Ron's Fish Rag

RediSets on the Columbia

The Columbia River…

For a dedicated sturgeon fisherman who has fished the San Francisco Bay Area all of his life, the Columbia is Mecca. It is the place we all talk about with reverence and hope that someday our fishery will become. My first trip to Mecca begins in an area outside Troutdale, Oregon, at a place the locals call The Fishery.

As this is my first trip to the Columbia and hopefully not my last, I figured the best way to get an understanding of the area and local techniques would be to hire a guide. I chose “Sturgeon Frank” Russum as my guide (http://sturgeonfrank.com/)  as I have become aware that he is well respected among his peers and long-in-the-tooth in terms of experience on the Columbia. I was joined on the trip by three fishermen from Alaska. You know this is a good place to fish when people from Alaska fly in. First on the agenda was to go catch bait.

This time of year the big sturgeon come in to take advantage of the annual shad run. So we started out our day at a place they call the Shad Rack. We used small silver and red spoons (not sure what they were called) much like a tiny trout lure. We also hooked a couple of Springer salmon, both of which shook the tiny lure before they reached boat side. They saved us the trouble of releasing them since we couldn’t keep them anyway. We quickly caught about 12 shad with some being over a foot in length.

We then headed down river to get below the deadline (the closure area) so we could fish sturgeon. I brought my Accurate 665 on a 7 foot Seeker which later I realized was a bit of a disadvantage. Frank’s rods were all two speed Avets on six foot sticks. The current in the river is such that it necessitates the use of 2# balls at times, depending on the depth being fished. So the shorter stick and low torque reels can really reduce the fatigue factor when checking bait, not to mention the advantage of fighting a large fish in fast moving current.

Anchoring in the Columbia was a little different than on the Sacramento. They use a float and anchor retrieval system. The anchor is a rocking chair style with 300 ft. of rode. When setting up, Frank would first drop anchor and throw his floats over the side. Then he would take the boat 30 yards or so downstream and drop the baits, one at a time, with about 50 ft. in between each one creating a hook pattern as he went back to connect up to the anchor. This allowed him to cover a fair amount of territory with his scent line.

We put out four rods with big baits (shad). On the fifth rod we had a smaller bait (smelt) to draw in some smaller fish. I think he probably did this to keep the action up just so the typical client would not get too bored. However, I was really not interested in what I could frequently get on my own turf. For me, it was go big or go home. We initially anchored up in about 50 ft. of water. On the smaller bait we draw hits from smaller fish and we landed one keeper size fish which we released. We managed to hook two oversized fish - both came unbuttoned early in the fight. 

These fish can really pull! The shad we were using as bait were over a foot long. According to Frank, it’s rare up here to have a fish under 100 pounds take the shad. Unfortunately, we could not keep one hooked up that day, but we did have a few chances.

DAY 2

On day two, Frank was not available so I went with another guide Dan Ponciano (http://www.columbiariverfishing.com/). Great guy. Dan’s gear and boat were meticulously maintained. I vowed previously never to leave my gear home again just because you really never know what you’re going to get with a guide. Especially since their gear gets a work out from every greenhorn that comes along. I have to say though that both the gear used by both Dan and Frank were top of the line and obviously well taken care of.

We did the same routine in the morning for shad and then ran to a little spot farther down called The Wall.  I left my accurate 665 home opting for the Tiagra 30 wide two speed instead. After my experience the day before, I figured the low end torque would really be an advantage with these fish. Also on the boat were two guys from Massachusetts.

 

  

We ran four rods, two with big baits and two with small. Dan used slices of shad on one of the smaller bait rigs and squid on the other. We caught a few shakers and had a couple of bites on the bigger baits at The Wall. I was really focused on getting a bigger fish so I ran the large shad the whole day. Later in the day, we moved up into shallow water. I had a number of hits on the shad, but just could not seem to hook up. 

When fishing the large baits they wait until the fish literally begin to load the rod up before they set the hook. It can be somewhat frustrating for us California boys who are used to swinging for the fences at the slightest provocation. Especially since it is almost guaranteed that a 100 pound plus fish is tugging at the bait.

