The River Rat Web Page
A bad day fishing is better than a good day working!!
The
I'm glad to be an American!!
God Bless the
READ THIS!!!!! FISHING REGULATIONS
HAVE CHANGED!!!
Below is a copy of Section 2.10 of the new
Fishing Regulations. Read them carefully and be especially watchful for the way
these regulations affect the
2.10. Fishing Methods
Restrictions:
(a) Definition of Gap:
For the purposes of this section, "gap" means the distance measured
from the point of a hook to the shank.
(b) Maximum Length of
Shank: Hooks with shanks longer than two inches are prohibited in all waters.
(c) Maximum Gaps for
Streams and Rivers: Unless otherwise provided (see subsection i (e) below), no
person shall, in any stream or river; use any single hook with a gap greater
than 5/8 inch orany multiple hook with a gap greater than 1/2 inch.
(d) Weight Attachment
Restriction for Rivers and Streams: It is unlawful to use, in any river or
stream, any hook which is directly or indirectly attached closer than 18 inches
to any weight exceeding 1/2 ounce unless the weight is part of a manufactured
or conventional lure.
(e) Maximum Gaps for
Lakes, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and Other Areas-Exempted from
Subsection (c)' No person shall use any single hook with a gapgreater than 3/4
inch, or any multiple hook with a gap greater than 5/8 inch in any lake or
reservoir, or in the Sacramento River below Bend Bridge, the San Joaquin River
below Highway 132, or the Mokelumne River below Woodbridge Dam.
As I read the above, it may not be legal to
use Flatfish or Kwikfish larger than M2 and K14 with the original hooks in the
Get a copy of the regulations and read them
carefully. There may be many other changes that have been made and we just
don't know about them.
August 8 - This will be a quick report. Again
I fished the mouth of the American but today I did not see a fish caught by
anyone. I left and took a boat ride to
August 7 - Went back to Discovery this
morning with the intent of only fishing the mouth. Got there about
August 6 - Thought I would fool everyone, so
I got up real early and went to the River. Got to
August 5 - Over the weekend I was told that
today was going to be my day on the river. So, I got up early and rushed down
to Discovery Park, launched my boat and motored to the mouth of the American
where there were already three boats anchored in the trolling channel. OK, I
said, self lets go up to the Dredger. Went up to the Dredger, started my
trolling motor, put out my line and the motor died. Appeared to be flooded.
Tried to start it for about 10 minutes and finally started my main engine and
trolled with it. Finally about 15 minutes later I got the trolling motor
started and shut down the main engine. It ran for about 15 minutes and again
stopped. This time it took an hour to get it restarted but then it purred for
the rest of the day. Now, about the fish. I trolled until almost 8:00 before
getting back to the mouth, at which time I found out that Kenny had one fish
and lost one; one other boat landed one trolling and the hippies had one trolling.
There were also about 5 fish caught jigging. As I pulled around the mouth and
started up the
August 2 - I was pretty sure my luck was
going to change so I went back to
July 31 - Took my grandson Anthony and his friend
David to
July 29 - Guess if you want Salmon you must
take a ride to
July 26 - Went back to
July 25 - Went back to
July 24 - Went to
July 12 - Thought I would try one more time
to get a Salmon before I go to Baja. Went to the
July 8 - Went to
June 28 - Decided to go out and catch a
Salmon this morning, so I got up long before sun up and went to the
June 26 - Went to the Bay today to try for
some Halibut and Stripers. Left home at
June 24 - Went to Folsom Lake with Jack
Bishop this morning. This was my first fishing trip to Folsom for about 9
years. We fished from about
June 19 - Today George Sarkisian and I went
to the Port to see if we could break my string of bad luck. We got on the water
about
June 17 - Went down to the
June 14 - Got up early this morning,
June 12 - Started out to do some fishing in
June 11 - Went to the river this morning will
all the confidence that I was going to have a great day. I did have a great day
but I didn't catch any fish. I fished from
June 7 - Well, I'm sure you all know by now
that I am not going to quit. I went down to the
June 4 - Got up early this morning and went
to the
June 3 - Heard that there might be some
Salmon around so got up with the chickens and was on the river by
May 31 - Went to
May 29 - Glen and I went to Steamboat this
morning. We got there just as the tide was cresting. We started out going down
stream and went almost down to the big pumps when Glen got a 24 incher. Then
there was a long dry spell and finally we went up toward the ferry and I got
one about 20 inches. Then on the next pass or the one after that, I got one
about 13 inches. That was it for the day. We fished until about
May 18 - Went out of Moss Landing with a
group from AmTech Microlectronics this morning. We went out for Salmon and we
all had high hopes. There were a total of 10 fisherpeople on the vessel,
Kahuna. The day was beautiful and the sea was cooperating but the Salmon were
not. By
May 17 - Jim Siemens and I went out to Verona
again today and had the same kind of luck I had yesterday. Got a whole lot of
little stripers and a few shad but no keepers. Guess I'll have to wait until
Saturday when I go to Moss Landing for Salmon. Will keep you posted.
