Pro-Cure, Angler West Television, Bob Simms And Fish Sniffer Staff Team With Canevaro To Take On Delta Stripers And Sturgeon   By: Cal Kellogg December 24, 2007 More Articles by Cal

Nearly a year ago Captains Barry and Diana Canevaro, Hippo Lau and I got together with Justin Wolff and filmed an episode of Angler West Television focused on catching delta stripers. 

We caught quite a few bass during the filming using Barry’s unique bait fishing techniques. The show that resulted was as entertaining as it was instructive and both Barry and I have gotten a lot of positive feedback every time the show has aired. 

Barry is a pro staffer for Pro-Cure and we are both big believers in the effectiveness of Pro-Cure products when it comes to catching stripers and sturgeon in delta waters. With the warm reception that the Angler West show got in mind, I gave Phil Pirone, the president of Pro-Cure a call last summer and asked him if he would like to produce an instructional DVD detailing how Pro-Cure products are part of the system that Barry uses for tempting stripers and sturgeon in the delta. 

Phil was pretty enthusiastic about the idea and after looking at our schedules Barry, Phil and I settled on November 6 and 7 for filming. The first day we would concentrate on stripers and the second day we would chase sturgeon. 

Several weeks before Phil was set to arrive and with a fantastic striper bite raging in the west delta, I contacted Justin Wolff and asked him if he’d like to shoot a second delta striper fishing show. Justin liked the idea, as long as we could cover both trolling and bait fishing so this year’s show wouldn’t be a repeat of what we did last year. I told Justin that trolling would be no problem and we set November 14 as the date for filming. 

When I go out on the water to write a feature article for the Fish Sniffer, there is certainly some pressure to catch fish regardless of the conditions. At this point, I seldom get skunked so I don’t really worry about catching fish. Plus, if I get blanked I generally have the time to hit the location a second time and come up with the photos I need for the article.

Heading out to film a DVD or television episode is different. I call it pressure fishing. There are always a lot of logistics involved in filming. Since everyone in the fishing industry stays pretty busy, coordinating schedules is always a challenge. When you overcome all the challenges and the filming day arrives there is a lot of pressure to catch fish, because the last thing you want to do is waste the time of everyone involved. 

Phil and Marc Davis, Phil’s camera man and video editor, drove down to Pittsburg from Oregon on November 5 and rolled into the Pittsburg Marina at 7 o’clock on the morning of the 6th. Over the two weeks prior to their arrival both Barry and I had been enjoying very good striper action, so we were pretty relaxed as we motored out of the marina aboard the Fish ‘N’ Fool IV. 

After running across the Sacramento River below Chain Island we turning into Montezuma Slough and Barry started scanning the bottom for fish with his sonar unit. The sonar returns looked good in several locations, but a stiff breeze limited our options in terms of where we could anchor and still have good conditions for filming. 

Finally we found a spot that was out of the wind and showed signs of fish activity. Barry and I rigged up four rods. We baited two of them with fresh shad and the other two sported live bullheads. With the baits in the water, I pitched out a handful of finely cut shad for chum and the waiting began. 

Within the first hour we got a few short runs, but the bass just didn’t want to commit. Finally, about 90 minutes into the trip Phil got a solid run on a filleted shad dyed chartreuse with Pro-Cures Bad Azz U.V. bait dye. Phil engaged the reel and proceeded to boat the first striper of the trip, a feisty 6 pounder. 

With a fish in the box we were pretty optimistic, but as the morning progressed it became clear that the bass just were not on the feed. We shot all the how to striper fishing segments that were needed, but we only managed 3 small keepers and a handful of shakers. 

The next day we targeted sturgeon at a variety of locations in the upper reaches of Suisun Bay, but the action was even slower than it was on day one. We got a lot of great how to footage on tape, but were only able to boat one small keeper striper. 

When the two days of filming came to an end, Phil was happy with all the instructional material we captured on tape, but it was clear that we need more footage of fish being caught. Since Pro-Cure is a long time sponsor of Angler West Television, Phil was hopeful that Justin would get some extra fish catching footage the following week that he could use on the Pro-Cure DVD. 

