My sturgeon hand is itching

Hey all,

I feel the need, a deep burning desire, a nigh insatiable hunger to hit the water. If anyone else is feeling similarly afflicted I am going to ease my pain on Thursday. I have not settled on a spot yet, most likely either George Rogers or perhaps a scouting trip on the Columbia. I am thinking mostly sturgeon but I may give the smallmouth a little attention as well. However I am also open to any other suggestions.

If anyone is interested reply here or send a message. 

Reed Island or the Power Lines get my vote. Could be windy enough for some sailing, too.

iHop


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I was considering the Columbia at Kelly Point Park for one more attempt at some AOTY sturgeon points.  I am not sure which day though.  Thursday could work, but I do not know yet.

I am planning on fishing below McNary on the 2nd if anybody is interested.

I think I would lean away from power lines or Reed Island because all of the recent reports for that area have been slow. I have read about at least one keeper coming from a shore fisherman off Kelly Point park. That sounds kind of interesting as a spot that would be new to me. I still may end up just fishing George Rogers, because I believe I saw some suspended bass on my sonar last trip and would like to try for them - at least briefly. Also, I am curious if I trolled a plug around the ledges at GR if I might hook up with a winter steelhead.

Lets keep the dialog going.

Also, I am curious if I trolled a plug around the ledges at GR if I might hook up with a winter steelhead.

There's a fair possibility.

-Spot-

Does anyone know if steelhead jump and or roll much while they are in the Willamette? Is a lack of visible confirmation of the fish a sign that they are not there? I did read that the counts over the falls have pretty much stopped with the low water. Thus, I am assuming that the fish must be stacked up in the Willamette below the falls - hopefully waiting for me

I trolled and drifted a section of the Willamette for steelhead  on Sunday morning and didn't get a hit.  None of the other boats nor the bankies got anything either.  Even though we didn't see any fish the  guys I talked to all agreed that they were there.  Then again,  I was talking to a bunch of guys who were getting skunked in the rain on Christmas morning.
This rain should hopefully get them moving and biting. 

Hey all, After seeing that the gorge winds will gust to 35 mph tomorrow I have decided to stick with George Rogers.

When are you thinking of going?

Stevehawk

I will get there between 8 and 9. I plan on fishing a good bit of the day.

Tons of oversized.... trees floating down the river. A less than epic day. The river was as high and dirty as I have fished it. Here is how the day went. Lower bait, wait 5 minutes while you feel the leaves and sticks building up, reel up and remove a giant wad of leaves. Repeat for 8 hours. It was hard to tell if you were getting bit or feeling sticks hitting your line. I ended up with one fish, a 42". In the current it put up a really good fight. I ended up way downstream from where I hooked up - largely because as the fish swam around it was also drifting with the current.

In retrospect, I should have spent more time in slower water. The greedy Willamette also ate two 12oz weights and a 10oz weight. Good thing Hogg's has a bunch Overall, even though I only caught a single fish I think I learned some important lessons. Towards the end of the day (about my 5th move) I finally found a nice seam with some, but not too much current in deeper water. I had several bites there but did not hook up. I think if I had been there all day I would have done better. Next time I will be more selective on my spots. I did stay at the first spot for a long time because there were quite a few sturgeon jumping in the area. Next time I will move more quickly if I am not getting bit.

I thought last rain there were a lot of trees, but that was nothing compared to today. I took a picture of one as it floated by. You can see some guys banking it in the background. I do not believe that they caught anything. They yelled a good woohoo when I hooked up.

Did anyone else get out?

I was planning to hit the Columbia, but since it was close to flood stage, I figured I would earn some WAF points at home.  I also got my new rear speakers in for my fishin' ride.  I put the front in along with the new stereo on Christmas. 

Nice report, too bad about the conditions but at least you landed one. Good job!

iHop

I killed a couple hours bank fishing for steelhead at Dahl Beach, near the mouth of the Clakamas. No action yesterday. Nice to see something being caught out of the Willy, especially with the conditions. I think I'm staying away for a few days... Yikes!


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Most recent instantaneous value: 79,100   12-30-2011  01:45 PST    
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