Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3703 Jan 18-Feb 2 2018 | Page 9

limits of rainbows . All I did today was pilot the boat ; these guys did the rest .”

Local trout expert Robbie Dunham was out with his friend Terry Grimes when they reported solid trout action while speed trolling with Speedy Shiners , Kastmaster and Rapalas in the Big Hat Island area . “ We caught a few and we released a few ,” said Dunham .

Bass fishing is also going strong . James Snyder reported on Instagram : “ I picked up a nice spot . I ’ m guessing it was 4 + pounds - it was super fat . They were loving the ned rig with the new @ robowormusa . Spots are always so much fun to catch ; these little dudes are like bulldogs .”

Lake Camanche is still holding at 72 % with an elevation of 218.94 feet . For the most up to date information you can go to : http :// cdec . water . ca . gov / cgi-progs / reservoirs / RES

The temperature taken at the ramp at the time of the drop was 56 degrees . Further upriver the temperatures are a bit cooler the closer you get to the release waters from Pardee .

CLEAR LAKE

Crappie , Bluegill Highlight Winter Catches

CLEARLAKE – Crappie and bluegill fishing is “ fair to good ” at Clear Lake ,

Mike Kielty shows off three husky rainbows that he caught during a trip to Lake Camanche with Ric Brown on December 22 .

Photo courtesy of RIC BROWN , RicTric Lures .

revealed Troy Bellah at Clear Lake Outdoors .

“ The fishing is best in the Narrows , Shag Rock , Konotyee and Indian Beach areas of the lake ,” said Bellah . “ The crappie are grabbing red / white and pink-white crappie jigs and Berkley Power Minnows . They ’ re suspending over 25 to 30 feet of water . The bluegill are hitting redworms on the bottom .”

“ Boaters are picking up a few largemouth bass while fishing midlake with suspending jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits at 10 to 25 feet deep ,” stated Bellah . “ One local caught and released two bass in the 10 and 12.2 lb . range in the past two weeks , but most are in the 2 to 4 lb . range .”

Drifting live jumbo minnows is also producing good numbers of largemouths . “ On my latest trip to Clear Lake , four of us caught and released 25 largemouths to 7-1 / 2 pounds . We landed one 5 lb . fish and two 4 pounders ; the rest averaged 2-1 / 2 pounds each . We fished the central area of the lake from Shag Rock to Glenhaven .” Fishing was slower for bass on the previous day . “ We hooked and released about a dozen fish while drifting jumbo shiners in the same areas ,” Paganelli stated .

Larry Hemphill , fishing guide , reported slow bass fishing on his latest venture to the lake . “ Someone I met at the ramp today challenged me to make a report after our short trip to Clear Lake ,” said Hemphill . “ Well , here it is in all its glory !! The wind killed us today - how ’ s that for a report ?”

“ Actually , it was brutal in the late afternoon as the front moved in . It was very difficult to fish . The wind did something again today that you will only see at Clear Lake . We were on a point with the wind hitting us in one direction at 20-25 mph . Within seconds , it hit us in the total opposite direction - at the same speed !! Only at Clear Lake ,” he explained .

“ We fished what we could on the west side of the lake and buddy Mike was the hero - he got a bite !! Seriously , this afternoons ’ s 3 hour trip for us was not a good time to judge anything . We might have had subtle bites we just couldn ’ t feel . I think Mike got his shallow bite on a jig - not sure . We did a lot of metering and really saw nothing in the way of bait or fish ,” Hemphill concluded .

- Dan Bacher

COLLINS LAKE

It ’ s Rainbow Trout Time

OREGON HOUSE - “ The trout fishing is doing great ,” reported Shelly Groce of the

These anglers teamed up and landed a double limit of hard charging rainbow trout while fishing Collins Lake this December .

Photo courtesy of the COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA , Oregon House .

Collins Lake Resort . “ The weather will be nice for the next week , so come on out and try it out !! We will start up the planting program the middle of January 2018 .”

Dell Parker of Lincoln caught a 4 lb . 12 oz . rainbow using worms down by the beach . Logan Hoock and Nate Unger of Tracy landed 4 quality trout by the dam using yellow garlic PowerBait and worms . Isaac Ferkin of Fair Oaks caught 2 trout off the beach with orange PowerBait .

Greg Lyon and Chris Rygh of Vacaville landed 2 limits of trout while trolling in the middle of the lake with Needlefish lures . Charlie Moore of Yuba City caught a limit of trout , topped by a 5 lb . rainbow , while using orange PowerBait by the beach .

Erika , Jason and Grandpa Vic of Lincoln caught a 6-1 / 2 lb . trout by the powerlines using Wedding Rings 8 feet down . Gary Edmondson of Auburn caught a 6 lb . trout while trolling with Rapala lures .

David Pokrant of Roseville caught 5 trout on PowerBait . Ed Underwood of Rooseville caught a nice big 6.8 lb . trout by the beach using PowerBait .

The lake level is in great shape for this time of year , being only 25 feet from maximum pool .

COLUSA / KNIGHTS LANDING

Sturgeon Dominate River Action

RIO LINDA – A few white sturgeon are beginning to show on the Sacramento River from Verona to Knights Landing , but some big winter storms are needed to raise the river level and move more fish upriver .

Largest Trout Stocking Program North of Sacramento

Lakefront RV Camping

Call for Reservations

Nonetheless , persistent and patient fishermen are picking up an occasional sturgeon .

“ I ’ ve heard of two sturgeon being picked up by anglers fishing the Knights Landing area and three others caught in the Verona area ,” said Tim Boggs of Elkhorn Outdoor Sports in Rio Linda . “ They have been landing the fish while fishing ghost shrimp from shore . However , the best sturgeon fishing is still available in the West Delta and Suisun Bay , where ghost shrimp and lamprey eel are working best .”

The channel catfish action has slowed down on the Sacramento River with the colder water temperatures down to 46 degrees . For maximum catfish success , toss out chicken liver and G & S Dip Bait in the Sutter Bypass .

- Dan Bacher

DAVIS / FRENCHMAN LAKES

Ice Fishing Should Begin Soon

PORTOLA – Lake Davis is currently in transition between the open water and ice fishing seasons – and hardly anybody has been fishing for trout .

The ice is forming near the dam , as well as in some of the coves on the lake ’ s north end , reported Jeanne Graham of J and J Grizzly Store and Camping Resort . Your best bet now is to fish in Mallard Cove , one of the last areas on the lake to ice up .

Expect to catch hefty rainbows in the 18 to 22 inch range when the ice becomes thick enough to fish . Anglers should experience the top action tossing out PowerBait and nightcrawlers ,

Lake Davis is holding 69,414 acre feet of water , 84 percent of capacity and 120 percent of average .

Fishing pressure was also very light at Frenchman Lake at press time . The lake is partially frozen over and shore anglers are catching some rainbows in the open areas of coves while tossing out PowerBait and mini-crawlers , according to Goodwin ’ s

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