Sturgeon

Lynn Marie":23p14is8 said:
Thanks for the bait offer. I'll take you up on it if there is a few spares but I won't arrive till about 5:30. If you have extra and want to stick them in the port lazaret I'll find them and put them to good use.
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Tim - Sorry, but I ran out of the special bait. Had only two packs left in the freezer, and Lyle 'n' Larry got one of them. I did take the best looking package of the stuff B~C gave me the other day and stick it in your boat, though. It's good stuff. That "special" stuff is just a bunch of hooey anyhow. If you lay a smelt on the bottom, and a hungry sturgeon swims over it, you'll hook him. That's just the way it works.

I am shooting for a 4:00am departure in the morning - rain, fog, and all. That will get us tight on the anchor and pointing the right way within one minute +/- of legal start time. Now, if my crew just gets there on time!
 
Sturgeon is over on the lower river and it's a sad Sunday morning. We had another great time though with Helen O Larry and Scorpio Lyle down for the final fling. The only local that did well was the Raven who ganged up by fishing both Dave and his brother Chuck, who has the Heron, on the same boat. That's a lot of fishing talent packed into 22'.

The Helen O headed up river for home with fish for all. Not sure if the sturgeon for Lyle was his first but we were glad to see our guests take home a full cooler.

I didn't go home empty handed either cause Mike gave me a care package of some of his smoked sturgeon. That's some goooood stuff. Thanks Mike. I'm not sure but he may be getting better at smoking than catching. Look out C-Lou Jon, there's a new kid on the block.

All in all it was a great season of sturgeon fishing, I will miss it but look forward to next year with the hope that others will come join us.

Tim
 
I want to give a very big thanks to Larry for taking me out sturgon fishing on Helen O. :D We each went home with our own sturgeon all vacuum sealed and ready for the smoker or to eat fresh. :smile Our trip down river from Cathalamet was one I will not forget for a LONG time. We had waves busting over the bow and hitting the windshield and coming at us from every way you could think they could. The wind was not helping us much as it was gusting and blowing the whole trip. Never once was I scared and I sure have confidence in how well these C-Dorys handle rough water. Coming home was a real nice trip and gave me a chance to relax and see some very beautiful scenery.
Mike thanks for some of that good smoked sturgeon and the fish catching bait you gave us. I enjoyed our visit even if it was short.
I also had a chance to say Hi to Tim, Dave and Chuck while we were fishing.
 
Tim -

Oh no - I ain't taking on Big Jon!

I used some coarse black pepper like you suggested on a few chunks to try it. Holypeemoly! The next batch gets all four racks done that way.

Thanks for all the pictures. That fishface is a really good shot.

Lyle -

Hey - nice fish!! If I was as good about taking the camera along as Tim is, we could have had a picture of it. Good to see you again.

Larry -

You're a good North Coast Host! See you up north to Blakely, unless you decide to fish some salmon next Sunday.
 
Lyle, I had a great time in spite of the rough water on the way down. I can't think of a better co-captain to have next to me when things get tough. Let's do it again, only next time we'll shoot for better weather.

Mike & Tim
I can see where this could get to be a habit to cruise down to Warrenton to fish. Your hospitality and the fantastic fishing in the estuary make it a sure thing for a good time. Thanks a bunch and see you at Blakely.
 
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Information and Education 503-947-6002
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us


For Immediate Release Monday, Dec. 20, 2004

2005 sturgeon sport fishery regulations set for the Columbia and Willamette rivers

CLACKAMAS - Anglers targeting sturgeon in the lower Columbia and lower Willamette rivers in 2005 will follow similar seasons and rules in place for 2004, the states of Oregon and Washington decided recently. Oregon fishery managers also recently adopted rules correcting a printing error in the 2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations booklet for the Columbia River sturgeon fishery upstream from The Dalles Dam.

