Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 2723 Oct 26-Nov 9 | Page 6

4 VOL.37 • ISS. 23 Oct 26 - Nov 9, 2018 Freshwater Reports Almanor ‘Bows, Browns & Kings on Tap CHESTER- “The great fall fishing continues here at Lake Almanor with fish of all kinds chasing bait and aggressively feeding,” reported Captain Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service. “Recently as the temps have started to cool, the pond smelt have spread to many areas of the lake, meaning you have a lot of options on both how and where you can fish and find success.” “We are seeing water holding bait and fish from 10 to 50 feet deep from the south end by the dam all the way to Chester and Hamilton Branch to stay tuned and buckle up its going to be a wild season. I’ll be fishing both lakes moving forward. For more info give me a call at (530) 370-1001,” Roccucci concluded. American Basin Hell Hole Browns Are Biting AUBURN – The big news is the road from Georgetown to Hell Hole Reservoir is now open after being closed for two years, due to a rockslide, making it easier to get to the lake. Even better, German brown trout are how hitting with the cooler weather at the reservoir. To get to Hell Hole, drive 22 miles east of Georgetown on Wentworth Springs Road, and 29 miles northeast tossing out Rapalas, PowerBait and nightcrawlers at the lake as the water temperatures go down. Fishing is best in the Middle Fork of the American inlet and along offshore ledges. – Dan Bacher American River More Steelhead Showing Than Salmon SACRAMENTO – More steelhead are showing in the catches at this time than salmon on the lower American River. “Fishermen are landing steelhead in the 1-1/2 to 2 lb. class while fishing roe on the lower river,” said Alan Fong at Fisherman’s Warehouse. “Jigging with Gibbs Minnows and other spoons is also producing some salmon in the Sunrise area.” Expect larger adult steelhead in the 3 to 12 lb. range to move into the system in November and December. “Boaters are hooking salmon along the riffle across from the Sunrise boat ramp,” said Uncle Larry Barnes of Sacramento Pro Tackle. “They’re hooking one fish limits in 35 to 40 minutes while using Flatfish. The fish are a mixture of dark and bright salmon.” Fishing pressure for stripers remains very light. Anglers fishing the river from Sailor Bar to Howe Avenue should toss out Zara Spooks and Pencil Poppers early and late in the day. During the heat of the day, fishermen should fish with jumbo minnows, sardines and anchovies. Releases to the lower American below Nimbus Dam continue to be 1,500 cfs. – Dan Bacher Lake Berryessa LAKE AMADOR Trollers Lay into Rainbows, Bass Plumas Pines fish and bait are literally everywhere. Rainbows and king salmon are still making up the majority of our catch but we are seeing more and more browns every day with fish running 2.5 to over 6 pounds,” Roccucci exclaimed. “We have been getting most of our action running slow action software but it looks like the fast action hardware bite is just around the corner. And flies, let’s not forget about the fantastic bites we get both trolling and casting flies this time of year,” said Roccucci. “ Eagle Lake is also getting into the fall swing with good bites happening every day and the best action still ahead of us this year. It is all about fall trophy trout action at Almanor and Eagle Lake so on Forest Highway 2 (Eleven Pines road) to Hell Hole Reservoir. “Boaters are picking up the browns while trolling with Rapalas,” said Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle in Auburn. “The ramp is out of the water, so anglers are launching off shore.” The kokanee salmon fishing is done for the season, as the fish are now spawning in the Rubicon River. However, mackinaw are still available for fishermen bouncing the bottom with large stick baits and nightcrawlers behind flashers. Fishing pressure is very light at French Meadows. Bank anglers can expect to see increasing action on holdover rainbows and browns while EAGLE Lake Almanor Now Booking Fall Trout at Eagle Lake Lake Almanor Lake Davis a nd Eagle Lake Bucks Lake Captain Bryan Roccucci Lake Tahoe www.BigDaddyFishing.com Call for Best Dates – (530) 370-1001 LAKE CABINS Home of the Eagle Lake Trophy Trout * Furnished Cabins from $50 night or $300 week * Awesome Trophy Trout Fishing * Hiking and Biking * Great for Relaxation 2315 For Reservations (530) 825-2131 686-920 Spalding Rd., Susanville, CA 96130 www.eaglelakeheritage.com Trout Planted Seasonally! • Cafe • RV Park • Waterslide • Campground • Disc Golf • General Store Cafe Open Seasonally On Friday, Saturday & Sundays Sac City salmon are on the bite. This Fish Sniffer reader took a trip on the Sacramento River on October 1 with Captain James Netzel and busted this husky chromer. Photo courtesy of TIGHT LINES GUIDE SERVICE, Loomis. NAPA – If you want to catch rainbow trout at Lake Berryessa, now’s a good time to do it. Just ask Rich Crispi of TW Guide Service. “I took a trip Berryessa today with my good buddies from high school, Scott Shurtz, Scott Lucas and Jay Lucas, for a major smackdown of the rainbows from 630 am to 130 pm,” said Crispi. “We had about 45 takedowns, 31 fish to the boat, 16 trout boxed, released 15 trout and lost a lot during the aerial fights. We also landed Sacramento pike minnows, smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass, crappie - and I’m not counting those in my 31 to the boat.” “The lake is fishing great,” Crispi said. “The bait is coming up, but the fish are spreading out up in down in the water. 65 to 40 ft. was still the best depth on the main body from skiers to the big island, Shallow water to deep water, it didn’t matter.” Larry Hemphill, fishing guide, said is it was very hard to figure out what was going on during his last bass trip to the lake, with not a bite until noon. “Was it the result of weekend boat traffic or the weather?” he asked. “We saw the lake totally covered over with clouds and a cool breeze - not fog but REAL clouds. I mention this because this was the first cloud cover in months.” “About 10 am the breeze died and the lake went TOTALLY flat - even calmer than last week. Not a single fish was seen on the surface for hours! No birds in sight. As the clouds slowly broke up around noon and the sun came out - killed the bite - right?” he said. “Since there was NO bite, the bass decided they were hungry and started to feed around 1 pm. A big school of medium size bass even started to bust shad on the surface for about 10 minutes. Bass started eating our Robo Worms and Yamamoto Cowboys,” he explained. “Once again, the bite on my boat at Berryessa is around 2 pm - weird! We had to leave shortly after but having caught several bass in the 2 to 3 lb. range. I had a father/adult son team. The son ended the trip with 2 back to back bass in the 2-1/2 lb. range. I guess patience is a good thing when bass fishing,” said Hemphill. “It seems that the only thing that will cool our lake water is the longer nights. Continued on Pg 7 209-274 -4739 7500 Lake Amador Dr., Ione, CA 95640 WWW.LAKEAMADOR.COM