Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3703 Jan 18-Feb 2 2018 | Page 15

VOL . 37 • ISS . 02

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 10

FOLSOM LAKE cont . minnows at 10 to 15 feet deep off the rocky shoreline , advised Tim Boggs at Elkhorn Outdoor Sports in Rio Linda .

Folsom Lake is holding 538,293 acrefeet of water , 55 percent of capacity and 113 percent of average . The water level is 421.25 feet in elevation , 44.75 feet from full .

KLAMATH RIVER / MCCLOUD RESERVOIR

Upper River Steelhead Action Is Hot !

YREKA - If you want to catch steelhead , it ’ s hard to beat the upper stretch of the Klamath River now .

“ Not any one word can really describe yesterday ’ s steelhead bite on the Klamath River , so I ’ ll use two - amazingly hot1 ’ said Scott Caldwell of SC Guide Service . “ Two more words can effectively describe the hot bait - Carpspit Rapala ”.

“ The adult steelhead that we caught and released 12 were all over the Pro- Cure plug . We did catch other fish on a backtrolled night crawler , but literally all the adult steelhead ( 2 to 9 pounds ) smashed the casted Rapala . Now is the time to get hooked up on the biggest steelhead the Klamath has to offer ,” advised Caldwell .

McCloud Reservoir is also kicking out plenty of trout .

“ Brothers Andrew and Chris Osland ’ s first McCloud experience will go down as TroutFest 2017 ,” said Caldwell . “ The trout bite was absolutely insane . I have been fishing McCloud reservoir for 25 years and I may have to rank this trip hottest bite ever . We had doubles , triples and quad hook ups on flies plugs and spoons . Huge pods of fish could be seen swimming all over the lake and we had it all to ourselves .”

“ We were the only boat on the reservoir , so add in the glorious winter weather plus the amazing trout bite and you can now imagine fishing trip like that could spoil a guy ,” he concluded .

NEW MELONES RESERVOIR

The Big Rainbows Keep Coming In

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FRESHWATER

Dave landed and released this huge Pyramid Lake cutthroat during a December 7 fly fishing mission .

Photo courtesy of PYRAMID LAKE GUIDES , Pyramid Lake .

“ A very excited Scot from Lodi came in 1 / 1 / 2018 with a 5 lb . 7 oz . rainbow ,” said Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole Sports . “ He said this trout beat his personal best by over two pounds . Scot was trolling Angels Creek using a copper spoon at 30 feet deep .”

“ December 2017 was one for the books , with anglers bringing in some of the best trout New Melones Lake has produced in a number of years .,” noted Hildebrand .

Dave McGuire of the Deer Creek Fish Company reported solid trout fishing on his recent trip to the reservoir . The 3 anglers kept 5 quality rainbows and released about 8 more without even pulling them in the boat while trolling from the surface to the surface to 20 feet deep .

“ On Tuesday , I put 3 nice rainbows in the boat up to 6 pounds ,” said Gary Burns of Take it to the Limits Guide Service . “ Robert landed a quality bow while casting to the bank while we were trolling . Jack and William also put 2 nice bows in the boat and lost a big one on another trip .”

“ Bass anglers are reporting catching 20 + daily while using drop shot / shad patterned Zoom baits , with an occasional hit on a River2Sea 120 Swaver ,” said Hildebrand . “ They are finding that when the bass are not cooperating , the crappie will step in , with a couple crappie in the 2.5 lb + range coming from the lake .”

The New Melones water level is currently at 1050.55 ft . in elevation and 37.45 ft . from full . The water level had dropped to the year low of 1050.00 feet before rising to current level . Water temperature is 56 degrees and the water clarity is “ excellent ,” stated Hildebrand .

Catfishing remains slow .

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OROVILLE LAKE

King Salmon Fishery Should Rebound This Year

OROVILLE – The New Year began with very few anglers trying for black bass , king salmon or other fish species on Lake Oroville , but anglers should see a better salmon fishery in 2018 .

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) stocked 25,000 salmon fingerlings in Oroville last May . The agency also planted 110,000 chinooks in the 6 to 9 inch range in November .

The Thermalito Afterbay will also offer a unique landlocked steelhead fishery later this year . The Feather River Fish Hatchery will plant over 15,000 steelhead in the afterbay this year , reported Anna Kastener , hatchery manager . They kept extra fish above the allotment last year for insurance during the high releases down the spillway and dam repairs .