Dan had said early in the day that we would probably head in around 3 pm and time was beginning to run out. Literally, at the wire, I began to get hit. The fish came at the bait three times, but each time he would drop it right before I was able to pull the trigger. Finally, on the fourth hit, he literally started pulling line off the reel and I hammered him. The fish turned down stream and headed out. I was running about 10 pounds of drag and he was walking away like I wasn't even there. I did not gain an inch of line back until we were released from the anchor. I never had to go into low gear, but it was close. These fish are amazingly powerful. Before long we had my eight footer belly up alongside taking pictures. They cannot use barbed hooks so the release was much easier. We rolled him back over and sent him on his way, no worse for wear.

  
 

I have to say this was a great experience. The Gorge is magnificently beautiful. The osprey and bald eagles are everywhere. Both guides I fished with were very experienced and most importantly concerned about the welfare of the resource. I would recommend them both to anyone looking for a world class fishing experience.

 

 

Pyramid Lake - April weather just too good to be true

After a failed attempt at salmon due to weather the week before, I headed up to enjoy the festivities and fishing up at Pyramid Lake. This year's turn-out was impressive with probably 200-300 folks camped out on the beach. Alan and I headed out first thing Friday morning at dawn.

We decided to start out on the far side by LA Rock with the idea of working the shallows for big fish. The plan almost came together when I hooked a 8 to 10 lb. class fish. I fought the fish to boat side and it slipped the hooks (barbless) only to have it go after the lure again. I managed to hook the fish on the surface a second time only to lose it again after a short battle. Talk about aggressive! Our technique the first day was to use Lyman's behind a planer board. Hot colors were fire tiger and purple/black. We stacked two rods on the same planer main line. Doing this we were able to work the shallows from a distance.

 

The next day Alan's dad Jack joined us and we moved out into deeper water to try and get on some numbers. The bite took off and it was almost wide open. We fished out on the 200 foot line at 30 feet on the wire from Warrior to Pelican. The hot lure started out to be a frog colored flatfish, but later we switched to orange, black and copper spoons. We had great quality fish up to 4#'s with 41 being brought to the boat.

We headed back in around 3:30 for the potluck. I cooked a cajun tri-tip and Al served smoked pheasant. The food was excellent! Someone also brought duck sausages that were out of this world and as usual cheese cake was also to die for. After some good conversation next to fire it was off to bed (early bird...).

The next day was Sunday so we were again up before dawn looking for a few more before we headed home. Worked the shallows along Windlass Bay for some good action on the Lyman's again. I have to say it is really something to hit the shallows at first light. We were hitting fish almost every pass. We then moved back out to deep water as the sun began to warm things up.In the deep water, the hot lure turned out to be the rainbow trout double flutter.

All in all we had beautiful weather, great fishing and great friends. We brought at least 60 fish to the boat. We only kept a couple with this being primarily a catch and release trip. 

 
 
 
 
 
  
  

 

With a little help from my friends

Started off this morning first in line at the bait shop and in walked friends Kevin and Linda. Bait was scarce, but we managed to split a pound and a half of grass shrimp between the three of us, each fishing in our own boats. Kevin said he really only needed three shrimp anyway since he was fishing with three guys to which we all laughed and were on our way. 

The water was flat calm and a warm 54 degrees (much better than the 48 degree trip weeks before). Set up in 56 feet of water about midway through the ebb. Set one rod up with eel and the other with grass shrimp. I was telling Linda today that I have not had a fish on eel in quite some time in response to her comment about most of her fish coming on eel. Long about 09:00 the rod with eel got a nice hit to which I swung for the fences. No such luck on the hook set, so I dropped it right back down. Not a minute later she was on it again, so I swung away. This time I struck pay dirt. The fish immediately headed down river and before I knew it she had 150 yards on me and all I could do was slow her down. I was by myself so there was no way I could drop the anchor and chase her, so I started hollering for the boats nearby. Luckily, one of them responded by dropping their anchor and coming along side. I jumped in and we begin chasing the fish down. Finally we got it to the boat and it's a tail hooked, 51inch fatty. A quick snare and some pictures and she was released to swim again.

The guys who dropped their anchor to come help unfortunately had too small a float on their rode and it sunk, so I told them to tie up along side until the tide slowed and they could get their anchor back. Great bunch of guys. We all had a great laugh when I told them that it would be better to keep my chase boat along side anyway. 

