Sturgeon still tops in the Delta

I WOULD LIKE TO APOLIGIZE FOR RECENT DELAYS IN GETTING THE REPORTS UP TIMELY. My schedule has been taking me all over the State the past couple of weeks into many areas with out Internet access. On my way to fred Hall Long Beach this morning so civilization should allow me to better stay on top of things....

The sturgeon are grabbing shrimp baits The stripers are still the biting, but you have to work a bit to find the best water. Those that are bait fishing are getting a few stripers. Sturgeon are best in the Cache Slough Area and Collinsville Areas to add to the already decent fishing in the area. The results are encouraging as anglers start to see some rain run-off help spur the bait fishing action. Still many of the best results continue for those fishing the Powerlines and Decker Island area of the Sacramento River.

The Rain and big tides have added color to the water in the west Delta. This has really helped turn things around as there have been some fish taken between storms. Shrimp baits are best in The area with top mention coming to those in the Duck Club area Big Cut. It looks like the consistency here will be improving as the Diamondbacks become more willing.

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 22 pounds.

 

Sacramento Area Report - by Jack Chapman

No Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delta Bank Fishing
by Roland “Innovate” Aspiras

Hello again to all! I’m back after a week of work festivities. I wouldn’t call it so much a “festive” affair, but it certainly was festive in sarcastic terms. But as I see it, work allows you to enjoy the things you love, that being fishing for myself.

At any rate, on with this week’s report.

Fishing seemed to take a back burner the past few days with the recent rain and super cold temperatures, as very little to no reports came across my way from my bank fishing sources.

Despite the brisk weather and cold temperatures, a buddy and I decided to take a trip to Rio Vista on Sunday to try for a Sturgeon or Striper.

Stopping into the Master Baiter in Isleton, we chatted with Can Nguyen for a few minutes and loaded up on Ghost Shrimp and Herring, as well as some snacks and drinks for our afternoon of fishing.

Our plan was to arrive about an hour or so to hit the start of the incoming tide which happened to be around 3:00PM. Around 2:00PM, we arrived at a spot on Sherman Island which we had fished just 2 weeks ago where I had caught a shaker Sturgeon and a fairly large Sacramento Squawfish.

My hopes were high after scoring those two fish and after tossing out a combo of Eel and Ghost Shrimp, I settled into my folding chair to wait for a good ol’ Sturgeon to hit my offering.

Just before the tide hit dead slack, I got was I was looking for – that classic slow, steady pull down. I leapt out of my chair and swung for home and to my delight, felt the weight of a substantial fish on the other end of my line. I swung one more time to seal the deal, and swung one more time to seal the fate of my next Sturgeon. As I pulled down to reel in the slack from that last hookset, the fish was gone. What a heart breaker! After reeling in my rig, I noticed that the fish took the Ghost Shrimp. I re-baited and slung the same offering out, hoping and wishing that I would get another chance at a Sturgeon.

But, to say the least, that was about the only action we saw for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The only hits we received from there on were small taps which were probably small Stripers, Squawfish, or Catfish.

About an hour after losing my fish, two Gentlemen fishing about 50 yards up the river from my buddy and I scored what looked to be a 7 or 8lb Striper. I’m not sure what those gentlemen were using for bait.

The rest of the evening was dead slow with Eddie drawing one striper-ish small hit. The flood tide continued and we were defeated by the Delta. No fish for us. Not to mention our hands were colder than a pack of Ice Cream Sandwiches. We left Sherman Island around 7:45PM.
This next weekend, members from an online forum in which I participate will be holding a get-together at Brannon Island State Park. With tides and weather looking primo, I’m sure some Stripers and Sturgeon will be caught. Of course, I will report the results of the festivities here.

As always, pick up after yourself with respect to our precious public bank fishing spots. This ensures that the next person can enjoy the spot you just fished. I was pleased to see that the spot we fished in Sherman Island was almost litter-free. Perhaps someone read my reports here and realized that it is the right thing to do. That makes me feel good.

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.
2/22 Photo
Roy Korb landed a 52" sturgeon in 19 feet of water between the fleet and bouy 9.
The fish took eel/pile on the outgo.
Roy is from Sacramento.

 

 

2/23 Photos 2
11 year old Bryce Anderson from Yuba City landed his first sturgeon.
The fish was 65" and 62 lbs. It jumped all the way out of the water during the battle.We fished in 15 feet of water between the fleet and bouy 9.The fish took eel/ghost shrimp combo on the outgo tide.

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

Water conditions: Water level dropped again this week; it is now 15 to 18 feet below spill and continues to drop. Water clarity has remained good to 15 feet. The temperature measured at the Marina was 48 degrees at the 20 foot mark and 52 degrees at surface. No reports of any widespread debris encounters this week. Watch out for islands in places you don’t expect them!

Weather: Carbon copy of last week, frosty mornings, bright and warm afternoons, some light rain forecast for the late Sunday.

Trolling- The eastern side of the lake from Mel’s Cove to and including the River Mouth are still the most productive areas for boaters and trollers. Nothing gigantic stuffed in the live wells this week but still lots of limits reported. All the action is still in the zero to 20 foot range with lots happening at the 5 foot mark. Heard of a few boats using down riggers but the most popular set ups are still flashers with night crawlers, lures tipped with a partial scented grub or night crawler behind dodgers or sidekicks. Some are flat lining behind a very slow troll out 75 to 100 feet behind the boat. Red, pink white and green (fluorescents or not) were the predominate colors for lures, dodgers and sidekicks.

Shore Anglers-Careful it’s a long way to the waters edge! The Launch Ramp, Rainbow Point, Stony Point Landing and behind the EBMUD boathouse are the best spots this report. Lots of planters and some larger holdovers still available in the Recreation Area; Todd Englehart got a nice limit in the Recreation Area weighing in at 8.6 lbs—great job Todd! Typical tantalizing equipment-chartreuse and rainbow processed bait and eggs on a sliding sinker set up, chrome and blue casting lures and last but not least wooly flies behind a clear plastic float.

Some recent success stories:

Bob Roth got a nice 6.6 rainbow, unfortunately there was no info listed on the photo, no matter it’s still a great catch. Richard Hunt got a 6.99 lb Large Mouth in the River Arm using swim bait.

As of 2/23/06 a total of 11,000 lbs of trout has been planted by Lake Pardee and the Department of fish and Game with more scheduled for the near future.

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.