Sturgeon fishing is addictive! Chasing sturgeon incorporates all the elements that makes fishing such an exciting and satisfying sport. First of all, finding sturgeon is like a chess game.

Are they holding in deep holes? Maybe they are cruising shallow clam beds? Are they in the main channel of the Sacramento River or are they holding in back water sloughs? This isn't something you can predict from home. Instead you've got to get out on the water and cover ground until you locate fish on your sonar.

The next challenge is choosing a bait. What should you use, eel, salmon roe, or shrimp baits. Sometimes all these baits will work equally well. At other time diamond backs can be as selective as stream trout and their preferences can change from day to day.

Once you've found the fish and tossed out some bait the waiting game begins. This is where patience and focus become a sturgeon angler's biggest assets. The bite might come in five minute or it might not come for 5 hours. Regardless when your rod pumps to life, you've got to see it and position yourself to set the hook before Mr. Sturgeon can strip off your bait.

Finally, if you do everything right and slam the hook into a keeper diamondback, you're going to have a fight on your hands. Even small sturgeon have incredible reserves of strength unparalleled by any other freshwater species.

If it's a fish just over the minimum size, you might get it boatside in 10 to 15 minutes using stout tackle. If it is one of the big boys, you might be in a give and take battle that lasts the better part of an hour or more.

When going after sturgeon there is a good chance you're going to get skunked, but when you hook one the rewards are so great in terms of excitement and table fare that you'll keep coming back time and again until you get lucky.

Experts agree that it takes the average angler about 100 hours of fishing to hook and land their first keeper. If you're new to sturgeon fishing or have some experience but want to improve your skills, a trip with a professional sturgeon skipper is the best investments you can make.

I've learned much of what I know about sturgeon fishing from legendary delta angler Captain Barry Canevaro. When I mentioned to him recently that I'd like to go sturgeon fishing he suggested that I take a trip with his wife Diana. Diana has been a professional skipper specializing in catching stripers and sturgeon in delta waters for the past 10 years.

Diana has the reputation of being one the best sturgeon skippers in the delta possessing exceptional knowledge of sturgeon and their habits along with a knack for putting her clients in the right place at the right time. The conditions looked good on December 9 and Diana didn't have a trip scheduled, so she agreed to take Allen Bonslett, Chuck Dunham, and I out in search of sturgeon.

On our drive through the delta that morning conditions appear calm, but by the time we'd loaded our gear on the Fish 'N' Fun, Diana's 27' Sportcraft a fairly stiff breeze out of the north west had kicked up.

After clearing the breakwater at the Pittsburg Marina, we headed west toward Roe Island. In previous days the Canevaros had marked good numbers of sturgeon near the island and when we arrived the sonar confirmed that they were still there. Unfortunately, after dropping anchor we found that the wind combined with the incoming tide caused the boated to swing about, making it difficult to fish effectively.

After a half hour of fighting the wind Diana decided to pull the lines and head for the sheltered waters of Montezuma Slough. "Not many people have been fishing the lower end of Montezuma. There are usually some fishing holding in there this time of the year, so we'll check it out and see what we can find," Diana said as we got underway.

A short while later we were cruising up Montezuma Slough. The water was glassy calm, but we weren't marking many fish. Finally near the spot known as the "Cable Crossing" Diana spotted a big blip on the sonar that had to be a very large sturgeon.

She quickly positioned the boat, dropped anchor and cast out the rods. We stayed put for the remainder of the incoming tide, but no action came our way. When the tide waned, we reeled in our rods and were once again off in search of greener pastures.

Diana piloted the boat through Hunter's Cut and into Suisun Slough to check out some deep holes where she'd found fish in the past. For some distance nothing showed on the sonar, then as we rounded a bend four large boomerang shaped blips showed on the screen flowed by four more a short distance away.

"Now that's what we are looking for," Diana exclaimed as she eased the boat to a stop. Minutes later she had four rods, three baited with salmon roe and one with a roe-eel combination in the water and the waiting game began again.

This time it didn't take long. About 15 minutes after putting the baits in the water Allen's rod on the starboard side began tentatively pumping. For several minutes the fish would peck at the bait and drop it only to return a minute or two later.

Finally Allen's patience paid off when the diamondback pumped the rod tip down firmly and Allen snapped the rod skyward firmly setting the hook. The sturgeon was very active and put up a great fight, staying deep and shaking it's head vigorously in attempt to throw the hook. From the fight we knew the sturgeon wasn't a monster, but we though it was a keeper.

After about 10 minutes the diamondback blew out a mass of bubbles and headed for the boat. With a deft scoop Diana got the sturgeon in the net and with a hand from Chuck, hauled it into the boat. The fish was thick bodied and measured 49 inches, well beyond the 46 inch minimum size. After an attitude adjustment from Diana's billy club the sturgeon registered 30 pounds on a Berkley digital scale.

After a round of back slapping and photos, we got our baits back in the water and refocused our attention on watching the for bites. Forty minutes passed before Chuck's rod registered a few tell tale taps. Chuck jumped to his feet and stood ready behind the rod for a minute or two. With no more action Chuck turned to set back down. As soon as he did the rod pumped down vigorously. "Set the hook" I blurted out. Chuck spun around, grabbed the rod, and set the hook in one motion.

It was clear that the fish was hooked, but from the slight bend in the rod and minimal fight it appeared Chuck had nailed a shaker. As Chuck worked the reel the fish came straight toward the boat, before gently veering off toward the bank. For a second the line stared to rise as if the fish was coming to the surface and then things got crazy. The fish burst off down stream on a tremendous run that stripped half the 65 pound Power Pro Braid off the Abu Garcia 7000 Big Game Reel. The fish wasn't a small shaker after all!

After the run the diamond back dropped into deep water and refused to budge. For 20 minutes Chuck put all the pressure on the fish he dared in an attempt work it off the bottom.

Finally, it appeared Chuck's efforts were bearing fruit as the fish began moving toward the boat and into shallow water. That's when it happened. Without warning the line began to rise and the sturgeon rolled violently about 100 feet behind the boat throwing the hook. The moment Chuck's line went slack it was the personification of the slogan, "the thrill of victory, the AGONY of defeat!"