Shag Slough/Liberty Island/Prospect Slough Exploration/Fishing Trip 12-21

I am planning an exploration/fishing trip at Liberty Island. My plan is to launch in the water on Liberty Island and attempt to cross over to Prospect Slough. I want to look for good spots along the way and maybe fish in the shallow waters or in Prospect Slough. Because the water on the island I have been in is too shallow to navigate at low tide, I plan to return to my vehicle by way of Prospect Slough. Anyone that likes the idea of exploring the unknown followed by a long paddle back is welcome. Anyone that has paddled across the island before please chime in with any useful info you have. I have checked out the area on google earth and marked the spots that look to be possible paths to cross the broken levy. I have that loaded into my GPS so hopefully I can use it to navigate a direct route to prospect slough. My main target is Sturgeon, but I may also try for Stripers and or Bass.

ware the tides, I hear they rip through that area at times, haven't been there myself.

We tried to launch from liberty island road last weekend.  There is no shore access unless you belong to a pheasant hunting club across the bridge.  I don't have my map in front of me so I don't know if this is the launch location you were planning.  Another note: Ryers island has no shore access for the public either...

Good luck, I have my ideas, but it sounds like you have it all planned out

Tides out there rip!
Be cautious. And good luck!


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We tried to launch from liberty island road last weekend.  There is no shore access unless you belong to a pheasant hunting club across the bridge.  I don't have my map in front of me so I don't know if this is the launch location you were planning.  Another note: Ryers island has no shore access for the public either...

There is no club that I am aware of. The island is open to the public. There is a sign where the road ends that says the public is welcome to fish and hunt. I have launched next to the bridge many times. Park and wheel your kayak over the bridge and turn left just past the guard rail. Follow the path to the open area on the bank. There is a slot in the bank just the right size to launch into. It is not easy at low tide, but possible. This is the west side of liberty island, not the bridge near Rio Vista.

Here is a link to another topic that shows photos of the bridge and sign.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15725.msg150154#msg150154

That spot your talking about is called Shag slough Tdad. And yes it is legal to fish and park there. easiest way to get there is from Mace rd. in Davis off I-80. Good luck. Lots of sturgies should be in there now

There is no club that I am aware of.

He is talking about Hastings Island, the whole island is a pheasant club, and if you have a memebership, open to you all year, for hunting and/or fishing, there is a launch on the other side you can put a boat in and duck hunt, from the Liberty side you would just have levee, but there is a road there to park on.

ware the tides, I hear they rip through that area at times, haven't been there myself.

The areas where the tide flows off or onto the island can really rip if the water is flowing through a narrow gap. I have fished twice at the south end and it flows pretty good. The gap on the south end is pretty wide. Another time on the west side I paddled against the current into a narrow gap. The flow turned me sideways and pushed me towards the levy. I didn't like the idea of getting grounded in that strong current so I paddled like hell and managed to escape. Lesson learned!  The tide Saturday is not a large change and I know what not to do. Stay out of the ripping current in the narrow areas and wait for slack tide or abandon the plan. 

Good luck, I may be out there somewhere for the mystery Sturgeon. May go out Pre dawn and set up for some ducks too.

That spot your talking about is called Shag slough Tdad. And yes it is legal to fish and park there. easiest way to get there is from Mace rd. in Davis off I-80. Good luck. Lots of sturgies should be in there now

If you're coming from the Sacto area. I live in Vacaville and I get on Hawkins rd and go to 113. Turn right then a quick left onto Binghampton. Follow that road, even though the name changes a couple times at some curves, and it will take you to Liberty Island Rd. Turn right and you are almost there. If you are coming from the Bay Area side or the Rio Vista direction, that way, or some variation to get to 113 is probably better.

We tried from the southern route out of Rio Vista. We had never fished the area and were scouting it out.

We tried from the southern route out of Rio Vista. We had never fished the area and were scouting it out.

Ok. This is a good sticky in the Places to launch forum. It covers the delta. Check out the bottom of the last page.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=5443.45

I should add that if you keep going straight after you go under the gate the road ends in a 100 yards or so. On the left there is a good place to launch. Good, except that it leads to shallow water at low tide. That is where I plan to launch from. I hope to launch at first light.

I made it across Liberty Island in about an hour. I am fishing Prospect Slough. No current to worry about on the island. So far very slow fishing.