• March Madness Meets Home-Lake Advantage

Lake County bass pro Mark Crutcher and his partner, Greg McCosker, ran away with the inaugural America’s Vanity Cup Bass Tournament on Sunday on Clear Lake.

Their two-day total weight for 10 bass was a record 74.20 pounds.

Crutcher and McCosker beat runners-up Wayne Breazeale and Bernie Giordano by over 11 pounds. A total of 72 boats fished in perfect conditions out of Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa.

Local favorites Chad Hole and Bob Myskey fought the good fight but couldn’t keep up with Crutcher and McCosker.

Hole pointed out that he and his partner, J.R. Beaty, weighed in 46 pounds of fish and did not come close to a check — yet that same weight in an earlier derby gave them a first-place finish.

• Napa River

This just in: It took a 40-pound striper to win last weekend’s Al’s Ark Striper/Sturgeon Derby. Second place fell to a 38-pounder. As you can see, the big fish are on the chew. Derby organizers are still finishing the final winner’s list. We’ll have the major prize winners for you next week.

Meanwhile, plan to go fishing while this weather is almost perfect. The guys at Sweeney’s Sports say that all striper systems are working, but bait may be your best bet.

• Lake Berryessa

The bass bite here has gone wide open. Anglers are sight-fishing bass in the shallows. The nice thing about Berryessa is the presence of both large mouth and small mouth bass. It is a challenge because each specie may require a different setup for best results.

Bring your favorites; ask a tackle shop for suggestions to round out your kit.

Target 1- to 2-pound trout at eight feet in front of Skier’s Cove. Run down to 40 feet in the Narrows for salmon. Drag Pins Minnows or Needlefish. Tiny jigs for crappie at the crack of dawn.

• San Pablo Dam

Reservoir

Top of the news — water temperature is up to 52 degrees and triggering a broad bite. Eight-year old girl lands a 5.5-pound trout. There were 25 more whopper trout (5 pounds-plus) recorded — making 125 total. This does not include all the big ones that are caught but not weighed in.

There are 2,400 pounds of trout to be planted Friday. This is on top of 10,000 pounds planted in the past month. Fish with Powerbait in the chartreuse, rainbow glitter, lime twist colors. Try a crawler/Powerbait egg combo. Target the 10-foot depth.

Hungry bass have discovered one of the spots where the trout are dropped in — near the launch ramp. So, ply that area with your favorite trout pattern bass lures. Look for the bass and catfish bite to improve along with increasing temperatures.

We’ll try to keep you posted on the crappie bite as well.

• Bodega Bay

Dicey weather has keep the fleet close to home. As I write this, Bodega Charters’ real-time weather station says that winds are 19 knots with gusts up to 23 and waves to 8.2 feet.

It may be the reason the giant squid bite is ending. Better spend your time getting your 2007 sport fishing license — and booking a salmon trip. Call Bodega Charters at 391-7772; the king salmon season opens on April 7. Not too far off is the June 1 date for rock and ling cod.

• Sacramento River

With flows at 5500 cfs, the Sac is in perfect shape for some early spring wild rainbow trout action on flies. Drifting from Redding to Anderson will target some big trout hide-outs. Our best fish here was 7 pounds, caught and released by Stan Press just south of Redding.

Increase your catch rate with a private lesson with pro river guide Kirk Portocarrero. Call him at (800) 670-4448.

• California Delta

Sturgeon anglers have been operating under new regulations in California since March 1.

The new slot limit is 46 to 66 inches. You can only keep one per day, and you can only keep three per year.

New 2007 licenses have the reporting blocks on them and come with tags that must be afixed to the sturgeon you keep.

If you have an earlier 2007 license, I’m told that license sellers have separate recording cards and tags.

While I’m cautiously in favor of sound regulations to sustain fisheries, I wish the DFG would concentrate more efforts to catch and prosecute poachers who kill sturgeon.