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Striped Bass on the fly in the North Bay

Captain John Q from Fall Run Guide Service (3/18/05):

The 2005 season for Striped Bass on San Francisco Bay is underway. The bass showed up in force about 10 days ago when the water cleared after the last heavy storm. The extraordinary heat wave last week certainly may have helped. The water temperature out on the bay was 62 degrees. For several days it felt and looked like we were fishing in September instead of March. Went out several times to check out new equipment on the boat and to see how the fishing was.

The fishing was excellent for this time of year with large numbers of fish in the shallows. To top it off, the fish were nice sized É averaging 4-5 pounds with some 7 to 12 pounders mixed in. Almost none of the dinks that were so prevalent last Fall. Catch rate was high with 2 to 4 fish per rod per hour. The number and size of these early stripers bodes well for a good season! We will have to wait and see how the fishing is after this current storm is finished.

The wind is more of a factor in our Spring fishing on the bay. We can usually count on mornings without wind. Afternoons are much more unpredictable. The little heat waves that last for several days are prime times to fish as long as the tides are good.

All the pertinent information about the 2005 fishing season with Fall Run Guide Service is available at: www.FallRun.com