Striped Bass, Crab and Halibut

At Rio Vista, you can find sturgeon from the Slough to Sherman Island. The water's not crystal clear but it's not quite muddy. No catch has been terribly good here for a few weeks aside from the occasional 20 to 30 pound striper being pulled out. The Powerlines is still offering up some sturgeon, too. Striped bass are hovering deep. Tracy had a bass tournament last week and the biggest catch was 17 pounds. This week a striper was caught in the central part of the lake that weight in at 26 pounds. But don't get your hopes up to get your limit in huge stripers, as they're scattered and the biting's spotty.

At Berkeley/Emeryville one sturgeon trip has headed out so far that produced a 60-pound catch that was good. You can still make reservations for sturgeon trips so don't delay on that. San Pablo Bay is still doing well near the China Camp and the Pumphouse for sturgeon using mud and ghost shrimp. Don't even hope for bass at San Pablo right now, though some are getting them when they're going for sturgeon, just in small numbers.

Pacifica was doing well with crabbing at the Pier, but the surf is too rough right now and it's completely closed. Suisun Bay is offering up sturgeon at Garnet Point for those using grass shrimp. They're going no deeper than about 20 feet. If you get a striped bass it's purely by accident at Suisun right now, as they're scattered and not biting well at all.

San Francisco Bay is showing very little action anywhere but around the Oyster Point Pier where a sturgeon and a few perch have been caught. The South Bay was doing well, but it's slowing down. Using ghost shrimp and herring are still letting anglers catch the occasional fish in the south part of the bay. Bass aren't biting.

Frank's Tract has a few stripers biting, but they're tiny. And the black bass are still in hiding as they have been for at least the last 4 or 5 weeks.

Trout

Amador's been benefiting from 3,000 pounds plants each week. For the last several weeks, the trout are in the top few feet of water and that hasn't changed. Woolly buggers are catching some, but nightcrawlers are also pulling them in. So few anglers are on Berryessa that it's wide open, with the few that go doing fairly well.

Clear Lake's still cool enough to keep from biting too enthusiastically. Live minnows are working best in the cold water, down to about 25 feet.  Cool water temperatures have slowed the bite, but quality bass are being taken in 3 to 25 feet of water with live minnows. (707) 279-4739

At Lake Chabot, Raccoon Point an Half Moon Bay are still the spots to fish, with most catches there running between 2 and 5 pounds. Bait dunking is giving anglers their limits. Results are far better from the shore than in the central part of the lake. Another 750 pounds went in this week so that could start to improve.

Lake Camanche is offering up bass down to about 40 feet with plastic bait. The good spots are still the same as last week, near the South Short Pond, and near the dam as well as the north and south points of the lake. Trolling and shore fishing are both doing well, but trollers are starting to see an improved bite.

At Davis, ice fishing is going great right now. It's up to 6 inches thick in places but that's no guarantee it will stay that way. Salmon, eggs and worms are working the best with anglers pulling out fish up to 17 inches. Try around Coot Bay and the dam.

Del Valle benefited from about 1,500 pounds of trout over the week, with trout up to 7 pounds being caught near the Marina. The dam and the Narrows were hot spots but those are starting to slow a little, and even when they were hot last week they weren't consistent.

At the Lafayette Reservoir stay around the East Cove and near the docks. Trollers are having good luck right now at the south end, as the north end bite has died down. Kastmasters, rapalas and Needlefish are working for trollers right now, while Powerbait and nightcrawlers are giving shore anglers the best catches. Early morning fishing, either trolling or from shore, is best.

Power Eggs and Power Worms are still working at Los Vaqueros near the South Cove. Salmon are turning up here and there, and a couple of stripers up to 18 pounds were pulled out this week on swimbaits. Stay on shore for the best concentration of trout, but don't expect to get too many as they're spotty right now.

San Pablo Reservoir is closing and will reopen in February. Shasta Lake is actually great for bass fishing right now on swimbaits and Senkos. Stay around the creek channels where the water is clear and moving. Quarry Lakes has slowed down even though a 500 pound plant went in this week. At New Melones, stick to the middle of the lake or right on shore. Shad are out in the middle and the stripers are feeding them, so it's really a great time for trolling with shiny bait.

Steelhead

You should be able to fish the Smith now, but the steelhead bite might not be back right away. The Chetco River should be a good spot to hit over the weekend. The Eel and Mad Rivers will be open over the weekend, but check the weather before going as storms are predicted over the holiday. The Russian River is full and muddy, but no rain might make it doable by the weekend. Trinity is running full and muddy, too. If there's no rain it could be a good spot over the holiday as plenty of steelhead were coming out prior to the mud. Always check the open/closed status and the river flows before you head out.

Photo Credits: Troy Holden

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Categories:

Berkeley, CA, Emeryville, Fishing, Fishing Report, lake fishing, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, steelhead, Striped Bass, stripers, Sturgeon, trout

Tags:

bass tournament, black bass, china camp, Emeryville, garnet point, ghost shrimp, grass shrimp, occasional fish, Oyster Point, pound striper, powerlines, pumphouse, Rio Vista, San Pablo Bay, sherman island, Striped Bass, stripers, Sturgeon, suisun bay, using ghost