Willamette keeper sturgeon

We started out the retention week with the top up and the heaters on high. It was cold and windy but the fish were still biting. I had a great time seeing some new faces and making some new Friends. For the three days this week we ended up with 30 shakers and 8 legals. Stay warm and dry and i will see you on the water.

Charlie

503 820 1189

Willamette Keeper sturgeon

December 2 09

The bite on the Willamette for the last couple weeks has been a Little on the rough side. As all the storms rolled through and the barometer was any thing but stable the fish followed suite. There were a lot of fish but 90% were suspended. We did manage to get a few.In the last two weeks we ended up with 12 legals 6 over size and 25 shakers. This week should be a little more forgiving with some stable weather coming in. Here are a few pics. Take care

Willamette River Sturgeon Report

November 15 sturgeon fishing

Wednesday November 12 we were on the water for some catch and release action. We did manage to catch some nice fish even though the water level came up and the temp dropped down to 49 F. Thursday through Saturday were far from normal with the high water and increased flows. There were a lot of fisherman spread all through the river but did not see a lot of fish fighting as we were making our rounds. We ended up with 9 legals for the 4 days of fishing 40 shakers and 2 over size. The quality of fish that we got was very nice. Here are a few pics of George and the gang who i fished with for three days. Thank you

Fall Sturgeon Fishing

November 5th Sturgeon fishing

I was on the water Thursday fishing with good Friend John Beath. We had excellent results. We managed to land 9 legals 6 shakers and landed 1 over size and lost another. The water was on the rise which we desperately need to get the fish moving. Back on the water Friday with more hot fishing. I was fishing with Amber Davis and the gang. In just under three hours we put 6 keepers in the boat with a hand full of shakers. The last three fish we caught were all legals at the same time with the biggest one taping out at 51 1/2". Saturday back on the water with terrible results. The weather that came in should have been added to the movie The Perfect Storm. It was special to say the least. Until next week take care

November 2 2009

The fish were on the bite last week. We started the week of with some catch and release action on the Columbia. We fished all the normal spots below Bonneville Dam with very dismal results. We took a run about 8 miles down stream and got into a lot of fish. In about 2 hours we had landed 2 keepers 1 over size and 20 shakers. The next day we moved over to the Willamette in anticipation of taking some fish home. The day started off great. In 8 hours we had landed 8 keepers and 20 shakers. Friday was still hot. We landed 5 keepers 2 over size and 10 shakers. Saturday and Sunday the bite died by 8:00 A.M. We managed to land 2 legals 3 over size and 2 shakers. The water started rising on Saturday and was still coming up on Sunday. The water temp had dropped down to 52 degrees by the time we were done. Here are a few pics of some happy folks. Thanks

October 23 09 Sturgeon limits

Finally we found some fish. Wednesday i ran the river from Oregon City down to the mouth with pretty good results at both ends. There are a bunch of fresh fish down by the mouth but very little current. I decided to give Bonneville one more try. 4 clients 35 shakers 0 keepers and 1 over size. Done for the year!. Thursday i fished the Willamette with great results. 9 clients 9 keepers 1 over size and 20 shakers. until next week take care.

Monday October 19/09

Willamette River Sturgeon Fishing

Things were a bit slow this week as the weather that we were promised missed us by only 200 miles?. There are a few fish spread all through out the river system. We still need the rain to get them moving. Wednesday i will be running the whole river in search of fish to gear up for the up coming retention days.

Charlie Foster

http://www.nwsturgeonadventures.com/

Saturday October 10 2009

I fished the Columbia by Bonneville Dam last Saturday. The bite was very slow with one over size and 5 shakers for 5 rods. This prompted me to head to the Willamette river on Sunday for some catch and release. The bite was quite a bit better but still not a lot of big fish. We did 25 shakers 1 keeper and 1 over size for three rods. Well i am getting a little tired of this so i headed for the Bonneville pool with high expectations. The water could not have been any calmer on this beautiful fall day. We managed 35 shakers and 4 legal sturgeon for 6 hours of fishing. The fish were hard to find but once we located the pattern the bite was on. I headed back to Bonneville Dam Thursday October 8. The bite was better but still no keepers. We ended up with 35 shakers and 2 over size. All fish this week were caught on squid. We are going to get some rain next week so lets cross our fingers and hope it dumps. Until next week keep on keeping on.

Charlie Foster

Northwest Sturgeon Adventures

http://www.nwsturgeonadventures.com/

503 820 1189

October opener for keeper sturgeon/Bonneville Dam

As anticipated there was a lot of pressure on the Columbia for keepers on Thursday. I have been fishing the Columbia since July 4th and there were a fair amount of keepers that hung around through out the summer. The majority of keepers that are below Bonneville Dam are not the big surge of fish that migrate up river as the water temp starts dropping. Compared to last year the water temp is warmer delaying the big bite. Give it a few weeks and it should turn around. Although fishing was on the rough side we did manage to land 3 legals, 3 over size and 25 shakers for 5 rods. The bite was predominately squid and shrimp. I will be up dating my blog every Friday.

Charlie Foster
503-820-1189
http://www.nwsturgeonadventures.com

Columbia River below Bonneville Dam
Over-sized sturgeon fishing trip
Video today's videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPdXhj6MVrM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z457SagKpU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW2O0rWEhLg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UmvqCPyXk

Today we hooked up four over-sized BIG sturgeon that measured between 6 & 8-feet long and weighed 175 to 250-pounds! N.W. writer/photographer, John L. Beath also hooked up a really big sturgeon while fishing with his favorite small reel, an Accurate Boss 270 single speed precision reel loaded with #30 pound braid. Beath played the fish for quite a while and wanted to put the small reel to the test.

Beath tightened the drag all the way to the maximum setting and hung on tight as the big sturgeon continued to peel line from the small reel, even though the drag was set at about #30 pounds of drag. As Beath noted, "This reel can handle any fish in the N.W., but the angler and the line might not be able to handle as much as the Accurate reel!"

The small Accurate reel worked perfectly, but eventually the light line broke under the constant hard runs of the huge sturgeon. If only he would have backed the drag off just a few pounds of drag, we might have seen the fish.

In addition to catching four "over-sized" sturgeon today, Beath also landed and released two legal sized fish that fell on the "barely legal" length and "almost over" size. During August anglers must release all sturgeon. The term "legal size" refers to a sturgeon that falls within a length range set by the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife departments.

In late fall and early winter I'll be guiding anglers for these legals and should have excellent results. Beath will be back on the boat in November to once again test his Boss 270 Accurate fishing reel, but he says next time he'll load it with #50 or #65 pound line.

Keep watching for new blog posts and if you want to book a sturgeon trip be sure to visit our website at: www.nwsturgeonadventures.com or e-mail me at: cfoster569@yahoo.com or call us at: (503) 820-1189