The inland salmon fishing season ended on December 16 with mixed results on the Sacramento River, with the top fishing reported below Red Bluff and Knights Landing. Most of the anglers will begin targeting steelhead and trout fishing in the future. On the closing day some good salmon fishing reports that several hooked and landed salon ranging in from 12 to 28 pounds while back trolling with Kwikfish with a sardine wrap. Two other anglers fishing the Knights Landing area boated a 25 and 30 pounder fishing near the Highway 113 Bridge with Brad’s Killer Fish. The inland salmon fishing will reopen next year on Saturday, July 16.
The striped bass fishing remains very good for boaters power drifting with live or dead mud suckers while fishing in the Broad Slough, and at anchor dunking threadfin shad. The water clarity remains very fishable on both the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. H & R Bait and Tackle in Stockton continues to get fresh shad deliveries on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The sturgeon fishing has been very good in water depths ranging from 45 to 75 feet for slot limit sturgeon along with several over sized fish to 80 inches in length. Most anglers are finding that fishing the deep water is best on a very slow tide. Captain Zach Medinas of Gate Crasher Fishing Adventures will be presenting two sturgeon fishing seminars on Friday and Saturday at the upcoming International Sportsmen’s Exposition at Cal Expo in Sacramento.
Sea lions have been an irritant for striped bass and salmon fishermen in the Delta for years. But there have been several incidents of sea lions that are beginning to remove hooked sturgeon.
In the Pittsburg area there are a few boats focusing on catching some huge stripers while dunking live splittails. Splittails are not sold at the local bait shops because anglers are limited to two splittails in possession, and the bait fish must be solely caught by the angling.
In the south Delta striped bass have moved into Old River in the Discovery Bay Area. This is the usual migration period during the month of December.
Note: The Three Mile Slough Bridge on Highway 160 is currently closed in the open position, making it impossible for a tall vessel to make it under the bridge
