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!
I am sending this letter to DFG and others all
the way up to up to the Governer.
please pass this on to everyone you know.
Dear Calif DFG,
I read the proposed regulations for sturgeon and
I have some concerns. After last season’s restrictions the
industry was hit hard. I know that I was. The major problems I
am aware of are population assessment, poaching and legal abuse
of the sturgeon take.
The proposal introduces tags and report cards.
In the proposal, minors and seniors must buy tags and report cards,
while continuing with past practice of not having to purchase
a license. It proposes changing the limit size to 46 to 60 inches,
with an annual bag limit of 3 sturgeon. There will be a new cost
of up to $7.50 per person for tags and a card. These changes will
address the problems but will have a dramatic impact on the industry
for the 2nd year in a row and I for one would like to stay in
business. I believe the proposed changes will be a major deterrent
toward sturgeon fishing. People are going to be upset with the
additional cost on top of an already expensive fishing license.
They will not like filling out more paper work. Requiring seniors
and anglers under the age of 16 to purchase tags and report cards
will create a hardship for some people and could result in fewer
seniors and children enjoying the opportunity of fishing for sturgeon.
The proposal is making it too complicated and costly for many
people. I think DFG can achieve the same results if we just use
our existing licenses in the same manner.
I think if we could use the existing license as
the report card you will eliminate the additional cost (of adding
tags & report cards). If you add 3 harvest lines on the existing
license you will achieve the same results with a more accurate
count. Once an angler decides to kill a legal sturgeon he must
fill out one of the 3 harvest lines with a ball point pen, just
like if they were to fill out a tag. If a DFG warden checks a
sturgeon, he could also be check the anglers license - so why
have both license & report card. If DFG requires a person
to turn in their old license to purchase a new one, they receive
the most accurate survey with minimal cost. We have to show our
hunting license to receive a new one, so this would be something
many anglers are used to. What is going to stop a poacher from
buying more than one fishing license or buying report cards and
tags for all the children he knows or makes up?
What will stop the legal abusers from doing the same? I believe
turning in your license to receive a new one will be a deterrent,
with identification required at time of purchase. I think the
public would rather turn in their license instead of buying more
paper work. DFG will know how many anglers fished for sturgeon
and how many fish were harvested for that year.
If a space is added for location caught, there is that much more
information received at no cost. As years go by, DFG can track
the location, size and population of sturgeon. If we start to
see a downward trend in the harvest then it is time to take action.
If we see an upward trend in the harvest this is good. Keep in
mind these should be looked at on a percentage basis and there
will be other factors to consider. This should cover the whole
system - not just some specific areas.
It irritates me to see the money and time wasted
with the system DFG uses now. And to have information that we
all agree from last year is very skewed. Using the license as
the proposed report card you would be able to monitor the harvest
more efficiently and accurately. It would make a wardens job easer.
Today a person may transport a sturgeon a day with just a fishing
license, 365 days a year and there is not much a warden can do
if it is illegal. I have fished for sturgeon for 35 years (and
I take groups out to fish for sturgeon professionally) and can
honestly say that last year was one of the best sturgeon showing
I have seen in a long time.
When the size limit was moved to 72 inches max
about 13 years ago, I thought that was a good move and I believe
that is why we are seeing more sturgeon now. I don’t think
we have a population problem now but I understand DGFs concern.
If we don’t have good data it is best to play it safe and
protect the fish. Proposing to change the size limit to 46 to
60 inches is overreacting and will add to the destruction of our
industry. I think to help maintain the industry we should have
a 42 to 64 inch window. 42 inch works for Oregon and Washington.
Adding a trophy line on the license that would
allow harvesting one trophy per year (64 to 72
inches) would be appreciated. Most of my anglers will not keep
a 46 inch fish, even more would catch & release if they were
limited to 3 a year. The larger window will help keep fishermen
interested in sturgeon fishing and with the chance to harvest
a trophy even more. Even with the trophy line, there will be a
large number of those size fish released to the healthy population.
The annual bag limit and the new transporting
documentation will have a tremendous positive impact to our healthy
sturgeon population. I would just hate to see the additional cost
and paperwork result in the joy of fishing lost to some or given
up by others.
Thank you,
Capt.Steve Talmadge
Flash Sport Fishing
510 881-0858
Good fishing
Capt. Steve
Flash Sportfishing
 Now
brings you out of area reports as well
Kokanee
Slows
Melanie
Lewis reports “We are starting to see more rainbows taken
by trollers- usually in mixed limits with kokanee. They are fat
and full of shad- most are in the two-to-two-and-a-half pound range.
Brightly colored Apex or spinners are what they are hitting, without
flashers. Anglers who caught rainbows while trolling this week include
John Darroch, Larry Gross, Lindsey George, Bill Cheney, and Richard
Kowski. If you are fishing from the bank for trout, you will have
the most luck in the local rivers and creeks. Night-fishing under
submersible light is also producing limits. Some night-anglers use
minnows, but a nightcrawler threaded up onto your line with new
chartreuse Double-Glitter Power Bait or spring green Select Power
Bait on your hook seems to be the best combo
Bass bite has been up and down, with fishing best at dawn, dusk
and night. not many big fish but plenty of action for small keepers
and almost-keepers. Fish are filled-to-the-gills with shad. Target
main lake points and steep banks in the south side of the lake,
and upriver. While there are lots of fish being caught relatively
shallow, bigger fish may be deeper. Drag a Carolina-rigged 4”
or 6” green weenie worm or Zoom Baby Brush Hog in green pumpkin,
25-30 feet deep. Since the water is stained, you may want to add
rattles or brass’n’glass to make a little noise. With
all the baby bluegill and bass in the grass in the coves, throwing
a crankbait or worm in those patterns should get some action. Night
fishing for bass is fun, especially during a full moon. Use big
black or June bug worms or Senkos, or black or black/red spinnerbaits.
