Freshwater reports :

Continued from pg 8

DON PEDRO / NEW MELONES lakeS

2 pounders up to 19-1 / 2 inches , 1 king salmon weighing 3 pounds and 4 rainbows . “ The fish kokanee gear trolled at 40 to 50 feet deep ,” noted Smith . Don Pedro is holding 2,030,000 acre feet of water , 92 percent of capacity and 113 percent of capacity . The kokanee are scattered now at New Melones Reservoir and anglers are reporting tough fishing . “ The lake is producing big fish in the 2 lb . range , but not a lot of fish are being caught ,” said Smith . The James Franco Team , featuring James Franco , Jim Franco and Denise Franco , won first place in the recent Kokanee Power Derby at New Melones with a 3 fish weight of 7.64 pounds . The top fish weighed 2.87 lbs . and measured 18.86 inches long .

Eagle Lake

Schools Of Minnows Leads To Strong Trout Bite

Eagle Lake - Since opening day on May 27 , we have been fly fishing the rock piles in water 6-10 feet deep with nymphs . Nymphing has slowed as the water temperatures continued to warm . We did very well nymphing through June and just like someone flipped a switch and it was over . Surface water temperatures are now running in the low 70 ’ s so we have switched over to trolling and are putting limits of fat Eagle Lake trout in the box . This year ’ s minnow hatch looks healthy and this is a strong contributing factor to a good trout bite . There are clouds of minnows swimming not only around the launch ramp at Gallatin Marina but in various areas around the lake . We have found minnows off Eagle ’ s Nest on the east side of the lake and are concentrating our efforts in this area . We are trolling the Eagle ’ s Nest area with red , gold , and orange Thomas Buoyant and other spoons in 30-50 feet of water at 18-23 feet deep . The fish we are landing are very healthy and in great shape and running from 2.5-3.5 lbs . When you find a schools of minnows you can fish your baits at various depths . I like to troll a grub at 6-10 feet along with a spoon set deeper ( 18-23 feet deep currently .) The shallower bait will target fish feeding near the surface , right under the minnow school .

Whether you are fishing with me or not , don ’ t hesitate to contact me with any questions about fishing or lodging at Eagle Lake . You can also book a guided trip at 916-201-4648 .

- Tim Noxon , Fish Traveler Guide Service .

Folsom Lake

Black Bass , Rainbow Trout Lead Summer Angling Parade

SACRAMENTO – Bass fishermen are finding “ fair ” action at Folsom Lake , while trollers in search of trout are catching some nice holdover and wild rainbows . “ Anglers are catching mostly spotted and largemouth bass on drop shot rigs and jigs ,’ said Don Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience . “ The fish are showing at 5 to 30 feet in the main body rockpiles and submerged willows .” The bass are feeding on pond smelt and threadfin shad . “ The trout fishing is fair to good ,” said Cal Kellogg of fishhuntshoot . com .. “ The rainbows arc clinging to structure in 15 to 25 feet of water . We ’ re trolling fairly fast at 2-1 / 2 miles per hour .” “ On our best trip lately , four anglers caught 17 trout up to 16 inches while fishing the North Fork ,” reported Kellogg . “ The key is finding the fish – the trout are feeding on pond smelt now . The top baits are Gulp Worms on Slow Death hooks and Trigger Minnows with action discs .” “ The fish we are catching now are either wild or holdover rainbows . On our most recent trip , we kept 7 trout and released the rest . The fish are very clean and the meat is pink . They are fighting well . In addition to the trout , we caught several spotted bass up to 3 pomds on our latest trip ,” Kellogg concluded . Folsom Lake is holding 927,681 feet of water , 95 percent of capacity and 126 percent of average . The lake level is 461 feet in elevation , 4 feet from full . Inflow into the lake is 4,285 cfs and the outflow is 4,144 cfs . Brown ’ s Ravine ’ s main ramp is back open . Currently all five lunching ramps on Folsom Lake are usable , but are very busy on weekends , according to the Folsom Lake Marina : “ High water is great , but it also means that many parking spaces are now under water and the park can close early due to no

4111 parking . You should expect large crowds and lines to both launch and retrieve your boat . Come as early as possible and enjoy a full Folsom Lake .”

- Dan Bacher

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Patience Hervey of Chico with a beautiful 3lb . 9 oz Eagle Lake rainbow taken nymphing . Photo courtesy of Fish Traveler Guide Service

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