Summary:  2001 went out with a soaking.  December had rain on 20 of 31 days.  Small wonder the fishing has been so weird lately.   So when things dry out for a couple days in a row and the tides settle down. . .  We'll see.

STRIPED BASS:  Scarce.  Still some schools hanging around the mouth of the Montezuma slough but slow to dead elsewhere.

STURGEON:  For boaters the best places are the Napa River and Montezuma Slough where it meets Nurse Slough.  A hardy shoreliner can get somewhat close if he's intrepid.  Eel, salmon roe, ghost shrimp, and grass shrimp have been the baits. They are jumping all the way at the end of Grizzly Island Road, but only the small ones are getting caught.  Alameda baitshops are selling more shrimp baits lately, but it's all quiet as to where the action is.  My guess: Bay Farm Island. Also, Dumbarton Pier is seeing one diamondback daily early in the morning.
 

PERCH:  Fast tides and murky water have made perch fishing tough from shore, yet there is plenty of action around the pilings of piers all over the East Bay.  Drop a pile worm or grass shrimp near a wooden structure and you may come up with a fat winter pogie.  White perch and pile perch are around, too.  If you can brave the surf--if you are nuts--you can try jetties and rocks for some silver and walleye action as well as a rubberlipped or barred perch.
 

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES: Kingfish are making the rounds at both Berkeley and Point Pinole piers, and anywhere in-between, with the incoming tide working best.  Flounder are around but need calmer tides.  Seek freshwater runoff spots in both bays.

FRESHWATER:   Trout plants this week at Del Valle, Chabot, Shadow Cliffs, and Contra Loma. The water is still cloudy after the last storm series, so bait is s the way to go, with powerboat in chartreuse, rainbow, and orange being the best producers.  There are a lot of trout in Bay Area lakes due to successive plantings, and they are biting now.  Black bass and catfish are pretty sluggish these days, but go deep and cross your fingers. As of this writing Lake temescal is still closed due to a sewage spill.
 

DELTA RUMORS:  Reports this past week are shaky because the weather kept most people off the water.   It boils down to North Delta running slow, especially on the Sacramento River, yet not much better on the San Joaquin and Mokelumne, and points along these tributary systems. The only sure thing is catfish in good sizes close to the bank.  Use fishy baits.  Some stripers are getting caught on sardines and shrimp baits.  Sturgeon have been landed in the typical haunts along Sherman island and Cache Slough,  but it's nothing spectacular.  It's cold and windy when it isn't raining.  South Delta has more promise for striped bass on minnows, from Old river on down to Stockton.   And there are winter cats ready to be taken.