IO VISTA - The fall is a time w hen many charter boat captains and anglers make the transition from targeting halibut and rockfish to sturgeon and striped bass fishing on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers , the West Delta and Suisun Bay . Striper fishing has been surprisingly good on the Delta this summer , but wind has kept anglers off the water many days . The closure of recreational salmon season in the ocean waters in California and most of the Oregon this year and in the Sacramento and Klamath River systems has reduced the fishing options in both the ocean and rivers , causing financial hardship to many fishing businesses in the state . The closure of recreational rockfish season in water less than 50 fathoms of water along the Northern and Central California Coast has also made things difficult . Most boats off the Bay Area Coast are continuing to target halibut and stripers on San Francisco Bay or deep water rockfish beyond the Farallon Islands , at the Soap Bank and at the Rittenburg Bank . Captain Zack Medinas and Virginia Salvador of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures would normally be targeting salmon this time of year , as well as doing live bait fishing for halibut , stripers and rockfish , but they have been concentrating on live bait fishing for halibut lately because of the salmon and shallow water rockfish closures . Medinas is planning to begin running his catch and release

sturgeon trips out of Pittsburg during the first week in October . Medinas made a recent scouting adventure with a friend , Stephen Wright of Martinez , that produced solid sturgeon action . “ We had 7 hookups , landing 5 fish and losing two other others ,” he said . “ We caught and released 2 slot limit size fish , one oversized fish , and two undersized fish . We also lost two fish .” “ We put the boat in at Martinez and fished from Carquinez Strait to Buoy # 6 in Suisun Bay ,” reported Medinas . “ We caught the fish on both grass shrimp and salmon roe .” “ The two

slot size fish measured 42 inches and 57 inches and the oversized sturgeon was 6-1 / 2 feet . We hooked the fish in 30 to 70 feet of water on both the incoming and outgoing tides ,” he explained . Information : ( 925 ) 497-7171 . Sturgeon anglers concerned about the future of the fishery should attend the Fish and Game Commission meeting on Wednesday , October 11 , 2023 , in San Jose at the San Jose Scottish Rite Center , 2455 Masonic Drive , San Jose , CA 95125 at 830 am . Item # 9 on the agenda is listed as White Sturgeon Emergency

Regulation .” The Commission will discuss and consider adopting emergency

This angler shows off a striped bass that he landed on a late September fishing Adventure with Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo Sportfishing .

Photo courtesy of Soo Hoo Sportfishing

regulations concerning the recreational take of white sturgeon to support recovery of sturgeon populations and to track fishing pressure and success . You can participate in person , or it can be viewed via live stream ; visit www . fgc . ca . gov the day of the meeting to watch or listen . To provide public comment during the meeting , please join the webinar directly at : https :// us02web . zoom . us / j / 81722552033 , or visit : http :// fgc . ca . gov / Meetings / 2023 . Meanwhile , the striper fishing on the Delta has been excellent for anglers able to get out on days when the wind isn ’ t blowing too hard . Don Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience reported hooking 10 to 20 stripers per trip on his latest fishing adventures on the Sacramento River below Rio Vista . “ On my latest trip , , the two anglers fishing with me caught and released between 15 and 20 fish , keeping their limits of stripers in the 20 to 22 inch range and releasing the rest , while throwing swimbaits ,” said Paganelli . “ We hooked the fish while throwing Sixth Sense hollow bodied pearl swimbaits on half ounce jig heads in 1 to 3 feet of water . The outgoing tide produced the top action .” Information : ( 916 )

502-FISH . Trollers using Yo-Zuris or drifting minnows on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and adjacent sloughs