5-Cents
06-06-2003, 04:53 PM
Disclaimer: There are no pictures of live sturgeon here... because I forgot the darn camera in the truck :hoboy:
That's right I forgot the camera in the truck today and you know what that means? That's right a banner day. graemlins/eek13.gif
XTC and I decided once again to make a go of the Estuary sturgeon yesterday and today. Our trip started somewhat auspiciously as XTC was supposed to meet my buddy Joe and I at my house at 4:00 AM to get started. 4:00 AM came and went and I tried to call him on his cell phone… no answer. OK I guess I will meet him at his house. We show up, pound on the door, wake the poor son-ofa-gun up and get rewarded with a full moon shot over Aloha. :shocked: We load our stuff and are off to Astoria… only 1 hour late!
We put in at John Day, get out on anchor and start fishing. About 10 minutes goes by and Joe gets the first fish and it is a monster. It was well over 50” as it jumped completely out of the water behind the boat. In doing so I could have sworn I saw it stick it’s middle fin up, because just then he spit the hook right at us… DANG!
The fishing was rather slow Thursday. We moved around a lot and finally we were rewarded with our first keeper. This fish was hot and nearly spooled Joe. Finally got him in and he measured just over 47”
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/442116156.jpg
Now it was time for lunch… don’t you just love a BBQ on the boat!
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/472016156.jpg
We ended up with one more keeper that went 45” and 8 shakers. All the keepers were caught on fresh anchovies.
Unfortunately Joe had to leave and could not stay with us to fish the next day. Unfortunate for him because the action was off the hook! We decided to fish a bit lower on Friday because the action was not as hot up above. We were on the water at 5:00 AM and the action started immediately!
XTC was white hot getting 7 keepers and 8 shakers! I only got 2 keepers and 3 shakers… beats working I guess! Oh yea this was all before 11 AM! All these fish were angry, mean and nasty. We even had to drop off and chase a 49” fish that nearly spooled me! We ended up keeping 2 fish that measured 51” and 53”
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/022216156.jpg
We had the pleasure of fishing next to my good sturgeon slaying buddy Taklebuster! This dude put on a clinic. :bowdown: He had 3 keepers hanging within 30 minutes and had 3 or 4 fish over 50”! They ended up the day before 11 AM with 10 keepers to the boat. Way to go Tacklebuster and family! graemlins/applause.gif
All of today’s fish were caught on fresh anchovies in 10’-20’ of water. On the suggestion of Tacklebuster we have been using small weights 2-4 oz and I think it makes a difference. 90% of our fish are just plain hammering the bait and flattening the rods before we can get to them. The surgeon just take the bait and run with it when using those small weights!
Great day on the water, the weather was a perfect 10 and the fishing was awesome! Thanks for sharing a great day on the water with me XTC and it is always a pleasure to fish next to you Tacklebuster. Nothing like lining up in formation and giving the sturgeon some “shock and awe!”
That's right I forgot the camera in the truck today and you know what that means? That's right a banner day. graemlins/eek13.gif
XTC and I decided once again to make a go of the Estuary sturgeon yesterday and today. Our trip started somewhat auspiciously as XTC was supposed to meet my buddy Joe and I at my house at 4:00 AM to get started. 4:00 AM came and went and I tried to call him on his cell phone… no answer. OK I guess I will meet him at his house. We show up, pound on the door, wake the poor son-ofa-gun up and get rewarded with a full moon shot over Aloha. :shocked: We load our stuff and are off to Astoria… only 1 hour late!
We put in at John Day, get out on anchor and start fishing. About 10 minutes goes by and Joe gets the first fish and it is a monster. It was well over 50” as it jumped completely out of the water behind the boat. In doing so I could have sworn I saw it stick it’s middle fin up, because just then he spit the hook right at us… DANG!
The fishing was rather slow Thursday. We moved around a lot and finally we were rewarded with our first keeper. This fish was hot and nearly spooled Joe. Finally got him in and he measured just over 47”
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/442116156.jpg
Now it was time for lunch… don’t you just love a BBQ on the boat!
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/472016156.jpg
We ended up with one more keeper that went 45” and 8 shakers. All the keepers were caught on fresh anchovies.
Unfortunately Joe had to leave and could not stay with us to fish the next day. Unfortunate for him because the action was off the hook! We decided to fish a bit lower on Friday because the action was not as hot up above. We were on the water at 5:00 AM and the action started immediately!
XTC was white hot getting 7 keepers and 8 shakers! I only got 2 keepers and 3 shakers… beats working I guess! Oh yea this was all before 11 AM! All these fish were angry, mean and nasty. We even had to drop off and chase a 49” fish that nearly spooled me! We ended up keeping 2 fish that measured 51” and 53”
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/022216156.jpg
We had the pleasure of fishing next to my good sturgeon slaying buddy Taklebuster! This dude put on a clinic. :bowdown: He had 3 keepers hanging within 30 minutes and had 3 or 4 fish over 50”! They ended up the day before 11 AM with 10 keepers to the boat. Way to go Tacklebuster and family! graemlins/applause.gif
All of today’s fish were caught on fresh anchovies in 10’-20’ of water. On the suggestion of Tacklebuster we have been using small weights 2-4 oz and I think it makes a difference. 90% of our fish are just plain hammering the bait and flattening the rods before we can get to them. The surgeon just take the bait and run with it when using those small weights!
Great day on the water, the weather was a perfect 10 and the fishing was awesome! Thanks for sharing a great day on the water with me XTC and it is always a pleasure to fish next to you Tacklebuster. Nothing like lining up in formation and giving the sturgeon some “shock and awe!”