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CA DELTA REPORT
Updated - 4/25/2006
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Spring on the Delta Bring Sunscreen and Rain GearDan Mathisen Outdoors

Wow! What a week it has been as I have been on the water way to much this past week we have experience a typical spring bite. One day "off the Hook" the next just straching my head. The week started off with blustery conditions as client and I fished the Stockton area for blacks, swimbaits and spinnerbaits are the ticket when the wind gets going as we fished the Calaveras All the way to UOP.

The rest of the week I spent in the South delta flippin and pitchin' with several solid bags. I have to say the Crappie are right in the brush thick as we caught several 1 to 2 pound pound slabsides on brush hogs, Senkos and Big Dead Ringers while flipping for bass.

Bait soakers aren't doing to bad either as the best action is coming to the bait soakers who lined up in many areas of the Central Delta. There are some anglers finding the stripers to be more willing now. The best action is coming to the bait soakers in many areas of the Central Delta. There are some stripers, and big catfish coming from the Disapointment and Whites area on Livers.

Several good sturgeon are still falling too anglers, but the wind has made things less than diserable in the Rio Vista area. The best areas report have been the Cache Slough and Buoy 36 A a few fish reaching into the 40 -60 pound class. Shrimp baits are the way to go for the diamondback guys. Striper anglers are still bait fishing, but some are trolling as the water clears. The Rio Vista to Isleton area is still kicking out a lineside or two. Look for striper activity to increase.

Further West Sturgeon are super bets for shrimp soaking anglers Mothball Fleet and the Ozol Pier. The wind has brought some ugly conditions at times but the fish are stacked so thick it is worth waiting out the wind There are many anglers finding good fish in the area. The sturgeon are rolling throughout the area. The Montezuma Slough bite is not as hot as it was but it does show signs of improving. The sturgeon are really going well all things considered.

Red worms and mealworms under bobbers are good bets for bluegill enthusiasts. Many bluegill are starting to show in the dead-end sloughs. The bluegill bite should continue strong now through next fall. Whiskey Slough and parts of Old River and Sugar Cut are prime areas for the bluegill.

A word of caution - the warm water also brings more boaters to the Delta waterways, so be please be careful. The Delta had some tragic accidents last year that no one would like to see repeated.

 

Rio Vista - Isleton

Bob’s Bait Report www.themasterbaiter.com

The weather was very much improved last week even there were some raining days in the weekend. The water in Sacramento was still muddy with many weeds, logs floating and the water current was strong.
However in San Joaquin river especially in the Mokelumne River, water current was very much normal and was getting clearer.
It was busy than normal in most of the bait stores in the Delta since there were more striped bass and sturgeon reported from Brannan Island State Park up to Isleton area, and from the mouth of San Joaquin river up to Wimpy marina. Likely, most anglers got their limit striped bass easily comparing than a couple weeks ago. Even the size of striped bass averaging from 18” up to 32” but mostly around 24”. For some reason, most Asian anglers like to use bloodworm for bait. It could be psychological thinking since they are mostly use this bait and get the fish bite then they stay with this kind of bait forever. I went out last Saturday and Sunday to try different kind of baits. I end up landing at least 10 shakers and two keepers striped bass. The two keepers I got one ghost shrimp and most shaker striped bass were on pile worm or bloodworm.
Most sturgeon report along highway 160 were oversize and they were released safely.
These sturgeon mainly caught on either pile worm or ghost shrimp.
The coming days would be better since raining virtually going to finish. It takes not long for the water will get clearer. However in Mokelumne River, it could be trolled for striped bass in the coming weekend from highway 12 bridge at B&W resort up to the split of South and North Mokelumne River.
Best luck to you all and keep on fishing.



The Wilson Files- Mark Wilson

Sunday afternoon, April 23, 2006...Jack Thomason and I went down to the West Bank to troll for stripers. The water was dirty and at 59 degrees. Right at the high tide we had some hits and caught some fish. By the end of our trolling day, which ended around 6:00 p.m. we totalled 7 hits for 2 stripers at 5# and 17#, which were all released. We also lost one over 15# and another broke off which was over 25#. Some action. All we need is the water to drop some and start clearing a little more, then I think the "spring run" might start before summer. And guess what? All this in sight of Mt. Diablo again. That's it. Good luck. Catch you later - Mark.

