VOL . 44 • ISS . 1 January 10 , 2025

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FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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NEW MELONES LAKE

boat launching at New Melones . Non-motorized watercraft , such as kayaks and paddleboards , may be subject to inspection . For those wishing to enjoy recreational boating , rentals are available from the New Melones Lake Marina . Please contact them directly to inquire about available services . The many other recreation opportunities available at New Melones , including hiking , camping , and biking , remain available to the public during normal off-season hours . Reclamation , its partners , and its concessioners are making these changes to prevent the spread of golden mussels . The invasive species was recently identified in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and is the first known occurrence of golden mussels in North America . The species pose a significant immediate threat to the ecological health of the Delta and all waters of the state , water conveyance systems , infrastructure , and water quality . For questions about this suspension and the new protocol , contact a New Melones staff member at 209 459-7290 or visit the New Melones website .

- Bureau of Reclamation

LAKE OROVILLE

Spotted Bass and King Salmon Lead New Year Angling Parade

OROVILLE – Spotted bass are providing the top fishing at Lake Oroville now that the New Year has begun . “ I got out today to Lake Oroville bass fishing after all the rain we had ,” said Dave Koistinen after his most recent trip to the reservoir . “ They are still chewing . The Union purple and brown jig was getting bit the most .” Reports on king salmon fishing are few and far between , but some quality fish are being landed by trollers . Expect the fishing to pick up for anglers tro0ing hoochies , tipped with anchovy

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strips , and Brad ’ s Kokanee Cut Plugs in the coming weeks . “ What a great way to close out 2024 on Lake Oroville ,” : said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service . “ It wasn ’ t off the hook fishing but not bad for Dec . 31 , going 2 for 3 on the day . The biggest king measured 22 ”. It ’ ll only get better from here .” Winter hours for the Spillway Day Use Area are in effect through April 30 , 2025 , with the recreation area open daily from 6 a . m . to 8 p . m . Lake Oroville is at 791 feet elevation and storage is approximately 2 million acre-feet ( MAF ), which is 59 percent of its total capacity and 110 percent of the historical average . The Bidwell Canyon , Spillway , Loafer Creek and Lime Saddle ramps were open to boat launching at press time .

- Dan Bacher

PYRAMID LAKE

Big fish from Shore , Lots of fish from boats

Cory Kellar of Hendrix Outdoors said Pyramid Lake shore fishing has really improved over the last 30 days . Fly fisherman are doing very well on large Summit cutthroat . Some guys are indicator fishing with nymphs and others are running tadpoles / popcorn beetles in tandem with a balance leach off a cross line swivel . Conventional fishermen are also doing well throwing 1 ounce and heavier spoons and large spinners like the Mepps Flying C and size 20 Panther Martins as well as casting Flatfish . Cory talked with some shore guys in the morning that were struggling . He told them he had a really good bite off a black sparkle Flatfish . He helped them rig them up for shore fishing with a 1oz egg singer and a Flatfish Carolina rig . The key is keeping the weight dragging along the bottom of the lake bed . They came back later to the lodge to grab lunch and get a 15lb pyramid lake lodge pin ! Boaters have been doing well between all the storms and the crazy amount of wind . Be aware of the danger on this lake . A fellow fisherman in a 15 ’ boat swamped and was drowned on Xmas eve . This lake can be very dangerous when the

LAKE SAN PABLO LAKE SHADOW LAKE

PARDEE RESERVOIR DEL VALLE CLIFFS LAKE RANCHO SECO ( 209 ) 772-1472 ( 510 ) 223-1661 ( 925 ) 449-5201 ( 925 ) 426-0197 ( 209 ) 748-2318 WWW . ROCKYMOUNTAINREC . COM Camping Available At 3 Out 5 Locations . Call Now For Reservations ! wind comes up , even for folks in large boats . Cory and friends also found top lining Lyman Lures and Scatter Raps very consistent on the aggressive Pilot Peak cutthroat trout . They have been running side planers with Flatfish with the squid trailer sand MagLips targeting the shore atGrunning summit strain Cutthroats . Speed and colors have really varied from day to day . One day they want slow trolled spoons like the new Papa g Wabblers and Flatfish . Other days the faster trolled Lyman ’ s , Mag Lips and Scatter Raps . Colors really depend on the day . D Dark cloud covered days lures with glow in them have been best . Light bright colored cloud covered days darker lures in black , blues , and purples have been dominating . On blue bird days natural patterns like rainbow trout , tui chub , cui ui (# 225 ) as well as watermelon patterns have been the go to . Cory said that fish have been caught all over the lake . The West side has seen more fishermen and fish have been caught all the way from the Needles in the North to Popcorn Beach in the south . The East side of the lake has been good from Red Bay to Artillery Bay .

RIO VISTA / DELTA

Sacramento Deep Water Channel , Port Yield Top Striper Fishing

RIO VISTA - As you can imagine the recent series of storms have hampered fishing similar to my last month ’ s report , so the reports are brief again this month . Now on to the reports : The striper bite in the Delta below Rio Vista has been slow for avid trolling expert Mark Wilson . Mark told me that the storms caused the water clarity to be very poor , in addition he said that there ’ s quite a bit of grass and debris on the Sacramento River below and above the Rio Vista Bridge . Because of all these unfavorable conditions , Mark and his friends decided to give the Port of West Sacramento a try . To their surprise they did very well , catching 22 keeper stripers averaging 6 pounds on their last trip ( see the attached photo ). Mark continued to tell me that they didn ’ t catch their fish trolling the usual Yozuri or P-Line lures , but they caught their stripers using a black bass lure made by Berkley called the “ Dredger .” The Dredger , rated to troll 14 ½ feet in either green or blue colors were the most productive for them . Now onto a sturgeon report . Captain Mike Funtanilla of Bend Ur Rod Sportfishing told me that the sturgeon bite has slowed somewhat recently . He believes that the fresh water inflow , including grass and all the debris in the system , has made anchoring up for sturgeon somewhat difficult . Capt . Mike went on to say that on a recent trip , while on anchor fishing with clients , he noticed something very large moving downstream towards his boat . When he first saw this large object , he surmised he didn ’ t have enough time to pull anchor and move , so he grabbed his boat pole and went up to his bow .

To his surprise , what he saw was a fullsize Frigidaire refrigerator . Because of Capt . Mike ’ s quick actions , he was able to divert the refrigerator away from hitting his boat . Capt . Mike continued to say that he ’ s been fishing with his clients mainly near the Mothball Fleet and in the area of the Benicia Bridge . He ’ s been averaging approximately 4 to 6 sturgeon per trip using a mix of salmon roe and eel ( see the attached photos ). The eel has been catching an occasional striped bass as a bonus . I am aware that I mentioned this information in last month ’ s report , but it is important to mention it once again for those that may not have read it . On October 17 , 2024 , California Department of Water Resources ( DWR ) staff reported finding

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