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Quail Point Hunting
Club and Sporting Clays
|
November 14, 2009
Headlines |
Delta Fall Action Kicks
In |
On Friday
11-13
Pam Hayes at
Benicia Bait
said there
have been
few sturgeon
taken at the
Mothball
Fleet or the
Pittsburg
PGE Plant on
grass
shrimp/eel
combinations
or straight
pile worms.
Bait has
been
difficult to
come by, but
they are
expecting
ghost
shrimp,
grass shrimp
and a supply
of bullheads
by this
evening. Her
advice was
to call
ahead of
time if you
are wanting
bullheads,
as the
supply is
day to day.
Shore
anglers are
picking up
schoolie
stripers in
all of the
locations,
especially
since the
small
Dungeness
seem to be
moving out
of the area.
Shore guys
have been
getting torn
up by the
tiny
crustaceans.
Taking their
place have
been
flounder
which have
reappeared
on the
scene.
Jay Lopes of
Right Hook
Sport
Fishing
reported a
slowdown in
sturgeon
fishing with
only shakers
and an
81-inch
oversized on
his last
three trips.
They caught
and released
5 shakers on
Monday, 4
shakers on
Tuesday and
released the
large
oversized on
Wednesday
which was
the only
fish
reported in
the
Pittsburg
area. Lopes
was at a
loss to
explain the
slowdown
with great
weather
conditions
and good
tides. The
fish bit on
both tides
on ghost
shrimp,
grass shrimp
or grass/eel
combinations.
He said the
water
temperature
dropped to
60 degrees
in the
Pittsburg
region, but
the tides
are getting
too large to
fish deep
water over
the weekend.
As a result,
he will be
scouting out
shallow
water
locations
with the
larger
tides. Lopes
added that a
couple of
large
stripers at
42 and
25-pounds
were brought
into the
Martinez
Marina
today.
James at
Dockside
Bait
reported a
very slow
striper bite
in the area
on Wednesday
with many
anglers
coming in
with their
tails
between
their legs
and no fish.
He didn't
have any
reports from
Thursday
with a few
boats out.
I went out
on Wednesday
with my son,
Matthew, for
a trip to
soak shad
off of
Decker
Island.
After
setting up
on a perfect
incoming
tide in my
favorite
hole with
fresh shad
from H and R
Bait in
Stockton, we
proceeded to
release a
steady
assortment
of 12 to
15-inch
stripers.
The water
temperature
was 58
degrees and
the river
was
flat-calm
with only a
touch of a
ripple. We
ended up
with a
single limit
of 20-inch
fish, but I
was
expecting
some more
action.
However,
after
talking with
James at
Dockside
today, I was
a little
more
relieved.
There were
several
boats out on
Veteran=92s
Day, but the
majority
were in the
main
Sacramento,
including
several
vessels
sitting on
the anchor
in the
trolling
path on the
west bank.
Mike Gravert
of
Intimidator
Sport
Fishing has
been
scratching
out limits
of schoolie
stripers to
8-pounds on
four
consecutive
trips in the
north Delta.
He said the
bite is not
"red-hot" by
any means,
but they
have been
working the
smaller
tides with
either
drifted
bluegill or
minnows with
trolling as
a back-up.
Delta
stripers
by Steve
Carson of
Chico
Enterprise-Record
Local guide
Kevin Brock
has been
hammering
the striped
bass on the
Delta
between Rio
Vista and
Antioch.
"The troll
bite is
really on
for stripers
right now",
reported
Brock.
=93The fish
are not big,
most are
around 22
inches, with
very few
over 10
pounds. The
numbers are
very good
though; most
days we get
between 15
and 20 fish,
and we have
had limits
on the last
11
consecutive
trips.=94
Brock
continued,
"We have
done best
with
deep-running
lures most
days, and a
six-inch
pink or
white
plastic worm
added to the
tail really
helps. The
red/white
Rapala X-Rap
XR15 has
been
exceptionally
good." You
can see
Brock Friday
11-13
evening at
the Bass Pro
Shop in
Manteca at
6:00 p.m.
and also on
November
20th at the
same
location and
time.The bass and
halibut
continue to
bite in San
Pablo Bay.
