8 April 23 , 2021 MAP FEATURE VOL . 40 • ISS . 8
The Rio Vista Bridge on the Sacramento River is one of the iconic landmarks on the Delta . Photo by Dan Bacher , Fish Sniffer Staff .
Spring Striper Bite Improves In Rio Vista Region
S triped bass fishing has been tough so far this year on the Delta , but the bite is finally improving on the Sacramento River on the west bank and on the San Joaquin River in a variety of locations . On Monday , Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo Sportfishing and George Wight went out trolling just for 1-1 / 2 hours on the west bank of the Sacramento River and caught one fish after another . They were fishing on the last part of the outgoing tide and first part of the incoming tide . “ We caught a total of 9 fish in the 3 to 7 pound range , keeping two and releasing the rest ,” said Soo Hoo . “ We hooked the fish while trolling with Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows in white / red head and candy colors at 13 to 16 feet deep . They bit
good when that tide got right . We couldn ’ t keep the lures in the water !” “ For a while , we were seeing mostly local fish , but now we ’ re seeing a lot of fresh fish . The stripers are definitely showing in better numbers . At first , they were showing only on the San Joaquin , but now they are spread throughout the whole west bank .” On the San Joaquin , he recommend trolling at “ any of the shoals ,” including San Andreas and Santa Clara Shoals . from Antioch to False River .
He noted that you need to move around to hook the fish , since the fish are on the move . “ They show in numbers at a spot one day – and are gone the next ,” he advised Some larger fish are also starting to bite - he ended up with fish averaging 6 to 10 pounds on one trip and with a 20 pounder on another Soo Hoo said he would like to use live bait , his specialty this time of year , but persistent wind and muddy water has deterred him from doing this . “ Soo Hoo also loves to spoon for stripers , but the fish haven ’ t been concentrated enough to make that a productive fishing method . Soo Hoo is running out of the Lauritzen Yacht Harbor in Oakley . Information : ( 925 ) 899-4045 . Chris Ditter of HeadRush Sportfishing and his wife , Sabrina , fished the San Joaquin River out of Korth ’ s Pirates Lair on Sunday , landing four keepers to 6 pounds They also released 12 undersized fish . “ We used shallow and deep diving Yo-Zuris ,” said Ditter . “ We covered a lot of ground from Prisoners Point to Antioch . You got to move around to find the stripers now . There should be a lot more fish on the San Joaquin at this time .” Information : ( 916 ) 284-9236 . While the striped bass fishing has improved on the Delta and Sacramento River over the past couple of weeks , the fishing for the popular introduced species has declined dramatically since the California Water Project was completed in 1967 . The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has not done a population estimate of adult striped bass in 11 years as the water contractors have waged a campaign to remove
This angler caught and released this beautiful striped bass during a trolling adventure with Captain Chris Ditter on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this April .
Photo courtesy of Head Rush Sportfishing .
Darren Soo Hoo holds up two hardfighting striped bass that he caught while trolling on the Delta this April with his dad , Jeff Soo Hoo .
Photo courtesy of Soo Hoo Sportfishing .
protections on striped bass so they can get more even more water from the state and federal pumping facilities in the Delta . On February 21 , 2020 , the water contractors succeeded in getting the California Fish and Game Commission to reject recommendations of the top three scientific experts on striped bass and Delta fisheries in the state , The Commission voted unanimously to adopt its first Delta Fisheries Management Policy and an amended Striped Bass Policy that has no numerical goal for the restoration