Lower Columbia Kayak Anglers: Sturgeon Sleigh Ride Social

Little Cos and I wanted to say thank you to UplandSandpiper for organizing the Sturgeon Sleigh Ride Social. 

We had a great day, and made lots of new friends.

It was our first time fishing at Swan Island, and in total we landed 6 sturgeon, two were very good size.

Additionally, I hooked into one monster that I fought for what felt like an hour, but was probably far less.    Initially, I thought it was a shaker and wasn't even going to unhook from the anchor buoy, but then, my rod tip buried underwater!  This fish was huge, and I couldn't budge it off the bottom, but after a never ending battle, the fish came unbuttoned.  I couldn't believe it!  However, when I reeled up, I took a look at the 6/0 hook, and it was bent straight!  Awesome power of these fish.

Little Cos also got into a few nice fish, and his personal largest so far.  It was fun for me as a dad to watch him fight these great fish.  Trash talk abounds.  Neither one of us is conceding on who's fish was larger.  I'm sticking with the notion that because he's skinny, his fish looks bigger!

What an awesome fishery.  Lots of fish jumping and many people were hooking up.

Thanks again for setting up the event. I can't wait to get out there again.

It was a great time! Congrats to those that braved the cold. Here is a quick video of my sons hook-up.

  Cosmo----- your fish is definately bigger than little cos's fish.
  Straightening out a 6/0 hook takes some serious power....

  This was a great time ffor all involved.....

  Here is a link to the FaceBook page where there are more comments and videos
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/lowercolumbiakayakanglers/824915957566763/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_activity
 
 

that's some nice stabilization on that video.

I second Cosmo's comments. What a great day on the water with a great group of folks, blessed with a great number of eager and hungry dinos!

I'll also second Mark's comment on Cosmo's fish being the bigger of the two.

Browneye - Did your son end up bringing that fish in the video up? Or was that one that got away? It looks like a snag - no headshakes or runs or movement. Just holding steady at the bottom.

Also - straightening out a 6/0 hook?! I don't know that I'm physically capable of doing so on the kayak. Hell, doing that while standing up on a boat would be a feat in and of itself. That must've been one heckuva sturgeon!

that's some nice stabilization on that video.

Yeah... that was goofy... Fixed now.

Nice sturgeon!  Every time I see one of these threads I think - I need to go down there next summer and land one.

The LCKA sturgeon slayride social turned out to be a great event with an excellent turnout and plenty of willing biters as well. I saw lots of slayrides and big smiles on the anglers faces. It was a little chilly which made it hard to stick the day out but those who did were well rewarded with a hot afternoon bite.

We had over 20 kayaks and more than 25 kayak anglers turn out for the event. We had participants from as far away as Seattle and Raymond, WA and Bend and Coos Bay, OR. There was a great diversity of anglers both young and old and men and women out braving the brisk easterly wind. Most importantly is I saw a lot of camaraderie among everyone and lots of folks both new and experienced helping others out.

A lot of sturgeon virgins popped their cherry yesterday and very few people left the basin without catching at least a fish. I would estimate that there were approximately 150-200 sturgeon caught with several fish falling above the 5' mark and I know of a few monsters caught and not landed that would probably have broke the 6' or even 7' mark.

There are a lot of great pictures on the LCKA Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/lowercolumbiakayakanglers/) so feel free to join to see those. I'll try and compile a bunch of those photos and paste them here.

Thanks to all those who participated!

It was a great time! Congrats to those that braved the cold. Here is a quick video of my sons hook-up.

Lot of great quotes from your son on there. You know he was getting serious when he put the hat on backwards. LOL

Here is a little video of a fish from yesterday. I added some music to help cover up the wind and Captain Redbeard who was harassing me (what's new right?).

Awesome stuff, guys!  I would have loved to join in but a nasty cold and some unplanned tree service work kept me away.  Next time!

Thanks to USP for putting on this fun winter event. I really enjoyed seeing all the kayaks in the harbor catching so many sturgeon. We were really fortunate with light winds in the morning, sun and lots of fish throughout the day. I lost track after the 21st sturgeon, but was truly impressed with the average size yesterday. All the fish fought hard with the water temp being as warm as it was. I have to admit to being a little jealous of all the nice boats out there. I left with another bad case of Hobie envy. Thanks to everyone who attended for making Sunday such a nice day.

Thanks to USP for putting on this fun winter event. I really enjoyed seeing all the kayaks in the harbor catching so many sturgeon. We were really fortunate with light winds in the morning, sun and lots of fish throughout the day. I lost track after the 21st sturgeon, but was truly impressed with the average size yesterday. All the fish fought hard with the water temp being as warm as it was. I have to admit to being a little jealous of all the nice boats out there. I left with another bad case of Hobie envy. Thanks to everyone who attended for making Sunday such a nice day.

It doesn't matter how nice your boat is. Only the number of fish you put in it. You put on a clinic out there!