Sturgeon
- Thread starter Helen O
- Start date
Lynn Marie
New member
Went up to the marina today and changed out the batteries, they were almost four years old and of a deep cycle only type so time to go, Every thing looks good for a go for the Lynn Marie on Saturday so we'll leave here about 5:00 and be heading out by 6:00 after picking up some fresh bait at Tackle Time. Stopped in there on the way out and talked to Gene and he did have packaged smelt but said they were a bit steep this year at $6 a dozen. I think I agree. That's a lot of money for a fish I don't even like to eat. I do have a ten pound box of the little buggers but the plan is to hang onto them till the 2005 Sturgeon Festival so others will have a supply of smelt bait.
See everyone on the water Saturday, Tim
See everyone on the water Saturday, Tim
Lynn Marie
New member
The sturgeon gods were smiling brightly on the Lynn Marie today for our first trip of the newly opened season. Left the dock this morning about 6:00AM with my fishing friend Cleve and got our lines wet about a half hour later. Some of that good old smelt with a little smelly juice dribbled over them and we were in bussiness.
By about 7:00 Cleve had put a nice fat 58" fish aboard to start the season off. What a treat. After only a few more minutes he had a short to the side of the boat which we had to release. Then we shifted into the coffee and sandwhich mode along with some bait changing till almost 10:30 at which point we decided it was time to head for home and I could do some chores on my list and besides the wind was starting to pick up a little.
We pulled anchor and motored by the TyBoo who had spent most of the tide just changing bait, and then went past a guy I work with who was inside of us in about 6 feet of water. He already had his fish and was by himself doing catch and release so we moved off a ways and dropped the hook. After 45 minutes I had one in the net and after some careful measuring and some even more careful remeasuring we decided it was 45 1/2" which is a legal keeper. That mad our limit.
With fish aboard we headed to the dock and Sturgeon Paul's for some fish filetting and then to home for a well deserved nap while Judy and Lynn were at a baby shower. Life is good.
Nap is over, girls are still gone so I am able to get in some time to make this post and give thought as to how to convince Judy that she'd like to fish in the morning before we go to the market.
Tim
By about 7:00 Cleve had put a nice fat 58" fish aboard to start the season off. What a treat. After only a few more minutes he had a short to the side of the boat which we had to release. Then we shifted into the coffee and sandwhich mode along with some bait changing till almost 10:30 at which point we decided it was time to head for home and I could do some chores on my list and besides the wind was starting to pick up a little.
We pulled anchor and motored by the TyBoo who had spent most of the tide just changing bait, and then went past a guy I work with who was inside of us in about 6 feet of water. He already had his fish and was by himself doing catch and release so we moved off a ways and dropped the hook. After 45 minutes I had one in the net and after some careful measuring and some even more careful remeasuring we decided it was 45 1/2" which is a legal keeper. That mad our limit.
With fish aboard we headed to the dock and Sturgeon Paul's for some fish filetting and then to home for a well deserved nap while Judy and Lynn were at a baby shower. Life is good.
Nap is over, girls are still gone so I am able to get in some time to make this post and give thought as to how to convince Judy that she'd like to fish in the morning before we go to the market.
Tim
For crying out loud. They kept busting things at work, so I was running my butt off (actually sitting on my butt on the electric scooter towing the tool box around) trying to get everything back running by quitting time so I could go fishing. I finally get caught up at a quarter til three, open the lunch box, and find there is a message on my phone. Kay called and said the wind was howling so not to plan on fishing. Then they busted something again, and I ended up staying until six anyway.
We went out yesterday evening - wind, rain and all - and got a bunch of shorts, one keeper, and one big feller that got loose right below the boat. We were sitting on a hot bite, but the wind overcame the current and swung us 180º on the anchor. So we just fished there instead of jockeying around.
Tim - here's something weird. I went down to check on the boats this evening, and when I looked at yours, I noticed you had no fender at the aft corner. She was bumping the dock, so I went to get one of my spares to hang for you. I saw a green fender laying on my deck under the splash well, so I grabbed it and found it was one of yours. I am pretty sure it was not there yesterday, so somebody has been dorking around. Nothing else looked amiss. I hung the fender back where she goes, and all is well. I didn't see any scratches or damage to your hull. I take it you have your bilge pump on auto? Every time I look, there is water just to the top of the floor mat, but never any deeper. I keep hoping to find enough water to pump out so I can try my key in your door.
