Between now and March, I’ll be breaking down the most popular sturgeon fishing areas, from the Carquinez Straits to Cache Slough, into three groups, the first of which is from the Mothball Fleet to Broad Slough.
There are some things to remember when searching for holes that may hold these phenomenal gamefish. A sturgeon hole may be anything from a fifteen-to-forty-foot drop-off to a one-or-two-foot depression in the bottom. The tidal fluctuations are the key for me in deciding which type of hole to fish.
During the stronger, faster moving tides, I prefer fishing the slight drop-offs, depressions rather than the deeper holes. These areas are more protected, so the fish don’t have to work as hard. During the smaller tides, I prefer fishing shallow depressions on shallow flat areas like those off of Garnett Point at Ryer Island or in Grizzly Bay near Suisun Slough.
Another thing to remember when fishing for sturgeon is that like most other fish, sturgeon feed at the leading edge of the hole. Boat positioning is very important to obtain the proper bait position. No matter how deep the hole, I position myself so that my bait is just inside the leading edge of the hole where the fish are feeding.
Types of bait will vary with each different area and tide. Here are a few of my favorite spots from the Mothball Fleet to Broad Slough.
The Suisun Slough entrance has been productive for many anglers. Strong winds are the biggest problem at this site. Small tidal changes are the best bet when fishing this location. On incoming tides, the east side of the channel is good with both grass shrimp and ghost shrimp. This area has many small depressions of a foot or two. On the west side of the channel, on outgoing tides, fishing is most productive with Eel or roe in seven-to-sixteen feet of water.
The flats off Dutton Landing and Simmons Point, near Honker Bay, can also be fished in much the same way. During strong tidal movements, Marinated eel or cut baits work well in some of the deeper holes.
Good places to fish during these strong tides are the back side of Ryer Island in fifteen to twenty-one feet of water. The east side of Snag Island offers some deep drop-offs from the forty-five to sixty- foot range. The area in front of Spoonbill Creek, across from the P G & E, plant is also a good bet during strong tides. Eel, Shad and Shrimp baits are the top choice for anglers here.
Another often-overlooked location which can produce fish at either tide, is both sides of Chain Island in seven to ten feet of water. Shad and Eel baits are also the best bets here.
Equipment is the key, by far the Phenix Abyss 807 and 808 rods are the BEST production rods on the market today for chasing Diamond Backs. Penn Fathom 25’S, Shimano Tekotas and Okuma Catalina’s are by far favorites here. Some of the others that are well known brands have not been performing as well of late. As for line #65 Vicious Braid and the last secret, Art’s Sliders, who would have thought that a High Performance sinker slide would draw such demand we have them!
There are good numbers of fish starting to show throughout the entire area. A good rain is really needed to help the fishing improve and really get going strong. Up-to-date information on fishing can be obtained by calling Dan’s Delta Outdoors 925-666-8701.
