This is way back burner, but I'm thinking about building a sturgeon rod. Anybody ever build such a thing or want to throw some specifications out, from guide to blank, this is a blank slate.

Hi Jon,
I've never built one yet but I have fished for sturg in fast flowing areas of the Snake River in Idaho from shore. I don't think you should even bother with a spinning rig as even the new prototype I seen at the Fred Hall Show from Accurate wouldn't hold up and this thing has the toughest stem/shaft for the spool I have ever seen. The rod you would like to build could vary depending on its application. Will it be used for shoreline fishing or fishing from a boat? Are these lake sturg or river dwellers the rod will be used for?
The greater percentage of my friends in Idaho fish from shore on the Snake River and use rods from 12 to 15 foot in length with the high-end ratings in the 40 to 60 pound class. You want as light a tip as possible because some of the sturgeon whisker nip like catfish do sometimes. A huge backbone is a must for the big boys especially when you are hooked up on a good-sized sturg in fast flowing water. I have seen a 20/50-rod snapped at the butt in a shoreline fight going into 45 minutes long, so fiberglass would be your best option, as it will dampen runs better and ware the fish faster then graphite blanks will. This fish that snapped the butt of that rod I mentioned was nearly eight foot in length and they can get much bigger even bigger then the 9 and half footers that a recently licensed guide I know hooks into with an uncommon frequency, although fish like this can be very uncommon for most anglers.
I have a sturgeon rod that I am going to build for a friend once I get into Idaho and a spiral wrap just seems to make the best sense to me. You will most likely want to gear this rig for a minimum 300 series Penn reel or something with a tried and true drag system. If money permits go Accurate dual drag and I think I might stress this for the big river sturg.
I hope this may help you some.
Tight wraps,
Wylie

Jon - are you fishing from shore or boat, and where? In San Francisco Bat and Sacramento River, from boat I always used the 870 series Fenwick, Seeker, or Calstars. They have the soft tip to see the "pump" of the soft bite and enough backbone to put the pressure on a fish w/ 25 pound test. The Black Steel series and what not weren't out yet back then, they may work very well. I have a Loomis blank that's spiral wrapped, makes a great light tackle sturgeon blank, but can't remember the model number. A 7000 Garcia, International 975, 320 GTi, or Calcutta 700 would all do nicely.

From shore you'll want a longer rod with more backbone for launching the 10 ounce or so of weight you'll need. And while I agree with Wylie that a baitcaster would be much better, some spinning reels would definitely hold up (at least for a while, depending on where you are fishing at what not). In Japan they use the $700 Daiwa Saltigas and Shimano Stellas on 100 pound yellowfin tuna and giant trevally with the drag completely locked down and 200 pound superbraid and do fine. I've seen several nice sturgeon landed on the 129 Shimano Baitrunners, but hook a few and you'll definitely have a coffee grinder. My Dad landed a six footer on a cheapo Master Spinning reel, but it was toast afterwords. I've got several in the 5' range, and you'll have your hands full even on these fish.

Mostly depends on where your fishing. California doesn't have the number of big fish that other states do, so the lighter tackle is much more sporting and fun. Also the current is not as strong as in the Snake and Columbia, and if fishing in a boat we always threw anchor and chased the fish if needed. If you are fishing the fast current/ constant big fish areas you'll need Wylie's advice and heavier tackle than I listed.

Wylie and Phil gave some pretty sage advise.
Diawa Sealine reels seem to be one of the most popular reels for bank rods, and 2 piece blanks are a whole lot cheaper to ship if you live far from your blank source.
Angler's Workshop would be an excellent place to start, I see many sturgeon blanks go out of there everytime I walk into the place, and they are right next to Lamiglas who has really put out a nice variety of blanks for just about any form of sturgeon fishing that you may want to do.

Sorry, I was off line due to nasty computer problems. We'll be boat fishing in Everett.