Anglers trolling the West Delta with Captain David Hammond have been rounding up some very nice stripers . September and October should offer epic striper action on the West Delta .

Photo courtesy of DELTA PRO FISHING , Elk Grove .

TRINITY RIVER / LAKE

Higher Trinity Flows Drive Salmon Upriver

WEAVERVILLE- Increased water releases into the Trinity River , the result of operational challenges to the Central Valley Project caused by The Carr Fire near Redding , have resulted in good numbers of spring run salmon and early fall run salmon moving into the system .

“ The increased water flows are attracting the salmon and a few steelhead ,” said Tim Brady of Trinity Outdoors . “ One guide reported seeing hundreds of salmon in the fly only section of the river near Lewiston .”

Fishing guides using drift boats are reporting hooking up as many as 10 to 12 salmon per trip . The boaters are backtrolling plugs or drifting roe to hook kings in the 8 to 12 lb . class , along with a few steelhead .

“ The salmon fishing sucesss for bank anglers is a little tougher , since the fish are not always holding in the usual lholes with the higher flows ,” said Brady . “ They ’ re tossing out salmon roe and tuna balls from Lewiston to below Junction City .”

Bank anglers fishing nightcrawlers at Lewiston Lake are hooking some quality rainbow trout , now that water is moving in and out of the lake .

“ I haven ’ t heard anything good or bad on Trinity Lake trout , salmon and black bass action lately ,” added Brady .

- Dan Bacher

sloughs with clams , mackerel , anchovies and night crawlers . In general , you ’ ll find the cats holding 10 to 25 feet deep .

WESTERN NEVADA

Truckee River Best Bet for Trout

RENO - While Lahontan Reservoir continues to fish great for warm water aficionados , the Truckee River is offering the best chances for trout fans . Trout are on a solid late summer bite from the state-line all the way down to Painted Rock . The best action has been from about Verdi to downtown Reno .

The further east of Reno the angler goes , the lower the scores get , but the pressure can be non-existent east of town . The most scenic section to fish is from Verdi to about West McCarran .

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Anywhere east of Arlington Ave will see a major increase in the homeless population . There is a lot of litter and other waste associated with this ongoing problem . It has made fishing urban sections of the Truckee less desirable and even possibly dangerous . There are several major homeless camps just east of Sparks between Vista Blvd and the Mustang exit off of Interstate 80 .

Knowledgeable fly fishermen day in and day out will catch some of the nicest wild and holdover rainbows and browns in the Truckee . This was proven by Lou Varela of Spanish Springs on a couple recent outings . Lou reported , “ The fishing has been really good . I lost a big rainbow the other day ago . I also caught a trophy whitefish .”

Lou is a real steward of the river , and he also noted , “ It ’ s great to see some whitefish still around . During the drought a few years ago , they were the first fish to go belly up . I saw pools full of dead whitefish .”

Whitefish are usually encountered in the winter months in deep slow moving pools , but fly anglers will occasionally find them in the summer

months . I ’ ve never witnessed it on the Truckee , but in some

The trout bite at Lake Shasta is red hot . This impressive rainbow was landed on August 25 . Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN ’ S GUIDE SERVICE , Redding .

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Rocky Mountain States , whitefish can even be caught on dry flies from time to time . On the Truckee , whitefish up to two pounds are best fooled with tiny nymphs just off the bottom on as close to a drag free drift as possible .

Meanwhile , spinning rod anglers aren ’ t to be out done . Big browns are particularly vulnerable to pluggers throwing natural colored Rapala ’ s right at dusk . The big browns are typically tight to cover , and they will dart out to ambush a minnow plug .

- Mike McNeilly

WEST DELTA

Striper Bite Sizzles Out West !

BRANNAN ISLAND - “ August was an incredible month in the West Delta in terms of striper fishing ,” related Captain David Hammond of Delta Pro Fishing . “ Both the quantity and quality of the fish in the system has been amazing . I think we are on the verge of a really memorable fall season .”

“ I got my personal best striper while trolling the shoals above the Rio Vista Bridge this weekend ,” reported Fish Sniffer reader Ray Biggs . “ The fish weighed in at 17.22 pounds . I let it go after taking the weight . The fish slammed a clown colored Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow tipped with a bright pink worm . In all I caught 11 stripers on the day . Most of them were 3 to 4 pounds with a couple 7 to 8 pounders mixed in .”

Bait anglers aren ’ t reporting too much success at this point due to the fact that there are lots of small stripers around . If you want to fish with bait , go with large live baits to discourage the little bait stealers from messing with your gear .

Sturgeon remain on a solid bite in the deeper parts of Suisun Bay . Salmon roe and eel are the top baits .

Catfish fishing remains a solid option for anglers looking for a relaxing day on the water . Work current edges in the smaller

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