22 March 28, 2025
FRESHWATER
VOL. 44 • ISS. 3
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 20
RUSSIAN RIVER
completed and DSOD gives written approval to store water.”“ In response, RRRPD immediately engaged a structural engineer and soils engineer to work on the required documentation to comply with DSOD requirements.“ The Department of Water Resources typically takes 30 to 60 days to review and respond to each submittal, and the approval process generally requires two to three submittals. Once the approved plans are received, RRRPD can put the project out for bid and establish a more precise construction timeline. Based on previous permits, work can begin in the Russian River as early as May 15, provided the river flow is low enough to permit construction. However, construction cannot proceed until the plans have been approved.“ RRRPD is communicating with the Sonoma County Building Department and the Division of Safety of Dams to explore ways to expedite the applications, as this repair is considered minor. So far, the feedback is positive, and the situation remains hopeful that it can move forward as efficiently as possible.“ The Russian River Recreation and Park District is responsible for constructing and maintaining eight parks within our boundaries, including the Vacation Beach and Johnson’ s Beach dams. However, it is important to note that the County of Sonoma is responsible for the Vacation Beach summer crossing. Any inquiries regarding the timing and installation of the summer crossing should be directed to Sonoma Public Infrastructure.” RRRPD will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available through a new newsletter to inform the public of progress. To receive updates directly, please visit the RRRPD newsletter sign-up page( https:// www. russianriverrecpark. org / rrrpd-newsletter). For additional information about Russian River Recreation and park services, please visit russianriverrecpark. org.“ At this time, there are no delays in the mid-June installation date of the Johnson’ s Beach Dam.”
- Dan Bacher
LAKE SHASTA
Trout, salmon and bass all bending rods!
The late winter-early spring trout bite is in full swing at Shasta Lake! Anglers have been scoring plenty of big brown trout and rainbows in various areas throughout the lake. Landlocked King salmon are even being landed as this great bite continues. The water level is still rising and the lake sits about 20 feet from full pool as of press time.
Lake Shasta’ s large area and diverse depths and terrain can be daunting to fisherman, but
Rosalia Herrera of Elk Grove used Power Bait from the shore to land this huge Amagold trout at Lake Amador.
Photo courtesy of Lake Amador this time of year there are a few proven tactics that will produce fish regularly. Current surface water temperature is in the high 40’ s which will keep the trout in the higher areas of the water column. Keeping your lures from 5’-25’ is a productive tactic. Many successful anglers are working the lake arms and coves, trolling bright lures such as Speedy Shiners, Mag Lips Optimizers and Brads Killer Lures.. Keeping your speeds at 2.5 and higher will help to trigger that aggressive bite that Shasta browns are known for. Due to the rising water level, debris in the water has once again become an issue. Checking your lures often is a wise move to keep your presentation solid. Shasta Lake has 4 major arms with countless coves and points, so locating the fish can simply be a matter of putting in lots of time on the water or hiring a great guide..
Jeff Goodwin of Jeff Goodwin Guide Service has grown to become the authority on catching big fish on Shasta this time of year. He has developed many proven tactics that are sure to put fish on the boat.
Rob Hower of Redding reports that the bite isn’ t necessarily great early in the morning.“ We have been finding that the fishing starts to get hot at about 10:00 and can stay good until late afternoon”. Spoons haven’ t produced quite as well as other lures, namely Brad’ s KCP plugs..“ Bright colors like blues and greens have been our best producers” reports Rob.“ But don’ t rule out a pattern with some hot pink either. Working the shorelines in the arms with our lures as little as 10’ deep is getting trout”.
Reports from Bureau of Reclamation are stating that the lake will be raised to 7’ from full pool then releases will start in early May. The guys at Phil’ s Propeller reported that bass action has been fair but changing conditions have made things a bit of a challenge. They have been fishing blades up against the shoreline during wind events and have seen plenty of fish but the bites have been light. Throwing plastics to suspended fish at 20 to 35 feet has also been working but numbers have also been low. The fish are just starting to move up onto the flats, but it’ s still a little early for any decent numbers. The fishing will just get better as the weather calms down and the surface temperature rise.
LAKE TAHOE
Fishing Steady in Challenging weather
Kim at Tahoe Sportfishing said the fishing has been solid this winter, but the last few weeks the weather has been so tough that the boats haven’ t been able to get out much. It looks like the weather will be much nice in the next couple of weeks and that will help things. They are doing morning and afternoon trips. The morning trips are averaging 8 to 15 mackinaw per trip, with the average size being 3 to 6 pounds. They did have two big fish in the last week. A huge sixteen pound, 36 ½ inch mack on Saturday, and followed that up with a fourteen pound, 34 inch mackinaw on Tuesday. They have
been fishing mostly in the south end of the lake. They are primarily slow trolling minnows at depths between 100 and 200 feet. They expect the fishing to improve as the weather gets better and warms up this spring. Report courtesy of Tahoe Sportfishing.
TRUCKEE / LITTLE TRUCKEE RIVERS
Stonefly Hatches Should Begin Soon
TRUCKEE- Since last week’ s storm pushed through, we have seen the flows on the Truckee River stabilize, sitting at just under 300 at Glenshire Bridge and at a bit over 500 at the Farad gauge. These are ideal flows for this time of year, and this coupled with a week of weather in the upper 50’ s should really switch on the bite. The rain brought with it a bit of tint to the water, hopefully making the fish a bit less on edge and willing to take some larger offerings. The weeks leading up to these storms, we were putting a strong emphasis on“ Little Black Stuff” down to a size 20 or 22. This should have changed since this storm, but if in doubt, the smaller flies are always worth a try. As we approach the month of March, we should begin to see the first big hatch of the year start up: The Skwala Stonefly. We have already heard reports of this bug hatching on some of the lower elevation rivers in the area, which means that the Truckee is not far off. These size 8-10 stoneflies are a double cheeseburger to a trout that’ s been eating salad most of the winter. Skwalas are not only great options to fish under an indicator but can also provide some excellent topwater fishing if conditions align. We have been fishing these nymphs with moderate success over the last few weeks, but as soon as we begin to see the first few adults begin to hatch, they should be a top choice for anyone fishing the river through the spring. Other bugs of note this week would be crayfish, little black winter stones, BWO’ s and midges. Fly patterns imitating any of these aquatic insects will all be options for those heading out here in the coming weeks. As of today, the Little Truckee River remains closed out due to snow on the road. While this may change with the warm days ahead, there will still likely be patches of snow and ice on the road and we don’ t recommend passenger vehicles attempt to make it out here and instead focus on fishing the main river, which is in great shape. We also feel it’ s important to note the significance of giving this highly pressured fishery a break right now to give the fish and riparian habitat some time to recover before a long summer ahead.
- Miles Zimmerman, Trout Creek Outfitters.