Sturgeon tops in the Delta
Denis (with fish) and son Vic bonds from Manteca Courtesy Flash Fishing.

Johnny Abenoja (pictured left) from East Side Oakley reports winning Day 1 of the SUPER BOWL STURGEON DERBY FEBRUARY 4TH 06. hitting closest to the target length of 63 7/8 inches. He was assiested by deckhand Jerry Batchelor and snare bot Ricky Ricardo Henriques.

There were a couple of sturgeon taken in the Rio Vista area this past weekend below the Rio Vista Bridge. The diamondbacks grabbed shad and ghost shrimp. There are a few more schoolie-sized stripers also starting to show in the area 6-8 pounds with shad being the top choice.

Jolly Joes Reports, On the old San Joaquin River, between the Navy Drive Bridge and the golf course on Rough and Ready Island, anglers are using minnows to hook stripers to 17 pounds.

Bass fishing is on the verge of an explosion, and like clock work anglers Look to come out in big numbers to play the game as Bob Kornhouser brings his 100 percent Teams to the to the Delta for the first time. The Flip bite is the way to go. Try Black jigs on ledges adjacent to dead end sloughs or flats. Or near the entrances to these areas with Speed Traps and Radar 10's for the quality black bass. The best action is found throughout the many areas of the Central Delta. There are still a few coming from the Discovery Bay area and in the South Delta, Sherman and Frank's are starting to be Hot.

Here's my Client this week....Wayne Sullens 7 pounds

 

 

Sacramento Area Report - by Jack Chapman

Sacramento River

Striper fishing has been on the slow side with most anglers reporting an incidental catch while fishing for sturgeon. A typical report reads, “fished Montezuma all day for one striper in 5 ft of water on a mud sucker”.

Sturgeon fishing has been on the upswing with reports coming in daily of catches from the Mothball Fleet to San Pablo Bay. A good report from Coastside was, “Fished the top of the sand bar in 8 feet of water for the flood. Landed one 60" bad [boy] that did not want to come to the boat. He bit on mud shrimp. Topped that off with a 24" striper and a starry flounder.”.

San Joaquin River

Our chapter’s striper guru, Mark Wilson, reports a different kind of day on the other side of the delta, “Sunday, January 29, 2006...I got another "day off" this month and was able to go fishing for the 4th time this year. Boy, am I getting my money's worth out of a Lifetime Fishing License. Jack joined me today to go chasing stripers. We started off at Brannan Island at dawn, then headed into the San Joaquin River. We trolled Rebels and Yo-Zuris, and even plugged with swim baits for nothing. Into False River for another Zero. Trolled Washington Cut for another Zero. The Z's are adding up. Then, across Frank's Tract and into Middle River where we finally found a couple of schools of stripers. About 2 hours worth of trolling before it was down. Then into Middle River around Mildred Island for some more stripers. Then we went farther back into Middle River where we found some fish and caught 2 on spoons before they hightailed it out of there. Then, we found a pretty good sized school with swim baits. That bite lasted for about 45 minutes or so. Final tally: 35 shaker stripers and 25 keeper stripers. Two of the keepers went 10# and 8#. The rest were under 23". Quit at 2:30 p.m. and headed for the barn. 65 miles of the delta today and didn't even make the Sacramento River. Back to Vieira's to filet fish and home just after dark.”

American River

A few anglers have been and are working the river for steelhead. Most are returning home without any fish but a few lucky ones are hooking up. One angler reported catching two native fish at Goethe, which he had to release, while another reported catching a hatchery fish near Sailors Bar. I have seen a couple drift boats from the Sunrise Bridge but no word and how well they did.

Offshore

The best fishing anywhere is along our coasts for the giants Humboldt squid. Captin Shim of the New Salmon Queen reported, “Started where I left from yesterday, 23/53, it was tough getting the squid up this morning, between sea sickness, and a laid back approach, we couldn't get them to stay up. Made three drifts...each drift being a little closer to home. The best spot was 29/53 where I saw a big spot of them 50 feet off the bottom, told the guys to let em rip, and soon everyone was hung. Started tossing chunks overboard, and had them literally swarming just 10 feet under the boat, attacking the "ball" of chunks sinking. Free swimmers all over, hung a "boat line" over the side, watched squid swarm it. 16 anglers 2 sick not fishing for 227 to 42 lbs. Plus released 20 in the end...As good as the 400+ day, difference was the more laid back group, not out for the exploit... “. Tom Mattusch, Coastside Political Coordinator and Captain of the Huli Cat reported, “165 squid for 12 anglers. Found them closer than before, 24 & 51, just under 400 feet of water, set up and they followed the squid jigs beautifully. Came up high, even to the surface at one point. It was hard to tell which animal to gaff. They were swimming on the surface near the hooked animals. Even gaffed a few that had bites out of them from other squid.”

