Stripers good on Napa River
February 4th, 2007 by Fishing admin
• Napa River
This week, the striper report is good. This warm, dry weather should keep it going. Cut bait for bankies; troll and cast with deep divers and hair jigs.
Keep your lure digging on the bottom; fish slow and slower.
Reports are sketchy on sturgeon right now; they would prefer some roily brown water that brings some dinner down to them.
If we ever get any more rain, it will happen.
• Lake Berryessa
Surface temperature is 49 degrees — right on the cusp of good bassing.
Chad Hole at Sweeney’s Sports (255 -5544) called it the “good winter bite.” Work jigs, drop shots and split shots in 15 to 30 feet of water.
Troll at 15 feet with a Kastmaster or Needlefish behind a flasher for your trout. Try a little deeper at the dam for salmon.
You’ve got to go early for crappie. Use minnows off the bottom in brush or around docks.
• Conn Dam/Lake Hennessey
The California Department of Fish & Game planted another truckload of rainbow trout here last week. They will do this every other week right through spring.
The only time they stop is during the very hot months when the transferred fish would be stressed out by the warm weather.
• Clear Lake
Night-time water temperatures of the low 30s — moving up only to the low 40s during the day — have practically shut down the bass bite. That massive crappie bite during the last couple of years has gone away, too.
Terry Knight, a longtime outdoors writer in Lake County, believes one reason is the high take limit — 25 crappie per person per day.
During those hot years, a family of six would catch and take home 150 every day. Add to that, poachers would each take 100 home every day.
Terry said that thousands of fish were taken daily; the fishery just cannot stand that kind of pressure.
And, it doesn’t need to. I would never begrudge a hungry man a plate of fish to eat. But, even at a limit of 10 per day per person, he can feed his big family well.
Lake County authorities asked the DFG to reduce the crappie limit to 10. They replied that they didn’t see any reason to. Well guys, your reason is here — the crappie may be long gone.
• Indian Valley Reservoir
Bob Rider at Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake (www.lakeshorebaitandtackle.com) reminded me that Indian Valley is another interesting fishery. It’s wild and remote, but he says the trout are biting in the north end.
Tempt them with a night crawler under a bobber. Dress warmly, bring in whatever you’ll need for the day — and pack it out.
• Smith River
This dry weather has flattened out the river stages (depths) at low levels — 7.9 feet at JED and 14.1 at DRF.
This means the water is gin clear and the steelhead are spooky and won’t bite. Not good. With our plan to fish there in just a month, help us by wishing for some good rainstorms in mid-February.
• Bodega Bay
A daily look at the real time conditions on Bodega Charter’s Web site (www.bodegacharters.com) will make you dizzy.
On Tuesday, there was a big wind and high seas. Two weeks ago, it was close to flat. That’s why it’s best to call ahead for conditions and bookings.
They are targeting giant squid right now. Ring them up at either 463-3618 or 391-7772.
• California Delta
In front of this weekend’s Super Bowl Sturgeon Derby in the Rio Vista/Isleton area, the sturgeon bite seems to be holding up well. Try Cache and Montezuma Sloughs and Sherman Island.
Better bring a variety of baits. Depending on where you are fishing, they seem to be liking ghost shrimp, grass shrimp or pile worms.
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