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VOL . 36 • ISS . 24
F rom my perch near the cabin I saw it all . Rod No . 6 , John Adams ’ s rod , wiggled a little , stopped moving and then wiggled a bit more . A beat later the tip pulled down hard and stayed down pumping and surging ….
Captain Mullins was standing right next to rod No . 6 but he was focused on a tangled leader and didn ’ t see the bite . John saw it .
“ Hayden , something is going on with my rod ,” John said calmly .
Hayden glanced up and you could see his body language go from nonchalance to coiled spring urgency .
Hayden snatched the rod from the holder without raising the tip and drilled the hook home . The fish didn ’ t move an inch . You could see the rod load against the bulk of the unseen sturgeon below . Fish On !
Now John was at his side and Hayden deftly pushed the rod into John ’ s grasp . John had never landed a sturgeon before and his face was cloaked in equal parts of joy and concern . I could read his mind … “ Awesome I ’ m hooked up with a sturgeon . Please don ’ t let it get away before I at least get to see it …”
We ’ ll get back to John ’ s post lunchtime hookup in a little while . The trip I ’ m describing took place on October , Friday the 13th . I ’ d met John walking the dock in the Pittsburg Marina well before dawn on the 13th .
“ Hey man , I ’ m looking for Dragon Sportfishing ’ s big white yacht ,” I told him . “ Do you know where that boat is birthed ?”
I ’ m on the Dragon too . Hayden ’ s boat
isn ’ t in the marina yet . He told me he ’ d pick us up right by the fuel dock ,” he replied .
The plan was for us and five other anglers to meet Hayden , his wife Stacy and Kyle , the Dragon ’ s deckhand at 5:45 . John and I were a good 15 minutes early so we chatted until the Dragon pulled into the marina .
I knew Hayden ’ s boat was big , but when it slid past the marina ’ s outer wall it presented an imposing sight . It was a full blown 60 foot yacht and white as an iceberg , with a massive tuna tower that looked to be a full two stories high .
I could see Hayden high in the tower , working the controls , delicately maneuvering the huge boat up against the dock with the precision of a surgeon .
Minutes later with all the anglers and gear aboard we were off . The hunt for Suisun Bay sturgeon was underway . Hayden took us to the money spot where the mouth of Broad Slough meets the Sacramento River and the anchor was dropped .
“ I saw some pretty good sonar marks .
Hopefully the sturgeon will bite ,” Hayden commented as he and Kyle rigged six rods with leaders sporting globs of awesome looking salmon roe .
With all the rods casted out and resting in holders everyone chose a rod . Hayden ’ s rod holders are numbered left to right , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 . I didn ’ t have a rod in the water . None of the anglers that turned out for the trip had landed a keeper sturgeon . I think every angler should experience the thrill of battling a diamond back and I ’ ve already caught my share , so I figured I ’ d just stay out of the way , take photos and chat with the anglers and crew .
As impressive as the boat looked from the outside looking in . It ’ s all the more impressive when you come aboard and do a little exploring . The back deck is spacious and offers an incredible fishing platform . The cabin
Nov . 10 - 24 , 2017
Yachting For October Sturgeon With Dragon Sportfishing Skipper Hayden Mullins !
WHAT ’ S HOT SALT by Cal Kellogg
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25
Capt . Hayden Mullins ( left ) and John Adams ( the angler , not the President ) pose with John ’ s Friday the 13th West Delta sturgeon . It was John ’ s first ever keeper diamond back and he was pretty happy !
Photo by CAL KELLOGG , Fish Sniffer Staff . is amazing complete with white leather couches , beautiful décor and a big flat screen TV that comes right out of a counter with the touch of a button .
The Dragon is hands down the most impressive boat I ’ ve ever set foot on . If you want to fish in style , the Dragon is the boat for you . It is truly amazing !
While I was profoundly inspired by the Dragon , the sturgeon weren ’ t impressed . Several fish jumped around us , but none of them sampled our roe adorned hooks .
“ Let ’ s reel them up ,” Hayden told us around 9 o ’ clock . “ There are fish here , but I don ’ t squat and rot . I give the sturgeon a chance to bite . If they prove to be off the bite , I head off in search of fish that want to feed .”
Our next stop was in the famous deep hole just off the Pittsburg Power Plant . Hayden saw a few fish on the sonar screen and they may have been biters , but we never got a chance to find out . There was an incredible volume of weeds pushing in with the incoming tide and our lines were constantly fouled with big gobs of salad .
Kyle and Hayden tried to keep pace with the weeds , reeling up , re-baiting and re-casting , in hopes that they would thin out , but they never did . Frustrated with the weeds , Hayden told everyone one to crank in .
Throughout out the morning I ’ d been in touch with several other anglers , but the story was pretty much the same with everyone . The bite was slow , the weeds were brutal and hookups were few and far between .
Long story short , we were on the move again . This time we landed in the storied sturgeon waters of the “ Big Cut .” It ’ s the place you go when you absolutely , positively have to catch a sturgeon and this brings us back to John ’ s hookup that I started to describe at the beginning of this article …
While John hadn ’ t caught a sturgeon before , he does have a lot of experience fishing in general and he ’ d spent quite a bit of time landing salmon and lingcod on charter boats this summer .
As a result , when the sturgeon made
a surge and wrapped another line , John stayed focused and fought right through the tangle .
By this time , Kyle was stalking the back of the boat with a huge net , as Hayden worked to clear tangle .
When the sturgeon glided to the top off the port corner , Kyle was ready and netted the battler with a wild scoop . Just like that John went from sturgeon virgin to veteran . The fish measured 41 inches to the fork , a solid keeper .
We stayed on the case for another couple hours hoping for more action , but it wasn ’ t meant to be . The sturgeon gods weren ’ t smiling on us , although they ’ d given John an encouraging wink at least .
A day spent on the Dragon is a day spent in luxury . Stacy is a great host and Hayden knows all the intricacies of hooking sturgeon and stripers in Delta waters .
Upcoming Hayden plans to begin offering combination sturgeon and striper adventures and I can ’ t wait to join him on the water again . On the striper side Hayden has a passion for soaking large live baits and so do I , because that ’ s how you hook the big boys .
If you ’ d like to join the Dragon Sportfishing Team on the water this fall , give them a call at ( 925 ) 428-1103 .
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captainjgallia @ neweasyrider . com www . neweasyrider . com