Simple things make holidays special

Christmas season in the modern culture is a time for over indulgence, hectic shopping binges and too much time spent in front the television or hand-held technology. Maybe, we should be more like a Labrador and get down to essentials.

Our Lab awakens each day with a quiet howl and incessant tail wagging before roaming every corner of the kitchen and dining room searching for any fumbles, pieces of food that have been inadvertently dropped. And, after a trip into the chilly outside air she returns to her bed and turns in a circle three times before settling in for a snooze.

Heck, it has taken the Lab eight years to train my wife, but now she makes three revolutions before lying down in bed, too. You see, the simpler things of life can be rewarding.

If I had a wish this time of year it would be that everyone would go outdoors and listen for the distinctive calls of geese flying high overhead through the fog, or gaze at the final colors of the trees as they lose their leaves. I’d wish for folks to go on a quiet walk, maybe along the Calaveras River, Lodi Lake, Mokelumne River at Van Assen Park or a nondescript Delta levee, taking in all that nature has to offer.

San Joaquin County is blessed with so much wildlife that comes each winter without pretention. [Read More]

SACRAMENTO – Salmon fishing is like the “good old days” in the Central Valley this autumn, and no greater concentration of big, rod-straining kings is found anywhere than on the upper American River. Every hole from the Grist Mill to Sunrise is loaded with salmon returning to their river of origin to spawn.

It’s a time to celebrate. Fishing this season for fall-run kings represents a restoration of traditional salmon fishing throughout the state. It’s the first since 2008, when recreational angling was halted because of sagging populations due to poor conditions in the ocean and a lack of food sources.

“Salmon are so resilient and their rebound is a testimony to the resource,” said Mike Pate of Lodi, an expert angler. “This is an epic year for salmon and a tremendous boost to recreational sport fishermen and women who are able to catch fish for the first time in three years.”  [Read More]

Wow! Salmon fishing is back in northern California…check out the article which ran in “The Record” newspaper last week. The above photo was from a fishing trip on the Sacramento River near Isleton a few years ago. I was lucky enough to be on a trip with an old high school buddy who is an “expert” fisherman and who also knows how to find the fish!

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

How about a cheap vacation this year! There is over 1,000 miles of navigable waterways just west of Stockton in the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta. Check out the local marinas for supplies, information, rentals, campsites, docks, food, drink and entertainment.

The fishing is especially fun at night during the summer for catfish and striped bass. The Delta is very well known for being one of the best areas around for large mouth black bass.

There are lots of rivers and sloughs which are perfect for having fun swimming, skiing and boating. Many boaters like to tie up together for a little partying at some of the more popular spots. But, there is also plenty of areas with privacy too!

www.californiadelta.org

www.deltaloop.com

Saturday is opening day for the recreational California salmon season off the coast. Declines in recent years have forced the cancellation of any salmon fishing since 2007.

The short sport season starts Saturday and is currently scheduled to last through the month of April.

For sport fishermen, it’s a chance to get back on the water after the conservation-driven closure. For commercial fisherman, whose season has yet to be scheduled, it’s hope that they, too, might be allowed to return to sea soon, should the recreational catch prove plentiful.

Last year, regulators counted 9,000 “jacks,” or a juvenile salmon, on the Sacramento run, up from 4,000 in 2008 and 2,000 in 2007.

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Stockton, CA welcomes “Bassmaster Elite Series” season opener! Changing weather, unpredictable tidal flow and finicky fish prove challenging even for the best anglers the sport has to offer.

If days of fishing practice are any indication, the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament, “Duel in the Delta,” should produce some explosive weigh-ins this week at the Weber Point Event Center in downtown Stockton, with the winner reeling in the $100,000 top prize. Read more from Peter Ottesen, Record Staff Writer.

“We’re happy to be showcasing Stockton and the fabulous Delta waterways to millions of people,” sports commission director Don Miller said. “For black bass anglers, the Delta is a world-class destination. This tournament will prove it.” 

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 Yes! With the cooler weather of autumn and the first winter storm of the season the San Joaquin River Delta comes alive for the fisherman. The fish start moving around and feeding to get ready for winter. The temperature of the water changes, the swimmers and water skiers are gone, the striped bass run is on. Let’s go fishing!

 The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is an example of an inverted river delta, one of only a few worldwide. The delta consists of myriad small natural and man-made channels (locally called sloughs), creating a system of isolated lowland islands and wetlands defined by dikes or levees. The total area is around 1,100 square miles, around 70 reclaimed islands and tracts, surrounded by 1,100 miles of levees surrounded by 700 miles of waterways. The delta was originally marshland; reclamation was made by the building of levees, by Chinese laborers in the 1850s. Read more…”Thousand Miles of Waterways”

 Here is a link to one of my favorite websites! California Delta

Check out these outstanding websites!

www.californiadelta.org

www.sacdelta.com

www.deltaloop.com

www.deltaboating.com

www.fishsniffer.com