The Fish Sniffer

(Berkeley) Charter boat activity at East Bay ports is virtually nonexistent. Boats that are still fishing have moved to the north bay in search of sturgeon. The rest of the boats are busy preparing for the up coming salmon and live bait seasons. 

A few private boaters have reported success while targeting sturgeon in the south bay, but the sturgeon bite has been slow most days and only fair on the best days. If you go, mud shrimp and herring fillets are the best offerings. 

Shore anglers are enjoying the best success while working the north, central and southern sections of the bay. Perch are the primary target, but solid numbers of smelt to 20 inches are showing up too.

Grass shrimp and pile worms are the best baits, but ghost shrimp and white prawns will produce strikes too. If you want to target the smelt exclusively try suspending a piece of pile worm pinned on a small hook beneath a bobber.

There have been some scattered reports of anglers hooking halibut on the Berkeley Flats, but these reports have not been confirmed. If halibut are present trollers should be able to hook them while pulling frozen anchovies or herring.