May 15 - Breadstick and I went out this
morning and thought we would try our luck at Verona again. We got there and
very quickly caught a small Shad. Then the morning deteriorated. We couldn't
get more Shad, the Stripers would not cooperate and it got downright hot. It
was a beautiful day, the fishing was not great but we did have a good time.
Maybe tomorrow!!!!May 13 - Went back to Verona this morning. Got there about
5:15 am, put the boat just above the dock and started to fish for Shad. Fished
until about 7:30 am and got about 15 Shad. Got some on Fly's, some on a casting
outfit and some on a spinning outfit. They were not consistent. The seemed to
hit anything the first time you presented it and then they got finicky. Change
the offering and they would hit again. After the Shad, I went up river to the
10 foot spot and soaked some bait for Stripers. Got a number of real small
Stripers then got this one, a 10 pounder.
May 10 - Went to Verona with Jim Siemens.
Thought we would try for some Shad and some Stripers. Well, the Shad were
somewhat cooperative, we got about 10 and they were nice fish. Some of them
were all of 4 pounds. Most every boat and there were about 5 in our area had
Shad. Now the Stripers were another story. We landed more Stripers than we did
shad but if we could somehow put all the of them together, they may have been
the size of one of the bigger Shad. The Stripers were hitting Shad Darts and
were all of 3 to 4 inches. I thought they came out of the egg bigger than that.
Anyway, it was fun and at least something was happening.
May 8 - Went to Discovery Park again today
and wanted to try some live bait. Put a live split tail in the water for over
two hours and not a touch. Trolled up stream and went home. Skunked again.
May 7 - Went to Discovery Park this morning.
Fished for three hours and only three fish that collectively would not make a
good live bait. On the other hand, Jack Bishop was parked next to me and he got
two fish, each about 26".
April 25 - Since we had got some nice fish the day
before, we knew we were going to have a good day. We put the boat in at a
location closer to our hot spot and ran up river. When we got close to our
"Honey Hole", we started the trolling motor and put the bait in the
water. We must have fished for about an hour before the first fish took a swipe
at our bait. When she finally got hooked, we could tell it was going to be a
nice one. My little brother played this one until it was on it's side and when
it was in the net, he took over first place for the biggest fish. Now all we
had to do was get more of the same for the old guy and I. We waited about
another hour before another fish started to attack the bait. These fish would
just explode. With the bait just below the surface it made it very exciting to
see and hear the fish take the bait. This time, older brother got his chance to
take the lead but it was not quite enough. I was ready because it was my turn
at the rods. Again, another hour passed and finally my fish hit. I thought I
had a giant and was sure I was going to have the big fish, well, it appeared to
take the lead for the moment but we still had a lot of the day left and had
three fish in the box. Now, we were getting the fish we had expected to catch
and we were sure even bigger fish were just waiting for our offering. Well, we
were going to get two more fish and they were going to be bigger, both well
over 30 pounds and both to be returned to the water so they could great us on
our next trip. These fish were the ones we had come for and we were not
disappointed. Although this was the end of our trip, it ended the way all trips
should end, with the greatest success coming on the last day. The only problem
was Ron got the biggest fish. That's him to the right, with Dean the guide
holding his fish, about 35 pounds.
