14 July 12 , 2024 VOL . 43 • ISS . 8

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 13

LAKE SHASTA

temperature . Fishing is fantastic right now and we are getting multiple limits 8:00 am . The morning bite has been best and some days we are getting double and triple hook-ups . We are not only catching a lot of fish but we are landing some big rainbows and big browns . Most of the fish we are catching in the 40 ’ -100 ’ range but we expect them to start moving deeper with this 100 + degree weather .

The trout are loaded with shad in their stomachs so shad like lures are working best . White lures seem to be working best and the trout seem to be everywhere on the lake . Remember , the lake is huge and finding a spot without other boats fishing it is half the fun .

- Robert Hower , Avid Angler

LAKE TAHOE

Trollers Work For Mackinaw While Kokanee Bite Heats Up

Lake Tahoe – The hot weather lake has warmed up Lake Tahoe

CONTINUED ON PG 15

With Pro Bass Fisherman

Learn the Latest Techniques for Black Bass On Berryessa & Folsom , And Stripers and Black Bass On The Delta .

BEGINNERS WELCOME

Mark Kalinowski of Concord shows off a gorgeous 11 1 / 2 pound Lahontan Cutthroad from Pyramid Lake .

Photo Courtesy of Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer Staff

Los Vaqueros Recreation Co . 9990 Los Vaqueros Rd . Byron , CA , 94514

www . NORCALFISHING . COm A Contra Costa Water District Facility

$ 25 boat rentals every

Monday thru Friday

( non holidays )

4304

4005 2907

Ben Denice of Gilroy experienced the trip of a lifetime when he landed an 8 lb . landlocked king at Don Pedro on Tuesday , May 22 while trolling with Captain Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing . “ We lost another good fish that flew out of the water and spit the hook ,” Smith noted . “ In addition to the 8 lb . king , Ben and his fishing partner landed three kokanee averaging 14 inches and three rainbows from 1 1 / 2 to 4 pounds .” “ The 8-pounder is the biggest king put in my boat on Don Pedro in my years of guiding ,” he stated . “ I ’ ve caught a lot of 4 to 7 lb . salmon , but this is the largest one we ’ ve landed .” Smith has been trolling Pro-Troll Kokanee Killer lures from 40 to 75 feet deep in the main body of the lake for the three species . The fish are feeding on shad ; some of the kings have tails of shad sticking out of their mouths when scooped into the net . On the following day , Kim Clark of Modesto and Randal DeHogg of Ripon caught nine rainbows , a 2 lb . king and three kokanee while trolling with Smith . The rainbows ranged from 2 to 4 pounds and the kokanee from 13 to 14 inches . On Tuesday , May 29 , two anglers fishing with Smith bagged two limits of rainbows to 3 pounds by 10:30 a . m . The anglers trolled fast with Smith ’ s homemade spoons . The next day ’ s trip produced one spotted bass , one kokanee and eight rainbows to 2 3 / 4 pounds for Bryan Mason Jr ., Roger Rauch , Marc Bjonerud and Eric Bjonerud of Modesto , reported Smith . The rainbows found in the lake are a mixture of planters , holdovers and wild fish . Wild rainbows find excellent spawning conditions in the Tuolumne above the lake . The kokanee being caught now are

also a mixture of naturally spawned fish and those planted by the CDFW as fingerlings . The CDFW stocked 20,034 kokanee in Don Pedro in 2021 , 49,997 in 2022 and 42,061 in 2023 . Kokanee were first planted in the lake in 1981 but it wasn ’ t until 1992 that a self-sustaining population of huge kokanee was documented at Don Pedro by the founder of Kokanee Power , the late Phil Johnson of Merced . That spring and summer , Johnson landed seven kokanee over 4 pounds while trolling a variety of lures , tipped with white corn , at the lake . He showed the kokanee he caught to the local fishery biologist at the time , who claimed the fish were king salmon , not kokanee . Johnson then drove all of the way from Don Pedro one day to the home office of then CDFW Tahoe region fisheries biologist Russ Wickwire to show him two big kokanee that had put in an ice chest in his truck . “ Where did you get these huge kokanee ?” asked Wickwire . “ I caught them at Don Pedro ,” Johnson told an amazed Wickwire . Wickwire made sure that the biologist who misidentified the fish as kings was made aware that these were indeed kokanee salmon . It ’ s hard to beat Don Pedro for the variety of fish it hosts . “ Don Pedro is a gem of a lake ,” summed up Smith . “ You got three species of bass , kokanee salmon , king salmon , rainbow trout , brown trout , channel catfish and crappie to fish for . And there are generally fewer people fishing here than at other Mother Lode reservoirs .” The lake features 160 acres of shoreline and nearly 13,000 surface acres when full . The Don Pedro Recreation Agency manages the recreation facilities at the lake .