VOL . 40 • ISS . 21 |
MAP FEATURE |
November 26 , 2021 |
11 |
American River Map Facts
Location : The 23 miles of the American River from Nimbus Dam to its junction to the mouth are located in the heart of the Sacramento metropolitan area . The entire river is accessible to bank anglers and boaters , since it is located in the beautiful American River Parkway . The parkway is located in a protected greenbelt that cuts Sacramento County in half . It features a paved bicycle and running trail , many rest areas and access from most neighborhoods adjacent to the river parkway .
Fishing Season : The section from Discovery Park to the SMUD powerline at the Southwest Boundary of Ancil Hoffman Park , is open year round to fishing for all except for salmon . The river above the SMUD powerline to the Hazel Avenue Bridge is open to fishing to steelhead and other fishing other than salmon from January 1 through October 31 .
The salmon fishing season is set at the Fish and Game Commission meeting every spring . The salmon season in 2021 runs from July 16 to December 31 except for the small section of river from the Jibboom Street Bridge to the mouth that closes on December 16 . Review the California Fresh Water Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet for bag and possession limits , hook restrictions and additional restrictions :
Day Use : The entrance fee for vehicles under 22 feet in length is $ 5.00 , except on summer holiday weekends when the fee is $ 8.00 . The fee for trailer or vehicle 22 or more feet in length is $ 10.00 except for summer holiday weekends when the fee is $ 13.00 .
Annual Fees : Vehicle ( private or commercial – $ 50.00 Motorized watercraft and trailer plus vehicle pass – $ 100.00 .
Boat launching : Concrete boat ramps are available at Discovery Park , Howe Avenue , Watt Avenue and Sunrise . Unimproved gravel launching is available at Gristmill , Ancil Hoffman , Rossmoor and other areas on the river . The fee for non-motorized watercraft is $ 3 ( plus vehicle fee ) and the fee for motorized watercraft is $ 5 ( plus vehicle fee ).
Park information : www . sacparks . net , Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks , Recreation and Open Space Administration 3711 Branch Center Road , Sacramento , CA . 95827 For General Parks , Golf and Rangers Information , call ( 916 ) 875-6961 .
Fishing Information : Willfish Bait and Tackle , Auburn , ( 530 ) 887-0839 Fisherman ’ s Warehouse , Sacramento , ( 916 ) 362-1200 Elkhorn Outdoor Sports , Rio Linda , ( 916 ) 991-5298 ; ( 916 ) 448-6338 Sacramento Pro Tackle , ( 916 ) 925-0529 .
Walnut Ave .
Folsom Blvd
Marconi Ave .
El Camino Ave .
Fair Oaks Blvd
Wilm . B . Pond Rec . Area
Bradshaw Road
Powerlines
Palm Dr . Kenneth
Van Alstine Sarah
Landis Ave .
Rod Bradbury
Ancil Hoffman Park
C . M . Goethe Park
Carmichael Fair Oaks Blvd
Marshall Ave ..
American
River
Hollister
Parkway
Coloma Road
Mather Field Road
San Juan Ave ..
American
Rosmoor Rd
Rossmoor Bar
River
Pennsylvania
Sacramento Bar
Rancho Cordova
Zinfandel Dr
Sunrise Blvd
Elmanto Rd
Fair Oaks Blvd
Sunrise Blvd .
Lower Sunrise
Winding Way
Sunrise Blvd .
Upper Sunrise
Folsom Blvd
Sunset Avenue Fair Oaks
Road
Kenneth Ave ..
Illinois
Sailor Bar
American River Steelhead Sacramento County
Hazel Avenue
Fish Screen
Nimbus Dam
Fish Hatchery
Fishing Notes
• • Steelhead - Fishing is best from January through mid-April mid-April , though , though fish are fish also are caught also caught in the in fall the before fall before the salmon the spawning salmon spawning closure goes closure into goes effect . into Use effect Glo Bugs . Use , night Glo crawlers Bugs , night , salmon crawlers roe , spinners , salmon and roe Lil , spinners Cleos while and bank Lil Cleos fishing while or wading bank . fishing or
Driftboaters do well pulling Wee Warts and Hot Shots or back bouncing roe .
wading . Driftboaters do well pulling Wee Warts and Hot Shots or back bouncing . roe .
