THE WEEKLY SHORELINER'S REPORT
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 Summary:  Hot weather, 24 hour winds, forest fires,  crabs, and crummy tides have all had their part in slowing down the fishing from the sea to the inland waters.   But when the weather breaks and the tides roll back--all of which is expected soon--the fishing will improve ten-fold.  Now if we could just do something about the wind!

STRIPED BASS:  Pretty slow this side of the bay, with only a few stripers getting caught daily on blood worms or Kastmasters.  Golden Gate Fields, Butler's Beach, and Point Isabel have their moments but not often.  Better possibilities await at China Camp (on a high tide), Point Pinole, Rodeo, and inside the Carquinez Strait.  There are large schools congregating at the mouth of the Napa River, getting ready for the fall run.  Mudsuckers and bullheads are good choices for bait.

STURGEON:  Shoreliners have a fair chance of getting keepers around Mare Island in Vallejo and in the stretch from the Mothball Fleet to Montezuma Slough.  Grass shrimp is the main bait.  And if you can find a safe spot beneath the Bay Bridge, there are some big diamondbacks rolling through.

PERCH:  Pretty fair in the bay system and the beaches south of the Golden Gate Bridge, but to the north, look out!  Stinson Beach, especially on its northernmost border, is very good for striped, calico and redtail perch on pile worms.  At Fort Cronkite it's hard to keep the walleyed perch off your line.  They'll bite anything from pile worms to anchovies, and some of these perch are nicely sized.  Some good barred perch there, too.

FLATFISH: Though some halibut have been landed from the beaches, it's a difficult prospect getting them from shore.  Try around Seal Rock, the current red-hot spot for party boaters, or Fort Cronkite.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES:  Now is the time to hunt for big leopard sharks.  There is a huge school working between Sausalito and Fort Baker.  Anchovies and sardines, almost anything will work.  Might find some rays along the way and you'll have to wait out all the red crabs, but it's worth it.  Jacksmelt all over from the beaches to the bay.

FRESHWATER:  Little change, except that the hot weather has made the fishing even worse. Trout are planted this week at San Pablo Reservoir.  Catfish at the following lakes: Contra Loma, Chabot, Del Valle, and Shadow Cliffs.  Catfish are still the only thing worth fishing for.

DELTA RUMORS:  The miserable summer heat  and the smoke from all those forest fires have combined to make the Delta fishing experience pretty awful right now.  Still, if you're willing to get out at sunrise and sunset and brave the bad air, there are plenty of fish out there.  Stripers continue to get caught from Steamboat Slough to Sherman Island in the North Delta, and from Mossdale to Highway 4 spots in the south.  Mudsuckers, sardines, and anchovies have all worked from the shore.  Also some action reported near Pittsburg.  Black bass like red Rat-L-Traps,  silver crankbaits, and weedless lures, especially along the San Joaquin River.  Catfish are just about everywhere and have been hitting mackerels.