The lake is currently holding 1,229,320 acre feet of water , 35 percent of capacity and 59 percent of average . The lake elevation is 699.66 feet in elevation , over 200 feet from maximum pool .

Boat launching is available only on the gravel at the Bidwell Canyon Recreation Area . You must have a 4-wheel-drive vehicle to launch .

The few anglers going out are concentrating on spotted bass . Boaters are using drop shot rigs with Robo Worms and slow-moving swimbaits to hook spotted bass , mostly fish in the 12 to 15 inch “ slot ,” with an occasional larger fish .

- Dan Bacher

PYRAMID LAKE

Boaters Capitalize On Cutthroat Bite

RENO - Boaters are

enjoying outstanding action at Pyramid Lake right now . It ’ s super simple fishing too . Drop a Lyman Lure about 200 ’ behind the boat , engage the reel and start trolling at about 2-2.5 mph .

Try to keep the boat in 20-40 ’ of water depth , roughly paralleling the shoreline , and sooner or later a big cutthroat will climb on . Boaters can expect double digit days as far as quantity is concerned , and fish to about 8 pounds have been common in the catches .

For anglers putting in their time , fish to about 12 pounds have been showing up fairly often .

Jan 18 - Feb 2 , 2018

13

Jeff Morris has been on a debauchery tour in Las Vegas as of late , but he mentioned that “ My buddy , Todd , has been catching some nice fish . He got a twelve and a ten the other day ago .”

The shore bite is almost non-existent at this time . The jury is in on the 2017 fall and early winter Pyramid shore bite , and the verdict is that it stunk . The jury ’ s findings are that the lake came up several feet last spring from all the snowmelt entering the lake .

Many of the popular shore fishing beaches have changed a lot with several feet of water covering them . For example , at the North Nets Beach , anglers can ’ t wade out far enough to reach the drop off that has historically always produced fish .

Instead of casting into about 14 ’ of water , they are now casting into about 6 ’ of water ; or approximately where they would have been parking their trucks last year . This pattern is similar at many of the other shallow beaches .

There may be salvation though in the near future . When the Cutthroats become interested in spawning sometime in mid- February , it is likely that they may cruise in the 5-6 ’ depths that beaches like the North Nets offer . If you are a fly rod enthusiast , keep your fingers crossed as this has been a lack luster season at best .

- Mike McNeilly

QUARRY LAKES

Shore Anglers Battle Hefty Rainbows

FREMONT – Trout fishing is the rage at Horseshoe Lake , located in the Quarry Lakes Recreation Area , now that we have entered the New Year .

“ Some of our EBRPD regulars , Brianna and Joaquin Gutierrez , went after-school fishing at Quarry Lakes and caught their limit of trout ,” reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District . “ Nine out of the 10 grout were caught on spoons and one trout was caught on orange and chartreuse Mice Tails .”

Jimmy and Jim Vasquez of Hayward and Fremont landed their limits of trout on the peninsula using Mouse Tails with yellow Power Eggs . The largest of their trout was 6.5 lbs , noted Sullivan .

Byron Rodriguez Jr . of Fremont caught a 6.11 lb . rainbow trout on Mouse Tails off the peninsula . Lawrence Yano of Castro Valley pulled out a 4.15 lb . trout between boat launch and ramp while using a Power Grub .

Four-and-a-half-year-old Josiah caught his very first fish , a 6.25 lb . rainbow trout , while using a silver and blue Kastmaster . And regular angler ‘ S . Dexty ” landed a 5 + lb rainbow trout in the back of Horseshoe Lake .

There are some big catfish also showing in the catches . Jesse Coffman from Fremont caught a 7.11 lb catfish on green and white Power Eggs from his boat near the dock .

The park district stocked Horseshoe with 750 pounds of rainbows the week of January 1 , while the CDFW planted 1,000 pounds the week of January 8 .

Also , note that the use of lead fishing tackle is prohibited at Quarry Lakes . You can exchange lead tackle at the kiosk in a “ 1 for 1 ” trade for stainless steel weights .

RANCHO SECO LAKE

Trout Plants Boost Catches

SACRAMENTO – The first Mt . Lassen rainbow trout plant of the New Year , 500 pounds , went into Ranch Seco Lake on Thursday , January 4 . That plant was preceded during the previous week by a CDFW plant of 500 ponds of rainbows .

“ Anglers are now hooking rainbows

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