18 July 14 , 2023

VOL . 42 • ISS . 10

Freshwater reports :

Continued from pg 17

truckee / little truckee rivers

true form . We would typically be approaching the dog days of summer by this point , but this year has been quite a bit different , and only now are we starting to see typical conditions for our river . I It seems to be a safe prediction that the Truckee won ’ t be seeing the issues of warm or low water at any point this year and there should be some great fishing opportunities from here all the way through fall . As flows settle and water temperatures warm , we have seen the trout moving more into the riffles . This is typical water for this time of year and anglers should put a heavy focus on nymphing riffles and pocket water . Try using a smaller offering imitating PMD , caddis , green drake , or yellow sally . This will be the best way to find fish right now . The increasingly clear water has made the attractor nymphs we ’ ve been fishing all spring a bit less effective . Be observant on the water . If you see a hatch coming off , switch to a fly that will match . During a hatch , fish will often key in on the emergers and feed mid

Wow ! This angler landed this monster sturgeon while fishing with Hook ’ d Up Sport Fishing . The fish measured in at 63 inches and was safely released once a quick photo was taken .

Photo Courtesy of Hook ’ d Up Sport Fishing water column . Soft hackles and emerger imitations will produce subsurface . Streamer fishing has improved throughout the system . The best runs to swing a streamer are dropping into perfect condition right now . If looking for a streamer bite , think low light hours . If you ’ re a streamer junkie , fishing the lower river near Sparks is a great option right now . With colder than average air temps and thunderstorms passing over most of last week , the water temps remain cool even in the lower river . Subsequently the fishing is good all day , although the mornings and evenings may offer the best bite .

During the low light hours , fish will move from their hiding spots and into the tail outs where they can be found feeding on emerging caddis or ambushing baitfish . The Little Truckee is seeing some great flows with releases from Stampede the last week at 200 CFS , and as of today a slight drop down to 150 . This drop may make the bite slow a bit for a day or two as the fish settle into new feeding lanes . We ’ re hopeful the dry fly fishing will really take off in the coming weeks because of the combination of good flows , cold water and warm weather . Expect some incredible fishing out here in the coming weeks . As is typical , we have been seeing the best luck with small tailwater bugs such as split case PMD ’ s , Juju Baetis , Zebra Midges , and WD- 40 ’ s . There are some bigger bugs , such as caddis and green drakes , in the system . Fishing imitations of some of these larger bugs can also produce results on the Little Truckee . Expect this fishery to be very popular and be sure to give other anglers their space . Better yet make it a point to fish mid-week or early morning and late evening for more elbow room .

While fishing with Wilkerson , she caught and released three wild rainbow trout on a quick drift on the Sacramento River in the Redding area from 4 p . m . to 5:30 p . m . “ A . bunch of geese came running after me after I got out of my vehicle when I got to the launch ramp ,” she said . “ It was hot , but neither the geese nor the heat could deter me from fishing .” “ The trout were all 18 to 20 inches long ,” she added . “ I used a three fly rig consisting of a fox poopah , a hot spot nymph , and a tan Silvys pupa .”

After staying in Redding overnight , Kaiser spent the next morning and early afternoon fishing in private lakes the Fly Shop has access to . “ I fished dry flies , dry droppers ( dry flies with nymphs under them ) and streamers on sinking line ,” Kaiser explained . “ I hooked and released 7 rainbow trout averaging around15 inches each .” Kaiser then went to another private Fly Shop lake with Wilkerson to learn how to fish top water poppers for bass . “ There were a bunch of lily pads and I had to cast into open spots between the pads ,” Kaiser recounted . “ I fly fished for six hours with top water frog patterns . I ended up hooking and releasing 15 largemouths weighing 1

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CALIFORNIA ’ S LONGEST RUNNING OUTDOOR TALK SHOW ! to 2 pounds . These bass just exploded on the surface ! It was amazing – this was the favorite part of the trip !” On the next day , she headed to the Trinity River to target summer steelhead and brown trout , getting on the river at 9:30 a . m . and off at 2 p . m . She caught and released four summer steelhead to 22 inches and one brown measuring 21 inches . She hooked the elusive brown on a rubber legs nymph and the steelhead on a stonefly nymph . “ The river was flowing at 690 cfs ,” she stated . “ We fished from the Old Lewiston Bridge to Bucktail on the Trinity . In addition to the steelhead , I released four half pounders .” After leaving the river , she headed solo in her vehicle over Highway 299 to fish the ocean for rockfish and halibut . After staying at a hotel in Eureka , she drove on Highway 101 to Trinidad Harbor and boarded the Shellback sportfishing boat . She met Captain Tony Sepulveda of Green Water Fishing Adventures and the five other passengers at 6:30 a . m . “ The day started windy and gnarly , but it ended up calm ,” Kaiser noted . “ We started the trip fishing for rockfish and caught five limits of black rockfish .” After they sat on two spots for halibut , the captain went to another spot over 275 feet of water where the fish decided to bite all of a sudden . The 5 anglers and crew landed 7 Pacific halibut right in a row while using black cod ( sablefish ) fillets and carcasses for bait . The fish ranged from 16 to 45 pounds , with her fish weighing a hefty 27 pounds . After the boat got back to the dock , she drove 4 hours on Highway 101 from

Cat Kaiser hefts up this 27 lb . Pacific halibut that she landed aboard the Shellback sportfishing boat out of Trinidad .

Photo courtesy of Cat Kaiser

Trinidad to her home in Santa Rosa and ended the marathon fishing road trip . “ All I did was drive and fish for five days straight ,” Kaiser concluded . “ After working so hard on the Santa Rosa dinner , where 400 people raised a ton of money for restoring our salmon populations , I said I needed to catch some fish . And that ’ s exactly what I did . I work hard so that I can go fishing .” Information : Redding Fly Shop : https :// www . theflyshop . com , Green Water ’ s Shellback Sportfishing : http :// www . eurekafishing . net / index-2 . html