Suisan-Delta Report 3/10/06

[Wahoo!]

Suisun-Delta: Really excellent sturgeon fishing, matter of fact.
Word/daily joke from charter-boat skip Barry Canevaro is that there are
10,000 sturgeon in the S.F. Bay-Delta, and he's seen every one over the
past week-plus, by which he means he's marking many fish on the ol'
depth sounder. Now get back to laughing ... Canevaro's spot is all of
Montezuma Slough, though one hole in particular has been especially good
for him. He's fishing water 20-25 feet deep, and Saturday's trip yielded
six keepers and two shakers for his group of five. Wednesday, with both
he and wife, Diana, guiding in their separate boats, the combined catch
was a 68-incher (wife's boat) and 64-incher (humiliated husband's). As
for Barry's spot, he'd rather not say. In his words: "Twenty to 25 feet
is all you really need to know" ... The recent rain and the rain to come
have and will continue to put down the striper action, but the Canevaros
plan to get started with bait soon, anyway ... Flash Talmadge has been
staring deeply into his fish finder, as well, marveling at the sheer
number of sturgeon revealed as blazing marks on the screen. The greatest
concentration of fish found over the past few trips, he said, was way up
in Big Cut, in the deep hole (70-80 feet) that runs off toward the
Middlegrounds. He has not been doing a whole lot of catching, though,
with only shakers and a 50-incher caught of late. He planned to be back
at the same water today, for the outgoing tide (noon-ish) ... Now the
Hooker: Jim Smith and his Happy Hooker claim 13 legal sturgeon landed
over the past three trips. Same area Flash is working ... Rumor on the
new sturgeon regs. is they go into effect March 17, with the slot size
46-56 inches ... Sturgeon from shore: Try setting up at one of the many
pullouts along Grizzly Island Road, which fronts Montezuma Slough, or
casting from Sherman Island ... The baits: eel and ghost shrimp
(Canevaro and Talmadge recommend) or salmon roe (exclusive bait on the
Happy Hooker).

SUISUN: Gina Dumpit of Martinez Bait and Tackle said that with the
weather being as unpredictable as it has been over the past few days,
things have been pretty slow. Anglers may want to try between Buoys 2
and 6 or Middle Ground for both sturgeon and striper. Rain is predicted
for this weekend, but if the skies clear early next week, sturgeon
fishing may be ideal. As it is, Anthony Lopez, 9, of Fair Oaks caught a
64-inch, 61.3-pound sturgeon at Buoy 5 using ghost shrimp, and Rob Lock
Jr. of Martinez caught a 7-pound, 28.5-inch striper using sardines near
the railroad tracks off the Ozol Pier.
Jim Smith took the charter boat Happy Hooker to the Montezuma Slough,
Big Cut and Little Cut over the past few days and reported wide open
sturgeon fishing. On Friday they caught five sturgeon, with three
70-inchers and two in the 60-inch range. On Saturday they caught and
released an oversized fish (74 inches) and a number of shakers and on
Sunday they caught three sturgeon up to 70 inches and a few shakers. On
Tuesday they caught five more, including a 70-incher and a 69-incher.
March and April are usually the best two months to catch sturgeon if the
weather cooperates.