On
Wednesday
11-11
James on the
Cal Dawn ran
down to the
Rodeo flats
and his 16
anglers
landed
limits of
stripers to
12 pounds
adding 3
halibut to
15. They
lost a few
other
halibut and
released
several
legal bass
with most
running 4 to
8 pounds.
They were
drifting
with a combo
platter of
live
sardines and
mud suckers.
James's dad
Jim on the
Happy Hooker
was also
drifting a
cornucopia
of
live bait
and reported
13 limits of
stripers to
13 pounds.
The Happy
Hooker will
be heading
out of
Martinez
with a of
live bait on
Friday,
Saturday and
Sunday if
they can
roust up
enough
anglers.
James is
booking both
day time and
night trips
when the
tides are
favorable
for
sturgeon.
Dates for
night trips
will be
announced
this week
and include
a steak
dinner with
all the
sides!!
Don at B and
S Bait at
McAvoy's
Harbor in
Bay Point
reported
some great
sturgeon and
striper
action in
the Middle
Grounds in
deep water
with
bullheads
for the
linesides to
37-inches
and grass
shrimp for
diamondbacks
to
55-inches.
They have
also been
selling
loads of
bullheads.
Mark Wilson
of Mark
Wilsons
Sport
Fishing
trolled
Broad and
Montezuma
Sloughs on
Saturday,
and he
didn't find
any stripers
in either
location. As
a result, he
soaked fresh
shad off of
Sherman
Island in 30
to 35 feet
of water at
the last of
the incoming
tide for
limits of
stripers to
4.5-pounds.
Wilson said
the water
was
off-color,
but the
grass was
not a
problem.
Randy
Pringle, the
Fishing
Instructor,
said the
striper bite
in the San
Joaquin
River slowed
down since
last week's
phenomenal
bite,
perhaps due
to heavy
boat traffic
and angler
pressure.
They were
able to hook
a
dozen stripers
to 9-pounds
on Monday,
tossing the
IMA Big
Stick or the
Hopkins BE
Smoothie in
green. The
swimbait
bite was
slow. The
morning
minus tide
funneled the
fish
downstream
before they
came back on
the incoming
tide.
Pringle said
the stripers
are
scattering
in smaller
groupings.
They ended
up hooking
twenty-plus
largemouths
on Monday
with several
fish in the
3 to 4-pound
range on the
IMA Flit rip
bait or the
Berkley
6-inch Power
Worm in
greenpumpkin
or oxblood
along the
outside
weedlines.
Hap's Bait
in Rio Vista
reported
good striper
action on
the
Sacramento
River near
Decker
Island or in
Cache Slough
with
bullheads,
mudsuckers
or fresh
shad.
Mike's Bait
said several
bay area
anglers have
been heading
up to the
banks along
Walnut Grove
with
mudsuckers
in the 26 to
27-inch
range.
The
Coast
That
Sean
Hannity
Forgot
by
Sarah
Randall
As
many
of
you
are
aware,
Zeke
Grader,
Executive
Director
of
the
Pacific
Coast
Federation
of
Fishermen's
Associations(http://www.pcffa.org)
and
the
Institute
for
Fisheries
Resources
(http://www.ifrfish.org),
was
on
the
Sean
Hannity
Show
on
September
17
when
Hannity
broadcast
live
from
the
Central
Valley
to
bolster
the
"fish
vs
farmers"
argument
being
promoted
by
agribusiness.
The
truth
is
that
the
Delta
ecosystem
is
collapsing
through
years
of
excessive
water
withdrawals
-too
much
water
has
been
taken
out
of
the
Bay
Delta
estuary
for
too
many
years
to
support
its
biological
self-cleaning
and
self-renewal
systems.
