Bill Lynch: Bay fishing is still great

Striped bass and halibut fishing is still excellent in San Francisco Bay with the only negative factor being the wind.|

Striped bass and halibut fishing is still excellent in San Francisco Bay with the only negative factor being the wind. The wind howled most of the week, keeping most anglers off the waters. But those who managed to get out between blows had lots of success with many stripers and halibut caught.

Lots of the bay-based party boats combined excursions beyond the gate to take limits of rock fish and lots of lingcod, and then returned inside the bay to bring home limits of stripers.

Capt. Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sportsfishing is still finding lots of ling cod and limits of rock fish for his clients off the Sonoma and Marin coast.

Rick is looking for the opening of salmon season on June 17 and will be offering combo trips for rock fish, lings and salmon. Call him at 875-3344 to book a trip.

Further north, trout fishing on the lower and upper Sacramento runs from excellent to good depending on where and when you fish. The flows are normal for this time of year and there are plenty of fish everywhere.

I talked to Bob Grace at the Ted Fay Fly Shop in Dunsmuir who said that the upper Sac is on the verge of a good dry-fly season and the weather has been friendly to anglers heading up there.

Trout Unlimited set out an announcement this week that there are still a few spots left for its youth fly fishing camp in Truckee, June 23 and 24. The two-day event is for youths ages 10 through 12 and will include the important elements of fly-fishing, from casting and fly tying to insect identification and conservation ethics.

The location will be at the Resort at Squaw Creek. The cost is $150 per camper

For more information and to sign up email thomas.kloehn@tu.org or call (77) 332-0551.

Of course, my friend Rachel Andras on the Rogue River near Ashland, Oregon, offers the best fly-fishing camp for kids. She has four, five-day camps scheduled for kids ages 9 through 15. They are day programs that run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include everything. I’ve visited Rachel’s camps, and the kids love them.

For parents or grandparents, there’s Ashland, where you can take in several summer Shakespeare Festival performances and enjoy fabulous restaurants.

For more information on Rachel’s classes call 800-488-5794, or go to kidsflyfishingcamp.com.

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