Sacramento Area Report - by Jack Chapman


NO Report This week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hook Line And Sinker Report
Robert from the Hook in Oakley reports.

Black Bass:
The bass bite continues to amaze. The recent WONBASS pro/am this past weekend went out of Russo's Marina in Bethel Island and it took over 60 lbs! for two days with 5 fish limits per day to win. many fish moving shallow, flipping plastics and jigs is the most effective way to catch numbers and size right now. For plastics stick with senkos 5, 6 or 7" models, Brush Hogs or Beavers either 4 or 5" models and stick with basic color patterns: black/blue, black/red, junebug, watermelon/red and green pumpkin. Stick to weedless texas rigging the plastics with a 3/16 oz. weight or rig them weightless. For the jigs I would stick with black/blue or brown in a 1/4 oz. Otherwise have some fun throwing topwater baits like frogs, buzzbaits and spooks. Any color scheme will work.

Striped Bass:
The west delta striper bite has really fizzled out as the bulk of the spring run either continue to move out to the ocean and bay or up the sacramento river. The best stretches of river have been from Colusa to Sacramento and up the mokelumne from B&W to Walnut Grove. Trolling has been the ticket with rat-l-traps and broken back minnow baits. Try the regular shad patterns(chrome/black, chrome/blue) or a really bright pattern(hot orange, firetiger, chartreuse)

I have had zero reports on other species but catfish should be wide open on any bend in a main river channel or mouth of a slough. Stick with the reliable baits, mackerel, sardines, clams, stink bait and chicken liver. Sturgeon has been a zero for our part of the river but from Colusa up the river has been good. Try ghost shrimp and lamprey eel. Bluegill and Crappie have been very abundant in the marinas and the backs of dead end sloughs. Target the docks and around wood with nightcrawlers and crappie jigs.

 
 

Fish Hookers Report

Will this rain ever go away??? The Fish 'n' Fool IV was out last Saturday and Sunday for sturgeon and did quite well. On Saturday his goup of 3 people caught a 66 inch sturgeon and 85 inch sturgeon, of course, both were released because they were too big. On Sunday the group of 4 fishermen caught a 6 foot sturgeon, a 7 foot sturgeon, a 59 inch sturgeon and finnally got one that they could take home at 50 inches. The sturgeon fishing has been very good. The water temperature is right and the sturgeon seem to be hungry. All the fish hit very aggressively. The best bait has been salmon roe. Most of the sturgeon were caught in Montezuma Slough but there seems to be sturgeon in many areas.

The striper fishing has been slow because of the bad water conditions. This is usually the time of the year that we are gearing up to catch the spawning stripers on the troll. The river is way too dirty to think about trolling. Baits are hard to find for striper fishing with the conditions. You could take some sardines, bullheads; alive or dead, shad; if you can find some frozen, or ghost shrimp are some of the baits that you could try in these water conditons to attract some of the stripers that are making their way up river. Hopefully, in a week or so this rain will stop and the river will begin to clear. This spring run of stripers could last through June this year because the water is warming very slowly. We will have to see what the next few weeks bring to the river.

The sturgeon fishing should remain as good as it is now through the spring. Some of the big sturgeon are making their way up river to spawn. The water color and clarity is not very critical for the sturgeon fishing and catching. The good baits continue to be the lampry eel and salmon roe.

Both of our boats will remain at The City of Pittsburg Marina through the month of May, for sure, this year. I will keep you informed here when the Fish 'n' Fool IV will move to San Francisco Bay for live bait fishing and the ocean salmon.

Give us a call if you would like to try some of this fishing!

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,Started yesterdays trip at the first row around 11:00 am. Went to the fuel dock first,$ 785.00 worth of diesel, that hurt. Anyway I had 2 fisherman Joe and Mike Biernacky. Mike the seasoned fisherman had 4 solid bites,2 he missed and 2 he hooked and lost ,his gear. Joe had 1 bite and landed a 69.5 inch fish , my gear. The fish went air born 3
times, once was 10 feet from the boat. Again when the fish was all tired out we cradled him in a long net for a measurement then gracefully back in the water (supporting the whole fish). This happened on the outgo and eel/grass combo was the hot bait. Water was up to 59 degrees.

