Willamette Sturgeon and 180 hooks August of 1999

Ok, probably got some attention there.  I found an old Register Guard article regarding sturgeon on the Willamette River.  The article title; Some of those Willamette Sturgeon might be ready to reel in...

check it out at,  http://www.thefreelibrary.com

The very interesting article is about the stocking program at Harrisburg and 62,835 sturgeon released over a thirteen year period by ODFW. 

The biologist used a set line (illegal but was data collection) 180 hooks, 10 ft spacing and baited with squid.  The line was set overnight August 1999 Willamette river, Albany.   27 sturgeon checked the following day and some hooks with damaged shanks (straightened). 

Largest sturgeon checked at 41.5 inches, the average over 31 inches.  The bio in this article has since retired, but how about those sturgeon?

Any info would be great.  I grew up fishing the Willamette around Wheatland Ferry down to Salem, mostly sloughs for bass.  I have always thought about the sturgeon.  Anyone have any stories?

Read the article, it's pretty cool.  There is supposed to be a nice deep hole down river from Albany that holds sturgeon?

-Scott

Having a hard time finding it...

Good old Google. The free library search couldn't find it, but google did.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Some+of+those+Willamette+sturgeon+might+be+ready+to+reel...-a088731992

From the Article:

"One of the likeliest hangouts for sturgeon in the upper Willamette Valley is an area of deep water near the Willamette's confluence with the Long Tom River, just downstream from Harrisburg."

Harrisburg is only just north of Eugene. Only 115 miles from me. I would make that drive for a group fish and if it's a producer..Hmm, Now whos gonna make a exploratory run?....

When I was a student at OSU my roommates and I fished for sturgeon off the bank where the Long Tom meets the willy.  Mostly we drank cheap beer and watched the river flow by, but several sturgeon were caught too.  None that were legal as I remember.  Every year my wife and I and assorted friends take a canoe trip (this year it will be individual cobra fish and dives) from above Eugene to Corvalis  (have gone all the way to Newberg before but its a long trip)  The eugene to corvalis is 3 days 2 nights)) any who.. back on topic, there are several spots where we have encountered people fishing for sturgeon in that stretch.  I always fish for trout above and below Eugene and switch to bass about halfway to Corn Valley.

Could be a cool NWKA get together float now that I think about it.

When I was a student at OSU my roommates and I fished for sturgeon off the bank where the Long Tom meets the willy.  Mostly we drank cheap beer and watched the river flow by, but several sturgeon were caught too.  None that were legal as I remember.  Every year my wife and I and assorted friends take a canoe trip (this year it will be individual cobra fish and dives) from above Eugene to Corvalis  (have gone all the way to Newberg before but its a long trip)  The eugene to corvalis is 3 days 2 nights)) any who.. back on topic, there are several spots where we have encountered people fishing for sturgeon in that stretch.  I always fish for trout above and below Eugene and switch to bass about halfway to Corn Valley.

Could be a cool NWKA get together float now that I think about it.

Harrisburg is only just north of Eugene. Only 115 miles from me. I would make that drive for a group fish and if it's a producer..Hmm, Now whos gonna make a exploratory run?....

I'll try to make that run in Feb. I' welcome company.

Here's another launch point I'd like to check out: "McCartney Boat Ramp on the Willamette River approximately four river miles north of Harrisburg. The park is at the west end of Linn County's Cartney Road. The park is approximately five miles west on Cartney Road from the intersection of Cartney Road and Highway 99E. This 21.5 acre park’s initial and only development included a paved access road and parking lot and a boat ramp. Portable picnic tables and toilet facilities are placed in the park during spring and summer months (the Willamette River inundates the site occasionally in the winter). The major vegetation is primarily deciduous including maples, cottonwoods, alders and willows. Approximately 12 acres of the site is in grass."

Can someone put a mark on the NWKA Google map, or rather move my mark to where the Long Tom Drains to the Willy? I tried to find it but don't know if i got it right. The article says it's south of harrisburg but searches put it ten miles south of Corvallis.

Can someone put a mark on the NWKA Google map, or rather move my mark to where the Long Tom Drains to the Willy? I tried to find it but don't know if i got it right. The article says it's south of harrisburg but searches put it ten miles south of Corvallis

I think I got it added on the NWKA Google Earth map - Norwood Island: Long Tom - Willamette River confluence, Latitude: 44°22'48.94"N, Longitude: 123°14'57.63"W
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117944297799649987182.000452b3e781f0a7c6c9c&z=4

I would like to float the Willamette too.  An overnighter would make a fun expedition.  I remember floating the river growing up and it was always fun.  The sloughs in the spring usually make for good spots to camp, especially if the water is high enough creating seasonal islands. 

