Winter Steelhead

Sunset on the Willamette River

Paula and I took the boat out on the Willamette near Molalla River State Park and caught a cool sunset.

Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire State Park

Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada

Waves at Fort Stevens

Paula and I made a day trip to Astoria, Oregon to celebrate the week off from work (me) and school (Paula).  We visited Fort Stevens State Park, Fort Clatsop National Park, the Maritime Museum and got to learn about the history of the area, which was pretty interesting.  The waves, wind and rain were out in force, but we took a few photos.

Shipwreck off Fort Stevens Park

This is the remains of the Peter Iredale, a ship that ran aground on it’s attempt to find the entrance to the Columbia River.  I linked to the wikipedia article which has its story if you’re interested.  The Peter Iredale’s Captain’s final toast to his ship was: “May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands.”  The wind was very fierce which whipped sand around.  Paula and I were covered in sand from just a few minutes out in the wind.  The poor Sports Kia was covered, too!

Paula on Ft. Stevens Viewing Deck

Paula and I went up to the top of a Viewing Deck at Fort Stevens to see the wind and waves up close.  You can see the big waves and rocks out there.  A little further up would be where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean at the infamous Columbia River Bar.  At both the Fort Stevens State Park and the Columbia River Maritime Museum, this is referred to as the “Graveyard of the Pacific”, because there have been so many shipwrecks.  The Columbia River pushes so much water that hits the force of the Pacific Ocean and creates a giant turbulent mess.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum had a little video that talked about ships crossing the bar, and they have special “Bar Pilots”, who board inbound and outbound ships to pilot them across the bar because it is so dangerous.  Then, once they’ve crossed the bar, another “River Pilot” boards the ship and pilots it the rest of the way, while the Bar Pilot gets off and heads over to the next ship.

Battery Russell at Fort Stevens

Next, we stopped at Battery Russell at Fort Stevens.  There’s a link to one of the Fort Wiki pages where you can get more information about the fort if you’re interested.  As you might guess from the picture, it’s no longer in service, but it was used for Columbia River defense and also during World War II.  It had two large 10-inch gun emplacements for firing on enemy ships.

Battery Russell

This photo was taken up on the second floor of the Battery.  The big hole on the left is where a big 10-inch gun was mounted.  It could raise up over the wall of the fort and point out toward the Pacific Ocean (left) and fire at incoming ships.  Then, it could rotate back around to the right and hide below the horizon behind the fort and its earthen and concrete walls. One of the websites I’ve linked to talked about new 12-inch guns that had been developed for sea fort defense, but Battery Russell was already under construction, and it was too late for the 12′s, so they stuck with the 10′s.  Up on the right is another room, I’d guess for machine guns and observation.

Battery Russell

The Battery saw action in World War II, where a Japanese submarine surfaced and started shelling Fort Stevens.  None of the shells hit the Battery or the Fort, but 17 were fired before the submarine left.  According to a historical poster at the site, to the dismay of the soldiers at the fort, they were ordered to keep quiet and not return fire, so they did not give away the position of the Battery to the submarine.  I read somewhere that there was also speculation that the submarine may have been just out of range of the 10-inch guns.  I read somewhere else that the Japanese were shooting at a submarine base that was planned, but had not been constructed yet, and were unaware of the Battery.

Looking down the Battery Russell Hallway

While Paula and I were exploring the Battery and seeing its dark, spooky rooms, we were talking about how it might be a neat place for a paranormal investigation.  Imagine our surprise (or lack thereof) when we found Battery Russell listed by a few websites as a haunted fort.  That link mentioned a ghostly former park caretaker making the rounds with a lantern at night.

Top of Battery Russell

The Battery Russell was named after a commander, David Russell, who was killed during the Civil War.  It was deactivated at the end of 1944 once a newer and better sea defense Battery was completed.

View of Battery Russell from the other side

Lastly, here’s another view of Fort Stevens Battery Russell from the opposite end.  So, Paula and I headed back out to our next destination, which was Fort Clatsop in the Fort Clatsop National Park.

Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop was where Lewis and Clark spent their winter in Astoria.  The original fort disintegrated over the years and was rebuilt for it’s 150 year anniversary.  It burnt down and was rebuilt in 2005, so we’re looking at the rebuilt version of it.  We checked out the museum and walked the nature trail.  We would have taken more pictures if the weather didn’t get extra nasty.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pictures, and also that my blog post didn’t turn into a history lesson!

