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Summary:  Spring is in the air.  Temperatures are starting to climb and already the striped bass are getting mobilized upriver.  Could be an earlier start to the Spring Run this year.

STRIPED BASS:  Don't bother with the bays.  Hit the Delta.

STURGEON:  It's quiet out there.  Too quiet.  The whole South Bay went limp this week, and that was the best of local diamondback fishing.  Tides run faster this week but will that be enough?  It's all just pretty depressing.

PERCH: Good perch fishing all around.  If you want black, white, pile, or walleyed, you can try the rocks form Emeryville to Richmond or go out on Berkeley Pier.  If you want striped perch or rubberlipped, try the areas by both Golden Gate towers.  And if you have been dying to get out on the surf, redtail, calicos, and barred perch are within 20 yards of the beach.  Pile worms are the top bait, but mussels are also very good.  The fish have come in from the surf in splendid sizes.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES: Bullheads lead the list in San Pablo Bay.  Some kingfish are around. No reports on flounder.  Rockfish and cabezon are close to shore where the beaches met the rocks.

FRESHWATER:   Trout plants this week at Lafayette, Shadow Cliffs, Chabot, Del Valle, Contra Loma, and Bon Tempe.  With successive plantings and mostly clear water, the trout fishing is faring nicely all over.  This is one period where shoreliners will do as well as boaters.  Baits are typical: Power Bait in green or rainbow, marshmallows in combination with nightcrawlers or either bait alone.  Those and small Rapalas are pulling in respectable sizes near shore at most lakes.  Black bass fishing is tough but worms (both real and plastic) and some small crankbaits have enticed a few.  Catfish are still sluggish but hitting chicken livers.  Nada on panfish yet.

DELTA RUMORS:  Sturgeon action has declined profoundly in the Delta and no one wants to admit that the recent Derby could be responsible.  Other conditions, inferred though never stated, must be the reason, according to local shops and marinas--but this plays poorly against the fact that striped bass fishing has greatly improved.  The sturgeon spots that have been best for boaters, Cache Slough and Decker Island, even in Suisun Bay, are all dead.  Some fish are jumping but few are biting.  It should get better as the week proceeds--just in time for yet another Derby next week.  So forget about sturgeon fishing in the Delta this month.   However, the striped bass fishing is enough to justify a trip.  Right now the stripers are getting frisky and readying for the spawn.  Big guys and gals in the 15# range are taking jumbo minnows in both the North and South, with the Mokelumne, Sacramento, Old and Middle rivers being the best shots.  Find a deeper hole where the big waters encounter small tributaries and sloughs.  Shad and mudsuckers, preferably live, are also doing the trick.  Cold temperatures make lure fishing iffy. Catfish are always a safe bet and fishy baits, clams or grass shrimp will fill up the buckets.  Black bass fishing is naturally slow but some are getting plucked out of the tules on crankbaits or plastics.  And panfish are massing by structures.  Bring the light tackle and have fun.