• • Striped Bass - Available in in the deeper holes hole for for anglers bait bait fishing fishing and and using using top water top water lures lures during during steelhead steelhead season . season .
• • Consult Go to https California :// wildlife Sportfishing . ca . gov for information Regulations on Supplement regulations regarding # 2 for open seasons seasons , bag limits , bag , limits fishing and gear gear and restrictions other fishing . restrictions .
Bike Path
Parking
Major Put-in & Take-out Point Cartops / Drift Boats
California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) announced a plan to increase releases of hatchery smolts from its Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River in 2022 , from the normal 4 million to 4.5 million . “ In a June 2020 post , I summarized annual hatchery releases of American River fall-run salmon smolts for years 1991-2019 . I suggested that the long-term declines in escapement were also due to reductions in overall smolt releases and to an increasing proportion of river releases as opposed to Bay releases in drier years ,” he said . “ In 2020 , a total of 4.44 million smolts were released , with 2.63 million released to the river and 1.81 million to the Bay . The 1.6-million smolts released in-river in May 2020 were subject to low flows in the river and the Delta and to high water temperatures . As a consequence , I would expect 2022 escapement to follow the general downward trend .,” he noted . “ In drought year 2021 , all 4 million smolts were trucked and released to the Bay . However , I still expect 2023 escapement to be reduced as a consequence of the generally poor survival of smolts released to the Bay in drier years with low Delta outflow ..” “ Until flow conditions in the river and Bay in dry years improve , a 12.5 % increase in hatchery smolt releases is unlikely to improve escapement to recent historical levels ,” he noted . Cannon said he likes the new ladder because it gets rid of the weir that they had to take in and out each year by reducing Nimbus Dam releases . “ It also opens the river up to Nimbus Dam ,” he stated . Information : https ://
Hundreds of salmon congregate at the gate to the fish ladder at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on November 2 .
Photo by Dan Bacher calsport . org On November 19 , Novak said the return of fall Chinook salmon to the hatchery was “ looking good . We should have no problem getting the fish to meet our production goal this year . We have taken a total of 2.9 million green eggs to date .” ‘ Also , around 50 percent of the fish were seeing at the hatchery are jacks ( two-year-old fish ). We have seen more jacks this year to date than we saw last year ,” he noted . The showing of steelhead to date is promising , but the fish that have been seen to date are Central Valley strain steelhead , probably from the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery . Most are in the 16 to 18 inch range , according to Novak . “ We didn ’ t spawn these fish – we returned them all to the river ,” he explained . Water releases from Nimbus Dam into the American River are still only 500 cfs . The temperature of the water is 57 to 58 degrees . “ The Bureau of Reclamation has been using the lower valve bypass to provide the
Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the new Nimbus Fish Hatchery Project on November 2 .
Photo by Dan Bacher coldest water from Folsom Lake ,” said Novak . The larger Eel River-strain steelhead that the American is noted for will begin showing soon . The American River will open to steelhead fishing on January 1 , 2021 from the U . S . Geological Survey gauging station cable crossing about 300 yards downstream from the Nimbus Hatchery fish rack site to the SMUD power line crossing at the southwest boundary of Ancil Hoffman Park . Anglers are reminded that the salmon fishing season in this stretch of river doesn ’ t open umtil July 16 . Anglers are also reminded that Nimbus Basin permanently closed to all fishing on March 1 , 2018 . The closure area is from Nimbus Dam to the U . S . Geological Survey ( USGS ) gauging station cable crossing approximately one-half mile downriver ( California Code of Regulations Title 14 , sections 7.50 ( b )( 5 )( A ) and ( B ). Closure of the Nimbus Basin to fishing was part of the Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project , which involved reorienting the hatchery ’ s fish ladder into the Nimbus Basin and removing the existing fish weir . The Nimbus Fish Hatchery ’ s facilities are still closed to the public due to COVID-19 , but the lower portion of the fish ladder is open to public access . Additional virtual opportunities and resources are available at : https :// wildlife . ca . gov / Learning .