Fishing with a guide...

[ORhunter]

Doesn't seem to be a place to talk sturgeon anywhere so I'll do it here. I'f I've messed up I'll take my lashes with a rubber worm.

The past few years I've attempted to become an accomplished estuary fisherman for sturgeon. Success was good in the beginning but then sort of died. Always seemd to catch more fish than all the boats around us but getting keepers and boat limits just didn't happen. Followed all the advice like move if the bite is slow and a few other things. Most of it useless. Went on two guided trips last June and the things I learned I've not yet realized. Seems like something new comes into my head every now and then and I get all warm and fuzzy all over. Can't wait to try some new stuff this year when we limit early and don't want to quit fishing. Going to be a lot of fun to see what works, and what doesn't. Have a whole new tackle box full of enthusiasm to work with.

First thing I learned was my tackle was no good. The rods I'd been using I'd built for Mexico. 7 1/2 ft long with light tips and a ton of backbone. Great rods for everything except sturgeon. My reels were Shimano TLD's in smaller sizes. Way too much reel for the job and not easy to cast.
I also didn't understand how the fish move and feed. Dang! It seems so obvious now.
That crap we've all heard about the big charter boats sucking in all the fish around them and not leaving any for the other fishermen is just that. If they're catching fish it's because they're in the right spot and nothing more.
The other thing about the charter boats, they know where the fish are because they're there every day is also a load.
Seeing a large congregation of boats somewhere is an indication that there may have been a good bite here yesterday but today is a different day. Knowing where to drop anchor in relation to the other boats is vital.
The most important thing all the other boats on the water will show a person is where not to fish. If they're not catching anything, you won't either.
If it appears no one is doing much good it's because they're fishing in the wrong spot not that the fish aren't biting.
Not all guides are equal fishermen....

Good luck everyone.

See you in June....

[Pilar]

Location, location, location. Fresh smelt or vacuum sealed homemade smelt is an acceptable second choice. I've caught a bunch of sturgeon. And there are a few spots in the Portland harbor that are off the hook if you can get lined up where the fish are moving through or feeding on the ebb tide. I will stick to a location (proven) through a tide change knowing that it might turn on as soon as the current picks up and the fish come through. Fish the upstream edge of the hole even up the slope a ways not the deepest part. The fish follow the edge sniffing and looking where the stuff collects as it rolls down the river bottom.

On the rising tide the fish feed elsewhere. Let me know when you figure out where. They leave and the bite shuts off.

Down in the estuary find a channel near where the fish feed on the flats on shellfish on a high tide. Find the edge where the channel bottoms out and anchor right at the base of the slope an hour before low slack tide. As the tide falls the fish move off the shallows and run the channels along the edges. The spot I am talking about is the Desdemona bar just off Hammond. There is a nice channel that runs right up into the flats almost all the way to the bridge. There some pilings (just a few in two groups 10 feet apart) that mark the lower end of this channel. Yes you can get shallow and stuck so don't be careless. Many days I have hit that spot 1/2 mile up the channel while waiting for the ebb tide to slack and turn to flood. On the slack the fishing is amazing but it does not last long. In the shallow water many hooked 4' fish will jump repeatedly.

Rods are important. The ugly stick tiger is durable and can handle the big boys but the tip is not fast enough for light biters. I use an HSR 932c Loomis. It is light for sturgeon but has a backbone and a fast tip. Make sure you match the line weight to the line rating. If you are using tuffline then be aware of 0% line stretch and loosen up your drag or you will break the rod on hookset. The key to catching the bigger fish is the fast tip. You can see the lightest bites. If the bite is bang, bang, bang you are catching a shaker. A tug and bury is a bigger fish and the nice ones just sort of tug slowly. Sometimes the rod bobbing out of time with the boat rocking is your only clue. You have to catch them tugging as they will repeatedly pick up the bait and spit it out as they try to get that smelt by the head to swallow it whole. Ease the rod out of the holder and set the hook as the rod tip slowly goes down.

But the main thing is location. Find a spot where the fish move through and you will catch them.

Did I mention location?

Hope this helps.

[wthr4d]

John, You just made sense out of a few things I have been trying to figure out for a while! thanks for the enlightenment.

paul

[ORhunter]

Actually, I left out some stuff......

Rod holders:

If you're not using Folbe's, you're not fishing. After switching, every fish that bit was caught. Not one fish ever spit the bait out because the rod had to be taken out of the rod holder before the hook could be set. If you touch the rod without setting the hook, they'll spit the bait. The Folbe's allow you to set the hook as the rod comes out of the holder all in one motion. Yea they cost more money but they'll catch more fish.

Rods:

The single most important thing to keep fish from spitting the bait or biting lightly. After switching to your basic salmon rod, most fish were taking line before the rod came out of the rod holder. Those short stiff Ugly Sticks and the like, will cost you more fish than all other factors combined other than being a poor fisherman. The ideal rod will be 8 1/2 to 9 ft and have a 40 to 50 lb line rating.
The Berkley, Buzz Ramsey series are fine as well as the North River NR866XHC. I use an old North Coast Hawg Hunter 9 ft left over from my bobber fishing days.

Reels:

When you scale down your rods, you'll want a reel to match. This is the time to switch to a lever drag and toss your old star drag reels. OK, all the lever drag reels are right hand crank but that's tough. Deal with it. Once you use a lever drag, you'll not fish anything else. Use the Shimano TR2000LD or the TR1000LD. Big smooth drags that'll last forever.

Line:

Mono is ok because the estuary fishing isn't deep water fishing. Will also produce better bites because it has a little stretch to it and the fish won't feel the rod or rod holder as easily. If you use mono, use P-Line CXX 20/30 lb or MagnaThin same weight. Best to use 150/200 ft as a topshot over your regular Tuff Line. You won't break as many rods using mono.

Trick:

Put a little pad of foam rubber on the front of the rod holder where the rod rests. Don't want the rod vibrating against the rod holder when the fish bites. The vibrations can go right down the Tuff Line to the fish.

[Seefood Man]

When your getting a hit, gently lift the rod out of the holder TOWARDS the fish. This throws just a bit of slack in the line and the fish can't feel it nor do you pull the bait from the fish.

[ORhunter]

Seafood:

That is just the opposite of what I said. Got a question.... Why would you touch the rod before it's time to set the hook?

[Seefood Man]

ORhunter, I do this so the fish don't feel the rod. With the braided lines that we use it don't take much to know when your getting hits. After the rod is out of the holder I have my guests move the rod towards the fish. Natural feed laying on the bottom that the sturgeon forage on has no resistance on the pick up, my feeling is why should your bait feel any different. Just another fisherman's thoughts.
BTW Pilars comments about location are very much on the mark.

[ORhunter]

Seefood Man

I guess that depends on the rod holder you're using and the message being sent to the fish as the rod comes out of the holder. The reason for using the longer, softer rods is so you don't have to do it the way you do. If it works for you, I have nothing against it. If you have fish dropping the bait or just pecking at it, I'd say you have a problem. Using the soft rods usually results in the fish having the bait no longer than two or three seconds before they're taking line. No fooling around at all.

[No Fences]

Lami Pro Bouncer, Penn 965/975 with 25lb. max ultr green! All the more you need down there. We've maybe had 4 or 5 break off out of 200 or more on this set up in the last few years.

By the way, the reason the charters and guides do better than most is the quantity of rods in the water. I have noticed a significant bite increase with 5 rods over 3 or 4. Just my and I think I learned from one of the best sturgeon guides down there. I swear he's got gills.

[ORhunter]

Certainly agree with the number of rods being fished. Had some good days with only two rods like the 4th of July last year.