TheAnglingReport
08-04-2015, 07:59 AM
Has anyone fished with these guides? If so, we want to hear from you. Also note "The Pole Dancer is the hands-down favorite for top water. These are available at Kiene’s Fly Shop in Sacramento". Enjoy! Full article pasted below.
http://www.anglingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=914
Dateline: California - What’s the Latest on Delta Striper Fishing?
Editor Note: Long-term subscribers to The Angling Report may recall our July 1998 article on fly fishing for striped bass in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The article, by Mel Toponce, discussed the emergence of a viable striped bass fly rod fishery that could, at times, reach blue-ribbon standards. Not surprisingly, a lot has happened in the 17 years since that article appeared, some of it good, some of it bad. Here’s the latest from Toponce on this fishery.
Most anglers are not familiar with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, much less the striper fishery that has emerged there, so I’ll start this report by telling you this delta is a vast system of inland waterways northeast of San Francisco. It encompasses approximately 1,200 miles of channeled rivers and sloughs and 55 or so man-made islands and flooded tracts. Trying to unravel the mysteries of where and when and how to fish this area for stripers is a daunting task. Even old timers at delta fishing, myself included, are often stumped when it comes to coping with the constant changes this area can throw at them. I strongly recommend that anglers contemplating a fly fishing trip here put in some time acquainting themselves with the area and the various techniques employed to catch the stripers that reside here. One of the very best sources of information on this subject is the book, Fly Fishing the California Delta, by Captain Mike Costello. (Editor Note: The book is available through Amazon. com or your local bookseller can likely get it for you.) This informative work covers the subject from A to Z, and is a must read.
With that, I will attempt here to bring you up to date on this fishery and the forces that are continuing to shape it. The consensus of many local guides, California Department of Fish and Wildlife employees, fishery biologists, engineers, and anglers I spoke with is that over the past five years there has been a significant decline in both the overall population and the number of mature, double-digit fish. Opinions vary on the cause of this decline, but state water usage policies and weather, including the ongoing drought, are at the top of most observers’ lists. Over the last two years there have been no good rainfall-caused flushes through the delta down to San Francisco Bay, and that has resulted in poor delta water quality and higher water temperatures. Pelagic species such as striped bass, delta smelt, and threadfin shad have all been hard hit. Only a small portion of the spring run of striped bass that habitually spawn up the Sacramento River near the city of Colusa made it up that far this year, I am told. It is anyone’s guess where they did spawn, or whether the spawn was successful at all. A fly fishing friend of mine who fishes that area annually told me recently that in 2013 he fished with a well-known guide 10 times and caught over 100 bass, for an average of 10 fish per day, one of which went 24 pounds. In 2014, in 10 trips he averaged five fish per day. In 2015, in six trips, he averaged three fish per day. One day he caught nothing. His guide decided to call it quits for the season, closed up shop, and canceled all his remaining bookings.
I won’t linger on the state’s tumultuous water usage program except to note that California’s human population has swelled to a staggering 39 million. You can imagine the increase that has caused in the demand for water. Water diversions, controlled by the California Department of Water Resources, from the delta southward to serve agricultural and other interests have played havoc with the ecological balance established by nature. And more diversions are planned! California’s water wars are well known, and there is no sign of them abating. Fishermen have long complained about the destruction of fish fry caused by unscreened water pumps that are part of the water export system. I understand that some of these pumps have been screened. How many I cannot say. What I can tell you is that much harm has been done.
The bottom line is there are still stripers in the California Delta in fishable numbers, but the movements of the striper schools have become less predictable. Nowadays, you almost have to hire a competent guide who keeps his finger on the pulse of the delta to catch fish. The emphasis nowadays seems to have shifted from the old reliable fly fishing hotspots I wrote about in my last article: spots like Frank’s Tract Lake and Mildred Island (which is in reality also a flooded tract). Today, the focus is on the rivers, such as the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, and Lower Mokelumne.
So, who are the guides who can sort this out for you? I mentioned in my 1998 article that seasoned delta fly fishing guides were scarce. This is no longer the case, although they are still not plentiful. It is true that some of the old-time experts such as Doug Lovell and Dan Blanton have retired, but some are still at it, along with a number of newcomers. What follows is a list of several guides I know well and am comfortable recommending (see next post below - had to cute due to space issues):
http://www.anglingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=914
Dateline: California - What’s the Latest on Delta Striper Fishing?
