Sean D in the IJ! Sturgeon Crowd the Bay!

After these rains, the sturgeon rigs and sinkers have been jumping off the shelf at record pace - the odd weather patterns of the last couple weeks have kicked off a serious bite!

Ex-tackle department team member and full-time sturgeon fishing devotee Sean Daugherty was just featured in a recent article in the Marin Independent Journal -


Sean Daugherty, a San Rafael fisherman, holds an 76-inch sturgeon. He hooked the fish during a recent expedition just outside of San Pablo Bay. 'People are catching a lot this year,' Daugherty said. The fish was over the legal limit, so Daugherty released it. (Provided by Sean Daugherty)

Here's the article:

Enormous sturgeon crowding into San Pablo Bay

By Alastair Bland
IJ correspondent

A large, unusual concentration of big sturgeon in San Pablo Bay has scientists baffled and local fishermen thrilled.

Thousands of the lumbering bottom-feeding fish seem to be gathered in the waters between the Carquinez Straits and the Tiburon Peninsula. Sport anglers, who are generally accustomed to long and tedious hours of fishing to catch just one sturgeon, are deeming 2011 one of the best fishing years in history.

But just why the white sturgeon — whose smaller and rarer cousin, the green sturgeon, is a threatened species — are swarming in San Pablo Bay more than elsewhere is uncertain. The season's intense precipitation almost certainly has something to do with the phenomenon. Fishermen generally associate heavy rainfall with increased sturgeon activity. Some anglers say the influx of fresh water into the bay stimulates the fish's appetite.

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Whatever the reason for the bite, don't miss out! Get out and enjoy the action!

Recent Reports

Just a quick report to wrap up the fishing for the past week.

Sturgeon fishing and largemouth bass fishing are top draws right now.
Looks like sturgeon fishing has blown wide open in upper San Pablo Bay, with reports of oversize fish and keepers being caught on ghost shrimp in in and around places like Round Mountain, Black Point and the mouths of both Sonoma Creek and Petaluma Creek. Also, there are reports of fish in the 60-70lb range being caught off China Camp, and Paradise cove. This may begin to taper now that the tides are leveling a bit. (And to get a good idea of tidal ranges in the Bay and ocean, we rely on the Tidelog, which shows an excellent graphic representation of tides, plus gives a good place for notes, etc.)

Bass fishing is still hot with combinations of pre-spawn, post-spawn and spawning fish swarming the shallows in places like Kent Lake, Phoenix lake, Alpine lake and Bon Tempe. Best bets are 3/8 oz flipping jigs in white or yellow jacket with either White Trixie or Green Pumpkin Chigger Craws for those bedding fish, and small swimbaits in bluegill patterns, drop shots, and Senkos for the post-spawners.

Also, look for the topwater bite to blow wide open any day now so long as the weather stays warm and warming. Best bets wil be Zara Spooks, Swayback Spooks and Super Spooks, and Lucky Craft Gunfish in Ghost minnow or other translucent natural bait colors and wake baits like the bbz-1 floater or any shallow running cranks fished just under the surface.

I want to take a moment to congratulate Andy Mercado and Chris Lapointe for their victory at the Marin County Bass Club derby hosted on Lake Alpine. And I would also like to congratulate Jigmonster pro staffer Chris "Flipper" Franks and his partner Aaron Anfinson who won the semi-pro side of the Anglers' Choice Pro Team Series on Lake Berryessa. That would be enough for most anglers, but they also second on the pro side, beating a field of big name talent - missing first place by less than one tenth of a pound! These stellar results were a direct result of them putting on a clinic with the Jigmonster Savage Swim Jig (arriving this week at the shop!) Good job guys.

Stop Wishing - GO Fishing!

"and then it was on!..."

Spring rolls in with a bang!! Almost out of nowhere, everyone is getting hammered with fishing options -- take your pick, but make a choice and GO! It is good. Now.

Striped bass are ripping up bait and artificials like cut anchovey or jigs, rip baits like the Rapalas, Rat-L-traps and soft-bodied Storm and Calcutta swimbaits, at places like China Camp, in the San Rafael area around Home Depot, and further north near Bahia and the Petaluma river just to name a few. It may be early to tell, and it could shut off just as quickly, but folks are catching them similar to the wholesale SLAMMING we were seeing four years ago.

Almost right on schedule, anglers have been nailing the start of the spring halibut in the South Bay and up in San Pablo Bay. Best options have been trolling plugs, jigs, swimbaits, and frozen anchovies, or by drifting live shiners or jack smelt on soft tides. The success hasn't been limited to the boaters either - bank fishing has produced as well with success using with striper lures like Rat-L-Traps, jigs, and swimbaits. These are not huge fish yet, but sticking a limit of keeper size halibut is not uncommon.

