Looking to catch something big in the NW area!

[RocknR00ster]

After living here my whole life I've never gone looking for the big fish and now that I have about a month left here in this state (moving), I'm looking for somewhere not too incredibly far from the Beaverton area where I can bank fish for something big.

I went to John Day river right at the mouth of the Columbia just the other day and didn't get a single bite, lots of debris in the water, washed out.
I was using cut bait and the right gear for big fish, but I just couldn't find them.
I did almost get something big at the John Day dam, but it got off the hook after pulling in about 20 feet of line. That current was incredibly fast and made it difficult to fish even with 6oz weight, hell I saw some people using railroad ties as their weight.

I'm looking to get a big cat or anything big on cut bait and I was wondering if there was a place in the NW along the Columbia or the Willamette that is good for some big fish fishing.

Any feedback is welcome, I want to catch a big one before I leave.

 

[bass]

I would look into sturgeon fishing on the Willamette. I am not sure where the best shore spots are but I think folks catch them from along the East side esplanade and any docks can fish from. Make sure you are barbless. Another idea is to get some corn and fish Swan island harbor for carp.

 

[RocknR00ster]

I was looking at maybe hitting up Kelley Point Park right at the mouth of the Willamette connecting to the Columbia. Anyone have experience here?

 

[BrandonBeach]

Ya, I have fished Kelly point for sturgeon.
Quite a while back. Back then we used whole smelt, Usually took an 8 oz weight, with a fairly long cast. 30,lb test mainline min. with 50-80 leader. Strong hooks with stout swivels, knots must be good. A big sturgeon will break lesser gear.

If you get lucky and hook on to a big one, your in for an arm tiering struggle. Gear up heavy, but a sensitive tipped rod is helpful. Even the biggies bites can be very light. Careful not to set the hook early, you will just jerk it away from them them. Wait till they are on.

Wasn't hard catch them, was hard to get a keeper sized one. Not sure sturgeon are legal to keep, be sure to check the F&G laws. Be gentile with them on release, they are not as tough as some people believe.


good luck.

BB

 

[nikita_pdx]

Kelley point is fairly shallow until about 60-70 yards out where it steeply deepens. I never fish there from shore, I would rather just go surf fishing. A good spot for big fish from shore would be near foothills park along the willamette. Instead of going to the park, there is a side road for apartments. From them, a trail leads into some trees, and off that trail is an offroad that leads to some very popular cliffs for jumping and swimming. We fish there and catch big smallmouth bass and sturgeon. Very deep right off the bat. I once saw a 3-4 foot sturgeon swimming near the bottom no more than 5 feet offshore. You WILL catch some good fish there.

coordinates have the spot

Good Luck

45.418447, -122.656324

 

[bass]

Kelley point is fairly shallow until about 60-70 yards out where it steeply deepens. I never fish there from shore, I would rather just go surf fishing. A good spot for big fish from shore would be near foothills park along the willamette. Instead of going to the park, there is a side road for apartments. From them, a trail leads into some trees, and off that trail is an offroad that leads to some very popular cliffs for jumping and swimming. We fish there and catch big smallmouth bass and sturgeon. Very deep right off the bat. I once saw a 3-4 foot sturgeon swimming near the bottom no more than 5 feet offshore. You WILL catch some good fish there.

coordinates have the spot

Good Luck

45.418447, -122.656324

The Willamette is closed to sturgeon fishing (even C&R) in that area right now:

Sturgeon angling is prohibited from the
Lake Oswego-Oak Grove RR bridge up to
Willamette Falls May 1 - Aug 31.

 

[nikita_pdx]

The Willamette is closed to sturgeon fishing (even C&R) in that area right now:

Sturgeon angling is prohibited from the
Lake Oswego-Oak Grove RR bridge up to
Willamette Falls May 1 - Aug 31.

Bummer