Gear Up For Crab Season At
26 Oct . 13 - 27 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 22
FRESHWATER REPORTS :
CONTINUED FROM PG 24
LAKE TAHOE cont . His clients are hooking macks running up to 8 pounds .
Bank anglers working around Cave Rock continue to pick up a few rainbows to 15 inches . Inflated works work the best , but casting with Kastmasters and Krocodiles early and late in the day has resulted in a few fish too .
TRINITY RIVER / LAKE
Steelhead Fishing Gets Going
WEAVERVILLE - Fishing pressure has been very light on the Trinity River , due to the closure of fall Chinook fishing this year on the Trinity River from Sept . 1 through Dec . 31 , due to historically low stock projections of fall Chinook in the Klamath Basin .
However fishing for steeLhead remains open on the river , with a daily bag limit of two hatchery steelhead and a possession limit of four hatchery steelhead .
The few people going out for steelhead report good action . “ A 91-year-old guy fishing with guide Bruce McGregor caught and released 3 adult steelhead and two half pounders on McGregor ’ s latest trip ,” said Tim Brady of Trinity Outdoors . “ They landed 3 adults to 4 pounds and two half pounders above Junction City . One fish hit roe and the others fell for hair ’ s ear and pheasant tail nymph fly patterns .”
Black bass fishing at Trinity Lake is still holding solid , but there aren ’ t many people venturing out . People are hooking smallmouth and largemouth bass on the north end while employing jigs , Gitzits , Senkos and other lures , noted Brady . The kokanee salmon fishing is over for
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the season . “ Dave Ruiz of Weaverville reported making his last trip of the year after the fish he caught were transitioning to their spawning colors ,” said Brady . ‘ I haven ’ t heard any trout reports lately , though anglers should be catching some planted rainbows and holdovers while using worms , PowerBait and lures at Lewiston Lake .”
Trinity Lake is holding 1,8000,638 acre feet of water , 74 percent of capacity and 107 percent of capacity .
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WEST DELTA
Striper Limits The Rule , Sturgeon Action Solid Too !
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FRESHWATER
BRANNAN ISLAND - The excitement level couldn ’ t be much higher in the West Delta , while few anglers are hooking salmon , the striper fishing is excellent and the sturgeon fishing is coming on strong !
Captain David Hammond of Delta Pro Fishing has been putting his clients on limits of quality stripers every day while trolling . Hammond has been relying on Yo- Zuri deep running Crystal Minnows for most of his fish .
“ I ’ ve had a long streak of limits on my striper trips this fall ,” related Hammond . “ The bass fishing is great and I don ’ t think it ’ s going to slow down anytime soon . I ’ m going to start mixing in some sturgeon trips over the next several weeks just to keep things fresh . If you want a fast limit of bass give me a call . If you want to exercise your patience for a shot at a monster fish , let ’ s go sit on some sturgeon .”
Trollers aren ’ t the only guys getting in on the hot striper fishing . Pluggers are landing and releasing big numbers of bass that range up to and beyond 25 pounds . Monster topwater plugs work early and late . Fish Traps and Rat-L-Traps work throughout the day . Bait guys are doing well with a variety of baits including shad , chicken liver , sardines , mudsuckers and even live bluegill .
“ I ’ ve been out for sturgeon three times over the past week and I ’ ve landed and release slot size keepers every time ,” disclosed Troy Phillips of Benicia . “ The fish are stack up in the upper part of Suisun Bay in water that is 25 to 40 feet deep . I got one fish on eel , but everything else has come on fresh roe . The outgoing tide seems to be the best , but my buddies have been getting fish on the income too .”
SOUTH FORK / WILD HORSE LAKES
Expect Trout Action To Improve As Water Cools
ELKO - Surface water temperatures are in the high 60 ’ s at Wild Horse with overnight lows dropping into the 30 ’ s and even high 20 ’ s . Expect the surface temperatures to flirt with the high 50 ’ s to low 60 ’ s , said Joe Doucette of the Nevada Department of Wildlife .