Mount Hood and Burnt Lake from East Zigzag

Let me introduce you to one of my new favorite hikes in Oregon, the Burnt Lake Trail to East ZigZag Mountain. It all started on a nice Sunday (8/2/2011), when I needed to give Paula some space to study, so I looked at my new Green Trails map and Sullivan’s 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon book and found a nice trail called Burnt Lake.  It was rated moderate and had some options to extend into a longer hike, so I was game.

Start of Burnt Lake Trail

After waking up early in the morning, heading out to the Mt. Hood forest up some sketchy gravel roads, I hit the trailhead just before 9:00am.  There were some lost hikers on Mt. Hood from the day before and the Search and Rescue teams with their orange jackets were staging at the Burnt Lake trailhead.  I asked one of the SAR members if I should keep a look out for anything while out on the trail.  He said “Keep an eye out for guys in orange jackets running up the trail, and if you see them, get out of the way!”.  We laughed and I headed out into the forest.

Burnt Lake Creek

Burnt Lake trail starts out following Burnt Lake Creek.  The trail was very steady with a slight grade.  I was able to maintain a quick pace, mostly to stay ahead of the SAR team at the trailhead, but also since the temperature was cool and it felt great!

Burnt Lake Creek Crossing

Next, I passed a little waterfall at the Burnt Lake Creek crossing, where you had to hopscotch across the rocks to the other side.  I was making a great pace, and thought to myself, “Is this Lost Creek Falls?”, which was about 2 miles in.  Turns out this wasn’t.

Burned out Tree Trunk

Burnt Lake was named after giant, burned-out, old growth tree trunks leftover from a huge 19th century forest fire.  Here’s one of them along the trail.  Here’s another Photo of the Burned Out Tree Trunk with a little more light.  The forest was dim, so most of my other pictures didn’t come out.  (as if there weren’t enough pictures in this post anyway…)

Inside the Tree Trunk Looking Out

The burnt out trunk in the previous photo was big enough for me to walk inside and photograph the outside world, too.  Doesn’t this look like one of those pictures where the negative space is supposed to look like something?

Little Clearing out in the Forest

The trail continued to ascend, and we passed out into a clearing, where I could finally see some blue sky and sun.

Devil's Club's Evil Leaves

As I moved higher up, I saw some Devil’s Club.  I discovered this evil plant actually has thorns on the tops of its leaves!

More Devil's Club

Here’s more Devil’s Club.  It means business!

Lost Creek Falls

At about 2 or 2.5 miles in, there was a side trail down into a gorge where I could hear rushing water.  Looking at my map and my trusty-but-sometimes-questionable-pedometer, I figured out that it must have been the trail down to Lost Creek Falls, and I wasn’t on track to set a new speed record.

Here’s a fun video of Lost Creek Falls in action.

First Glimpse of Mt. Hood from the Burnt Lake Trail

After taking a few minutes to feel the cold breeze off Lost Creek Falls, I headed back up to the main trail and continued my trek up toward Burnt Lake.  This was the first good glimpse of Mt. Hood as the forest started to open up.

Neat fungus along the trail

I spotted this really cool looking fungus along the trail and had to take a picture.

There's a fungus among us...

…and since we were taking pictures of fungus already, I had to get a picture of this slimy looking one, too.

Finally, I reached peaceful Burnt Lake.  Mount Hood is behind the trees off to the left, so I was going to need to hike around to the far right bank to get a shot of it, hopefully reflecting in the lake.

Mt. Hood Reflecting in Burnt Lake

After hiking around to the spot on the right, I could see Mt. Hood, as majestic as ever across the lake.  There was too much of a breeze, so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the postcard-quality reflection shot. You can see some of the Douglas Fir pollen on the surface down at the bottom of the photo.  I was reading about how earlier in the month the pollen was really bad!  Good thing I’m not allergic to Douglas Fir pollen!

Rhododendron on the way up!

I ran into a nice couple along the trail around Burnt Lake, who had camped out overnight and had hit East Zigzag earlier that morning, and were on the way back down.  It was barely 10:30am, and I was feeling great, so I was going to check out the view from up top.

Snowman along the trail to Zigzag Mountain

The snow was mostly melted, but I was able to find a few nice patches along the way up!  The trail climbed higher and higher, switchbacking to the left and to the right.

Rhododendron and Bear Grass

The Rhododendrons and Bear Grass were in bloom on the way up the trail, and as the path got steeper, I slowed down.

