Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3805 Feb 15- Mar 1 | Page 14

12 FRESHWATER Feb 15 - Mar 1, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 5 FRESHWATER REPORTS: surface. “One angler reported landing two 12” kokanee after our last storms. He trolled Needlefish with a scent of Pro Cure KokaneeTrout scent at the 30’depth.,” noted Hildebrand. Hildebrand reported a sporadic bite on crappie, Some fish in the 2-2.5 lb . range. have been caught by anglers trolling for trout at 20 ft. using Apex Lures and spoons. Bass anglers New Melones Lake level is currently at 1039.50 and 48.50 ft. from full, rising 4.80 ft. in two weeks. Water clarity has been reported to be stained in the creek arms as well as on the main lake, visibility down to 15-20 ft. The current water temperature is 51-54 degrees. The Tuttletown middle ramp is currently in use for lake elevations from 1036.00-942.00 feet. The Glory Hole Point side of the lake has the high ramp working and it doesn’t appear that the middle ramp will be in use this year. The Angels Cove ramp is also in use. CONTINUED FROM PG 11 KLAMATH RIVER cont. because of the storms, the river produced solid fishing for adult steelhead and half pounders. “The Klamath River was really good in the stretch below Happy Camp before the river blew out, although the entire river was producing steelhead,” said pro guide Mario Gomez of Ironhead Guide Service. “Most guide boats reported catching and releasing around 20 half pound steelhead and 5 to 7 adult winter steelhead per day. The winter fish averaged 5 to 7 pounds and went up to 10 pounds.” Most of the fish hit side drifted orange and pink yarn, but the 10 pounder hit a Brad’s Wee Wiggler. “There are always fish in the Klamath River,” Gomez said. “They may not be trophy size , but least you can count on a ton of bites and fish pulling on the end of your line all day.” At press time, Gomez was fishing on the wild and scenic section of the Chetco River, where he reported three steelhead weighing 7, 8 and 6 pounds landed and two others lost by his clients using yam balls on his latest trip. Emily, Mike, Breanna and Bobby had their hands full reeling in rainbows when they took a trolling trip to Collins Lake this January. Photo courtesy of the COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA, Oregon House. LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR KNIGHTS LANDING/ COLUSA Sturgeon Embark On Upriver Journey KNIGHTS LANDING – White sturgeon are moving into the Sacramento River from Verona up to Colusa. Before the latest storms raised and muddied the water, anglers were beginning to catch a mixture of keeper and oversized sturgeon. “During my first trip of the year, I saw good numbers of fish jumping, but there was still too much debris in the water for productive fishing,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide Service. “I went out by myself a couple of days later for a few hours, but left after the fog began to move into the area. I didn’t hook any fish on either trip.” Reimers expects the sturgeon fishing to pick up as the water level goes down and gets clearer. He noted that he launched at Ward’s Landing, since the Tisdale ramp was still clogged up with debris. Jack Lightsen at Johnson’s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City recommended fishing with eel, ghost shrimp and nightcrawlers on the Sacramento from Verona to Colusa for the top sturgeon action. “Knights Landing has been producing the most consistent fishing,” he said. - Dan Bacher LAKE OPENS FEB. 14 2019 3804 Bait Tossers Battle Catfish, Trout and Stripers BYRON – You can catch catfish, striped bass and rainbow trout now at Los Vaqueros Reservoir. In fact, one angler weighed in a catch of all three species during a recent trip to the lake. Yekam El Nakar caught 9 hefty catfish, a 20” striper, and 2 trout (one 5.26 lbs. and one 4 lbs.) while bait fishing in the South Cove, according to the Los Vaqueros Marina. While all three species are biting, most anglers are focusing on trout, especially with the weekly plants of 1,000 pounds of rainbows. “Peninsula Cove has been especially productive this past week both trolling and bait fishing,” according to the marina staff. “Fishing past the Rock Wall is also popular with a consistent number of fish being caught. Fish have also been seen coming out of Cox and Cowboy Coves. Shore anglers are having the most success using garlic scented PowerBaits, followed by nightcrawlers.” Andrew Wadahara caught a 4.33 lb. trout on PowerBait by the rockwall. Another angler bagged an 8.51 pound