FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 16

DON PEDRO LAKE

immediately after leaving the dock at the Blue Oaks Launch Ramp .” “ I suggested a late start and it turned into a three-hour trip ,” stated Smith . “ We had plenty of action and they didn ’ t want to burn the kids out . They hooked nine and caught eight trout , as well as having other bites that didn ’ t stick .”

- Dan Bacher

EAST BAY LAKES ROUNDUP

Trout Plants Boost Catches At Del Valle , Other Lakes

OAKLAND- - East Bay trout action has been outstanding , catch numbers are very good and should only get better following recent plants and consistent weather . Anglers saw the holiday start with mixed conditions , but a few days of good weather made a big difference and this week , most of the lakes are in their seasonal prime . Del Valle water levels are low but heavy plants are keeping that lake on my radar . Contra Loma is healthy again and both plant numbers and catch numbers are up . Temescal will quickly get back into shape , Horseshoe Lake is almost always a solid bet and Shadow Cliffs kicked out a 6 pounder . Lake Temescal received 750 pounds of Lassen ’ s just before the holiday and another 900 just after the holiday . Conditions should have settled and even with an inch or more of rain this week , action should be pretty good . Cold water pushing in from the main dock side and back of the lake could push fish into the deeper water along the west side but give the main dock a first try . Juaquin Guttierrez picked up a 9-pounder in the tulles by the main dock on a custom aqua blue / green spoon . Lake Del Valle received 1000 pounds Lassen ’ s just before the holiday and received another just after the holiday and on top of previous plants is loaded . Weather conditions will not have much effect on the lake and some stain could improve conditions . The shoreline will be muddy with the low water . Garrett Shadzi took one of the larger trout of the season in early December with a rainbow topping the scales at 10.14 pounds . Garret took his brute on a “ Ray ” rod , 2- pound line and a 1 / 64 oz jig head while fishing the second cove just beyond the narrows . The fish only jumped once but took him to the backing 5 times ! Garrett took another 6-plus pounder on the 21st . Horseshoe Lake remains consistent with solid action and solid limits from the cove and along the row . Anthony Marquez posted a PB rainbow estimated at over 10-pounds . Contra Loma has been fishing very well . The water level has been brought back up and rain will have little effect on water conditions and

Brett Brady , of Barebones Guide Service , was fishing on the San Joaquin Rver when he landed this striper while using white swimbait with a BladeRunner Striper Special 1 / 2oz lead head .

Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan

there have been some solid plants during the previous month . Weeds are manageable and clear deep water is accessible along the rock wall , most of the docks and many of the points . There has also been a decent bass bite for anglers looking to mix it up . Shadow Cliffs has been extremely consistent and was the happening place to be during the break in the weather . Action was solid with plenty of limits . Conditions are good . Water level hasn ’ t changed but some stain . The recent rains will add some stain to the water but shouldn ’ t affect the action too much . If the water you ’ re fishing is stained , try bright lures with a larger profile or switch over to bait with a dab of scent .

- Chuck Wolf , for EBRPD Angler ’ s Edge

FEATHER RIVER

Hatchery Meets Salmon Production Goal

OROVILLE – The California Department of Water Resources ( DWR ) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) have completed spawning activities for spring , inland , and fallrun Chinook salmon at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville . The Hatchery collected enough eggs to meet its production goals and anticipates meeting target release numbers of 2 million spring-run , 125,000 inland Chinook destined for Lake Oroville , and 6 million fall-run Chinook salmon , with an additional 3.5 million fallrun Chinook to be released to mitigate declines in Chinook salmon populations during recent drought years . In addition , DWR and CDFW continued thiamine treatment to combat B1 vitamin deficiencies . This treatment improves the health of the fish , increasing the survival of Chinook salmon from egg to juvenile . Thanks to a recently completed spawning gravel improvement project in the Feather River ,

combined with the substantial number of salmon that returned to the Feather River this fall , high levels of in-river spawning have been seen over the last few months . DWR ’ s newly installed Feather River Fish Monitoring Station counted upstream migrating fish totals of 31,003 Chinook salmon and 787 steelhead between Sept . 11 and Dec . 6 . The monitoring totals help improve management of these important fish populations in the Feather River and at the Feather River Fish Hatchery .

- Department of Water Resources

FOLSOM LAKE

Kings and Holdover Rainbows Biting

FOLSOM - The fishing for king salmon and rainbow trout is picking up for experienced anglers at Folsom Lake . “ Today the backyard pond was pretty decent , even though I didn ’ t catch any big kings ,” reported Kevin Fogel after his most recent trip to Folsom Lake . “ I did have some pretty good size ones . The smallest one was about 11 1 / 2 inches and the biggest one was about 16 inches . I hooked 8 fish and landed seven kings total .” “ I ran Speedy Shiners at 7 feet and 18 feet in the morning and then 15 and 28 feet later on in the morning . I ran on one side a red and copper Speedy Shiner and on the other rod the Wonderbread . I fished on the South side of the buoys at Browns Ravine . There was so much bait in there from floor to ceiling it was crazy . it would vibrate your rods when you were going through it and that ’ s where the fish were too ,” he stated .

“ The old man at the kiosk at Brown ’ s Ravine said the CDFW planted 1 , 000 pounds of rainbows yesterday morning , so I ran Speedy Shiners to see what it was like to get a planter trout bite again ,” he explained . “ But out of all the people I saw fishing all around the boat ramp and everywhere , I never seen one planted trout caught .” “ And the trout that were caught were holdovers with square tails . I did talk to several people that had 1 to 3 salmon and a couple of nice big holdover rainbows . So , it seems like it was a pretty good bite today at Folsom , especially with full moon conditions ,” Fogel concluded . Folsom Lake is holding 465,462 acre feet of water , 48 percent of capacity and 115 percent of average . The reservoir is 412 feet in elevation , 54 feet from full . The two usable ramps at Folsom Lake are Stage 2 in Granite Bay and Hobie Cove at Browns Ravine , according to the Folsom Lake Marina .

- Dan Bacher

LAKE OROVILLE

Spotted Bass Dominate Winter Fishing Scene

OROVILLE – Spotted bass fishing at Lake Oroville is very productive , while the king salmon have been in hiding lately . Dave Koistinen started the year with great day of bass fishing at Oroville . “ The bass bite was awesome ,” he stated . “ I caught and released 45 fish , all fat and stuffed with pond smelt . 15 to 25 ft . was the depth . “ I fished a Hula grub and a 3inch

CONTINUED ON PG 20

Available in 1 / 6 , 1 / 4 , 1 / 2 and 5 / 8 ounce sizes . 24 designs .

Proudly Made in the U . S . A . for 75 Years !

����������������������������������

4.2.21