Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 41 Issue 16 | Page 13

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 during the COVID pandemic .

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

Birds Landing

Broad Slough

PITTSBURG

Flannery Road

Birds Landing Road

COLLINSVILLE

4

12

Montezuma

Sherman Lake

McCormack Road

Currie Road

Stewart

ANTIOCH

Anderson Road

Lane

Hills

Toland

Lane

SACRAMENTO

Azevedo Road

Road

RIO

Liberty Island Road

VISTA

DECKER ISLAND

SHERMAN ISLAND

Airport Road

Brannan Island State Recreation Area

160

4

SAN

RIVER

JOAQUIN

Big

Break

JERSEY ISLAND

BRANNAN ISLAND

TWITCHELL ISLAND

BRADFORD ISLAND

Jersey Is . Road

RYER ISLAND

3 Mile Sl .

RIVER

False River

160

7 Mile Sl .

Fishermans Cut

BETHEL ISLAND

Dutch Slough

Bethel Is . Road

ISLETON

GRAND ISLAND

12

ANDRUS ISLAND

WEBB TRACT

Franks Tract

Sand Mound Slough

While the striped bass fishing has been good on the Delta this summer and fall to date , the fishing for the popular introduced species has declined dramatically since the California Water Project 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 ). To preserve the striped bass population in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary , many anglers are supporting a slot limit regulation change . Under the proposal submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission by the Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen ’ s Association ( NCGASA ), all striped bass below 20 inches in length and above 30 inches in length would have to be released . Striped bass , introduced to California from New Jersey in 1879 , have declined dramatically from 3 million adult fish in the early 1960s to possibly 200,000 fish now , according to Roger Mammon , President of the West Delta Chapter of the CSBA . “ We know the striper population has crashed and the adults are growing slower than in the past ,” said Dr . David Ostrach , the founder and director of the UC Davis Pathobiology Conservation and Population Laboratory and currently chief scientist at Ostrach Consulting ,

The stated goal of the regulation change is to “ protect the species by increasing the minimum length to allow more fish to mature and successfully spawn prior to harvest and to protect the larger fish that tend to be the most prolific spawners and are becoming increasingly rare in the fishery .” As first submitted , the slot limit would apply to any striped bass caught by recreational anglers in all anadromous inland waters of the state , including coastal and Central Valley rivers and streams and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Carquinez Bridge near Vallejo . However , the NCGASA later filed a petition for the slot limit to also apply to all waters west of the Carquinez Bridge including San Francisco Bay

These anglers bagged their limits of stripers while fishing the Delta with Captain Jeff Soo .

Photo courtesy of Soo Hoo Sportfishing and the ocean because “ Striped Bass Coalition scientists believed that the species needs to be managed on a macro level because it ’ s an anadromous species ,” said James Stone , NCGASA President . The regulation change will not apply to lakes . Under existing regulations , anglers fishing for striped bass in anadromous waters are limited to two striped bass per day , each with a minimum size of 18 inches in total length . The daily limit of two fish would not change under the proposal . CDFW is requesting input from the public on the interest and support of the proposed regulation change before making recommendations to the California Fish and Game Commission . CDFW has developed a Striped Bass Angler Preference Survey to solicit input . Anglers can participate by going to this link : https :// wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing / Inland / Striped-Bass . The CDFW and the NCGASA hosted a public meeting on the proposed regulation change on August 24 , 2022 at the CDFW ’ s Fisheries ’ Branch headquarters in West Sacramento and online . The department has translated their survey into five languages – Spanish , Tagalog , Traditional Chinese , Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese – based on recommendations by anglers during the hearing . The time period for responding to the survey , originally with a deadline of September 30 , been extended through October 31 . The discussion on the proposed striped bass slot limit has been postponed to the Wildlife Resources Committee meeting on January 12 , 2023 after the Committee heard public comment and a presentation from the CDFW at their meeting on September 15 . The CDFW will finalize a summary report and collect additional data on status of striped bass and the proposed slot limit between now and the January meeting .