4 June 26, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 14
ALMANOR
Hex Hatch In Full Swing!
ICHESTER - Summer has arrived in
the mountains. The weather has been
fantastic and the fishing has been pretty
darn good as well. The Hex Hatch is in
full swing and each evening you can find
hundreds of fly fishermen targeting fat,
healthy and happy Lake Almanor Trout.
The bugs have been hatching in large
numbers throughout the lake. With limited
access; the majority of the fishermen
are targeting fish from the dam to rocky
point. You will find large volumes of Hex’s
hatching all along the west shore. Look
for a muddy bottom in water to thirty feet
deep and you will find bugs.
Water temps are starting out in the low
sixties in the morning and approach the
seventy-degree mark in late afternoon.
Water level is holding steady and clarity
is 18 plus feet. Trollers continue to target
fish between Prattville and the Peninsula
north and are picking up quality fish slow
trolling bait and plastics, trolling Arctic Fox
flies at 2 mph or fast trolling hardware up
to 3 mph.
Fish continue to gorge on the protein
rich Hex larvae and flies; they are in great
shape and hard fighting. We are a few
weeks away from Pond Smelt showing
up at which time these fish will begin to
aggressively feed on smelt. It’s no wonder
Almanor produces monster trout and for
the same reason they are tough to catch.
Mark at Sierra Fly and Tackle at Hamilton
Branch can assist you with all of your fly
fishing needs and he has all of the gear for
bank fishermen and trollers as well.
Still no official word on when the USFS
and PG&E campgrounds will open and
Canyon Dam boat ramp remains the
LAKE
AMADOR
Trout Planted Seasonally!
• Cafe • RV Park • Waterslide
• Campground • Disc Golf
• General Store
Cafe Open Seasonally On
Friday, Saturday & Sundays
3721
209-274-4739
7500 Lake Amador Dr., Ione, CA 95640
WWW.LAKEAMADOR.COM
GREAT FISHING
AT CAPLES LAKE!
on Highway 88 at Carson Pass
• Cabins and
Lodge Rooms
• Fishing Tackle
• Camping
Supplies
• Marina
• Boat Rentals
Ken Salvi caught this 4 lb, 24 inch German brown near Emigrant Creek.
For information, call (209)-258-8888
CAPLES LAKE RESORT
P.O. Box 88, Kirkwood, Ca 95646
www.capleslakeresort.com
3813
FRESHWATER
FRESHWATER REPORTS
only public boat ramp on Almanor. Road
construction on highway 36 on both sides
of Chester and on highway 32 will cause
for minor delays while traveling to Plumas
County
- John Crotty, Quail Lodge
AMERICAN BASIN LAKES
Trout Plants Continue at
Union Valley, Loon and
Ice House Lakes
SACRAMENTO – From June into
August. SMUD is stocking 25,000 pounds
of fish at Union Valley, Loon Lake and Ice
House reservoirs in El Dorado County.
“Surveys say fishing tops the reasons
folks visit the Crystal Basin Recreational
Area and the trout plants enhance angling
opportunities for the public. On average,
the fish weigh almost two pounds,
including some trophy fish,” according
to a news release from the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District (SMUD).
SMUD has scheduled six separate
trout plantings. The largest of the three
reservoirs, Union Valley, will get 9,400
pounds; Loon Lake, 8,100 pounds;
and Ice House, 7,500 pounds. Mount
Lassen Trout Farms of Payne’s Creek
will deliver the fish. The company also
stocks SMUD’s Rancho Seco Lake, which
annually hosts a very popular trout derby
attended by anglers from Sacramento,
Galt, Lodi and Stockton.
SMUD proactively works to improve the
quality of life in El Dorado County, where
the electric utility owns and operates the
Upper American River Project (UARP),
a system of hydroelectric generation
facilities. “Many
SMUD employees
work and live in
El Dorado County
and support the
local businesses
and the tax base,”
said SMUD Chief
Energy Delivery
Officer Frankie
McDermott.
“Though El Dorado
County is outside
our service territory,
we consider it a
very important
part of the SMUD
community.”
In 2014 SMUD
was awarded a new
50-year license
by the Federal
Energy Regulatory
Commission
(FERC) to continue
EAGLE LAKE
CABIN RENTALS
3811
operating the UARP, which provides
nearly 700 megawatts of low-cost, clean,
non-carbon-emitting hydro power. The
resource provides about 15 to 20
percent of SMUD’s energy capacity
during an average water year.