Where I’d Fish This Upcoming Weekend

The Mothball Fleet for Sturgeon using eel and JSP (just plain shrimp) for bait.
Offshore for giant Humboldt squid
Good luck and tight lines.

Jack

 

Delta Bank Fishing
by Roland “Innovate” Aspiras

The fishing is getting better and better out there with Spring drawing closer and the rivers starting to recede!

At the top of my list this week comes a report from this past Sunday out of Rio Vista. Brandon Salaam and his father were fishing the outgoing tide when a 46 inch, 45lb striper hit his father’s ghost shrimp and decided to get the heck out of dodge.

Yesterday, while flying into Sacramento International Airport, I was able to catch a glimpse of the Sacramento River and Lisbon Slough with both waterways looking quite fishable. The Sacramento River had very few trees floating on its surface, and Lisbon Slough lapping at its banks. I noticed that a few anglers were at Lisbon.

I wondered if they were catching any fish, so this afternoon I stopped by Troy’s Outdoor Sports in West Sacramento. The latest word today was 3 confirmed fish caught with 1 broken off. A few minutes into our conversation, an angler who had been out there confirmed the same exact thing.

Shrimp baits have been working great, but I’m sure any of the other Sturgeon baits like Pile Worms, Grass Shrimp and Lamprey are just as good. The fishing is starting to heat up, so there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s time to dig out the sturgeon gear, spool up fresh new 30 lb test and make some new leaders.

Along with the topic of Sturgeon, this Thursday (Feb 2 nd) there will be a meeting regarding the proposed emergency regulations by the California Department of Fish and Game.

The proposed regulations are as follows:

The California Fish and Game Commission plans to consider a proposal from DFG for emergency sport fishing regulations to further protect sturgeon at the Feb. 2 meeting in Sacramento. The proposal is for a zero bag limit of sturgeon in certain Central Valley rivers from March through June 2006 and a zero bag limit of green sturgeon throughout California. In early 2006 DFG will also hold a series of public meetings to discuss the status of California’s sturgeon and receive feedback on various potential sport fishing regulations that may replace or complement the proposed emergency regulations.

Source: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news06/06010.html

I would have liked to have gotten more information regarding the details of the meeting and to know if the general public is allowed to attend, but was unable to reach anyone in time for my report. I will follow through with news from the meeting and report back next week.

To all a great week of fishing on the banks – the fishing is getting good with both Stripers and Sturgeon at the top of the list. As always, make sure that you pick after yourself on the banks so that the next person can enjoy the spot you just fished.

Roland “Innovate” Aspiras

 

Isleton Area
by Sylvia Vieira -- Vieira's Resort

There have not been many fisherman out since Christmas, however the ones that want to muster the very cold, foggy and rainy weather are catching some sturgeon. We even have a few stripers caught as the river seems to be clearing a little. We had a couple of nice 15 pound stripers in on Saturday, one out of the Old Sacramento River near Vieiras on the North Bank, and one by the Rio Vista Bridge, both were off of shad.

We had Mike Gibson of West Sacramento with a hugh 86 pound sturgeon caught at the Rio Vista Bridge.

We had Rod and Rod (The Grandson) Kiehm of Elk Grove with a very nice sturgeon caught at the Rio Vista Bridge on pile worms no size was given.

We had Terry Payne of Valley Springs with a 48 pound sturgeon also caught at the Rio Vista Bridge on ghost shrimp.

Don Harder of Vieira's Resort has been bringing in some sturgeon from light 36-A one was 48 inches and two days later he caught a 52 inch one.

Since we have had so much rain, snow etc, here and back East, some baits are hard to get at times, like the pileworms, grass shrimp. But the ghost is pretty easy to come by. Other baits to use for the sturgeon are squid and eel. It should start picking up more each day, as February, March and part of April are always good sturgeon months.

Good Luck
Sylvia Vieira

 

Flash Fishing Report www.flashfishing.net

A bit about Captain Steve, Captain Steve fished the San Francisco Bay since 1970, when his grandfather would take him out to the old Berkeley pier. He bought his first boat in 1980 and got his Captain's license in 1997. He enjoys small groups (no more than 6) and gives personal attention to all. Having 2 young daughters himself, he is especially patient with children on the boat. Bring your own equipment or use Steve's top of the line equipment. Steve has impressive state of the art commercial electronics on the boat to optimize your fishing experience! And yes, we went to the same High School, Welcome Capt. Steve!

