The sturgeon bite on the lower Columbia dropped this week, due to water temperature I suspect, although catch numbers for both bank and boat anglers are still fair. Smelt, sand shrimp and herring all worked well. The sturgeon bite in Tillamook Bay is holding fairly steady with the best action being in West Channel and Bay City. Dennis and Marie at Tillamook Bait have fresh mud shrimp and sand shrimp, squid, herring and anchovies so keep them in mind if you re coming down to chase some sturgeon. The trick, as I keep pointing out, is to find them.
Water levels are very low, water temps are relatively high and the rivers are running clear.
All of these conditions combine to make fishing difficult. In particular, the upper reaches of these streams are both full of fish and receiving very little pressure. And, in addition to good numbers of steelies, cutthroat trout are available in good numbers as well. The way to fish the Nestucca, Trask and Wilson is to concentrate on the middle to upper reaches working riffles and pools early in the day and again in the late afternoon when the river is in shade. Any undercut or overhung banks should also be worked thoroughly.