Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 42 Issue 11 | Page 17

VOL . 42 • ISS . 11

FRESHWATER
July 28 , 2023
17

GONE FISHING continued from page 2
another exotic species . “ I have fished the canals and lakes of Florida for these fish ,” she added . “ The South Florida waters are flooded with the peacocks .” The peacock bass ( or Brazilian tucunaré ) is a genus of large cichlids , predatory freshwater fish native to the Amazon , Orinoco basins , and Guianas rivers in tropical South America . The fish ( also called butterfly peacock ) was introduced to South Florida from the Amazon Basin in Brazil and Peru in 1984 , according to https :// bassonline . com / freshwater-species / peacock-bass / “ The peacock bass is readily caught by shoreline and boat anglers using various tackle and bait , ranging from live shiners to artificial lures and flies . Peacock bass in South Florida prefer live fish and fish imitating baits often used by largemouth bass anglers , but they rarely hit plastic worms commonly used to catch largemouths ,” the website states . The butterfly peacock fishery , now self-sustaining , extends through 330 miles of canals in Dade , Broward , and Palm Beach counties . Salvador has been fishing with her family all her life and has been a licensed charter boat captain since
Captain Virginia Salvador and Kanani Wong show off this large peacock bass that Wong hooked and released on Lake Worth in Florida with Bill Lepress of South Florida Bass Charters in July .
Photo by Bill Lepree
2019 . Salvador started Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures in 2017 with Zack Medinas , her business partner . Her favorite two fish to target are Chinook salmon and sturgeon . The closure of salmon season has
been tough on the business of her and other captains . “ Salmon make up maybe half to two-thirds of the fish we target in the summer out of Fisherman ’ s Wharf in San Francisco ,” she said . “ This year we are fishing for halibut and striped bass on San Francisco Bay and plan to do rockfish trips on the ocean soon .” During the fall and winter months , Salvador and Medinas book catch-andrelease trips for white sturgeon out of Pittsburg Harbor . “ The salmon closure has significantly impacted our business and those of other captains ,” she stated . “ However , halibut and stripers provide lots of action in the meantime . They are fun to fish for and people don ’ t get bored . People still experience great fishing with a lot of action-packed days . People may be not getting salmon , but they are still able to put quality fish in the freezer .” Salvador noted that Medinas and herself piloted the sturgeon PIT tag program in Northern California , the first of its kind in the state . This tagging method , used to conduct scientific research of sturgeon populations , is used widely in Washington and British Columbia . The California Department
of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) is currently evaluating white sturgeon regulations to preserve these iconic fish into the future . “ You don ’ t need to be a scientist to know that sturgeon are in trouble ,” she emphasized . “ These fish are our business partners . It is in our best interest to protect our business partners in the future viability of our fishery . Our hope is we will still be able to fish for sturgeon for generations to come ,” she said . At this time , Salvador and Medinas are concentrating on live bait fishing for halibut and striped bass and are looking forward to going rockfishing outside of the Golden Gate , now that rockfish and lingcod fishing is open at all depths in the San Francisco Management Area . On their latest trip on Sunday , July 16 , the 5 anglers fishing with Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures caught 4 halibut to 20 pounds and limits of striped bass to 12 pounds , according to Salvador . The anglers were drifting live anchovies at the Berkeley Flats and Southampton Shoal in San Francisco Bay . The halibut fishing is expected to rebound with the arrival of smaller tides in the bay . Information : ( 925 ) 497-7171 , gatecrasherfishing . com

WHAT ’ S HOT continued from page 2

I was less than 10 minutes into this fishing trip when striped bass starting busting all around the boat . Are you kidding me ! This trip was supposed to be practice for a largemouth bass tournament and I have stripers all around the boat ! Not to mention , my fish finder looked like it was on simulator mode and the stripers were stacked below the boat . It was at this time I remembered years ago I launched out of Ladd ’ s Marina in the Stockton area and the situation was the same . I had just signed up for a bass tournament and I thought I would devote a day to practice because I had been donating money to the previous tournaments I had fished because the time I was spending on the water was devoted to chasing stripers . I remember making a short boat ride from Ladd ’ s . I put the trolling motor down grabbed my rod with a white jerk bait tied on and made my first cast in the direction of an isolated tule island . When I made the cast , my phone feel out of my pocket so reached down to pick it up off the boat deck and when I did my fishing rod almost got ripped out of my hand . The fish hit this bait like a freight train . Fish On ! This was definitely a good fish since it was pulling drag and heading for deep water . Was this the double digit largemouth that I was looking for ? Of course not ! It was a 12-pound striper ! Knowing that stripers were in the area quickly put an end to practicing for the bass tournament . The rest of the day was devoted to chasing stripers . Here I was again in the same situation as years ago . My goal was to find largemouth bass so I could be competitive in the tournament . I considered ignoring the fish finder and the boiling stripers but that lasted about 3 seconds . I quickly grabbed another rod and quickly tied on a spoon . The spoon didn ’ t even make it to the bottom , and it was instant fish on ! It was a goodsized striper and measured in at 27 inches . One of the benefits on having Spot Lock on my trolling motor is I was able to stay right on top of the school of fish . For approximately 15 minutes
The striper addiction started at a very young age for Ernie Marlan . This picture is from the late ’ 70s while he was plugging for stripers in the Oakland / Alameda Estuary .
Photo Courtesy of Frances Marlan
every drop of the spoon produced a quality sized striper . It was so much fun ! At this point I had a decision to make . Did I get my striper fix and was I going to get back to throwing the frog or was I going to chase stripers for the rest of the day ? I didn ’ t have to think about this very long . I had to be honest with myself . My name is Ernie Marlan and have been striper fishing since birth . Striper fishing gets my blood pumping and I love everything about it . I love casting lures for stripers and understanding the habits of stripers and when
The Marlan family spent a lot of time in the 70 ’ s and ’ 80s striper fishing on the San Francisco Bay and the Oakland / Alameda Estuary .
Photo Courtesy of Frances Marlan
and where to find them on the California Delta . Plus , you never know if you are going to catch a 3 pounder or a 30 pounder ! I ended up striper fishing all day long . I caught them in several different areas on the delta . Lipless crankbaits , spoons , and swimbaits were all very productive . I didn ’ t catch any huge fish but plenty of keeper sized fish . I wish all the anglers fishing the Ultimate Frog Challenge good luck . My entry fees are just a donation to you all ! One last thought , a few years ago I fished the Ultimate Frog Challenge with my son and on day one of the two-day tournament we saw signs of stripers . We decided to call the tournament director and let him know we wouldn ’ t be fishing in the tournament on day two since we were going to target stripers . The striped bass addiction is real !