THE WEEKLY SHORELINER'S REPORT

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 Summary:  It's a challenge catching this fish week (and frustrating at times because we know they are all around us). Minus tides in the morning, summer gales after 11am, multitudes of crabs and junk fish, and it's tough for shoreliners to get a break.  But hang in there.  Fish are getting caught and some of them are big.  If you are persistent and patient (and warmly dressed) you will be rewarded.
 
 

STRIPED BASS: Right now the hottest action for shoreliners is south of the Bay Bridge, from KDIA down to Bay Farm Island.  Butler's Beach and Frontage Road have also produced decent fish recently.  But there are stripers all about the bay and they are moving, so things change on a daily basis.  Best strategy is hitting the top of the tide and working through the first two hours of the outgoing.  Anchovies, sardines, and pile worms will all work, but because crabs and rays are thick it would be better to use lures.  The usual assortment: Fish Traps, Rat-L-Traps, Hair Raisers, Kastmasters--in about that order.

STURGEON: Try Rodeo, Vallejo, Martinez, Benicia, or Montezuma Slough.  Some lucky shoreliners at Bay Farm Island and along the Marin side of San Pablo Bay, but otherwise not much going on worth reporting.

PERCH: Crummy tides in the morning and winds in the afternoon have toned down perch fishing.  Find deeper water (Berkeley Marina) and wait out the crabs and conditions.  But it's nothing special right now.  The ocean, when the wind is down, is a better choice.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES: There are many undersize halibut in the bay right now but a few legal ones are getting caught at Berkeley Pier and surrounding area.  Live anchovies or shiners are the ticket, though frozen anchovies can work.  But they'll most likely attract bat rays, of which there are plenty these days.  From Richmond to Alameda and Fort Baker to Oyster Point, shoreliners are battling bat rays in the 20-30# range.  The rays will bite anything and are something of a nuisance for those seeking stripers or halibut.  However, if you like the action, take some cut anchovies, tie them on to size 2/0 hooks and let them fly.  Find out if your gear is as good as you think it is!

FRESHWATER: Trout plants in the following lakes:  Contra Loma, San Pablo, Lafayette, Chabot, Shadow Cliffs, Del Valle, Bon Tempe, and Phoenix.   Warmer weather is pushing the fish into deeper water.  Fish early or in late afternoon.  Power Bait in green or salmon egg flavor, nightcrawlers, and cheese all working.  Black bass are best in the morning, too, using brush hogs or plastic worms.

DELTA RUMORS:  Don't even bother with South Delta unless you're fishing for catfish.  All the striped bass action is between Steamboat Slough and Sherman Island on the Sacramento River, and on the Mokelumne River and Gerogiana Slough.  Bring blood or pile worms because the stripers are feeding on eels right now. Grass shrimp and anchovies are also effective.  Rebels are the lure of the week, anything in chartreuse shade.  Black bass fishing is still very good.  Most of the fish are just moving off their spawning beds now and you can see them from the shore.  Use Brush hogs, Speed Traps, anything that looks like a June bug or a crayfish.  Catfish are holding steady on the usual baits.  No word on sturgeon or panfish this week