Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 43 Issue 07 | Page 21

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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PYRAMID LAKE

9lbs . The following day they had another phenomenal day and landed about 40 cutthroat to 10lbs . The best trolling right now is on the north end of the lake north of Pelican Point on the west side and north of Anderson Bay on the east side . The surface water temperature is up to 65 degrees . We are finding two groups of fish in these areas : The first group is suspended from 20 ’ -40 ’ down and are generally smaller hitting various spoons and the new 3 ” Lyman ’ s at 3.0 mph . The other group of larger fish are on the bottom of the lake at 50 ’ -90 ’ deep . These fish would chase Lyman plugs and sometimes not hit . We did better slowing down and trolling 2.0 mph and dragging U-20 , M2 , and T-50 Flatfish right on the bottom in the mud to get the larger fish to come off the bottom to bite . The best colors of Lyman and Flatfish lures was watermelon and other greens , and the best spoon was a large Speedy Shiner in gold / red .

- Cory Kellar , Hendrix Outdoors

RIO VISTA / WEST DELTA

Striped Bass Are Still Biting

RIO VISTA - Although anglers are not catching the numbers of Delta stripers that they were earlier in the spring , experienced fishermen are hooking quality fish as many head towards San Francisco Bay . For example , Mark Wilson and Ron Retzlaff caught six stripers off the West Bank of the Sacramento River between Sandy Beach and Sherman Island during their trolling adventure on Tuesday , May 29 . “ The fish went 16 , 9 , 6 and 6 pounds , 21 inches and 19 inches ,” Wilson stated . “ We kept the four smallest fish and released the others . The fishing was best on the outgoing tide . We trolled Yo-Zuri lures in different colors in 12 to 15 feet of water .” Fishing was even better on Wilson ’ s two previous trips . He reported 16 fish to 15 pounds for 3 anglers on one trip and 11 fish to 12 pounds for 3 anglers on the other trip . The anglers kept their limits of the smaller keepers .

- Dan Bacher

Sean McCradle of Sacramento shows off a big Lahontan Cutthroat caught at Pyramid Lake on a watermelon Lyman plug .

Photo courtesy of Cory Kellar , Hendrix Outdoors

ROLLINS LAKE

Trout Respond to Trolled Spoons

COLFAX – If you want to catch lots of rainbow trout , along with an occasional brown trout ,, give Rollins Lake a try . “ There is little fishing pressure on the lake ,” reported Cal Kellogg of fishhuntshoot . com . “ I ’ ve experienced good fishing lately while Trigger Spoons in gold / chartreuse and silver / orange in the lower ends of the lake arms . There is a pretty good mass of fish holding in those areas of the lake .” “ The trout are 11 to 15 inches long ,” added Kellogg . “ A lot of the rainbows are beautiful fish with square tails . The fish are feeding on the abundant pond smelt . On one recent trip , I caught and released 22 fish by 11 a . m . while trolling with Trigger Spoons .” Expect the boating pressure to pick up with hot weather forecasted for the coming weeks ., so fishing on weekdays and early in the morning on weekends is recommended .

Kittle ’ s Outdoor Sports is hosting a special Big Game Raffle and Barbeque on June 14 & 15 at the store in Colusa . They are also featuring a Special Ammunition Sale to beat the 11 % Tax Increase on Guns and Ammo Sales that goes into effect on July 1 , 2024 . Kittle ’ s is offering extremely low prices on all Waterfowl ammo , promising to MEET OR BEAT ANY PRICE on ammo from Kent , Heavy Metal , Migra , Federal , Winchester and more . And a Rifle Ammo Blowout from Winchester , Browning , Barnes , Hornady and Federal . They are also offering rebates of up to $ 75 on select Browning firearms , and up to $ 50 on select Winchester firearms Kittles Big Game Raffle and Barbeque also offers a special sale on all kinds of hunting equipment . The festivities begin at 8 am where you can meet factory reps from Leopold , Sitka , Swarovski and many more . The free barbeque

starts at 11:30 am — while supplies last ! There will be a Free Raffle at 12:30 pm for some tremendous prizes from Winchester , Kenetrek , Tikka , Butler Creek and many more . Kittle ’ s has a wonderful selection of equipment for all kinds of hunting and fishing . They are offering some great deals like 20 % OFF Kenetrek Boots , 15 % OFF all Leopold and Burris Optics in stock , and 10 % OFF Browning and Surelock Safes . And all kinds of accessories will be on sale as well . Don ’ t miss this special Big Game Raffle , Barbeque and Ammo Blowout ! Many of the special prices are good for June 14 & 15 Only . For more information , call Kittle ’ s at 530-458- 4868 . They are located at 888 Market Street in downtown Colusa . Check out their special AMMO WEBSITE at www . kittlesammo . com , and their store site at www . kittlesoutdoor . com

Rollins also offers anglers good populations of spotted and smallmouth bass , channel catfish , bluegill and crappie to fish for .

- Dan Bacher

SACRAMENTO / FEATHER RIVERS

Great Striper Action Tapers Off As Fish Spawn

RED BLUFF - in my twenty years spent as a fishing guide here in Northern California , I can safely say this 2024 striped bass season was as good as any other season that I can recall . Sadly , the action has finally tapered off this past two weeks . A river-wide spawn has been underway over the last 10-14 days . So the massive numbers of striped bass that were stacked from Butte City , Ca all the way to Verona , Ca have dwindled to lower and lower in numbers each day . As spawning occurs the striped bass when finished start to migrate back down the Sacramento River . Heading back through the California Delta and on to the Pacific Ocean where they will again live before returning to spawn again in a couple of years . This is not to say the spring striper spawn is completely over . It is not . However , the fast pace , slam dunk , all you want type striper fishing is . Some post spawn striped bass will head up the Sacramento River and feed on American Shad , which are also in the Sacramento River to spawn . These stripers will spread out throughout the upper Sacramento River . Locations like Woodson Bridge , in Corning , Ca , the greater Red Bluff area and Hamilton City , Ca will all have post spawn striped bass taking up residency for the summer . Fishing trips taken on the Sacramento River in the coming month can include both striped bass and American Shad , making for some fun fishing , and a great opportunity to get the kids out on some action . As the American Shad are plentiful currently , spend your early mornings and late evenings throwing glides like Sneaky Petes . Or take advantage of the pre-dawn top water bite for stripers that goes on throughout the summer months . If you still desire to chase the striped bass , consider heading over to the other side of the Sacramento Valley . The Feather River now is your best bet for striper fishing . Raith Heryford of RH Guide Service is still finding good action on the Feather River . The stretch of river between Verona and East Nicolas has been the best bet . All standard methods apply . Here at SalmonSacRiver we have moved up the Sacramento River near Red Bluff , California . We will continue doing striped bass and American Shad combo fishing trips , as well as trophy rainbow trout fishing trips in the upper Sacramento River , for our customers . We will continue engaging these fisheries until mid-July , 2024 . This is a great opportunity to catch stripers on top water as well as loads of American Shad . This is also a great time for families to come out and go fishing on the Sacramento River in Northern California . Children out for summer break can enjoy the fast action the American Shad and rainbow trout provide . Take advantage of this opportunity to get your children involved in the outdoors , as they are the future of this sport .

- www . salmonsacriver . com

SHASTA LAKE

Trollers Are Nailing Rainbows , Browns and Kings

SHASTA - Lake Shasta is about 9 ’ to crest and surface temperature is 72 degrees in the main body of the lake . The water clarity is pretty good with about 8 ’ -10 ’ of visibility . Hot weather is in the forecast and the water temperature will

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