I fished for sturgeon below Rock Island Dam on the upper Columbia River earlier this summer with Nathan Schuyleman, and he said at the time that sturgeon fishing is good year-round in this location. He proved his point last weekend. I joined he and a couple of his fishing buddies to fish the same hole we did earlier this summer, and if anything, we had better action. The bite started as soon as we had our baits in the water, and we caught even bigger fish than earlier this year. We boated about ten sturgeon in less than five hours of fishing, and three of them were within the “keeper” size limit. Sturgeon fishing is restricted to catch and release in this stretch of the Columbia, but in other areas fish must be between 48 and 60 inches to be retained. Fish of this size will easily weigh over 70 pounds! These big boys put up a ferocious battle, with deep, line-burning runs that leave an angler winded. This is a great way to spend a winter day. This kind of action is guaranteed to keep you warm when the outside temperatures are in the near-freezing zone. I can’t wait to get back out on the water wrestle with more of these monsters.