22 June 12, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 13
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 13
CHABOT/DEL VALLE/QUARRY/
SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE cont.
Shore fishing at other lakes in the East
Bay regional Park District, including
Quarry, Shadow Cliffs, Del Valle and
Temescal, remains open. Anglers are
able to walk into the parks and fish.
Please maintain social distancing of 6
feet. NO gatherings. Anglers must carry
a state fishing license and abide by state
regulations, but will not be required to
have a Daily Fishing Permit from the
East Bay Regional Park District. All
regulations, bag limits, slot limits still
apply.
Fish Plants will be suspended during
the health pandemic.
NO boating allowed, as there is NO
staff to perform Zebra/Quagga mussel
inspections.
San Pablo Reservoir Recreation
Area is currently closed until further
notice, according to the Rocky Mountain
Recreation Area.
FEATHER RIVER
Shad Bend River Rods
OROVILLE - Fishing pressure is
relatively light on the Feather River,
due to low releases of 2,050 cfs. on
the Feather River from Lake Oroville.
Nonetheless, boaters and some bank
anglers are catching and releasing good
numbers of shad.
“Three friends and I caught over 40
shad while fishing jig heads with pink
champagne tails below the Live Oak
Rock Dam on a recent trip,” said Brian
Willits of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle.
“The shad fishing for shore fishermen
and boaters is alo production below
Shanghai Rapids.”
“The stripers are spawning now, so
the fishing isn’t very good and not many
anglers are trying,” he noted.
“Some anglers are hooking stripers
at night on the lower Feather in the
COVID 19 SALE!
SPECIAL CLEARANCE on All Mercurys in stock
Call for Prices and Availability!
SUTTER MARINE, INC.
We Offer A COMPLETE Service
Department Featuring
Factory Trained Technicians
19% OFF
MSRP
This young angler took a bank fishing trip to
Lake Amador this spring and nailed this fat
largemouth bass.
Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake
Amador.
ALL MERCURY
OUTBOARDS IN STOCK!
Marysville while tossing out swimbaits,”
added Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide
Service.
- Dan Bacher
FOLSOM LAKE
Bass and Big Rainbows
Highlight Catches
SACRAMENTO – Since vehicular
access to Folsom Lake reopened in May,
anglers have reported solid black bass,
(530) 673-6250
380 Garden Hwy.• Yuba City, Calif.
FRESHWATER
3912
trout and salmon action.
Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s Bass
Fishing Experience experienced
topnotch bass fishing on his latest solo
trip to Folsom since the recreation area
reopened.
“I caught and released 15 fish, a mixture
of smallmouth, spotted and largemouth
bass, in the top 15 feet of water,” said
Paganelli. “I used tubes, 4 inch Senkos
and small Keitech swimbaits at Folsom.”
Trollers have been picking up rainbow
trout and king salmon while trolling
Speedy Shiners, hoochies and other lures
under downriggers at a variety of depths
, but the big trout honors went to a bass
angler, Keith, on a recent trip.
“Yesterday was an exciting day for Keith
Wright, who was bass fishing at Folsom
Lake with Jason Griffiths, EDH,,” reported
Albert Berends, former Fish Sniffer staffer.
“They were having a slow day in the south
fork, so they made the trek north.”
“They pulled into a cove, made a few
casts, then Keith told Jason the hooked
a good one! After a pretty good battle
they tried to net it, but it was too big.
Somehow they wrestled it into the boat,
and it’s a giant rainbow trout!! They were
so excited they called me right away, told
me the story, they were pumped,” he said.
“She was fat, strong and healthy and
was fooled by a 5” Yamamoto Senko,
dead sticked (motionless) on the bottom
in about 8 ft of water, exactly where a
giant trout shouldn’t be. They took pics
and weighed it on a Rapala digital scale at
7.05 lbs.,” noted Berends. “After a little bit
of thought on what to do, they decided to
release her. “
Park entrances at Folsom Lake SRA
are open to vehicular traffic at Granite
Bay and Beals Point in Placer County;
Darrington Trailhead, Old Salmon Falls,
Brown’s Ravine including Folsom Lake
Marina and Mormon Island in El Dorado
County; Folsom Point, Negro Bar, Nimbus
Flat, Park Shore, Nimbus Dam Overlook
and Shadow Glen in Sacramento County.