To
function,
estuaries
require
fresh
water
inflow
to
mix
with
tidal
flows.
This
mixing
creates
rich
brackish
water
that
is
full
of
nutrients
and
is
so
important
for
many
marine
and
anadromous
fish
species.
The
multi-billion
dollar
west
coast
salmon
fishing
industry
is
now
suffering
100%
unemployment
rate
today
because
of
ecological
problems
in
the
Delta
created
by
years
of
water
overdrafts
and
drought.
Please
go
to
http://www.salmonawaternow.org
to
learn
more
about
the
CA
water
crisis.
At
http://www.salmonwaternow.org,
we
have
a
series
of
videos
illustrating
the
problem
that
can
be
shared
and
embedded
on
different
websites.
Salmon
Water
Now!
was
founded
to
raise
public
awareness
of
the
plight
of
wild
California
salmon,
fishermen,
and
coastal
communities
dependent
on
healthy
freshwater
delta
flows.
Salmon
Water
Now!
sheds
light
on
the
inadequacies
of
the
current
water
allocation
regime
and
champions
the
restoration
of
the
Bay-Delta’s
legacy
of
strong
salmon
runs.
COMPLETE
DETAIL
OF
MISINFORMATION
ON
HANNITYʼS
CENTRAL
VALLEY
BROADCAST:
(courtesy
of
Bruce
Tokers
and
Salmon
Water
Now!)
False:
Hundreds
of
laborers
appeared
in
the
background,
backed
up
for
miles,
holding
signs
and
screaming
chants
in
support
of
Hannity.
Truth:
These
are
the
same
workers
with
the
same
signs
that
have
been
hired
by
large
farm
growers
for
the
past
couple
of
rallies.
On
April
14,
2009,
the
same
organization
sponsoring
Hannityʼs
visit
held
a
march
that
the
United
Farm
Workers
called
a
“grower-
sponsored
march,
a
grower-organized
march,
for
water
for
growers....not
a
farmworkers'
march."
The
New
York
Times
reported
"many
of
the
protesters
were
paid
by
their
employers
to
march
in
lieu
of
harvesting
crops.”
False:
The
unemployment
rate
in
the
San
Joaquin
Valley
is
over
40%
because
farmers
cannot
grow
crops
due
to a
lack
of
water.
Truth:
The
State
of
Californiaʼs
most
recent
employment
data
reports
that
Fresno
County,
the
county
in
which
Hannity
filmed,
has
only
15%
unemployment,
compared
to a
12.1%
state
average.
Furthermore,
farm
jobs
increased
by
5.3%
in
the
months
immediate
following
the
NMFS
environmental
ruling.
Even
before
the
global
recession,
the
Western
region
of
the
county
historically
had
the
highest
unemployment
rate
in
the
state.
In
2000,
before
the
drought
and
environmental
restrictions,
unemployment
in
the
Western
region
was
32%.
False:
The
federal
government
has
shut
off
the
water
pumps.
Truth:
Most
water
is
flowing
through
the
valley.
The
San
Francisco
Chronicle
reports
that
nearly
80%
of
the
water
from
the
ailing
delta
continues
to
flow
directly
into
the
valley.
The
local
water
district
has
a
surplus
of
hundreds
of
thousands
of
acre-feet
of
water
that
it
is
not
distributing.
False:
The
water
restrictions
were
issued
to
protect
only
a 2”
smelt.
Truth:
A
number
of
species
threatened
with
extinction
in
this
region
are
being
protected
by
this
regulation,
including
salmon,
sole,
crab,
herring,
steelhead,
sturgeon,
bass,
and
killer
whales.
The
collapse
of
one
of
these
fisheries
alone
is
costing
the
state
$5.7
billion
and
94,000
jobs.
False:
The
federal
government
is
choosing
fish
over
people.