Mount Hood and Burnt Lake from Zigzag Mountain

And finally, I made it to the top of the Zigzag Mountain ridge, and an amazing view of Mt. Hood!  I like this picture of Burnt Lake’s blue reflection amid the dark green forest.

Mount Adams from Zigzag Mountain

From this vantage point, I could see all the way up to Mt. Adams in Washington.

East Zigzag Summit from the Trail

I grinned triumphantly, having reached the “top”, and took a water break.  As I contemplated eating my sandwich, I looked over to the left and realized that I wasn’t even at the summit!  Well, this wouldn’t do at all!  The sandwich would have to wait, I’m taking that hill!

Wildflowers on Zigzag Mountain

To get there, I had to cross a meadow full of wildflowers.  I don’t know the names of any of them…

Wildflowers on Zigzag Mountain

…and the ones I think I do know the names of, I’m totally wrong.  The official botanist of my expedition was back home studying, so let’s settle on “wildflowers”.

Mount Jefferson from Zigzag Mountain

As I got higher and higher, and could see to the south, Mt. Jefferson joined the view.  A few other peaks crept into view, although I couldn’t identify them.

East Zigzag Summit Marker

This was the marker I found on the East Zigzag summit. It reads something like:  “Reference Mark U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey” with details on who to contact if you have questions.  Here’s another angle on the summit marker.

East Zigzag Mountain's Rocky Summit

Those rocks are the highest point on the East Zigzag summit, so that’s exactly where I was going to have lunch!

Jeff on East Zigzag Summit

And here I am, on the highest point, having lunch!

Mt. Hood and Burnt Lake from Zigzag Summit

The view from the top.  Best seat in the house.

Another Hill, Cast Mountain, Maybe?

On my way back down the mountain, I noticed another hill off to the south that I hadn’t noticed before.  I think this might be Cast Mountain, near Cast Lake, or possibly one of the other peaks on Zigzag mountain.  This is likely another hike for another day.  Stay tuned.

Mount Hood Reflection in Burnt Lake - Take 2

When I arrived back at Burnt Lake, the sun had moved a few degrees to the West, so I tried to get the reflection shot again, but it was still a little choppy.  This one came out a little better than the first try.

East Zigzag from Burnt Lake

Then, I hiked around to the other side of the lake to the rocks to the right on the previous photo to take a photo of East Zigzag from Burnt Lake.  The wind was blocked by the trees behind me, so I was able to get a nice reflection shot here.  From here, I headed back down the trail, completeing about 11 miles total with all my side trips and exploring.

I’m also happy to report that on my way down, I passed the SAR team, who appeared to be in mid-rescue just below Lost Creek Falls, preparing to bring what looked like weary-looking hikers back to the trailhead.  Nice work to the Search and Rescue Team!

Mt. Hood from Tumala Mountain Trail

Since it was such a nice day today (Sunday), we decided to go for a hike up to Squaw Mountain, which was recently renamed to Tumala Mountain.  (You’ll find I use them interchangably through this blog post, because I don’t know (care?) what is the official or not name for anything at this moment)  Anyway, it was rumored to be a nice, moderate trail with a decent view of Mt. Hood at the top, with the ruins of an old fire lookout tower at the summit.  So we loaded up and headed out to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness looking for adventure.

Mismarked Trailhead

Fortunately, prior to leaving, I checked out Portland Hikers’ forum for any recent trail reports, and I found one that reported that the Forest Service apparently mixed up the trailheads to the Eagle Creek Cutoff Trail and the Squaw Mountain Trail.  We scouted around prior to starting the hike, and located the trailhead for the trail up to Old Baldy, but never definitively located the Eagle Creek Cutoff.  The post I read said the Eagle Creek Cutoff trail goes down and the Squaw Mountain Trail goes up, and this one looked like up, so away we went!  Imagine the confusion if we hadn’t known about this mix-up!

Trees along the Squaw Mountain Trail

The trail wasted no time in getting steep.  Right out of the chute, we’re on a steep, but steady climb up the hill.  The forest was very quiet and full of Hemlocks and Doug Firs.  There were some neat old snags along the trail.  The trail wasn’t as steep, but it changed to a steady climb.

Jeff building a Snowman on Tumala Mountain

We hit some patches of melty snow as we neared the top of the ridge.  Here I am building a snowman along the trail. 

Paula along the Tumala Mountain Trail

Tumala Mountain showed us patches of blue sky through the tall trees, tricking us into thinking we were nearing the top, but when we rounded the corner, the trail kept climbing steadily up.  We finally broke through to the ridgeline and got a glimpse of Mt. Hood!