"The season dates adopted represent our expectations based on recent years' fishery performance," said Curt Melcher, Columbia River fishery program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Actual catches will be tracked in-season and modifications will be made if necessary to remain within catch guidelines or to provide additional angling opportunity."
The following rules were adopted:

>From the Columbia River mouth upstream to the Wauna powerlines:
In the mainstem Columbia River from the mouth at Buoy 10 upstream to the Wauna powerlines at river mile 40, including Youngs Bay and all adjacent Washington tributaries:
* Sturgeon retention is allowed seven days a week Jan. 1-April 30, 2005, and May 14-July 4, 2005.
* The minimum size limit for retained sturgeon increases from 42 inches to 45 inches during the May 14-July 4 retention season.
* The retention of sturgeon is prohibited seven days a week May 1-13, 2005, and July 5-Dec. 31, 2005. Catch and release of sturgeon may continue during retention closures.

>From the Wauna powerlines upstream to Bonneville Dam:
In the mainstem Columbia River from Wauna powerlines at river mile 40 upstream to Bonneville Dam, all adjacent Washington tributaries, and the Willamette River downstream of Willamette Falls (including Multnomah Channel):
* Sturgeon retention is allowed three days a week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) Jan. 1-July 31, 2005, and Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2005.
* Sturgeon retention is prohibited seven days a week Aug. 1-Sept. 30, 2005. Catch and release of sturgeon may continue during retention closures.

The Dalles Dam upstream to the Oregon-Washington border:
Oregon managers corrected an important regulation that was omitted from the 2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations booklet; the minimum size limit for sturgeon caught in the Columbia River from The Dalles Dam upstream to the Oregon-Washington border is 48 inches.

Catch limits and other restrictions listed in the current 2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet remain in effect the entire year.

Effective Jan. 1, 2005, anglers are limited to the use of only one single-point barbless hook while sturgeon angling.

Future meetings:
The next hearing of Columbia River fishery managers, meeting as the Columbia River Compact, is scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, at the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver, Wash. Managers will review salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and smelt stock status; consider commercial fishing options in the mainstem Columbia River and select areas; and consider miscellaneous regulations for Columbia River commercial fisheries. A joint state meeting to consider spring chinook sport fisheries in the mainstem Columbia River is scheduled to occur immediately following the Jan. 28 Compact hearing.

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Went out for a spell with my old fishing partner today. The river was flat calm, so we ran up above Astoria to some spot he called the Chicken Coop. Sat there for a few hours - nothing. Went back downstream to one of my two spots, and sat a couple hours with nothing. Then, after the toasted cheese sandwiches, I went outside to change bait. Curt came out right after me and said "Got him". I thought he was lying. Well, he wasn't. After a half hour, he landed the biggest fish he had ever seen caught. We were pretty sure it was too long to keep, but it was so fat it looked close. Just as I got about two thirds of it in the net, the leader got cut and the fish was dangling precariously. He dropped the pole and helped with the net. Good thing - I couldn't haul the critter over the edge. It measured about 70", and was all of a hundred pounds. But, we let him go. We couldn't hoist him back over the side rail, so out the splashwell and over the transom he went. Curt's camera was in his truck, and I never have mine, so no pics.

Then we decided to make a day of it and stay for a while. He hooked two other fish, both too short. I got nothing at all. The water was as flat as possible all day. Unbelievable. Too bad Tim had to do laundry instead of taking the Lynn Marie out. What a great day!

I doubt that the Kubota could have lifted it, so to get a pic like J & CL, I would have to buy my old John Deere back.

Now the retention season is shut down for two weeks.
 
Mike,
Sounds like you had a good day on the water. I am really looking forward to the Warrenton gathering, so I hope you find out all hot spots on the river. Pulled a real boner off the 10th of May. To make a long
story short, I jumped off a friends boat after we spent the day sturgeon
fishing in Ebbie Slew, which is in of the mouth of the Snohomish River. Seen one fish caught about 52". When we came in to beach my friends boat I jumped off and blew out my ankle. Got in to see my doctor the
next day. X-ray showed a fracture. They operated on it and reattached the bone and ligament with a couple of pins. The whole process should take 4-6 weeks. I should be busting at the bit to get out for this gathering.
Jim, Work Release
 
Here's something amazing. A video of sea lions 100+ miles up the Columbia River after salmon, and because there are so few of them this year, they are tackling 7' sturgeon. Click the picture to go to the story and video. It probably won't be there for too long.