trout by the dam while using PowerBait. Both shakers and legal-sized stripers are being caught from around the reservoir. Cut anchovies or shad are the baits of choice, fished either from shore or a boat. .If you are looking to rent a boat, contact the Marina ahead of time to check current wind conditions at (925) 371-2628 or check the weather conditions - Dan Bacher NEW MELONES LAKE Bass Fishing Comes Alive ANGELSCAMP - Bass anglers report a good bite on New Melones, landing 20-30 bass in a day’s outing, according to Gene Hildebrand of Glory Sports. “Anglers are catching some 2-3 lb. spotted bass and some really nice largemouth up to 10 pounds, 3 ounces,” said Hildebrand. “Josh Fernandes of Copperopolis landed a 5 lb.. 7 oz. largemouth while using a finesse rigged crawfish/pumpkin with Crawfish scent in 10 ft. of water.” “We caught a lot of quality bass and recently the action seems to have really picked up.,” confirmed John Liechty of Xperience Guide Service. “Last week I landed an 8-pound largemouth on a big swimbait and over the weekend we boated numerous fish from 3 to 5-pounds.” “The water temperature in some areas has begun to gradually warm and it is starting to feel like spring.,” he tipped. A few fish are transitioning into shallow throughout the day, however many fish are still holding out deep. We have been covering a lot of water, fishing the main lake and major creek arms. “ “The most consistent pattern has been jigs and shakeyheads fished down steeper banks. These areas can be fished from 5’ to 55’ feet with one cast. The next few months are some of my favorites and we are going to be catching some impressive largemouth and spotted bass,” he concluded. “The winter trout bite on Melones has been a mix of good days and some slow days,” said Hildebrand. “I’ve heard reports of brown trout up river hitting Speedy Shiners and Mack’s black and white Hum Dinger.” George Rabdrn of Lodi landed two quality rainbow trout trolling near Rose Island while rolling shad near the PYRAMID LAKE MOBILE HOME FOR RENT! Under New Management OROVILLE LAKE Water Level Rises Rapidly OROVILLE – The water level at Lake Oroville is rising rapidly from recent storms. In just two weeks, the water level has risen 36.50 feet. The lake level has risen to 713. 13 feet above sea level. The reservoir is holding 1,390,860 acre feet of water, 39 percent of capacity and 60 percent of average. The rising water means improved fishing prospects for both channel catfish and black bass. Expect to find the catfish feeding on the forage washed into the lakes from the recent storms. Fish at the creek mouths and in the North, Middle and South Forks of the Feather and West Branch for the top success. Use nightcrawlers, mackerel, chicken liver and stink baits for the catfish. Bass fishing is also picking up for anglers using drop shot rigs, jigs, plastic worms and other offerings. “Kevin Pugh came up and fished Lake Oroville today,” said Jamey Sorensen of North State Tackle and Pro Shop at press time. “It looks like he had a pretty good day, since he caught and released and an 8.57 largemouth bass and about 14 other fish.” “Ethan Leininger was the top student at on the water bass class with high school students,” said Sorensen. “He fished with Mike Erwin and caught a 16- 3/4” fish on a Keitech jig.” Sorensen also noted that the first NorCal 90 event, scheduled for Feb 2 at Oroville, was cancelled, “due to the lack of a viable launch at Bidwell Marina.” While no reports on the king salmon action were available at press time, you can expect the landlocked Chinook bite to pick up at Oroville in the coming months. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife stocked 139,000 chinook salmon from the Feather River Fish Hatchery in late September 2018 for Lake Oroville’s landlocked salmon program. The fish were about 23 to the pound, about 6 inches long, when stocked in the lake.. - Dan Bacher Salmon • Trout • Kokanee GREAT Fishing for: Trout • Kokanee • Catfish Large & Smallmouth Bass Crappie • Bluegill • Sunfish Store • Campsites/RV sites Marina • Boat Launch New Boat & Motor Rental Fleet Call for Information & Reservations (800) 416-6992 4900 Stony Creek Rd. Ione www.rockymountainrec.com ONLY $150 PER NIGHT! Large 2 bedroom completely remodeled mobile home sleeps up to 5 in separate beds, fully equipped kitchen, living room and large porch. Close to convenience store and 10 minutes to the boat ramp. Lots of boat parking — Dogs Welcome! Call or text Jaay at (775)742-0362 3802 • Stampede Kokanee • Oroville Kings • Now Booking Sacramento River Fall Salmon! 3713