.  This is why I believe having live bait is important.

Mud shrimp is also very popular in San pablo bay... more durable than ghost but more expensive too.

Salmon Roe is a very popular sturgeon bait in the Delta, as is Eel, though it is used less frequently in San Pablo bay.  I'm sure it would work in San Pablo... and Eel will not be stolen by junk fish or crabs.  

Can't wait to get out for sturgeon again this winter in San Pablo...

Erik

Stuart try the Herring or Shad Roe fresh out of the fish sauteed in butter and garlic little S&P whole sacks just heated thru "WOW"  

I'll eat it after Erik K has a bite.  

I feel strongly that live bait will greatly increase your chances with sturgeon. They have the same sensory nerves in their snout that sharks have for sensing weak electromagnetic fields from living organisms.

...  I wonder if some type of tiny E-chip rigged near the hook would attract more sturgeon bites.  If not, I'd bet it'd attract more fishermen anyways.

Stuart try the Herring or Shad Roe fresh out of the fish sauteed in butter and garlic little S&P whole sacks just heated thru "WOW"

I'd try it.... but then again I once tried fried sturgeon gizzards and liked it.  It tasted just like chicken (gizzards)

Chuck... I talked to the guys at the Pro-Troll booth at the Fred Hall show last year.  They also sell "black boxes" which are supposed to put out an Electromagnetic field from the downrigger cables and attract more fish such as salmon.   I asked him if he'd ever experimented with Black Box technology for Sturgeon and he said he's experimenting with it... but not sure how workable it will be.  

EK

The only way I can see Pro-Troll's Black Box technology working is if the "black box" was a very small battery operated, totally waterproof device that attaches to or is built into the sinker.  Then the electromagnetic field could be generated through the steel leader cable.