Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 41 Issue 18 | Page 11

Location : The San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers in the Rio Vista region are the two top rivers for striped bass in California . They also support good populations of sturgeon , catfish , king salmon and smallmouth and largemouth bass .

Camping and Lodging : Motels and r . v . camping facilities are available in the river towns of Rio Vista , Isleton and Walnut Grove . For more information , call California Delta Chambers & Visitor ’ s Bureau , 169 W . Brannan Road , Isleton , CA . 95641 , 916-777-4041 , http :// www . californiadelta . org . For more information on Pirates ’ Lair in Isleton , call 916-777-6464 or http :// www . korthspirateslair . com

Boat ramps : Boat launching is available at the Brannan Island State Recreation Area , Sandy Beach Park Launching Facility in Rio Vista , the Delta Marina Launch Ramp , City of Rio Vista Launch Ramp , Vieira ’ s Resort , and Isleton Launch Ramp ( next to Ramos Oil Company ). Always check to see if the boat ramp is open , due to changing conditions .

Fishing information : Fisherman ’ s Warehouse , Sacramento , 916-362- 1200 ; Rio Vista Bait , 707-374-5522 , Hap ’ s Bait , Rio Vista , 707 374- 2372 ; Vieira ’ s Resort , Isleton , 855-843-4727 .

Delta Striped Bass , Sturgeon and Salmon Charters :

• James Soo Hoo , Soo Hoo Sportfishing , 925-899-4045

• Brett Brady , Bare Bones Guide Service , 530-272-7137 , 530-263-4451

• Chris Ditter , Headrush Sportfishing , 916-284-9236

• Justin Leonard , Out Cast Guide Service , 530-277-6870

• James Netzel , Tight Lines Guide Service , 888-975-0990

• Jerry Lampkin T . N . G . Motor Sports Guide Service , 530-320-0884

• Hayden Mullins , Dragon Sportfishing , 925-428-1103

• Steve Mitchell , Hook ’ d Up Sportfishing , 707-655-6736 .

• Dave Hammond , Delta Pro Fishing , 916-479-3492 , ( 925 ) 497-7171

• Zack Medinas , Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures , 925-497-7171

• Rob Reimers , Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service , 530-632-0051

• Joey Gamez , Golden State Sportfishing , 209-855-1847

To Fairfield- Suisun

4

Sherman Lake

To Pittsburg- Concord

12

Sacramento River

Antioch

5

Rio Vista

Decker Is .

Sherman Island

160

San Joaquin River

Oakley

Brentwood To Livermore

6

Big Break

Brannen Island

Twitchell Is .

Bradford Is .

Jersey Island

4

84

Ferry

84

To West Sacramento

5

8

Byron

4

Bethel Island

2

84 1

Ryer Island

7

20

3

Isleton

Webb Tract

•

Bethel Is .

4

1

Franks Tract

19

Holland

Tract

Palm Tract

Grand Island

160

Orwood Tract

3

Tyler Island

Mandeville Island

16

To Sacramento

Bouldin Island

15 Venice Is .

Bacon Island

16

23

19

9

Woodward Is .

Victoria Island

Staten Island

17

18

10

Empire Tract

McDonald Tract

Henning Tract

Lower Jones Tract

Walnut Grove Thornton

14

13

11

12

Upper Jones Tract

17

16

12

Terminous

21

To Tracy

To Sacramento

19

King

Island 22

Rindge Tract

205

19

4

5

Legend

1 . Steamboat Slough 2 . Sutter Slough 3 . Sacramento River 4 . Miner Slough 5 . Cache Slough 6 . Shag Slough 7 . Jackson Slough 8 . Sevenmile Slough 9 . N . Fork Mokelumne River 10 . S . Fork Mokelumne River 11 . Beaver Slough 12 Hog Slough 13 Sycamore Slough 14 . Little Potato Slough 15 . Potato Slough 16 . Old River 17 . Middle River 18 . Snodgrass Slough 19 . San Joaquin River 20 . False River Lodi 21 . White Slough 22 Dissapointment Slough 23 . Georgiana Slough

17

To Tracy

Eight Mile Road

19

5

5

99

Stockton

120

To Manteca & Fresno

Rafael Duran won first place in the salmon division of the Rio Vista Derby with this 33.41-pound king that he caught on the Sacramento River . Photo courtesy of the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce

In addition to their cash prizes , the top 3 adults in each category in this year ’ s Rio Vista Bass Derby and Festival won metal fish art of the species they entered . Photo courtesy of the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce

Bellafronte , derby coordinator . Prizes were awarded in each category for 1st through 6th place , including a raffle , free for all registrants , cash prizes up to $ 1,000 for 1-3rd places , fishing poles and gear and bait shop gift cards . Information : ( 925 ) 252-4109 . Since the derby , striper fishing has remained superb on the Lower Delta . The main impediment to fishing has been the wind . “ Spooning , casting Rat-L-Traps and swimbaits and trolling lures - whatever you want to do - is working now for the stripers ,” said Justin Leonard from Out Cast Guide Service . “ The Sacramento River from Sherman Island to Broad Slough and the San Joaquin below the Antioch Bridge have been producing the top fishing .” Information : ( 530 ) 277-6870 . Although the striped bass fishing has been good on the Delta this year , fishing for the popular introduced species has declined dramatically since the State Water Project ( SWP ) was completed in 1967 . The dramatic decline of striped bass occurs in the larger context of the collapse of Delta smelt and other pelagic species and spring and winter run chinook salmon , Central Valley steelhead and green sturgeon , largely due to massive exports of Delta water by the state and federal water projects in recent years . Between 1967 and 2020 , the CDFW Fall Midwater Trawl ( FMWT ) abundance indices ( combined September , October , November and December surveys ) for striped bass , Delta smelt , longfin smelt , American shad , splittail and threadfin shad declined by 99.7 , 100 , 99.96 , 67.9 , 100 , and 95 percent , respectively , according to Bill Jennings , Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance ( CSPA ). Unfortunately , the Gavin Newsom administration is forging ahead with the Delta Tunnel , a project that will divert even more water from

These two anglers show off a beautiful striped bass caught on the West Bank of Sacramento River during a trip with Jeff Soo of Soo Hoo Sportfishing .

Photo courtesy of Soo Hoo Sportfsihing

Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to corporate agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California water agencies . The project will make the dire situation of striped bass , Sacramento River winter and spring-run Chinook salmon , Central Valley steelhead , Delta smelt , longfin smelt , green sturgeon and other fish species even worse . Although the virtual public comment hearings on the Delta Conveyance Project draft environmental impact report have already been held , anglers can still make written comment on the DEIR . The new end date for the comment period is Friday , December 16 , 2022 . You can comment via Email : deltaconveyancecomments @ water . ca . gov , or via U . S . Mail : CA Department of Water Resources , Attn : Delta Conveyance Office , P . O . Box 942836 , Sacramento , CA 94236-0001 . For additional Information , visit the Draft EIR website to access the Draft EIR and accompanying informational materials , and to learn more about the proposed