Sturgeon Fishing in the Sabalo

[craiggamesh]

We had a Sturgeon fishing Derby for kayaks only in Portland on Saturday. It was a blast, but I am still sore from pulling anchor several times. Once, as I was setting anchor, the current was so strong that when the anchor caught, the spool of line got yanked out of my hands. By the time I was able to retrieve it, about 250 of the 300 feet of line was unspooled. It was not a pleasant experience rolling up all that line in the current



The previous week was warm so a lot of snow had melted. Then, the last few days had rained so the water was really flowing and lots of logs were floating through.



It was raining most of the time we were out, but I had my dry suit on so it didn't really bother me.

Anchored up:


Checking out what ended up being the winning fish:











The tournament was open to both the Columbia River and the Willamette River. A few braved the Columbia, but they did not catch any out there. They did get to dodge large ships, though.



This guy lost his anchor because the current was so strong and he didn't have enough line to scope out so he tied off the rear of the Sabalo. He made a great drift sock and kept me nice and straight.



Here is the big one that got away, but he won with the other fish anyways.



This fish was the third place fish, but may have been the largest. He was unable to measure it because he was fishing by himself. Being that he was only one of three people that caught fish, by default he got third.



There were not a lot of fish caught (6 total between 3 people) and I was skunked, but I won a nice Immersion Research dry top at the raffle. Plus, the free swag we received for registering more than made up for the $30 registration fee. All in all, it was a great day on the water.

[PiratePete]

Looks like a good day out even if it was raining.

[craiggamesh]

It was very fun. I also got to perform an unexpected durability test on one of my Nikon camera lenses (55-200mm). I am glad to report that they float. At least when they are in their little felt lens bag. I don't intend to try it again without the bag though. I will leave that up to someone else.

[PiratePete]

I also got to perform an unexpected durability test on one of my Nikon camera lenses (55-200mm).

That sounds like it could have got expensive real quick

[craiggamesh]

That sounds like it could have got expensive real quick

Yes, It could have been expensive.

Supposedly, Kayak Angler Magazine was going to feature this tournament in an upcoming edition due to the fact that there isn't much going on in the winter here in the U.S. for tournaments. The coordinator really liked the photo of the Sabalo on the beach that I posted here. Maybe it will be in the article and steer some business Matt's way.

I had lots of people in the parking lot and on the shore comment on how beautiful the wooden boat was. The plastic guys didn't get any "nice boat" comments. Although, I have to say that Hobie does make a nicely propelled boat. It may be time for the mirage drive Sabalo retrofit

[OnkaBob]

Another great post Craig - looks like an enjoyable day. Your anchor must hold well to keep 2 kayaks in position in that current.

Those sturgeon are a decent size fish - are they good eating or more for sport?

[PiratePete]

It may be time for the mirage drive Sabalo retrofit

My first Wadefish is getting closer every day & Im hoping it works well with the Mirage Drive in it.

[craiggamesh]

The anchor held too well. I used a zip tie to hold the line to the top of the anchor and the line is tied to the bottom. This is done so the the line can break away from the top and pull the anchor out of anything it may be stuck in. I usually cut part way through the tie with a knife so it breaks easily when needed. I forgot to do that during the tourney and spent 45 minutes trying to free my anchor. That could have been valuable time spent not catching fish.

I decided to switch to 20 lb test now so this wouldn't happen again... Hopefully!