VOL . 42 • ISS . 12 |
FRESHWATER |
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August 11 , 2023 |
19 |
GONE FISHING continued from page 2 |
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Amy Wellenkamp shows off a couple of nice stripers that she caught on the San Joaquin River while using a Bladerunner Spoon and a lipless crankbait .
Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan fish scattered throughout the system and you hoped to find the big school . Otherwise , it was a very tough day . A few weeks ago , I planned on practicing for a largemouth bass tournament and ended seeing some shad schools and good groups of stripers feeding on them . In fact , while I was standing on the boat dock and decent group of shad cruised by .
Swimbaits are a fantastic bait for those who like to plug for striped bass . White , white / chartreuse , and a dark color swimbait are great options . Team it up with a 1 / 2oz – 1oz lead head depending on the current and how deep you are fishing .
Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan
This week , I decided to target stripers and I covered a lot of water both on the San Joaquin River and the Sacramento River . I am very excited about how many fish I saw on my electronics in several areas of the delta . Let me tell you , there are so many groups of stripers scattered throughout the system ! I caught fish while using topwater baits , swimbaits , lipless crankbaits , and spoons . I caught and released a lot of schoolie sized fish with the largest weighing in around 9 pounds that was taken on a BladeRunner Spoon . The pattern that I found most effective was fishing shallow on big shoals . Actually , right on the edge of the deep
BladeRunner spoons are a necessity if you are fishing for stripers on the California Delta . BladeRunner offers a variety of sizes and colors and all of them can be effective .
Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan
water and shallow water . Often times , my boat was in 16 plus feet of water , but my bait was in 2-5 feet of water . The stripers cruise the shoals looking for food and if you can find current on one these shoals then you have probably found a really good spot . When you are fishing the edge of shoals don ’ t forget to continue to look at your electronics because often you will see big schools of stripers sitting in the deep water . Always have that spoon ready . The fall striper run is shaping up nicely and looks very promising . I haven ’ t been this excited about fishing in years ! I expect striper fishing to be good from now until November . Get your gear ready , it is going to be good !
WHAT ’ S HOT continued from page 2
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Optimum Baits offers a variety of colors and size swimbaits but all of them are great options when fishing for lingcod .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
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Worms / Optimum Baits who supplied all of the great saltwater plastics we used to bag our fish . Paino and his father have been in the soft plastic bait business for over 30 years . Their baits have a great balance of durability and action that gamefish can ’ t resist . Last but certainly not least , a big thank you goes out to captain James Smith and the beautiful and speedy California Dawn II , deckhands Gary Furtado and Ryan Grisso , and chef Tammie Matteri serving delicious breakfast and lunch ( and dessert ) for the crew . James and his brothers Steve and Chris all share the same passion for fishing and run boats in California and Alaska . Many bay area anglers remember their father Jim Smith who ran the Happy Hooker for years -- he is now enjoying retirement but still fishes as much as he can . To book a trip with California Dawn Sport Fishing , visit www . californiadawn . com , or call 510-417-5557 . To purchase AA Worms swimbaits and creature baits , visit www . aaworms . com To check out Phenix Rods , head to www . phenixrods . com or visit your local tackle shop . |
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The Phenix M1 Series fishing rod is a great choice when tossing swimbaits on the ocean for rockfish and lingcod .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
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Kyle Goldberg poses with a nice grade black rockfish and a lingcod as part of his limit caught during the Phenix Rods and Optimum Bait Swimbait Trip .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
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