Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3704 Feb 2-16, 2018 | Page 16

14 FRESHWATER Feb 2 - 16, 2018 FRESHWATER REPORTS: area in the Oroville area down to Gridley. “Steelhead to 5 pounds are hitting nightcrawlers, salmon roe, Glo Bugs and array of flies,” reported Bob Boucke of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle. ”Striped bass fishing is slow on the river, but the action should pick up in February.” CONTINUED FROM PG 13 EAST DELTA cont. fueled by the recent southern storms. Largemouth bass remain available for those willing to slow down while quality crappie are showing up in the marinas. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “The largemouth bite is not bad right now, but you have to find areas off of the main current with weeds since the shad is staying close to the weeds while feeding on plankton. Making multiple casts to a single area is important, and the new Berkley General Max Scent weightless worm is an effective presentation along the edges of the current.” “We also landed a number of striped bass in the 18- to 22-inch range with the ima Flit 120 in shad patterns. We weren’t trying to catch them as they were mixed in with the largemouth bass feeding on shad. The interesting thing is that there is one here followed by nothing, two there, followed by nothing so you have to do a lot of running around. The stripers are where the largemouth bass should be right now,” stated Hurley. Dan Mathisen of Dan’s Delta Outdoors reported improved action for striped bass to 30 inches on the anchor with frozen shad in Winter Cut. He said, “I expect the troll bite to come back on once the water warms up further. I also see the largemouth bite improving with the warmer temperatures.” Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors and Phenix Rods has found good action in the marinas of south Delta to fish for crappie with minijigs. He said, “There has been a better than normal grade of crappie this year, and we have found them in the 1- to 2-pound range in the past two weeks.” Mike Pipkins at Gotcha Bait in Antioch said, “Live mudsuckers are working for stripers in Sherman Lake and Big Break, and frozen shad and mudsuckers are working in Discovery Bay. The water got cold so fast that the fish aren’t wanting to chase lures, and bait fishing is working much better. The water is very clear back in Discovery.” Luther Thompson of H and R Bait in Stockton reported fair action for striped bass with frozen shad in the Old River, but fresh shad is over for the winter. Redear sunfish are a possibility from the banks in the south Delta sloughs, but bluegill are missing in action. - Dave Hurley - Dan Bacher FOLSOM LAKE Trollers Lay Into Quality Rainbows John headed up to Pyramid Lake in early January and landed this beautiful cutthroat trout. Photo courtesy of JOHN BIVEN, Sacramento. EASTERN SIERRA Conditions Dictate Fishing Success! BISHOP - “At long last the flows on the Middle Owens have dropped enough for wading in the