NW Outdoor Explorer

Going fishing the 1st day after the New Year celebration can be challenging, but every now and then, it pays off big time.

A couple buddies of mine talked me into fishing the sturgeon opener above Bonneville Dam this year. I managed to temper my New Years celebration a little and got to bed by 1am. After a short 4 hour nap, it was time to get up. Made the coffee and threw some snacks in a bag. We were on the road by 6am and made it to Hood River for a 7:30am launch.

Being the first time I have had my boat on the upper river, I needed to pay extra attention to the chart and nav aids as there were plenty of shallows to avoid. On the way down to our planned spot, there was no mystery to the popular sturgeon spots. Boats were stacked up on anchor over all the deep holes.

Landed on our planned anchor spot and got our lines out before about 8:15. We watched the boat next to us hookup to a couple shakers. It took us a little while before we started to get bit. After a couple shakers ourselves, we finally landed a nice keeper. It measured to be about 46″ in length.

The bite was pretty slow. Got another shaker before our next keeper. This one was about 41″ in length. We stayed in this spot till about noon before we decided to pull anchor and try another spot. Held the next spot for only about 45 minutes without a bite before we decided to move again.

We moved back toward the ramp and dropped anchor below a group of boats in about 90′ of water. Within 10 minutes, we hooked up. A second rod went off and we thought we had a double. After a little fight, we realized it was just one fish that tangled our second rod. Landed our third keeper and our boat limit for the day. This one was only about 40″ in length.

While reeling in the last rod to pack up and head in, a fish started to fight. Unfortunately, it came loose after a few tugs. We found a sweet spot, unfortunately, we were all tagged out. I marked this spot for the next time. 🙂

I am sure many are relieved to put 2020 behind them and look forward to 2021 and beyond. From the pandemic to all the inconsistent rules and guidelines about masking and social distancing. The most outrageous of all the restrictions was the fishing closure. How much more social distant can you be when fishing by yourself? Really??

Enough of all that, springer fishing is upon us and it has been a tough season so far. I have not been seeing many posts on social media of multiple fish, let alone single fish days. I have asked the fish checker each day, “How many today?” and the reply was often 1 out of 13 or 0 out of 20. Some people have managed to find them for sure, but the majority have been struggling. It seems the run is just a little later each year and this year feels no different.

This week, it started to turn around for us on the Aquaholic. We targeted a new spot and seemed to have pretty good luck each day. Maybe not one in the box each day, but we did see action. Sunday was an extreme weather day. High winds and downpours. We were all sitting in the cabin keeping warm by the heater and after some time, my rod buries a couple of times. I get to the rod and reel in to find a stripped hook. The fish got lucky that day. Unfortunately, it was a one takedown day. Got out again Tuesday and the weather was much improved, but it was still a one takedown day with nothing in the box. Wednesday was a slightly different story. Same location, another one takedown day, but this time, we landed the sucker. First springer of the year! It was not a trophy, but it was a fish in the box. Hit it again Thursday in the same location. Today’s hookup almost got to the boat. It breached the water, shook its head and it was gone. Total bummer. We did not get out again till Saturday. Same location again, same one hookup day, but this time, we got our second springer to the boat. Unfortunately, it was a native and we released it.

Sunday was a whole new story. It was the last day the Columbia would be open for springer’s and Easter Sunday as well. We got to the ramp just after 6 am and it was almost completely empty. There were only 4 trailers in the lot. People were either sleeping in, taking the day off for Easter or thought the Columbia was closed. Either way, it was a nice surprise to launch without any congestion. We got to our spot in short time and had our rods in the water by 6:30 am. The wind was blowing pretty good and I decided to troll with the wind opposite of all the other boats instead of fighting it. About 35 minutes into our troll, my buddy’s rod buckles over. He grabbed the rod and the fight was on. The fish made a couple good runs, but could not avoid the net. It was a pretty good size fish. Definitely bigger than the previous two I caught earlier in the week.

Ok, one in the box, now I need to get mine. We finished our first pass and decided to turn the other direction for our second pass. The wind started to die down a bit. It was probably about 45 minutes into our second pass and my rod buckles over. I grabbed the rod and started to reel. I got nervous at first. It was reeling in too easy and I did not feel a fish. It turns out, he was just running to the boat. I started to feel the shakes again. It got close to the boat where we could see it before it made its run. It was a nice one. My heart started pounding about now thinking I had better not lose this one. It dove straight to the bottom then ran out about 75 feet. Thank goodness there were no sealions around. I managed to get it back to the boat and it decided to take a run under the boat. I quickly stuck my rod in the water to not let the line scrape the bottom. I got it from under the boat and my buddy quickly scooped it up. That makes two in the box and we were done for the day. Not even two hours, it felt really weird. We had not even started snacking yet. My buddy had not finished his coffee and I was only on my first beer. We were in unknown territory. The feeling was incredible.

Our first fish was a very nice fish, but when you get them side by side, I felt grateful. The second fish measured out to about 34″ and weighed in at just over 17 lbs.