San Francisco/San Pablo Bay Report 12/8/05

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THE BAYS
S.F.-San Pablo: Cold, gray and slow, just how we like it, except that we
don't. We plied the phone lines yesterday, searching for some hint of
something, only to find Oyster Point Bait and Tackle owner Mike Routson
in a barber's chair, lowering his ears while waxing at length on the
many angling opportunities out his way, that somehow boiled down to,
"Someone seen a sturgeon jump out front this morning. Other than that,
there's about a million cormorants out there." His focus, though, is on
the glory fish, sturgeon and striped bass, so he didn't mention all the
sharks and 'rays finning under the murk. There are many, in fact, and
plenty of anglers out there fishing and catching. Oyster Point Pier is
always a solid bet, as is the water around Candlestick Point, China
Basin, and on the East Bay side, near Alameda Rockwall, the Emeryville
shoreline and from Berkeley Pier to Richmond. If you go, try the generic
hi-lo set-up, with a weight down and two hooks up, baited with either
calamari, anchovy or both. ... Interesting predicament building up North
Bay way, with Keith Fraser's storied sturgeon seminar set for Saturday
and still no diamondback caught and kept for the cleaning demonstration,
which, like it or not, usually is the highlight of the show. Fraser's
not exactly desperate, but he did lean on one Barry Canevaro for help in
the matter. To quote Fraser quoting Canevaro (which is quite a thing,
trust us): "I talked to Barry on Monday night and told him I needed a
fish for the seminar, and Barry said, 'No problem. How big?' He went the
very next day and did nothing. The man's a total failure." Fraser is
available as a motivational speaker, as well, at a bargain price. (Keith
was kidding, by the way, as only he and Don Rickles can.) So the
seminar: It will get its fish. Just as it has every year, going back 30
Fraser-at-the-mikes. If you'd like to attend Saturday, tickets are
available in advance (415-456-0321) and at the door (Corte Madera Rec
Center, 7:15 p.m.). Back to fishing: The weekend was something close to
terrific, all action all the time. Only problem was it centered on
striped bass, which were all over the sturgeon baits. Small, uninspiring
tides this week drop nicely into the weekend, with next week all but
promising a surge in sturgeon interest. From shore, a few of the better
spots are the rockwall at Paradise (below the Richmond-San Rafael
Bridge), China Camp, Port Sonoma and the banks of Sonoma Creek, which
continues to be one of the hottest spots around, for both bass and
sturgeon.