Fishing Report
Stripers & Shad
Did an evening striper-shad combo mission yesterday and caught decent numbers of both. The stripers were mostly small but there are some decent ones in the mix if you can wade through the dinks. The shad bite, like usual, is best late on the evening.
The Never-Ending Striper Season!
I can't believe it...here we are mid June almost and the striper fishing in the Valley rivers is still rediculous. The past several trips have yielded crazy numbers of stripers and I even had a couple banned trips on the Delta too this week.
We have super hot weather in-bound so that will probably speed up the exodus of stripers from the system but man, oh man what a year!!!
I'll be shifting over more to shad fishing in the upcoming weeks and then let's start thinking salmon in August!
Stripers...and Shad now on tap!
Striper fishing in the Valley rivers was scalding hot again most of the last week but it appears to be petering out pretty quickly as the water is warming up and the fish are finishing up their spawning activities.
That means the upper sections of the system are clearing out now but there will be some good pushes of stripers this week and next down low in the rivers and out into the Delta. In fact, I started fishing the Delta on Monday and we caught probably 30-40 fish without a ton of trouble. Nothing big, but there were plenty of fish around.
Shad fishing is also going very well now in the American River and I started doing 1/2 day trips over the weekend, There are piles of shad in the system and I'll have morning or evening trips available later this week.
Another banner week of stripers!!
River conditions have been changing a lot almost every day...muddy and high...then low and clear then low and muddy and then high and clear...it's been a little wacky but I've been able to adapt to the changing conditions and the fishing has been exceptional!
For example, my guys on Friday were counting fish and said we had 83 by around 10 AM and I'm sure we needed with well over 100 by noon. Even on the slower days, it's been a 30-fish affair with everything caught one spoons (though we did fish minnows one day last week when I saw the night before that the fish were going to be in a tough jig spot due to the conditions).
As per usual, there are lots of school sized males but we have been seeing nice hens up to 20 pounds pretty frequently. I finally have some openings coming up this week, so let me know if you want to hop aboard!
OMG, the Striper Fishing has been AWESOME!!
It's been another banner week of striper fishing here in the Valley and the numbers of fish around is pretty staggering. We've been having a ball and, with high/cool water coming again, it looks like we will have great fishing all the way through May!
I will finally have some open dates starting next week, so get in touch if you want to get in on this amazing fishery that just keeps on going!
Striper Bite still solid
We battled through some ugly North Wind late in the week but by Sunday the fishing was back on again in the rivers for stripers. We've been catching lots of fish on spoons -- most of the stripers have been under 10 pounds this week but there have been a few big girls in the mix as well. What a great season this has been so far!
Great Striper Action Continues...
What a week of striper fishing! It's been awesome out there on the river and we have been seeing nice fish...and lots of them. A lot!
We've been catching everything on light gear and artificials and it's been a blast.!
Really Awesome Fishing!
The striper bite was silly-good today up the river and we had fish on from start to finish pretty much the entire time. . Lots of schoolie sized fish, but some larger ones as well to maybe 14-16 pounds.
Hopefully this bite will continue because it doesn't get any more fun than this!!!
Striper Bite....HOT!!
Fishing was phenomenal today on the lower Feather River despite the fact that the water was off-color. Flows are coming down this week and that's going to make this thing really go crazy next week! There are a lot of school size males around, but some bigger fish in the mix as well.
I also did a bait soaking trip on the Sac on Wednesday below Sacramento. There was a lot of action but the size just want there...
On a somber note, I attended the services for legendary Nor Cal guide -- and one of my favorite people on the river -- Jimmy Zanocco on Tuesday. The next day, we dedicated and released the first fish of the day in his honor...
Striper Report
After a week of outstanding fishing, the water on Friday, April 14 came up dramatically on both the Feather and Sacramento rivers. Flows now are stable and starting to clear and I'd expect the fishing to be be back in full swing by mid-week.
This is a late start to the hot fishing to be sure, but that just means we are going to fish stripes well into May this season -- and probably longer!
Father & son double headers...thats what it's all about!
Striper Fishing Red Hot!
The striper bite in the rivers really busted loose this week, with big numbers of willing bass showing up. There are some nice fish in the 10-plus pound class in the mix and lots of shcoolie sized fish to pull your rod tip down!
The Sac and Feather rivers are forecasted to rise this week with the storm but we should be in awesome shape by in a week or less. It's go time!
Swimbiats and jigs have been the main baits we have been using lately...
Stripers Just Starting
With all the high water, the striper fishing is behind schedule at the moment. We should have been doing really well 2-3 weeks ago, but the fish are only now starting to show up. It's gaining momentum daily and we should be in full swing here very shortly.
So far, it's been the small males arriving early but they hens should be close behind...
This year, I think we're going to have fish well into May and probably June!
Just about time for stripers!
Well, it's been one looooooooooooong winter! But flows are coming down now and the sun's coming out and that means we should have some tremendous striper fishing happening very soon. I'm headed out on some exploratory missions this week so stay tuned. When it starts popping, the demand will be high so start thinking about dates now!
TIME FOR STURGEON!!
Well, as soon as I had a pattern going on the steelhead, the rains are coming again and the rivers will rise. So, it's officially all sturgeon, all the time from now until the end of February (at least). Fishing is solid already and is only going to get better!
Valley Steelies Perking Up, Sturgeon good too
With the water finally dropping in the Sac Valley rivers, we've seen a nice uptick in steelhead action. The fish are your typical Valley fish in the 2 to 5 pound class with a few larger ones mixed in. They are scrappy little guys full of fight!
Also, the sturgeon fishing is heating up and should just get better as the month wears on!
High Water Everywhere...Time for Sturgeon!!
STEELHEAD FISHING IN THE SAC VALLEY IS WASHED OUT INDEFINITELY SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO STURGEON. WE'LL CHASE STURGEON ALL OF FEBRUARY AND THEN TRANSITION INTO STRIPERS IN MARCH-APRIL. IT SHOULD BE A GREAT SEASON FOR BOTH WITH ALL THIS WATER!
American River off the Watt Ave Bridge...60,000 cfs!
American Steelhead Opener Report
The much anticipated American River steelhead opener on Jan. 1 was largely a bust. We hooked one good fish early in the morning and then had a couple of other bites but only landed one halfpounder. I talked to a dozen or so other boats who didn't catch a fish either.
The water was high (4,500 cfs) which makes it kinda like a needle in a hay field (notice I didn't say haystack). With the big rains coming in Jan. 7-8, flows are headed for 15,000 cfs and likely more. We are on standby at this point...
On a positive note, I saw plenty of salmon still spawning which was cool. I just hope the redds don't get all scoured out by the rain.
If you can't go fishing, you might as well read about it! Check out my latest eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Steelhead Bank Fishing
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! AMERICAN STEELHEAD OPENER COMING JAN. 1!
Hope you and yours have a great Holiday Season!! I'm going to hang out with the family the next several days but will be back out striper fishing just before new years and then will be on the American for the steelhead opener on January 1.
Flows on the American went to 35,000 cfs last week...and that should have brought some fish in!! Flows are dropping now and will be 6,000 cfs by New Years Day. The color is still off at the moment but we have a week for it to clear up. Could be a pretty cool opener!
