Fish Sniffer Issue 3918 | Page 16

VOL.39 • ISS. 18 FRESHWATER August 21, 2020 17 emergence of 2nd-year kokanee on Melones, and I predict next year will be outstanding.,” he said. Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford said, “The bass bite is on fire with basically everything – topwater lures in the early mornings or late afternoons, glide baits, jigs, spinnerbaits, or swimbaits.” The bass move shallow in the mornings or evenings before moving out to deep water off of vertical rock or submerged island tops with plastics on a shakey head or wacky-rig. New Melones has dropped to 68 percent of capacity. - Dave Hurley OROVILLE LAKE/ THERMALITO AFTERBAY Boaters Keep Putting In Landlocked Chinooks OROVILLE – Experienced guides and anglers are still catching landlocked kings at Lake Oroville, although the fishing isn’t as fast as it was earlier this summer. Bret Brady of Bare Bones Guide Service continues to report solid landlocked chinook fishing while trolling at Lake Oroville. “Our first limit of Lake Oroville kings came quickly at Lake Oroville yesterday, but that bite slows way down by 9 o’clock,” noted Brady. Most of the salmon being caught at Lake Oroville now are in the 18 inch range, but holdovers up to 24 inches are being caught, according to Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide Service. Anglers are hooking the fish while trolling with Brad’s Kokanee Cut Plugs at 60 to 120 feet deep. “The Thermalito Afterbay is beginning to Fish the Sacramento River with Mike Bogue’s Guide Service [phone] • www.mikebogue.com Book Early for Best Dates Scotts Flat • Salmon • Steelhead • Trout 3603 Fishing•Camping•Boating Our LAKE IS FULL! The Fish Sniffer’s Wes Ward was trolling a copper Trigger Spoon at Folsom Lake this July and scored this big bad 5 plus pound king salmon. Photo by WES WARD, Fish Sniffer Staff. produce landlocked steelhead in the 15 to 16 inch range,”: said Reimers. “Boaters are trolling with nightcrawlers behind Sep’s Dodgers.” 3816 Scotts Flat Lake Campground is an excellent place for families and friends to spend quality time together while creating memories to last a lifetime. Whatever your preference, our campground and lake has something for you! The Tuesday night turkey shoots at the afterbay have been producing some quality largemouth bass, according to Jamey Sorenson of Nroth Valley Tackle and Pro Shop. The latest evening winners were: (1) Nick Klein - 20 ¾”, (2) Nathan Reppert - 20 1/4”, and (3) Brent Cline - 19 1/4”. Bidwell Canyon and Lake Oroville Marinas are open with some restrictions. Please contact the appropriate Marina for the most current information and please plan your visit accordingly. Bidwell Canyon Marina [phone] www. bidwellcanyonmarina.com Lake Oroville is currently holding 1,993,889-acre feet of water, 56 percent of capacity and 73 percent of average. PARDEE LAKE Trollers Lay Into Kokanee IONE – If you want to catch numbers of Kokanee salmon, Lake Pardee is the place to go in the Mother Lode. Pardee continues to release rainbow trout and 1000 pounds of Mt. Lassen Hatchery rainbows were planted at the launch ramp last week. However, trout fishing has been slow in the warmer water temperatures, and the rainbows move quickly out of the marina through the Narrows into the cooler waters of the main lake. Most trollers are targeting kokanee, and there are some larger salmon at 15 inches taken within the past week. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service was out on an evening trip on Saturday night, followed by a morning trip on Sunday with Howard Rempfer and his two grandsons, Brayden and Frank, from Lodi. “Limits have been the rule, and I have been working the south side of the lake beyond the river arm while most trollers are heading up the river arm. I have been primarily targeting the kokanee at around 80 feet with J-Pex lures behind either a Paulina Peak or Mag Tackle gold dodger, and it took about 2.5 hours to put in three 10-fish limits plus a rainbow trout,” said Wise. “ Al Milan was out there with his father, and he remarked that it didn’t matter is you were at 80 feet or 125 feet, the kokanee were all the same size. I have been seeing huge balls of fish at 100 to 125 feet, but I have not been dropping that deep for them since they are available much higher in the water column.,” Wise concluded. It wasn’t all fun and games at Pardee as the bite was slower overall on Sunday. Chris Saiz of C4 Custom Rods reported, “It took until 12:30 to put in our 30-fish limits, and we really had to work hard for them as there was no real pattern. I used about everything in the tackle box including hoochies, spinners, and J-Pex lures. Our best action came from 50 to 80 feet. - Dave Hurley REDDING/RED BLUFF Salmon Fishing Slow, Trout Fishing Hot REDDING- Salmon fishing is slow on the northern reaches of the Sacramento River, but with big numbers of salmon in the ocean, anglers are expecting great things in the river this fall. The bright spot right now is the trout fishing, which has been excellent. Robert Weese of Northern California Guide Service has been splitting his time between salmon and trout fishing. Mikie Bogue took advantage of the slow start to August by taking his family on a fishing vacation to Alaska. “I’ve been off work due to the pandemic, so I’ve been spending a lot of time looking for kings,” related Seth Watson of Woodland. I’ve fished both above Red Bluff and out of Woodson. It’s been really tough. On my best day I got two hits on Flatfish and landed two fish to 11 pounder. Since then I’ve been averaging less than a fish per day.” On the trout fishing front, both fly and gear anglers are landing 20 plus fish per day, with top end fish measuring up to 24 inches. If you want to be in a position to score some Sac River chrome when the run ramps up, it’s wise to book your spot early. Both Robert Weese and Mike Bogue are top sticks when it comes to putting anglers on big bad kings. To book a trip with Weese of Northern California Guide Service, give him a ring at (530) 755- 7196. To arrange a trip with Mike Bogue of Mike Bogue’s Guide Service reach out to Mike at [phone]. RIO VISTA Trollers Find New Striper Schools on San Joaquin, Sacramento RIO VISTA - The appearance of new schools of stripers has resulted in improving fishing on the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers in the Delta. On his latest trip, Clyde Wands of Sacramento and “Pastor Steve” fished the San Joaquin between a couple of tule berms around Prisoner’s Point. They found superb fishing while deep-trolling CONTINUED ON PG 19 Handicapped barrier free fishing access, Fish cleaning station, Restrooms at marina, Boat Launch Ramp, Marina, Store. 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