“ While the lake has lots of algae expect it to die off with the colder temperatures ,” he advised . “ Fishing has been mostly fair , but expect it to pick up as the water temperatures drop . Shore fishing should start picking up here . Bait fishermen should use the usual worms or PowerBait for trout . Fly rodders should be trying hares ears , PT ’ s , prince nymphs , copper Johns and of course wooly buggers .”
The campground and fish cleaning station are open and on a first come first served basis .
Surface temperatures are hovering around 70 degrees at South Fork , but will be dropping if next week ’ s weather forecast is accurate .
“ Fishing has been just fair here , but as the water temperatures start to decline with the longer , cooler nights , expect trout
We were as excited as kids on Christmas Eve and woke so early that we launched at Cuttings Wharf at 7:15 on Sunday morning , September 3 .
One thing and another – David ’ s diagnosis of carpal tunnel , schedule conflicts on his job , and wind and more wind – had kept us off our beloved Napa River for all but two days this year . Never mind that the full moon was just three days away and that the heat wave continued .
School fish were chasing bait when we arrived at the pond . A bait fisherman in a small aluminum boat anchored inside the pond entrance . We saw him catch one small throwback . He asked how we were doing , and we told him so far nothing . He said he likes the pond although he considers it to be overfished . We didn ’ t admit to being the ones overfishing it .
David caught the first fish , but it was an inch too short . Fifteen minutes later I caught our first legal fish . Fresh fish for dinner !
The water temperature was 76 degrees , but the fish bit anyway . By 10:30 we had four legal fish and headed in .
Courteous David was afraid to ask elderly me if I wanted to try again the next day . Similarly , I thought two days in a row might be too much for his ailing health . Finally he got the nerve to propose it , and I practically shouted yes . We slept
Mike Carpentier landed this awesome holdover rainbow during a recent trip to French Meadows Reservoir .
Photo by KRISTY CARPENTIER , Fish Sniffer Staff .
THAT LAST TRIP
THE SONOMA COAST by Kathie Morgan fishing to pick up ,” said Doucette . “ The trout being caught are averaging between 13 and 17 inches with an occasional 20 inch fish . Some trout are being caught in the river above the reservoir using hopper patterns .”
He said bass fishing has been fair to good and some smallmouth and largemouth bass have moved into the river above the causeway .
There are special regulations in the river including single barbless hooks , so make sure to read the fishing proclamation for this water before fishing here .
“ With the colder weather next week , fly rodders should start changing tactics . As the weed beds start to die off , fish leech and scud patterns off of the edges of the weed beds . Other flies to try include hares ears , pheasant tail nymphs ( PT ’ s ), copper Johns , prince nymphs and of course wooly , crystal and seal buggers ,” Doucette tipped .
There is road construction south of the state park headquarters so those wanting to access the west side of the lake will need to go in through Twin Bridges . Expect this to continue into October , noted Doucette .
late , it seems , and didn ’ t launch until 7:27 , into the same warm water as the day before .
Again David caught the first fish and had to throw it back . Again I caught the first legal fish , a 19-1 / 2 incher . He easily topped it with a 23-incher caught in the east channel on an orange Storm swim shad . In the next 11 minutes we caught four fish of varying lengths , then went nearly an hour without a hookup .
At 9:13 I caught a 16-inch shortie on my trusty goldfish swimbait , then launched another dry spell . Twenty-five minutes after that release , I cast over the flats and began the retrieve when POW ! My fish ran toward the bow and swam out toward the island . The tide was pouring in , pushing us south , and the breeze had picked up considerably .
I worked her back toward us , wanting not to lose our best fish of the year and also wanting not to run aground . Out she went and back again , around the bow and up to the surface , only to dive and dart toward the stern . David managed to keep the boat under control and also stand by with the net , and eventually we had our reward , a fat 27-inch striper . At 9:50 am , we headed back in with limits .
Four days later , after a long day with hours of overtime on his job , David died of a heart attack . Longtime readers of this column will understand my loss .
With a breaking heart , I ’ ll be looking for you on the banks .