24 MARCH 17- 31, 2017 VOL. 36 • ISS. 07

are back on the water, and the bite has been good to excellent depending on the day. Several anxious anglers hit the water as soon as the lake was legally reopened, and the reports coming in were very good.

Brad Bugica of Reno related that he caught 30 fish on a banker’ s hours shore fishing trip, topped by a whopper of 21 pounds. Brad used wooly buggers on a fast sinking line and a marabou jig on a spinning rod. This was Brad’ s third career cutthroat over 20 pounds.

Another guy with three career cutthroats over 20 pounds, Jeff Morris, reported a similar report.“ I caught around 30 fish in the morningbut nothing big. In the afternoon I moved and caught another 30 or so fish. I rolled a big one right at my ladder.” Jeff was also swapping back and forth between wooly buggers and a marabou jig.

Lastly, Brad Stout and his daughter Ashley reported another very comparable day on the water.“ We hooked a bunch of fish. Ashley broke a big one off.” Brad was unsure how big the fish was, but it was clearly not the average 2-4 pound Summit Lake fish that are currently swarming the beaches around Sutcliffe.

Fishing should remain good to very good throughout the month of March. Expect the crowds to get very dense with a premium on beachfront property. A tactic that may really payoff is for normally shore bound anglers to build a navy.

Since the beaches are closed from shore, it is possible to take a boat to places far and wide and anchor in very shallow water where shore anglers would normally be taking residence. From this shallow anchorage, cast jigs and wooly buggers, or diligently suspend nymphs under a bobber. Solitude and big fish should be on tap.

– by Mike McNeilly

Beloved television personality Warren Trumbly shows off a pair husky Delta largemouth bass he caught while fishing with his long time partner Alan Fong this winter.

Photo courtesy of FISHSNIFFER. COM.

REDDING & RED BLUFF

Flows Hit 70,000 cfs, Shutting Down Fishing

REDDING— Round after round of rain have pushed Lake Shasta to near capacity and discharges from the lake have pushed the rate of flow up to 70,000 cfs on the upper end of the lower Sacramento River.

“ Rainbow trout fishing on the Sacramento is on hold right now,” reported Kirk Portocarrero of SacRiverGuide. Com.“ The river is basically flooded with a flow over 70,000 cfs. The river is going to remain closed until the flows drop substantially. With more rain in the forecast, I’ m not sure how long it’ s going to be until we get back out on the Sac in search of trout.”

“ In terms of the big picture we are anticipating a great spring season up here in the Redding area. Fishing for rainbows in the river is going to very good, as is the trout fishing in Lake Shasta. We just have to wait until the conditions improve,” assed Portocarrero.

RIO VISTA

High And Muddy Conditions Challenge Sturgeon Enthusiasts

RIO VISTA— The Sacramento River remains high and muddy, though the absence of debris has prompted the return of anglers trying their luck for sturgeon. Craig Kamikawa at Fisherman’ s

Warehouse recommended launching from Brannan Island this week due to the high water levels on the Sacramento River.

“ The last report we had, both the Rio Vista City launch and Sandy Beach were both doable but still under water. Brannan is high but at least you don’ t have to get your feet wet in order to launch your boat,” he related.

“ Right now it’ s all mainly sturgeon guys going out. Guys are anchoring up from Decker Island down to Sherman Island fishing in about 22 to 28 feet of water.

The fishing isn’ t hot, they’ re marking fish but it seems a lot of them aren’ t biting.”

“ Last week we had some massive tides with four-plus feet of water movement on top of all the water coming down from the valley. The outgoing tide isn’ t worth your time unless you’ re fishing real shallow. This week is a lot better with tides being smaller,” he stated.

Anglers in search of striped bass were being sent to the San Joaquin River by Kamikawa.

“ A few stripers are starting to show up in the shallow water. Live bait fishing is still out; cut bait is better,” he tipped.

– by Roland Aspiras

SACRAMENTO AREA

Port And Deep Water Channel Kick Out Stripers

SACRAMENTO— High, muddy water conditions on the Sacramento River are keeping most anglers off the water, but the Port of West Sacramento and Sacramento Deepwater Channel are producing some stripers for persistent fishermen.

“ Trollers using a variety of Rebels, Bombers and other lures are picking up a few fish to 6 pounds in the port and channel,” reported Uncle Larry Barnes at Sacramento Pro Tackle.

“ When releases from Folsom Dam finally drop down to 7,000 cfs, Lake Natoma should become fishable for rainbows up to 10 pounds,” advised Barnes.“ Trout get flushed down into the lake during the high water, along with pond smelt and other forage. Expect to pick up the rainbows while trolling

Rapalas or spoons.”

For striped bass, Simon Martinez at Broadway Bait, Rod & Gun also recommended fishing in the port and deep water channel.

“ Guys are dragging Alabama rigs and other from kayaks,” he noted.“ Shore anglers are also fishing pileworms, Power Worms and jumbo minnows in the port.”

Alan Fong at Fisherman’ s Warehous in Sacramento has been concentrating on bass fishing in the Delta lately. His latest trip to the San Joaquin River produced a total of 11 bass for 3 anglers.

“ The bass were quality fish including three largemouths weighing 8, 7¾ and 6 pounds, while the rest were in the 2½ to 3 lb. range,” Fong explained.“ We hooked the fish while flipping beaver baits and plastic crawdads. Before the big releases down the Tuolumne River from Don Pedro Lake, we were catching and releasing 16 to 25 fish per trip.”

– by Dan Bacher

SANTA CLARA VALLEY LAKES

Use A Slow Approach For Bass Success

COYOTE— Working baits slow and steady continued to be the top tactic for targeting bass for Silicon Valley anglers.

Water clarity continued to dictate the ability to fish across the area lakes, according to Alex Tran at Coyote Bait and Tackle this week, with reaction baits and jigs working for bass.

“ Dragging a jig will definitely get you fish right now. During the afternoons when the water warms up, you can switch to spinnerbait or chatterbait, something that has thump that will get you some bites,” said Tran.

Tran recommended fishing rocky points at each lake with the exception of Coyote.

“ At Coyote you’ re looking at fishing some coves. Toss a jig or spinnerbait, but you can try throwing a big black or purple plastic worm on a texas rig too,” he tipped.

Interest in crappie remained non-existent due to water clarity, according to Tran.

– by Roland Aspiras

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