{http://songslinger.virtualave.net/fishing.html)
 

Summary:  The hardest part of fishing these days is getting out of the house.  Do it and be happy.  The fish are accomodating.
 

STRIPED BASS:  There are stripers all over Suisun Bay from Antioch down to Benicia. Try bullheads, pile worms, or cut baits.  Crabs are a hassle--what else is new?

STURGEON:  The mitten crabs will drive you crazy in San Pablo Bay, especially when the tides are sluggish.  But there are diamondbacks around and some of them are getting caught at China Camp through San Quentin Point.  The East side of SP Bay is a desert.  The Napa River from downtown Vallejo all the way up past 37 has sturgeon and grass shrimp is a worthy bait.  In fact, this is probably the best shot shoreliners have right now.  The Carquinez has crabs and irritable anglers,  but not much luck.  The solution?  Keep fishing but don't sink cash into expensive bait.  You can get skunked just as easily on less money.

PERCH: Getting better all the time when there's decent water.  Barred perch and Black perch are starting to spawn and are biting in open water rather than near the rocks.   Action holds steady for striped, pile, and white perch on the Marin and SF sides.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES:  Kingfish in San Pablo Bay, Fort Baker pier, East Bay shoreline.  Anchovies and worms will bring them in.  Flounder are scattered around San Pablo Bay.  Some cabezons in nearly legal sizes across the Bay.  Pile worms are the way to go.  Bullheads are hitting all over, with Point Pinole, Muni Pier, and the Berkeley waterfront being the better places to catch your striper bait.

FRESHWATER: Trout planted at Del Valle, Chabot, Shadow Cliffs, Contra Loma, Lafayette. San Pablo, Bon Tempe,  Phoenix, and Los Vaqueros.**  Trout fishing is slow due tot he weather but anglers are finding fish on glitter and chartreuse PowerBait, marshmallows, night crawlers and small spoons.  Black bass fishing has been good at Contra Loma on jigs, spinners, and plastic worms--and yes indeed, they are still catching stripers there.  Catfish have begun biting at the lakes, and chicken livers are a good bait.

**(A note on Los Vaqueros in Antioch.  This reservoir will not be open for fishing until summer, when the marina area is completed.  But here is a list of what's already planted: kokanee, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, channel catfish, brown bullhead catfish, crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, Sacramento black fish, and Sacramento sucker.  With private boats forbidden, this promises to be a hell of a facility.)

DELTA RUMORS: There are no hot spots in the Delta lately, but there are a number of areas that are producing fish.  Sherman Island by the power lines remains consistent (when the wind is down) for both stripers and sturgeon on grass shrimp.  Cache Slough and the Sacramento River north of Rio Vista are good for strurgeon on grass and mud shrimp.  If you want stripers, they are moving out of the backwaters and entering the main channels again, a sign that the Spring Run is on schedule.  Try the San Joaquin and Sacramento sides of Sherman Island, the realm of Franks Tract, and wherever you can get a line in between Antioch and Pittsburg.  Usual baits, with bullheads and minnows the best.  Catfish are around and can be enticed by shrimp or clams.  Black bass is a touch prospect with the muddy water.