port of sacramento

[Ed Wahl]

Took the canoe out to the port yesterday, went across the channel into the lake washington area. What a mess. I didn't realize there was a boat graveyard there. Has anyone ever fished up in there where it gets shallow and weedy? Looks like it could be bassy in there, but kind of eerie too. Looks like some of those hulks have been there for decades and there's a couple of masts sticking up out of the water in the deeper area.

[Darian]

Hi Ed,.... In the late 70's, I was a member of the Washington Outboard Club which had a launch ramp behind a locked gate in the entrance area to the lake. It was always a mess but it sounds like it's worse now from your description. :( :(

I used a pram to navigate thru a lot of stuff there. There's some very bassy looking water in there but, even then, I felt the water was too dirty too fish. :( Seems like the lake catches all of the bad stuff in the water from the tidal surge, etc. :(

I guess the racing crews still launch in there but I bet they have to give their boats a tetanus shot afterward.... :lol: :lol:

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

There are Threadfin Shad in there and Stripers.

There are Crappie, Black Bass and catfish too.

The tide does effect that fishery too.

[Ed Wahl]

In the early '80s I used to fish for catfish in the deepwater channel, nightcrawlers, campfire, beer, the whole works. That was a few miles west of the port. When the tide is out there are exposed flats on each side of the channel that extend out about 30 yards. Wonder if stripers cruise around these shallows during high tide? I've also seen some huge carp in the shallows spawning, in one spot I about a hundred lined up side by side, you could hear them from the top of the levy. Might try the port when the water warms up, but man it's pretty nasty in there.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Around 1970 I worked at 'West Capitol Rod & Gun' which was thee bait shop for West Sac on West Capitol Avenue near the new baseball field. It is just a field now.

Many of our customers fished the river, sloughs, Port of Sacramento and the deep water channel.

Slinging sardines was a big part of my life then.