The fish-stocking effort helps
SMUD meet conditions of
operating its FERC license
for the UARP.
For more information
about UARP and
associated projects,
please visitSMUD.org
and the Community and
Recreational Areas web
pages.
French Meadows
Reservoir continues to kick out
a mixture of brown and rainbow
trout to 18 inches.
“Trollers are pulling Rapalas
and worms behind dodgers
to hook the trout,” said Craig
Newton at Willifsh Bait and
Tackle in Auburn. “Bank
fishermen throwing out worms
and PowerBait are also picking
up rainbows and browns in the
Middle Fork of the American
inlet.”
Mackinaw trout ranging from 3
to 15 pounds are hitting Rapalas
at Hell Hole Reservoir, according
to Newton. “Locate the fish to
find out the best depth to troll,”
he advised. Kokanee salmon are also
available to boaters trolling with hoochies
and spinners, tipped with white corn, at 40
to 50 feet deep.
- Dan Bacher
AMERICAN RIVER
Nimbus Releases
Go Up to 3,500 cfs
SACRAMENTO – Releases from
Nimbus Dam into the lower American
River went up to 3,500 cfs on June 28 for
the purposes of “Delta Outflow,” reported
Peggy Manza of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation.
“The shad fishing has slowed down
drastically,” said Allan Fong, manager of
Fisherman’s Warehouse.
Your best bet for hooking shad is to use
1/32 oz. teeny rounder jigheads, tipped with
1 inch chartreuse, pink and champagne
color grubs. Some anglers are experiencing
the top action while drifting the lures with
small split shot, while others are drifting
the flies and lures under bobbers. Expect
the better action in the upper river in the
Sunrise and Sailor Bar area.
However, you never know what you
might catch if you fish the lower American
this time of year.
One friend of Fong’s
Furnished
Cabins from
$60 per night or
$360 per week
Awesome
• Trout Fishing
• Hiking
• Biking
• Relaxing
Rentals — Real Estate — Lots & Land
For Reservations and info:
(530)825-2131
www.eaglelakeheritage.com
reported landing two
steelhead weighing
5 pounds each while
fishing the river in
the Sunrise area.
Great Fishing for Rainbows,
Browns and Lake Trout!
•Cabins •Campground •Restaurant & Bar
•Fishing Boat Rentals
Call for Information and Reservations
3614
(209)295-4868
40800 Highway 88, Pioneer, CA 95666
www.bearrivercampground.com
The salmon bite
continues to be
productive at Lake
Oroville for kings that
range up to 5 pounds.
This big chromer was
landed on June 20.
Photo courtesy of BARE
BONES GUIDE
SERVICE,
Oroville.
Striped bass can also be found in the
river at this time. Try fishing the major
holes of the river with Pencil Poppers,
Zara Spooks and other top water lures
early and late in the day. Throughout the
day, you should find the top striper action
while drifting live jumbo minnows, live
crawfish and cut anchovies and sardines
at Sailor Bar, Upper and Lower Sunrise, El
Manto, Rossmoor Bar, River Bend Park,
Gristmill, Watt Avenue,, How Avenue and
other locations.
- Dan Bacher
BERRYESSA LAKE
Trollers Topple Kokanee,
Kings and Rainbows
NAPA – Lake Berryessa continues to
be one of the top spots to target kokanee
salmon, king salmon and rainbow trout in
California.
On his latest trip to the lake, Rich Crispi
of TW Guide Service and good friends
Tina Montoya and Steve Larsen reported
“carving it up early for 14 kokes.” They
also released 3 kokanee to 17 inches,
released four trout, and released one 15
inch king salmon.
“We trolled at 42 to 66 ft deep today with
pink/green, pink/purple. and chartreuse/
green RMT Assassin spinners and Apex
lures all day,” said Crispi.
Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse
found tough fishing to Berryessa on his
most recent trip there. “We caught only
two kokanee by 10
a.m., so we decided
to leave at 10:30
a.m. and go up to
Pardee,” he stated. “It
was slow fishing for
everybody. However
Guide Troy Barr
stayed through the
afternoon and finally
got his limits.”
“However, the
next day Barr and
other anglers on the
lake slaughtered
the kokanee,” said
Fong. “The fishermen
caught fish ranging
from 14 to 17 inches
while fishing hoochies
Continued on Pg 11