SALTWATER
May 13 , 2022
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GONE FISHING continued from page 2 then Rodarte hooked a keeper striper also . We also released some shakers . But Burke hooked into a fish that appeared to be much bigger than the rest . “ Get all of the other rods out of the water ,” urged Netzel . We quickly reeled in the rods so they wouldn ’ t tangle up with Burke ’ s line and watched the battle . After a fifteen-minute battle around the boat , Burke finally got the fish in , a 33-pound female , according to his digital scale . After we took some photos , Netzel successfully released the big hen back into the water . It was the biggest striper put in Netzel ’ s boat so far this year . Burke also caught and released an 18-pound striper during a previous trip with Netzel this spring . We resumed fishing and the hot bite continued , with just a couple breaks between bites . This has been a very good season for Netzel . “ I ’ ve been fishing just about every day except for Sunday and Monday , which I take off . The fish are averaging a larger average size this year . Last year there were a lot of 18 and 19 inchers , while this year we ’ re catching a lot of stripers in the 24 to 26 range ,” he observed . Now that it ’ s May , he noted that the fish aren ’ t as spread out as they were in April and March . They ’ re holding in tight schools , what Netzel calls “ haystacks .” “ You ’ ll see pods of male stripers clustered around big females on the fish finder ,” he said . We ended the day keeping 10 fish , full limits for all 5 anglers , with one big hen released , along with releasing a lot of undersized fish . Netzel has been switching back between the San Joaquin River and the Sacramento River in the Delta , depending on the water conditions ,
Roy Rodarte , Chad Donley , Steven Burke and Dan Bacher hold up their limits of stripers caught on the San Joaquin with Captain James Netzel on April 28 .
Photo courtesy of Tight Lines Guide Service weather and where concentrations of fish are located . “ We ’ ve caught limits every day on our trips this year , although it took 2-1 / 2 hours to get the first keeper yesterday ,” he noted .
“ March produced slower fishing – we needed to drift live minnows to get the fish to bite ,” he said . “ But the fishing in April was on fire . This season was definitely better than the last two .” After he finishes striper fishing at the end of May , Netzel will begin his kokanee fishing adventures at Stampede Reservoir near Truckee on June 1 . Information : ( 888 ) 975-0990 .
COLUMBIA RIVER STURGEON
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( Catch & Release Only )
Professional Guide DAN PONCIANO ( 360 ) 607-8511
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