Vallejo Salt Water Fishing

[Ryan]

This is going to be a stupid question. But... I'm going to go on a school project trip to San Fransisco with my friends, and we have to take a ferry boat from Valejo. The Ferry leaves at 7:00, and we will be there around 6:15 or 6:30. So I am going to be next to the water for about a half hour, and I think I'm bringing my fly rod to see what I can do. I'm not expecting to catch anything, but I have never fly fished any salt water before, so I think the 20 minutes should be a nice little teaser. I doubt I will get any responses before tomorrow, but if you happen to read this any time before 5:00 Monday, please respond. I want to know if anyone has any advice for me on what to do. I'm going to fish my eight weight with a type 6 shooting head. I only have like 5 saltwater flies, all are clousers, one two are brown and white w/ bead eyes, and the others are chartruse and white w/lead eyes. But I have every type of freshwater leach and wholly bugger immaginable to man. What shoudld I throw and how should I present it? ANy advice would be appreciated. And also, what kind of fish are around that area?

[Darian]

Ryan,.... Don't want to discourage anyone from trying to fly fish but your limited time may be better spent looking over the areas water for potential places to try later . Drive or walk around and talk to some of the locals you see fishing the area... .

In addition to having the outfit/flies needed, you'll need to be aware of tides, turbidity of the water, available structure and the target species, to name few things... . And, you're gonna be at a distinct disadvantage if you don't have a boat in that area.....

[NCS]

Ryan-
Sorry I didn't see your post in time to give you any useful info, but I'll share what I know for future reference. The Vallejo ferry terminal is on the Napa river and virtually all current is from the tides. Be careful of low tides as they can expose up to 15 feet of stinky muddy river bottom. You can easily sink to your waist walking through it and dragging fish across the muck can decrease the survival rate of released fish. With so little current (typically 60 cfs) it takes a long time for the river to clear out after a rain. The upper section, from downtown Napa to Cuttings Warf, clears up better and has been more productive for me. The most common fish that will take a fly are stripers and you had the right gear. They seem to be around all year, with fall and winter the prime times for larger fish. That being said, a neighbor released a 10# and 15# on last saturday on gear right by the ferry terminal. Happy hunting!
Nick