Little Mountain Flowers along the Squaw Mountain Trail

As we climbed higher up the mountain, we saw different kinds of wildflowers along the trail.

Mt. Hood from Tumala Mountain

Finally, we made it to the top of the ridge.  Check out the zoomed in picture of Mt. Hood.  We noticed there appears to be a mountain goat pattern in the rocks and snow just right of center.  Never noticed that before!!

Paula on a Tumala Mountain Cliff

Once we arrived at the top, Paula and I explored to see what we could spot from here.  We found an epic view of Mount Hood at the edge of this tall cliff.  This is looking northeast from Tumala Mountain.

It’s a long way down!

Paula taking a picture of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams

Next, we wandered to a viewpoint facing North/Northwest.  In the picture above, you can see some white on the horizon, which is Mt. St. Helens, some white on the right, which is Mt. Adams, and then almost exactly in the center of them, there is maybe one or two pixels that are white or light blue, but that is the base of Mt. Rainier–it didn’t come out very well on either camera.

Mt. Hood from Tumala Mountain

We found another little viewpoint looking Northeast with another view of Hood.

Mt. Jefferson from Tumala Mountain

We then went around to the Southern viewpoint, where we spotted Mt. Jefferson peeking through the trees.

Mt. Jefferson from Tumala Mountain

We also caught fleeting glimpses of Broken Top, and the Three Sisters, although it was a little hazy, so we lost sight of them before we thought to try to take photos.

Jeff at ruins of Squaw Mountain Fire Lookout

Lastly, we searched out (and pretty easily) found the ruins of the old Squaw Mountain Fire Lookout.  These lookout towers are located all around the Pacific Northwest’s timberland so the Forest Service can keep an eye out for forest fires.  If you remember, we saw the foundations of one on South Fork Mountain just the other day.

Squaw Mountain Lookout Marker

In the middle of where the Fire Lookout used to be, we found this little marker memorializing the lookout station.  I’m amazed that the picture turned out!

Paula at Tumala Mountain Summit

So Tumala Mountain turned out to be a really nice hike, and blasted by our expectations!  We were thinking at the summit, we’d get a decent view of just Hood, but instead, we were surprised by some amazing panoramic views of our favorite Cascade Range volcanoes–what a great spot for a lookout station!  We also got to see all sorts of different wildflowers in bloom.  And then, after we hiked back down, we drove back down to Estacada and got ice cream!  Now, how can you beat THAT?

Now for a fun game:  In our last photo, see if you can find:

• The Squaw Mountain marker
• Mt. Hood
• Paula
• At least 4 diferent kinds of wildflower
• and the state of Washington
• (the butterfly didn’t want to cooperate and stayed out of the picture!)

Paula Taking a Shortcut along the Memaloose Lake Trail

Over the long weekend, Paula and I drove out beyond Estacada to hike up to Memaloose Lake and from there, hike up to the top of South Fork Mountain.  The weather was a little cooler and cloudier Sunday morning, but the weather report had the clouds breaking up by late morning, so we were hopeful!

The forest at the Memaloose Lake Trailhead

We pulled off the main road and drove an old forest road for about 12 miles until the pavement ended, and took the gravel road for another 2 miles arriving at the trailhead.  We ventured out into the forest and saw a mighty fine stand of big old trees welcoming us.

Devil's Club

There were some thickets of some nasty-looking thorny plants called Devil’s Club along the trail.  I remember seeing this plant on Man vs. Wild or one of those survival shows, and I wasn’t sure if this was one of the edible plants.  Turns out, the hardy Alaskans have figured out how to eat Devil’s Club.

Memaloose Creek from the Trail

Memaloose Lake Trail continued to switchback up the hill, crossing Memaloose Creek a few times.  We caught a few glimpses of little waterfalls on the creek.  I filled a bottle of water from one of the Memaloose Creek waterfalls, treated it and tasted it later, and it was just as tasty as the water we filtered from our PCT backpacking trip last year.

Memaloose Lake in the Fog

We finally reached Memaloose Lake, but found that the clouds were floating over the far hill and filling the lake with a mysterious fog!  We stopped for a water and fig newton break at a lakeside campsite.

Memaloose Lake

Paula got this cool photo with the log in the lake.  Yes, that is July snow in the background!

Memaloose Lake

Another angle of Memaloose Lake.  Most of the other Memaloose Lake photos I’ve seen online have that far rockslide in the background.