The day-use facilities, restrooms and boat
launching facilities are at these locations
are open.
A limited number of the recreation area’s
concessions have begun reopening.
The following are still closed:
Campgrounds and high public-use indoor
facilities, including museums and visitor
centers. Special events and tours continue
to be canceled until further notice.
Folsom Lake is holding 773,007 feet
of water, 79 percent of capacity and 97
percent of average. The water level is
446.79 feet in elevation.
- Dan Bacher
KLAMATH/TRINITY RIVERS
Fish and Game Commission
Adopts Fishing Seasons,
Quotas on Klamath Basin
SACRAMENTO - Anglers will see
a reduced sportfishing quota for the
Klamath and Trinity Rivers this season,
due to low river returns in the fall of 2019
and with an ocean abundance estimate of
only 186,600 adult Klamath kings.
The California Fish and Game
Commission adopted bag and possession
limits for the Klamath Basin based on
a quota of 1,296 fall-run adults. The
Commission also adopted a size change
for jacks (grilse), or two-year-old salmon
within the Klamath River basin. The
size used to delineate adult fall Chinook
salmon, currently set at greater than 22
inches total length, has been changed to
greater than 23 inches total length.
In the past, the Department has used
a provisional standard of 55 centimeters
fork length to estimate the jack harvest of
KRFC during the season. This equates
to 21.7 inches when converted to fork
length, and 23.2 inches when converted
to total length. The new jack size will now
be consistent between what’s used for
recreational harvest and what’s used for
research and monitoring.
On the Klamath, the fall season begins
on Aug. 15 and closes Dec. 31. The daily
bag limit will be two Chinook salmon,
WHAT’S HOT continued from page 1
pound, but it sure was feisty!
“It’s a start!” Mike chuckled.
I landed another, slightly
bigger this time, and then we
continued further south.
With nearly three decades
of guiding experience, Mike
knows this area of the Sacramento
River like the back of
his hand.
“After 29 years of doing
this, there are two things I
know for sure,” he said, confidently.
“You can’t get ‘em if your line’s not in the
water, and you’re always one bite away from a
really big one,” he grinned.
Don’t let Mike fool you – he knows a lot
more than that, and he’s got more stories
than you can probably count. This is why
his customers come back year after year. In
fact, my time chatting and laughing with him
between bites was just as enjoyable as reeling
in the fish.
Around mid-morning is when we started
finding the bigger ones. Mike handed me
his rod once he had a fish on, and I clumsily
started reeling it in left-handed, something I
was obviously not used to. It zigged and it
zagged, but luckily it stayed on, and once it
was landed Mike took
a fantastic photo of
me and my gorgeous
rainbow trout with
the backdrop of the
Sacramento River
behind us.
“Let’s do that
again!” I laughed. I
examined the beautifully
speckled trout
with its pink line
right down the middle
before plunging it
back into the river.
CONTINUED ON PG 17
The Sacramento River below Redding is packed with big
beautiful hard fighting rainbows like this amazing fish.
Photo by STACY BARAWED, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Back trolling small plugs like this Yakima
Bait Company Mag Lip is a great approach
for targeting trout on the Sacramento.
Photo by STACY BARAWED, Fish Sniffer
Staff.
More of the same continued for the next
couple of hours: great conversation, land a
fish, repeat. We wrapped up our trip just as
the sun was positioned high in the sky, which
I learned affects the bite.
“The water’s so clear here, they start
becoming skittish,” Mike explained. “When
it’s darker and their visibility is limited, it’s
more of a reaction bite. Now, they have time
to examine the lure, so they’re less apt to
bite it. This is why we start at 6:30am and
not 10:00am.”
Learning more about the fish I’m targeting
as well as the different methods used to
target them is why I love spending time with
guides like Mike Bogue. Salmon season
begins in August; and since I’ve only caught
salmon out of the San
Francisco Bay, I can’t
wait to join him again to
learn how his methods
differ in these completely
contrasting conditions.
Big thanks to Mike
Bogue’s Guide Service
for putting me on my
first wild trout! Book
your trip soon if you’re
looking for a guaranteed
good time. You won’t be
disappointed!