050429sea_lion.jpg
 
Jim -

Yep, it was a great day. My partner probably thought the oversize fish was the best part, but since I didn't catch anything, I reckon the best was part was the toasted cheese sandwiches.

What a bum deal with your ankle. I'm guessing you meant the 10th of March? There is a certain age when men have to stop jumping out of boats, I guess. After hearing your tale, I think I'll consider myself to have reached that age. I hope it heals 100% for you.

The fishing in June should be real good. That time of year, the water is warm enough and the anchovies/herring are thick enough in the river down here for the sturgeon to be hungry and active right outside the Warrenton channel. The run from the dock to the river is longer than the run on the river. The paper mill where I work has a major down scheduled for most of June, and all the maintenance guys will be working long hours, but I'll get some time off smoehow.

See you at the dock!
 
Now the retention season is shut down for two weeks
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, it won't be long now! Cruising down to Warrenton, dropping anchor in 16 ft. of water.... watching the end of my fishing rod, waiting for the tap, tap, tap....FISH ON!
Oh man, I can hardly wait.
 
Just recieved the following in e-mail---


California Department of Fish and Game
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 05:037 May 5, 2005

Contact: Steve Martarano, DFG Office of Communications
(916) 804-1714

Department of Fish and Game Busts Nine in two
Sacramento/San Francisco Sturgeon Caviar
Poaching Operations


Department of Fish and Game (DFG) officers arrested nine suspects early Thursday, putting the lid on two alleged illegal white Sturgeon caviar peddling operations that stretched from the Sacramento area to San Francisco.

The two-month investigation began in early March after officers with DFG?s Special Operations Unit (SOU) received information that Nikolay Krasnodemskiy, 34, was allegedly selling processed sturgeon out of a North Highlands auto body shop. DFG?s investigative trail led to five other suspects in San Francisco, who were allegedly buying the finished product * caviar * from Krasnodemskiy, for up to $140 a pound. Sturgeon is mostly poached for caviar, the processed ?roe? (eggs) of the fish.

?We?re definitely seeing an increase in the illegal commercialization of white sturgeon in the Sacramento area,? said DFG Capt. Tony Warrington, who headed up the investigation, called Delta Beluga II. ?If you look at the short time frame we investigated these suspects, and the amount of illegal product we saw change hands during that period, it?s not hard to determine that these suspects had been at it for some time.?

In addition to the arrest of Krasnodemskiy in Sacramento, the other San Francisco felony conspiracy arrests included Mark Golmyan, 54, Igor Donets, 55, Arkady Rubinshteyn, 50, Alexander Averbakh, 60, and George Buck, 33, all of San Francisco. All were arrested at their residences. During the arrests, officers seized 24 jars of caviar from Rubinshteyn, and 46 jars of caviar and 30 pounds of sturgeon meat from the residence of Averbakh and Buck.

Golmyan owns and operates Gastronom Russian Deli on Geary St. in San Francisco, and was reportedly selling the caviar there for $15 an ounce, or $240 a pound. The others were selling the caviar out of their residences for up to $140 a pound, said Lt. Kathy Ponting of the SOU. During the short surveillance period, wardens reportedly monitored a total of five deliveries by Krasnodemskiy * 120 pounds * of the caviar to San Francisco, where it had a black market value of approximately $16,000.

The second part of the operation, developed in the past month and called Operation Parking Lot, involved the misdemeanor arrests of Vasily Agapov, 41, Pavel Kalinovskiy, 34, and Oleg Beknazarov, 32, all of Sacramento, Ponting said. The three suspects, who were also arrested early Thursday, were all identified after Agapov reportedly solicited DFG wardens on the Sacramento River to buy any sturgeon they caught.

A suspect convicted of felony conspiracy to illegally take sturgeon is subject to a maximum fine of $15,000 and three years in state prison, Ponting said. The district attorney filed all charges in Sacramento County Superior Court, and they ranged from illegal possession of sturgeon to illegal sales.

