Sturgeon fishing is on the Columbia and lower Willamette Rivers. February through June and again in October and November is the best time to catch the “keeper” size Sturgeon.

The size limit for sturgeon is 42-60 inches, anything under 42 or over 60 inches has to be thrown back.

On an average day of sturgeon fishing on the Columbia River, the boat will land between 20 and 50 fish.  This amounts to a lot of action.

The best time to catch the oversize fish is late May through August. This is strictly a catch and release fishery, but landing a fish anywhere from 5 feet to 14 feet long is something you won’t soon forget!

The average number of hookups on this trip is between 6 and 12 fish. Bring your camera and eat your Wheaties for this one.

I also fish Sturgeon on the Umpqua River.  This is a little different than the Columbia fishery as there aren’t any small fish.  We don’t catch as many, but the ones we do catch are usually in the slot limit or over so they are usually keepers.  This fishing begins in April and fishes well through May.