Trophy Columbia River Sturgeon Fishing Charter

Serving Portland, Astoria, & Beyond

The largest freshwater game fish in North America is the sturgeon, and catching these giant fish is a specialty at Dan Ponciano’s Fishing Guide Service. Catching monster-sized sturgeon up to 12-feet long is not uncommon on one of our Columbia River sturgeon fishing charters, offering anglers one of the hardest battles you can encounter in the world freshwater fishing. These big sturgeon have passed through the harvest slot and become mature adult fish of breeding size. For this reason, trophy white sturgeon on the Columbia River cannot be retained. All the trophy sturgeon fishing we do on our fishing trips are strictly catch-and-release fishing.

Get in touch with Captain Dan to plan your sturgeon fishing charter near Portland and Astoria, OR.

CALL DAN @ 360-607-8511

Spend a day fishing the Columbia River, catching and releasing multiple trophy sturgeon that are between five- to 12-feet long–sometimes even bigger–and you’ll come away with an appreciation of just how big and powerful these fish are. Many anglers love targeting trophy-class sturgeon for the simple reason they can battle big fish all day long, without having to go to the ocean. We fish for giant sturgeon from The Dalles down to Astoria, covering a lot of the mighty Columbia River. We’ll often fish the lower end of Oregon’s Willamette River for trophy sturgeon, as well, because water temperatures run a little warmer here, there are not gill nets, and we catch a lot of big sturgeon.

On our Columbia River trophy sturgeon fishing trips, we go after them in many ways. The most common approach to catching big sturgeon on the Columbia River is throwing a bait out, letting it sit on the bottom, and waiting for that highly anticipated strike. Sitting in an anchored boat is relaxing, fun, and comfortable. The bait we use to catch trophy sturgeon on the Columbia River is primarily whole shad, which can weigh up to four-pounds. Combine a big bait with a hefty sinker which keeps the presentation on the bottom, and the current of the Columbia River carries the scent downstream, which big sturgeon will follow right to the shad.

If anglers want to step up the game of catching trophy Columbia River sturgeon, we can backbounce lighter weight baits. This approach is for active, dedicated anglers who can handle big gear, but who want to feel the excitement when that giant sturgeon inhales the bait. Holding a fishing rod, feeling a bite, and setting the hook, is one of fishing’s greatest thrills when there’s a dinosaur of the deep on the other end of the line. We will backbounce for sturgeon from both an anchored position, or with the boat moving. Since trophy sturgeon is strictly a catch-and-release fishery, their numbers are plentiful, meaning success rates are extremely high and you’re almost assured a successful fishing trip.

Fishing for trophy sturgeon on the Columbia can be done from the upper river, all the way to the mouth of the river. There are multiple places we fish for monster sturgeon, in a range of depths and river conditions. Rest assured, we strive to get our trophy sturgeon anglers in the safest, most productive water when it comes to battling sturgeon that are measured in feet, not inches. Fishing for trophy sturgeon on the Columbia River can be done year-round, with May through July being the times we most like to focus on catching them.

360-607-8511