The November bummer of no crab will sting, especially for the party boats, bait shops and commercial anglers relying on the fishery for a good portion of their income. Anglers can help by taking advantage of the excellent rock cod fishing going on in Bodega Bay, outside the Golden Gate, Half Moon Bay, Monterey and Morro Bay. Sierra trout streams close Sunday as does San Pablo Reservoir, But in freshwater, there are stripers in Napa, the lower Delta; black bass attacking at Berryessa and Shasta and a solid trout bite at Los Vaqueros. The Trinity is the most reliable source for steelhead. Here are this week’s Best Bites:

MONTEREY BAY rock cod: Rock cod fishing remains good. Ling cod are being targeted with live bait. Near limits are the norm. Some lings as large as 25 pounds are being caught. Incidental catches of sheephead have been brought up. Bonito are in the area, too. Hammerhead sharks have been witnessed by party boats. (831) 375-5951; (831) 372-7440

LOWER DELTA stripers: Broad Slough, Collinsville and Chain Island are hot spots.
Mudsuckers, shad or minnows work. No bullhead available. A few sturgeon come from Broad Slough.

TRINITY RIVER steelhead: Rain didn’t impact the river clarity. Steelhead bite remains very good, especially from Douglas City to Cedar Flat. Trinity Outdoors (530) 623-4999

NAPA RIVER striped bass: Napa River continues to produce striped bass, lots in the eight pound class. Bait is the way to go for the larger fish. Otherwise troll or throw plugs.
Sweeney’s Sports (707) 255-5544

LAKE SHASTA bass: Everything bass anglers throw will work. Bank anglers get bass with minnows. Top water lures work in the a.m. Plastics and blades produce. Jigs, RoboWorms, crank baits and rip baits. Shad colors should be used. Bass are found from 5 to 30 feet. Phil’s Propeller 1-800-462-3917

LOS VAQUEROS trout: Trout bite is very good. Mt. Lassen plant last week was 2,000 pounds. Another 1,000 pounds went in this week on top of a load from DFW. Best spots are Cowboy Cove and South Cove. Limits are common. (925) 371-2628

LAKE BERRYESSA bass: Tournament last weekend had 4 bass larger than 10 pounds, including a 13 pounder. Tourney was won with a 32 pound bag with two 10s. Drop-shots, Rat-l-Traps or spoons get bass from five to 30 feet of water, There are a lot of large shad balls about the lake. Sweeney’s Sports (707) 255-5544; Don Paganelli (916) 502-3474, http://www.guidebass.net