Ling Cod, Rock Fish, and Sturgeon, Oh My!

Fishing in Astoria is in full swing and the opportunities this weekend seemed endless. I should be focusing on the Good Ju Ju’s debut run with clients, but that’s almost a footnote when I think about this weekend. Catch and Release Sturgeon is absolutely on fire. We also had good enough ocean conditions to make a run out for bottom fish. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Columbia River Salmon opener was the lowest priority for my clients and I. Mix in some beautiful (although a bit warm for me) weather, and this was a weekend to remember!

Saturday Dinosaurs (Sturgeon)

I guess the best way to start today’s update is to talk about sturgeon fishing. If you’ve been following me on facebook you’ll know that catch and release sturgeon has been absolutely crazy good. I had put the Ju Ju in the water the day before and tested her out on the run to West Basin. Minus a few little gremlins that were easily fixed, she ran like a dream, even with some afternoon chop.

At 7:30 AM we headed out to catch the last of the outgoing tide. Two groups of clients joined Bobby and I for a 5 seat shared trip. Ages ranged from teen to “I’m too polite to say”. The water was smooth on the way out and we headed up river past Tongue Point onto the sands.

After setting the anchor in one of my favorite spots we immediately spotted a sturgeon finning up on the flats while it munched on clams buried in the mud. Bobby helped me get the rods out and it was game on within a few minutes. The first fish launched out of the water and we were into the action all day with a few lulls around the slack tide.

We had a total of 23 fish to the boat with a few “small ones” that we could bring out of the water and a couple that broke off. We even had two in the 7+ foot range that we had to go chase. Our finale fish managed to foul-hook itself in the back which resulted in a 20+ minute fight, with jumps and huge runs. Once we got it to the boat and released it was time to head back. Everyone had tired arms and smiles on their faces.

The trip back had a little bit of chop and spray but wasn’t bad. The cooldown was welcome after the heat upriver and the Ju Ju performed well. The outgoing tide generated a bit of chop near the Astoria-Megler bridge but nothing we couldn’t handle.

Sunday Sea Dragons (Rockfish and Lingcod)

While Saturday was focused on dinosaurs, Sunday was all about the Ling Cod and Rockfish. I set the departure time at 7:30 to make sure we wouldn’t get caught on a bad bar report due to the big outgoing tide at the mouth of the Columbia. This time it was two clients, a father and son from Vancouver, WA. Dad was a seasoned fishing pro and his 19 year old son was getting hooked. I also brought my buddy Jamie and Bobby along for extra limits. Bobby had a bit of a break from deckhand duties.

I brought some extra fuel cans on board since the hour (in smooth water) trip is the longest trip I run. Once we cleared the tips of the jetties I put the Ju Ju up on plane and rode the southerly swell down to Tillamook Head lighthouse. The total trip time down from dock departure to arrival at the lighthouse was about an hour. This is one of my favorite bottom fishing spots. Not only because the lighthouse just looks cool, but there are a lot of different species you can catch.

True to my word, everyone got to choose what to put down. Most of the gear used shrimp fies and biodegradable Q8 super baits for jigging. I put out a bait rig for myself that I could just hang from a rod holder. We loaded up on limits of rockfish and a keeper ling cod in just under 2 hours.

I shifted locations to try to focus more on lings. We spent the rest of our time hunting down ling cod and releasing a combination of rockfish, cabezon, undersized ling cod, and a kelp greenling. Amongst the rockfish species we saw a smorgasbord of Black, Blue, Quillback, Canary, Yellow Tail, and Coppers. After boating a couple more keeper ling cod it was time to head back before the wind picked up too badly.

I was a little slow in making the call to head back and we ran into some pretty rough wind chop. I did my best to quarter to the waves but with them coming almost directly from the North it was a bit hard to do. The trip back was much slower and I ended up needing to dip into the spare fuel cans and refuel partway back. We caught the beginning of the ebb tide on the way back across the bar and my advice to bring ponchos in case of spray was well taken by our guests!

Once we pulled back into the marina it was time to start filleting the 23 fish that we brought back with us. With a cooler full of fillets, and a teenager taking a nap on the dock, it was time to say goodbye. I have a feeling it won’t be forever though. These guys are planning on coming back to fill up on Salmon later this year!

Boat Upgrade Plans

There’s nothing like a good weekend with the full range of conditions to adjust your boat plans. The Good Ju Ju performed well. She had plenty of power to get through the rough stuff and was super stable when fishing for sturgeon.

Number one on the list is getting springs under the seats. I want to make everyone as comfortable as possible when we get into heavy water. It will also let us go a little faster and more efficiently. Most importantly though is that fishing shouldn’t be a young person’s game and I love it when I get multi-generational groups on board.

I’ll probably dedicate a few more posts to details but I now have a good list to work off of and for everyone to look forward to.

I have an open week right now to dedicate to a few tweaks and a few more upgrades and then it’s out to the ocean for the ocean salmon opener on the 20th. I’m excited to get the first salmon on board the Ju Ju!