Truth:
Protecting
regional
fisheries
creates
numerous
jobs.
Both
fish
and
agriculture
can
prosper
if
growers
adopted
simple,
cost-effective
irrigation
techniques.
More
responsible
farming
practices
would
save
18
times
the
amount
of
water
being
diverted
for
salmon.
False:
The
price
of
processed
tomato
goods
and
almonds
are
going
to
skyrocket
across
the
nation.
Truth:
This
year
is
predicted
to
be a
record-breaking
harvest
of
processing
tomatoes
due
to
ideal
weather
conditions.
Tomato
production
is
up
15%
from
last
year,
with
11%
more
acres
planted.
Mike
Montna,
president
and
CEO
of
the
California
Tomato
Growers
Association,
said
this
yearʼs
processing-tomato
harvest
—
now
at
the
halfway
point
— is
heading
toward
a
record
for
the
state.
Almonds
are
in
record-shattering
surpluses
as
well,
and
a
decrease
in
production
would
actually
save
the
industry.
False:
The
NMFS
ruling
will
require
us
to
import
more
food
from
China.
Truth:
Seafood
is
already
the
most
imported
food
product
in
the
United
States.
The
NMFS
estimates
that
83%
of
all
seafood
consumed
in
America
last
year
was
imported
from
another
country.
Driving
fisheries
out
of
business
will
only
increase
food
imports.
On
the
other
hand,
75%
of
Californiaʼs
almonds
are
exported
out
of
the
United
States.
False:
This
decision
was
made
by a
handful
of
environmentalists.
Truth:
Restoring
water
to fisheries
has
been
ordered
for
over
15
years,
beginning
in
1992
with
a
Congressional
law
(Central
Valley
Improvement
Act).
A
recent
independent
review
was
“flabbergasted”
that
the
law
has
been
ignored.
A
team
of
government
scientists
in
the
Bush
administration
ordered
for
water
to
be
rerouted
to
save
fisheries
as
well,
although
that
order
was
shelved
by
the
Secretary
of
the
Interior.
An
additional
report
was
recently
released
and
approved
by
the
new
administration.
False:
Local
residents
are
flocking
to
food
banks
and
waiting
all
day
for
food.
Truth:
The
local
CBS
station
reported
that
only
"dozens
of
families"
showed
up
to
the
food
bank.
False:
The
area
of
Fresno
County
in
which
Hannity
reported
is a
ʻnatural
breadbasketʼ
where
agriculture
flourishes.
Truth:
Huron,
CA
receives
an
average
of
only
6.7
inches
of
rain
a
year,
far
less
than
what
is
needed
to
sustain
agriculture.
For
stories
on
the
broadcast
and
more
information
see:
Hannity
stumbles
upon
cause
of
west
side
water
issues
Peripheral Canal:
Panama Canal North?
Proposed Government Boondoggle Would Be Width of 100 Lane
Freeway!
by Dan Bacher
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dianne Feinstein,
corporate agribusiness and other supporters of the
peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta have carefully avoided discussing what an actual canal
would look like, as well as its enormous environmental
impacts and budget-busting cost to the taxpayers.
However, in width and length the peripheral canal would be
very similar to the Panama Canal, according to recent
comments by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan on the floor on the
floor when she and other legislators were asked to vote on a
bill to fund a committee to develop a plan to implement the
Delta Vision recommendations.
The recommendations call for a "conveyance" that will
transport 15,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) from
the Sacramento River around the Delta, according to
Buchanan. This is smaller than the proposed 1982 peripheral
canal that was intended to transport 22,000 cfs. During
drought years, the Sacramento River does not have 15,000
cfs. flow for over half the year. In 2007, the flow exceeded
15,000 cfs. in three months with the highest month at 22,500
cfs.