"This operation was very important because sturgeon is a species that is severely impacted by poaching,? Warrington said. ?Because female sturgeon spawn only every four years, poaching that targets female sturgeon can have disastrous effects on sturgeon populations.?

This is the second major sturgeon poaching operation conducted by DFG in the last two years. In the first operation in May 2003, DFG officers arrested a total of 22 suspects in Sacramento, culminating a two-year joint state and federal investigation that included Oregon and the state of Washington.

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) is a fish species indigenous to the Sacramento River in California, and the Columbia River in Washington. California does not allow for the commercial catch or sale of white sturgeon. Currently, fish can only be legally taken for sport purposes between the sizes of 46 to 72 inches in length.

White sturgeon is one of the most spectacular native fish species in the state. They live a long time * some reaching 100 years in age * and grow to a size of up to 1,000 pounds. Populations were severely depleted by unrestricted commercial fishing in the last two decades of the 19th century in both the Columbia and the Sacramento-San Joaquin systems and as a result, California imposed a total closure of the sturgeon fishery from 1916 until 1955. Since that time, sturgeon can only be taken through sport fishing regulated by a closely managed slot limit, which is currently one per day.

Sturgeon populations vary through time and are affected by low river flows, long term exposure to chemical contaminants, collisions with boat and ship propellers, and poaching. Population peaks noted in the mid-1960s, the mid-1980s and the late 1990s were associated with earlier good flow conditions. In 1997, the white sturgeon population was estimated at 147,000. The current population is estimated at 80,000 with a present annual legal harvest rate of 5 percent, said Patrick Coulston, supervising biologist for DFG?s Bay-Delta Branch.

?The status of the population in California remains stable, due in large part to DFG?s active management of the legal fishery,? Coulston said. ?Regulation changes, and fisheries closures, have regularly been made during the last several decades in response to the condition of the population. Because sturgeon mature late, spawn infrequently, are dependent on good environmental conditions, this is a species that easily can be over-exploited.?

This investigation is the direct result of legitimate anglers giving their local wardens and the CalTIP program information about poachers who were blatantly disregarding the regulations imposed to protect the resources, said Ponting. By contacting the 1-888-DFG-CALTIP number to report poachers and polluters, callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

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HEY!! Saturday is the 14th...time to chase sturgeon, who's going ? Mike, Tim, will we see you on the river? We'll be down, if the ocean is nice we may try some bottom fish also
 
Here's the plan as it stands. Friday night, Kay wants all of us to stay on the boat in the beautiful Warrenton basin with the sparkiling clear water. At 5:00 Saturday morning, my fishing partner Curt will show up, then Kay and Jamie will go home and back to bed. Tiffany, Curt and I will head on out to the ebb tide spot. We'll stay there until half way through the tide, and then move over to the other spot to try and hook the big feller again. (Unless we all three have keepers, that is.) We'll stay there through the tide change, and into the flood for a while if needed. Even using two year old B~C smelt, we should be able to snag something, don't ya think?

Come on down.
 
Those smelt might be a rare treat for them sturgy this year, I've taken a liken to using sand shrimp on one pole. Those little buggers are effective and easy enough for even me to put on the hook. We'll probably end up coming down Saturday morning and launching in your backyard, we'll keep an eye out for ya........last year we didn't make it down for much sturgy fishing, that's going to change.

see ya on the river
 
FDO, B~C.

The Lady Washington and some other scow are scheduled to be having some sort of show on the river out of Illwaco on Saturday. I'll have to check the times. If the fishing is real good or real bad, we might head downstream to watch it. Kay and the kids went over there yesterday (in the car) and watched the Lady W pull ino the dock, and then they took a tour aboard. They thought it was cool.

Whatever - we're going fishing early Saturday morning.
 
well FMWWB, what does FDO mean? It's fitting that the tall ship would be tied up in Ilwaco..that marina is of about that same vintage, I hope we can get a peek at her
 
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