The current inland salmon fishing season closes on Sunday, December 16.  As the season winds down the fishing is becoming less productive further up the Sacramento River.  With a count to date of over 16,300 salmon at the Woddbridge Dam on the Mokelumne River Hatchery in Clements this would be your best bet on taking home a limit of two fish on your next fishing adventure.  Also in the mix, especially on the Mokelumne’s South Fork there is a good number of striped bass in the 10 to 12 pound range for anglers at anchor tossing threadfin shad or throwing out Alabama rigs or swimbaits.  If bait fishing check your tide guide for daylight outgoing tidal movement for better action on the striped bass scene.

The current storm fronts to hit California caused the Sacramento River to cloud up somewhat, but that didn’t off set the great action taking place on the river with good numbers of double digit fish taken by bait dunkers tossing shad off Decker Island and Sherman Island where striped bass to 15 pounds are being caught.   On the sturgeon scene they are becoming harder to find in the main river which means they could be heading into shallower waters.  The big striper of the week weighed over 30 pounds on a live mudsucker in the Antioch area.  For those interested in aquiring free threadfin shad, H&R Bait and Tackle located in south Stockton on Charterway is receiving between 30 to 35 pounds on Mondays and Wednesdays and over 100 pounds on Friday morning.  Plenty of fish on both the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers with better water clarity on the San Joaquin side of the Delta.