Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 44 Issue 01 | Page 11

This angler shows off a nice 22 inch King Salmon from Lake Oroville while fishing with Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service .

Photo Courtesy of Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service

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LAKE AMADOR

Annual Trout Derby Runs Through March 30

IONE -- The annual trout derby at Lake Amador started on Dec . 26 and will run through March 30 . The lake will be planted with a total of 300 tagged trout during the three-month derby . Over $ 5,000 in cash and prizes are available . The one-time entry fee is $ 9.00 . “ 1,000 pounds ot trout were released on Dec . 31 ,” reported Lee Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort . “ Half were released at the dam and half at Dry Camp Point . There were some nice trophies in the mix , but the majority were 2 to 4 lb . cutbows .” “ I heard a lot of folks saying PowerBait under a bobber was the ticket yesterday ,” he added . Big trout honors go to Brandon Sanden from Placerville , who landed an 11,48 lb . golden cutbow on a mini jig while fishing on the dam . Anthony Vang of Sacramento also caught an 8 lb . Amador Gold while fishing a jig from the dam .. Hannah Lee landed a 5.11 lb . rainbow while using a spoon . It was the biggest fish she ’ s ever caught . Matt Fernandez bagged three trout past the spillway while using the FishnBros original scent sauce on a Saucy lure . The biggest fish was 4.5 pounds . Ron Tapia successfully battled a 5.48 lb . cutbow while using a Mousetail off the spillway . Trollers are also catching quality trout . Adrian Yslava and TJ Mckiernan bagged 4 quality trout while rolling hoochies and Thomas spoons near the spillway . Daryl Carter of Sacramento reported on his latest trip to Amador . “ It was a slow day with only 1 bass and 1 trout to 2.32 lbs ., but the trout was tagged and I won a day use . I ’ ll take it , as now my name is in the hopper for a chance at $ 500 .” While most people are now targeting trout ,, Brian and Billy definitely found an area to get catfish on New Year ’ s Day . They landed 9 cats and one trout total with the biggest weighing 8 lbs ., while fishing in Jackson Creek . The lake level is 26 feet from full , the surface temperature is 53 degrees and the water clarity is 4 feet . The oxygen level is 10.4mg / L .

- Dan Bacher

AMERICAN RIVER

Anglers Find Tough Steelhead Fishing on Opener

RANCHO CORDOVA – Opening day of steelhead season below the Nimbus Fish Hatchery was very tough on January 1 . There were hundreds of steelhead in the holding pond and the fish ladder at the hatchery , but very few reported caught by anglers out on the river . “ We didn ’ t hook any fish on a drift from Sailor Bar to Sunrise ,” said Jerry Lampkin of TNG Motor Sports

Guide Service . “ We saw one guy in a drift boat catch a beautiful bright steelhead in the 6 to 8 pound range . We also saw a couple of anglers land steelhead while throwing spinners at Sailor Bar .” David Converse from Vacaville landed an 18 inch steelhead while fishing on the American with Kailyr ’ s Guide Service on January 1 , according to Kailyr Perry . He hooked the fish on a trolled 3.0 mag lip back trolled in a drift boat . I was below the hatchery on January 1 for 1-1 / 2 hours . While I was there , I saw just one angler in a boat catch and release a steelhead . Two anglers also hooked steelhead while wading at Sailor Bar , but I didn ’ t see them land them . The water was very clear and there were still a number of salmon spawning in the river . Most anglers were fishing roe or soft plastic beads under bobbers . “ Keep in mind that there are a lot of salmon still spawning , so make sure you know the difference before getting in the water ,” advised Andy Guibord on the California Fly Fishing Reports webpage ( https :// www . californiaflyfishingreports . com / lower-american-river . “ Generally if the fish are on redds , they are most likely salmon as the steelhead don ’ t start spawning until around February .” “ That being said , try sight fishing downstream away from the redds , as there may be halfpounders hanging around waiting to feed on extra eggs . During my lower American River Steelhead Orientation Clinic yesterday , we saw many salmon spawning at both Gristmill and at upper Sunrise . In the meanwhile , if wade fishing for steelhead I would recommend Riverbend Park , lower Sunrise and Upper Sunrise . Check out the side channels too .” ​

- Dan Bacher

LAKE BERRYESSA

Reclamation Implements New Protocol for Boat Launching

NAPA , Calif . – Reclamation now requires all boats launching at Lake Berryessa to participate in a seal program to prevent the spread of invasive mussels . All vessels wishing to launch at Lake Berryessa will be inspected , according to the Bureau of Reclamation : “ A red quarantine seal will be applied for 30 days during which the vessel will not be permitted to launch . Vessels that have finished the 30-day quarantine may return to the lake and have the seal removed by authorized staff and will be allowed to launch . Any vessel wishing to launch sooner than the required 30-day quarantine period must have a hot-water decontamination performed by Solano County Water Agency trained and approved staff . These vessels are allowed

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