OFF THE HOOK: The big one that got away and a bonus flounder

The West Delta, located in the "null zone" where the freshwater of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers mix, is a biologically rich area that features some of the top striped bass fishing in California, particularly during the winter when the stripers move in to feed on threadfin shad, splittail and other forage.

The intersecting mosaic of river channels, sloughs, cuts and baits also features a mixture of white, channel and blue catfish, largemouth bass and starry flounder for boaters and bank anglers to pursue.

However, it is the temperamental white sturgeon that creates the most excitement for myself and fellow Fish Sniffer editor and owner Cal Kellogg. There are few things that will get the adrenaline of both of us going than the chance to feel the sudden, surging weight of one of these prehistoric leviathans as we set the hook.

Mark Delnero of Fin Addict Sportfishing, Kellogg and I were originally set to go striper fishing on the morning of Nov. 22, but Delnero heard of a good sturgeon bite in Suisun Cut. With an outgoing tide of over 7 feet arriving that day, the stage was set for prime sturgeon fishing conditions.

We arrived at the Pittsburg Marina docks early and met fellow Fish Sniffer writer David Hurley. Delnero arrived at the boat around 6:30 am with an array of grass shrimp, salmon roe, eel and threadfin shad for bait.

Delnero first drove the boat west to Suisun Cut to fish the end of the outgoing tide. Delnero and I threw out rods with salmon roe for sturgeon, while Kellogg and Hurley cast out live bullheads to target the striped bass.

Unfortunately, we didn't hook any fish at yesterday's "hot spot." So Delnero moved the boat outside of Ryer Island at Sturgeon Alley.

Delnero marked good numbers of fish on his graph and we soon resumed fishing. We missed a few bites on the incoming tide as we waited for the "hot bite."

Hurley had what he called a "vicious takedown" on his bullhead. However, he forgot to put the reel in free spool and missed his chance to hook the fish on his 12-foot Lamiglas noodle rod.

After Delnero made another move to a depression east of Seal Island, Kellogg saw a classic sturgeon pump on his rod. The fish pumped and held the rod down, and Kellogg slammed the hook into the fish's mouth as the rod doubled over.

The tightened down drag went screaming out. We could tell by the amount of line the fish took out that it was a keeper or oversized sturgeon. Suddenly, to everybody's dismay, the line went slack.

"The line broke," uttered a disappointed Kellogg. He reeled in the line and found out the 80-pound test line had indeed broke on one of the fish's sharp "diamonds," as indicated by the clear break about a half way down the leader. It was yet another proverbial story of "the big one that got a way."

Other than that, we had two other opportunities to hook fish. Kellogg brought to the side of the boat a 21-inch striper that was released.

My moment of glory was in the afternoon when I had what first appeared to be a sturgeon pump. I set the hook and started reeling the fish in, but didn't feel the heavy weight, which is a tell-tale indication that an angler has a big sturgeon on the rod.

When I reeled the fish up to the boat, what emerged was the flat side of a big starry flounder. I pulled the fish, around 3 pounds, into the boat.

Although I was disappointed that it wasn't the keeper sturgeon I had wanted to bring home, it was the largest starry flounder that I had ever hooked.

Starry flounder are an anadromous flatfish that spawns in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and other Delta waterways. They once were abundant in the Bay-Delta Estuary, but became scarce until several years ago when their numbers began to rebound.

We lost a big sturgeon, caught a keeper striper and landed a "lunker" starry flounder on our Thanksgiving week adventure with Delnero in the West Delta. The fishing wasn't red hot, but at least we had some angling excitement on our trip — and Kellogg will forever wonder about the size of the "big one that got away."

On Nov. 27, four anglers fishing with Delnero caught two keeper sturgeon and one 5-pound striper in Suisun. Ellie Suttenfield of Galt caught her first sturgeon measuring 48 inches, while Erin Sherre of Elk Grove bagged a 64-inch sturgeon weighing 51 pounds. On Nov. 25, three anglers fishing with Delnero landed six stripers up to 7 pounds and a 64-inch sturgeon.

For more information about fishing with Mark Delnero of Fin Addict Sportfishing, contact 209-367-HOOK (4665), or go to www.finaddictsportfishing.com.