THE WEEKLY SHORELINER'S REPORT
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Summary:  March goes out like a lamb for the most part, with warming temperatures and light winds (in the morning anyway) a great plus for the present and the future.  Get your plugging gear up to scratch and start walking.

STRIPED BASS:  They are definitely in the Bay waters but hard to pin down because of the fast tides.  Try plugging at San Pablo Point or throwing out bait along the Rodeo and Marin shorelines in San Pablo Bay.  Pretty slow in SF Bay so far.  Best shot for shoreline stripers right now is the Delta.

STURGEON:  South Bay below Oakland Airport is teeming with diamondbacks if you are willing to walk and get muddy.  Emeryville has them, on shrimp baits and pile worms, about one per day taken, behind the Chinese restaurant.   So does Marina Bay, with the incoming tide producing several in the last week, all on pile worms.

PERCH: April 1 through July 31 marks the closure of perch fishing within the boundaries of the SF and SP Bays.  Nothing much being reported from the surf, but it will be relayed in the coming months.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES:  Halibut continue to swim languidly through the Gate.  Best spots are Crissy Field on swimbaits, Oyster Point on live bait, and then Berkeley Pier on live bait. Marina Bay in Richmond is starting to see them by the rockwall adjacent Vincent Park.  If you are wondering about shiner perch and whether or not it's legal to take them after April 1... you are not alone.  But it looks as if the DFG has rescinded the rules and allow 20 shiners daily per angler.  But nothing is in writing, so be apprised of that and assume nothing.  It's not as if the DFG or its field agents are on the same page.  Bat rays are all over the South Bay, especially between Oyster and Coyote points.  Some are making their way across the Bay and getting caught at Marina Bay or off of Berkeley Pier.

FRESHWATER:   Trout plants this week at San Pablo, Contra Loma,  Chabot, Shadow Cliffs, and Phoenix.  If you find good water clarity, small Kastmasters and Needlefish lures will be effective.  Otherwise, fish are coming in steadily on a variety of baits, with the typical Power Bait selections of rainbow or chartreuse, or the Crave and Predator** brands.  Nightcrawlers are also working.  Spinners, jigs, and worms are touted for black bass, but the bite has yet to turn on.  Same thing with catfish, though these warmer days are a boon.  Nothing much on panfish.

DELTA RUMORS:  This is a good time to get that fresh Delta striped bass.  Lures are good in the smaller sloughs but pretty tough to work form the shore at the larger open waters.  Bombers, broken-backs, rattling lures--all are taking schoolies and the occasional big guy. Bait is very effective from the shore from Isleton down to Sherman Island, with a mixed bag of frozen fish baits like sardines and shads, or worms in the pile or blood variety.  The fish are feeding and will take just about anything you throw at them.  Just know beforehand that the waters are  moving fast with runoff these days.  South Delta is getting stripers at the Old and Middle rivers.  So is the I-5/Highway 12 corridor, with Eight Mile Road and White Slough providing steady limits.  If you are after sturgeon, the old cliche remains: Cache Slough by way of Liberty Island Road or River Road, Sherman Island by the powerlines, or the deeper waters of Montezuma Slough along Grizzly Island Road.  Shrimp baits are the best.  catfish are hitting sardines and clams all over the delta.  Some are spawning right now, so the bite is very good.  Panfish are available by docks and tules.  Black bass are striking Senkos and crankbaits.  The Delta is a good alternative to the murky Bay waters for the next 10 days--if you can be there when the wind is down.