Sturgeon

Thinking about trying my luck in the sound below Ebbey Slough where it dumps into th eSound. When you find the slot, do you cast into it with all thst weight or do u drop your bait and manuevur your yak into place and anchor up. Also how many sandshrimp do u use and do you hook onto the 5/0 hook or just tie on with magic thread? any tips appreciated.

Anchor up and cast out to where you want to fish. You can use any number of shrimp you want but let the dino dictate how many you use. I start with one and if the fishing is slow will add more using magic thread.

Don't be afraid to try Berkley's Gulp ghost shrimp (non NW speak for sandshrimp). They stay on the hook really securely and were pretty effective last year.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10204755_151004000_151000000_151004000_151-4-0



I also used their Gulp! Alive! and Gulp Saltwater Shrimp with some good success too.

Z

Does that mean the May 9 opener for Sturgeon is for freshwater only???

from one of the guided trip sites:


Sturgeon season will open on May 9 and continue through June 28, with a bonus of July 2,3, and 4. One fish limit, must be between 45" and 60" to keep. Catch and release available after those dates

As far as I know all areas in the sound have year round sturgeon fisheries.

Z

That's correct.Just checked the regs to be safe and this area 8-2 is open all
year. Kalli.I think what you were looking at was what the guides service considers their season.

Yippee!!  Loadin up for a sturgeon session!  Goin to the Sportsman's Show in Puyallup tomorrow for some seminars, and pickin up some of that Gulp stuff, then----off to the Slough!   Fishnut, keep us posted on your efforts, please!  Where do you intend to launch???

Kalli. I'm skipping the show and just going fishin'. There are several secret honey
holes here i can't mention but there out there.  >:DZee,thanks for the info on Gulp,etc

Commercial fishermen landed about 2,000 pounds of smelt from the lower Columbia last week.

There are reports of birds and seal activity in the Deep, Grays and Cowlitz rivers, which could mean smelt are around.

The Cowlitz is not open for sport dipping until Feb. 6, and all other Columbia tributaries are closed.

Anglers in the Bonneville pool did surprisingly well for legal-size sturgeon last week.

Angler checks and related information from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Lower Columbia — Longview, three bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)

Cowlitz-Kalama area, four boaters with no sturgeon. (WDFW)

Vancouver, four boaters with no sturgeon. (WDFW)

North Bonneville, 15 bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)

Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 50 bank rods with five legal sturgeon kept; 25 boaters with 15 legal sturgeon kept plus six legal sturgeon and 74 sublegals released. (WDFW)

The Dalles pool, eight boaters with five sublegal sturgeon released; 19 bank rods with one oversize sturgeon released; two boaters with one hatchery steelhead kept and one wild steelhead released; two boaters with two walleye kept. (WDFW)

John Day pool, two boaters with two sublegal sturgeon released; 12 bank rods with two sublegal sturgeon released; 11 bank rods with one hatchery steelhead kept and one wild steelhead released; one boater with no steelhead; one boater with no walleye. (WDFW)

Don't be afraid to try Berkley's Gulp ghost shrimp (non NW speak for sandshrimp). They stay on the hook really securely and were pretty effective last year...

Any suggestions for ghost shrimp color?  

What's the difference between spring/fall and winter sturgeon fishing in the salt?  In the spring the water is warmer and the fish are hungry.  In the fall food abounds and the water is warm.  Go deeper in the winter?  Find a shallow hole and drown bait?  The waters I am thinking of go from mud to 300'.  In the dead of winter do the sturgeon just hang in the deep water, or some middle ground?  Could they be shallow in the winter? 

Any one know of the sand shrimp life cycle?

Sturgeon are scent/tactile feeders.  My guess is color plays very little in their feeding decisions

In my local estuaries, I have seen sturgeon up on the shallow mudflats (July and August) at higher tides, and then they move back to the deeper holes when the tide drops. I see 'em in about 2' to 4' of water on the mudflats adjacent to the main river channels.
Someone once told me that they were there basking in the warmth of the sun-heated flats, as well as feeding on sandshrimp.
The places I have seen sturgeon up on the flats aren't regular sturgeon holes, and don't get fished. But the waters are open for sturgeon fishing. I will be investigating my local sturgeon fishing opportunities this year, for sure!
Unfortunately, the lower Chehalis River isn't as good a sturgeon river now as it used to be.
I have heard that there is heavy "incidental" harvest of sturgeon by the tribal gill-netters going on there whenever its open for them to gill-net salmon. Really sucks.

What's the difference between spring/fall and winter sturgeon fishing in the salt?  In the spring the water is warmer and the fish are hungry.  In the fall food abounds and the water is warm.  Go deeper in the winter?  Find a shallow hole and drown bait?  The waters I am thinking of go from mud to 300'.  In the dead of winter do the sturgeon just hang in the deep water, or some middle ground?  Could they be shallow in the winter? 

Any one know of the sand shrimp life cycle?

You've got a lot of questions DN. I think going to the local bookstore is the logical way to go. Check out "Great White Sturgeon Angling" by Bud Conner. It's a great introduction.

Z

http://www.amazon.com/Great-White-Sturgeon-Angling-Conner/dp/1571880674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264787524&sr=8-1

Just got back in from trying my luck. One takedown I was asleep at the wheel on .
Other than that, got to play with my new Gps/FF, anchor trolley,etc. Nobody else
fishing.Just duck hunters.I'll give it a whirl again Sun or next week. Got to learn the area better

You've got a lot of questions DN. I think going to the local bookstore is the logical way to go. Check out "Great White Sturgeon Angling" by Bud Conner. It's a great introduction.

Z

http://www.amazon.com/Great-White-Sturgeon-Angling-Conner/dp/1571880674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264787524&sr=8-1

Ordered from Powell's.  Thanks!  Also finally ordered, "How to Catch Trophy Halibut: Proven Tips, Techniques & Strategies of the Experts" by Chris Batin & Terry Rudnick.  I got tired of waiting for the new edition.