"Based on an engineering report completed in 2006, a
conveyance to transport 15,000 cfs. would be between 500 and
700 feet wide requiring a 1300 foot right-of-way," said
Buchanan. "That's the width of a 100 lane freeway! The
length of the conveyance would be 48 miles. By comparison
the Panama Canal is between 500 and 1000 feet wide and is 50
miles long." "I'm not going to vote for a plan that
builds a Panama Canal down the middle of the 15th Assembly
District!" concluded Buchanan.
The Governor's Delta Vision Task Force and Bay Delta
Conservation Plan both recommend the construction of a
"peripheral canal" and more reservoirs designed to export
more water from senior water rights holders in the Delta and
Sacramento Valley to junior water rights holders that
irrigate drainage-impaired, selenium-filled land on the west
side of the San Joaquin Valley. Although the Delta Vision
Task Force's report recommended that less water be exported
out of the Delta to help the estuary's collapsing ecosystem,
canal opponents note that the construction of a canal with
increased water export capacity would inevitably be used to
export more water out of the system.
I have repeatedly asked canal advocates to give me one
example, in U.S. or world history, where the construction of
a big diversion canal has resulted in less water being taken
out of a river system. I have also asked them to give me one
example, in U.S. or world history, where the construction of
a big diversion canal has resulted in a restored or improved
ecosystem. None of the canal backers have been able to
answer either one of these two questions.
The push to build a peripheral canal occurs as Central
Valley and Delta fish populations are in their greatest-ever
crisis. Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Delta smelt,
longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish populations
have declined to record low population levels in recent
years, due to inc reased water exports and declining water
quality. A broad coalition of Delta family farmers,
recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, grassroots
environmentalists and California Indian Tribes are opposing
the peripheral canal because it is expected to push
imperiled fish species over the abyss of extinction.
Schwarzenegger has cynically tried to link a deal to remove
four aging dams on the Klamath River, owned by Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, to a water bond
including a peripheral canal and more dams. However, the
Klamath Riverkeeper and other Klamath Basin stakeholders
oppose tying the dam removal project to the construction of
new dams in the Central Valley and a peripheral canal as a
proposed general obligation water bond would do.
"California must support Klamath dam removal on its own
merits," said Georgiana Myers, Klamath Riverkeeper Community
Organizer and Yurok Tribal Member. "The Klamath dam removal
deal has received support from Oregon with Senate Bill 76,
and now we need Governor Schwarzenegger to step up."
Meanwhile, the word from the California State Capitol last
week was that a combined hearing by the Assembly Water,
Parks and Wildlife Committee and the Senate Natural
Resources Committee regarding a host of water bills would
take place on July 7, in Room 4202 at 9 a.m. However, now
there is talk of the committee meeting being rescheduled for
July 9. "Neither date has been finalized, making the date a
'moving target,' intentionally making it difficult for the
public to plan to attend the hearing," said John Beuttler,
conservation director of the California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance.
"These committees plan to establish a 'Delta Water Package'
that would lay the groundwork for a Dual Conveyance Facility
to move water both through and around the Delta," said
Beuttler. "Unfortunately, as of now, we haven't been old
exactly what bills will make the final package. However, it
is understood that the bill or bills will contain a $15-20
billion dollar water bond to pay for infrastructure
improvements that are likely to include the peripheral canal
and at least two dams."
A big turnout of people opposed to the canal and more dams
is needed at the upcoming hearing. For the latest action
alerts on the movement to stop the peripheral canal and more
dams, go to the
California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance
website
Upcoming Events:
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the many fishery and
wildlife organizations that
benefit anglers and hunters
throughout Northern
California.
If you or your organization
needs to get the word out or
are looking to promote an
event please contact us at
fishsite@aol.com so we
can inform our readers.
California Waterfowl 2009
Dinners and Youth Events
Calendar
Party Boat Information
and Reservations around the
Bay
The Happy Hooker is
running halibut and
striper trips out of
Berkeley
2008 +1.510.223.5388
California Dawn is
running sturgeon
trips from Berkeley
+1.510.773.5511
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