Steve reports things are turning around in the West Delta, The bite did slow a little the last 3 days.
These photos are from yesterday.1/30/06
Denis (with fish) and son Vic bonds from Manteca.
Denis landed this 49" sturgeon( with the help from his son) in 32' of water 1 mile west of Garnet pt.Used eel/ghost shrimp during the max current of the outgo.

 

 

Capt. Steve
Flash
Sport Fishing

 

 

 

 

Trout: Continues to be great! Many of the rainbows are big, red, and hook-jawed, weighing 3-to-5 pound on average. Most anglers are catching 2-4 quality fish. Trout can be seen swirling and chasing shad all over the lake, especially in major coves. Trollers and bank anglers alike are still having success. This has been by far the best fishing we have seen in years. Most trollers are catching fish in the top 15-20 feet of water, so downriggers aren’t necessary. It is important when trout are near the surface to have plenty of line out while trolling (your lure should be at least 100 ft. behind your boat). Your boat chop will spook the fish from the water’s surface, and you want to give them time to come back up and see your lure. Another great way to keep your lure out of the boat’s chop is to use a side planer. Many fish have been caught in the main lake, as well as at the mouths of major creek arms and coves and upriver between the two bridges. Using a crawler or crawler/spinner combo (wedding rings or Uncle Larry’s) with ProCure nightcrawler scent is working well. Shad-patterned lures continue to produce many excellent fish. Try a broken-back or Countdown Rapala, a Cop Car or threadfin shad Needlefish, or an Excel lure. Most trollers are not using dodgers or flashers. Glory Hole Sport’s BIG FISH OF THE WEEK (salmonoid) goes to Arnold Boatman from Manteca for his 7.8# Brown trout caught near the spillway while trolling a homemade silver lure during the afternoon. Arnold also caught nice fish, some over 3# on another day this week while fishing with Ken Howze using gray Needlefish. Other successful trollers this week were: Howard Thielbar, Jamestown (5.8#), Dennis DeHart, Los Gatos (5.4#), Jacob Parker, Antioch (4.8#), David Eastwood, Arnold (4.1#), Harold Garibaldi, Acampo (3.7#), Jay Daniels, Wilton (3.7#), Glade Faulkner, Toaly (3.7#), Larry Gross, Fiddletown (3.8#), Ed Weikum, Mountain Ranch, David Eastwood, Arnold (3.3#), Bob Reinhardt, Jr., Morgan Hill (3.3#), Don Myshrall, Mokelumne Hill (limit of planters). Bank fishing has still been going strong with successful anglers using a variety of colors of Power Bait including yellow, rainbow glitter and green or chartreuse. A crawler/marshmallow combo has been working well also. Bank anglers who came into Glory Hole Sports with nice fish this week include: Jim Secora, Tuolumne (4.7#), Al Judnich, Sonora (4.3#), Dave Camden, Arnold (4.0#), Jim Comphel, Twain Harte (4.1#), Fred Roberts, Modesto (4.0#), Frank Jocksch, Millbrae (3.7#), Mike Derby, Jr., Rail Road Flat (3.5#), Jessica Keyes, Linden (1#).

Kokanee: Done for the season, although trollers are picking up a few 8” fish.

Bass: Bass are suspended holding in 30-40 feet of water for the most part, with an occasional angler reporting catching shallow fish during overcast skies or some of our warmer rainstorms. A few anglers have reported observing an early spring behavior with the bass. Target the mouths of creek arms and submerged islands, and up into the deeper creek arms. When the wind comes up, the fish will sometimes move shallow to chase the bait that the wind is blowing into the shore. Drop-shot rigs with shad-patterned or crawdad-colored worms are going to produce the most fish, but bigger fish will be caught with brown jigs or swim baits. Jigging a spoon over submerged islands, 30-60 feet deep, is another good choice for winter bass fishing.

Catfish: slow though an occasional angler does catch one now and then. Dave Fong of Sonora came in with an 11pound cat caught near Bear Creek while trout fishing with green Power Bait. Dave wins the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week (catfish) with his big cat. Tuttletown, Angels Cove, Glory Hole Point, or under the 49 Stevenot Bridge are all good spots to try for big cats. Use mackerel, anchovies, or sardines, a sliding sinker, leave your bail open, and be sure your hooks are sharp.

Crappie and bluegill: Slow. Try fishing live minnows or trying to entice them with jigs in red/white or purple/white. Target coves or some of the major creek arms that have a lot of stand-up trees in them fishing at 30-40 ft. depths. As always, fish tight to structure.

