Estuary Sturgeon Fishing: Tips And
Information About
Estuary Sturgeon Fishing In
The Northwest
“The one thing I love about
fishing for Estuary Sturgeon is the action.”
Says Guide Pat Abel with Pat Abel’s Guide
Service (503-307-6033 or
www.patabelguideservice.com ). “The action
is non-stop, and I don’t get a chance to sit
down on most days.”
“If you want to catch sturgeon non-stop all day,
you need to keep bait in the water.” Suggests
Abel. “Even when a client has a fish on, I’ll
keep as many baits in the water that I can to
keep the scent trail going.”
“When you have a good scent trail going and hook
a fish, you get other sturgeon in the area
excited and they will go on the bite, creating
doubles and even triples.” Says Abel, with
audible excitement in his voice.
“The 1st week of June is the time to start
hitting the Estuary, throw in some minus tides
and you will find some sturgeon.”
Abel will keep 4 baits rigged per client at all
times. When a client needs a new bait Abel can
clip a new bait on and have his client fishing
again in mere seconds. “Keeping as much bait on
the bottom creating that scent trail is the key
to success down here.” Abel stresses.
If Abel isn’t getting any action in 30 minutes
he’s moving to try a different location. “Use
your depth finder!” Abel hints. “Look for
fish. Anchor above them and put your baits in
front of them.”
Abel has found that sturgeon will feed shallow
at high tide and move deeper as the tide flows
out. Abel’s prefers using Sandshrimp in shallow
water, while using Anchovies in deeper water.
When Abel’s clients first detect a bite he tells
them to set the hook immediately. “Sometimes
the bites are so small that the bite looks like
a crab or a trash fish eating your bait. But
that small bite can turn into a big fish! When
you go to set the hook and it’s solid, well you
know you have a keeper.” Says Abel. Abel also
prefers to keep his clients rods in the rod
holder so bites can be detected early. “At
other times the bites are so aggressive the rod
folds over and is just pinned in the rod
holder.”
Abel uses knotless leaders of 80-pound spectra
with 5/0 and 6/0 hooks. Using a bait threaded
and a knotless leader keeps the baits in
excellent shape and will hold up better in
faster currents.
Anchoring: Since the Columbia River Estuary
bottom is mostly sand, using a anchor designed
for sand only makes sense. No need to lug your
40-pound Columbia River anchor down to the
estuary, when a 13-pound Fluke or Plow Anchor
will hold a boat up to 30-feet. You may need to
use 6-feet of chain above your anchor, but not
always. Your back and your fishing partner’s
back will thank you at the end of the day!
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Thanks to Andy Schneider from
Fishing & Hunting News for sending us this great
article about Estuary Sturgeon Fishing and about
Oregon fishing guide Pat Abel
and information and fishing tips for catching
Sturgeon, how to catch Sturgeon and
estuary Sturgeon fishing techniques. |
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