April 24 - Our second day of fishing Lanier. We went
to a different part of the lake and hoped it would change our luck. We fished
all morning with no luck and decided to do some real prospecting. We fished
almost every point and drop off to the North/West. Then we did the same thing
to the North/East. Finally we started North up the Chattahoochee River. The
area was much like the Lower American River but it had much less water. Average
depth was probably about 10 feet but in areas, it was less than 3 feet deep. We
came to an outcropping that looked like it would hold fish and we put the bait
in the water, talking about bait, this is the bait we were trolling. I know it
is hard to see because the tail of the bait is curled back.
These things were about 10 to 16 inches in length, the
bigger the better. As big as many
of the fish that hit our broken backs in the
Sacramento. They were called Gizzard Shad and looked much like American Shad
except for their mouths. The mouth was very small and they had a somewhat
rounded nose. Anyway, we started trolling, put the bait out 30 to 40 feet, that
is right feet, behind the boat. The bait was not more than a foot below the
surface of the water and the closest bait was right at the surface. All of a
sudden, the center bait came alive and there was a big splash as a Striper
grabbed it right off the surface. It was the smallest fish of the trip but it
was amazing how they were not boat shy. We actually watched the fish take the
bait and it was to happen over and over again. Then we went farther up the
river and again watched as a big Striper, over 20 pounds grabbed the bait and
start to run. These fish were HOT and they were just in beautiful shape. We
made a few more passes and hooked up again. This time it was the biggest fish
of the trip, so far! Finally we found a spot that was holding fish but not
before it was getting late. We had about a 45 minute run back to the launch and
the weather was threatening. Now, it was starting to rain and get very windy.
We started back and it really started to rain and the wind was blowing in about
20 mph. It rained all the way back to the car. At least we knew where we were
going tomorrow.
April 23 - Went fishing with my brothers, Andy and
Ron, at Lake Sydney Lanier in Georgia. Today was our first day on the lake. I
had been told in the past that the lakes in the South have a large number of
LARGE Striper in them so I wanted to check it out for myself. We had decided
that we would fish for three days and originally we were going to fish in
different lakes but the guide had boat problems so we really ended up just
fishing Lanier. Anyway, we started out with the one to the right, about 23
pounds. What a beautiful, fat fish. Fishing was slow but we did manage to get
another one and it was not bad either, about 20 pounds. In addition we lost one
bigger than either of the ones we had landed, but that was it for the day. Nice
fish but not a lot of them. The guide told us the water temperature had jumped
from about 54 degrees to over 70 degrees in just a few days and because of this
the bite really slowed down.
April 16 - Glen and his buddy Lloyd went down
to Steamboat and were home by noon with a full limit of fish. One 6#, one 8#
one 9# and the final fish 10#. He said things started a little slow but they
did land the 6 and 8 pounder. Then they made a run to the "Honey
Hole", I guess this is a secret spot because I can never find it on a map.
When they got there, they put their lines out and started to troll. Glen hooked
a nice fish, the 10 pounder, and just as Lloyd started to bring his line in,
his rod loaded up and he had the 9 pounder. Guess that is the way to close out
a day, a double and two nice fish at that!! Hope this is the start of something
big.
April 10 - Went back to Discovery Park this
morning and thought it was going to be a good day. First, the water temperature
went DOWN, it is now back to 58 degrees. Then, it seemed the water flow had
slowed and when I got home, I checked and it had. The Sacramento is flowing at
4000 cfs, the Feather is at 1200 cfs and the American is at 4000 cfs. I was
able to use 1 once of lead in 18 feet of water. Need less to say I was not
happy and I did not get any keepers. I got two little guys and together they
would not have made a good 16 incher. Also, I did not see a fish caught or one
on a stringer. Talked to about 8 different people and they hadn't seen anything
either. Guess I need to change my strategy. Will try again on Friday.
