Top Anglers - Northern California Fishing Guide

The Striped bass is a saltwater species that comes into freshwater to spawn. To watch them spawn is amazing: they do not make a nest, instead they spawn on the surface. Sometimes when you are just sitting, quietly fishing, you might suddenly see fish everywhere around you. Striped bass are also vicious and powerful, and would like nothing more than to rip your line right off the reel. They’ll attack almost anything that looks like food and have been known to grow up to 75 lbs. They are found in both the Sacramento River and the Feather River.

The sturgeon is a fish that goes back to prehistoric times. They are bottom feeders and have cartilage rather than true bones. They take bait lightly and you must let them take the bait and the hook long enough to get it into their cerbascus (sucker mouths). Hold on tight and don’t let go, because once you’ve hooked one of these guys, you won’t have a fight, you’ll have a battle. You’ll find you have muscles in your body you never knew existed. They can be found in Shasta Lake and the Sacramento River. They grow to be very large and weights have been recorded in the triple digits. They’ve been known to live over 100 years, and some experts believe they can live many years longer. Their full life span is unknown.

This highly prized game fish is an oceangoing trout that comes into the river system to spawn. After spawning, Steelhead return to the ocean to repeat the cycle, and return as larger fish. They are a monster of a fish—very smart—they keep you on your toes through tricks, like trying to break your line by maneuvering it into snags and various other places. They are acrobats that leap out of the water to shake the lure. They can be caught on roe, glo-bugs, various flies and hard crank baits. They can be found in the Sacramento River, the Feather River and the Trinity River where fish up to about 19 lbs have been caught. When you hook one of these, be prepared for a battle of wits.

Species	Image	Weight in pounds	Date	Angler
King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		52.00	Nov 15	Gilbert Nuñez Santa Maria, California
Landlocked King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		10.06	Apr 12	Lisa Standish Phoenix, Arizona
Anadromous Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) Oncorhynchus mykiss		16.05	Nov 10	Dean Henderson Fernley, Nevada
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Brown Trout Salmo trutta
White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus		60.00	Mar 2	Ken Hoffman Anderson, California
Striped Bass (Striper) Morone saxatilis		28.00	May 28	Jeremy Mayfield Springfield, Missouri
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides		16.02	Jun 14	Ken Hoffman Anderson, California
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus
American Shad Sphyraena argentea		4.05	Jun 7	Mike Portz Las Vegas, Nevada

Species	Image	Weight in pounds	Date	Angler
King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		52.00	Nov 15	Gilbert Nuñez Santa Maria, California
Landlocked King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		10.06	Apr 12	Lisa Standish Phoenix, Arizona
Anadromous Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) Oncorhynchus mykiss		16.05	Nov 10	Dean Henderson Fernley, Nevada
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Brown Trout Salmo trutta
White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus		60.00	Mar 2	Ken Hoffman Anderson, California
Striped Bass (Striper) Morone saxatilis		28.00	May 28	Jeremy Mayfield Springfield, Missouri
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides		16.02	Jun 14	Ken Hoffman Anderson, California
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus
American Shad Sphyraena argentea		4.05	Jun 7	Mike Portz Las Vegas, Nevada

Species	Image	Weight in pounds	Date	Angler
King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		47.0	Dec 17	Jerry Christensen Anderson, CA
Landlocked King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		5.0	Mar 10	Moe Redding, CA
Anadromous Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss		3.5	Feb 25	Shane Tiburon, CA
Brown Trout Salmo trutta		4.5	Jan 31	Tom San Francisco, CA
White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus		95.0	Mar 12	Charles Cotton Stockton, CA
Striped Bass (Striper) Morone saxatilis
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides		2.5	Jul 29	Mike La Crescenta, CA
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus		4.5	Feb 17	Moe Redding, CA
American Shad Sphyraena argentea		6.6	Jun 5	Rabi Fremont, CA

Species	Image	Weight in pounds	Date	Angler
King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		45	Sep 8	Dave Geeting Thousand Oaks, CA
Landlocked King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha		4.0	May 27	Trudy Modesto, CA
Anadromous Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Brown Trout Salmo trutta
White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus		70.0	Apr 20	Jim Hamilton CA
Striped Bass (Striper) Morone saxatilis		5.0	May 14	Ralph Gobel Rio Vista, CA
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus
American Shad Sphyraena argentea

Species	Image	Weight in pounds	Date	Angler
King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Landlocked King Salmon (Chinook) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Anadromous Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) Oncorhynchus mykiss		6.5	Mar 11	Javier CA
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Brown Trout Salmo trutta
White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus		235.0	Feb 15	Dale, Andy, Ramsey, and Randy CA
Striped Bass (Striper) Morone saxatilis		10.5	Apr 14	David CA
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus
American Shad Sphyraena argentea

River Pirate Hall of Fame - Top Anglers Year-To-Date Sport Fishing Records

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