12 March 3 , 2023 VOL . 42 • ISS . 3

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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LAKE DAVIS

Valle , 19 ” 2 lb . 5.2 oz . All proceeds benefited the Eastern Plumas Rural Fire Protection District . The derby headquarters was at J & J ’ s Grizzly Store and Camping Resort , 7552 Lake Davis Road , at Lake Davis , Portola , and the entry fee was $ 20.00 . The lake is currently holding 45,722-acre feet of water , 55 percent of capacity and 110 percent of average .

- Dan Bacher

FOLSOM LAKE

Black Bass and Trout Angling Improves

SACRAMENTO – The black bass and king salmon fishing has improved , but the fishing remains up and down as cold storm fronts move into the region . “ Folsom Lake was very cold on my last trip ,” reported Don Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience . “ I did not know that a tournament was going on , but I went out and had a good day . I moved around and fished many areas , checking out the lake .” “ The North Fork was 47 degrees , Main Body was at 52 and South Fork was at 48 ,” he said . “ I found 6 nice spotted bass just dragging a tube at 20 feet . I saw fish down deep at 60 feet , but could not get them to go .” “ The clarity of the water was not bad , maybe 2 feet ,” Paganelli added . “ I watched most of the guys fishing outside points . Drop shot rigs were not working for me this day , but maybe next time .” Folsom Lake trout and salmon fishing starting is starting to pick up , according to Craig Newton at Willfish Trackle . “ The is lots of bait , including shad in big piles , and the rainbows and kings are congregating around them ,” stated Newton . “ Trollers are using Black and silver Rapalas and other lures to attract the fish . The biggest kings have been in the 18- inch range . Anglers have caught a couple of 4 to 5 lb . trout , but most are in the 17 to 18-inch class .” “ The trout are showing in the top 25 feet or where the bait is , while the kings are hitting round 35 feet deep . The mouth of South Fork around Browns River and the South Fork , along with Granite Bay and Five Percent ,” are producing the best action .” Kevin Fogel reported on the Folsom Lake Fishing Reports Facebook Page : “ Today I put a full shift in at Folsom Lake ! the old backyard pond I started out really good . Me and one of my buddies and another boat got on the bait in the south fork and had an hourlong bite I hooked two 13-inch trout in that hour and one salmon that

Follow us on Twitter and “ like ’ us on Facebook 4116 looked to me to be about 5 pounds that came unhooked just before coming over the front edge of the net . It was just barely lip hooked on the hoochie . That was it for me .” “ My buddy Mike Morgan and Teddy continued to get bites all day ,” he noted . “ They landed a few nice ones and lost a few nice ones as well , but what a beautiful day on the water ;” “ I saw a lot more bait again today , way bigger balls of bait and a lot more fish . I got one of my trout on one of my homemade spinners behind a Topcoat 4-inch Kowski special flasher and the other trout came on my pink and white hoochie behind an 8-inch white and chrome Hot Spot . The salmon bite came on a Topcoat chrome and white flasher with a pink and white hoochie ,” he stated . Folsom Lake is holding 527,323- acre feet of water , 54 percent of capacity and 119 percent of average . The lake level is 419 feet in elevation , 47 feet from full . Both the Granite Bay and Hobie Cove ramps were open at press time , according to the Folsom Lake Marina . With the high inflow of water from the North , Middle and South forks of the American River , there is a lot of debris on the lake and boaters should use caution while on the lake . Large logs can be floating just below the lake ’ s surface and can be a real danger .

- Dan Bacher

LOS VAQUEROS / DEL VALLE RESERVOIRS

Most Of Watershed Is Still Closed

BYRON – The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Watershed closed on Dec . 31 , due to the mudslides caused by flooding , and hadn ’ t completely

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The Newsom administration has declared war on the Central Valley Salmon . The Governor ’ s actions and the drought have brought the wild salmon populations of the Central Valley to near extinction . Even if you don ’ t fish , you should be opposed to letting an iconic California salmon that has survived since the ice ages go extinct . he Governor has allowed agricultural interests to dictate the state ’ s water policies . The result has been a disaster . The wild spawning fish are nearly gone . If not for the hatcheries , there would be no salmon fishing at all . We are clearly in a crisis and we need action . So what do we do ? Do we let

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Fishing • Hunting • Destinations Conservation • History Dedicated to the Northern California Outdoorsman

Newsom continue business as usual until all the salmon are gone ? Or do we get mad , advocate for the salmon , and fight back ? Water4Fish gives us an avenue to demand changes and get results . It sends thousands of email letters to the governor and other leaders that have the power to make the needed changes . We used this system in the past and got great results . We are activating it again to highlight current issues and needs . On February 8th , 2022 , the crisis was compounded – the Central Valley Fall-run salmon was petitioned to list it as endangered . Go to Water4Fish . org . To proceed , click on issues on the left side or click on Send the Letter .

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