"The gorge in the springtime gets a lot of heavy winds in it," Rico added. "You need to have an anchor system that will hold you in windy weather."

The best action historically comes to boaters, but shore anglers can get in on the action too. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the top shore-fishing locations on the Oregon side are Cascade Locks Marina, Trotter Point, Shell Rock Mountain Area, Starvation Creek, Sturgeon Rock, Koberg Beach State Park, 18 Mile Island, the new and old port areas of The Dalles, The Dalles Marina, and behind the Shilo Inn just off the Highway 197 Bridge.

On the Washington side, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends anglers shore-fish from Home Valley Park, Lone Pine at Highway Mile 55, the area near the mouth of the Little White Salmon River, the Spring Creek Hatchery area, and the old ferry landing on the Washington side of the river by The Dalles.

"They do fairly well from the bank, but certainly not as well as the boat anglers do," says Dennis Gilliland of the WDFW. "Boaters certainly do better than bank anglers most of the time."

It's important to remember the limits. There's a slot limit of 42 to 60 inches. All undersized and oversized fish must be released. Anglers are permitted to keep one fish per day within that range. But after you've attained your one-fish limit, it's legal to practice catch-and-release.

Sturgeon seasons are set by mutual agreements between fishery managers in Oregon and Washington, based upon the estimated sport harvest each year. Once that quota has been met, the season is closed. Anglers are advised to contact the WDFW or ODFW for specifics.

"The seasons are based on a quota," said Gilliland. "It depends on how fast the catch goes. Last year, our quota was 700 sportfish caught, but that's being negotiated with the tribes and Oregon right now. We know there's a pretty fair supply of small ones in the system — a lot of undersized fish. Production seems to be good there. There must be a good food supply there, or they wouldn't be doing well."

Recently, WDFW officials have done several surveys to learn more about the sturgeon of Bonneville and their growth rates, and are trying to discover why there are so many undersized fish in the system.