Editor Note: Long-term subscribers to The Angling Report may recall our July 1998 article on fly fishing for striped bass in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The article, by Mel Toponce, discussed the emergence of a viable striped bass fly rod fishery that could, at times, reach blue-ribbon standards. Not surprisingly, a lot has happened in the 17 years since that article appeared, some of it good, some of it bad. Here’s the latest from Toponce on this fishery.
Most anglers are not familiar with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, much less the striper fishery that has emerged there, so I’ll start this report by telling you this delta is a vast system of inland waterways northeast of San Francisco. It encompasses approximately 1,200 miles of channeled rivers and sloughs and 55 or so man-made islands and flooded tracts. Trying to unravel the mysteries of where and when and how to fish this area for stripers is a daunting task. Even old timers at delta fishing, myself included, are often stumped when it comes to coping with the constant changes this area can throw at them. I strongly recommend that anglers contemplating a fly fishing trip here put in some time acquainting themselves with the area and the various techniques employed to catch the stripers that reside here. One of the very best sources of information on this subject is the book, Fly Fishing the California Delta, by Captain Mike Costello. (Editor Note: The book is available through Amazon. com or your local bookseller can likely get it for you.) This informative work covers the subject from A to Z, and is a must read.
With that, I will attempt here to bring you up to date on this fishery and the forces that are continuing to shape it. The consensus of many local guides, California Department of Fish and Wildlife employees, fishery biologists, engineers, and anglers I spoke with is that over the past five years there has been a significant decline in both the overall population and the number of mature, double-digit fish. Opinions vary on the cause of this decline, but state water usage policies and weather, including the ongoing drought, are at the top of most observers’ lists. Over the last two years there have been no good rainfall-caused flushes through the delta down to San Francisco Bay, and that has resulted in poor delta water quality and higher water temperatures. Pelagic species such as striped bass, delta smelt, and threadfin shad have all been hard hit. Only a small portion of the spring run of striped bass that habitually spawn up the Sacramento River near the city of Colusa made it up that far this year, I am told. It is anyone’s guess where they did spawn, or whether the spawn was successful at all. A fly fishing friend of mine who fishes that area annually told me recently that in 2013 he fished with a well-known guide 10 times and caught over 100 bass, for an average of 10 fish per day, one of which went 24 pounds. In 2014, in 10 trips he averaged five fish per day. In 2015, in six trips, he averaged three fish per day. One day he caught nothing. His guide decided to call it quits for the season, closed up shop, and canceled all his remaining bookings.
I won’t linger on the state’s tumultuous water usage program except to note that California’s human population has swelled to a staggering 39 million. You can imagine the increase that has caused in the demand for water. Water diversions, controlled by the California Department of Water Resources, from the delta southward to serve agricultural and other interests have played havoc with the ecological balance established by nature. And more diversions are planned! California’s water wars are well known, and there is no sign of them abating. Fishermen have long complained about the destruction of fish fry caused by unscreened water pumps that are part of the water export system. I understand that some of these pumps have been screened. How many I cannot say. What I can tell you is that much harm has been done.
The bottom line is there are still stripers in the California Delta in fishable numbers, but the movements of the striper schools have become less predictable. Nowadays, you almost have to hire a competent guide who keeps his finger on the pulse of the delta to catch fish. The emphasis nowadays seems to have shifted from the old reliable fly fishing hotspots I wrote about in my last article: spots like Frank’s Tract Lake and Mildred Island (which is in reality also a flooded tract). Today, the focus is on the rivers, such as the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, and Lower Mokelumne.
So, who are the guides who can sort this out for you? I mentioned in my 1998 article that seasoned delta fly fishing guides were scarce. This is no longer the case, although they are still not plentiful. It is true that some of the old-time experts such as Doug Lovell and Dan Blanton have retired, but some are still at it, along with a number of newcomers. What follows is a list of several guides I know well and am comfortable recommending (see next post below - had to cute due to space issues):