BY CHUCK WOLF
COLUSA- Striped bass action on the Sacramento River is as good as ever with guides from Rio Vista to Colusa all reporting a density, and a quality of fish not seen in years.
Guide Garret Kenyon has been working north of Calusa and reported a quality of fish that you don’t normally see during the early season daylight bite. Kenyon, who will be night fishing for the bigs during the month of May, reported he usually doesn’t see the quality or the quantity of fish until much later in the season, and we certainally don’t see this quality of fish during the daytime bite.
Guide Jeff Goodwin has been fishing upriver from Colusa and reported a continuation of this year’s excellent striper season with limits for every client group that he has taken out. Goodwin, like many of the northern guides has been fishing the edges of current seams with lead droppers and live minnows, trolling plugs, or throwing paddletails.
Guide Justin Thompson reported that the river is loaded from Colusa down through the Tisdale, and he doesn’t see it changing anytime soon. The troll bite has been good on Yo-Zuri plugs with a white worm on the back almost anywhere on the river, but Thompson has found the area by Wards and the Meridian Bridge to be especially productive. Minnows are always a good way to go and Kittle’s, Sac Pro and many of the smaller shops are all receiving weekly deliveries. Thompson will be shifting his operation from California to Oregon to get in on the salmon bite.
Guide Pete Franco has been working the Colusa area and continues to see multi-digit counts of some big fish. Guide Rustic Rob Reimers has been fishing the Tisdale section and has been in the thick of them almost everyday. This past week Reimers took a season biggie at over 20 pounds. Reimers also reported taking several shad earlier in the week.
Guide Raith Heryford has been posting daily limits and videos of the wide-open action. Heryford fished through the pounding rain this past Saturday and was still able to take limits. Not a day has gone by without him posting some of the nicest fish on the river!
Uncle Larry at Sacramento Pro-Tackle reported that the Discovery Park area as well as the mouth of the American River has been holding a good number of smaller males and some larger females but that both bank and boat pressure is incredibly high and reminiscent of salmon season. The main channel in the port has been producing some of the larger fish. Action on the Sacramento River has been outstanding, but action on both the American and the Feather has been well behind. Both rivers are in excellent condition and anglers are optimistic that the action will pick up soon.