April 8 - Guess I am just a Die Hard. Went
back to Discovery this morning. Saw one fish, about 4 pounds, caught early and
then a long dry spell. Finally I moved and went down stream. Then the
frustration! One guy alone in a boat had landed two small keepers and as I
pulled up he was taking the smallest fish from his live well and replacing it
with a larger one. This was repeated twice more while I was there and no one
else got a bit. Boy, this has been a bad Striper season so far but FEAR NOT, I
will be back on the river Wednesday after the small storm that is suppose to
bring us 25 mph winds tomorrow.
April 4 - Went back to Discovery Park this
morning. Went down stream and started to fish at the steps. Then went half way
to the bridge. Then just above the bridge. Then down to the waterfall and
started at the first pilings above the waterfall. Then just above the
waterfall. Then just below the waterfall. Then above the Pioneer Bridge. Then
on the other side of the river just above the bridge. Then in front of the old
Rice Mill. Why move so much? No fish, that's why. After all that, all I got was
6 catfish, the biggest one was about 10 pounds and two Sacramento Pike. On my
way back up stream found that 5 fish were caught just above the sandy beach on
the Yolo side of the river and that was it! Well, that ends my week of fishless
days. Next week will be better.
April 3 - Bread Stick and I went out with the
intention of catching some fish. Instead, we feed the multitudes. We landed two
small Stripers and on little Catfish, but did a great job feeding the rest of
the fish in the river. We didn't feel too bad because we didn't see anyone else
with a fish either. That is until we came home. Jim talked to his buddy, Fisher
Price and they got 11 nice Stripers up to 16 pounds in the stretch of the river
below Miller Park. Guess they are coming but just haven't arrived yet.
April 2 - Ocean Salmon - If you are
interested, Ocean Salmon opened on Saturday and LIMITS before noon have been
the rule of the day. The fish are larger as well. Many in the twenty pound
range and some in the thirties. If you want some early salmon, now is the time
to go!!!!
April 2 - Went to Discovery Park with Jack.
Water temp 60 degrees and water was clear. Went down stream and fished above
the Pioneer Bridge. Got one keeper, 19 inches and one about 16 inches. Also saw
two other fish caught and talked to Tom, up river, and he had one. Guess this
means that things might be changing. Will let you know tomorrow when Bread
Stick and I go out.
April 1 - Over the weekend heard that there
were lots of fish at Verona, so Jim and I went to the mouth of the Feather
River this morning. We anchored and were fishing by about 6:20 am. I guess
other people were told there were fish a the mouth of the Feather as well,
because there were about 30 boats in the area. Some up the Sacramento, some up
the Feather and some between the mouth and the dock. Unfortunately, we didn't
see a fish caught. The only enlightening event was the water temperature. When
we got there it was 59 degrees and by the time we left it was 61 degrees. Even
though the Stripers were not there today, they will be there soon!!!!
March 28 - Went back to the port this morning
about 6:00 am. Tried to fish for almost two hours but it was windy!!!!!!! Took
the boat out about 8:00 am, had some coffee with a couple of guys that were
going to launch but didn't. Then went home.
March 27 - Didn't plan on going fishing this
morning but when I woke up at about 5:15 am and looked out side it was beautiful.
No wind and the stars were out so I packed up my stuff and went down to the
Port. When I got there I knew I only had two fish to go for a limit so I
immediately started trolling. I trolled around the Port and finally started
down the Deep Water Channel. Went all the way down to marker 75 when my rod
loaded up and this thing really started to strip line. I either had a good one
or I had snagged one. The fish made three nice runs and finally came up to the
boat. A beautiful 20.5 pounder. This is my biggest fish for the year (almost my
only fish for the year), never the less, it was a beauty. Now, I had only one
to go for a limit and it was 9:00 am. Trolled up the channel almost to the port
without another touch and pulled my line in and went home.