Trailhead for South Fork Mountain Trail

Backpackers on the way down warned us of lots of snow and cold temperatures along the South Fork Mountain trail, but we wanted to hike it anyway.  The forest notably thinned of ground cover as we got higher up the mountain.

Jeff along the South Fork Mountain Trail

For an unmaintained trail, the South Fork Mountain trail was in pretty good shape.  We stopped a few times to clear debris from the trail and fortify a few trail markers.

Forest along the South Fork Mountain Trail

The forest was very quiet except for a few little brown birds who echoed through the trees.  The ferns and devil’s club from the lower elevations gave way to more rhododendrons and bear grass as we got higher up.  We also saw trilliums in bloom, too!

Jeff building a Snowman on South Fork Mountain

This was one of the larger patches of snow we ran into.  Not quite enough to make us turn back, but certainly enough for a snowman.

Paula's cool shot of the sky through the trees on South Fork Mountain

Paula caught this neat photo of the clouds passing over the forest.

Trail back down to the dark forest below

Finally, we broke out of the forest and up to the top of South Fork Mountain!  It was cooler up at the top from the wind, but the sun was shining despite all the clouds.

Jeff and Paula at the Top of South Fork Mountain

At the summit, we posed in triumph and celebrated with turkey sandwiches for lunch!  You can see the flat section behind us where the 1930′s fire lookout used to be.  We searched around and found the old foundations.  I saw where there was a date, but I couldn’t read it, our hiking book indicated that it said 1931.

Amazing Panoramic View from South Fork Mountain ;P

We were also treated to an amazing view of clouds!  The clouds had not yet lifted or blew away, so we didn’t get the panoramic view of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and Broken Top. but we did see some mysterious hints at what lay beyond in the distance peeking through the clouds.  We may have seen a peek of Mt. Jefferson or the Three Sisters, but South Fork Mountain kept its secrets to itself.  We’ll have to go back again on a clear day!

2011 Clackamas River Summer Steelhead

Daylight Savings Time is back, and sunrise is coming in at an ungodly 5:50am.  Factoring in the time it takes to drive to the closest fishing hole, get dressed, feed the cats, brew coffee, and load all my gear, I’ve got to be up and awake at 5:00am to even think about making it to the river at sunrise!  Well, I had every intention of getting there at sunrise this morning, but when my alarm clock went off, I quickly and deftly hit the snooze button–maybe even twice–and then stumbled groggily around, fed the cats and waited for the coffee to brew.

Despite my diligence, I arrived at my fishing hole a good 15 minutes after sunrise, but to my surprise, I had the whole place to myself!  Close enough, right?  I saw a few boats side drifting through my spot as I walked down there, but when I reached water’s edge, it was all mine.  James should have been coming down any time now, so I set some of my gear down to save him a spot, and moved upstream about 30 yards to start fishing and work my way back down.  As I drifted my “Clark Special” yarnie through some slow water, I felt a small fish just barely tap my hook, but I set the hook on it anyway, and to my surprise, there was a steelhead on the end!  I fought the fish for a few minutes until he was tired enough to start pulling in, but because of a few bank mishaps this year (James, Clark and I have all had a few disasters) and also Clark getting into my head about the 8 pound leader possibly being a little too light, I let the fish get two extra bonus runs to wear it out.  I saw that it was a hatchery fish and was going to get bonked, so I was ok to stretch this one out! Two bonus runs later, I had a nice summer steelhead on the bank!

So, I called James and told him to “get down here!”, and he reported he would be down in 20 minutes, so I turned and went back to fishing.  Suddenly, not two minutes later, the guy fishing across the way hooked up and fought a nice fish, too!  I called James back and he updated his ETA to be 10 minutes!

The Summer Steelhead appear to be on their way upriver in force!  In addition to my summer steelhead buck, we saw 3 other fish jump, and I hooked up a second time, but this time, the fish got my lead hung up and the steelhead got leverage enough to pull off.  A fisherman downstream from me where the fish was hooked up said “oh man, that was a nice one!!”

Clackamas River Summer Steelhead

Here’s a close up.  I think this fish was probably in the 10 to 12 pound range.  I tossed a few fillets on the barbecue tonight and they were excellent!  A few more pieces are going in to the Little Chief smoker tonight, too!  So, now I’ve got another “to-do” for tomorrow morning at 5am before I can go fishing!

After an epic day like today, I’ll be back down there tomorrow morning–not necessarily at sunrise, but close enough is fine!

