Willamette Report

So I made my first serious attempt to catch a Willamette sturgeon this afternoon. Got a late start due to some gear accidentally placed in my wifes car. Had to wait for her to get home from Albany. As a result I was pressed for time and had to put in on Sauvie Island as it is closer to my house (Sorry Ndogg about not making it down your way).

Anyhow beautiful day with enough sun that I was almost too hot. I was definitely dressed for cooler and as always the possibility of immersion . Launched from a boat ramp on the northern part of Sauvie Island and played around a little looking for some possible holes in places I thought I had seen last year while walleye fishing. I could not find them so I headed down towards the point. I could see about four powerboats down where SPOT had suggested if I ever was after Sturgeon I might try. I should mention that my fishfinder battery connection is bad so I was using my reel and its line counter to find the hole. And there it was. The water depth went from about 30 to 50 feet in a matter of maybe 20 yards. So I put out my anchor (First time having anchored in a river) using my new anchor trolley (Thanks bsteves and everyone else that has ever contributed on anchor systems) The system worked perfectly.

Fished for about thirty minutes when I started getting my first taps on the squid bait. In another ten minutes I got a few more hits and got the hook set and landed my first sturgeon of the day, a little shaker. Began fishing again and told myself I was going to pack it in at 4:30 no matter what. Well fortune smiled on me because it was right at 4:28 when my rod took two bounces and I promptly set the hook and sure enough fish-on. The fish started heading up river and I figured, great, I will let him pull me up river a little, land him and then pull my anchor and head home. However, the Sturgeon had other ideas. He swam under the boat then under the anchor line. I could feel the fishing line rubbing on the anchor line so I had to bring my rod over the tip of the boat and then pull the boat up river enough with the left hand so that I could slide my rod under the anchor line. It was an interesting situation for a minute or two. Got him up to the boat about ten minutes later and was obviously very excited. But almost all of the air was let out when I tried to measure him with my little tape measure and it was looking like he was going to be 37 and 3/4 inches.  But once I got him to be still and lay flat I was able to see he was a keeper. At the docks I even borrowed one of the power boats measuring rods and confirmed 38 inches, whew.

It was a very good day plus I saw two golden eagles, two bald eagles, and the moon was huge this evening and very visible as I drove home. So actually an exceptional day.       

Great story, thanks--shows the importance of hanging in there till the last minute...

Right on.

Great job TX! Nice report.

Nice! Thanks for posting!

You da man Tex!  You...da man.

Not many people get a keeper on their 1st, 2nd or even 3rd attempt at sturgeon fishing.  I'm glad you paid attention that day.   

-Spot-

Great report and congrats on the keeper.  No worries on not making it up to my neck of the woods, it looks like you had the hot spot.

Fun read.  Nice job! 

FYI: I think your golden eagles are probably juvenile bald eagles.  They don't get their classic bald eagle plume until they are 4 or 5 years old and tend to look like golden eagles when they are young.

Nice work Tex. I sounds like you had a very productive couple hours. Way to go!

Fun read.  Nice job! 


FYI: I think your golden eagles are probably juvenile bald eagles.  They don't get their classic bald eagle plume until they are 4 or 5 years old and tend to look like golden eagles when they are young.

That's what I figured but they were two flying together like a maited couple but more importantly they were much bigger. Looked to be 1/3 larger than the bald eagles I had seen earlier. But I'm no bird expert, are there even golden eagles in this neck of the woods?

Golden Eagles: Supposedly it is very rare to see them west of the Cascades.  I watch one (juvenile bald) out at Fernhill Wetlands where there is also a nesting adult pair...and he is big compared to the adults...or at least appears to be.  I've often wondered if they are larger at this young age.  Good link for raptors in our area: http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=12330

Besides fishing, I love bird watching...we are in a mecca!