Xtreme-Angling has been hitting the Lower Portion of the Sacramento River for some great Sturgeon success lately. We have been successful in taking keepers, oversize and undersized fish during the past few trips.
We have been fishing down river from the city of Rio Vista and anchoring in 20-22 feet of water. The fish have been biting on both the incoming and outgoing tide, but the key has been water movement. If the water isn’t moving then you wont be getting bit. The beginning and near the end of the tides have been primarily when we have been getting our bites.
I use an 8ft Medium Heavy to heavy action rod. You want a rod that has a lot of backbone inorder to be able to lift a big fish but yet have a tip with enough bounce to be able to see the bites. I just got a few of the new PENN Fathom 15 lever drag reels. It is a reasonable priced reel that is perfect for handling a large oversize fish but small enough you dont feel like you are reeling in with a winch. Its a small reel that packs some horsepower with great line capacity.
I am using my standard line 40lb braid, this is my line for everything from trolling salmon to trolling for stripers.I have been using bloody eel for bait, rigged on a 7/0 hook with a 60lb mono-leader. My leader is about 20-22″ and I am using 7-10 ounces of weight to keep the bait fixed on the bottom. I usually fan cast the baits about 20-30ft behind the boat and then let them sit with my rods resting on a balance beam.
The water temp has been 52-55 degrees. This is really warm for Febuary and causing a good bite on both sturgeon and stripers. As soon as the water clears again from the big rain storm that just caused it to dirty, the striper bite will be off the hook as we get into the spring striper season. We have been getting striper bites mixed in which has kept the anglers on their toes.
Before setting up in a spot I suggest utilizing a quality fish finder to locate where the fish are. I usually graph the area and look for solid marks on the bottom before I set the anchor about 10-20 yards above them. Then set your rods up and get them in the water. Then the waiting game begins.
Go to http://www.xtreme-angling.com to see pricing and to get your dream fishing trips on the calender.
I have openings available and would love to make some more great memories.
Xtreme-angling Capt. RJ Bennett