Jeff with first hatchery Clackamas River Winter Steelhead of 2011

The mercury dropped into the teens during the night, leaving it a balmy 26 degrees out just in time for some fishing!  We decided to wait a little while before going out to give the fish a chance to warm up, so it was around 28 when I left the house.  For such a cold day, the fishing was pretty hot, as you can see by the picture!  James and I both had an epic day of fishing, and a nice chrome winter steelhead is perfect way to close out the month of February!

Keep on reading…

James Winter Steelhead Hookup!

James arrived on the scene a few minutes before me.  I walked down the trail and no sooner did I say “good morning!” than James whipped up his rod in a nice solid hook set and FISH ON!

Nice bend in the rod. Big Steelhead on!

This big hen totally inhaled James’ home-tied yarnie and took off!  We think it was a hen because it stayed underwater with the occasional surface thrashing, no jumping. At least Bill Herzog says that’s a general rule of identifying steelhead.

James winter steelhead during the fight!

The fish was a fighter, and refused to get into a good position to get its picture taken!  Finally, James was able to get it close to the bank, where I put my camera down to assist, but suddenly, James’ line broke, and the fish escaped within 5 yards of the bank!  But, take it from me, that was a big fish, probably a big native winter steelhead hen, so it was perfectly good that it took off to continue upstream!

Jeff's turn to hook up!

James got the action started and fought that big fish before I even got my line wet, so I decided to quit spectating and join in the fun.  A few minutes later, I hooked into a steelhead on one of my own yarnies soaked in Captain Wally’s scent!  This steelhead did some major thrashing and popped out of the water on the surface.  I bet if the water was a little warmer, that fish would have gotten some hang time!

Jeff's Winter Steelhead Buck taken on Yarnie!

Since the last steelhead I hooked up with came unpinned at the bank, and we also had some line breaking mishaps, I took extra time and care to play this fish right, and got him to the bank.  I wasn’t going to lose this one!

Jeff holding Winter Steelhead like an AK-47

They can’t get any fresher than this!  Look at the chrome on this fish!  James also pointed out my AK-47 grip!  Ha!

We each proceeded to hook up again, but this one was the only one we landed!

Steelhead University has some great maps and descriptions of the Clackamas River, too

James' Keeper Willamette River Sturgeon

James and I hit the Willamette River for some 2011 opening-day winter Sturgeon Fishing on Thursday 2/17!  As you can see by the pics, we hooked up with some nice fish!  James was the big winner, catching the biggest sturgeon of the lot, which was a keeper!

Jeff while Fishing for Willamette River Sturgeon

I finished in second place to James’ keeper sturgeon, but it was non-stop action all day, and we boated between 20 and 30 fish!   We were out there with Kevin Newell at Total Fisherman Guide Service.  More pictures and videos below, keep reading!

I don’t think either of us slept the night before.  My alarm clock went off at 5am, and I leapt out of bed like a crazed firefighter, getting dressed, grabbing my gear and setting a new land speed record to West Linn, to pick up James, and setting a second speed record getting out to Northwest Portland to get to the Willamette River.

James fishing for Sturgeon on the Willamette River

We arrived at Fred’s Marina on Multnomah Channel easily 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time and we were out on the water and fishing quickly!  Kevin put us right on the fish and it didn’t take long before it was FISH ON!

James' First Ever Sturgeon

James hooked up with the first fish of the day!  This sturgeon was James’ first!

Jeff with a Willamette River Sturgeon

I hooked up next!  The weatherman predicted rain and snow all day long, so we had our full raingear ready to go, although it was sunny and clear with a cold wind.  Not quite enough to keep us off the water.

A few more shaker sturgeon caught and released, but then, the monster sturgeon hit!  Look at that sturgeon peel off the line!!

Finally, James got the sturgeon to the surface where it was netted!

James with his Keeper Sturgeon

Oh yeah!  Can you tell James was pumped up?!  Nice fish, James!

Jeff Willamette River Sturgeon Fishing

Here’s another one of mine!  We had so much fun, we lost count! Some of the other boats were looking pretty envious!

We’ll definitely book with Total Fisherman again in the future.  In fact, if anyone else sees this post and goes on to book with Kevin Newell, mention that you saw this post on JkbWorld.com and tell him to break out his top secret sturgeon bait!

Tasty Sturgeon Fish and Chips

Sturgeon Fish and Chips!  Man, those were tasty!!  Here’s the recipe:  take fresh sturgeon, cube it up, roll it in flour mixed with Tony Chachere seasoning, roll in some egg, then panko crumbs, then back through the flour.  Pan-fry until they get nice and browned.