Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3804 Feb 1-15 2019 | Page 13

FRESHWATER REPORTS: “We trolled from the surface to 40 feet deep with a variety of lures,” explained Lampkin. “We did best with the pina colada pattern GVS spinners and pink hoochies and Wiggle Hoochies.” The lake level is rising with the recent storm inflows. The reservoir is holding 333,957 acre feet of water, 34 percent of capacity and 68 percent of average. The lake level is 392.88 feet in elevation. A 5 mph speed limit remains in effect on the entire lake. The low water ramp at Granite Bay and the Hobie Cove ramp at Brown’s Ravine are the only 2 ramps in operation at this time. - Dan Bacher CONTINUED FROM PG 9 DON PEDRO cont. event on January 12, and the bite was difficult for the majority of fishermen although there are signs that the bass are moving into shallower water. Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing participated with Nick Sanches of Fresno, and he said, “The bite has gotten tough, and there were a number of small fish. We caught most everything in one spot, and the reaction bite has been non-existent but the jig bite remains consistent. The fish are oriented towards larger boulders, and there are some bass moving shallower as there are a lot more fish in the 20 to 40-foot range than a few weeks ago.” “The quality has been hit or miss as you can pick up five bass over 2 pounds one day and nothing on the following day. Jigs or plastics on a shakey head worked best for us. On a mid-week half-day guide trip, we starting out with jigs in greens/ browns from 30 to 60 feet, and we landed several fish in the same location. The key has been to fish very slow after finding bass on the meter and dropping straight down on top of them. During the four-hour session, we caught and released around 30 bass.,” he stated. Mike Gomez of Berserk Baits also fished the Christian Bass League event, and he and his partner, Dave Bickle, had the distinction of bringing in the smallest five-fish limit at 7.62 pounds for a special bonus cash prize. Gomez confirmed the difficult action, saying, “I threw one of my Berserk jigs throughout the day, and it was tough overall, but the winning teams scored with jigs. There were bass at different depths from 20 to 50 feet, and I was able to get them to go on an umbrella rig while they were suspended in the morning, but they dropped to the bottom after 1.5 hours, and plastics on a Ned-Rig or drop-shot worked best on the bottom. The bass are not spitting out shad so they must be on the bottom chewing on crawdads. The water in the lake is crystal clear, and the winning boats stayed on one spot throughout the day to land two bass over 4 pounds.” The lake rose slightly to 71 percent. - Dave Hurley 11 Feb 1-15, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 4 KNIGHTS LANDING Sturgeon Start Moving Upriver Aiden and his grandpa Ken took a fishing trip to Lake Camanche with Captain Robbie and limited on husky rainbow trout. Photo courtesy of KOKE MACHINE GUIDE SERVICE, Lake Camanche. EAST DELTA Warmer Water Should Prod Stripers Upriver STOCKTON - Striped bass fishing in the East Delta has been tough, due to cold water conditions, but that is expected to change with the arrival of warmer water temperatures. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “The warmer water conditions from the recent storms should get a flurry of linesides moving in as it is ‘hit or miss’ right now. The majority of striped bass are still holding on the western edge of the Delta, but I expect them to move further inwards as the water warms.” “For largemouth bass, the fishing is still decent, but the key is to find current as a little current goes a long way. You have to slow way down and keep your bait in the strike zone as long as possible with baits with scent such as the Bottom Hopper with Max Scent on a Zappu head. The ripbait bite remains good, and I am scoring with the ima Flit 120 in American Shad or Olive Herring on a slow presentation near weeds with current.” Further inland, H and R Bait in Stockton reported minimal fishing interest with the cold and rainy weather. Fresh shad won’t be available for a few months, but most bait shops have plenty of frozen shad in the freezers. A crime prevention advisory has been issued by the Contra County Office of the Sheriff due to a spike in boat theft with more than 12 occurring in the county over the past few months. The thieves are targeting outboard engines. - Dave Hurley FEATHER RIVER David Burris hit Lake Amador on December 31 and was rewarded with this impressive 6-pound lightning trout while using Power Eggs. Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador. Steelhead Numbers Soar OROVILLE –   The section of the Feather River from the Table Mountain bicycle bridge to Highway 70 bridge that opened to fishing January 1 is producing solid steelhead fishing as fish move up the river towards the hatchery. “We’ve counted 1700 adult steelhead, including 97 that we took in today, so far this season,” reported Penny Crawshaw at the Feather River Fish Hatchery. “It’s an awesome run on the Feather this year.” To date, the hatchery staff has taken 965,000 steelhead eggs. The facility produces 450,000 steelhead smolts annually for the river. Surplus fish will be planted in the Thermalito Afterbay to bolster the landlocked steelhead fishery. She said anglers are lined up to fish the river below the Highway 170 Bridge and below the hatchery. Anglers can hook steelhead in the 2 to 5 lb. range while drifting nightcrawlers, eyed egg imitations, nymphs, beads and spinners. Combined water releases below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet are 1750 cfs, according to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). - Dan Bacher FOLSOM LAKE Rainbows Offer Top Sport KNIGHTS LANDING – Sturgeon are showing in increasing numbers on the Sacramento River at Knights Landing, although few anglers have out on the river trying their luck. “There are just not a lot of anglers out there fishing for sturgeon,” said Tim Boggs of Elkhorn Outdoor Sports. “I have heard of two sturgeon, one oversized and one slot-sized, landed by bank anglers at Knights Landing over the past couple of weeks. Anglers are doing best while using lamprey eel at First and Second Beach.” “Quite a few sturgeon are showing in Steamboat Slough, so we can expect more fish to move upriver soon,” he tipped. Hardly anybody has been targeting catfish lately, but expect to see more anglers trying as the Sacramento rises from the inflows from the latest storms. Your best bet is to fish nightcrawlers, mackerel, chicken liver and G&S Dip Bait at Knights Landing and Verona. LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR Bait Fishers Entice Stripers, Trout BYRON –  Fishing pressure has been very light with the cold, stormy and wet weather at Los Vaqueros, though that is all expected to change, now that we have entered a period of stable weather. The few anglers getting out have found trout fishing success. Just ask William Munkacsy, who caught a 6.1 and a 5.1 pound trout in Cowboy Cove on PowerBait this month. SACRAMENTO – If you want to hook rainbow trout, head to the North Fork of the American. That’s where Steve Burgess of Meadow Vista and his 3-1/2-year-old grandson, Danny, found the CONTINUED ON PG 12 trout on his latest trolling adventure at the reservoir. “The fish didn’t start biting until 10 a.m.,” said Burgess. “We caught a total of 6 trout in the 12 to 14 inch range while using hoochies and GVS spinners in the top 30 feet of water.. The water was not Now Catching real clear, but it was fishable.” STRIPED BASS On his most TROUT recent trip to Folsom, Jerry CATFISH • SALmON • TROUT Lampkin of TNG LARGEMOUTH BASS Motor Sports Guide • STRIPED BASS Service reported The New Marina • Building CATFISH 6 king salmon & Boat Rentals and 6 rainbows • NOW LARGEmOUTH BASS landed by four OPEN!!!! anglers, including $25 boat his nephew Ryan rentals Rabain and his son, every Zane, and nephews Monday Los Vaqueros Recreation Co. Chance and thru Friday 9990 Los Vaqueros Rd. Nathaniel Hartell. (non holidays) Byron, CA, 94514 They also caught their fish, all in the www.NORCALFISHING.COm 12 to 13 inch range, 2907 A Contra Costa Water District Facility 3125 in the North Fork Nestled between Los Vaqueros Los Vaqueros Brentwood Reservoir Reservoir and Livermore off Vasco Road Nestled between Brentwood and Livermore off Vasco Road First Time Anglers Welcome! Beautiful Spring Wild Flowers (925) 371-2628