Catching live bait in Alameda...

I have a sabiki and want to catch some live bait off the ARW...any tips on where to jig up some smelt or shiners?
Thanks!

Have not been in awhile but we use to catch shiners just out of the ARW launch . Go just south and there is a channel that goes into a residential area , it has a breakwater made of old tires - always plenty of shiners there !

At the bottom of the sabiki, do not use a dull, unattractive lead weight.  Use something like a 1/2 oz. Kastmaster to add some attractive flash.  That really helps to pull bait up from depth (e.g., jacksmelt).

A trick I recently invented (I haven't seen it posted elsewhere and indeed, I thunk it up mahself), is that you can also add a mini chum-bucket at the bottom of the sabiki for the weight.

I have made several of these out of very small Nalgene bottles... about the size of a small 4 6 oz. spice container.  Drill a few holes in the side of the plastic bottle, and one hole in the top of the bottlecap.  Insert a large snap swivle (~150 to 300 lb test size) through the cap... attach your line to the swivle end, and about a 1 oz. teardrop sinker onto the snap.  Fill the chum bottle with whatever strikes your fancy... I use old chopped up bait, like sardines, anchovies, squid, etc... and I also add a couple squirts of procure herring juice... I pack that bottle full, slide the weight in, screw on the top, then put it in the freezer.  You can also use a ghetto bait like dog food.

These mini chum bottles work really well at keeping the bait interested in working on the sabiki, be it shiners, anchovies, or the beloved jacksmelt.

I'm heading out this weekend and I'll take some photos of the rig in action!

Backcountry

Hey BC,
Great minds think alike. I just came up with an idea for a chum ball this week too. I used one of those tea balls you can buy and drilled larger holes in it. It's stainless steel and screws together. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it can't hurt. 

Tip the Sabaki with worms if you want shiners