8/12/2015
LET’S GO FISHING
By Dave Hurley
Special to the RNH
A few trends to be aware of – striped bass are definitely on the move into the Delta as striper trollers are finding good action for school size fish. There was a run of much larger fish a few weeks ago, and the larger fish should be on their way within the next month. The striper action along the beaches has slowed, and the Central Bay fishing is on the downturn after three months of lights out action.
Salmon fishing remains limited to a few areas along the coast, and Cape Mendocino out of Eureka can only be accessed when the wind is down. The wind wouldn’t allow boats to make it to the grounds over the weekend. The Marin and San Mateo coastlines are holding salmon, but the accumulation of fish depends on your timing and ability to keep the fish on the lines. Scores of nearly a fish per rod are possible, but it is a crap shoot as the scores fluctuate wildly on a daily basis.
Rockfishing continues to be the best bet along the coast, and most party boats are targeting ling cod and rockfish instead of chasing halibut and striped bass in the bay.
Salmon are moving quickly through the Sacramento River, and they aren’t stopping until a semblance of colder water is found far up river or near the outlets at the dams.
Smoke from fires in Humboldt County appeared throughout the valley and Bay Area on Sunday due to the northern winds. The wind pattern is expected to change today. This has been a horrible fire season, and there are still at least two months of dry weather on the horizon.
Always double-check the weather, and don’t forget to wear your PFD.
Good Luck!
Dave
The Bays:
Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael reported continued outstanding striper action in San Pablo Bay. He said, “Drifting Loch Lomond shiners at the Brothers or Sisters or trolling along the shoreline at the top of the tide is producing no end to the stripers.” An occasional salmon is landed at California City, but Fraser advised, “It’s worth going but don’t quit your day job to go just yet.” Captain Gordon Hough of the Morningstar was at Raccoon Straits on Saturday, and he marked plenty of striped bass holding on the small reef at the west end of the strait. A good read is Captain Hough’s entry in the current issue of the Fishsniffer Magazine – he can entertain through his writing. Fraser has frozen midshipmen as well as plenty of shiners in the shop.
Captain Bill Clapp of Bill’s Sport Fishing has been targeting commercial halibut in the bay, and after a few days of slower action, he had flatfish at 30, 20, and 12 pounds in the box on Sunday.
Delta:
Salmon fishing remains extremely slow along both ends of the Delta, but the water cleared up enough on Sunday to account for three salmon to 15 pounds taken off of the Dillon Point State Park. In the upper river near Freeport, at least four salmon to 20 pounds have been caught since the opener. Striped bass are moving in with more force, and there are stripers spread out from Benicia up above the Rio Vista Bridge.
Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait reported the river has cleared up on the weekend due to the work on the pilings in the Napa River ceasing on non-work days, and the salmon bite responded in kind with three fish landed. Striped bass to 32 inches have been taken from the shoreline at 12th Street with blood worms, but the winds have kept boats from sitting on the anchor in the main Sacramento River from the Carquinez Bridge upstream above Pittsburg.
James Nguyen of Dockside Bait in Pittsburg reported small striped bass to 5 pounds are plentiful in Broad Slough, Sherman Lake, and along Decker Island with live mudsuckers, frozen shad, or grass shrimp. At least 2 salmon have been landed from the shoreline near Antioch on spinners, but the fish are moving so fast through the river due to the water temperatures.
Mark Wilson, striped bass trolling expert, was out on the river on Sunday during the triple-digit temperatures, and he reported solid action with 3/4th ounce Rat-L-Traps on light tackle in the shallows above the Rio Vista Bridge. “We ended up catching and releasing 30 stripers to 6 pounds, and there were at least five fish in the 4 to 6-pound range.” He went into Miner Slough, Cache Slough, the Sacramento Deep Water Channel above the ferry for all of their action as fishing below the Rio Vista Bridge later in the morning proved unproductive. Wilson runs the Rat-L-Traps out between 70 and 80 feet behind the boat, stating, “We use them right out of the box, and they run just fine without tuning or changing hooks. We have landed several stripers in the 12 to 15-pound range on the lures so far this year with our largest fish topping 21 pounds.” He also is able to run shallow-diving Yozuri Crystal Minnows or P-Line’s Angry Eye Predators at the same time as the Rat-L-Traps.
Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento confirmed the emergence of the striped bass, and swimbaits are the ticket for the linesides near Liberty Island. He said, “My nephew, Michael ‘Bub’ Fong, was out on Sunday morning, and he had already released four quality fish.
Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport reported live mudsuckers are producing stripers in the Sacramento Deep Water Channel, Liberty Island, and along the sandbar above the Rio Vista Bridge. He said, “Stripers are getting better and better every day.”
Smallmouth bass fishing remained solid, and Tran advised running a small crawdad under a bobber on a 4-foot leader near rocky structure in Steamboat Slough, Miner Slough, or the Old Sacramento River near Walnut Grove. Deep-diving crankbaits or wacky-rigged Senkos are other productive options.
Catfishing is best in the Sacramento Deep Water Channel or in Lisbon Slough with chicken livers, live crawdads, or nightcrawlers.
For the upcoming sturgeon season, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking anglers to use caution and extra vigilance to help conserve California’s white sturgeon and green sturgeon populations, both of which are being impacted by the drought.