After they moved off, Linda ( Diehard) and Al came by and tied off along side to fish for awhile. I was treated to a great meatball sandwich and plenty of laughs to finish out my day. It just does not get any better than this.

 

Ron

  

B-Day Sturg

Lou and I headed out for sturgeon with an extra dose of luck given that it was my birthday. First thing in the morning a large flock of Canadian Honkers came right over the boat and one of them let the excrement fly, which turned to a kind of black spray that hit the boat bow to stern. The bird guano gods must have been smiling on me (Birthday) because I was not touched by the foul substance. My fishing partner was not so fortunate.

After the bird adventure we settled in to fishing the ebb tide with lots of fish on the graph, but we couldn't find any takers. We set up initially in 72 ft. of water and stayed there for about two hours until another fisherman came and anchored above us in our line. That was enough for me to make a move. I headed up into shallower water and quickly found a nice line of fish in 50 ft. of water. We picked up a shaker and a few rat stripers toward the end of the tide.

On the flood, the line of fish stayed constant, so we stuck it out. I was fishing roe today along with my usual grass shrimp. I had several nice pull downs on the roe and managed to connect with one that ended up an LDR (long distance release). Finally, an hour into the tide, I hooked up and landed a nice 49 incher, which I released. This fish came on the roe as well. That was it for our luck today. The wind picked up in the afternoon, but it was in alignment with the tide so it was not an issue. Great way to spend a birthday.

78 inch sturgeon

Lou and I finally made it out for a little sturgeon fishing today, after some boat problems last week I was anxious to get out. Stopped in at Dockside and picked up a pound of grass shrimp and a dozen ghost and away we went. Got set up early on the start of the ebb.

I have not fished for sturgeon for months and was happy to see marks on the graph again. No luck until the tide started to slow. Made a move and picked a couple of small sturgeon right off the bat and then at the end of the tide, I set the hooks into a slug. It ran me around the boat once. It seems like you can always tell they are big when they start heading for the bow. The smaller fish tend to stay behind the boat more. We had a close call with the snare, but Lou was able get her under control for a clean release. We landed a total of five shakers as well. The big fish came on straight grass shrimp.

The Alaskan Adventure - 6/11/09

The Alaskan adventure began for me about a week before my departure. With two kids in college and the economy being what it is, I had been holding off any major trips for the foreseeable future, or so I thought. That was when I received a call from my friend Tim with a deal that I just could not refuse. You have to understand I am a guy who will go fishing at the drop of a hat. I am rather impulsive with this affliction of mine. One summer in college a friend asked if I wanted to go small mouth bass fishing with him to which I agreed. I soon found myself on a three day cross country trip to the east coast. I have to admit it is even more exciting when it's on short notice. It really adds to the feeling of adventure.

So last Saturday I found myself on a plane headed to Ketchican.

 

 

 

 

  

Ketchican is a port of call for the cruise fleet and it is quite common to see as many as five cruise ships in at a time. According to one of the local cab drivers the town has about 1800 residents and with the cruise ships in town it can blossom to about 15,000 over the course of the day. The place has a modern feel brought on by the tourist trade. It reminds me of something out of a Popeye movie with all of the waterfront and long docks down to the water. The tides in Alaska are enormous with a swing as high as 18 ft.

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday we traveled down to the float plane dock for our flight over to Craig. The flight was really exciting in a single engine 1950-era Dehavalin. The flight was about an hour long over the mountains. The scenery was spectacular. The inner passage is filled with numerous islands that are very rugged, but tree covered. I was surprised at the elevation changes and the number of sheer vertical cliffs.

 

 

Once at the dock we were met by Katie from Sure-Strike Lodge, our host for the next five days. The lodge is owned and operated by Kirk Agnitsch. Once upon a time Kirk ran charter boats out of San Diego, but has been fishing Alaska now for more than twenty years. Sure-Strike is a top-of-thel-line fishing lodge that really exceeds expectations. They have full fish processing facilities, their own dock, spacious rooms, full-time chef, and a full game room with pool table and shuffle board. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lodge has five boats all armed with competent captains.

 

 

Bald Eagles are as common as Seagulls are here. I was actually able to stand about ten feet away from this one.

 

Whales and dolphins were also a regular sight frequently coming in close to shore after bait fish.

