Sturgeon in the Cowlitz ???

[havnfun]

I am pretty new to this kind of fishing but I love it. I have fished Longview and Astoria and had some luck at both places. But I have never seen anyone sturgeon fishing in the cowlitz and I wondered if there are any gators there. I know the smelt run up the cowlitz and sturgeon eat smelt so my pea brain logic, fish the cowlitz for sturgeon. It must be a bad idea as I never see anybody doing it. Can anybody help me to understand if there are gators there or not and if they are how far upstream do they go???

[scott98541]

i know of 1 caught in the cowlitz lately on eggs by a steelhead fisherman.i seen it personally about 50".right below the mission bar a ways there has been a 50"+ sturgeon laying in the same spot for about 2 weeks,so there is a few in there.good luck. scott

[Jim]

There are Sturgeon in the Cowlitz all the way to the Barrier Dam...like any other fishery...go learn it!

Jim [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[CHUMSALMON]

jim's right, there are stugeon in the cowlitz, and you have to learn it, i'm not going to give any secret spots otherwise the relatives down there will come after me, but yes they do quite well on sturgeon in the cowlitz, go check in at bob's sporting goods in longview they'll probably give you a couple of spots to go check out.

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

They've caught them (3 I think so far) up at the Barrier Dam while fishing for salmon and steelies.

I'd stick to the lower section of the river, near the mouth. Hopefully I didn't give away any hotspots.

GO LEARN THE RIVER. Start at the lower section and work your way up a ways. Target water around 12' or deeper.

[havnfun]

Thanks for the help guys. I am looking forward to learning the river. I just didn't want to be barking up an empty tree. WIll probably stick with Astoria for the near future. On those days that I don't feel like driving two and a half hours one way, or I don't have the time too I will go play on the cowlitz and who knows maybe I'll get lucky. It will have to be luck cause I sure don't have many skills [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[CHUMSALMON]

o.k., i'll give you a little hint, try the lower part of the river, o.k. a little more detail around the kelso longview area. These fish move in and out of the river around there so it can be kind of spotty, try sandshrimp, nightcrawlers, and smelt. the rest you'll have to learn on your own.