Swan Island Sturgeon

I have taken my kayak into the Swan Island Basin a few times this fall, and the sturgeon are biting really well. Yesterday was definitely not an exception when I headed out of the ramp around 7:30. It was quite foggy and I had forgotten a light so I took my time paddling out toward the Coast Guard station. Once out there I noticed that a few tugs were moving a giant dry-dock and had the entire fogged-in lagoon filled with the eery white monolith. Impressed with the sight and wanting to stay completely out of trouble I hung on to a snag that sticks out close to the C.G. dock. After about 15 seconds of that, I though to myself "I should at least have a line out in the water if I am just sitting here." So, I pitched my line out toward one of the satellite boats that seem to be constant denizens of that harbor. Within minutes I had hooked my first fish, and it measuring in the slot formerly known as "keeper." Forgetting completely about the dry-dock migration out in the lagoon, I anchored up about 100 feet off of the C.G. dock and proceeded to land fish after fish. I had a small spattering of shakers, but the vast majority of fish were over 38" and they all fought like champions. The water temp. being what it is produces not only a determined bite from these fish, but a valiant struggle as well. Many of the fish showed off their zealous lust for life by leaping completely out of the water like tarpon. Sometimes I wonder if they crash into the water in close enough proximity to the fisherman as to pitch gallons of water onto his person on purpose, in effort to raise the sturgeon's equivalent of the proverbial middle finger at the jerk with the jerk on the other end of the line. Well, like I said, there were a lot of jumpers yesterday and I don't mind taking on a little water in celebration of these fish's enthusiasm. I stayed in that general location, moving slightly if the bite became dry in one spot for more than 10 minutes and I eventually caught somewhere between 25 and 30 fish total in about 6 hours. I actually took some video footage, but after reviewing it I can easily declare almost all of it boring. For some reason, I can't seem to get one of the spectacular tarpon-leaps to occur in front of the lens. I did catch one real nice oversized and you just have to live in Portland or someplace equally cool to be in the middle of the city and have a 7 or 8 foot fish on your line which jumps completely out of the water about 10 feet from your boat. I am attaching a photo of that fish. I never try to measure my sturgeon and my estimations of size are probably less than conservative, being a true, avid fisherman and one easily impressed by large fish at that. It ended up being a really great day and I have to say that although I only caught one big oversized fish, it was easily one of my top 5 sturgeon days ever. I have never had such a sore back from fighting fish.
I get some great info from reading this forum and I wanted to post this report as a thank you for that. If anyone lives in the area and likes to catch sturgeon and is wondering where they should fish, I would strongly recommend anywhere in the Swan Island Basin right now. It is also a great place to go when the rest of the river is blown out. Also, if there is anyone new to sturgeon fishing and would like some help, I have a lot of free time to fish and would be happy to show someone the ropes. Just shoot me a pm.

  minnowmagnet

  That was a great write-up of what sounds like a great day. Very well done.

Holy cats! Two dozen or more sturgeon in one day? Makes my arms ache just thinking about it. nice job!

Thanks!
I enjoyed catching the fish and writing the post.

Glad to see someone take advantage of the weather and put the smack down on some sturgeon. 

Great report, thanks! Good to know they're biting as the water temp drops. I'm looking forward to getting after them soon.

Like I said, most of the video I took was pretty boring. And my camera ran out of memory half way through the day. If you have a minute to completely waste, I put together a less than 60 second compilation of me getting soaked on the 7th. Those pesky sturgeon never do pose for the camera very well.

It says video is private, FYI.

(Apparently I have 60 seconds to waste!)

Oops, sorry about that Captain! If you do end up watching the video, you will see that I am absolutely dumbfounded by technology.
I think I done fixed it.

Sweet post....live only a couple of miles from the boat ramp that I visited on many occasions without realizing that could be a possibility.  Can't wait to head out.....thanks!

Just nuts! May I ask what pole, reel, line and terminal tackle you used for these behemoths?

Just nuts! May I ask what pole, reel, line and terminal tackle you used for these behemoths?

I've never been much of a fishing gear head but I fish for sturgeon from my kayak with a Lamiglass Cascade Pro (overseas, cheap) 6.5ft rod, a Diawa Saltist level wind reel spooled with 50# braid. The terminal tackle is a very short 80# dacron leader and I prefer size 5 hooks (barbless, of course).
Most people use their heavy-weight salmon set up for sturgeon and that is fine and produces a little more intense of a fight than my meatstick.
If you haven't fished for sturgeon before I don't think you should have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff. Just use a heavy enough rod for casting lead with a sensitive enough tip to feel the soft biters.

Just wanted to say thanks for your post. I live just a few miles away and never thought to fish there until I read your account I went out there yesterday and took a buddy out for his first kayak fishing trip. Started out slow, but we ended up with some very nice fish and a couple of good slay rides out the mouth. Cold as hell, but totally worth it! 

Just nuts! May I ask what pole, reel, line and terminal tackle you used for these behemoths?

I've never been much of a fishing gear head but I fish for sturgeon from my kayak with a Lamiglass Cascade Pro (overseas, cheap) 6.5ft rod, a Diawa Saltist level wind reel spooled with 50# braid. The terminal tackle is a very short 80# dacron leader and I prefer size 5 hooks (barbless, of course).
Most people use their heavy-weight salmon set up for sturgeon and that is fine and produces a little more intense of a fight than my meatstick.
If you haven't fished for sturgeon before I don't think you should have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff. Just use a heavy enough rod for casting lead with a sensitive enough tip to feel the soft biters.

I second that. No need for super expensive gear. Any reasonably sturdy reel and rod with enough backbone should work. I caught my first 100 sturgeon on a $20 solid fiberglass Shakespeare "Sturdy Stik" rod and it's still in my garage as a backup. A bottom-shelf Penn levelwind will get you into the fish. Also you can buy 5 packs of pre-made leaders (Brad's brand) with 4/0 barbless hooks for a few bucks at Bi-Mart (or other places) so that you don't even have to buy dacron and tie up leaders if that's not your thing.

Nicer gear is always... nicer. But the cost of entry is low if you want it to be. C'n'R sturgeon fishing is a great fishery and a heck of a lot of fun on a kayak.