bass
I had a great day on Willamette on Sunday. I got on the water around 8:00 and fished until 4:30. I started the day throwing topwater (Tiny Topedo) for smallmouth. After a half an hour I had 2 dinks and a several missed fish, including one that would have gone at least 3lbs, to show for my effort. I decided to switch over to a crankbait to see if I could improve my catch ratio. I started tossing a Hot Lips in a crayfish color and the bass loved that! It seemed like about every other mini point I found had a school of bass on it. I could not discern why some of the points held fish and not others. However, on the mini points with schools I would catch 2 to 4 fish before they quit hitting. FYI, the mini points I am referring to were rocky spots that would have a bit of a shelf, usually around 8-12' before dropping into deep water. I ended the bass fishing part of the day at 1PM with 22 bass. Nothing big, the biggest only weighed in at 1lb 12oz, but it was still a blast. Perhaps if I had fished a bit deeper or with a slower presentation I may have caught some larger fish. However, I love throwing a crankbait so I was as happy as can be with the morning. Here are couple bass pics for your viewing pleasure 
At 1PM, I switched over to sturgeon fishing to end the day. I had bought a new Saltist on blue tag special at the Fisherman's sale the week before and I was anxious to give it a test. I was not too hopeful however as I had spoken with a couple of sturgeon fisherman who had not had any success. With the Columbia high the current on the section of the Willie I was on was almost nonexistent. However, the sun had come out and the crankbait bite had died so I figured what the heck. I anchored up at a first spot and after about 15 minutes I got myself a really fat shaker. Felt good to pull something up with the new reel! About 15 minutes later I had a really tiny shaker. Sometime around then a nice couple in sit in kayaks came up the river and chatted with me about my Hobie for a bit. He was tempted to add to his fleet and asked a lot of questions about my setup. After that I got a lot of bites that I missed so I assumed it was just trash fish and I moved. Same thing at the next spot so I moved again. At the third spot it happened again so I finally checked my hook. Somehow I had bent the point of the hook into a U, doh! I switched out that hook for a fresh one and got back to business. On the next cast, my anchovy had not been sitting there but a couple of minutes when I had a really good bite. When I tightened up that Circle hook my rod whipped down and the drag started screaming (clicker still on). Oh yeah, now I had a good test for the new reel. That fish put up a great fight with a lot of great power dives that just peeled the line off my reel. That drag was smooth as butter! During the course of the fight the couple who had passed my earlier were passing me again on their way back downstream. They got to watch me fight and land that fish. I did not put a tape on the fish, but I eyeballed it at about 5 feet. They thought that was quite cool and the fellow was saying he thought he really wanted a Hobie now. I told him the sturgeon probably worked for Hobie and waited for them to come back to bite I did not get a good picture of the fish, but here is a crappy one.
After that, I anchored back up and caught one more little shaker before calling it a day, but what a day it was. Red hot bass bite in the morning and a nice big sturgeon in the afternoon. Man, you got to love living in the NW!
At 1PM, I switched over to sturgeon fishing to end the day. I had bought a new Saltist on blue tag special at the Fisherman's sale the week before and I was anxious to give it a test. I was not too hopeful however as I had spoken with a couple of sturgeon fisherman who had not had any success. With the Columbia high the current on the section of the Willie I was on was almost nonexistent. However, the sun had come out and the crankbait bite had died so I figured what the heck. I anchored up at a first spot and after about 15 minutes I got myself a really fat shaker. Felt good to pull something up with the new reel! About 15 minutes later I had a really tiny shaker. Sometime around then a nice couple in sit in kayaks came up the river and chatted with me about my Hobie for a bit. He was tempted to add to his fleet and asked a lot of questions about my setup. After that I got a lot of bites that I missed so I assumed it was just trash fish and I moved. Same thing at the next spot so I moved again. At the third spot it happened again so I finally checked my hook. Somehow I had bent the point of the hook into a U, doh! I switched out that hook for a fresh one and got back to business. On the next cast, my anchovy had not been sitting there but a couple of minutes when I had a really good bite. When I tightened up that Circle hook my rod whipped down and the drag started screaming (clicker still on). Oh yeah, now I had a good test for the new reel. That fish put up a great fight with a lot of great power dives that just peeled the line off my reel. That drag was smooth as butter! During the course of the fight the couple who had passed my earlier were passing me again on their way back downstream. They got to watch me fight and land that fish. I did not put a tape on the fish, but I eyeballed it at about 5 feet. They thought that was quite cool and the fellow was saying he thought he really wanted a Hobie now. I told him the sturgeon probably worked for Hobie and waited for them to come back to bite
I did not get a good picture of the fish, but here is a crappy one.After that, I anchored back up and caught one more little shaker before calling it a day, but what a day it was. Red hot bass bite in the morning and a nice big sturgeon in the afternoon. Man, you got to love living in the NW!
