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Sturgeon Fishing Tips
How to fish for Sturgeon on the Lower Chehalis River
Most of the sturgeon fishing in the Chehalis occurs in the
Aberdeen to Friends Landing area below Montesano.
However there can be fish caught in the river from Westport
all the way to Centralia.
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Sturgeon is the ONLY
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If you want to fish for
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N.W. Sturgeon Adventures
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Sturgeon fishing boat launches on the river, starting downriver & working upstream
are;
(1) In Westport, Grays Harbor,-- South on N Montesano
St.; Left at the Hungry Whale Chevron gas station on Wilson
Ave. to its end. Parking is on the right by the Coast
Guard station.
(2) 9th Street
Landing and Rayonier Point---Hoquiam Parks & Rec Dept
Hoquiam River
In Hoquiam, E on Simpson Ave.; L on
9th St., ramp at end.
- difficult to launch/ load a boat at low
tide.
(3) 28th Street Boat Launch Chehalis River/Grays Harbor
In East Hoquiam, E on Simpson
Ave.; R at 28th St; follow .5 mi to end at parking area;
boat ramp.
(4) Aberdeen ramp -- Chehalis River
From Aberdeen at US 101
cross Chehalis River, S .5 mi; turn left on first street,
Boone St, short distance to parking area. Old double
lane concrete ramp only usable at high tide, minimal
parking.
(5) Weyerhaeuser Boat Ramp - Chehalis River-- Cosmopolis
In Cosmopolis, east at
'F' St, at police station, go 2 blocks to end of St. One
blacktop & 2 gravel ramps, lots of parking.
(6) Friends Landing -- Chehalis River,
From Montesano, --
West 1 mi on US 12; L (south) on Devonshire Rd,
go 1.1 mi; South on Katon
Rd 1.4 mi.
(7) South Montesano (WDFW) - Chehalis River
From Montesano, S on SR 107 .8
mi; L at "Public Fishing" sign, go past lumber yard
.2 mi to end of Rd.
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Starting at
Westport, you can go out to mid-river between Ocean Shores &
Johns River. There is a flat here with the water
averaging 20' deep, you can also find a slot that reaches
35'. This deeper slot is one location to try.
Others would be in the slot up to the right of Sand Island
Shoal. Another location would be in the 2 channels
that run up towards the Humptulips River. Then there
is the main Chehalis shipping channel up to Aberdeen. This
area is more susceptible to wind & bad weather for small
boats than farther upriver.
Upriver farther,
most of the fishing usually takes place from the Cosmopolis
launch up to Preacher Slough. There are also some
spots below the launch near the bend in the river. You
will find sturgeon at the Cosmopolis launch
area, as there are those who bank fish in front of the
parking lot. Also at the bend just upriver from the
launch under the power lines. Another spot is around
the bend in a 40' hole just below Max slough on the left.
Fishing can be concentrated on the right hand side here to
up into the 60' hole at the next sharp LH bend. This
upper bend is however the main area that the Quinault
Indians net for sturgeon.
Fishing also occurs at the mouths & just above Blue
Slough & then in the next or Preacher Slough. In the
winter when high run off occurs, you may consider slipping
into the sloughs.
Above the sloughs is lotys of old pilings on the left
below & along side of Higgins Island on the left. On
the mainland shore at the upper end of the island there is
railroad tracks & houses behind. Above the most
upriver house, there is a 30' hole that is sometimes fished.
The water shallows up to averaging 15' with a deeper slot on
the RH shore where there are some salmon shanties.
Sturgeon can be pulled along this shore in the same area as
the salmon fishing. But the river is mostly shallow,
15' clear to Friends Landing. Across the river on the
RH side from the Friends Landing launch there is a 30' hole
that is sometimes fished.
Best fishing appears
to be on the incoming to slack tide, because the tide is
running considerably more on the outgoing tide which
requires more sinker weight & a better anchor. Plus
there could be more debris coming down the river in the fall
& spring on the outgoing tide.
The
Chehalis River is open for sturgeon fishing 24 hours a day.
The best fishing on this river seems to be the night
fishing.
You will be amazed at the boats on the river at night even in
February. Another point to consider is that if you
fish the evening of one day & thru the night & come in at
daylight the next day, you have actually fished 2 days & are
entitled to two limits.
One word of caution,
if the moon is not out, & it starts to rain, a hand-held
spotlight does not cut it to find your way back downriver.
LOTS OF BLACKNESS OUT THERE.
Bait of choice here
will be sand shrimp. It seems that the sturgeon have
not developed a taste for smelt as their cousins in the
Columbia.
The Quinault Indians
net for salmon, steelhead & sturgeon here both in the spring
& fall. That being the case, there seems to be less
strugeon at those times of the year.
The above information was used
with the permission
LeeRoy Wisner
of
www.pugetsoundanglers.org
LeeRoy Wisner had posted several EXTREMELY informative
articles on the Puget Sound Anglers website and we strongly
recommend visiting that website or
click here
to email him directly. As an editor's note I must say that in
my lifetime of searching every available resource I have
never come across so many helpful and informative articles
as those written by LeeRoy Wisner. Thanks again and
hats to LeeRoy for giving us permission to post these
articles so that you can learn more about fishing and
hopefully you catch more fish! |