Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Barb Henderson: Prehistoric sturgeon a modern challenge

Barb Henderson is an outdoors enthusiast, freelance writer and producer/host of outdoors radio television programming. Her column appears Friday in the Sun.

CLARKSTON, Wash. -- A spectacular stretch of the Snake River waters flow between the towns of Clarkston, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho -- named for historic explorers Lewis and Clark.

The river meanders through the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. The recreation area is nearly 700,000 acres. The Seven Devil mountain range rises 9,393 feet at He Devil mountain then plunges 8,000 feet to the mouth of Granite Creek, making it North America's deepest gorge.

I was in Clarkston to attend the Northwest Outdoors Writers Association conference and Michelle Peters arranged for a fishing expedition for me, NOWA executive director Ron Kerr and his wife, Debbie. We would fish for sturgeon in Hells Canyon, where Oregon, Idaho and Washington meet.

These prehistoric fish have been caught from the Snake River for centuries.

In the 1800s, sturgeon was food for the early settlers and miners. Photos from that era show sturgeon 12-16 feet long being pulled from the river by teams of horses. Homesteaders were catching and selling the fish commercially in the canyon and by the 1970s the fishing was so heavy there were concerns about the sturgeon's survival as a species. Today, though, because of mandated protection, the sturgeon appear healthy and seem to be reproducing sufficiently, as evidenced by the large number of fish in the 2- to 4-foot range.

"Sturgeon require moving water to spawn, and the stretch of Snake River in Hells Canyon is the longest free-flowing stretch of the river at about 100 miles long," said Tim Johnson, owner/guide of FishHawk Guides. "Sturgeon fishing was not allowed for two years by the states of Oregon and Idaho, then the season was re-opened, year-round, but on a catch-and-release basis only, using barbless hooks, as it remains today."

After stopping at the Camp, Cabin and Home tackle shop to buy one-day fishing licenses, we met up with our guides at Heller Bar launch in Washington about 28 miles south of Lewiston. We were fishing off of a 24-foot welded aluminum inboard jetboat. Along the river we spotted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, mule deer, geese, wild turkey, chukar, quail, hummingbirds and a rattlesnake.

Tim and his son, Sean Johnson, rigged our fishing lines with a 12-ounce slider weight, 3 feet of leader, 80-pound power pro test line and a 9 ought hook with a delicious anchovy. The three lines were dropped into the deep waters -- and we waited.

"A healthy, 10-foot sturgeon will weigh over 400 pounds, so it is necessary to use heavy duty, stiff fishing rods and line test of 50-100 pounds," Tim Johnson said. "These bottom dwellers are usually caught in holes from 30 to nearly 100 feet deep. The use of sinkers from 8-20 ounces are commonly used to get the hooks down to where the fish are. Nowadays, it is unusual to catch sturgeon over 10 feet long, although some of the 'big ones that get away' may be much larger."

Tim was a game warden from 1977-97 with the state police in Oregon, where state police are the enforcers of fish and game laws.

I had lost a fish, Ron had caught two and Debbie had caught and released a 6-foot sturgeon.

"I was amazed how much work it was to catch a sturgeon compared to other type fishing," said Debbie Kerr. Then the tip of my fishing pole started to jerk and my heart began to beat faster and faster. Time to experience the thrill of the catch. I was so excited, I almost forgot to breathe. The fish was about 130 yards out when it took the bait.

This sturgeon didn't want to be caught. Each time I gained line, the drag would sing. We almost started up the boat, thinking the fish may spool the reel. Both my arms ached. While I kept reeling, Sean kept guiding -- "Reel. Stop. Don't reel. OK, reel. Breathe. Pump up and reel down. Hang in there. Reel."

It took 25 minutes to land the fish, an additional 30 minutes to quit shaking.

For information on Hells Canyon go to: www.hellscanyonvisitor.com; for information on FishHawk Guides: www.fishhawkguides.com; and for fishing in Idaho: fishandgame.idaho.gov.

archive