March 25 - Had that feeling this morning and
just had to get out to the river. Went down to Discovery Park and went down
river to the Waterfall, thought the water might be just a little warmer. What a
great day!! I used 4 pieces of bait and landed one Sacramento Pike. This was
the best I have done in two or three weeks. (Isn't it a sad commentary when
your feel you are successful using 4 pieces of bait?) By the way, water temp
was 52 from Discovery Park to Miller Park. The Waterfall didn't effect the temp
at all. Talked to five other guys and not one of them had a fish. In fact, I
think I used more bait than any of them.
March 21 - Went to the bait shop and got some
Giant Minnows. Went directly to the Port and started to drift. In the process,
we say three other boats doing the same thing. The Minnows were active and we
knew the Stripers would not be able to resist them, but THEY DID!!! We drifted
from about 7 am until 11:30 am and didn't get a bite. Will try something
different next week.
March 20 - Went to the Port of Sacramento
this morning. Started to troll at about 6 am and pulled out about 10:30 am.
Marked a lot of fish and saw a lot of fish jumping but just could not get them
to hit. Jim Siemens landed one about 19 inches but that was it. Will go back
tomorrow and try drifting Jumbo Minnows. They are a natural food and I know
they will the Stripers will not be able to resist them.
March 15 - Went to the Port this morning with
Jim and Jack. Thought it was going to be a great day and it did start out OK.
We started on our first pass and not 50 yards from the dock my rod loaded up. A
16" Striper. Then on the way back, Jack got a hit and landed a 18+ incher.
Then there was a long dead spell and finally I got another one, again not much
more than 18". That was the action for the day. No birds to chase, no fish
to catch so we went home. Maybe next time.
March 4 - Kenny and I went to the Port of
Sacramento this morning to look for some Stripers. When we got there, we
started to troll. Then we spotted a flock of birds diving into the water. We
pulled up our trolling gear and switched to Jigs. Within 20 minutes we landed
10 Stripers, the largest about 6 pounds. Then it died. We fished another three
hours and only got one more fish and didn't see the birds again.
February 28 - Daren, Jack, Dick and Jim went
up north Stealhead Fishing. This was the annual trip for Jim and Dick but the
first trip for Daren and Jack. They started out to the fish the Umquoa but the
water was too low so they fished the Rogue. Good thing they did. In two days,
the landed 45 nice fish, the biggest being a little over 16 pounds.
February 27 - The words of an honest men,
"went to Discovery Park this morning and didn't get a bite after trolling
for two hours and didn't have a bite after another two hours of bait
fishing". (John Bringuel) Now, when I get home I have an email from Danny
Layne of Fish'n Dan's Guide Service with the picture below of a beautiful Brown
attached and the only caption was, "John, fish or cut bait! I think I'll fish". I hope his client doesn't have this web site
address.
February 25 - Don Wyman and Mick Herman went
to Rio Vista and Mick proceeded to catch this 40" Sturgeon. He was using a
Sturgeon Cocktail of Ghost Shrimp, Grass Shrimp and Eel. Naturally they put it
back but at least they put something at the end of their snare, I can't even
get a bite. Good job Mick and Don!!
February 22 - Jack, Jim and I went down to
Freeport this morning and thought we would do some Striper catching. NOT!!! We
fished from about 7:30 am until about 10:30 am and only Jim had a hit, that is
right one hit but he also got the fish. About a 19 inch Striper. That was the
activity for the day. Too bad we bought soooo much bait. Optimistic I guess!
February 18 - Went to Discovery Park this
morning to try for some Steelhead. Went up the American River and anchored
above the first riffle. No sooner did we put our lines in the water when we got
a hit. We landed more that 10 fish from about 8 to 12 inches. I'll bet
you thought I was going to say pounds. I wish!!!! Nothing bigger than 12
inches. Guess the hatchery released a lot of fish and we happened to anchor
above them. Water temp in the American was 46 degrees.
February 12 - Jim and I went down to the
Delta to try for some Sturgeon. We fished the Sandy Beach area from about 7am
until almost 1 pm and not a bite. When we got there, there were no cars in the
parking lot and when we left there were two other cars in the lot. Now, that
should tell you something. The water temperature is starting to warm up but it
still was only about 46 degrees.
