Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3607 March 17 -31, 2017 | Page 10

MARCH 17 - 31, 2017 8 FRESHWATER REPORTS VOL. 36 • ISS. 07 FRESHWATER REPORTS LAKE ALMANOR LAKE BERRYESSA Spring Trout Action Starts Full Lake, Slow Bass Bite CHESTER — “Slowly but NAPA — Larry Hemphill, Nick Dulleck of San Jose landed this massive 11 plus pound spotted bass while fishing at Bullards Bar Reservoir in late February. Photo courtesy of FISHSNIFFER.COM. Toward the end of March and into April we should begin to see more and more bank anglers working Geritol Cove and other areas of the lake. PowerBait, Zeke’s Sierra Gold and inflated worms will all produce fish once the bank bite kicks in. AMERICAN RIVER Reclamation Drops Nimbus Dam Releases To 8,000 cfs RANCHO CORDOVA — Hardly anybody has been fishing the American River below Nimbus Dam lately, due to high flows ranging from 20,000 cfs to 80,000 cfs over the past month. Captain Bryan roCCuCCi Lake Almanor Now Fishing Lake Davis Lake Almanor Rainbows and Browns Bucks Lake ! Eagle Lake Call Now for Best Dates: Lake Tahoe (530)283-4103 www.BigDaddyFishing.com Oregon River Trails However, that should all change with the reduction of flows by the Bureau of Reclamation. From March 1 through March 6, Reclamation ramped down flows from 20,000 cfs to 8,000 cfs for “storage management,” reported Peggy Manza Bureau spokesman. The winter steelhead season is near its tail end, but in high water years like this one, anglers may see a good run of spring steelhead this March, April and May. Most of these fish go 2 to 5 pounds, with some weighing up to 8 pounds. Use crawlers, roe, spinners, spoons and plugs for the feisty steelies. There are probably already some shad in the river, driven upriver by the high flows, but don’t expect the fishing to bust loose until early May, when the water should warm up. – by Dan Bacher Trophy Black Bass ers Tim 1st Pros! 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The lake is currently going over the “Glory Hole” at the dam into Putah Creek. “I was just amazed to see a full lake again,” said Hemphill. “The water color in the narrows is very dingy, with visibility of about a foot. I showed him the upper lake as far as Big Island, and the visibility was 6 to 8 inches. It was very dark murky water. “I did not see any boats up there, only in the narrows. Fishing was very slow for us, though his biggest was a nice 3¼ lb largemouth — caught in about 3 feet of water on a wall. I did lose a heavy bass also,” he said. “We used so many different baits; I can’t remember which bait he caught the 3 pounder on. I lost my big one on a D&M Piranha swim jig — set too late. We started about 8:30 a.m., hoping for an afternoon bite. It didn’t happen, probably because of wind and the incoming storm,” he said. “We did not see much debris in the narrows, but saw a big area of it in the main body. Other than that, debris wasn’t much of a problem. I was surprised the jig bite didn’t happen for us. My client was a great guy and very involved in Nebraska bass fishing organizations,” he stated. The water temperature was 54 to 55.3 degrees. Rainbow trout fishing remains slow, but should improve as the lake clears and the water temperature warms up. Bank anglers should fish Boats LARRY HEMPHILL Guide & Instruction Service Northern California Lakes ( 530 ) 674–0276 3019 2319 Licensed & Bonded www.lunkerlarry.com www.thefi shsniffer.com/hemphill FISH LAKE SHASTA Call for Special Spring Prices ! We Offer 15 FULLY CONTAINED CABINS With Private Docks and Free Wi-Fi On The Sacramento Arm Of Lake Shasta www.shastacabins.com SUGARLOAF COTTAGES RESORT Your Hosts Harold and Arlene Jones 19667 Lakeshore Dr. • Lakehead, CA 96051 (800) 953-4432 (530) 238–2448 surely the spring trout bite is getting underway here at Lake Almanor, but we’ve got a ways to go until I’ll be describing the bite as hot,” related Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service. “Right now there is ice on parts of the lake and the water is murky. Some areas are more clouded then others. The water temperature is sitting at 38 degrees, which is about 3 degrees cooler than usual at this time of the year.” “There are plenty of trout up shallow including some very nice browns. We’ve been picking up fish every day. Some of them are pretty big, but we are having to work hard to get them. Early in the morning I’ve been trolling fairly slow with fl