Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3709 April 13-27, 2018 | Page 25

VOL . 37 • ISS . 09

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 17

LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR cont .

“ The shoreline of the South Cove is lined with anglers fishing for catfish ,” said Garrett Anctil of the Los Vaqueros Recreation Company . “ The guys who find the right spot are catching limits of catfish in the 5 to 10 lb . range . The fish are hitting best on anchovies and chicken livers .”

On the same day as the catfish plant , Mt . Lassen planted 1,000 pounds of rainbow trout in the reservoir .

“ The trout fishing is still good , but the wind and rain has muddied up the water ,” said Anctil . “ Anglers are using PowerBait , nightcrawlers and other baits in the South Cove and other areas around the lake .”

Anglers weighed in two trout over 6 pounds over the past couple of weeks . Bailey Camp of Dublin landed a 6.15 lb . trout while fishing a deep-diving crankbait in Cox Cove . Manuel Zimiga successfully battled a 6.5 lb . rainbow while soaking PowerBait .

Anglers continue to catch both shaker and legal-sized stripers at Los Vaqueros . Cut anchovies or shad are the baits of choice , fished either from shore or a boat .

The reservoir is currently storing 148,000 acre-feet of water . Water levels will slowly drop due to evaporation and absorption . The water temperature is between 54 and 56 degrees .

NEW MELONES

Bass Offer Best Chance of Hooking Up

ANGELS CAMP – Bass fishing remains the best bet at New Melones as the water of the main lake remains relatively clear despite heavy inflow from the upper Stanislaus River .

Trout fishing continues to be slow , and although the crappie bite has yet to emerge , Mile Wampler of Escalon landed upped the lake-record for slabs to 2.7 pounds during the Future Pro Tour bass tournament . With the coming outstanding weather , the bass bite is poised to break out .

John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service said , “ We cracked them good this week with 70 bass to nearly 6 pounds on two trips during the week . The reaction bite continues to be slow , and we put in around 90 percent of these fish on plastics on a shakey head or drop-shot along with jigs with the fish holding at depths from 15 to

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FRESHWATER

The spring spotted bass bite is on at Collins Lake as these anglers will certainly attest . These fish were caught during a March bass fishing adventure .

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

40 feet .”

“ The lake is coming up , but it remains clear in the main lake with some cloudy water in the creek channels . I expect the bass bite to be phenomenal within the next few weeks as the temperatures will rise to 80 degrees . The reaction bite that we have been waiting for should go ,” said Liechty .

Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp reported slow action for rainbow trout , catfish , and crappie despite the big slab landed by Wampler during the Future Pro Tour Event .

The lake rose from 80 to 83 percent this week .

- Dave Hurley

OROVILLE LAKE

Landlocked Kings Available , Few Trying

OROVILLE – The Lake Oroville water level is rapidly rising from the latest storms . The reservoir is currently holding 2,018,258 acre-feet of water , 57 percent of capacity and 76 percent of average . The lake elevation is 783.70 feet above sea level , a rise over 54 feet in just two weeks .

As the water clears and the water temperature warms up , anglers can expect increasingly productive king salmon fishing . Very few anglers have been trying the lake for salmon , since striper and sturgeon fishing on the Sacramento River has occupied the attention of most .

For kings , Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service recommended trolling around 25 feet deep around the green bridge with Brad ’ s cut plugs , filled with a piece of anchovy scented with Pro-Cure

Bloody Tuna , or

Nestled between

Brentwood and Livermore off Vasco Road

3125

Speedy Shiners . Before the storms raised the lake level , anglers were hooking two classes of fish – the 9 to 10 inch kings planted in November 2017 and the larger 13-1 / 2 to 15 inch salmon stocked that March .

Most bass anglers are still fishing deep , at 25 to 50 feet deep ., but expect the fish to shift into pre-spawn mode with the current spring weather . Most of the fish are “ slot limit ” spotted bass in the 12 to 15 inch range , with some fish over 15 inches . Fishing with drop shot rigs with Robo Worms in pond smelt and shad patterns is always productive at Oroville .

- Dan Bacher

PARDEE LAKE

Weekly Plants Keep Trout Bite Going

IONE - Pardee Lake has risen to 100 percent of capacity and trollers continue to experience good action on rainbow trout while fishing an array of lures in the main body . The kokanee fishing is still spotty , though some big fish are possible .

Although fishing and fishing pressure slowed with recent storms , it picked back up on the weekend after Friday ’ s plant of rainbow trout ranging from ½ to 2 pounds .

Shore anglers are employing PowerBait , Mouse Tails and other offerings off Rainbow Point and Tom Sawyer ’ s Island and near the marina . The reservoir is 100 percent full . Trollers using flashers and nightcrawlers are also hooking trout on kokanee rigs .

Big fish honors go to Bill Campbell of Cameron Park , who landed a 7.91 lb . rainbow while trolling a nighcrawler behind dodgers , reported Brad Hoyt of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company . Brian Stahley of Stockton also landed a 5-1 / 2 lb . rainbow in Narrows while using a rainbow Rapala .

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April 13 - 27 , 2018

25

A shore fisherman landed a 6.28 lb . rainbow while fishing a Pistol Pete Lure near the Jackson Creek Spillway .

In Saturday ’ s Gold Country Junior Bass Tournament , the biggest fish was 3.4 pounds and the largest limit was 10 pounds .

- Dan Bacher

PYRAMID LAKE

What Happened to the Shore Bite ?

RENO - Everything was looking great in late February and early March at Pyramid Lake . Over the course of the month of March , the cutthroat bite has progressively slowed when it should have been gaining momentum .

On this writer ’ s last two trips , the scores were four fish on the first trip and one fish on the second trip . On both occasions , I was the hot rod for the entire beach . The crowds are fairly light , and it has to be attributed to the lack of good scores coming from the lake .

Don ’ t just take my pitiful results as the dogma of recent fishing reports . Lou Varela hit Pyramid on Friday , March 30th and summed up his day very succinctly , “ I hit Pyramid from my boat today , and it SUCKED !” Most flummoxed anglers by boat or ladder are reporting similar results .

Pelican Point and bay is probably the best spot at this time . There are more fish hanging in this area than at the Nets Beaches . However , the bottom is very mossy at Pelican , and it is really hindering angler effort . It is impossible to strip a fly along the bottom for very long without it fowling with snotty moss . Thus , hanging nymphs under and indicator is the best approach at this time .

Why is the bite slow ? It ’ s hard to say . Hopefully , the bite will pick up as the end of the season comes near . The month of April is typically a pretty good month for ladder and shore anglers .

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- Mike McNeilly CONTINUED ON PAGE 22