Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3805 Feb 15- Mar 1 | Page 24

22 Feb 15 - Mar 1, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 5 FRESHWATER FRESHWATER REPORTS: than a foot per day and is now about 65 feet from maximum pool. At Whiskeytown, things are not looking good. Due to large fires this summer and fall, a large volume of mud is being flushed into the lake. The immature kokanee that were spawned in the lake’s tributaries this fall have likely been whipped out. No one knows the extent of the damage to the tributaries and the habitat of the reservoir itself. Only time will tell, but in the broad view the fishery will come back. CONTINUED FROM PG 18 ROLLINS/SCOTTS FLAT cont. Barge Canal Public Access off Jefferson Boulevard.” When bait fishing for stripers, anglers can also pick up some channel or white catfish. Kayakers and other boaters should look for schools of threadfin shad in the port and channel. “If the shad are showing, you can expect to see a lot of stripers,” said Phanner. Boaters have a number of options for catching the stripers. They can jig with Blade Runner spoons. They can troll with Yo-Zuris or other lures. Or they can throw out Rat-L-Trips or Alabama Rigs to entice the stripers. Before the latest storms, anglers reported catching crappie while fishing minnows and jigs in the local ditches of the Natomas area. - Dan Bacher SANTA CLARA VALLEY/ SAN LUIS LAKES Target Anderson Reservoir Largemouths with Finesse Tactics COYOTE – Fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and catfish remains tough in the Santa Clara Valley reservoirs, due to muddy water conditions and rising lake levels, he result of the recent storms. Anderson is your top prospect for largemouth bass. “Shore fishermen are picking up some largemouths in the 1 to 2 lb. range while using finesse jigs and drop shot rigs with Robo Worms,” said Armando Gutierrez of Coyote Bait and Tackle. “The fish are getting a little shallower, around 10 feet.” “The people are getting bites, but they’re not always hooking up, since the fish are still sluggish,” he noted. For Calero largemouths, Gutierrez recommended fishing the same finesse techniques used at Anderson, but from both boat and shore. Crappie fishing with jigs is also worth a shot at Calero. “Fishing at Uvas, Chesbro and Coyote lakes is really slow for bass and other fish species, due to the cold and muddy water conditions,” he advised. Lots of San Jose region anglers are heading to San Luis Lake and the O’Neill Forebay, reported Gutierrez. Boaters are drifting jumbo minnows at 50 to 60 feet deep in the main lake. Shore anglers are tossing out jumbo minnows off Dinosaur TAHOE Winter Anglers Enjoy Hot Mackinaw Fishing And Inspiring Sierra Scenery Limits all around! That was the word from these folks when they hit the waters of Lake Tahoe in search of mackinaw with the Tahoe Sportfishing Team. Photo courtesy of TAHOE SPORTFISHING, South Lake Tahoe. Point. Most of the keepers measure 18 to 25 inches long. “In the Forebay, you can expect to hook a lot of shakers, along with some keeper fish, while bait fishing,” he explained - Dan Bacher further notice. Reports on bass success from the Arroyo Del Valle Ponds remain very scarce. Fishing in the ponds is restricted to catch and release, barbless hooks, artificial lures, float tubes only. SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE SHASTA/WHISKEYTOWN LAKES Boaters Battle Winter Rainbows PLEASANTON - The weather at Shadow Cliffs Reservoir has been cool in the mornings with temperatures reaching into the low 60s in the afternoon, creating comfortable conditions for anglers pursuing rainbow trout. The water temperature: is 55 degrees, depending on depth. The water visibility is clear, seeming to vary between 10-15 feet. Successful anglers include Mike, who caught his limit of trout while trolling from his boat, and Louie, who landed his trout while fishing with PowerBait. Mike and Brandon also caught their limits while fishing from a boat. They were using PowerBait. The last plant of 750 pounds of rainbows took place the week of January 28-February 1. Please note that boaters must be 100 feet away from the fish tube, swim ropes and the boat docks. Trail Closures: The third dock is only accessible via the levee trail. The trail between the second and third dock that runs alongside the lake is closed until Fishing Guide Service TROUT-SALMON-KOKANEE Sierra Foothill & Central Valley Lakes Capt. Peter T E-MAIL: petertsguideservice@gmail.com 3803 Fish Lake Tahoe! 