Over the last week, strong winds in many areas dampened fishing efforts. Even larger boats had trouble in some places and had less than spectacular results aside from rock cod and pretty good striped bass fishing in certain areas. For trout, nightcrawlers and synthetic bait are showing good results. For sturgeon, eels or shrimp bait are catching the few being pulled out.
Winds were a particular problem at the Del Valle, Las Vaqueros and Shasta Lakes. Wind was also a problem in the Berkeley and Emeryville area, unfortunately when people were trying to get out for rock fishing before the close on October 31. This closes at Pillar Point, though it's allowed until November 15, but only south of Pigeon Point.
In Berkeley/Emeryville, get your reservations in now for sand dabbing and crabs, as this will start on November 7, just as it does at Pillar Point where they've been pulling in their limit of cod, too. There's been little action in the area all week because of the sharp winds, but the few that braved it did well with rock cod, with a scattering of striped bass and halibut.
Striped Bass and Halibut
It's been a good week for striped bass and halibut in other areas, however. Suisun Bay's been turning out 10 pound plus striped bass for those using live instead of cut bullhead as bait, mostly around the Martinez Pier and shoreline rocks.
San Pablo Bay has been good for striped bass and halibut, particularly at Paradise and Red Rock. The week has been too windy for the most part, but it's supposed to die down over Halloween weekend.
In the delta, warm water temperatures have hindered fishing. The temperatures should be cooling but took a turn in the opposite direction. And the high saline content seems to be impeding fish hauls, too. This area needs rain to dilute the saline and drop the temperature, and many rivers need rain to improve the flow and get the fish moving.
Rio Vista has been a problem, not just because of warmer water temperatures but because of grass. Over the week, the wind has slowly improved those conditions. Over the weekend, sturgeon was the best bet.
In other areas in the delta, striped bass fishing has been excellent, with the average running about 4 to 5 pounds. Though at Tracy, a 21-pound bass was caught on Friday and at Frank's Tract many were caught over the week that came in between 10 and 15 pounds. Fishing crankbaits or down shot is getting easier in the area, with most of those using bucktail jigs and swimbaits catching fish around 5 pounds. At Tracy, the lures that have been pulling in the biggest stripers are worm-tail jigs and the top-selling bait in America, Rat-L-Traps.
Trout
At Amador, trout fishing has been successful using live bait like nightcrawlers and spinners, though using synthetic Power Bait and spinners has been working almost as well. Trout are biting in the morning and the evening, and this bounty looks to continue for a while thanks to well over a ton of fish (almost a ton-and-a-half) going in on Tuesday. In the central area of the lake, bass are biting fairly well for the season.
Contra Loma shows good trout fishing with Power Bait and nightcrawlers, too. The average size of the trout being pulled out here is about 3 pounds. Chabot had over a ton of trout put in this week, though about 500 pounds less than at Amador. Fishing had slowed but should improve now. Most fish coming out were small to average sized, but an 8-pound trout was caught here this week, near the island.
At Camanche, both trout and bass have improved over the last week. Fish higher for bass, going no lower than about 15 feet down, using plastic lures. For trout, the best results come from going down about 25 feet, and using Rapalas or needle fish as bait.
At Lafayette, a thousand pounds went in Tuesday, all at about 1 to 2 pounds, with the best fishing over the week during the early morning. The central part of the lake, as well as the East Cove, has been decent for catfish over the week, especially using chicken livers as bait. Quarry Lake had 1,500 pounds of fish go in this week, with the top trout weight in at 6 pounds.
Shad at the creek mouth, as well as silver spoons and minnows, are working well at New Melones. In the main part of the lake, bass are biting shad, too. Swimbaits are getting good results, and fishing is best early morning and early evening.
At El Valle, the wind and warm waters made fishing a struggle, though a 20-pound catfish was a catch and release on Saturday. Shasta has been unpredictable this week, with many small bass being pulled out. The bait of choice for trout, even though fishing has been poor, has been bait balls fished right on the surface.
Wind hampered fishing at Los Vaqueros as well, with striped bass coming in small amounts and trout being caught in decent numbers. On November 7, the lake hosts a Family Fishing Day, and hopefully the wind will be mild. Finally, the San Pablo Reservoir closes October 31 and won't open again until February.
Salmon
Because of the low rainfall, the rivers and streams have flow too low for good results. Poor fishing conditions have kept the take low at Lamath, Trinity and San Francisco Bay. One or two salmon, steelhead and jack are all that have pulled out over the last week. Trinity is suffering very badly from lack of rain. It's currently far too low for good fishing. The North Coast Rivers aren’t even open because of the low conditions. Once the flow improves, salmon fishing should look up in the Smith tides, which right are now are the already the best salmon spots.
The take at the Smith peaked about 3 weeks ago and has decreased over the last couple of weeks. Look for the best biters around the Rowdy Creek inlet. Fly fishers are having the best luck at the moment with steelhead, but because the areas of the best fishing are small, fairly well-defined areas, the waters are crowded.
Photo Credits: Eddie Dickey
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CA, catfish, Emeryville, Fishing, Fishing Report, Halibut, Salmon, San Pablo Bay, steelhead, Striped Bass, trout
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