Fishing Report: Fish need water

The fish need water. We need rain. It really can’t get any more basic than that. We got a little rain on Tuesday but what is really needed is another 5-10 inches. Now I am reminded that we still have almost twice as much rain fall as we had last year and we ended up with a normal year, but all this good weather is a lot better for golf than for steelhead fishing.
That said, fishing on the Russian River has been tough. There appears to be a lots of hatchery fish in the river, but in these kinds of conditions, they don’t seem to want to bite. They are more interested in returning to the hatchery. In addition, there aren’t a lot of guys that are fishing, which is understandable. However, if you put your time in, stay away from the crowds, you will get bit. Unfortunately, the quality of the fish is not very good. The river mouth at Jenner is opening and closing and when it re-opens the seals are just tearing up the steelhead. Any scientist who doesn’t believe that seas lions eat steelhead should go down to the mouth right now and see what is happening. There are over a hundred sea lions hanging around the mouth of the river right now and they aren’t there for the sunshine. Almost all of the fish that are in the system are showing seal marks and there aren’t many fresh fish in the system. In addition, the hatcheries are releasing their downers and they look just terrible with fungus marks all over them. A good rain is really required to blow the river back out and get some newer fish in the system.
Probably the best steelhead fishing right now is being found on the main stem of the Eel. You will have plenty of company, but you can expect 2-4 hook ups per boat, and on better days, land up to six bright, wild steelhead.
So if fishing in low clear fresh water isn’t your thing, the Crab and Dab combos are still going strong. Rick Powers, skipper of the New Sea Angler in Bodega Harbor, is doing quite well with lots of good quality crabs to be had. Rick is also looking forward to the salmon opener in April. They haven’t announced yet when that is going to be, but almost everybody thinks it will be the first Saturday in April.
San Francisco Bay sturgeon fishing is going strong in the San Pablo Bay area. I was down there last Saturday on an absolutely gorgeous day on the bay. The herring are spawning in the Paradise Cay area, and I heard a few guys talking about catching sturgeon on grass and mud shrimp around China Camp.
For more information and/ or fishing reports, please contact Hunt Conrad at Prospect Mortgage, 431-9715.