Mid-winter Portland Sturgeon Intel

I guess Herring or Anchovies would be the bait of choice and as fresh as possible. How do you keep your bait fresh unmangled?  damn another thing i need to do..

Heres a bait rig. They cut the tail so it doesn't spin around as much in the current. This is by a sturgeon guide(Dennis Hull)

http://www.nwfish.com/images/graphics/baitfishrig%20(1).jpg

Yep, I've seen variations on that.   A little easier than using a bait threader, but I'll bring a few of those along as well.

I've also seen the opercula (gill covers) cut off with scissors also so the bait doesn't spin.

License?
Fred Meyer's is ubiquitous and open the most.

Bait?
Smelt, if they are in the river and from ifish, it sounds like they are,,, sorta.
I get my smelt from Uwajimaya, you can find frozen squid, herring, as well as lunch there too. Rollmop (Pickled herring) from Safeway
Ask the people at Fisherman's Marine and/or Joe's in Delta Park. And earthworms too.

Camera?
I have a Olympus 720SW that's waterproof. I about gave Zee a heart attack when I tossed it too him and it landed short into the water.   Adding the big keychain floats works really well. And thanks for reminding me to bring the charger.

So what did I miss?
The weather looks kinda cool. Will a drytop and neoprene waders do? Or will I have to pull out the drysuit and practice the secret fish dance?
(note: I really hate the secret fish dance) 

Hmmm,

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=186976&highlight=sturgeon

Looks like Herring and Anchovies high in the Toyota Hole. That's 3/4 mile downstream from the launch and 60' to 100' deep. The railroad bridge is about a mile upstream from the bridge and another consistent producer. Also directly across the river from the launch. BTW the launch is on the other side (downstream) of the bridge from the wiki page.

Welcome back to the PNW FFTW.. Haven't been able to find a collapsible anchor yet, maybe you can bring what you got FFTW..

Sounds good on the spots, i was wondering how far we had to travel..

It is gonna be a bit chilly, i'm used to the temperate coastal weather, i'm gonna layer up, for sure. Supposed to be 37 in the morning and 52 high., 40% chance of percipitation. I can relate to the secret fish dance getting into my wrenching coveralls

I will try to leave at 4AM so i can get there and relax and stretch out a little before jumping in the Kayak. So, i guess i'll be there about 9 AM.

Made  a couple of small ropes with the slot marked with knots colored red. two people can measure quickly . Just an idea, im not sure whats gonna work well. I'm just "going along for the ride"...I hope lots of rides.

The measuring rope looks good.  I'm probably going to sharpie the side of my old kayak with the slot as well. 

I picked up bait for us..  herring,smelt,anchovies and worms.

Wali called tonight.  We're going to get to Catherdal Park a little early.  Roy call us when you get in town and we'll paddle back and meet you at the launch.  BTW, I fixed the map on the wiki page.

See you in the morning..
Brian

Well?  How did you guys do?

And how did the anchors work?

My camera's battery charger is still missing so I didn't manage any photos.

My anchor system however worked great in 50-80' of water.  Of course the current wasn't exactly ripping  (only ~1-1.5 kts).  I'll post photos of they anchor system soon, but I ended up going with a 3 lb folding anchor, 2 ft of 1/4" chain, 300 ft of 3/16" briaded nylon with added depth marks, a  crab pot buoy for a float, a jam cleat for quick release, and an electric cord winder for rope management.  I think Roy's system also worked well, but his 3/8" line seemed a bit thick and his 8 lb mushroom anchor a bit hard on his back.

As for the fishing.. the action was pretty slow with the exception of a an hour or so in the early afternoon.  We fished with the rest of the sturgeon fleet near the Toyota shipping terminal in St. Johns.  In the end we caught a total of seven shakers (undersized) with the largest going about 38".

Hopefully FFTW and CBY got some decent photos/video to post.

Brian 

Ahh, It's good to be home, That was a blast, No AOTY points but got to test out the Anchor and like Brian said, the 8 pound was a killer hauling up. But i could lean over and still pull up the anchor with wakes going by and didn't even feel like tipping, really rasied my comfort level.The 3/8ths rope is way overkill,if you guys make an anchor use 1/8th or 100 pound dacron .

Heres one of Brians fishies..



Thats the only fish pic i got. Theres a couple more random shots in the gallery. I'm not to good at remembering to take pics:

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;u=191;cat=12

The video is not the greatest. I need to learn how to work it better and  My head mount thing was too hard to keep aimed right. theres some usable footage, butThe vids need to be edited, the sound is bad.

Hey Roy,

Thanks for the photo.  I'm sure FFTW has a photo or two of your fish.

Glad to hear you made it home safely.  Oh and thanks for making the long haul up to Portland to join us.   I'll be sure to return the favor and do some fishing in your neck of the woods sometime soon.
 
Brian

Hey Roy,

I'm snagging that photo for my new avatar.  I hope you don't mind.

Thanks,
Brian

Nice work fellas! Although they're undersize they're beautiful little buggers. How was the fight? Any jumps? 7 fish for the day isn't too bad.

Is this spot on the Columbia? If so I may join you guys next time.

Z

Hey Roy,

I'm snagging that photo for my new avatar.  I hope you don't mind.

Thanks,
Brian

No problem at all. Looks good and you can see Wali in the background so he probably has the reverse angle of this shot.

Nice work fellas! Although they're undersize they're beautiful little buggers. How was the fight? Any jumps? 7 fish for the day isn't too bad.

Is this spot on the Columbia? If so I may join you guys next time.

Z

It's on the Willamette Z. You would need to get a Oregon license. There strong litttle buggers, but no jumps, i don't think the nursery fish jump for some reason.

But when there about 16 inches or smaller, they are almost translucent and have a blue hue, cool looking fish.And when you grab there head it's like a sandpaper covered rock.these things are seriously armored. I guess thats why you they survived for millenia.