California Department of Fish and Game News Release

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       November 9, 2009

Contacts:

Terry Foreman, DFG Fisheries Program Manager, (916) 445-3777

Harry Morse, DFG Office of Communications, (916) 322-8962

Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp Repealed

California anglers will no longer need to purchase a Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp as of Jan. 1, 2010.

On October 11, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 1052, an amendment to the Fish and Game Code concerning the Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp. This legislation repealed the requirement for anglers to have the stamp on a license or as a validation, and the collection of related fees, beginning in 2010.

The Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp Program was established in 2004 to benefit Bay-Delta sport fisheries. The law currently in effect requires anglers to obtain a Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp before sport fishing in the tidal waters of the San Francisco Bay Delta and the mainstem of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, including major tributaries, below the most downstream dam. The stamp requirement is still in effect for the remainder of 2009.

The cost of the stamp changes annually (it cost $6.30 this year) and fees received by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) are deposited into a separate account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The funds currently in the account will still be spent on appropriate projects in the Bay Delta.

Save Our Stripers!
www.saveourstripers.org

We need our chamber members help to defeat proposed legislation to deregulate the striped bass. A Kern County assembly woman has introduced legislation to open them to unlimited take, no size limit, commercial fishing, etc. as retaliation to our efforts to protect our delta water. If you feel this will affect your members businesses please visit the site and sign on in opposition:  www.saveourstripers.org.

If you have more questions, write or visit the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance at www.calsport.org. Note that all fishing organizations in our region and our state oppose this legislation. Our Department of Fish and Game disagrees with the premise of this legislation and is currently fighting a similar attack on our striped bass fishery in court. Your support in opposition is CRITICAL in helping to crush this legislation before it has a chance to ruin our fishery and harm your business!

FishDelta.Com - Fish Reports

FishDelta.com is a new Delta Chambers member. We will now be adding the link to their fishing reports each week on this page. Some of the reports are duplicates. CLICK HERE to read the FishDelta Reports.

Also, for those missing the old Delta Chambers Fish Forum, you can now go to FishDeltaBuzz and participate in their fishing forums. Click Here

Dan Mathisen
Email & Website

Delta Bank Fishing
by Roland “Innovate” Aspiras

No report this week.

Roland “Innovate” Aspiras
Roland's Fishing Blog
Email

Isleton Area
by Can Nguyen -- Bob's Bait Shops

It was very good Fall weather with temperatures still above 60 degrees. Some days over the week were partly cloudy while some days were very clear. There was not much wind for the entire a week. This would be perfect weather to fish for striped bass and sturgeon in the Delta areas.

The striped bass fall run was late by at least a month, but it has now started over the last couple weeks. This time, there are too many striped bass that are considered small since they are from 15” to 28” long. Most anglers from either bank or from boats reported limit striped bass easily on either baits or trolling. I went out to troll for striped bass last week and got number of keeper striped bass but they were mostly from 20” to 26”. Sea Lions appeared in the river whic also indicates that striped bass are running very well now. Fishing for striped bass was really good from Sherman Island, Decker Island, Rio Vista Bridge, Isleton Bridge, up to Walnut Grove. It is also very good as reported from boat anglers in the San Joaquin River and Mokelumne rivers. Most Striped caught in South Mokelumne River were very good size from 28” to 32” on live bait.

Sturgeon fishing was good in the Sacramento River from Sherman Island to Cache Slough. John and his friend from Fairfield got a 55” sturgeon or grass shrimp at Light 42 in Sacramento River. The good baits for sturgeon are grass shrimp, ghost shrimp, and Lamprey eel.

Black bass fishing has been slow since the water temperature has been going down to 60 degrees. Catfish fishing was also slow down much. Good luck to you and have a nice coming weekend.

Can
Email & Website

Antioch-Oakley Area
by Chris Lauritzen -- Lauritzen Yacht Harbor

Perhaps my friend Hugh Henderson of Brentwood said it the best, you really don’t appreciate the Delta until the month of October and the first of November when the Delta just comes a live with activity.

We continue to see strong numbers launching at the harbor fishing for stripers and a few sturgeon. If they were launching to go duck hunting in Sherman Lake or Big Break that weekend it was pretty much a big goose egg. I heard no shots at all last Saturday coming from Sherman.  The folks that live in Antioch or Oakley would come in and get rid of their guns to head off to do a little fishing instead.

Fishing continues to be spread out but as soon as I say that there is the exception to the rule.  That being, David and Lori Dial of Antioch. In their very own way they are very hardcore fishermen and women. Depending on what or how they are fishing they either take the big boat or the small boat. The big boat is a 21 foot Striper and I think and the little boat is a 14 foot Valco. I think they do much better with the small boat fishing in shallower water using live bait drifting when they can.

Lori sent me a note last week to say that as of last week they are still picking up quite a few stripers, nothing big, but there are still stripers on the sand bar on the south side of West Island on the San Joaquin River as well as Frasier Shoals in Broad Slough. When they can find blue gill or jumbo minnows they prefer to use live bait.

You may or may not know sport crab season started this past Saturday on the North Coast. Depending on who you hear it from, TV or newspaper, most folks are saying that the Dungeness crabs are few and far between and that the price will go up when the commercial season starts this coming weekend.

I can tell you that crab fishing has been pretty good out of Bodega Bay. Most folks I have been listening to on the VHF radio are fishing the outer bay of Bodega Bay. I’ve not seen any of the six pack boats above the head.

I have been crabbing at a place called Carmet just a little above Bodega Head and have been doing very well.

Lets hope the stripers hold up for a couple more weeks.  See you on the water.

Chris Lauritzen

Lauritzen's Yacht Harbor
Website