We went out yesterday evening - wind, rain and all - and got a bunch of shorts, one keeper, and one big feller that got loose right below the boat. We were sitting on a hot bite, but the wind overcame the current and swung us 180º on the anchor. So we just fished there instead of jockeying around.
Tim - here's something weird. I went down to check on the boats this evening, and when I looked at yours, I noticed you had no fender at the aft corner. She was bumping the dock, so I went to get one of my spares to hang for you. I saw a green fender laying on my deck under the splash well, so I grabbed it and found it was one of yours. I am pretty sure it was not there yesterday, so somebody has been dorking around. Nothing else looked amiss. I hung the fender back where she goes, and all is well. I didn't see any scratches or damage to your hull. I take it you have your bilge pump on auto? Every time I look, there is water just to the top of the floor mat, but never any deeper. I keep hoping to find enough water to pump out so I can try my key in your door.
Lynn Marie
New member
Thanks Mike,
I do appreciate you keeping an eye on things for me. Don't worry about water to try your key, just hop aboard and give it a go. If it works let me know then I'll know mine works in yours too and I'll have a new supply of hot fish lures. Glad to hear you had a good bite last night. I keep wanting to get up there and give it a go but I've had to stay till the bitter end and tomorrow we have to run up to Portland. We will definitely be there this week-end though to try our hand and hopefully get Judy her first fish of the year. Maybe I can even talk her into giving it a try Friday and spending the night then head out early Saturday..
Tim
I do appreciate you keeping an eye on things for me. Don't worry about water to try your key, just hop aboard and give it a go. If it works let me know then I'll know mine works in yours too and I'll have a new supply of hot fish lures. Glad to hear you had a good bite last night. I keep wanting to get up there and give it a go but I've had to stay till the bitter end and tomorrow we have to run up to Portland. We will definitely be there this week-end though to try our hand and hopefully get Judy her first fish of the year. Maybe I can even talk her into giving it a try Friday and spending the night then head out early Saturday..
Tim
Lynn Marie
New member
Not sure I'll make it to the marina tonight but we'll be there in the morning to try our luck at them willy sturgeon. Saturday should be a good day on the water but Sunday may be a bit iffy so I won't wait.
There's been plenty of room so far so B~C and Helen-O you better motor on down and give me and Mike a visit. And that goes for the rest of you local type folks that just can't wait for the June Surgeon Festival.
Tim
There's been plenty of room so far so B~C and Helen-O you better motor on down and give me and Mike a visit. And that goes for the rest of you local type folks that just can't wait for the June Surgeon Festival.
Tim
Lynn Marie
New member
Hey Ken,
We'll look forward to seeing you on the other side of the traps, crab traps that is. My best deck hand will be with me in the morning and our plan is to fish until about 11:00 A.M. and then head for the nursery to pick up plantings for our deck pots. I may or may not be back again on Sunday but we shall see.
One of the hot spots I think may be above the bridge and across from the city center north of the shipping channel. A lot of charters out of Ilwaco are even in this area.
If we don't meet up I'll see you all at the Sturgeon Fest in a few weeks cause next week-end I'm off to Canada for an annual week of trout fishing.
Mike,
I'll see you on the water or talk to you daring the week. I hope you'll look after things while I'm away so I don't have to pull the boat this year. I'll pay dearly for this service just so I won't have to clean the alder crap off of the boat. Judy will likely also be doing her best to keep things in order,
Tim
We'll look forward to seeing you on the other side of the traps, crab traps that is. My best deck hand will be with me in the morning and our plan is to fish until about 11:00 A.M. and then head for the nursery to pick up plantings for our deck pots. I may or may not be back again on Sunday but we shall see.
One of the hot spots I think may be above the bridge and across from the city center north of the shipping channel. A lot of charters out of Ilwaco are even in this area.
If we don't meet up I'll see you all at the Sturgeon Fest in a few weeks cause next week-end I'm off to Canada for an annual week of trout fishing.
Mike,
I'll see you on the water or talk to you daring the week. I hope you'll look after things while I'm away so I don't have to pull the boat this year. I'll pay dearly for this service just so I won't have to clean the alder crap off of the boat. Judy will likely also be doing her best to keep things in order,
Tim
welllll we had a good plan, thought we'd go for a nice evening fish yesterday and then hit it again this morning.....got to Ilwaco and the wind was howling and the rain was dumping. We hung around at the ramp for a bit and decided to go RVing at the campground. This morning wasn't much better on the WA side of the river....enjoyed the heck out of just boaterhoming in the campground though....we'll be baaack
You know that old saying about the best day working/worst day fishing? Well, I still believe in it, but today was pushing it.