 

 

I found myself in awe of this place. The abundance of life was truly remarkable. It makes you speculate about what the lower forty eight must have been like a couple of hundred years ago. In their backyard they have crab, oysters, abalone, shrimp and one of the best fisheries on the planet. 

 

Ok - enough about the surroundings. Lets talk fishing. My fishing buddies on this trip were Tim Goldberg , Jason Goldberg and Adrian Efnard. Adrian and I were paired up with our Captain Sean Falkner. He used to be a deck hand on the New Sea Angler out of Bodega as well as having worked the long range fleet out of San Diego. Tim and Jason were riding with Captain Richard Bean or "Bean" as they call him. Sunday evening the day before we began fishing, Bean professed to be the "Salmon King". He's a young captain, but a good one. All of the boats at the the lodge are new -  23 ft. Almars with outboards. They all sport T8 kicker motors which really get a workout. The techniques they use involve a lot of slow trolling or controlled drifting depending on the target species.

 

 

Our plan was to first get on the salmon as the Kings had began to show up in numbers. Mooching is the primary tactic for salmon up there. They run about a five ounce trolling weight with a 6 foot double hook rig tied off to that. There are a couple of ways to hook the bait; however, we used what is referred to as the West Port method. For bait they use cut anchovies (cut to give a tight roll). We worked top to bottom on a slow troll reeling up then dropping at a controlled speed. Adrian and I were able to work up a couple of kings for our limit on the first day and we ran out outside to try our luck on rock fish and halibut. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The king I caught the first day measured 25#. We had limits on halibut, but we really were hoping to get a better grade of fish later in the trip. Man it was sure nice to get back on kings again. Especially mooching with an 8 .ft G Loomis stick.

 

The second day we had the same basic tactic with salmon first and the halibut and rock fish later in the day. Only this time we headed farther out for the halibut to a spot they had done relatively well on the day before. I was able to get my king again and Adrian had his chance, but ended up farming it at the end. I also did a short range release on another. We were also able to get a little better grade of halibut on the second day with Adrian scoring a 33# fish. Tim and Jason caught a halibut that day that tipped the scales at 100 #s. The hot lure was a scampi on a 16 oz. head.

 

 

 

 

Our third and final day had us checking out some new water. Kirk had seen some good signs the day  before, so we all followed him and his crew over to give it a try. Adrian and I connected with our fish right off the bat. I with a 27# and Adrian with a 17# fish. We then made a 12 mile run off shore to search for more quality butts. We ran into great ling and rock cod fishing, but just could not find the slug halibut. The reds and lings out there were nothing short of incredible.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

During our stay we were treated to some of the best food I have ever eaten. Everything from fresh halibut, sushi, smoked salmon, prime rib, crab - you name it. Steve, the Chef, also made a few Hawaiian specialties that were a real treat. Back to the gym I go;  however, I certainly got my work out in pulling on fish. Captain Sean also worked hard for us. He also allowed us to get creative with our locations and tactics, which I really appreciated.

 

All in all, I would put it down as an experience comparable to fishing long range. Great fun, people, environment and service.

 

 

Have Not Posted Too Much, But Still Fishing Up A Storm

It's been a while for posting. Deb's father John passed away in February and not two months later her mother Linda also passed. Things have been more than a little chaotic at our household. Thanks to all of our friends who offered their kind words of support. It's been a couple of rough months. Here is a picture of her father one day after we had really put the hurt to the salmon. He got sea sick that day and leaned over the rail. A second later he turned to me and said "Ronnie, I lost my teeth!" It was all I could do to keep from laughing, but it didn't slow him down. He never wanted to stop fishing and went on to catch a 37# salmon that day.

 

So what's been going on lately?:

Just got back from halibut fishing yesterday with friend Ilian and his dad Vladamir. Had a great time on the bay, but the bite was a little tougher than previous trips. We started at Treasure Island area and covered territory all the way to the flats. Seemed to do best in 30 feet of water. We had one nice halibut, one decent striper, and a few drive by's. We were still trolling even though live bait was available. I have been doing real good on a rubber pearl white fluke lure made by Zoom. The coloring is a clear metal flake over a white pattern. Seems to work real good behind the dodger. In the five or so trips I have fished with it, it has done better than the frozen hearing and anchovies. This trip our one halibut came on the fluke and the striper came on a frozen herring.

