sturgeon fishin oregon

[lordblitzalot]

i have been a sturgeon (bank) fisherman for years and last summer i started getting into the boating scene so i am trying to find some good places around here for sturgeon fishin from my boat, i have found quite a few good spots over the years for bank fishin em but i have tried going back to those places with my boat and not a bite, plus i have tried a few new places that i heard were good that are unaccessable from the shore.
i mainly use 60-80lb tuffline with a 12 ounce weight and either herring or smelt.
i am not really after the big ones till i am more experienced at boating so for now i am targeting keepers and shakers for fun.
so i am just lookin for maybe a few tips around here on where to go and what to use i am planning to go out this coming monday and would like to hook into something.

the places that i have tried are:
st helens by the paper mill
oregon city at the wall
hood river (bank)
jantzen beach
and right under st johns bridge (my favorite if i dont plan to keep em)

i know that around bonneville is good too but i dont care to go up there just yet.

 

[LetsGoBoating]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is a great start, you can get all the information you need about lakes and rivers in Oregon. Best of luck and post us some winning pictures!

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/index.asp

 

[salmonee]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

ifish website is a very good site.

 

[lordblitzalot]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

alright, thanks for the info i will check them out.
i have been doing alot of reading and found that st helens is my best bet right now due to the time of year, so i am gonna go check that out on monday.
i will post some pictures (hopefully of a fish).

thanks again for all the help, this site has been great

EDIT:thanks salmonee great site, lots of the info i was looking for

 

[luv2b0at]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

When I first got out of the Air Force, I lived in Vancouver, Wa. and worked for a Marine Electronics outfit, J&J Marine Electronics. It was just East of Jantzen Beach in the Willamette Slough area. There is (or was) a boat dealer down there. I would sturgeon fish while I was working (at no charge to the customer of course I used the fishing/catching time as my break and lunch). Just set the clicker and get to work. If I heard a strike, I would head up and reel 'em in. I caught quite a few shakers. No oversized ones and maybe a couple keepers over the 2 years I worked there. I miss the NW. I have lived in a lot of places and by far, Vancouver and Portland area is my favorite. Wish I was there now.

Best of Luck,

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

Sturgeon like deep water just find a big ole hole 50-100 feet and drop your line, never fish a hole more than 30-45 minutes without a strike...and if your new to the columbia during the winter months there is a lot of debries be extremely vigilant at speed. Oh carry a very sharp knife in the event a big old submereged tree comes along snags your anchor line they

can snag and are quite capable of pulling you under..Good luck and enjoy.

 

[lordblitzalot]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

i have done alot of fishin off the bank in jantzen beach right under the i5 bridge lots of shakers 1 about 5' and one that was very large but never seen it, it was one of my favorite bank fishing spots.
i will definately keep my speeds low and keep lookout for logs, i am gonna launch out at the scapoose marina and fish the mouth of the channel it is very deep and there is alot of logs floating around there, and tied off to the sides of the river there (guessing for the papermill)
last summer i lost a kicker motor because i guess i didnt have it mounted well enough on my kicker bracket and a log came and ripped it right off.
luckfully it wasnt too much of a loss because i paid 200$ for the boat that it was on so the motor was pretty much free but it still made me wanna cry

 

[sturdavj]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

Bonneville dam on the Columbia River and downstream about six miles is known to produce a lot of keepers. Something about the hydro turbines producing a lot chum out of the juvenile salmon... more likely pike minnows ( or squaw fish, not the PC name)

Many deep holes both on the Washington and Oregon sides of the channel, look for the boats they will be there.

But please no less than 300 to 350 feet of anchor rope, anything shorter and the current will drag you to the bottom for the sturgeon to feed on. ?Always? have a <SHARP> knife close by when you set your anchor.

 

[lordblitzalot]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

went fishing yesterday on the multnomah channel at the mouth of the columbia (near the papermill) fished probably 5 or 6 different holes from 7 am to 1 pm using smelt squid and sand shrimp and not one bite

ill try bonneville next time probably, either that or cascade locks area.
i still havent caught one sturgeon on any of the boats that i have had, i am guessing its just a case of the "wrong place at the wrong time"

 

[salmonee]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

April is good. I plan on fishing Bonneville next month. You have to be patience. All day fishing. I like am and pm. Afternoon is a waste of time.

 

[sturdavj]

Re: sturgeon fishin oregon

The weather is turning nice, and their catching Sturgeon in the Willamette....