If salmon fishing this time of year isn’t your cup of tea, and you’re just waiting for steelhead season to open, why not try sturgeon fishing? I got an eye-opener the other evening, fishing with Nathan Schuylerman on the Columbia River below Rock Island Dam. He is a regular on this stretch of river, and although he catches his share of salmon, he loves to fish for sturgeon here—year-round. We ran a short distance up from the launch and pitched the anchor out, let out some scope and had the stern of the boat over 130 feet of water. We dropped our baits down with just eight ounces of lead, with the slack current, and in no time had landed out first small sturgeon. It surprised me how light the bites appeared on the rod tips, and although we didn’t land any monsters, Nathan assured me that the big ones bite in the same way. We landed eight fish in just over four hours of fishing, and had constant action on the rods. I can see why he likes fishing for sturgeon here. We were all by ourselves and he usually is into double digits in an afternoon’s fishing. It’s all catch and release on this stretch so there’s no shortage of fish. I can’t wait to go back, and try it again.