NorCal Tuna Fishing 101
Fishing Report
Fly Fishing Update for Putah Creek
Live Bait Update
Weekly Sale Specials
The Bluefin are here.
We are getting tons of questions and gear requests from customers so I’ve searched far and wide to give you the latest and most complete info on where to find Bluefin Tuna and how to fish for them.
NorCal Bluefin Tuna Fishing 101
Bluefin tuna are back in Norcal, and they're bigger and better than ever! If you're a private boater looking to learn more about tuna fishing, the tutorial linked below is for you. Ryan Giammona covers everything from gear preparation to the basics of tuna fishing. He also shares some tips and tricks he learned over the years.
Here are some of the things you'll learn in this tutorial:
How to choose the right gear
How to read birds and find tuna
How to rig your bait
How to cast and retrieve your line
How to fight and land a tuna
I, like Ryan, would also recommend going out with an experienced tuna fisherman for a day, as they can show you all of this information in real time and answer any questions you have.
Tuna gear in stock at Sweeney's
Madmacs (in stock next week)
MADMACS160-OMNomadMadmacs 160 Sinking High Speed - 6" OM - Orange MackerelMADMACS160-SGMNomadMadmacs 160 Sinking High Speed - 6" SGM - Silver Green MackerelMADMACS160-WHOONomadMadmacs 160 Sinking High Speed - 6" WHOO- WahooliganMADMACS130-SGMNomadMadmacs 130 High Speed SNK 5" - SGM - Silver Green MackerelMADMACS130-SMNomadMadmacs 130 High Speed SNK 5" - SM - Spanish MackerelMADMACS130-SARNomadMadmacs 130 High Speed SNK 5" - SAR - Sardine
Line (in stock now)
We are working on bringing a selection of rods and reels into the shop. Stay tuned.
Fishing Report
Lake Berryessa
Kokanee fishing is still hit-or-miss, and landlocked king salmon fishing has slowed down a bit. Troll speedy shiners behind a dodger at a depth of 30-70 feet. Another option is to troll anchovies behind a bright-colored dodger using a Pro-Troll Roto Chip electronic bait holder. The Narrows is the best place to start, but you may have to cover some water to find them. The trout bite is fair.
The algae bloom that is occurring right now has dispersed the baitfish, and the fish are scattered. You’ll have to put in some effort to find them. As the bloom disperses, fishing should improve significantly over the coming weeks.
Check out the kayak bass fishing video report by Anthony Nordstrom Fishing:
Napa River
Fishing for stripers in the Napa River has been good recently. Anglers have been finding schools of fish throughout the river and in the sloughs. Many of the fish are small, but there have been some larger fish caught, up to 20 inches long. The water is still fairly stained, so use loud rattletraps and white swimbaits.
Live bait, such as ghost shrimp, grass shrimp, pile worms, and bullheads, has also been successful. For bank fishing, use cut anchovies or any of the live bait above. You can also catch your own live bait using red worms and a bobber setup.
As to the sturgeon, we went out for a short night fishing trip last Friday and didn’t really get good marks in the main river. The week before I was marking dozens of them in the usual spots south of Cuttings Warf, but not today. We didn’t have time to run into these sloughs, but that’s where I would scan if I went fishing this weekend. We used a combo of cured ghost shrimp and frozen grass shrimp and got a couple of strong bites, but no hookups. Wish we had live bait. Speaking of live bait, check our live bait section below for updates.
Fly Fishing Report
Putah Creek Fishing Report
7-19-23 Flows 599 CFS
The creek is fishing Fair to Slow.
Fish early to beat the heat. Report that changing midge nymph patterns/colors equaled hookups. The road is open with single-lane stop signals below pullout #3 where the road was washed out.
BWO—Hogan’s S&Ms, FB Pheasant tails, Quilldigon, May it be, micro may, juju baetis….#18-20
Midges—--WD-40, zebra midge, jujubee midge….#20-22 Adams #16 or Elk Hair Caddis #14-16. Streamers along the edges may be worth a shot Sculpzilla, Near Nuff Sculpin. San Juan and Squirmy worms.
Live Bait
This week we are picking up a couple of pounds of Live Grass and were able to get our hands on the box of Pile Worms! Expecting to be in the shop by 12 pm this Thursday, July 20th.
We are finalizing plans for rebuilding and expanding our live bait management facilities. Expect a lot more in the Live Bait department in the very near future.
Weekly Specials
Our weekly specials are still on. Check out the video for details
Product | Regular Price | Sale | |
P-LINE C21 MONO CLEAR 15 LB 300 YDS #C21F-15 | $6.49 | $3.97 |  |
Rage R35500 trypan | $49.99 | $19.97 |  |
Velvet Antler Technologies Blood Remover 12 FL OZ | $19.99 | $9.97 |  |
Flying Fisherman Teaser Sun Glasses | $24.95 | $16.97 |  |
Raptor trick 100 2-inch cutting diameter | $46.99 | $23.97 |  |
HORNADY 45 CAL BULLETS 325GR FTX | $49.9 | $36.97 |  |
STOEGER M3000 12GA 19" | $699.00 | $599.97 |  |
CHRISTENSEN ARMS MESA TI .308 WIN 22 IN GRY | $1,899.99 | $1,599.97 |  |
HAWKE LRF 1000 HIGH 0-LED 6x21 RANGE FINDER | $249.99 | $189.97 |  |
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