In years past, I successfully fished for Sturgeon in the lower Columbia and some other rivers on the West side of the mountains. Roosevelt Lake has a good Sturgeon population and season. I’ve never fished it before (it’s a lake behind one of the dams on the Columbia) and have heard that many of the most successful fishers are using flashers and some different baits. I’m used to either a downriver or a crescent weight with a herring. I use a heavy Salmon/Halibut Rod and a Penn 209 with braid.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
L.W.
Loc: Spokane Valley, Washington
Roosevelt is behind Grand Coulee dam. Bring what ya got should work. Like any other fishing the bit will be different every day.
Seems the bite has been best up around Kettle Falls area. I only went once, and we were skunked. We used fresh cut perch and crappie as bait. Check the emergency regs before you go as the season is fluid.
Never heard of anyone using flashers for sturgeon. Are they trolling along the bottom or something?
I fish the Willamette and Columbia both for sturgeon. 100lb braid slider with dropper weight braid leader and herring.
My Stepson got this one on the Columbia above Bonneville.
Here's the thing about sturgeon ...the bite is very light. Just little thump thumps ! You really need to be paying attention. Then when you know they've taken it, rip there lips off! BIG hook set! Like actually throw your back out hook set!
I’ve caught keepers in both the Columbia near Kalama and up in some of the tributaries off of the Snohomish river as well as ones too small and a few too big.
I’ve never used a flasher either but I’ve seen some pictures of rigs guys (and gals) are supposedly using in Lake Roosevelt.
Interesting . Would like to know more about that. Maybe they are letting the flasher do its thing in current? But lake has no current. I don't get it! Unless trolling.
That’s what has been puzzling me as well. In the Slough, if were were not getting action with our normal set up of a plug cut herring we would switch tc not cutting and rig the herring backwards with a good bend for action. Crazy as it sounds, it would get strikes. Also, they seemed to take it harder instead of gumming it. Much more easily to feel or see a strike. It was not foolproof though, as we’d rig up that way to start with and not get hits. A switch back to the cut plug could entice them pretty often.
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