CDFW encourages anglers to use high-strength fishing line to reduce duration of the fight and in-water techniques for measuring the size of white sturgeon. Anglers should leave oversize white sturgeon in the water at all times and know how to quickly identify green sturgeon.
For panfish, the Delta Loop is still the top location on the Sacramento side of the Delta, and wax worms and jumbo red worms are the top baits for bluegill and red ear perch.
The regular appearance of fresh shad in local bait shops has coincided with the arrival of striped bass in the Antioch area. Water temperatures remain very high, but the striper action, although slower than the neighboring Sacramento River, is starting to heat up. Largemouth bass are taking refuge under the mats due to the triple-digit valley temperatures, and punching the weeds remains a top technique.
Chris Lauritzen of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley said, “It already feels like the first weekend after Labor Day in the Delta due to the early start of school in most local districts. We were out last week at the Riverview Lodge in Antioch, and there were only two boats on the water near Broad Slough. The water temperature at the old Antioch Boat Ramp is in the 71.1 – 72.59 – degree range, and at the Rio Vista Bridge on the Sacramento River the water is slightly cooler with a range of 70.54 – 72.45 – degrees. This warm water in the Delta could last for another month or so, but remember the days are starting to get a little shorter so it does not stay as hot as long and the nights are starting to get a little cooler which will in turn start to cool the water a little and make the fish a lot happier.”
Doug Chapman of Gotcha Bait in Antioch reported good numbers of fishermen are out despite the triple-digit temperatures. Stripers to 36 inches have been taken off of the Antioch Fishing Pier, and Chapman picked up a 29 incher on fresh shad during the week. Fresh shad has been the top bait along with live mudsuckers.
For largemouth bass, Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento reported punching the weeds with Missle’s D-Bombs in green pumpkin on a 1 to 1.5-ounce tungsten weight are producing bass, and there is an early morning topwater bite with Whopper Ploppers or buzzbaits. Largemouth bass are also found in Big Break or Frank’s Tract with large minnows.
Brandon Gallegos at H and R Bait in Stockton said, “We are getting up to 30 pounds of fresh shad five days a week with the exception of Wednesday and Friday with around 20 pounds of fresh going out of the shop daily. “ The striped bass bite in the Middle River has slowed down on live bluegill, but the panfish are thick in Whiskey Slough, Inland Drive, Bacon Island Road, and Eight Mile Road with wax worms or jumbo red worms. The hyacinth in the Middle River has been sprayed within the past two weeks, and the waterway is relatively clear.
Catfishing is best in the Old River or back sloughs in the south San Joaquin River with frozen clams or chicken livers.
Rivers:
A few salmon are found at the upper end of the Sacramento River and also near the dam on the American River, but the fish are running through in search of cool water as fast as possible. Captain Bill Clapp said, “The water temperature is ranging from 73 to 77 degrees on the Sacramento River, and we are all hoping for some releases of cooler water to keep the fish holding longer.”
Drought Prompts Fish Evacuation at San Joaquin Hatchery
San Joaquin hatchery fish being moved to Shaver Lake
With a fourth year of extreme drought conditions reducing the cold water supply available, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is moving fish out of the San Joaquin Hatchery near Fresno for the first time.
The water level at Millerton Lake, which supplies water for the hatchery, is so low that the temperature is not cold enough for the hatchery fish to survive. Workers have been evacuating the hatchery-raised rainbow trout, some of which are as large as 3 pounds, into lakes in Fresno , Kern, Tulare and Tuolumne counties for more than two weeks. The fish planting process should be completed within the next few days.
“Our water is just too warm to raise trout here, and if we don’t move them, they won’t survive,” said CDFW Fisheries Program Manager Dean Marston. “If there is an upside to this situation, it’s that the public will have an opportunity to catch some really nice trout.”
The fish have been planted in Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake, Courtright Reservoir, Wishon Reservoir, Pinecrest Lake, Kern River below Johnsondale Bridge and the Tule River at Camp Nelson.
CDFW has been stocking rainbow and brown trout from other state hatcheries, including the American River Hatchery in Sacramento and Kern River Hatchery near Bakersfield, into state waters earlier than normal. Many of these are catchable-size trout, in addition to some fingerlings and smaller fish. By increasing planting frequency and the number of fish planted, CDFW can somewhat offset the natural decline in fishing opportunity as water temperatures in many geographic locations become unsuitable. The accelerated planting schedule will continue until the end of summer when all the fish in the raceways are expected to be evacuated.
At the San Joaquin Hatchery, CDFW is moving next year’s inventory of small, fingerling-size trout to its Moccasin Hatchery for rearing until water temperatures at the San Joaquin Hatchery return to suitable levels.
Fall and winter rains, if received in sufficient amounts, will cool water temperatures enough to allow hatcheries to come back online and resume operations.
BEST BETS
Stripers: Delta
Salmon: Golden Gate, Eureka
Halibut: East and Central Bay
Stripers: Central Bay
UPCOMING EVENTS
SHAVER LAKE KOKANEE POWER TEAM DERBY
Saturday, September 12, 2015 - Kokanee Power presents it’s Shaver Lake Team Fishing Derby where participants will have the opportunity to competitor cash and some awesome prizes. For more information call (916) 985-4943.
RIO VISTA BASS DERBY
October 9 thru 11, 2015 - The Rio Vista Bass Derby is one of the oldest bass tournaments in the U.S. Big prizes are up for grabs. If you love fishing in the Delta this is a must attend event. Information: (707) 374-2700.