Sturgeon to 75" are nailing shrimp and herring from Paradise to Buck's Landing and in the South Bay from Coyote Pt to the Oakland airport.

Whew! let me catch my breath. Ok, thanks!

Trout fishing
Kent Lake and Alpine Lake have continued to kick out monster Rainbow Trout on spinners and live bait. Even Bon Tempe is has been producing with reports of holdovers to 20" and great smallmouth action with best bets being Powerbait and live nightcrawlers.

For those who want to relax and fish for planter trout San Pablo reservoir is kicking out huge brood stock trout up to 12lbs or more on Powerbait fished from the bank. Lafayette reservoir seems to have been given all the planters that were banned elswhere because that lake is brimming with 2-3lb trout and everyone is getting them. The trollers, the bankies... anyone and everyone who can manage to get a hook or lure in the water!

Carp and Panfish
Euro-style carp fishing is off the hook as well with Nicasio reservoir and Clearlake leading the charge. Both areas have been kicking out fish from 5-25 lbs for anglers using corn, meal worms and boilies.

For the more sophisticated approach - fly fishermen interested in stalking these "golden bonefish", Nicasio offers plenty of shots at schools of tailing fish. Nope. I'm serious! We've had a number of excited fly anglers who have rushed back to the store to stock back up on black or olive bead-headed wooly buggers after snapping off some larger fish. We've also seen some home made "bread flys" and attractive white panfish poppers.

Take the KIDS!! If you want to get these little versions of yourselves out and on fish before their micro- attention span falters........what was I saying? oh right... Your kids can have a field day at Phoenix Lake - where after a long winter, the bluegills have moved up and will readily attack a red worm under a bobber for all to see.


Bass Report - Wow, I've never made it this far without talking about bass fishing... But, I can stand it no longer.

Right now, Alpine, Nicasio, and Kent Lakes in Marin County will offer you the best shot of the year to stick a new personal best. Best bets are jigs in darker craw colors, 5-6" Senko plastic worms (watermelon with black flake or green pumpkin with black flake), Chatterbaits like the Boogie Bait in chartreuse, chartreuse white, or natural colors, and the drop-shotted Roboworm in purple or green.

You can find males in the shallows and flats killing everything that moves and the bigger females in the deeper areas closest to males. Swim jigs, spinnerbaits and swimbaits slow-rolled through these staging areas will draw strikes, but if you want a tougher challenge that will produce bigger fish, know that these larger bass will be using wood cover as well. So if you find a flat covered in males look for the nearest tree in deeper water.


Big Congrats to Andy Mercado for winning the first Marin Bass Club derby at Phoenix Lake with 5lb 7oz bass, and to Ryan Gilliflan for "best set" with four good fish from 2-3.5 lbs. I will be posting the date of our next derby shortly and it will be at Lake Alpine.

See ya at the shop!

Rain Brings the Fish!

Thank Goodness for rain! Best bets right now are sturgeon on San Pablo bay, Russian river steelhead, wild trout up at Kent Lake, and bass at Nicasio reservoir.

As for the sturgeon, I am getting steady reports of guys sticking keeper size diamondsides on ghost shrimp and herring filets at Paradise Park (off Tiburon), the Pumphouse (San Pablo Bay), and Oakland Airport (plus a few unsubstantiated in the South Bay). If you are fishing from the bank, Paradise Park pier is an excellent way to go, espcially if you can get a good out going tide. For all the boaters out there, try fishing the first half of the outgoing tides, west of the Pumphouse, and the second half of the outgoing tide east of the Pumphouse, closer to the shipping channel.

Russian River steelhead - the mouth is open and pods of new fish are entering daily. If the water is clear, it's hard to beat throwing small black beadhead wooly bugers, but if the rain colors the water a little bit then drift roe or throw small 1/3 oz Little Cleos in gold and burgundy. Also, Panther Martins are good in the river as well. It's one of the few bladed spinners that has good action regardless of current direction.

Guys are still getting wild trout up at Kent Lake on night crawlers, kastmasters, and in-line spinners. As for color, if the water is a little murky, go with gold kastmasters and gold bladed spinners, if the water is still gin clear, then nickel

Last but not least, bass fishing is starting to turn on and the best bet is Nicasio Reservoir. Fish rip rap with the allmighty brass and glass rigged green pumpkin Brush Hog, or if the water is fairly clear you can't beat a wacky rigged Yamamoto Senko in darker colors.

Also you can start looking for a reaction bite to improve daily. As this begins, your best bets will be Speed Traps, Chatter Baits such as the Boogiebait, spinnerbaits, and small swimbaits like the Storm Wildeye swim shad in Shiner Chartreuse. To fish this effectively, target the rip-rap by casting paralel to the bank and trying to bump the eadges of the rip-rap with your baits.

Okay - go get fishing!