Naturally as soon as Phil left the striper bite got right back on track and Barry went back to producing big stripers for his clients on a daily basis. When Justin and Bob Simms of KFBK radio boarded the Fish ‘N’ Fool IV on November 14, Barry and I should have been feeling pretty confident, but we weren’t. We were actually holding our breath hoping the bite wouldn’t shut off the way it had for Phil and Marc the week before. 

In reality, we didn’t have anything to worry about. After motoring into Montezuma Slough we put out four rods. Three of them were armed with new prototype P-Line Predator Lures and one sported a deep diving Yo-Zuri. Almost as soon as we got the lures in the water fish started coming into the boat. Most of the fish were schoolie size keepers, but I hooked and lost one that felt like a real monster. 

Bob had the hot hand and was really letting me know it. At one point he was telling us how much he like his trolling rod. A few minutes later he hooked a fish on it and handed it off to me. The bass wasn’t very big, but when I tried to lift it into the boat the rod snapped in half with a loud crack. We were all laughing so hard that out eyes were watering, but then things turned serious. Barry was laughing and trying to get the hooks out of the fish when it suddenly thrashed and imbedded one of the trebles in his finger. 

I grabbed the fish and held it so it couldn’t struggle while Bob got the hooks out of its mouth. Barry remained amazingly calm. He planned to push the hook through the skin and then cut off the barb, but when he attempted to push it through the barb miraculously came loose. With a bandage and a little antibiotic cream, Barry was as good as new and ready for action. 

Having caught and released 7 keepers in a little over an hour while trolling, we decided to head back out into the main river in hopes of catching some larger bass in the deep water near Pittsburg on bait. 

After dropping the anchor in 37 feet of water. Barry tossed out 3 rods baited with bullheads and one rod baited with fresh shad dyed chartreuse. Dead bullheads had been the hot ticket over the past couple days, so Barry killed two of the bullheads and left one of them alive. 

At first we didn’t get any action, but as the outgoing tide began to slow we started getting some tugs and taps. Presently, Bob’s rod armed with the shad started to slowly pump. “That looks like a sturgeon bite,” I said a beat before Bob drove the hook home. Right away we could tell it was a big fish. 

Barry uses light tackle and 12 pound test P-Line when striper fishing, so Bob had his hand full. He had been fighting the fish for a few minutes when it headed for the surface and made a wild jump right next to the boat. I was right, it was a sturgeon and it looked to be close to keeper size.

After making a dive, it ran out to a point about 100 feet off the starboard side and made a beautiful tail walking leap. Hitting the water, it dove back toward the bottom and the fight became a give and take wrestling match. Bob kept steady pressure on the powerful fish, gradually wearing it down. When the diamond back came to the surface next to the boat, Barry scooped it into the net and brought it aboard.

The tape revealed that it was 43 inches long. While the sturgeon was too small to keep, it was a beautiful thick bodied fish that put up a great fight on light tackle. 

A few minutes after Bob released his sturgeon, something picked up my live bullhead and streaked off. I let the fish run for several yards before engaging the reel and setting the hook. The fish was powerful and immediately ran up to the front of the boat and the line wrapped around the anchor chain. 

Acting quickly, Bob scurried up to the bow while Barry started raising the anchor. I handed the rod up to Bob with line still streaming out of the reel. I feared that the anchor chain would cut the line, but the P-Line CXX held and Bob was able to free it from the chain. Bob passed the rod back to me and I gingerly played the big bass up to the waiting net. Barry’s Boga Grip revealed that the handsome striper weighed an even 13 pounds. After reviving the bass for a few minutes it swam off tired but healthy. 

Bob brought the day to an exciting conclusion when a 10 pound striper inhaled his dead bullhead literally during the final minute of the trip. The bass put up a spirited fight, but Bob brought it to the boat without incident and I grabbed it with the Boga. 

Not only did the day provide plenty of exciting delta action, but it also generated all the footage need for both a segment of Angler West Television and the Pro-Cure DVD. I should have had a feeling of satisfaction and I did, but it was tempered with an equal measure of relief. After all, the only thing more likely to shut down a bite than fishing with an outdoor writer is fishing while trying to shoot a T.V. show!