Jon’s Outdoors Fishing & Hunting News

Hey Everyone,

Well, how is everyone doing? Things here are doing great. I am all done with sportsman shows for the year and they went real good but I am glad I am done. Now it is busy time on the Columbia River doing sturgeon fishing. It is fun doing those sportsman shows and hearing men getting an ear full from their wives about the money they spend on hunting and fishing. I know that a lot of men want to get their wives involved but it sure is funny sometimes.

It reminds me of the 4 rednecks that planned a fishing trip together for the next year. They spared no money for this trip. The day of the trip came and they rented a motor home, rented a boat, stayed in this beautiful lodge, bought all kinds of fishing gear and the whole trip they caught one little old trout. On the way home one of the guys said, “Do you all realize that this one trout cost us about $12,000?” Then one of the other guys said, “Wow, it is a good thing we didn’t catch two of them.”

I am pretty fortunate. My wife and most of the kids like to fish and hunt. As a matter of fact, I think my 17-year-old daughter is going to need some counseling. She is really getting into hunting and fishing. Last year she hunted with me over in Wyoming and we both got our antelope and she has fallen in love with that hunting. She wants to learn to guide over there so this year I am going to let her start doing that. The other day we were at a car lot because she is looking for a little pick up. We were looking at a Chevy Colorado and the salesman was telling us about it when my daughter while looking at the bed of the truck said, “ Dad, we can easily get 2-3 dead antelope in the back of this.” I just laughed and walked away. I am not sure what the salesman was thinking. You all will be hearing in a few months about her business she is starting. She is gong to start a booking agency for hunting and fishing trips all over the world. A friend of mine has this business and is going to work her into it. Anyway, you will hear about that later. Right now we better talk about what is going on with the sturgeon and salmon fishing.

Keeper Sturgeon

The keeper sturgeon season is looking a lot like it did last year. We didn’t get much of a smelt run again this year so the sturgeon are all spread out up and down the river from the mouth to Bonneville Dam. We are starting to get more fish everyday but it sure started slow. This last week we caught a lot of fish and had a great time but getting the keepers were not as easy as they should be this time of the year. I think the Sea lions did better then the fisherman. That is so bad out there. We saw a Sea lion kill another oversize sturgeon. It was about 8-9 feet long and no telling how old it was. This fishery is not going to withstand the killing of all these breeders. I am not sure what we are going to be able to do about it beings they are federally protected but something has to be done. Five years ago you never even heard of a Sea lion eating a sturgeon but no it is epidemic. Sea lions are such a smart mammal and they just teach what they learn to each other and the rest is history. Anyway, I am sure it will be like last year and the fishing will get real good real fast. If you are out sturgeon fishing and didn’t get any smelt to use just go down to most any grocery store and get some squid. That has been doing very well. I am using squid and wrapping a sand shrimp in them. It seems to be doing just as good if not better then smelt and a lot more available. We have been fishing below Bonneville Dam and we are finding most of the fish in the deeper water. I have been doing most of my fishing in water that is about 80 feet deep. The river is running high so be careful in the power water. Make sure you have a minimum of 300 feet of rope and a break away anchor. Be safe and give yourself enough room between boats. Remember a lot of us have a lot of anchor rope out so if you are too close above another boat you can get your gear in or lose a good fish in the rope. Good luck out there. If you are looking to do some sturgeon with us this year, I am going to give you my available dates at the end of this newsletter.

Thorne Bay Lodge Alaska

I am looking forward to getting up there in Alaska this July. The fishing is so good up there and the beauty of Alaska is breathtaking. We still have some room to book so if you are thinking about coming up and fishing with us please give us a call. Since we still have a few spots left in August I would recommend that if you can. The silvers get so thick that time of the year. It is a lot of fun. We are also booking for 2008.

Dates I Have Left for Columbia River Fishing

Here are the dates I have available on my boat. I had a cancellation for this week Friday April 6. The end of April is going to be some awesome sturgeon fishing. I have some catch and release dates still available. If you want to catch a lot of fish without a lot of crowds and don’t really care if you keep any then these dates are for you, April 23, 24, 25 and 30. I am taking $100 off of a group of 4 on these dates. It will be some great fishing. In May I have May 4 and 5 available for keepers then on the 16th of May it opens for shad fishing at which time we will start seeing a lot of the big trophy sturgeon. I have May 22, 23 30 and 31 available. In June it will also be some good trophy sturgeon fishing. These are the big ones averaging 200-400 pounds. Lots of fun and they make some great videos. In June I have June 7, 9, 17, 24, 27, 28, 29 and 30 available. Also the shad fishing will go through June. This is a fun fishery for kids of all ages. Lots of action and they are fun to catch. I do half-day trips in the afternoon for shad. In July is when I head to Alaska and I will be there through the first week of September. I am booking one week on my boat for fall salmon. It is the week of September 9 through the 15th. I have the 9th, 10th and 15th available. If you want to fish but none of these dates will work for you give me a call anyway. I have talked with a couple friends of mine that also guide out where I do and I am going to start booking their boat for them. These are great guys. I would not use them if they weren’t. They will also guide my customers while I am gone to Alaska and Wyoming. If you are interested in any of these trips please give me a call while the dates are open.