The fleet area is getting back to normal. Marked some bass and had a
bullhead out from 7:30 pm to about 10:00 pm. No takers ,try again tomorrow
Also are some photos of Todd's fish a few days before.

Capt. Steve Talmadge
Flash Sport Fishing

FishDelta.com now brings you out of area reports as well!!!!!!!

 

Melones Trout Bite After The Storms

Angel Camp-The bite seems to turn off before a storm, and pick up again right after a storm. Bank anglers are still out-fishing trollers, since the trout are in the coves. Many of the trout that are caught are ready to spawn and full of ripe eggs, or are post-spawn. Trollers had best luck in the main lake, or in major coves such as Angels Cove. Trout seemed to have moved slightly deeper- most are being caught at 25-40 ft. deep. Shad-patterned or firetiger Apex or Needlefish are working well, or tie on a crawler/spinner combo during or after a storm. Use a shad scent on your lure, or try the new Pautski’s Krill scent. Use Sep’s Sidekicks or a dodger, but not flashers.

The bite has been very good, with 2-4 pound spotted bass, as well as some quality largemouths being caught. Many anglers report 20-40 fish caught and released in a day. With the water temperature warming up, bass are moving up into shallower water, especially the spotted bass. Major creek arms with running water are a good place to look for actively feeding fish. Carolina-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hogs in green pumpkin or watermelon/red flake, brown jigs with brown or purple trailers, and spinnerbaits are all enticing bites. Many trout trollers are picking up big bass in the main lake, where they are chasing feed, and not oriented to structure. Dragging a rainbow trout #12 or #16 Huddleston Swimbait over the top of long points in the main lake can catch some of these larger bass. Please remember to practice catch and release always, but especially this time of year, when bass are preparing to spawn. Removing a pre-spawn bass removes thousands of potential fish from the lake. The Department of Fish and Game does not plant bass, so it is up to us to maintain the bass fishery!

New Melones Lake is currently holding 2,041,200 acre-feet of water, and is at 84% capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. The lake level held steady again this week, at 1,056 ft. above sea level and only 32 ft. from full capacity. Surface water temperatures have warmed up a little, and are approximately 52-55 degrees. Water is clear to slightly muddy in the creek arms.

 


Lake Pardee

April 12, 2006 VOL 06/12

Fred Dorman, Staff Writer e-mail lakepardee@volcano.com

<*(((---<

Water conditions: The water is still going over the spillway and heading for Comanche by way of the Mokelumne River. Not as much debris in the Recreation area today but I would still be very careful in the Lake proper. Visibility improved slightly to 7 feet at the Marina. Water temperatures are 52 degrees at 20 feet and 54 at surface.

Weather: Don’t let the premiums lapse on your flood insurance and keep working on the Arc!

Trolling: The fair weather last weekend encouraged a few hardy souls to drag some lead core or monofilament around for a while. Sounds like most had to work hard to put them in the box, limits were tough. The poor water visibility probably has a lot to do with the slow bite. If we ever get a break in the rain the water clears quickly once the sediment settles out. The white buoy outside the Narrows and the area right in front of the River Mouth are a good place to start. Trout are still taking the bait near the surface at 5 to 20 feet. Equipment and methods are unchanged; try flashers followed with a night crawler, small lures or bugs tipped with scented corn or grubs behind dodgers or sidekicks. Most are paying out 75 or 100 foot of line behind the boat and trolling slow. Seems red and fluorescent orange lures are more visible in the murky water.

Recent success: Rocky Green (no info) got a 5.57 lb German Brown this weekend. I met Randy and Bob this afternoon and included their picture just because they looked like they were enjoying themselves and they didn’t think I’d do it!

Shore Anglers: Quite a few anglers working the lagoon behind the EBMUD boathouse this afternoon. The Launch Ramp and Stony Point landing have both been good lately. Chartreuse and rainbow processed bait and eggs cast out about 30 feet should work. If the water visibility improves chrome/blue casting lures and black and green wooly flies also do well.

