FRESHWATER
10 April 25, 2025 VOL. 44 • ISS. 4
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FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 9
LAKE BERRYESSA
Anglers Score Early Limits of Trout, Plus Bass & Crappie
NAPA – Fishing for rainbow trout is sizzling for experienced anglers at Lake Berryessa – and angling for black bass and crappie is also going strong,“ Yesterday we had Charlie and his crew out yet again for another massive day on Berryessa,” reported Nate Kelsch of Big Nate’ s Guide Service after his most recent trolling adventure on Berryessa.“ We caught limits of beautiful trout, 2 crappie, and we had another 9 crazy trout pop off right behind the boa.”“ That doesn’ t count the amount of fish that bit and went airborne and shook the hook before we even had a chance,” Kelsch continued.“ There was a long lull in the bite as pressure changes were occurring, but besides that our crew crushed‘ em.”“ Trigger spoons / Trigger Spoon Jrs,, Optomizers and stick baits smothered in Chrome Killer Scent at depths from the surface down to chasing marks at 45 ft. at speeds between 2.5 and 3.1mph kept them coming over the rail. The color patterns that we used are in the packages at www. catchamerica. com and we have had success on all of them. As things change I will
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swap out the colors in the package,” he added.“ We have been on fire and we are on top of the fish,” he noted. On a previous trip, Kelsch reported,“ Today we had the pleasure of taking out Joe, his son Luke, Revell, and Adam out on Berryessa and they absolutely knocked it out of the park. We had 2 limits of beautiful trout, including a monster by 10 am, and the boys wanted to switch things up, as they had never caught crappie or king salmon. Challenge accepted.”“ We made a move and within minutes we were hooked up with crappie, 2 different species of bass and king salmon – mission accomplished,” said Kelsch.“ Now back to the mission at hand. We made another move away from the fleet and bingo, 10 more trout for full limits. We used Trigger Spoons / Jrs. smothered in Chrome Killer Scent at depths down to 27 ft. The main key to today was staying away from the fleet.”“ We experienced another great day on Lake Berryessa catching all 3. species – smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass,” reported Don Paganelli of Paganelli’ s Bass Fishing Experience after a recent trip..“ The weather was great with warmer conditions coming soon. This only means the bite will keep getting better. Water temperatures are still in the mid to high fifties.” On his next trip, Paganelli
reported,“ I had a great day on Berryessa with old friends. The thrill never dies. We caught all 3 bass on just about everything.” Reclamation now requires all boats launching at Lake Berryessa to participate in a seal program to prevent the spread of invasive golden 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. For questions about this new protocol and vessel decontamination, contact BOR- Berryessa @ usbr. gov. Lake Berryessa is holding 1,563,674 acre feet of water, 98 percent of capacity and 117 percent of average.
- Dan Bacher
BULLARDS BAR / ENGLEBRIGHT LAKES
Landlocked Sockeyes Plentiful at Kokanee Power Derby
DOBBINS – The Kokanee Power Bullards Bar Derby on April 5 featured“ great weather and fishing,” according to Chris Dunham of Sacramento.“ This year the fish are smaller in size, but plentiful.,” said Dunham.“ Thank you Yuba Water District for sponsoring this derby. We had a great turn out for junior anglers- an amazing 22 came out.. It’ s great to see these future fishermen / fisherwomen.” The derby featured a 5 fish weighin, with $ 800 for 1st place and payouts down to 15th. Joe Smith and Danielle Limme won first place in the event with a total weight of 2.67 pounds. Justin Ross and Lee Woodall placed second in the event with 2.59 pounds, while Logan Noble, Dennis Young and Jacob Noble placed third with 2.41 pounds. Anglers interested in catching kokanee at Bullards Bar now should troll with hoochies and spinners, tipped with white corn, and Brad’ s Kokanee Cut Plugs behind dodgers. Bullards Bar is holding 880,339 acre-feet of water, 91 percent of capacity and 113 percent of average. Few anglers have been on the water at Englebright Reservoir fishing for trout. However, this is generally a great time of year to hook rainbows and an occasional brown while trolling with Rapalas, Needlefish, Cripplures and nightcrawlers behind dodgers. Expect to hook holdover rainbows in the 12 to 18 inch range. Englebright is holding 71,633 acre feet of water, 102 percent of capacity and 108 percent of average.
Dan Bacher
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This angler landed this fat bass during the pre-spawn in April Photo courtesy of Paganelli’ s Bass Fishing Experience