Boneville Dam sturgeon fishing

[cdumitru78]

Anyone know about any spots around there? I have some time to kill this weekend and would love to try the dam, I never fished for sturgeon up there. Is it correct you can keep one there now? Any tips as far as the right time of the day/tides to fish there and of course favorite baits? Would I be OK with a 12 foot ugly stik and a Daiwa Sealine 30 up there? More than 8 ounces of led needed?

I been catching them somewhat consistently around the Portland area from the bank - Sauvie, Kelly Point and West Linn, but never went for a keeper at the dam.

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

 

[DrTheopolis]

I can't help you at all, except to mention there's no tidal influence above the dam.

 

[bass]

Glad to hear you have been doing well around town! I have not fished up there so I can't help you with any spots. Also, just to clarify you can keep a fish in the Bonneville pool (above Bonneville Dam upstream to McNary Dam). No retention from Bonneville Dam to the ocean.

 

[EOBOY]

Anyone know about any spots around there? I have some time to kill this weekend and would love to try the dam, I never fished for sturgeon up there. Is it correct you can keep one there now? Any tips as far as the right time of the day/tides to fish there and of course favorite baits? Would I be OK with a 12 foot ugly stik and a Daiwa Sealine 30 up there? More than 8 ounces of led needed?

I been catching them somewhat consistently around the Portland area from the bank - Sauvie, Kelly Point and West Linn, but never went for a keeper at the dam.

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

Just drive into the parking lot and you will find where people are fishing. The Sturgeon below the Dam are usually very big, use something BIG! I've never fished there but have sat and watched a lot.

 

[EOBOY]

Tanner creak comes in there too, so you might check that out while your there

 

[Casting Call]

Just drive into the parking lot and you will find where people are fishing. The Sturgeon below the Dam are usually very big, use something BIG! I've never fished there but have sat and watched a lot.

certain times of the year it's combat fishing so watchout for the tribes ----you have to marry into group or carry your pocket pistol----just say'n Tony

 

[EOBOY]

When the shad are running that may be true because of some other ethnic groups but I don't think carrying a gun is cool

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[HereFishy]

http://www.bestfishinginamerica.com/OR-willamette-river-oregon-sturgeon-fishing.html#.VqB0XN-IbqA This might help. I stumbled across this today.

 

[HereFishy]

Weird.. I copied a link that had info about Bonneville. Not just the Willamette. When I clicked on the link to verify everything worked, nothing about Bonneville... Oh well..

 

[playhooky]

Anyone know about any spots around there? I have some time to kill this weekend and would love to try the dam, I never fished for sturgeon up there. Is it correct you can keep one there now? Any tips as far as the right time of the day/tides to fish there and of course favorite baits? Would I be OK with a 12 foot ugly stik and a Daiwa Sealine 30 up there? More than 8 ounces of led needed?

I been catching them somewhat consistently around the Portland area from the bank - Sauvie, Kelly Point and West Linn, but never went for a keeper at the dam.

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

Pg 71. Columbia River Zone. Keep 1 per day / 2 per year. 38" min - 54" max fork length in the Bonneville Pool. C & R allowed after retaining daily bag. Just looked it up earlier as I plan to be on that water Saturday. Anchovies / Shad / Squid are good go-to baits. I like to squirt Pro-Cure Sturgeon Cocktail into the squid bellies. There are launch options on both WA and OR sides of river. Good luck!

 

[HereFishy]

Come to think of it, I have a question about that area as well. I have an 18 foot Skeeter bass boat which, like all bass boats, sits incredibly low in the water. Is there anywhere in "retention territory" that I can bring my boat without getting swamped? I've ventured on to the Columbia around Sauvie one time and it was GNARLY. I've been to Bonneville one time for some (bank) combat Shad fishing. I remember seeing one boat on the anchor there and thinking "oh #@!* that". Should I just stick to my normal Cathedral Park holes or would my boat survive a trip up the Columbia to some productive areas?

 

[playhooky]

Come to think of it, I have a question about that area as well. I have an 18 foot Skeeter bass boat which, like all bass boats, sits incredibly low in the water. Is there anywhere in "retention territory" that I can bring my boat without getting swamped? I've ventured on to the Columbia around Sauvie one time and it was GNARLY. I've been to Bonneville one time for some (bank) combat Shad fishing. I remember seeing one boat on the anchor there and thinking "oh #@!* that". Should I just stick to my normal Cathedral Park holes or would my boat survive a trip up the Columbia to some productive areas?

If you take your Skeeter on the BIG river on the WRONG day I would suggest you wear a dry suit and put on a reeeally goood life jacket. Just say'n !

 

[cdumitru78]

Glad to hear you have been doing well around town! I have not fished up there so I can't help you with any spots. Also, just to clarify you can keep a fish in the Bonneville pool (above Bonneville Dam upstream to McNary Dam). No retention from Bonneville Dam to the ocean.

Correct! Thanks for the clarification, thats what I meant. I've been doing good locally, and your suggestions sure helped, thank you! My doing well holds nothing against your trips though, I am super happy if I get bites and hook into more than 3 fish, and sadly, I rarely have time for more than 3 hours of fishing. Seems like fishing is getting better and better locally after a quiet mid to late December, excited about that. I only want to go to the dam to try something new, I think I will still catch and release, seems like the right thing to do.

 

[cdumitru78]

Yeah, I will bank fish HereFishy, so not sure about the boat. Based on what I've seen though, I would stay away from the Columbia by the dam, water seems to move so fast there, crazy. Have you tried other local spots beside the Cathedral Park holes? Willammette at the West Linn dock area seems to hold fish although water looks rough now. I personally like the Gilbert River, and the boat ramp there on the river seems to be pretty quiet. I am not the right guy to ask about boat spots though, always stuck on the bank!

 

[HereFishy]

Yeah, I will bank fish HereFishy, so not sure about the boat. Based on what I've seen though, I would stay away from the Columbia by the dam, water seems to move so fast there, crazy. Have you tried other local spots beside the Cathedral Park holes? Willammette at the West Linn dock area seems to hold fish although water looks rough now. I personally like the Gilbert River, and the boat ramp there on the river seems to be pretty quiet. I am not the right guy to ask about boat spots though, always stuck on the bank!

I have a few other spots that I fish for sturgeon. Thanks for the info guys. But before this turns in to a full blown hijacking... Let's get back to cdumitru78's question.


Happy Fishing,
Kyle