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rustyl
09-21-2003, 09:49 AM
I took a buddy (James) out to the Kelly Point area yesterday evening to try for
some Sturgeon. We first anchored in 60ft of water just before slack tide
(about 2:30pm), and waited for about 45 minutes before giving up.

Then we moved over some to 45ft of water and sat around for another 45 minutes
before deciding we should move again. As we stood up to pull in our gear, both
of our rods started to bounce. We both set the hook, and we both started
to to fight a fish. The only problem was that as I played my fish, it became
obvious that our gear was tangled, so I free spooled my line and prepared
for a Tuff Line rat's nest. James got the fish to the boat, and sure
enough we were tangled, but both lines had a shaker on!

Suddenly the spot didn't seem so hopeless, so we untangled our lines and
continued to fish the same spot. I'm not sure what happened, but after that
it was like we were fishing a different river. We couldn't go 15 minutes
without a bite. The fish were all shakers in the 30 inch range, but it was
still a lot of fun.

We then moved to deeper water again in hopes of finding a keeper. Just like
the last spot the fish were non-stop biting, with most fishing being 30
something inches long. We had one that we thought for sure was a keeper,
but only measured in at 45 inches.

I had one awesome hit the buckled over my pole and was spooling line like
crazy. I had a hard time getting the pole out of the holder since the
fish was pulling so hard and I got all exited thinking this was the one.
I set the hook and held the pole for about a second before my 50# Tuff Line
Plus broke. (I guess I had the drag to tight.)

We didn't bring home any fish, but it was a lot of fun. This was my first
trip dedicated to sturgeon fishing and I am hooked!

Airborne
09-21-2003, 10:12 AM
If you caught a 45" why didn't you keep it? I thought you could retain them 42"-60".... just curious :cheers:

rustyl
09-21-2003, 10:20 AM
AHHHH!!! We thought the limit was 48 inches!!!!

I am such an idiot! ahh... I mean, I really feel that I needed to practice catch and release, you know... for the sake of the sturgeon population :->

jokester
09-21-2003, 10:22 AM
We had one that we thought for sure was a keeper, but only measured in at 45 inches.<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">rustyl,

If i'm not mistaken, that 45 incher WAS a keeper! Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but according to ODFW Rules & Regs, the minimum length on sturgeon is 42 inches and maximum is 60 inches. Sounds like you guys had fun anyway though! :cheers:

-jokester

Airborne
09-21-2003, 10:34 AM
Hey Rusty,
It's all about the fun, besides theres a lot more where it came from.........

rustyl
09-21-2003, 10:53 AM
...and it was a lot of fun. I'm heading out again after lunch to have another go at it.

fishnagain
09-21-2003, 11:09 AM
48-60 that is the keeper range for bonneville pool when it's open,below bonnie is 42-60.
good luck out there today

chummer
09-21-2003, 01:39 PM
I believe bonneville pool is also 42-60" above the Dalles dam it becomes 48-60".

Dipnet
09-21-2003, 06:55 PM
Bummer on releasing the keeper :depressed: . Next time you'll know! Sounds like you had fun anyway, that's what counts!!! :smile:

Dipnet :grin:

Tacklebuster
09-21-2003, 11:57 PM
There are no keepers to be had this time of year around the Kelley Point area :wink:

Fish deep when the tide is ebbing out and you will score. We have picked up a couple of keeper sturgeon the last URB trip we made. It will start getting real good pretty soon.

TonTo
09-22-2003, 12:54 AM
Went outa longview today,in the tunnel area picked up some shakers little bro lost what seemed to be a dandy :hoboy: and a 421/2" which is residing in the fridge tonight and taking a beer batter and hot oil bath tomarrow. :smile:

fishinlady97140
09-22-2003, 07:27 AM
rustyl, look at it this way -- there's not usually that much meat on anything under 48 -- and they're a lot of work to clean...WTG on the release! graemlins/applause.gif

Sturgeon 42
09-22-2003, 07:46 AM
Hey Rusty L did you catch that fish where I saw you yesterday and the one you lost.... :grin: :grin: :grin:

Pounddown
09-22-2003, 07:57 AM
HEY RUSTY take a tape measure and put a 42 inch mark on the bottom of your boat that way you dont have to waste time measuring a potential keeper with the tape measure everytime ... it saves time for you and the fish.... sincerely droughting in colorado steve... :hoboy: :hoboy: :hoboy:

rustyl
09-22-2003, 08:09 AM
It was good meeting you Sturgeon42!

We put around 2pm and headed for Kelly Point where I got a shaker with-in a half hour. But... the Columbia was very rough, and Toni had anough of that after about 45 minutes :depressed:

We tried that hole where the Multnomah Channel meets the Willamette for while with nothing, then moved to a couple of random spots on the Willamette and again nothing. I mean not even a bite.

With only an hour left of day light we noticed that the Willamette was a lot calmer so we decided to take a peek at the Columbia again. The water was still rough, but calmer then before so I got permission to fish till sunset :wink: In my remaining time I pulled 7 shakers to the boat and several hits that I lost on the way up.

CARTMAN
09-22-2003, 03:13 PM
I love sturgeon fishing :grin: i never know when the rivers are open for retention though. anyone have a number to call so I can check up on that from time to time. Thanks for the info. also you can get a sturgeon stick (for measuring) at our new sponsor fisherman's for a bout $5 the are easy to use and come in handy.

Cartman

[ 09-22-2003, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: CARTMAN ]