I'll share my favorite bass fishing tactic we used during the summer.  We would rig tube jigs (gitzits) texas style with an unweighted worm hook.  In the backwater areas casting toward shore, weed beds, any bass structure, you can cast a texas rigged gitzit and it will usually float after it hits.  The tube has enough of an airpocket to keep the hook afloat.

  If you carefully twitch the lure it will dart around on the surface, then give a good tug and the air pocket fills with water.  The unweighted lure then slowly and very realisticly free falls.  Any twitch while underwater creates a very convincing dart that really looks good to bass.

  This really works for both smallmouth and largemouth, it's a hard   combo to resist.  I prefer motor oil and pumpkinseed color with the red flakes.  The best thing about this tactic is it's weedless.  I push the hook just enough to prep it for a hook set.  You can cast in into anything, it's just a question of can you get the fish out of the structure.  It's a good lure for pitch skipping under overhanging vegitation because of the weedless rigging.

-Scott     

Scott--Thanks for that tube trick!  Will be first thing i try this summer.
  royg

I would like to float the Willamette too.  An overnighter would make a fun expedition.  I remember floating the river growing up and it was always fun.  The sloughs in the spring usually make for good spots to camp, especially if the water is high enough creating seasonal islands. 

I'll share my favorite bass fishing tactic we used during the summer.  We would rig tube jigs (gitzits) texas style with an unweighted worm hook.  In the backwater areas casting toward shore, weed beds, any bass structure, you can cast a texas rigged gitzit and it will usually float after it hits.  The tube has enough of an airpocket to keep the hook afloat.

  If you carefully twitch the lure it will dart around on the surface, then give a good tug and the air pocket fills with water.  The unweighted lure then slowly and very realisticly free falls.  Any twitch while underwater creates a very convincing dart that really looks good to bass.

  This really works for both smallmouth and largemouth, it's a hard   combo to resist.  I prefer motor oil and pumpkinseed color with the red flakes.  The best thing about this tactic is it's weedless.  I push the hook just enough to prep it for a hook set.  You can cast in into anything, it's just a question of can you get the fish out of the structure.  It's a good lure for pitch skipping under overhanging vegitation because of the weedless rigging.

-Scott     

I'm with you on that, bro. Sounds like a very effective lmb tactic. I live in Eugene when I'm not in Coos Bay. I've caught 5 lbs'ers in still water just tying a 00 hook directly on my line, burying the hook in a night crawler & letting it drift down. Usually if there's a large mouth within sight, the night crawler won't reach the bottom.

I've been browsing the Willamette corridor on Google Earth near the Willamette - McKenzie confluence & other nearby spots. There are a couple easy access yak launch spots near my house. I'm lookin' for that 8 lbs lmb! Want to check some nearby dino holes also.

I hope some pics of bass will show up, I'm sure they will.  I have buried the hook in some whole nightcrawlers also.  The whole nightcrawler on a hook tossed into cover is one very effective rig.  I think the suspense of waiting for the line to start taking off...not knowing whats on the other end is fun.  But always donated alot of nightcrawlers to smaller fish too      I don't mind donating to a good cause!
--Scott

Greetings Scott,

Thanks for sharing the bass lowdown.  That's on my aoty "must" list and I plan to give it a go on the lower willy in the spring.  And I cracked up when I saw the toy rainbow.  Good stuff.

All-

First on the list is the winter run of the big she dinos that seem to have found their way into the Willamette.  How do I know?  I don't.  But the guides do and they were all over the willy today during my daily lunch hour walk around the eastbank esplanade.

A quick fishing report based purely on observation.  One sled was anchored right under the burnside bridge and hooked up just as I walked by.  I watched him land an almost legal shaker and yelled over to him "Did you get him on sand shrimp or smelt?"  He answered:  "Herring."  And I counted at least six boats in the area when there are usually none.

So the biggens must be tired of the cold Columbia water - and the fishing itch needs scratched and I'm waiting for the just right weekday to take a day off and fish "dawn to dusk" for willamette sturgeon.  Brian?  Anyone?  I'll make sure to post when I do.

Finally,

Scott mentioned kayak fishing camping and I vote for that adventure.  I like the idea of camping on Lark Island near Astoria during the early summer when the sturgeon head to the lower columbia.