Sturgeon fishing in Suisun Bay rebounds after California storms this winter

PITTSBURG - Sturgeon fishing is beginning to perk up with anglers getting back on the water in Suisun Bay and Carquinez Strait with the arrival of an extended period of dry weather. On his first trip since the storms, Zack Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures concentrated on sturgeon fishing in the “Watermelon Patch” area near the Martinez Bridge.

“We really had to look for the sturgeon,” said Medinas. “The four anglers fishing with me caught, tagged and released one oversized fish measuring 64 inches fork length and four shakers averaging 28 to 30 inches long. We used lamprey eel and salmon roe at 50 feet deep.”

“The water was the color of chocolate milk,” he stated. “Hardly anybody was fishing during the big storms and the ISE Show in Sacramento. I saw a few other boats on the water,”

On his following trip, the two anglers fishing with him hooked and released two legal sized sturgeon to 55 inches and two oversize fish measuring 7 feet and 6-1/2 feet long.

“We fished with salmon roe and lamprey eel off Port Chicago at 45 feet deep,” he noted. “We caught one fish on the incoming tide and the others on the outgoing tide.”

“After big storms blow out forage like grass shrimp and kick the water temperatures up is usually a good time to catch sturgeon,” he added. “The fish have moved out of the Pittsburg area, where they were concentrated during the drought. Some fish may have gone upriver, while others may have gone to San Pablo Bay."

In high water years, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife sees good recruitment of sturgeon. The white sturgeon should have a successful spawn this year, noted Medinas.

“Spring is the best time for sturgeon fishing, since that is when we see a bunch of fish going upriver up to spawn,” said Medinas. 

He said a lot of hydrilla has been showing in the water recently. If you find too much of the invasive aquatic weed at one spot, Medinas said it’s a lot better to move on and find fish at another spot. The water remains dirty and cold.  Information: (925) 497-7171.

American River Steelhead: Fishing improved right after the Bureau of Reclamation decreased flows on the American River to 4,000 cfs, but the action has slowed down over the past week. Both shore fishermen and drift boat anglers are catching steelhead on the river now.

“Two of us caught and released three steelhead weighing 3, 6 and 10 pounds on Sunday, Jan. 29,” said Kyle Keith, fishing guide. “We backtrolled with Mag Lips 3.4 and 3.5 lures from Sunrise Bar to Rossmoor Bar. One fish was wild and the other two were hatchery fish.” Information: (916) 757-3455.

Bank fishermen are also hooking steelhead while using bobbers sand soft beads and Little Cleos in the river below Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

Austin Wilson, manager at Fisherman’s Warehouse, said he and his father hooked seven steelhead, but only managed to bring one 7-pounder in, on Friday, Feb. 3 while fishing in his drift boat from Sailor Bar to Gristmill. They backtrolled with Mag Lips 3.5 in chrome and pink/black.

On a previous trip, Wilson and his two fishing buddies caught and released 10 steelhead ranging from 3 to 11 pounds while fishing the same lures in the same stretch of river. Fly fishermen are also reporting hooking a few steelhead every day, he added. Information: (916) 362-1200.

Lake Amador Trout: This Mother Lode reservoir near Ione continues to kick out giant trout. For example, Justin Lee from Placerville landed a hookjaw Cutbow weighing 12.58 pounds on Feb. 2. He currently holds first place for the February "Big Trout” competition for a season pass.  He caught the giant near the boat dock on a Silver Nunya lure.

On the day before, the resort released 1200 pounds of trout total, including 700 pounds of Cutbows and 500 pounds of the biggest trophy trout the operation has stocked in a couple years.

“Most of the Cutbows are in the 2-4-pound range and 25 of them were tagged for the derby,” said Lee Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort. “Most of the  Amagolds are in the 12-18-pound range and the Cutbows go up to 20 pounds, with one  pushing the scales at 25 pounds. These are monster trout and most are 6-8 years old.”

He said lots of trout are being caught on PowerBait and nightcrawlers along with slow moving lures. “Fish shallow,” he advised.

“We released all the fish near the dam in 3 different locations, so stick close to the west side of the lake for the best chances for success,” Lockhart stated.

The lake is full and the surface water temperature is 54.5 degrees. Information: (209) 274-4739.