Local anglers who enjoy fishing for striped bass in the sloughs south of town, or the bay, the Napa River or somewhere in the Sacramento River system, should consider joining the California Striped Bass Association, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and promote fishing for stripers, and the waters in which they dwell. Isleton-Delta is the nearest active chapter of CSBA. Ken Baccetti of San Francisco is the president of that chapter.
If you want to get to know some of the North Bay area folks involved, the chapter is holding its annual Crab Feed on Feb. 18 at St. Joseph’s Church Hall in Rio Vista.
If you’re interested in joining, or at least attending the crab feed, email Ken at CSBAisleton@yahoo.com, or call him at 415-602-1298. When you join, you start receiving their monthly newsletter, which includes a fishing report for the bay and delta areas. The most recent reports say striped bass and sturgeon action is increasing in both the delta and the bay.
Ken also included a crab cioppino recipe with its own CSBA flair, as follows:
1 large cooked crab, ½ cup olive oil, 1 small white onion, 2 large garlic cloves (chopped), 4 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 pound striped bass meat (cut in chunks), ½ pound frozen or fresh prawns, 1½ pound clams in shells, ½ pound scallops.
Crack the crab legs, leave whole. Take meat from bodies and cut up. Brown onion and garlic in large pot over medium heat. Add parsley, mix well. Add tomato sauce and seasonings. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Add fish, prawns, clams and scallops and let cook over low heat for another 20 min. Do not stir, but shake pot occasionally. Add crab and heat just until crab becomes hot (about 5-10 min Again, do not stir. Serve with lots of french bread, accompanied with salad, pasta and a favorite white wine.
Steelhead fishing has picked up recently on the Trinity and Klamath Rivers according to Anthony Carruesco, guide and owner of AC Fly Fishing in Redding. His email to me this week also reported excellent winter trout action on the lower Sacramento River near Redding right now. The current break between rainstorms would be an excellent time to head north to fish for trout or steelhead. Anthony would be an excellent first call at 800-201-5047, or go to his website at acflyfishing.com.
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