Sacramento River Run -Sun 10/30

John "JDYak", Chris "CPkayak", Elric "Hobi-Wan Kenobi", and I had an excellent 8 mile trip down from Miller Park to Garcia Bend.

We got to Miller Park boat ramp late around 11:00 as several motor boats were already coming back to the dock with fish.  We saw one small boat with 5 nice bright salmon. I saw one kid dragging what looked like a 30lber up the ramp. And as I was waiting for John and Elric to get back from dropping off one of the vehicles at Garcia Bend, I see another guy right in front of the launch ramp hook up and battle a big slug.

All the fish I saw were caught on Gibbs Minnows jigged rockfish style ---  not on the popular Silvertron Spinners we kept hearing about.   Luckily, on our drive up, we stopped by the Gone Fishin Tackle Shop and picked up a few jigs as recommended by one of the shop guys.

By now, we were expecting quick hook-ups, and sure enough, on my first drop, I hook-up hard... not on a fish but a submerged tree.  Oh crap... and there goes one of only two jigs.  We were all getting snagged way too early in the game.

There were quite a few boats near Miller Park, but as we drifted further down, we encountered less.  About half way down we saw several boats jigging and hooking up in a nice slow drift area.  We stuck around to watch and get in on some of the action.  These local guys were very cool.  They didn't mind us fishing with them and shared some good tips.  They even sold us some of their extra Gibbs Minnows in the more productive colors (black, black/red).

We stuck around in that one area nearly two hours.  We saw one boat land a big 40 lber.  And as we were watching, I get hit hard and my rod nearly gets yanked out of my hand... but no love.  It didn't stick.  A few minutes later, I get nailed again with same result.  By now, the sun is starting to drop so we decide to boogie to make it Garcia Bend before it gets dark.  We arrived around 5pm.

We came home skunked, but excited about our little adventure and looking forward to going back... especially now that we picked up some good tips and know some good spots to jig.

Here are a few shots I took.... (Elric took some better close-ups including the fish)...

Here some guys are trying to land a 40 lber while Elric tries to take photos.

Here's Elric drifting and jigging with some helpful locals.

Chris after a bunch of beers.

We'll be back!  

how did the salmon look? I remember the salmon caught at Benicia last year and they didn't look too good.

Damn.  That sounds like some exciting skunk...nothing in the boat, but just enough action to make sure you'll be unable to focus for the rest of the week!

Mooch-they don't want to eat them, they just want your $100!!!

skunk? hell i jigged up a crayfish! it was a great experience, we learned a lot, and i had a good time floating down the river drinking beers with you guys.

That sounds great sure got my blood pumping nice report. How was the current,tide?

Mooch-they don't want to eat them, they just want your $100!!!

You got that right, Brother Sean!!!
Sorry Mooch... but I don't think your 27 pounder jackpot leader will stand much of a chance against the average fish coming out of the Sac.  At this point, it doesn't matter if the fish have a little color if they're going to be smoked anyways.

Another thing... you'll be surprise how much of a fight these river fish put up.  Two of the battles I saw lasted over twenty minutes with the fish becoming airborne at times.  Very exciting... even compared to ocean caught salmon.

Sounds like  a great way to spend a Sunday........and still sleep in!!!!
Pat

How was the current,tide?

It wasn't bad at all. There was no problem paddling up river. We estimated the flow to be a little over a mile per hour in most parts.

Before I forget... I wanna thank JDyak for doing the homework, setting up the trip, and inviting us!

I won't miss the next trip, any plans for next week?

I would like to respond to Mooch's concerns over the brightness of the fish coming out of the river.

The quality of the fish can vary dramatically.  The further up the river you fish, generally the darker the fish.  The fish in the lower end of the river can be quite fresh.  Two years ago I caught three salmon right in downtown Sacramento.  Two of them still had sea lice on them.  They were FRESH!

Anyway, I'm going out tomorrow and will hopefully end this year's salmon skunk.

We had a great time, I was hoping for a little more flow from the mighty Sac but it was more like a pond.  As Chuck said, we learned alot on how to catch these fish, and I'm sure we will hit it again soon.  There were a couple big boats on the water but other than that, not to much traffic.  Water was warm and both the put in and take out were no problem.

Jdyak

Sounds relaxing. Even though you got skunked the action seemed enough to keep you wanting more.  How long does the run last?
jason

Wish I could have joined you guys but the gaf was extremely low. I'll be out next weekend on the moke again if the weather holds.


-Brian G

I am up for the next trip, jumping salmon big fight sounds like fun Steve

Darn.... I wish I found the following page before our trip to the Sac....

http://www.fishinreport.com/Fishing School/Articles/Alan_Fong/spoon_salmon.htm

They're the same tips that the experienced locals shared with us.  I also posted the link in our General Fishing Tips section.

I realized what we were doing wrong.  We were jigging too fast.  We needed to drop slower, keeping the line tight.  We also noticed that the locals were rigging their Gibbs Minnows upside down with the treble hook attached to the heavier head end of the lure to prevent fluttering on the drop.  We were told that most of the salmon are hooked on the drop.