 

Lake Pardee

Lake Pardee will finally re open the gates for the 2006 season on THURSDAY February the 2nd for Campers and Recreational Vehicles only. The gate will be manned until 11 PM both Thursday and Friday for the opening. Fishing for shore anglers will begin FRIDAY morning the 3rd at 12:01 AM and at daybreak the same day for boaters. The Lake Pardee Management and Staff are looking forward to welcoming back all our friends both old and new.

Lake level is normally 10 foot or more below the spillway this time of year in anticipation of runoff from winter storms. The forecast is calling for some wet stuff this weekend so some dirt and debris will end up in the water but it never lasts long and the clarity quickly recovers to 10 feet or beyond.

Three plants are scheduled by Lake Pardee and another by the Department of fish and Game prior to season opening.

All facilities (except the pool) and services will be available on opening weekend. Check the Marina for all your fishing, boating, bait and snacking needs. The Coffee Shop is always a great place to start whether it’s a full breakfast or just a steaming cup of coffee to kick start your day.

Good Luck---Tight Lines.

For information or reservations call (209) 772-1472

 

The Lake Camanche Fishing Report - January 24, 2006

LAKE CONDITIONS:

Lake Camanche’s current elevation is 217.56 feet above sea level, a drop of 4.4 feet since last Sunday. The surface temperature at the dam is 53.8 degrees F. and drops to 50.6 degrees at the bottom. The surface temp readings upriver are 49 degrees, a result of lots of inflow from Pardee Lake. The lake waters are slightly colored with a Secchi dish reading of 11 feet at the dam and 6 to 9 feet at the upriver sampling locations.

Gate hours for North and South shores are 5 A.M. TO 11 P.M.

TROUT: There were lots of anglers out yesterday taking lots of limits of 1 pound to 6 pound Rainbows. Most trollers did best with floating Rapalas in Fire tiger or gold/black back. Another hot ticket is to troll Sep’s Scented Pro Grubs in chartreuse; pink or orange about 4 feet behind a ¼ ounce split shot or try Needlefish in bright colors, such as the #581 pearlescent white or #054, which is chartreuse with fire dots. When the skies are cloudy or overcast, the fish are right on the surface; if the sun appears , use leadcore to get down to 15 feet deep or so. John and Shirley Bartlett, of Ripon, caught 2 limits of beautiful rainbows this week. They were trolling with Uncle Larry’s spinners, and also wedding rings, and caught most of their fish up the river. Rich and Maureen Drawbert, from Camanche, caught their limits of trout while fishing in shallow water near the islands outside of Camper’s Cove. They were using Power Bait.

Bank angling has improved lately, thanks mostly to the fog and overcast keeping the ‘bows close to shore. Use Power Bait in orange or chartreuse near the North ramp or South Chevron Point. Casting and retrieving the Magic Bullet works off the banks early and again late in the day.

South Shore pond action is very good since we planted the pond with over 600 pounds last week. All sorts of stuff work at the pond; best bet is to use Power Bait in chartreuse or white. Jim Murray, from Camanche, caught a 13.11 pound rainbow from the pond this week using a Pistol Pete lure.

This week’s trout plant of 1,200 pounds will be at North Shore.

BASS: The W.O.N. Bass tournament was held at Lake Camanche on Saturday. We congratulate Leandro Sanchez and Bill Martin for winning the meet with a big fish of 8.41 pounds, and a total weight of 16.62 pounds. Jay LeClerc and Bob Haag had a 5 fish limit weighing 14.63 pounds, and Taylor Parsons and Jeremiah Payne had a total weight of 14.5 pounds. Brown or purple jigs, and worms in brown, purple, or blue were some of the favorite baits. Most bass were in 15-30 feet of water.

BOTH NORTH SHORE AND SOUTH SHORE STORES ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED DURING THE WEEK AND OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS ONLY. BOAT RENTALS ARE AVAILABLE DURING THE WEEK BY TELEPHONE RESERVATION ONLY. PLEASE CALL NORTH SHORE (209-763-5166), OR SOUTH SHORE (209-763-5915) FOR DETAILS. BOTH SHORES ARE OPEN EVERY WEEKEND (WEATHER PERMITTING).

Northshore store:(209) 763-5166

North gate: (209) 763-5922

Boat rental reservations are recommended.
Phone North: (209) 763-5166 Phone South: (209) 763-5915.

Southshore store: (209)763-5915

South gate: (209) 763-5913

Gate hours for North and South shores are 5 A.M. TO 11 P.M.