Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3813 June 7-21 2019 | Page 23

PARDEE LAKE Shore Anglers Battle Big Rainbows IONE– Weekly trout plants continue at Lake Pardee, with 1000 pounds of Calaveras Trout Farm rainbows going into the lake before Memorial Day. Anglers are tossing out Power Bait, nightcrawlers, Kastmasters, Panther Martins and other offerings to entice the rainbows. Black bass fishing has improved in the river arm with largemouth bass to 7.38 pounds reported on Zoom Trick Worms. Good numbers of smallmouth, spotted, and largemouth bass have been reported in the river arm on finesse techniques. Kokanee fishing should improve as the lake stratifies and the thermocline forms. Troll with hoochies, spinners and spoons, tipped with white corn, for maximum success. Pardee is holding 205,847 acre feet of water, 101 percent of capacity and 109 percent of averaging. PYRAMID LAKE Boaters Enjoy Hot Cutthroat Bite SUTCLIFFE - The bite has really picked up momentum at Pyramid Lake. The boating crowd is seeing the best action they have laid into since about December. The fish aren’t big for the most part, but lots of 2-3 pounders are making for excellent action. The hottest area of the lake has been along the west shore from Warrior’s Point up to the Needles. Just keep trolling until you find fish and then sit on them until you stop catching them. Lyman’s are working really well, but Apex Lures and thin profile trolling spoons are also a decent bet. Any lure that allows you to cover water quickly until an area holding fish is located is a good bet. Meanwhile, the shore bite is definitely fizzling. The spawn is completely over. The best bet is tossing spoons off of the rocks near Warrior’s Point. Don’t expect any giants at this time. Fly fishermen are pretty much packing it in until next fall. Right now it takes time and patience and a lack of better things to do to catch fish on the fly rod. The Truckee River is finally dropping into shape. The river is still high, but the color is excellent. Cautious anglers should start scoring on quality rainbows and browns. Spinning rod enthusiasts have a good shot of landing some of the biggest browns in the Truckee tossing natural colored Rapalas. - Mike McNeilly QUARRY LAKES Anglers Bag Trout Limits LIVERMORE – “Lots of limits of trout have been caught lately,” reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park SMUD & CDFW Will Stock 25,000 Pounds of Rainbows into Union Valley, Ice House and Loon Lake Reservoirs MUD and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are again stocking three Sierra reservoirs with rainbow trout. The fish planting will run through August with 25,000 pounds of fish stocked into Union Valley, Ice House and Loon Lake reservoirs in El Dorado County. The amount of fish stocked can number as high as 50,000 pounds in a given year, depending on matched stocking by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This is the fifth consecutive summer SMUD and CDFW have combined efforts to stock the reservoirs. The trout planting is intended to enhance angling opportunities for the public. According to surveys, fishing tops the reasons folks visit the Crystal Basin Recreation Area. On average, the stocked trout weigh one to two pounds each, with a handful of trophy fish included. This year SMUD has worked with the owners of the Ice House Resort to install a board where anglers can post pictures of their catch from Crystal Basin reservoirs. The “Crystal Basin Bragging Board” will offer anglers the opportunity to show off a photo of any catch they think is worthy. A scale will be made available as well if anglers wish to weigh their catch and claim biggest fish bragging rights. SMUD proactively works to improve the quality of life in El Dorado County, where many SMUD employees call home and work, and where the electric utility owns and operates the Upper American River Project (UARP), a system of hydroelectric generation facilities. In 2014, SMUD was awarded a new 50-year license by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to continue operating the UARP, which provides nearly 700 megawatts of low-cost, clean, non-carbon-emitting This youngster was fishing at Lake Amador on May 7 when this huge rainbow came knocking. Photo courtesy of the LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador. District. “Please remember that the limit is five trout.” Jack A. of Hayward was fishing from his boat and caught and released two trout, the largest weighing about five-and-a-half pounds. He was using a Rainbow Runner in the front part of Horseshoe Lake. Shin K. of Fremont caught his limit of trout, the largest weighing seven-and- a-half pounds. Shin was using one of his own hand-painted spoons along Fishermen’s Row. Nick P. of Hayward caught his limit of trout using rainbow and chartreuse Powerbait! in the Kiosk Cove. Michael F. of Milpitas caught his limit of trout using a mini jig at the end of Fishermen’s Row. Jeff D. of Newark caught an eight- pound catfish while fishing in the front of Horseshoe Lake from his kayak using a trout spoon! Shin K. of Fremont caught his limit of trout for a total weight of 20 pounds while using his own hand-painted spoon and was fishing in the Kiosk Cove. Raj P. of Fremont caught a four-and- a-half-pound trout using a mini-jig in the Kiosk Cove. hydro power, enough to provide about 15 to 20 percent of SMUD’s energy capacity during an average year. The fish- stocking effort helps SMUD meet condi- tions of operating its FERC license for the UARP. SMUD will coor- dinate six separate trout plantings from June through August. Union Valley, the largest of the three reservoirs, will get 10,000 pounds; Ice House, 8,750 pounds; and, Loon Lake, 6,250 pounds. The fish provided by SMUD will come from Mount Lassen Trout Farms of Payne’s Creek. The company also stocks SMUD’s Rancho Seco Lake, which annually hosts the very popular Trout Derby. Fishing licenses are available for purchase from more than 1,400 license agents throughout the state and can also be obtained online We’re stocking 25,000 pounds of at wildlife.ca.gov/ rainbow trout into Union Valley, Ice licensing. House and Loon Lake reservoirs For more informa- throughout the summer. tion about UARP and associated projects Make a trip to the Crystal Basin for as well as current reservoir and stream your chance to catch the big one! release conditions, please visit smud.org and the Community Learn more at smud.org/Recreation and Recreational Areas Web pages. S 21 June 7 - 21, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 13 RIO VISTA AREA San Joaquin Kicks Out Striper Limits RIO VISTA – On the final spring striper adventure on the San Joaquin River by James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service on May 17, the six anglers and the captain landed limits of striped bass to 5 pounds while drifting live jumbo minnows. “What a way to end the season.,” said Netzel. “Fishing in 25-30 mph winds blowing against a big 4’ outgoing tide. It took the bow mount and kicker together to keep it semi straight. We went through almost 7 dozen minnows for 7 limits, with about 50 fish boated.” Netzel is now available for guided kokanee trolling adventures on Stampede Reservoir. On the latest trip in Cache Slough in the North Delta, Alan Fong of the Fisherman Warehouse in Sacramento reported solid action on largemouth bass in the 3-1/2 to 4 pound range. “The top fish weighed 4-3/4 pounds,” he said. “We caught the fish mainly on glide baits.” - Dan Bacher CONTINUED ON PG 22 Catch the big one! North Truckee Auburn Georgetown Sacramento Folsom Hell Hole Loon Lake Union Valley Ice House ★ Placerville 22 miles Pollock Pines 8.4 miles Ice House Road Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe 23 miles Sacramento Municipal Utility District