Jim Smith of the Happy Hooker is taking a novel crab/sturgeon combination trip on Saturday, and they will be pulling the pots out of the Gate in addition to fishing for sturgeon in San Pablo Bay. The boat is about half-full for the day, so there is room to pick up a limit of crab without even leaving the shadow of the Golden Gate, in addition to the opportunity for a bonus sturgeon. Knowing Smith, he will work around the tides to be on the anchor at prime time. Sunday is reserved for football viewing. Smith said, “There was a big herring spawn in the bay this week, and I have fresh herring for sturgeon.”

On Thursday 2-2 Mike at Mike’s Bait in Oakland reported sitting on 150-pounds of big south bay grass shrimp, and in addition to live mud shrimp, he is ready for this weekend’s Sturgeon Derby, stating, “We have plenty of bait, so reservations are not necessary.” He added that two sturgeon were landed off of Bay Farm Island on the outgoing tide on Monday night, and perch fishing has been outstanding at the Alameda Rockwall with pile worms or grass shrimp. He said, “Anglers are limiting out within1/2 hour on white or pile perch averaging from 1 to 1.5-pounds.” Bullheads are working for stripers in the Point Pinole and Rodeo areas.

Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait in San Rafael was making preparations for his 37^th and perhaps final “Sturgeon fishing in Bay Waters” Seminar at the Marin Rod and Gun Club on Saturday night. I intend to attend this event, particularly since it may be Fraser’s swan song of seminars. He has live mud shrimp in the shop, and he is expecting more on Friday morning for the sturgeon derby. They are still taking bait reservations, but the live mud is getting spoken for quickly. He said, “The tides are great, and we had 73 degree weather today , so things couldn’t be better.”

Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle called on Tuesday 1-31 afternoon to report that two skiffs came in with a single sturgeon apiece, and he really likes the tides starting on Thursday. He has procured a large supply of live mud shrimp for the Superbowl derby, but bait reservations are advised since the available supply is being gobbled up. Fraser said, “Nearly every phone call we receive is for live mud shrimp.”

Also on the bait front, Joel Sinkay of Leonard’s made a 3:00 a.m. drag on the Buoy Line for an excellent grade of grass shrimp, and he will be doing this again on Wednesday morning to make sure his tanks are stocked up for the sturgeon derby. He showed me a Facebook post from Brad Hood who claims that he is “BACK,” and he will be fishing for sturgeon in the shallow waters near Hamilton Flats in San Pablo Bay on Wednesday. Finally, a Brad Hood sighting after a long hiatus. Sinkay has a special on eel for $10 for all anglers who receive his newsletter. You can access the newsletter and the eel coupon at www:leonardsbaitandtackle.com. Sinkay does have plenty of eel.

Across the bay in El Cerrito, George Liu of Bay Tackle has been having some difficulty obtaining eel, but he is hoping to have a supply by Thursday to meet the weekend demand. He reported good sturgeon action in San Pablo Bay with ghost or grass shrimp with the Martinez area also being productive. Striped bass are already showing up off of the Pinole Point Pier, and bullheads and mudsuckers have been effective. Perch fishing remains very good from the shorelines with pile worms or grass shrimp. Bay Tackle will be taking bait reservations for this weekend, and Liu is loading up.

Tom Dudenhoeffer at Sweeney’s Sports in Napa said the Napa River continues to run off color, putting the striper bite on hold. There have been several oversized sturgeon porpoising downriver near the Highway 37 Bridge and in Napa and South Sloughs. A few keeper sturgeon have been taken, but the majority have been oversized. A few sturgeon have moved upriver as far as Cuttings Wharf. Ghost shrimp, grass shrimp, eel, and pile worms have all been working.