Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3806 Mar 1-15 2019 | Page 17

March 1 - 15, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 6 15 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 10 LAKE DEL VALLE cont. around the marina area chasing the planter trout in the water. Many of our anglers hook up into striped bass when they are trout fishing, so be cautious when you think you’re setting the hook on a trout on PowerBait. Another good bet is troll Huddleston, Savage and other large swimbaits around the marina area. Our fish of the week was caught by David Cook and Ming Wang of Pleasant Hill, whose largest of three fish weighed six pounds. They caught their fish to the right of the boat launch while using Kastmasters. - Captain Jacob this spot and that spot. I lost a fairly big bass just after we started, and the rest of the trip we caught about 16 to 18 bass, all from 1-1/4 to near 2 -1/2 lbs. - mostly largemouth and a few spots. No more big bites.” “We fished a bunch of different soft plastic baits and Senkos. Most bites were from 10 to 35 feet. It was a beautiful day - sunny and almost warm,” Hemphill said. “I really don’t feel qualified to give tips as the bite was ok, but not great. Not anything in the backs of coves, but you have to try on a warmer day. Sun needs to get a bit higher on the horizon to warm the water.,” Hemphill concluded. The water temperature was 52-54 degrees and the water was stained, with 2-4 foot viability. DON PEDRO LAKE Black Bass Bite Is Decent LA GRANGE - Boaters are experiencing decent black bass fishing on Lake Don Pedro, as evidenced by a recent trip made by guide Larry Hemphill to the reservoir. “A friend of mine asked if I would like to join him for a trip to Don Pedro,” said Hemphill. “YES , I WOULD! haven’t been there in about 35 years - since moving from San Jose.“ “I love that lake and even guided there when still in San Jose, and did 2 guide trips after moving to Yuba City. Those two trips spelled the end of Don Pedro for me – a 6 to 7 hour round trip from Yuba City!.” “We missed the early bite as we missed a few turns on the way there. I did get to see New Melones for the first time!! Oops - wrong lake!! I wasn’t driving,” he quipped. “We covered a good bit of the lake, with memories flooding into my head about EASTERN SIERRA Big Snow Hampers Access, But Doesn’t Impact Bite! BISHOP- “Another good shot of snow hit the region bringing up the snowpack and making snowmobiling a necessity to access the Upper Owens River and Hot Creek,” reported Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service. “The Middle Owens is holding at 88 cfs. A bit of tannin coloration from the last rain storm here. This has come up a bit which is good for watering the river to move the fish around a little. With flows at their winter release rates for the past couple of months, it has become easier to locate bigger pods of fish. Some nice wild browns have been making a showing in the slower pools around the bends in the river. Streamers like Loebergs, Spruce-a- bu’s, Punk Perch, and Agent Orange have been fooling some nice fish recently,” said Loe. “We have been snowmobiling into the Upper Owens and are able to access all areas of the river with ease. Another 6″ of snow has fallen here since last report. This is reducing the number of anglers on the water and taking more pressure off of the fish. Some new rainbows have made their way up river. The section from the Benton Crossing Bridge down to the fishing monument is now closed. Flows are now at 87 cfs. Crystal eggs, #14-16 San Juan worm red, #14-16 Level Crystal Leeches, #14- 16 Parallel Assassin Dark and Light, and #16 Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge getting the most bites,” Loe exclaimed. Don Paganelli landed this fat Clear Lake largemouth while drifting a minnow this January. The minnow bite is on! Photo courtesy of PAGANELLI’S BASS FISHING EXPERIENCE, Sacramento. FEATHER RIVER Fish Lake Tahoe! 3204 5 hours DaiLy Trips 90 $ All Gear Provided (800) 877–1462 • Discounts for Cash • • Large or Small Groups • Group Discounts • Gift Certificates Over 50 Years Experience on The Lake P.O. Box 488 Carnelian Bay, CA 96140 (530)546–4444 E-mail: bigmack-2@att.net • www.mickeysbigmack.com Nearly 2000 Steelhead Counted at Hatchery This Year! OROVILLE – While steelhead fishing pressure is light with the muddy water conditions resulting from recent storms, steelhead are very abundant in the Feather River this season. “The water is pretty murky for steelhead fishing below the hatchery now,” said Penny Crawshaw at the Feather River Fish Hatchery. “The Jim paid the American River a visit with fly fishing guide Toby Uppinghouse on January 29 and landed this impressive steelhead. Photo courtesy of EDGEWATER OUTFITTERS, Sacramento. hatchery has finished taking steelhead for the season. The fish were showing in dwindling numbers – and the few fish that we saw we returned to the river.” The hatchery trapped a total of 1,049 males and 839 females this year, 1988 steelhead total. The total eggs they have collected is 1.1 million, more than enough to meet their production of 450,000 steelhead smolts for the Feather River. They also have enough eggs to stock the Thermalito Afterbay with 10,000 steelhead. The hatchery is currently planting steelhead smolts in the river below Boyd’s Pump. In addition, the hatchery has also released steelhead kelts (spawned out adult males) into the Sacramento at Verona and into the Thermalito Afterbay, with 50 percent of the fish going into each spot. They have released all of the spawned out females back into the Feather. Combined water releases below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet are 1750 cfs, according to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), but expect releases to increase soon. Flows on the Yuba City at Marysville were 14,032 cfs at press time. - Dan Bacher is shaping up to be a great boating year. “ The lake level is 430.29 feet in elevation, 35.71 feet from full. The reservoir is holding 616,250 acre feet of water, 63 per cent of capacity and 119 per cent of average. Four major ramps are now in operation. Granite Bay, Folsom Point, Brown’s Ravine and Rattlesnake Bar are all open to boat launching. The 5 mph speed limit on Folsom Lake has been removed, making fishing the reservoir from a boat for trout, salmon and bass easier. Few anglers have been out trolling for rainbow trout or tossing lures for spotted, smallmouth and largemouth bass lately. For trout and salmon, Jerry Lampkin of TNG Motor Sports Guide Service recommended slow top line trolling in the North Fork with nightcrawlers behind Sep’s Sidekick Dodgers. He also recommended putting out a downrigger rod starting at 25 feet deep with pink or white Wiggle Hoochies and other lures behind nickel glow dodgers. - Dan Bacher CONTINUED ON PG 16 Trophy Black Bass ers Tim 1st Pros! To D AY OR N IGHT G UIDED T RIPS L EARN S HALLOW T O D EEP W ATER T ECHNIQUES FOLSOM LAKE Lake In Good Shape While Storms Pound Region SACRAMENTO - The winter storms pounding the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada foothills and Sacramento Valley have resulted in increasing inflows into Folsom Lake, yielding increasingly bright prospects for the fishing and boating season at Folsom Lake. “The lake is at flood control levels and our current snow pack is about 126% of normal,” according to the report form the Folsom Lake Marina. “More snow is on the way, This 3019 2319 LARRY HEMPHILL Boats Guide & Instruction Service ( 530 ) 674–0276 Northern California Lakes Licensed & Bonded www.lunkerlarry.com www.thefi shsniffer.com/hemphill • Trout • Bass • Crappie • Bluegill • Catfish Largest Trout Stocking Program North of Sacramento Lakefront RV Camping Call for Reservations 800-286-0576 www.collinslake.com P.O. Box 300 . Oregon House . California 95962 3806