Two Pipe Bombs Landed by Fishermen on the Sacramento River

It seemed like just another day on the water for fisherman Jon Kenyon, who’s been a guide on the Sacramento River for 15 years. He’s caught plenty of items on the river including lawn chairs, anchors and plenty of fish. But nothing could have prepared him for what he pulled into his boat this week.

Kenyon, along with his father-in-law, snagged something in the river near the mouth of Battle Creek. When they were bringing it into the boat, he thought it might be an anchor, but after a closer look, his father-in-law realized it was, in fact, a pipe bomb.

“That’s a bomb!” screamed his father-in-law. “Get everybody to the front of the boat.”

After contacting the Tehama County Sheriff, another bomb was hooked by a nearby fisherman. Upon arrival, the Shasta County Bomb Squad were able to destroy the bombs onsite. So what the heck were bombs doing at the bottom of the Sacramento River? Kenyon thinks they’re from fishermen looking to score an easy catch.

“I think that they are probably trying to blowup salmon and knocking them out and trying to take them, that’s what I think,” Kenyon told KRCR.

Officials are asking the public to be careful while fishing in the area of Battle Creek on the Sacramento River, since there could be more bombs in the water. If you have any information on the bombs, contact the Tehama County Sheriff’s Boating Safety Unit at (530) 529-4172.