Summer Fishing for Sturgeon in Oregon
Sturgeon are migratory fish that swim up and down Oregon’s rivers looking for the best conditions and the best sources of food throughout the year. In the summer months, the water temperature is a key factor in finding the best places sturgeon fishing in Oregon.
Buddy Dupell, one of Oregon’s top fishing guides and owner of Columbia River Fishing Adventures, explains: “Our years of experience fishing in Oregon bears out the fact that during June and July, the sturgeon tend to be more active, and are better biters than at cooler times of the year. They apparently really like the warmer, mid-60’s water temperatures, possibly because there is more bait available in the warmer water.”
By June or so, most sturgeon have moved into the Columbia River, where the shad population is on their spawning runs to the Bonneville Dam. Some sturgeon swim downstream to the Columbia River estuary to feed.
In the last two years, the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers have been primarily catch and release, which means there are now an extra 20,000 or so keeper-size fish available. In fact, larger fish than ever have been caught in Oregon rivers so far this year, with quite a few of them weighing more than 50 lbs.
Much of the summer sturgeon fishing around Astoria is done in shallow, sandy flats where the fish are feeding aggressively. These are very active sturgeon that can run up to 100 yards and jumping completely out of the water.
“Good year-round sturgeon fishing means knowing how to change your location on the river as the seasons change,” Buddy Dupell adds, “We have great sturgeon fishing every summer in Oregon, because we know the best places to find them in the warmer water.”
Buddy has spent decades fishing for sturgeon, salmon, Steelhead and Walleye in Oregon. His year-round experience and knowledge of Oregon’s rivers means he knows when to switch locations to take advantage of changing conditions, like river flows, water levels and temperatures, weather patterns, and other factors, to devise the best strategy for a memorable fishing adventure for their clients.
Columbia River Fishing Adventures offers some of the best guided fishing trips in the Portland, Oregon area for sturgeon, salmon, Steelhead and Walleye. Give Buddy a call at (503) 409-3099. He will be happy to answer your questions or help you book an exciting sturgeon fishing trip this
summer.