I am originally from eastern washington, and I have caught and released big sturgeon in the Hanford reach. Do the rivers like the sky or skagit, hold big sturgeon? Like 8 plus feet? They seem like they would, with all the runs, there seems like there would be enough food to support sturgeon.

Have never heard of sturgeon on the Sky or Skagit but have always had excellent luck on the Chehalis. fished adjacent to the boat launch in Cosmopolis 3 weeks ago (43 incher) and Friends Landing last weekend (47 incher).
When not chasing salmon in the fall or playing in the Skookumchuck in the winter I can be found exercising my shoulders and back on the Chehalis. If interested I have a lot more info for you on this one.

A fisherman I know from the Sky(kelly) spends time fishind & catching sturgeon in the lower Skagit and Stilly. I dont know much about it but hes had some good days catching keeper sized sturgeon. Cal Stocking of Cause for Divorce Guide Service told me the Skagit has some monster sturgeon in it too! Sorry I 'm not really into sturgeon, thats all the info I can give.

Don't forget the lower Snohomish, especially under the RR bridge near the Highway 2 bridge just off of I-5 in Everett.

Thanks for the info. I will start to do some river exploring. That is after fishing for steelhead a bit longer.

HEY KORE. I am a transplant form the west side to the East side (Walla Walla). Could you spray me with some wisdom about sturg fishing? I have a general idea about tackle and bait's, but I don't know anybody here who is big on fishing for them. I plan on getting out as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

Kelly fishes the Snohomish River and it's myriad of sloughs, mainly Ebey. Right now is the time to go, they have been catching them consistently for a couple of weeks now.

I read an interesting article on sturgeon recently. Apparently (correct me if I'm wrong Salmo g./Todd) the only rivers they have proof of them successfully spawning in are the Sacramento, Columbia, and Fraser. There are so many in the Columbia at one time they are forced to other rivers, like the Snohomish and Stilly, to feed. The sturgeon like these rivers because of the large amounts of rotting salmon carcasses parading downriver. They may stay for a year, then head to Canada for a while. They have tagged fish and found they may visit a host of rivers throughout their long lifetime. The monster sturgeon that's lived in Ebey Slough hole for 20 years is probably many different fish.

My friend caught 5 fish in the Sky this week, all between 10 and 14 pounds. I saw 3 of them, all hens. Me, well.......

TK

TK, Is the ebey hole your referring to at the confluence of steamboat and ebey, I have seen Big sturgeon roll in their, but never caught one. What seems to be the bait of choice in the sloughs for these submarines. Todd, is the train bridge you are referring to above or below hwy 2, I am not to familiar with that water.

Excuse me for interupting, but I can let you in on what we use to torture them on in the Columbia. Used to live in Lyle, and chased those submarines around with my dad. The bait of choice "roll mop pickled herring", We would take a large hook 5/0, and lay it on the fillet. We would then fold the fillet in half, then wrap the fillet on the hook with sewing thread. Also used cheese cloth at times to make a small bag that the herring would go in. They absoultely loved this stuff. This was back in the early 80's, so I don't know if their taste has changed. Good luck.

HEY Dino...Good baits for big sturgeon on the columbia depend what is running up. If shad are thick try shad. Squaw fish bellys work well. Experiment. The sturgeon are not always in the deepest holes. They sit where the current brings them the food. Try the ends of islands. Sometimes sturgeon will pick it up and take off. most of the time sturgeon bites are tap, tap. very light. Even the 10 footers, and as soon as they feel the hook they are gone. You have to be alert. good luck.

[This message has been edited by KORE (edited 03-28-99).]

Kore, thanks for the info

I think that the bridge I was thinking of is not actually alongside of HWY 2, I think it's the one that is west of I-5 just north of HWY 2, and crosses one of the sloughs there. I would guess it's not a secret to the guys above talking about Ebey and Steamboat.

As far as sturgeon spawning in rivers other than the Sac, Col, and Fraser, this question is outside my league. It would seem to me with all the salmon in the Snohomish system, as well as the Stilly and Skagit, that there would be plenty of food there to support a spawning run. It may be interesting to note, however, that the rivers you mentioned as having spawning sturgeon also have smelt and/or shad runs, while those Puget Sound systems do not, or at least nothing like the others. I know that both shad and smelt can be good bait, so they must eat them. Someone with a better knowledge of sturgeon behavior should jump in, I'm kind of interested now.

I've fished the Columbia around Trojan, and we used big smelt with a 5/0 barbless hook. The smelt was tied onto the hook with the #80 dacron line we used as leader. If you left the rod in the rod holder until it really started to bend, the fish seemed to hook themselves, and few were missed. However, it seems to be pretty standard to catch one keeper for every 20 or 30 shakers. I've heard they're doing quite a bit better than that up near Bonneville right now.

Good luck. Fish on...
Todd.

I've never actually fished for these brutes myself. I'm kind of a wimp; I tend to shy away from fish that take a telephone pole sized rod, clothesline, and an hour of back-breaking labor to land. I have some buddies that are into them and fish for them often. Main bait of choice seems to be sandshrimps. Two or three on a big hook. If you hit nothing but bullheads (sculpin), move.

There is a sturgeon clinic being put on by Wade Erickson (Fish On Guide Services/Sturgeon Expert) at Hook, Line, & Sinker in Arlington on April 1, 7-9 P.M. Might be a good idea to go. Tackle reps with free samples will also be there.