his father landed a quality 2-pound rainbow on a custom shad-patterned spoon within minutes of letting out the lines . He said , “ Overall it was a slow day , but there are signs of the bait rising higher in the water column .”

Don Pedro water storage has increased from 84 to 89 percent of capacity this week .

- David Hurley

EAST DELTA

Find Clear Water for Striper & Largemouth Success

STOCKTON - Despite the arrival of muddy water from the Mokelumne , Stanislaus , and Tuolumne Rivers into the south Delta , striped and largemouth bass are active . Finding clear water is the key to success , and the river should be clearing up within the week as we have a week of clear and hot weather .

In the San Joaquin River , striped bass action has been excellent with Clyde Wands , shallow trolling expert , out with Joe Aksamit , aka ‘ Joe Fish ’ on Thursday for good numbers of linesides to 14 pounds trolling both shallow and deep in the San Andreas Shoals above the Peacock . He said , “ The San Joaquin is still dirty , but the fish were biting .”

Captain J . D . Richey of Richey ’ s Sport Fishing was out on the San Joaquin River on Thursday , and he found a good jig bite for stripers to 13 pounds , and he was planning on switching over to topwater lures when the light conditions became low .

We also fish Folsom , Oroville , Donner , Stampede , Boca , Lake Tahoe and the Sacramento River .

Rusty Hubbard of Folsom caught and released a 13-pound striper on a P Line Sassin ’ Jig .

Dan Mathisen of Dan ’ s Delta Outdoors in Oakley was out on the water on Friday , and he reported a solid largemouth bass bite with Senkos or spinnerbaits with stripers found in Sherman Lake with Optimum ’ s Bad Bubba Shad swimbait .

Randy Pringle , the Fishing Instructor , said , “ A lot of guys are crying the blues for largemouth bass right now with the dirty water , but the key is to use scent and find moving water as we have been finding largemouth bass to 5 pounds . I am using everything that smells right now , and the Berkley General Max Scent on a Texas-rig is working right now . The General is a weightless worm , and I am Texas-rigging it in order to provide more vibration in the muddy water .

“ There are areas of the San Joaquin that are ‘ pure mud ’ and you can ‘ bring

These young anglers took a trip to Lake Amador in late March and bagged full limits of rainbow trout !

Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ , Lake Amador . marshmallows to put in this chocolate milk .’ There are small areas of clear water , and you will have to look around for them . The new ima Glide Fluke continues to work , and in the dirty water , chartreuse patterns are working best ,” he tipped .

Bryce Tedford of Bryce Tedford ’ s Fly Fishing Guide Service said , “ Delta Striper fishing has been more of a challenge this week with dirtier water from recent rains . That said , I was just out and managed 10 + fish to 5-pounds , and the

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CAPTAIN

JAMES NETZEL

Full Time Guide

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CALIFORNIA ’ S LONGEST RUNNING OUTDOOR TALK SHOW ! trick was to find reasonable clean water that was holding fish that bite . There is a fair amount of fish in the system so as the water clears the catching will improve . The water temperatures are currently 55 to 57 degrees . There is a decent crappie bite off of Inland Drive , Whiskey Slough , and Eight Mile Road with small to medium minnows .”

- Dave Hurley

EASTERN SIERRA

Trout Bite Between Snow Events

BISHOP - “ The Middle Owens continues to be good for drifting . I strongly suggest this guided program if you are considering a trip this spring ,” advised Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service . “ Recent plantings and good water conditions are making for memorable trips . Tugging streamers like Spruce-A-Bu ’ s or smaller Punk Perch along the deeper cut banks is the right call .”

“ The Upper Owens is experiencing the beginning of the cutthroat migration from Crowley Lake . These beautiful fish will only increase in numbers and should be around through May . There remains some snow along the banks once again and the potential for more on the way soon . Not huge accumulations ; however , the drive in is iffy on some of the feeder roads with deep ruts ,” tipped Loe .

“ Pleasant Valley Reservoir received plantings of catchable sized and trophy rainbows recently due to a trout derby . Those that “ survived the gauntlet ” will be waiting for fly fishers in the know . It has been good in the transition area near the inlet . The lake level has really dropped making access fine . Watch the mud near the lake after it thaws , it can be nasty ! Power generation has not

been occurring ; so , the river has been very easy to wade . Tubing has been good for fly fishers willing to kick around from the launch ramp to the inlet using full sinks and streamer patterns . The small river section down from the powerhouse is good for wading and casting dry / dropper bead head rigs ,” Loe concluded .

Brett Brady 530.272.7137 • 530.263.4451

FEATHER RIVER

CDFW Releases 500,000 Baby Spring Chinooks into River

OROVILLE – The California Dept . of Fish and Wildlife announced the release of 500,000 baby spring run salmon today from the Feather River hatchery , about a quarter of the two million that would be released in a normal year . The hatchery failed to get enough eggs from the estimated 1200 adult spring run that returned to spawn in the summer of 2017 to meet its normal production goal . The number of returning adults was extremely low as a consequence of drought in 2015 when those fish were released as babies into the Feather River .

Baby salmon have evolved to make the move to the ocean in high volume , muddy spring runoff . Instead , during the drought , they encountered low , clear water which is highly favorable to predators that target baby salmon .

The release of the fish today was accompanied by a release of extra water by the California Dept . of Water Resources from Oroville Dam to mimic natural runoff conditions needed by baby salmon to survive the trip . The extra water is expected to cue natural origin baby salmon in the upper Feather River to move downstream and join the exodus of the hatchery fish scheduled to be released downstream of the confluence with the Yuba River .

Water managers at Oroville Dam cut back on water releases last week during the rain to save the extra water for this week ’ s release . The Golden Gate Salmon Association ( GGSA ) applauded the Department ’ s recognition of the need and value of spring pulse flows to improve survival of the baby salmon .

“ GGSA has pushed for spring pulse flows for years so it ’ s good to see the Dept . of Water Resources acknowledge the value these flows provide to baby salmon ,” said GGSA president John McManus .

In 2017 very few salmon returned to spawn for the third straight year because of the lack of spring flows and other hostile conditions in Central Valley salmon rivers during the drought . As the condition of Central Valley salmon stocks becomes better known , recognition of the need for spring pulse flow releases from Central Valley reservoirs is increasing .

“ One of the biggest factors harming our CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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