Just in time to start off the 2020 New Year. The striped bass bite on the Sacramento River goes ballistic! Best described as a “wide open” glide bait bite. These larger then average striped bass are gorging themselves on hatchery (Colman National Fish Hatchery) raised Late Fall Run Chinook Salmon juveniles, as well as hatchery raised steelhead juveniles. Both species released by the federally run hatchery, in the past couple weeks. Predation started taking its toll on the nearly one year old (10-12 inch) juvenile salmon and steelhead, immediately! The stripers have gathered in large schools in the narrow choke off points, or natural funnels of the Sacramento River. Leading the “out migrating” juveniles right into the feeding striped bass. Having little or no chance of safe passage. They are being preyed upon very successfully by the astonishingly adaptable, highly aggressive, non native striped bass. They have been so full of these juveniles they are puking them up when being boated by anglers. Not to mention the dozens that appear when processing the bass.

This photograph from fishing charter SalmonSacRiver was taken by angler Brett Wooley from Northern California on December 31, 2019.

We are faced with a moral dilemma here. The non-native striped bass are highly desired by some fishing groups and organizations in California. Others would rather see the stripers be completely removed from local water ways. The highly adaptable striped bass will never be completely removed from western waters at this point. We are forced to deal with their existence and ferocious appetite, as they eat their way through struggling salmon runs here in Northern California. There are several solutions to curve the toll striped bass and other predation have on the juvenile salmonoids of the Sacramento Valley. These solutions would have to do directly with increased water releases. Naturally or artificially raised flows would make for much safer passage for the out migrating juveniles, as well as more appropriately timed releases of the young steelhead and salmon juveniles. For example…timed release in accordance to a major pacific storm, harboring significant precipitation and rain fall totals. There are options on both sides of the “kill or protect” striped bass dilemma currently taking place in our state. No one side is willing to budge at this point, turning a blind eye on the current massacre taking place on the 2020 year class of steelhead and Late Fall Run Chinook Salmon. Only time will tell in determining the extent of the damage that the last two weeks of this around the clock feeding frenzy has done to this years class of anadromous fish species of the Sacramento River. Sadly! It’s far from over for these tax payer raised juveniles. As long as the Sacramento River remains at its current hydrological condition, the out migration of these juveniles will be very slow and detrimental.. With the low clear water of the Sacramento River at its current state, and little to no precipitation forecasted in the near future, the year old salmon and steelhead who three years from now will make up the greatest majority of the returning salmon run are and will continue to be relentlessly devoured by the highly adaptable and intelligent striped bass. Dwindling the number of survivors to a fraction of the 2020 year class that was supposed to hit the Pacific Ocean. As the survivors make their way down the remaining 150+ miles of striper infested water ways, they are continually being chased closely on their journey. The striped bass that have turned and followed the mass migration down river, are eating day and night the entire way down the Sacramento River. Yes folks…we have a dilemma here!!

Robert Petty of northstatesalmon.com took this photograph of a juvenile steelhead trout, that was consumed by a 22 inch striped bass on New Years Day 2020.

To say striped bass and salmon/steelhead have co-existed for over a century, would be an accurate statement in some regards. Claiming this phenomenon has always occurred in the Sacramento River as it has is accurate. What both sides of the kill or protect striped bass dilemma fail to realize and understand is that “yes” stripers and salmon have co-existed for the most part over the past century or more, but…understand this, they co-existed under totally different circumstances then what faces them now. There were no river water cut backs, with minimum legally allowed water flows on the Sacramento River in mid October lasting all winter. We historically had much more wet winters. Higher river and reservoir levels. The Red Bluff Diversion Dam was in place and operating, and with the removal of changed the rivers dynamics tremendously. There was no federally mandated regulations regarding water releases or restrictions based on the federally endangered Winter Run Salmon. Which this run takes top precedence over any and all other runs of salmon. It’s all a mess really! The fact of the matter is that in these times striped bass on certain annual occasions are causing unnecessary and undeniable permanent damage to salmon stocks in the Sacramento Valley…period!!

Striped Bass enthusiasts Brett Wooley shows of a dandy striper he caught while casting glide baits on the Sacramento River earlier this week.

Both of these species can again co-exist. This benefitting both striped bass organizations and enthusiasts, as well as preserving historic salmon runs in the North State. This will unfortunately never happen if both sides continue to battle one another and bicker about who is right and who is wrong, who is to blame and who didn’t do it correctly. Both sides can get their way if they can figure out how to get a water release from the reservoirs at the precise time future juvenile salmon and steelhead are released, sending them to the Pacific Ocean more quickly and much more safely in the elevated river flows and dirtier water conditions. This making it much more difficult for the striped bass to prey heavily on the hatchery raised juveniles. In the meantime we move forward ignorant to the real ongoings of this current situation, only placing blame and pointing fingers in opposite directions. The fix is simple and benefits both sides, better timing with the release dates (centering the releases around a major rain event) and/or release enough reservoir water to initiate a successful out migration to the Pacific Ocean.

Jeff Berry holds up a trophy 29 pound striped bass he caught on the Sacramento River while fishing with striped bass fishing guide Robert Petty of northstatesalmon.com.

The images in the embed YouTube video are a collaboration of cell phone photos from fishing guides Johnny Eller, Robert Petty, Danny Hamilton, and Mike Rasmussen. As well as photographs from private angler Brett Wooley. These photos were taken from New Year’s Eve day to January 3, 2020. Encompassing a 20 mile stretch of the Sacramento River in Northern California.

This photo is from Sacramento River fishing charter SalmonSacRiver were taken at the end of January 2017. This ongoing problem has been occurring for roughly a half dozen years.

Juvenile steelhead from year class 2017. Recovered from the stomachs of striped bass caught on the Sacramento River during the first week of February, 2017. Near Colusa, Ca. The majority of this year class of juveniles is due to return this coming f… — Juvenile steelhead from year class 2017. Recovered from the stomachs of striped bass caught on the Sacramento River during the first week of February, 2017. Near Colusa, Ca. The majority of this year class of juveniles is due to return this coming fall of 2020.

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