As of 04/12/06 a total of 20,000 lbs of trout has been planted by Lake Pardee and the California Department of Fish and Game.

Good Luck—Tight Lines

For information or reservations call (209) 772-1472


CLEAR LAKE LARGEMOUTH BASS...

A strange thing happened Thursday, there was no wind or rain and the sun was out! However that's over now, back to the abnormal weather. The bass are still biting and the water temperature is all the way up to 50 degrees. Ugh! Bass are on hold for the spawn which will start when the water gets around 60 + degrees.

Clients this week did very good catching bass to 6.10 pounds. Most were caught on minnows in the north end in water around 4 to 10'. Thursday's "sun" brought a lot of 3 to 7 pound bass up closer to spawning areas and my clients caught 31 bass with the best 5 weighing in at 30.4 pounds! I talked to some other fishermen and they were doing well on swim baits and another was getting them on spinner baits. Water clarity in the north end is ok in most areas and in the south its very good. All-in-all the fishing is very good on most days, just keep at it, it's bound to break for the better in the next week or two? "Set the hook" and keep a tight line! Richard Pounds

As of 04-05-06 Lake level is just 6 inches below flood stage at 8.5 feet

Dan Mathisen Outdoors is now booking Dates for Clear Lake Trips April 17th through 27th.

 

Bass Bite Picks up!

Wallace- The bass bite has definitely started to pick up again after all the stormy weather in the last few weeks. Robin Mourse, from Alameda, reported catching 11 bass on Thursday, 14 on Friday and 7 on Saturday. He was fishing near the Narrows and also near the dam, using chartreuse/white spinner baits, hula grubs and plastic worms. He reported that most fish were in the 10 - 20 foot depth, and the big fish for his weekend was a beautiful 5 pound largemouth. Another group reported catching numerous bass in the Lancha Plana area, up to the highway bridge. They were finding fish in 15 - 20 feet of water, and bass were taking Baby Brush Hogs in green pumpkin color as well as on black/brown jigs.

After another week of mixed winter weather, spring sunshine arrived on Sunday along with plenty of fisherman. Trout continue to be found 20 - 30 feet deep on the bright sunny days and closer to the surface on the cloudy overcast days. On Thursday one group of fishermen reported catching limits of nice trout up to 3 1/2 pounds. They were trolling at 20 - 25 feet deep between Hat Island and the dam, using orange grubs behind a dodger and black Power Worms behind a dodger. Another group reported limits of trout along with a couple of big crappie. They were trolling near Hat Island in 30 feet of water using Fire Tiger Apex lures, Rapalas in silver/black and Rainbow Runners. Another group of fisherman were catching their limits of trout trolling Uncle Larry's spinners with a piece of nightcrawler. They were trolling from South Shore Harbour to the dam, at about 25 feet. Bait fishermen are starting to catch trout at Dike 3, south of the spillway. Anchor in about 30 - 35 feet of water and drop Power Bait to the bottom. Due to the stormy weather this week, reports from the south shore pond and north shore day use area have been scarce. Power Bait and Power Eggs are always one of the best baits to use when shore fishing at Lake Camanche. Cripp lures, Panther Martin spinners and Magic Bullets are your best choices of lures to try.

The crappie bite has been slow to take off this spring due to all the storms and cold weather. We've had a few reports of fisherman catching crappie around docks, submerged trees and stickups. Minnows and mini-jigs are the best bet for bait, and Camanche Arm, Causeway Cove, and Lancha Plana are great places to start.

We encourage all anglers to stop by either marina and share their experiences or comments, let us take your picture, or put your story in the weekly Fish Report. We encourage e-mail questions, or comments, and I will reply to all e-mails that I receive here at North Shore Marina.

Lake Camanche's current elevation is 221.28 feet above sea level, a rise of 2.36 feet since last Sunday. The lake should rise slowly this week Water is currently flowing into Camanch at 3120 c.f.s. and water is flowing out at 900 c.f.s. Surface water temperature at the dam is 55 degrees. The water is clear with a Secchi reading of 15 feet.

 

Pennies on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You be the judge!

 


 
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