3204 water has better clarity, I will throw a small Fish Trap style swimbait in the 3 to 4 inch range. My choice of tackle for both these baits is a 7’ medium heavy Cousins casting rod matched to an Abu 90 $ (800) 877–1462 • Discounts for Cash • • Large or Small Groups • Group Discounts • Gift Certificates E-mail: bigmack-2@att.net • www.mickeysbigmack.com LAKE DEL VALLE LAKE RANCHO SECO (925) 426-0197 (209) 748-2318 LAKE PARDEE (209) 772-1472 Offer valid on all boat rentals Monday - Friday (530)546–4444 SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE (925) 449-5201 Over 50 Years Experience on The Lake Carnelian Bay, CA 96140 SAN PABLO RESERVOIR (510) 223-1661 All Gear Provided P.O. Box 488 Garcia Orra baitcaster spooled with 15lb. Maxima Ultra Green. If reaction baits fail to produce any strikes I will slow down and switch over to traditional soft plastic baits. I always make my bait choices based on the current conditions. When the water is slick and calm and there is no wind and sunny high skies plastics become my first choice. 20% OFF ALL-DAY BOAT RENTALS AT 5 hours DaiLy Trips REDDING - Lake Shasta is out of shape, but fishable. The water is a cloudy shade of green and there is a lot of big chunks of floating wood and other debris dotting the surface of the lake so you’ve got to use caution while boating. Fishing pressure is very light, but with fair weather in the forecast the lake will likely see a few more anglers in the coming days. All of this is good news for north state anglers since the rising lake indicates that Shasta will be full and the fishing will be top notch this spring and summer. Prior to the most recent parade of storm the lake’s trout were spread out and some were being caught by anglers fast trolling with shad imitating spoons and plugs. For anglers that make the effort and put in the time, browns to 6 pounds and rainbows to 4 are possible. The bass action had been good for angler working water from 5 to 35 feet deep along the shoreline with plastic worms. At this point, Shasta is coming up more TRINITY RIVER/LAKE Steelhead Numbers Soar At Hatchery WEAVERVILLE - Large numbers of steelhead are returning to the Trinity River CONTINUED ON PG 23 BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT PETER T’S (916) 956-3494 Mud, Debris And Rapidly Rising Water Levels Keeps Anglers Away SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The fishing is very good at Lake Tahoe and after a series of snow that dropped several feet of snow around the Tahoe Basin the mid- winter views couldn’t be any better! The Tahoe Sportfishing team has been spending a lot of time on the water in recent days and they’ve scored limits of mackinaw that range up to 4 pounds for their efforts. For example, on January 21 the five anglers aboard the Hopper 5 smacked full limits of macks and had a bunch of fun during a half day adventure. Standard trolling tactics have been the ticket for Tahoe Sportfishing skippers. Minnows teamed with flashers continue to be the top offering. The team at Tahoe Sportfishing has some of the best skippers on Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe Sportfishing boasts a fleet of 8 boats that range from 30 to 45 feet in length, so you’ll always be safe and comfortable as you sample the big lake’s angling opportunities. Both morning and afternoon trips are available and both open load fishing and private charters are available. At the north end of Tahoe, a trip with Captain Mickey Daniels is always a great option. Mickey has been catching plenty of fish at the north end of the lake. Mickey’s anglers are hooking mackinaw up to 6 pounds. Some fish are kept for the table while the others are tagged and released. Mickey is hooking his fish on a variety of offerings including Shasta Tackle Kok-A- Nuts teamed with Sling Blade Dodgers. For more information about Boating, Camping & Recreation Visit WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINREC.COM All other boat rental terms and conditions still apply.Offer subject to boat rental availability. Offer expires on 12/31/2019 and is not valid with any other coupon/discount with any other coupon/discount. CONTINUED continued from page 19 ON PG 23 I fish tube baits with an internal jig head under these conditions. A 3/16 oz. head teamed with a watermelon colored tube is a highly effective choice when the bass are not eating reaction baits. Another technique that works extremely well is to split shot a 6” straight tail Robo. Scent is a must. I cover all of my plastics with Pro-Cure in either crawfish or threadfin shad. Finally, I employ a 7’ medium action Cousins spinning rod paired with an Abu Garcia Cardinal loaded with 8 lb. Maxima Fluorocarbon line for fishing plastics. Here is one final tip. During the early spring or when time is at a premium, I will look for spawning areas that are extremely close to vertical structure. Forty five degree banks that lead to adjacent small shallow pockets are prime areas to target. By shortening the distance from the spawning grounds to deeper water, I have effectively narrowed down the amount of water that I need to cover. As bass make their way along their journey, they have a tendency to school up. Catching one fish can give away the location of a larger group of bass. Stay persistent, as the prespawn is one of the best times of year to be on the water.