Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3817 August 2- 16 2019 | Page 16

14 Aug 2 - 16, 2019 MAP FEATURE VOL.38 • ISS. 17 Anglers target salmon on the Feather River below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet early on the morning of July 16. Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff. M Salmon Anglers Find Best Success on Opener in Feather River ost bank anglers and boat fishermen experienced chal- lenging salmon fishing on opening day, July 16, for Chinook salmon on the Feather, Sacramento, American and Mokelumne rivers. Salmon fishing was best on the Feather River, but was still tough for most anglers, even though every guide I talked to reported hook-ups and take downs. Kevin Brock of Kevin Brock’s Guide Service checked in with 8 salmon for 6 anglers on opening day while fishing below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet. The anglers hooked the fish while using Brock’s hand-painted plugs, with the “wild thing” color producing the top action. Other guides reported hook-ups and takedowns, but no salmon landed. “We had four take- downs while fishing below the outlet, but didn’t get any fish into the boat,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide Service. “My fishing partner, Chris Ditter, had one fish on for about 10 seconds. We were fishing on the anchor with Brad’s Killer Fish in the dragon fly color.” He said he observed just five fish caught by boaters and a few salmon hooked by the dozens of bank anglers on both sides of the river while he was there, although both him and his fishing partner, Chris Ditter, got off the river early. Reimers added, “If every one of the fish that hit our lures stayed on, we would have put four salmon in the boat.” Manuel Saldana, Jr., of MSJ Guide Service, reported one take down, but no fish landed on the opener. Expect the salmon fishing to pick up as more salmon enter the Feather and the Anglers fishing below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet get ready for a take down from a salmon on opening day. Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff. weather cools down in the coming weeks. Very few anglers found salmon success on the upper section of the Sacramento below Red Bluff. “We fished hard in the major holes of the Sacramento all of the way from the Red Bluff Diversion Dam to below Lost Molinos,” said Robert Weese of Northern California Guide Service. “We hooked five salmon, but all of them got away. The fish were very Kevin Brock of FishKevinBrock.com proudly displays a bright king salmon landed on opening day on the Feather River. Photo courtesy of FISHKEVINBROCK.COM spooky; they would pop right off after they grabbed the lure or roe.” “One of my clients did catch and release a 3-pound steelhead. We back trolled with sardine-wrapped Kwikfish, back bounced with roe and boondog- gled with roe. I saw a total of three salmon landed all day,” noted Weese. The mouth of the American River at Discovery Park, a hot spot last year, produced few fish this year, spite of the armada of boats that got on the river in the early hours of the morning. “I don’t think more than 3 fish were caught on opening day at Discovery Park,” said Dennis Pfanner of Sacramento Pro Tackle. Boaters trolled with an array of plugs and spinners, while some shore anglers tossed out spinners, but only a lucky few landed any salmon. The salmon fishing was also difficult for anglers fishing the Sacramento out of Vieira’s Resort in Isleton. “Only about a dozen boats went out and none reported catching salmon,” said Chesney Wilson at Vieira’s Resort.