VOL. 44 • ISS. 3 March 28, 2025
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FRESHWATER REPORTS:
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LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR
the fishing pier near the marina. The keeper fish average 18 to 21 inches long. If you want channel catfish, fish chicken livers in the South Cove and elsewhere on the lake. The catfish being caught average 2 to 5 pounds, but bigger fish are out there. The water level is now 141,000 acre feet. The water clarity has been good except for the rainy and windy days. Boating has been limited due to wind. Please call the marina and check the conditions before arriving so you can plan accordingly. For more information, call( 925) 371-2628.
- Dan Bacher
NEW MELONES LAKE
Trout and Black Bass Lead Spring Angling Parade
ANGELS CAMP- If you want to catch rainbow or brown trout, now is a good time to fish at New Melones Lake. Captain Kyle Wise of Headhunters SportfFishing reported limits of rainbow trout, with an occasional brown in the mix, for his clients during his most recent trolling adventured at the reservoir.“ New Melones after the storm was pretty epic with a good client Elmo.,” said Kyle Wise of Headhunter Sportfishing on his most recent trip to the reservoir..“ We set out knowing it was going to be tough, but we ran into quite the opposite- we had our limit of trout and two bonus brown trout pretty early while pulling T-bone, Papa G and Speedy Shiner spoons and wiggle hoochies in the top 30’ of the water column.” But trout aren’ t the only fish biting – black bass are on their annual pre-spawn bite.“ The ditch pickles, aka black bass, wouldn’ t leave our spoons alone at all this morning. What I thought was going to be a pretty rough day turned into a productive bite,” he added. On a bass fishing adventure, Wise also reported top-notch action on spotted bass.“ We had another fun day on New Melones with John Dahl and Bryan McGinty chasing spots before the storm. John has never fished the net rig and on his very first cast landed a beautiful trout to start the morning,” Wise revealed.“ Someone that has never did it before sure made us look bad.” Boaters interested in participating in the new seal program can obtain a quarantine seal to attach to your boat and trailer at this time. Please visit the Glory Hole boat launch location between 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. to obtain one from a park ranger free of charge, to begin the 30-day quarantine period prior to any future boat launching at New Melones.” 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.
Rick Lee and friends had a fine day at San Luis Reservoir last week with limits of stripers in only 3 hours! Photo courtesy of Rick Lee
New Melones is holding 1,963,591 acre feet of water, 82 percent of capacity and 135 percent of normal.
- Dan Bacher
OROVILLE LAKE
King Salmon and Black Bass Are Hitting
OROVILLE- The spring bite on both landlocked king salmon and black bass is going strong at Lake Oroville.“ I started off just outside the Spillway launch and picked up 2 smaller kings fairly quickly,” reported Joe Smith on the Lake Oroville Facebook Page on his most recent trip to the reservoir.“ We fished from 6:30 am to 1 pm with a total of 6 hookups and 4 fish to the boat. We tried spoons naked and in combination with triangle flashers, but the dodger / hoochie combos seemed to be what they wanted this time.” They used Chinook Stainless Steel Troll Fishing Divers # 2 at 55- 80’ out on the port side. They also used a Paulina Peak Tackle 5.5” gold plated dodger, paired with a Glow Prawn Hoochie from Rocky Mountain Tackle Company and a 20” leader, according to Smith.“ All of the fish were kings- no football shaped rainbows for us this time,” he noted.“ We covered quite a bit of water from the Spillway to the Dam and the East Wall from the Green Bridge all the way up into the mouth of Canyon Creek”“ Quite a few other boats were out there, but we didn’ t really notice too many nets flying; hopefully they all had success,” Smith added.“ All fish were released boat side to fight another day.” J & J Tackle reported solid salmon and bass fishing during a recent trolling adventure at Oroville with
Dan Valdez of Draggin’ Flies:“ We ended the day with 5 bass, 4 kings and one nice rainbow. We were trolling J & J Turbojets and Trout Spoons, while Dan was using his dodgers paired with his flies and trout spoons. All of the fish were caught at 25’— 30’ with setbacks at 49-100’. The day started off pretty chilly, but it warmed up by noon.” Lake Oroville is holding 2.9 acre feet of water, 85 percent of capacity and 124 percent of average. The lake level is 862.67 feet in elevation. The Bidwell Canyon, Spillway, Loafer Creek and Lime Saddle ramps are open to boat lunching.
- Dan Bacher
PARDEE LAKE
Large Trout Plants Continue
IONE – Bank anglers fishing a variety of offerings continue
4005
GREAT Fishing for: Trout • Kokanee • Catfish Large & Smallmouth Bass Crappie • Bluegill • Sunfish
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4900 Stony Creek Rd. Ione www. rockymountainrec. com to catch rainbow trout at Lake Pardee. However, private boats are currently prohibited on the reservoir, due to concerns about the invasive golden mussel. Rental boats are available at the marina.
500 lbs. of rainbows and 500 lbs. of Lightning Trout, a total of 1,000 pounds, were planted in the lake during the most recent plant There are plenty of smallmouth and largemouth bass and channel catfish in Pardee, but fishing pressure has been very light lately. Expect to catch the bass while throwing out plastic worms, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, drop shot rigs and Ned rigs in water 25 feet and shallower as the fish go on their spring pre-spawn bite.“ Due to concerns about the invasive golden mussel, private boats will not be allowed at this time,” Pardee Lake Recreation reported.“ This includes all PWC as well as kayaks. Please leave these vessels at home as they will not be permitted through the gate. However, our rental fleet is ready to help you get out on the water! Whether you’ re fishing, exploring, or absorbing the peaceful views, we’ ve got you covered.” Pardee is holding 180,630 acre feet of water, 89 percent of capacity and 99 percent of average.
- Dan Bacher
PYRAMID LAKE
Big Lahontan Cutthroat being caught all over the lake
Fishing at Pyramid Lake is still going strong. Shore fishermen are doing the best right now as the large cutthroat are coming in
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