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The image you get when flying into the Golden State's Capitol on a hazy
spring or summer day is that the plane has somehow missed California and
ended up in the midwest. The Sacramento River valley is broad and
flat with numerous farms, and the Sacramento River is wide and lazy in
Sacramento and straightened and civilized downstream in its delta.
The American river on the other hand is strong, clear and swift and becomes
more and more wild the further upstream you go. Between these two
rivers, and the Sacramento river delta system, the region is blessed with
permanent species such as squawfish,
channel
,
blue, and bullhead
catfish,
rainbow
trout, and black
bass. More importantly, the region also witnesses waves
of migratory species such as Pacific sturgeon, Chinook
salmon, steelhead Rainbow Trout , and for most of the year, Striped
Bass. Starting in March, large Sturgeon
(7
feet long!) creep up the river, through the delta to spawn in the upper
reaches of the Sacramento and American Rivers. By mid April the Sturgeon
are headed out of the river and are back in San Francisco Bay. Early
April sees the Steelhead Rainbows head up the same rivers on the heels
of the Spring salmon run. The 8 pound steelhead also spawn but loiter in
the American River and delta region until mid-May. Of course on the
heels of the steelheads are the stripers, who run in in all shapes and
sizes, not just to spawn, but to feed. While the Sturgeon are all
large (4-9 feet) and are caught largely on ghost shrimp and grass shrimp,
and the steelhead on salmon egg balls and a few large spinners, the Striper
run in sizes from 10" to 30lbs, will take most lures and baits and truly
light up and inaugurate the summer fishing season. Interestingly
the Stripers don't all make the run up the rivers (some stay in saltwater
almost all of their lives), and those who run up the river stay until October!
The only trick is to know where the big stripers are during which month
and how they like to be caught in each case.
Lets start
in April up to mid-May. As the big girls (almost all the 20lbs+ stripers
in the river are female) begin their run, they can be caught from San Pablo
Bay to Rio Vista (the bulk of the Delta Region). These bass can be
picked off by trolling large lipped sinking plugs up and down the
various channels of the river (20lb class baitcasting reels are a must)
very slowly, but this doesn't leave out the shore bound angler. The channels
of the delta from Walnut Grove south are rock lined and have pull-offs
everywhere, so look for a spot with a pile of boats in the water, park
and walk down the rocks, and pitch a hunk (about 2" wide) of sardine on
an egg weight or sliding bottom finder rig (with a 2oz flat weight).
Use a size #2 hook, and be prepared to catch dozens of 'shiners' (small
stripers from 10" to 17") 
for
every keeper (18"+) you hook. Buy at least 2lbs of sardines if you
plan to fish more than a couple of hours (watch the tide table-a change
in tide means a change in action) and also bring lots of weights and hooks,
since snags are plentiful. I recommend 8lb-20lb tackle, though I
favor the light end of this range for two reasons: 1) you will pick up
more bites on the lighter gear (though you need to put the hook on a loop
knot to fend off lip scraping), and 2) the current will not drag on the
lighter line too much to obstruct feeling the bites. While using
this rig also be prepared to catch Sacramento Squawfish in various sizes
(I caught one 14" long)
and,
as night falls, catfish aplenty.
As May becomes June until September, the action move up river
to from Discovery Park to Nimbus Dam on the American River and up to the
swift waters of the Upper Sacramento River. Oh, this doesn't mean
all the Stripers have gone up river, just the bulk of the larger ones (14"-20lbs).
Both boat and shore bound fisherman now use sardine pieces and whole anchovies,
along with live chubs and an assortment of lures. Most largemouth
and smallmouth bass lures (silver spoons, Jigs, mid/large sized spinnners,
plugs, and crankbaits) also pick off the Stripers and will usually result
in a mixed bag. The baits will still pick up the stripers (though
thread is sometimes required to hold the mushy anchovies on the hook in
the swift up river waters), but they will pick up channel cats and
bullheads in large numbers in the Sacramento River near sunset and after
dark. In fact, a trip along Garden Parkway to the public parking
areas under I-80 will result in more keeper channel cats (2lbs-8lbs) than
stripers. Discovery park and the confluence on the American and Sacramento
rivers will result in smallmouth, largemouth, sunfish, and stripers if
a 1/4oz jig with tail, rubber worm, or small chartruese crankbait is used.
Finally, a trip up the American river to Ancil Hoffman park, and using
in-line spinners (#4 Panther Martin) and worms will result in Stripers
and Rainbow trout. Like all fishing in the summer, fish sunrise and
sunset.
Fall sees the return of the Chinook salmon and Steelhead rainbows (the
Chinooks will strike at a swiftly jigged spoon or spinner out of anger-not
hunger) herald the downstream run of the stripers, and October sees the
stripers back in the lower delta, repeating the same bite patterns and
tactics as in the spring. By late November the stripers are largely
back in Saltwater, except for a few winter over bass, and the steelhead
are back in the Pacific. The salmon die after spawning, but since
many are captured by hatchery personnel, their young will be carefully
guarded until mature enough for release 2 years later. As winter storms
rain and blow, Sacramento fisherman poke for the winter overs, and long
for the return of spring.
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