Hang on to your poles! Big cats are spawning in the cove areas,
and are aggressively biting. 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. Night fishing
is always best for catfish, but we see plenty caught during the
day, too. Dave Rannis of LaHabra wins Glory Hole Sports’ Big
Fish of the Week Contest with his 11.1 lb. cat caught, along with
two others, on sardines. Don Sicka caught 5 nice cats weighing up
to 8 pounds. Derek, Peter and Dylan Barrington caught 4 catfish,
including a 7.5-pounder.
Lake
Pardee
Water
conditions: The water level rose again slightly since the last report
and is at spill. Clarity is presently good to 15 feet. The water
temperature measured 77 degrees at surface and 74 at the 20 foot
mark at the Marina, temperatures are slightly cooler in the body
of the Lake and upstream locations.
Weather:
Expect warmest temperature midweek then cooling into the weekend.
Early morning starts, River Mouth and upriver destinations are presently
the most popular.
Trolling:
Conditions are basically the same as last report. Limits are the
exception for trollers; most are finishing up the day with less
than a limit. Boaters are working the Narrows, the face of the Dam
and the larger coves upstream. The bite is still best between 6
AM and noon. Small lures, pink/white hoochies and beaded spinners
tipped with lots of garlic or anise scented white shoepeg corn followed
with a large silver/blue or watermelon dodger (some are also pulling
a medium sized set of ball flashers lately). The warm weather continues
to heat the surface and send the fish deeper in search of cooler
habitat. Look for Trout at 30 feet and some small Kokes at 60 feet.
Shore
Anglers: Some brave souls were dunking bait this morning across
from the Marina at Stoney Point Landing-an umbrella is a must. Rainbow
Point has been the hot spot lately, use white eggs and get 30 to
40 feet out into the channel that runs parallel to shore. Sliding
sinker set up still the best method.
Some
recent success stories: Skip and Linda Walde of Sunnyvale show off
two very nice limits of Rainbow taken at Blue Heron Pt. using white
eggs. Butch and Irene Walker of New Mexico bagged two 2.5 lb trout
with yellow eggs, still fishing in Twin Coves, also in Twin coves
Frankie Stevens landed this nice 2 pound Rainbow using a night crawler.
Nice job!!
Still
Fishing: Presently still fishing is hot, start at Twin Coves and
work your way through the larger coves upstream.
As
of 08/21/06 a total of 57,000 lbs of trout has been planted so far
this season by Pardee Lake Recreation Inc. and the California Department
of Fish and Game.
Camanche
Bass and Catfish Action Decent
Reports from those who have been visiting Camanche are encouraging
for the Bass anglers. The bass bite continues to be red hot this
week. Lots of 1-4 pound bass are being caught around the rock piles
and cliffs in the Lancha Plana area. Camanche Jack's worms and leeches
in smoke, green, or purple are the colors most often mentioned.
The submerged island tops in the main part of the lake have been
giving up plenty of bass this week. Fish 10-15 feet deep, near deeper
water. Tube baits and deep running crank baits are the ticket here.
The big bass for the week was caught by young Dillon Parrish, of
Elk Grove. He caught an awesome 6.2 pound bass on a minnow, fishing
from shore in the campgrounds at North ShoreI have been fishing
topwater lures, such as Ricos or Lucky Craft Pointer minnows in
Rainbow or orange are taking some good ones as well. Works areas
with wind pushed current around brush and thick grass cover near
the Causeway and dike #1.
Catfish
action has slowed down just a little but still biting. Use Mackerel,
liver or nightcrawlers from 8 to 20 deep after dark. The Camanche
arm and Causeway cove are among the hottest areas to try. Don't
overlook the Trout or Beaver ponds at Southshore for after-dark
Catfish.
Trollers
who are on the water very early, or late, report finding fish from
Hat Island to the Dam, above the old river channel. Now that water
temperatures have topped 81 degrees the fish are very deep during
the day .between 45-65 feet. Needlefish in chartreuse color, and
R-Lures and Ex-Cel lures in green/gold, and blue/gold are reported
as the most successful colors this week. The bait fishing at Dike
3 continues to be great for overnighters using Power Bait, Power
Eggs, or night crawlers, especially when using underwater lights
at night. Anchor in about 50 feet of water, and drop your bait to
the bottom. The Camanche Hypolimnetic Oxygenation System, trade
named the "Speece Cone", has been in operation since the
13th of August. The H.O.S. distributes oxygen to the lower lake
waters at the dam. The southern end of the dam will soon become
the best place to try for Trout as the oxygen-laden water provides
ideal conditions within 30 feet of the surface. The "cone"
usually operates until mid-to-late October to improve the waters
released into the Mokelumne river fish hatchery.
Pennies
on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You
be the judge!
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I'm
sorry that I don't have time today to compile my report. 
