6 August 11 , 2023 VOL . 42 • ISS . 12

FRESHwater reports

LAKE AMADOR

Catfish , Bass and Bluegill Provide Best Late Summer Action

IONE - Catfish , largemouth bass and bluegill offer the top fishing at Lake Amador with the warm surface temperatures now found on the reservoir . There are some big catfish roaming the waters of Amador . Just ask Tyler Taylor and Dayton Taylor , who caught an 18.36 lb . catfish at their campsite in Carson Arm cove on a recent trip . However , the fish average about 5 pounds each , according to Lee Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort . He recommending fishing chicken liver , shad and anchovies at night in Carson Creek or Cat Cove . For largemouth bass , Lockhart recommended dragging 4 inch plastic worms off the main lake points . “ There are still a lot of brush and trees in the water ,” he noted . “ The bluegill are showing just about everywhere on the lake , including the launch ramp cove , off the RV park and around the debris pile on the north corner of the dam ,” he added . Anglers have been catching some big Lake Amador trout at 60 feet deep in the Carson Creek Arm and off the Spillway . The fishing has been by no means hot , but anglers who put in the time are hooking quality trout , according to Lockhart . Despite the heat , one angler , Nik Cardenas w / F & B Bait , caught a limit of trout on two successive trips to the lake in July . On both trips he used FB Tails and corn PowerBait out on the spillway in 40-60 ’ of water . The reason for the trout bite is the cold Mokelumne River water that EBMUD has been releasing into the Carson Creek arm of the reservoir . However , the water conditions will change soon after EBMUD stops releasing the cold Mokelumne River into the lake . The lake level is now only 4 feet from full .

- Dan Bacher

on Highway 88 at Carson Pass

For information , call ( 209 ) -258-8888

www . capleslakeresort . com

AMERICAN RIVER / SACRAMENTO AREA

Half Pounders Begin Showing

SACRAMENTO – The shad fishing season is near its end on the American River , but fly fishermen are reporting catching some half pounder steelhead and stripers while drifting the river . “ Shad are few and far in between , but we ’ ve been getting some solid reports from customers and guides of some decent fishing for halfpounders this last week ,” reported Kiene ’ s Fly Shop . “ One of our customers reported that he caught ten half--ounder steelhead last week while fly fishing for Shad . Striper fishing is still pretty good too . “ The quality of striper fishing

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The THOMAS depends on your expectations . If catching five or six fish during a morning float sounds appealing to you , then I would have to rate the fishing as ‘ very good .’ Most positive reports are coming from Howe Ave to just below Paradise ,” the shop reported . Good shad fly patterns include Bloody Marias , Firecrackers , American River Pinky , Green Weeney , Andy ’ s Lipstick , Jeff ’ s Jefe Early Riser ( new ) and more . Productive striper fly patterns include Clouser Minnows # 1 white & turquoise / olive & turquoise / gray & turquoise and yellow & turquoise , white & gray . Good half pounder and adult steelhead patterns include Bird ’ s Nests # 12 ,# 14 , Egg Patterns # 12 , Caddis Poopah # 12 , # 14 , Micro Mayfly / olive # 18 , Rubber Legs / black # 8- # 14 , Prince Nymph # 12 , # 14 and SJ

Worm / tan # 12 . Water releases from the Nimbus Dam into the

Lower American River were 3350 cfs on August 4 . The CDFW ’ s Fishing in the City Program is now planting Sacramento Area park ponds with channel catfish . For more information , contact : r2fishinginthecity @ wildlife . ca . gov . The next free fishing clinic will be held on Saturday August 19 , 8:00 a . m . - 12:00 p . m ., Hagan Community Park , Rancho Cordova . The following free fishing clinic will be held on Saturday September 2nd , 8:00 a . m . - 12:00 a . m ., Granite Regional Park , Sacramento ( Free Fishing Day ! No Fishing License required ).

Chase Green , 11 years old from Wayland Massachusetts , landed these two nice mackinaw while trolling on Lake Tahoe .

Photo Courtesy of Sierra Fin Addicts

It is constructed of quality solid brass , stainless steel rings and extra strong hooks VMC hooks . The light reflecting embossed scale design creates an enticing flash that attracts fish and triggers them to strike !

The Speedy Shiner is available in 2 1 / 2 ”, 3 1 / 4 ” and 4 ” sizes and 30 fish catching colors . Proudly Made in USA .

www . thomaslures . com •

LAKE BERRYESSA

Channel Catfish On Night Bite

NAPA – With a surface water temperature as high as 85 degrees , fishing for kokanee , king salmon trout and black bass has been slow at Lake Berryessa . Night fishing for channel catfish offers anglers their best chance of catching fish at the reservoir . “ Targeting trout , bass , and catfish is your best bet right now ,” advised Alex Osenenko at Sweeney ’ s Sports Shop . “ The kokanee and kings are spread out , but will still occasionally find your Speedy Shiners .” “ Get a picnic going in any cove and set up a couple of rods on bottom rigs using hot dogs , nightcrawlers , anchovies , expired chicken breast , etc . You should see good action from Berryessa catfish . Night fishing seems to produce the largest fish ,” he advised . Don Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience reported tough black bass fishing at the reservoir . “ On my last trip to Berryessa , there was an early morning top water bite in the Narrows using Zara Spooks off the points ,” advised Paganelli . “ After the sun came up , we started using drop shot rigs to catch bass in 25 feet of water . That bite was slow .” “ My client caught and released 3 spotted bass to 4 pounds ,” said Paganelli . “ We hooked just little fish on the drop shot rigs . The surface water temperature was 85 degrees at the end of day .” “ Everybody I talked to at the boat ramp was struggling for fish . I think the surface temperature had a lot to do with it . We saw lots of shad and schools of bass fry ,” he concluded . Putah Creek is providing “ fair to slow ” wild rainbow fishing , reported Alex Osenenko “ Fish early to beat the heat ,” he tipped . “ Add weight to get a good presentation down in deep slots where fish have no time but to react .... use a worm pattern . Anglers report changing midge nymph patterns / colors equaled hookups . There has been an evening caddis hatch on some riffles producing hookups on a Birds Nest # 16 .”

- Dan Bacher

The Speedy Shiner is a highly effective trolling bait for all types of gamefish , especially rainbow and brown trout , lake trout or mackinaw , and landlocked

King and Coho Salmon . The Speedy Shiner has a very effective action up to 4 mph .

( 800 ) 724-6768 • info @ thomaslures . com

AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL TACKLE DEALER .

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