Work was great. Only one minor job to do, which took less than half an hour. I had plenty of time to work on a small fix for my anchor roller, and it turned out good. The weather was beautiful, so I spent most of the day waiting for quitting time so I could go fishing. I called my partner and told him to meet me at 4:30 at the dock. When I drove across the bay bridge on the way home, and looked out at the river, there were whitecaps as far as I could see. The wind was blowing steady at 20 kts, and exactly opposite the river current direction. That makes for some interesting anchoring. Too bad. I wanted to go fishing.
So out we go in a pretty good chop. We anchored shallower than usual to get a little smoother water, but the wind stayed steady all evening. Pretty early on, I hooked a sturgeon with some muscle. About half way in with the fish, kerpow - my pole snapped in two right below the joint. Now I have this stout fish pulling on the line that is going through only one eye; and that eye was pulled half loose. But, being the expert fisherman, I got the fish to the net and in the boat. It measured 48", and was my first keeper this year.
I knocked it in the head, strung the rope through the gills, and tossed it back in the water. My partner had wrapped a dock line around the cleat I would normally use to secure the fish stringer rope, so - being the expert at knots that I am - I tied it to the rail. Then I slit it's throat to bleed it, and went inside to mark it on my tag. About a half hour later, I went to take a look at the monster, and the rope and the fish were gone. History. And one of the five slots on my harvest tag was filled for nothing. We tried to catch another one, but it wasn't to be.
Along about 8:00, we pulled up to head in. The fix to the anchor roller worked great. The channel was very sloppy, since the wind was still howling and the end of the ebb was upon us. But, we bounced on across with no problem until we were almost to the harbor channel. Then the motor started shaking. Still dealing with the tall chop, I limped on until we got to calm water. Killed the motor, raised it up - everything looked fine. There must have been some debris dragging on the lower unit and hitting the prop, because it was smooth when I restarted. (At least something went right.) I half expected to find my rope and fish wrapped up in the prop.
And you watch - I'll have a lousy day at work tomorrow!
Work was great. Only one minor job to do, which took less than half an hour. I had plenty of time to work on a small fix for my anchor roller, and it turned out good. The weather was beautiful, so I spent most of the day waiting for quitting time so I could go fishing. I called my partner and told him to meet me at 4:30 at the dock. When I drove across the bay bridge on the way home, and looked out at the river, there were whitecaps as far as I could see. The wind was blowing steady at 20 kts, and exactly opposite the river current direction. That makes for some interesting anchoring. Too bad. I wanted to go fishing.
So out we go in a pretty good chop. We anchored shallower than usual to get a little smoother water, but the wind stayed steady all evening. Pretty early on, I hooked a sturgeon with some muscle. About half way in with the fish, kerpow - my pole snapped in two right below the joint. Now I have this stout fish pulling on the line that is going through only one eye; and that eye was pulled half loose. But, being the expert fisherman, I got the fish to the net and in the boat. It measured 48", and was my first keeper this year.
I knocked it in the head, strung the rope through the gills, and tossed it back in the water. My partner had wrapped a dock line around the cleat I would normally use to secure the fish stringer rope, so - being the expert at knots that I am - I tied it to the rail. Then I slit it's throat to bleed it, and went inside to mark it on my tag. About a half hour later, I went to take a look at the monster, and the rope and the fish were gone. History. And one of the five slots on my harvest tag was filled for nothing. We tried to catch another one, but it wasn't to be.
Along about 8:00, we pulled up to head in. The fix to the anchor roller worked great. The channel was very sloppy, since the wind was still howling and the end of the ebb was upon us. But, we bounced on across with no problem until we were almost to the harbor channel. Then the motor started shaking. Still dealing with the tall chop, I limped on until we got to calm water. Killed the motor, raised it up - everything looked fine. There must have been some debris dragging on the lower unit and hitting the prop, because it was smooth when I restarted. (At least something went right.) I half expected to find my rope and fish wrapped up in the prop.
And you watch - I'll have a lousy day at work tomorrow!
How's work going? bummer on the fish, one needs to make sacrifices to the fish Gods every now and again. Brock, you can bet that the fish won't be wasted, that rascal is probably long gone by now, between the birds and the crabs and the guy in the kayak that untied it and paddled off with it.