Fishing in Portland

Well, my boss has finally gotten me out to Portland for a visit. To show his hospitality in my first visit to this area, he scheduled a off-site excursion for our team. We went fishing instead of working on Wednesday.

For most of you, fishing doesn't sound all that noteworthy. Typically it is construed by those of you in PA as a leisurely waste of time. This fishing trip was completely different from anything I have experienced previously.

My past fishing trips consisted of tackling up and heading to the local stream, river, or lake. Take a few minutes to find a nice place on the shore and cast out some line & sit and watch. This trip was amazingly different than that. The tackle was some heavy duty stuff. The rods were longer and thicker than anything I've ever owned, the sinkers alone were time and again larger and the reels were a minimum of two times larger in diameter. This was some serious gear. The line test was rated for 40lbs but is "tough line" and is designed to not break unless under the most extreme stress. Anyway, enough about the tackle.

Even the bait was of note. We were fishing with bait the size of a small blue gill or suckerfish. We were using smelt & squid. We were in pursuit of sturgeon. I had been told that these fish can get large, but it wasn't until much later in the trip did I have a chance to fully appreciate the size of these fish. Anyway, sturgeon fishing is as different from the PA fishing in which I am familiar as small game and deer hunting are. They are completely different sports.

Anyway, to facilitate the best chances at catching these dinosaurs of fish, we were fishing from a boat. This was a serious boat too. One of my coworkers is a coast guard accessory member and is an avid boater & fisherman. And serious at his craft as I've ever seen. We were in an 24' Alumaweld Formula Vee outboard fishing boat. This thing boasted (from what I can tell) the best of everything available. He had a combo sonar/gps/fishfinder unit, a radar system, 2 VHF radios, and a CB radio. The power house for this vessel was dual 115HP motors with the optional off-shore rig. This was just simply the most impressive privately owned fishing craft I've ever seen. However, being from an inland city this is not too much of a surprise.

We took a trip up and down the Willamette River. Being from a city that boasts 3 rivers, I thought I knew what I was in for. The 3 rivers in Pittsburgh are a joke. The Willamette River and Columbia river are simply huge. No joke. The commercial vessels that use these rivers would not have a chance on the Ohio, Allegheny or Monongahela Rivers that Pittsburgh boasts. Despite the width of the rivers, thanks to the fishfinder/sonar unit on the boat, I was able to discover that this river ranges from 45-80' deep. Absolutely amazing to think about.

Anyway, enough background on the day. The parties in attendance includes Tim (my boss), Holly (our only female participant this day), Brian (the fish at heart), and myself. The trip of course started out with getting the boat prepped (I didn't have a clue what he was doing & was more than happy to leave that in his capable hands) and then launch. Being somewhat familiar with boating (from boy scouts) I was able to assist somewhat with this activity.

Once the boat is ready to rock & roll, we have a quick safety briefing as to the standard review of the boat's capabilities and safety equipment locations (thankfully, we didn't need them). Once we get away from dock, I was simply impressed by the power this machine was putting out. We were doing 40+ MPH down the river. What an experience. We rode the river all the way down to the junction with the Columbia River and headed back upstream. We finally get to our fishing location shortly after the turn-around.

Once we stop, drop anchor, & get stable in our location we start prepping the rods for casting & getting the fishing event underway. I had an opportunity to take a look at the fish finder and see that the amount of fish available was plenty. Excitement started to take over. While stringing up the rods, I was finally provided an opportunity to understand what a leader is and what it is used for. Also, it was interesting to see the weights were not attached to the swivels but were on a sliding jig instead. It was just absolutely ingenious to see these rigged up as they were. It was very similar and very different all at the same time. For example, we were using 6oz weights. I was previously used to measuring sinkers in grams. The scale is incredible and it didn't take long to find out why.

It didn't take long after getting the bait in the water to start seeing action. These fish were hungry and hitting the rods like I've never seen or felt before. In my fishing experience, the fish were caught not by skill but rather by hitting the bait. This was completely different. There is a skill at getting these fish to be caught on the hook. The bait is so large and arranged in such a way that just by taking hits doesn't mean that there is a fish on the end of the line. You've got to catch it on the end of the line. It was amazing to hold the rod in my hand and feel the fish taking bites of the bait. These are not the little bass or small game from back home.

Well, after what felt like for ever, Brian was able to finally hook a fish. I tried many a time but I guess my technique was fundamentally flawed. Anyway, once it was hooked, he handed the rod to me. When I get the rod, I can feel the size of this thing immediately. This thing had to have been multiple times larger than anything I've ever landed before. To further exemplify this idea was when it started pulling line out of the reel. Mind you, at the same time, the rod was in the shape of a U, well, upside-down. Anyway, I was getting excited. It fought very well, but not so much that I was overwhelmed in the strength fight. It took a good 5-10 minutes to get the 80 some feet of line back on the reel and the fish on the surface. This thing was HUGE!!! 42 1/2 inches!!!

If we had gone fishing a day later, I would have been able to keep it. The minimum keep size for sturgeon is greater than 42" and less than 60". Can you imaging pulling in a 5' fish from the 3 Rivers? That's unheard of. Anyway, it was simply amazing. When I get home I will post the pictures that I have of the species that better shows how ugly they are, but here is a shot of my fish, Brian and me.



I can't imagine how many fillets and dinners this guy would have served. Simply amazing.

On the day, between the 4 of us, we landed 5 fish. This first one was the only one of keeper size. It was a blast.

Ironically, later in the day on one of the smaller fish, Holly was able to set & reel in a fish all on her own on her very first attempt. The 3 of us were totally stunned. :)

With fishing that was this exciting, I could certainly see myself picking the sport up again in the unlikely event that I would move to an area like this or to a coast. However, in my current financial state, I doubt that I would be able to afford the sport anyway, as the boat, rods, reels & tackle at this scale is quite an investment. Although, I would recommend to anyone to take an opportunity like this one if it ever made available.