Summary:  There was a slight break in the monotony when the storms hit early in the week, and then a resumption of low dirty water and high nasty winds.  Still, the pause was enough to get things churned in the angler's favor.  More stripers have moved down river and the halibut have wandered back to shoreline possibilities.

STRIPED BASS:  The fish are heading into the bays and not hanging around too long, just like last year.   You have to get on the schools as soon as they arrive.  Forget chasing rumors, it's a heartbreak.  Get out and get moving.  Best bets are the Marin shoreline from China Camp to San Quentin.  Soaking baits will work but lures are a better choice, such as hair raiser types and rattlers.  I spotted Keith Fraser just south of the San Rafael bridge footing at San Quentin, happily throwing plugs into the bridge shadows.  Other boats were moving in.  Reports have also come in about South Bay, Candlestick and below, for decent striper action.  Time for night Kastmaster flinging at the 'Stick or hair raisers in the evening at Fort Point.  The stripers are here; all you have to do is find them.
 

STURGEON:  Not much going on.  But they are definitely in the Carquinez and Montezuma Slough.
 
 

PERCH: April 1 through July 31 marks the closure of perch fishing within the boundaries of the SF and SP Bays.  Nah.
 
 

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIES:  Bat rays and sharks are in the shallows.  Halibut are back in business at Berkeley Pier.  Smelt are running on the outgoing tide all along the Marin shoreline from Loch Lomond to San Quentin.

FRESHWATER:  Trout plants this week at  Phoenix, Lagunitas, Del Valle, Chabot, Contra Loma, and Shadow Cliffs.  Pretty good fishing for trout right now.  Powerbaits (rainbow, chartreuse) reign supreme, followed by the processed meat fad baits (Crave, Predator), and then the old reliable marshmallow combos, either nightcrawlers or salmon eggs.  Lures include Rapala, Kastmaster, and Krocodile varieties; movement and flash are the important things to keep in mind.  Black bass fishing is steady in the morning, with plastics and swimbaits doing okay.  Catfish are just now starting to turn on the bite, but it won't be until a good solid warming trend that they get frisky.
 

DELTA RUMORS:  Same old same old, wind and weather wise.  The dedicated are dealing with it and coming up with fish as spawned out stripers move down the system.  Sloughs are still the way to go with cut baits or rattling lures.  If you want black bass, concentrate in the middle of the Delta by breaks and drop-offs.  Try a variety of lures.  Panfish are good on the Mokelumne River and feeder sloughs.  Red worms and minnows are the ticket.  catfish will take clams, mackerel, sardines, and worms.  Sturgeon are still munching on shrimp baits or combo shrimp and pile worm offerings, in Cache Slough , Sherman Island, and down to Montezuma Slough from the bridge to the red barn.