(Stockton) Striped bass remain the top species in the San Joaquin River, but the encroachment of water hyacinth continues to plague boaters in the East Delta.
Water hyacinth has clogged up all of the boat ramps in the Stockton area with Ladd’s Marina, Louis Park, and the Morelli Boat Launch all loaded with the aquatic vegetation. The section from the Interstate 5 Bridge to Weber Point in Stockton is choked with hyacinth, and freezing temperatures are necessary to cause the weeds to die off and sink. As a result, East Delta boaters are heading further west to launch, and the Lazy M Marina and River’s End have become more popular in the past few weeks.
Brandon Gallegos of H and R Bait said, “Stripers in the 12 to 13-pound range have been caught near the Highway 4 Bridge on the Old River and there have also been limits of stripers in the 24 to 26-inch range on the Bacon Island Road side of the Middle River near the Bullfrog Marina. Bluegill are biting like crazy, and we sold out of 20 dozen red worms over the weekend with the best fishing off of Whiskey Slough, off of Inland Drive, and near the Tracy Oasis.”
“Discovery Bay is starting to come into play for striped bass, and there have been some good reports in the area. Crappie are showing up near Turner Cut on mini crawlers under a bobber near the docks,” said Gallegos.
Chris Lauritzen of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley said, “As far as I am concerned, False River is open to all boat traffic. Watch out if there are still buoys in False River alerting boater to the construction site. For the past month or so the Ross Island Dredge number 8 has been working on either the Sacramento River or now on the San Joaquin River conducting maintenance dredging for the Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton. Currently the Dredge #8 is on the San Joaquin River between markers 21 & 23 at Jersey Island. “