The week before, I was up at Pyramid for WFO on the cutthroats. Hot lure was a bullfrog flatfish but we did good on various Lyman's as well. Fished LA rock, the Willows and Warrior. Great weather and the campers were out in full force for the Memorial day weekend. I was quite surprised at the lack of fisherman though. Towed a guy and his girlfriend back to the beach after they had broken down on their jet ski. Was very surprised to learn that he had a heart attack the Monday before. Not good to be stranded a mile off the beach having had that happen a few days before. 

Three weeks ago I was on the bay with Alan, Lonnie and his son Robert. Had a rough start because I somehow left without the electronics bag (DUH). So we resolved to do it "old school". Had a great day with 6 keeper halibut to the boat and two shakers. Hot lure was the fluke on the troll. Maybe I should leave the electronics home more often.

Four weeks ago- I fished New Melones with Al. We put the gear in the water at 0830 and were limited out by 10:00 am. Nice when it goes that easy. Stopped by Glory Hole sporting  goods on the way in and bought a new Lamiglass kokanee rod. I have not spent a lot of time chasing Kokanee, but I think Al has me hooked on them now. They sure make great table fare and it's nice to have fresh salmon of any kind again these days.

 

Looking forward to an Alaska trip next week. I will be flying into Craig and fishing with Sure Strike Charters. I'll try and do better with the posting from this point on.

Flash's Derby Martinez 1/24/2009

 

I have to compliment Steve and the folks that put on the derby today. What a great time! This is by far the best-run derby that I have had the pleasure of being a part of.

 

Today I fished with Scott (Top Cat) and Captn Kevin aboard my boat. Began our day on the flats at the fleet. The ebb was just ending and the wind was up out of the South West when we arrived. We put the hook down in 7 ft of water and surprisingly we had only two other boats in our general area. As the tide turned the water flattened out nice. Not long into the flood I tied into a 57" sturgeon that came on ghost shrimp. A quick call to the Weigh Master, a measure, a picture and our fish was released and on it's way. It's nice when you have a fish on the board right off the bat. We were hopeful that it would be the first of many, but that was it.

 

I tried out a new type of leader and hooks today that proved successful (At least I know it didn't hurt). I always like to try new things to keep it interesting. 

 

 The flounder were thick today and it was a challenge just keeping the gear in the water.  As the tide slowed again we ran to the Garnet point area, but the same bait thieves were out in force there as well.

 

I saw many old friends today and few folks that I had recently met at the ISE shows. I also enjoyed the focus on the kids at this derby; there were many smiling faces when the awards were given. It was great to be involved in such a positive event. I also was very impressed at the professionalism on the radio. Just good clean fun!

 

Will post pictures soon.

First Trip of the New Year - 1/02/09

Scott and I made it to the ramp today at about 06:30 and to my surprise there was not a single boat trailer there. Weather reports must have scared them off as they were calling for 5 to 15 with rain. Well, the wind thankfully stayed down most of the day and even though it rained it was really a nice day to be fishing. Fished the Pittsburg area and landed my first fish of the year, a 39 inch shaker, and that was it. The graph was active all day, but I just couldn't get any others to play. We fished JPS today in about 55 feet of water. Water temp was 46 degrees. The only Fish came on the incoming tide.

Below is a picture of our new High Liner Sturgeon Flags for sale at the International Sportsmen's Exposition in San Mateo and Sacramento, California this month, as well as on our Web site.

Winter Time Bite - 12/31/08

I took a little time off from fishing to do some duck hunting the past couple of weeks, but I am back after the sturgeon again. Been out a couple of times in the last week. One day we boated 10 shakers, but nothing in the slot. I did manage to catch a striper about 8# or so.

Today I fished with my good friend Scott. We fished the flats near the mothball fleet and all we could manage was three flounder. Fog was thick today as we traversed from Pittsburg up to the fleet this morning before sun up. The run was slow going to be safe and radar was a necessity. Very little wind today though which made it nice. Water temp. is now down to 46 degrees which means the bite is getting softer. 

Based on the reports, most of the fish caught lately have been at night on the big outgo's in shallow water. The go-to bait has been shrimp (ghost and grass). I may try a night trip this weekend. I did get a call from Linda, aka Die Hard, a friend of mine, on the way back in. She caught a 72" oversize on roe in the Pittsburg area. I'll be back out tomorrow for another go.