What's New in the Shop?
We hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving Holiday. Thank you for coming out and supporting us on Black Friday. We had an amazing day while you saved a ton on the gear you love. It's a win-win.
Thank you.
We did raffle off our Surelock Conceal 4-gun safe as a prize for shopping with us on Black Friday. The winner is Alejandro Martizez. Congrats Alejandro!
Many more prizes and giveaways to come.
As we are gearing up for December we received several new and exciting products at the shop. Please watch the video and take a few minutes to walk around the shop floor with Alex to check out what's new. Today we are covering new hats, a nice selection of St. Croix casting rods, Phenix rods paired with recommended reels, Crappie Closet crappie lures, the Wild Thing Italian Stallion striper lures, and our Gun Shop update by Andrew.
New hats are here!
Live Bait Update
While supplies last. Stock up early if you are fishing this weekend. If you need to brush up on best practices to keep your bait alive for 36 hours or more, watch this video.
- Live Grass Shrimp (Friday)
- Live Bullheads/Mudsuckers (Friday)
- Medium, Large, and XL Minnows
Sweeney's Sports Striper Derby
Registrations are coming in! Do it now, before it's too late.
Sweeney's Sports Striper Derby will be hosted on December 15th, 16th, 17th, 2023.
$50 Registration per adult, $25 For children under 16. The top 3 fish by weight win the following (The minimum fish size to qualify for weigh-in is 22 inches).
-1st Place - 50% of the pot.
-2nd Place - 25% of the pot.
-3rd Place - 10% of the pot.
Official weight-ins will only be conducted at the shop (Sweeney's Sports, Napa, CA), at 4pm-5pm, on December, 15th, 16th, and 17th.
The minimum fish size to qualify for the tournament is 22 inches from nose to fork. All weigh-ins must be done no later than 5 pm on each day of the tournament during the shop's official weigh-in window (4-5pm). Please have your fishing license, picture ID, and registration confirmation at the time of weigh-in. The biggest fish will be announced daily, at 5:30pm.
Derby winners will be announced on Sunday, December 17th at 5:30pm. The registration fee isn't refundable or transferable. Must Register by December 10th.
Don't wait. You can also register at the shop.
Fishing Reports
Lake Berryessa
Lake Berryessa trout trolling has been slow since mid-November. The lake is in the process of turning over as the warmer water on the bottom is displacing colder water on top. We are seeing some reports of trout being caught from the bank using live minnows, lures, and PowerBait.
Crappie fishing is also pretty good, but you need to find the schools first. They will be hanging around ledges and sandbars. Crappie move in and out of deep water in schools, looking for comfortable temperatures and bait. Please look out for our Crappie Fishing deep-dive interview with Marlin Carpenter. Marlin is the owner of Crappie Close Lures, which we now stock at the shop.
Bass fishing is fair. Please refer to our winter bass deep-dive interview with Luke for more information on the subject.
Napa River
Striper
Click here for the detailed video on Napa River Striper lures, bait, and tactics.
As the water gets colder we are having more luck experimenting with slowing down the trolling speeds
The Wild Thing deep-diving lure that we make here at Sweeny's is still the king of the hill. Followed closely by gold-colored Spro Akuru Shad and other mulity-colered Rat-L-Traps. You'll find a full variety on offer here at the shop. Experiment with trolling speeds of 2.5-4.5 GPS mph.
Keep changing lures until you get bit. Turn around and troll the same spot again. The fish are typically dialed in on something different every day. The weather, tides, water color, bait fish behavior, wind, pressure, lunar cycle, and a dozen other factors shift constantly. That's why we never get tired of fishing the river. It's an ever-evolving puzzle with an abundance of options and action.
Bank fishermen are doing well with live grass shrimp, pile worms, and frozen anchovies. Use the Magic Thread to keep your bait on the hook.
Sturgeon
We are getting close to the Sturgeon season here on Napa River. As the water gets colder, they will push in from the bay to feed.
Use live Grass or Ghost Shrimp, Pile Worms, Salmon roe, or Eel threaded onto a barbless hook, wrapped with magic thread (twine), and terminated with a bait button.
It's important to keep your bait on the bottom with a 4-8 ounce pyramid sinker and, ideally, a weighted leader. We now make Custom Sturgeon Leaders here at the shop. Come and check them out. $5.99 apiece.
As always,
We truly appreciate every time you walk through our doors. Thank you for choosing to spend your hard-earned dollars with us. It's a privilege to be of service.
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