Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3622 Oct. 13-27, 2017 | Page 7

VOL.36 • ISS. 22 catch, now that fall has arrived. The plants ran from June through August with a total of 25,000 pounds of fish stocked into Union Valley, Ice House and Loon Lake reservoirs in El Dorado County. The amount of fish stocked can number as high as 50,000 pounds in a given year, depending on matched stocking by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Union Valley received the largest number of fish, 10,000 pounds, as it’s the largest of the three reservoirs. Ice House received 8,750 pounds and Loon Lake received 6,250 pounds. Mount Lassen Trout Farms of Payne’s Creek is contracted to plant rainbows into the lakes. The company also stocks SMUD’s Rancho Seco Lake, which annually hosts a very popular trout derby. ‘The effort is intended to increase angling opportunities for the public and contribute to the well-being of the ecosystem,” according to a news release from SMUD. “Fishing is the top reason folks visit the Crystal Basin Recreation Area, according to surveys. On average, the stocked trout will be one to two pounds each, and in a few years could be potential trophy fish. Environmentally, the fish stocking will increase prey opportunities for nesting eagles, osprey and other wildlife.” In 2014, SMUD was awarded a new 50-year license by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to continue operating the Upper American Rive r Project (UARP), which provides nearly 700 megawatts of low-cost, clean, non-carbon-emitting hydro power, enough to provide about 15 to 20 percent of SMUD’s energy capacity during an average year. The fish-stocking effort helps SMUD meet conditions of operating its FERC license for the UARP. For current UARP reservoir and stream release conditions, please visit the Community and Recreational Areas Web pages; https://www.smud.org/en/about- smud/community/recreational-areas/ AMERICAN RIVER A Few Steelhead Begin To Show SACRAMENTO - Salmon fishing remains tough, but the fishing will pick up after the main run moves into the lower American River. Meanwhile, a few steelhead are starting to hit nightcrawlers and other baits. “I floated nightcrawlers on the upper section and picked up a 4 lb. steelhead on a recent trip,” said Roland Aspiras, Fish Sniffer staff writer. “The meat was better than on some salmon I see this time of year. Anglers were hooking a lot of Coleman Hatchery strain steelhead at the basin earlier this month just below the middle berm.” Boaters who “know Francisco Escobar of Castro Valley caught and released this what they’re doing” are impressive 2.34 pound Lake Chabot crappie on August 16 setting catching a few king an all new lake record. Photo courtesy of THE LAKE CHABOT MARINA, Lake Chabot. salmon in the American Rancho Seco Recreational Area Stay and play! • Wet a line • Launch a boat • Hi ke a trail • Have a picnic • Pitch a tent Visit smud.org/RanchoSeco or call 1-800-416-6992. in the Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Blvd. areas, reported Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse. “Most of the fish caught lately have been jacks in the 4 to 8 lb. range, with some larger fish in the teens,’ said Fong. “Most have reported catching the salmon while jigging with P-Line spoons.” Fong reminded anglers that they if they using a jig over 1 ounce, they must switch to using a single hook. Stripers are available for anglers fishing jumbo minnows, cut baits and top water lures throughout the river, but few are targeting them now. The Bureau of Reclamation reduced water releases from Nimbus Dam to the lower American from 3,500 cfs to 3,000 cfs, between October 1 and 4.“We’re educing flows for fall spawning,” said Peggy Manza of Reclamation. - Dan Bacher BERRYESSA LAKE David Cook took his first ever trip to Lake Camanche on Sep- tember 8 and was rewarded with this dandy rainbow. Photo courtesy of THE LAKE CAMANCHE RECREATION AREA, Lake Camanche. Bass Are Scattered Throughout Lake WINTERS - After a vacation break, Larry Hemphill, fishing guide, and Mike Sperbeck hit Berryessa in the afternoon for a few hours and added 2 hours at night. “He had a good trip there last week, including catching one over 8 lbs.,” said Hemphill. “The bite was much slower Friday, at least in the afternoon. We would catch one here and there, but missed several good bites for some reason.” “We caught several largemouth between 2 and 2-1/2 lbs and Mike landed a nice 3-1/4 lb. smallie. We made the mistake of trying a lot of topwater lures before dark, without a hit. Water was just too warm - or something. That’s topwater fishing at Berryessa – ‘off’and ‘on!’ It’s been that way forever,” he said. “I caught one keeper spotted bass after dark on the favorite 7” Power Worm. Sometimes the night bite at Berryessa starts later, but we didn’t wait around to find ou,” Hemphill stated. “The bass were really scattered around – we only found one point with several bass on it,” he explained. “The bite most of the time was Rancho Seco Recreational Area is located 25 miles south of a half-hearted effort Sacramento at 14960 Twin Cities Road in Herald, CA. - bass would exhale more than inhale. Sacramento 80 Vicinity Map Some active bass were very shallow in 99 Cl the late afternoon and Park 1-5 Entrance did seem to prefer a jig to a worm. The best Clay 5 made a nice limit, N Herald Twin Cities Rd. 104 Rancho Seco but not great. Cooling Recreational Area weather is ahead and that should help the From Sacramento, take Highway 99 South to the Highway 104 exit. bite a lot.” Go East on Highway 104, 15 miles, to the Rancho Seco Park exit. Few anglers have targeted trout lately. Troy Barr of T-Roy’s Guide Service hasn’t been out on Berryessa for a month – and Park Operator Open year round with RV sites, waterfront campsites and BBQ’s. You can rent electric and row boats, kayaks, and paddle boards for more water fun! ©SMUD 1223-17 5 Oct. 13 - 27, 2017 has switched over to salmon fishing on the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. On his last Berryessa trip of the season, two anglers fishing with Barr hooked 15 fish, landing 10 fat, chunky trout in the 15 to 17 inch range by noon while trolling chrome and purple Apex lures and Brad’s Kokanee Cut Plugs at 40 to 60 feet deep. CAMANCHE LAKE Bass Fishing Rated Excellent BURSON - Camanche has become one of the Mother Lode’s top bass lakes within the past few years, due to healthy populations of spotted and largemouth bass, and the action is starting to heat up in the main lake. Beau Coutroul of the Lake Camanche Recreation Company said, “The water temperature dropped 8 degrees this past week with the cold fronts, and the bass bite has gone off of the hook. The fishing has been awesome, and I have been staying on my home lake instead of venturing to Pardee or Hogan.” “The main lake has been excellent on main lake points or over islands with trees, and there is a topwater bite in the early morning before switching over to ripbaits when the wind is blowing. The bite slows down by mid-morning, and you have to slow down as well,” he tipped. “I switched over to plastics on a heavy split-shot or drop-shot with a short 8-inch leader as the fish are holding just off of the bottom. Putting the weight twice the length of the worm is best in order to stay down tight to the bottom. The fish should be back on the bottom within the week as the water continues to cool, and pinks were the top colors in the worms,” he disclosed. “I noticed that the fish were spitting up a combination of shad and crawdads so the color pattern was not as important as they are feeding on both. You will catch a lot of ‘rats’ in the 8- to 10-inch range, but there will be around 10 good bites during the day. Sheila Zitzleberger of El Dorado Hills caught and released an 8-pound largemouth bass on a drop-shot with me. These fish will continue to bulk up as we move into the fall months,” he concluded. Trout trolling in the deepest part of the lake in the Little Hat Island channel remains CONTINUED ON PG 8