VOL . 40 • ISS . 16
Port of West Sacramento Facts
Barge Canal Access : Located at 100 Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento . The access features an all-weather vehicle parking area , a hand-carry boat ramp for non-motorized boats , an all-weather walking / biking trail and fishing access along south bank of the Barge Canal . For more information , call the City of West Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation , 916-617-4620 , or email them at parks @ cityofwestsacramento . org .
The Washington Outboard Club is a memberoriented fishing club that resides in the Port of West Sacramento . Membership is limited to 600 members . Each June , new members are brought into the club to maintain maximum membership at 600 . Membership in the WOC is open to boat owners age 18 and over with a boat not greater than 21 feet in length , and not greater than 3,500 pounds in weight . You MUST own a boat and a tow vehicle . Your name MUST be on the registration papers . Hours of access to the Port are 5 a . m . to 10 p . m .
TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP , you must complete the application ( www . washingtonoutboardclub . org ). During the coronavirus shelter in place period you may submit one by text , email or mail . Text or email applications to the club ’ s Secretary , Tom Lee , ( 916 ) 425-9205 tlee5960 @ sbcglobal . net . Mail in applications should be sent to W . O . C . P . O . Box 1226 , West Sacramento , CA 95691 . At this time , the waiting period for membership is one to three years .
Fishing information : Sacramento Pro Tackle ( 916 ) 925-0529 , Fisherman ’ s Warehouse ( 916 ) 362-1200
MAP FEATURE
Port of West Sacramento
80
Sacramento Deep Water Channel
To Rio Vista
Enterprise Blvd .
Industrial Blvd .
80
Harbor Blvd .
Port of Sacramento
Southport Parkway
50
Industrial Blvd .
Stone Blvd .
Barge Canal Recreation Access ( no vehicles allowed )
Linden Road
West Capitol Ave .
Barge Canal
Jefferson Blvd .
August 27 , 2021
River Rd .
West Sacramento
Jefferson Blvd .
Canal Locks ( closed )
Sacramento River
11
Sacramento Marina
Striped Bass – are caught by anglers year round , but the action is best from October through April . Bank anglers toss out mudsuckers , jumbo minnows and cut sardines and anchovies in the Barge Canal and Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel . Kayakers and other boaters troll with Yo-Zuri and P-Line Predator lures , tipped with white and chartreuse wormtails . Boaters also experience top-notch action at times while jigging with Blade-Runner spoons or casting Rat-L-Traps and Umbrella rigs . The key to striper success is finding concentrations of stripers feeding on schools of threadfin shad . Most of the fish are schoolies in the 3 to 10 lb . range , but fish to 40 pounds can be hooked . Catfish – are pursued year round , although the top fishing takes place during the spring , summer and early fall when water temperatures are warm . Use mackerel , chicken liver , anchovies , sardines and jumbo minnows for channel and white catfish . Largemouth Bass- Boaters and bank anglers hook largemouths while throwing out an array of lures from the shore and boat . Jigs , plastic worms , swimbaits , spinnerbaits and Umbrella rigs are among the most popular lures for the bass .
Car Top Ramp
Miller Park
To Rio Vista
To Verona
The Barge Canal Recreation Access provides solid bank fishing and non-motorized boat fishing opportunities in the Port of West Sacramento and Sacramento Deep Water Shipping Channel .
Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .
and deep water channel . Anglers hook lots of fish in the 1 to 3 pound range , along with some larger fish , while fishing Carolina-rigged Senkos , jigs and other lures . Although spring is the best time for port black bass , these fish can be caught year round off the tules and brush around the barge canal . For example , two anglers , Kevin Zhong and Xia of Sacramento , caught four quality bass in the 2 to 3 pound range while fishing redworms in the port from a zodiac during my most recent venture here . Just about any type of fish that swims in the Sacramento River and Delta can be caught at times in the port . Starry flounder have been caught by anglers bait fishing in the barge canal . Other fish caught there over the years include white sturgeon , king salmon and steelhead . The ship channel is not just a popular fishery , but is one of the few remaining habitats for Delta smelt , an endangered species that is on the verge of extinction . According to Tom Cannon in his California
Rick Tietz of Blade-Runner Tackle shows off a limit of quality stripers that he landed while fishing his spoons in the Port of West Sacramento on a recent trip .
Photo courtesy of RICK TIETZ
Fisheries Blog on the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance website , “ Delta smelt are attracted to the Sacramento Deepwater Ship Channel in winter and early spring to spawn in the relatively warm , low salinity , turbid , and more productive water . The adult smelt can also easily tidal-surf up the ship channel without having to content with strong downstream currents of the Sacramento River channel .” “ Their eggs hatch early to an awaiting abundant plankton food supply . However , in spring the Ship Channel lacks net downstream flows to carry
The Port of West Sacramento and Barge Canal offer habitat for geese and other birds throughout the year .
Photo courtesy of DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff
the young smelt to the Bay . By late spring , water temperatures in the Ship Channel reach lethal levels for the young smelt .,” he stated . Cannon recommends opening the gate in the Ship Channel ’ s north end , closed for many years , to provide cooler and fresher water for the smelt . “ Opening the gate at the north end of the Ship Channel would help to alleviate the problems by providing net flow with cooler water temperatures , and by flushing and diluting the stagnant waste waters in the Ship Channel . An operable gate at the head of the Ship Channel would allow adaptive management of the habitat conditions for smelt .” Because of decreasing use and concern over increasing costs , the City of Sacramento decided to stop operating the locks connecting the Barge Canal and the Sacramento River on a daily bass and the locks no longer remain open . The port is now a dead end slough , with the water coming up through Cache Slough with a higher salinity level on the high tide – and bigger tidal movement – than the Sacramento River in the metropolitan area .