The Daily Inter Lake Kalispell, Montana

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Three years ago I had the opportunity to see some video of outstanding sturgeon fishing on the lower Columbia River. That video was taken by Jim Vashro, regional fisheries manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Jim is an excellent fishery biologist who also practices what he preaches. Like many other Flathead fishermen, he likes to sample fishing in other corners of the Pacific Northwest.

After telling my wife about Jim's video and great sturgeon fishing, she insisted that I go sturgeon fishing. Having never fished for sturgeon before, we decided it was best to hire a guide to show us how to do it. Besides, we saved a lot of gas money by not hauling our boat to the Columbia River.

Last winter we attended a sports show in Seattle and met a young guide named Kevin Newell. Newell runs a one-man fishing guide service. He spends about 200 days a year on the waters of western Oregon and Washington. From May 15 through July, he mainly guides for sturgeon out of Astoria, Ore.

Astoria is where the mighty Columbia River enters the Pacific Ocean. This is a great area for white sturgeon. These prehistoric fish are very long-lived and can grow to more than 15 feet long. Most sturgeon caught by fishermen are 2-4 feet long, with occasional fish up to 7-8 feet. A 9-footer is a real lunker these days. What really surprised me is the strength of these fish. They also will jump like a sailfish.

Our first day of fishing started slowly. Kevin is not a patient guide. If the fish don't bite within 10 to 15 minutes, he's off to a new spot.

Successful sturgeon fishing requires a good knowledge of the tides and river currents. Kevin watches these move­ments like a hawk and will keep moving until these factors are correct.

We fished with heavyweight casting and trolling equipment, braided 60-pound test line and 80-pound leader. Only a single barbless hook is used. This allows for a easy release.

Fishing regulations normally allow the keeping of one sturgeon a day. Keepers must be within a slot length of 45-60 inches.

We used an 8- to 12-ounce lead weight to keep the sand shrimp bait near the bottom.

We fished several spots before all the slats lined up. I caught the first fish and was amazed at its strength. They really fight hard and my fish cleared the water with its first jump. When we finally got it alongside the boat, it was a 49-inch fish, which we released.

The big fish of the day was a 7-footer that ripped off more than 100 yards of line on its first run. We were afraid it would empty the reel, so we disconnected from the anchor and followed the fish downstream. It took 15 minutes to bring the fish alongside the boat for a photo and release.

My wife hooked a 5-foot fish which jumped several times, then slammed into the boat like "Jaws" before coming along­side the boat to be released. As Kevin was working to unhook it, the fish got a second burst of energy and tore away from the boat, nearly taking the rod and reel with it. So I got to land my wife's fish for a second time.

At the end of the first day, we caught about 10 to 12 fish, with 5-, 6- and 7-foot-ers being the big fish of the day.

The next day we were joined by our son, Erik. The second day of fishing was better from the standpoint of catching more than 20 sturgeon, with Erik getting, the biggest a 4- to 5-foot fish.

So if you want to try a different type of fishing, try some sturgeon fishing.