February 6 - Went to Discovery Park this
morning about 8:00 am and fished until about 11:30. Trolled the mouth of the
American for about two hours and used anchovies for the rest of the time but didn't
get a bite. Did talk to Grant and he gave me some information I thought I
should pass on. He said the fishing regulations have changed and the new King
Salmon limit in the American River, above the Jabboom Street Bridge is THREE Fish. When I got home I checked the regs on
the internet and he is right. The new limit is 3. Below is a copy of that
portion of the regs that pertain to the American River. This is on page 29 of
the regulation if you would like to check for yourself.
February 4 - Went to Sandy Beach this morning
to fish for Sturgeon. Fished Light 24 and 26 from 7:30 am until after 1:00 pm
and not a bite. Looks like the Sturgeon were lurking somewhere else. We didn't
even get a small striper to take our offering. Water temperature was up a
little, 44 degrees and the weather was beautiful. Non the less, will try again
either at the end of the week or next week. Will keep you posted.
January 24 - Got up early this morning, it
was 29 degrees out, and met Jim Siemens to go to the Delta for a day of fishing
for Sturgeon. Got on the water, just above Rio Vista, a little before 7:00 am
and fished until a little after 1:00 pm. Didn't get a bite. It was cold, the
sky was clear but the fish were just not cooperating. That is right, not a bit,
not even a catfish. Water temperature was 46 degrees and the water was
exceptionally clean. Guess we'll have to try again after the storm that is
coming in tomorrow.
January 18 - Waited until it warmed up a
little then went to Discovery Park. Trolled the mouth of the American and then
up to the bottom end of the Lower Dredger. Didn't mark a fish. Then went back
to the mouth and soaked some anchovies for about an hour with the same luck.
Water temp was 43 degrees, kind of cold which makes the fish lethargic. Talked
to a few other guys who also didn't have any fish but they said Morgan got one
yesterday about 8 pounds and the German got one the day before about 16 pounds.
That is the extent of the report. Went to the Boat Show yesterday and talked to
a lot of people but didn't get one good report. Even the guides were
complaining because it is so slow.
January 16 - Jack and Kenny went to Antioch
today, worked on the boat and did a little fishing but no catching. Jack said
the tide was not right but he didn't see anyone else with fish either.
January 15 - Had to change the oil in my
boat, so after the temperature heated up a little I went to Discovery to do a
little fishing and to get the oil warm so that it would drain easily. Put the
boat in the river about 11:00 am and went directly to the mouth of the
American. The Sacramento was completely chocolate, visibility was probably
about 6 inches. On the other hand, the American was beautiful. Emerald green,
visibility about three feet and temperature 48 degrees. Started trolling a
broken back Rebel at the color line and went up river. Just before the Jaboom
Street Bridge, I had a hit, had the fish on for a minute and gone. Trolled up
river to the resort and back to the bottom of the lower Dredger without another
bite and didn't mark a fish. Then back to the dock and home. Jack Bishop had a
report that Sturgeon are showing in what appears to be good numbers in the San
Joaquin. He will be going down tomorrow and I will get a first hand report from
him.
January 11 - Had planned to go to Rio Vista
for Sturgeon this morning so I got up early, checked for fog, none here, and
started to get dressed. Just about that time, my phone rang. It was Jim
Siemens, my fishing partner letting me know the FOG in Elk Grove was terrible.
Visibility, not even across the street. Decided it was to dangerous to travel
this morning so will go another time.
January 1 - The site is up and running
again and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Fish Catching New
Year. May all your days on the river have your nets filled with big ones and
limits be the order of the day. I am looking forward to 2002 and am expecting
to have a better catch than I had in 2001.
Remember: A fish released is a bigger fish to
catch on another day!!!!
TIGHT LINES!!
GOTO ONE OF THE OTHER PAGES!!
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A Tribute to a Real Friend and Fishing Partner - Earl Wilson |
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Some of my favorite fishing sites
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Steve's SF Bay Fishing |
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The Fish Sniffer |
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Steve's SF Bay Fishing |