The last trip of the year today. we had got some rain last night and of course it had to freeze up over night. It was an interesting drive this morning but well worth it. I had a steady client out today Jeff Ague in search of oversize sturgeon. Jeff has a passion for big sturgeon and is on a quest to continuously beet his record. I can appreciate this as the white sturgeon holds a special spot in my heart. To catch oversize and target them in the middle of winter is not that easy. You have to take in to account all of the variables that are occurring in the winter months. Today we focused on back eddy's as close to the falls as we could get. With the water temp at 44 degrees i knew where the fish would be stacked and they were. In the first hour we landed 4 overs in 20 feet of water and then it died. We opted to try another location and it was good but just smaller fish. We headed back up to the original location but dropped the hook so we were fishing in 35 feet of water. It was only 5 minutes between fish and we boated another 4 overs. The last fish i got for 2012 was a fat 52". Good karma

for 2013. I have 7 days left for keeper fishing through Feb 10 2013. Here are few pics from today. Charlie Foster 503-820-1189

The year is winding down slowly. As the new year approaches it brings new enthusiasm on my behalf. I am ready to create a bunch of new memories. The Willamette is still on fire with lots of quality fish around. Headed out Sunday to do some over size fishing. The keeper season kicks off on Tuesday. I do have 10 days open on this fishery. Anticipating great results as long as the wind is not screaming. Here are a few pics from a recent trip on the Willamette. Happy new year and see you on the water. Charlie Foster 503-820-1189

Fall Sturgeon report

As the winter rains have came and the calm sunny days have faded away one thing is always

certain. Sturgeon fishing is on fire! Even though it is a catch and release fishery it is untapped with pressure of man. Water levels have rose and clarity has diminished to mere inches and it is go time if you are looking for action. Today we had a great day fishing big water. As sea lions breached looking for salmon in the stained waters sturgeon were every where. We landed fish in 10 feet up to 40 feet. At times it was hard to tell when we were getting bit there were so many fish cruising in search of there next meal. We landed about 16 fish today with 7 overs 2 4 footers and a hand full of shakers. Big fish today was a 7 foot 9 inch caught by Doug. Thanks to Joe Doug and Jeff for the good times. Here are some pics. Check out the flows coming off of the falls (very impressive)Take care

November Willamette sturgeon

Sturgeon fishing on the Willamette is red hot. The over size bite has been very good in the upper river and the fall migration of fish have returned once again to spend the winter in the Willamette. This time of year is a blast to take part of the catch and release sturgeon fishery. There are very few boats and thousands of fish. The quality of fish this time of year is excellent with lots of fish between 4 and 5 feet and a bunch of very hungry over size. I like to break out the lite rods (15-14lb) custom jig and live bait glass rods. These rods give you the lite tips for sensitive bites and back bone to bring up to 9 footers. It is also a great time of year to reflect back on this years progress. New things learned and old ones fine tuned. I learned a lot this year and look forward to fine tuning that as time goes on. Here are a few pics from last week. Take care

What a great week! I got to spend some time with my great friends from Minnesota. We started out over size fishing on the Willamette. Fished about 6 days and landed over 55 pigs. On a scale of 1 to ten i would give this one a ten! Monica Redman landed the big fish for the group at 9 1/2 feet. (Great Job)We then fished salmon for three days below Bonneville and it was great. We had the river to our self as every one indicated the fish were all dark. I must be color blind because these were the

dark fish i have ever seen. In three days we landed 15 Chinook. There are only a couple hundred going over the dam each day but with the cooler water they are all hungry. Headed out hunting good luck and see ya on the water.

Update for 2012

Well I finally figured out how to get my blog going again with the help of my son. I will be posting every Sunday. What a great year it has been. With all of the regulation changes on keeper sturgeon I had to expand and it has been a blast. This spring we fished the Willamette hard for Springers with great success. Did a bunch of walleye fishing starting in April and moved in to summer Steelhead in June. Fall Chinook on the Columbia is still good and over size sturgeon on the Willamette is as always crazy. In the past two days we have landed 14 fish over 6 feet. The cascade locks keeper fishery this past winter was great. The only dissapointment for 2012 was the September over size fishery on the Columbia. The sea lions have had a major impact on this fishery and it is now evident that something needs to be done in order to bring these breeders back to the Columbia. Well enough of that here are some picks and i will get you some fresh reports next Sunday. Charlie Foster 503-820-1189