Thanks again to all of you. I still think I have the best customers on the river. You all make my job easy and I look forward to every trip with you. Talk to you soon and remember to take a kid fishing or hunting with you.

This is another year of a tough spring salmon season. I am not sure what to even tell you except it is very slow. I am sure it will get better each day but right now it is about none existent. The F&G closed salmon fishing from I-5 Bridge on the Columbia River to Bonneville Dam again this year so that is forcing all the fishing in a smaller area. That is not helping at all. I am not sure why they do that except for our special commissioner that wants to close the Bonneville pool for his interest to the estuary. It is terrible when money is more important then the resource. But, I am not going to get on my soapbox today. I will save that for another letter. However, the salmon fishing should get better this week. We will cross our fingers and toes. If you are out there trying to get one of these springers, there are two main ways of fishing for them. One way is on the out going tide you want to anchor up and use sardine wrapped QuikFish. I like anything with green in them. You want to find a spot in the river that the fish will be holding up in. I like fishing the edges of a back eddy. The salmon have to travel a long way so they are going to take the path of least resistant and in this high water that is even more prevalent. Another way is to troll herring or prawns. It seems that most of the fish caught using this technique have a flasher above the bait. Sometimes I use them and sometimes not. But, I guess every little bit helps some. Good luck out there.

Jon Ball has fished in Oregon and southwest Washington for over 25 years. Since 1998, he been a full-time fishing guide, especially for sturgeon, salmon, steelhead and shad in the Columbia River Gorge, just minutes from Portland, Oregon. He has been featured on programs such as World Wide Fishing, Inside Sports Fishing and North West Back Roads. He has given many seminars on sturgeon fishing at sportsman shows, and at sporting good stores such ass Sportsmans Warehouse, G I Joes and Fishermans Marine.

Hi Everyone,

I grew up on the world-famous Cowlitz River, known for putting out some big steelhead, in a little town called Toledo, in Washington State. When I was growing up on the Cowlitz River, a person didn’t see too many fishing guides; however, I do remember this one guide, Corkie Smith. Even when I was about 11-12 years old, I remember seeing Corkie working the river with his customers, while I was fishing along the bank. I remember thinking to myself just how lucky that man was. I would wave at him, as if he even knew me, and he would wave back to amuse me. I would think to myself that there couldn’t be a better job on this earth than being a fishing guide.

Well, many years later, here I am, a fishing guide. To tell you the truth, I still have to pinch myself to see if it is just a dream. Yes, I am a very lucky man. I love what I do, and most people who have fished with me realize real fast that it is genuine. I am a very blessed man. I don’t think there is a greater way to enjoy God’s creation then to be on the water and get hooked into a trophy sturgeon or a big salmon or an acrobatic steelhead. Any of those will still get my heart pumping. In the past 25 plus years, I have learned a thing or two about the sturgeon, salmon and steelhead in this area. And now I would like to share all my experiences and knowledge with you. I have had some great times on the water, catching a lot of fishing and just enjoying the outdoors. Another way I am blessed is the wife and 6 kids I have. We all like the outdoors and it is a very big part of our lives. If you ever see me at a sportsman show, you will probably meet most of them since they are a very big help with the guide service.

On my guided trips, I have made it a commitment to always be honest with my customers. I will not tell people that fishing is great when I know it isn’t, just to book a trip. When I book a customer, I am looking for a long-lasting relationship with that group. When someone hires me, my desire is to fish with you for the next 20 years, not just a one-time trip. If right now the salmon are biting more than the sturgeon, I’ll tell you that. Or if I think you’d have better luck with steelhead, I’ll take you where they are. That is not to say we haven’t had slow days of fishing. But it isn’t because I wasn’t truthful about the peak time of the year. I tell people that it takes two parts for catching fish. If we have good bait in the water, then we are doing our part. Now the fish have to do theirs. People get enough pressure in this world, just from life itself. You don’t need more pressure on a fishing trip. When I am hired for a fishing trip, I feel that my job is to offer a safe, relaxing day on the water. It’s a time where you can maybe learn a little about the fish and the area that we are fishing. It is your day away and I will do everything I can to make it a pleasurable, relaxing and successful day for you.

Thanks and keep a tight line,

Jon and Stacy Ball