January 12 , 2024

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FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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LAKE BERRYESSA

fishing buddy , Abdul Masar of San Rafael . It was one of Kellogg ’ s most memorable holiday season angling adventures . “ We launched our kayaks at Lake Berryessa at the Markley Cove boat ramp at around 8 a . m .,” said Kellogg . “ I fished two rods , one rigged with a chrome Trigger Spoon and the other with a trolling fly with a metal head and shad pattern body . By the end of the trip , the two of us had caught a total of 11 rainbow trout .” Kellogg had never fished from a kayak at Berryessa before , but was impressed by the action he experienced while he was there . The two anglers fished until 4 p . m ., with the best action taking place while trolling at a speed of 2-1 / 2 mph around the powerlines that cross the reservoir . “ The fish we landed ranged from 16 to 22 inches long ,” he reported . “ All were really silvery and had a lot of girth . I released all of the five fish that I caught , including my biggest fish , a 5 lb . rainbow . Masar released all of his six fish except the biggest one , a 4 lb . trout .” Kellogg ’ s 5 lb . rainbow hit during the middle of the trip about a half mile below the powerline . “ It slammed the rod down so hard that I had a hard time getting it out of the rod holder ,” divulged Kellogg . “ The fish had incredible power and jumped at least a dozen times . The fight lasted 4 to 5 minutes . but it seemed like an hour . I was lucky I got the fish in . This trout and the other fish we caught were all pristine , square tailed perfect fish .” He noted that the lake wasn ’ t very crowded with boats where he was fishing . “ While fishing , I saw a family of otters , a coyote hunting squirrels and several bald eagles . The coyote came with one yard of getting a squirrel ,” added Kellogg . In contrast with his memorable day on the reservoir , the ride back to his home in Foresthill was an ordeal with all of the holiday traffic

Captain Brett Brady and his client caught this nice stiper limit while fishing near Sherman Island . Swimbaits and spoons were the bait of choice on this beautiful day on the delta .

Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan from Davis to Rocklin on Interstate 80 . “ It was a nightmare with one big wreck with multiple cars in Sacramento on the way . To make it worse , the fog was just starting to come out ,” he added . Nate Kelsch of Big Nate ’ s Guide Service also reported top-notch fishing at Lake Berryessa while trolling an array of lures in his boat on his latest trip on January 2 , 2024 . “ Today I had Jeff and his son Justin out for a trophy rainbow hunt on Berryessa and they accomplished just that ,” said Kelsch . “ We were met with a thick

fog bank once again , as well as a cold storm front that brought some heavy rain , and super cold wind .” “ I had a game plan , but was forced to throw it out the window and improvise with winter tactics to get the big rainbows to commit in less than ideal conditions . We covered miles of water checking off my ‘ honey holes ’ and every bite we got was a DONKEY !! We ended our day with 6 , big , beautiful rainbows making it to the net , with a couple more lost in battle , and us hammering down on the throttle to get back to the dock before the storm really drilled smacked us in the face .”

“ Deeper marks were better today , although we caught fish from the surface down to 32 ft , and kept the speeds between 3 to 3.4mph . When the weather comes in , the big fish come out to play , so don ’ t be afraid to get out there , as the rewards can be epic ,” Kelsch concluded .

- Dan Bacher

BULLARDS BAR / ENGLEBRIGHT LAKES

Kokanee Lead New Year ’ s Angling Parade

DOBBINS – Fishing pressure at Bullard ’ s Bar Reservoir continues to be very light for kokanee salmon , rainbow trout and spotted bass , but the kokanee fishing is very good . “ That ’ s a wrap ,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service after his most recent trip to Bullards . “ We had limits for two at Bullards Bar . My client caught his first kokanee and got his first limit of kokanee .” “ The fish were pretty deep today ,” he tipped . “ They were mostly at 50 to 65 ft and hit Brad ’ s KCP cut plugs and Paluina Peak spinner minnow and peak performance Dodgers . The fish ranged from 10 to 13.25 inches long .” Bullards Bar is holding 1,874,45 acre-feet of water , 65 percent of capacity and 104 percent of average . Few anglers have been on the water at Englebright Reservoir fishing for trout . However , this is generally a great time of year to hook rainbows and an occasional brown while trolling with Rapalas , Needlefish , Cripplures and nightcrawlers behind dodgers . Expect to hook holdover rainbows in the 12 to 18 inch range . Englebright is holding 63,800 acre feet of water , 91 percent of capacity and 98 percent of average .

- Dan Bacher

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GREAT Fishing for : Trout • Kokanee • Catfish Large & Smallmouth Bass Crappie • Bluegill • Sunfish

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You can contact the Pyramid Lake Ranger Station at ( 775 ) 476-1155 for more information on our beautiful lake .

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