Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3902 Jan 3-17 | Page 27

Jan 3-17, 2020 FRESHWATER VOL.39 • ISS. 2 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 23 SANTA CLARA VALLEY LAKES/SAN LUIS RESERVOIR Minnow Drifters Nail Big Stripers off Dinosaur Point Cecil Smitherman caught this dandy rainbow while fishing Eagle Lake this November. Photo courtesy of CECIL SMITHERMAN, Eagle Lake. SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE Big Plants Boost Trout Fishing PLEASANTON – Large plants of Mount Lassen rainbow trout have been boosting fishing success at Shadow Cliffs Reservoir. The park district planted the lake the week of December 9-13 with 1000 pounds of rainbows and December 16-20 with 750 pounds of rainbows. They will plant the lake the week of December 23-27 with 750 pounds of trout. The weather has been cool in the mornings with temperatures reaching into the 50s in the afternoon. The water temperature is 58 degrees, depending on depth, according to Edward Culver of the East Bay Regional Park District. A lot of people have reported catching Lightning Trout while fishing PowerBait, nightcrawlers, Kastmasters and other WHAT’S HOT had been landed on shore. The scouts in the boat were not having the same success early. For 2 hours, we trolled all over the main body with nothing to show for it other than a pretty line on graph indicating all the places where we had been unsuccessful. Spirits were not broken thou as the second group boarded the boat to give it a try. Looking to do something different, we made a short run towards the narrows and tried fishing shallower. It didn’t take long for one of the downrigger rods to pop. After making sure the fish was indeed hooked, I handed the rod to one of the younger scouts and told them to just slowly reel. The fish almost immediately came to the surface, which seemed odd to me for a trout that was hooked 60’ deep. When Jake used a Power Egg teamed with a slip bobber to fool this fat rainbow right around lunch time. Photo by WES WARD, Fish Sniffer Staff. offerings from the docks. Mike and family caught a Lightning Trout while fishing from the first dock. Don and Erik also caught some Lightning Trout while fishing from the second dock and Jon caught his limit of Lightning Trout. Rueben bagged two trout and one catfish while fishing from the first dock. Finally, Phil caught a rainbow trout while fishing from the second dock. SHASTA LAKE Surface Temperature Hits 56 Degrees, Trout Bite Kicks Into Gear! REDDING - Captain Jeff Goodwin of Jeff Goodwin’s Guide Service reports that the big lake is starting to move into a winter pattern after a long drawn out fall season. On his most recent out, Goodwin’s clients landed 11 rainbows and a brown while fishing the McCloud Arm of the lake. Goodwin disclosed that brown trout fishing hasn’t been good so far this fall, but as more fish move back into the lake after spawning he expects the bite to improve. The rainstorms now pushing through the north state are good news for trout anglers at Shasta according to guys like Goodwin and local guru Robert Hower. “The water has been really clear,” says Hower. “The storms moving through now should put a little color into the water and perhaps drive the surface temperature down a bit more. When that temperature gets down around 50 we should see some really good surface action in the main body. So far, the arms have been best. I’m hearing the best reports coming from guys fishing the Sacramento. However, it’s a big lake and the fish move around. So, the best action is always where you find it,” Hower laughed. If you go to Shasta looking for trout, trolling medium to fast with shad imitating plugs and spoons. On the bass fishing scene, anglers are enjoying consistent action on mainly spotted bass in the 11 to 14-inch range. The top offering at this time is either a Mother’s Finest Worm fish on a darter head or a dropshot rig. Spider grubs are working too. For a chance at a big winter bass try working main lake points with small 4 to 6-inch trout imitating swimbaits, but be advised that strikes will likely be few and far between. Shasta is current 50 from maximum pool and is slowly rising. TAHOE Mackinaw Chomp As Snow Flies! SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The weather in the Tahoe Basin has gone from unseasonably warm to snow in the span of a few weeks. At this point the CONTINUED ON PG 27 Continued from page 1 we were able to get a glance of the fish, I knew right away it wasn’t a trout, but I don’t think the scouts realized, or cared, it was a big 3-pound bass on the line. They were ecstatic as it was scooped into the net and hit the deck. A couple more passes in the same area yielded similar results with more bass. However, for every bass we landed in the boat, the bank anglers were putting 3 or 4 trout on the stringer. After having zero luck trolling for bass, I basically swapped out all the spoons we had been trolling for grubs and just focused on offshore, suspended bass. The boys couldn’t care less. They were just pleased to be fishing. The catching was a bonus. By the end of the afternoon, almost every scout had an opportunity to catch a fish, some caught several. Everyone also had an opportunity to spend some time trolling in the boat. We released all the bass but had a couple of stringers full of trout for the evening meal. After a quick demonstration on how to clean and gut a rainbow, the boys cooked their catch as the sun lit the evening sky in one of the most vivid sunsets I have witnessed in a long time. It was a perfect ending to an epic day fishing with a group of kids and introducing them to the hobby we all enjoy. Fair Oaks Boy Scout Troop 215 sands a huge thanks out to all of the folks at Lake Camanche Recreation Company for providing them with extraordinary accom- modations for the weekend and the Fish Sniffer Magazine for arranging to have their Duckworth available to them. The Duckworth Advantage Sport was the perfect platform for getting 3 to 4 Scouts on the water at a time. The boat’s stability and ample room allowed everyone fish in comfort. Photo by WES WARD, Fish Sniffer Staff. INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMEN’S EXPO SALE!! Friday Jan. 17th and Saturday Jan. 18th AT OUR STORE IN AUBURN! Everything in the store!!! 10% to 50% OFF Join the Willfish Tackle Family for a Stress-Free “Show Price” Shopping Experience! Limited to stock on hand Complimentary BBQ and Beverages from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Saturday Jan 18th. Why pay for tickets, parking, and refreshments when you can join us for FREE. FREE Monofilament and HALF PRICE Braid with every Reel Purchase! Sale Hours 9 am to 6 pm COYOTE – While fishing pressure in Santa Clara Valley lakes has been very light lately, anglers have been landing stripers ranging from 18 inches to 20 pounds at San Luis reservoir. “Striper fishing is really good now,” said Alex Tran at Coyote Bait and Tackle. “Trollers are doing best while trolling with Atlas and Alabama rigs, tipped with broken-back Predator and Lucky Craft 128 lures. The minnow drifting is also very productive. Anglers are seeing a lot of fish in the 4 to 10 lb. range, along with a few shakers.” “Shore anglers are doing best while tossing out pileworms, bloodworms and threadfin shad,” said Tran. “The top spots are near the Romero Visitor Center and the Basalt area.” “The O’Neill Forebay is producing a lot of stripers in the 18 to 25 inch class. Both shore and boat anglers are employing jerk baits, Lucky Craft 500s and Underspins. Bait fishing is good for the brave souls venturing out in the cold.” Calero is the only Santa Clara County reservoir open to boating now – and it is the only one receiving any fishing pressure from locals. “It’s typical winter bass fishing,” said Tran. “Anglers who are fishing their baits really slow are typically picking up fish in the 1 to 5 lb. range. They are using drop shot rigs, jigs, darter head and shakey heads for the largemouths.” He hasn’t heard any reports from shore anglers going to Uvas, Chesbro, Coyote or Anderson. “Hardly anybody is fishing these lakes, due to the cold weather, the rain and the Christmas holidays,” he noted. - Dan Bacher 25 11944 Masters Court, Auburn CA (530)887-0839 Willfishtackle.com