12 March 2 - 16 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 06

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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EAST DELTA cont .

the Delta these days , but there remains a good subsurface bite with the ima Flit , and this is keeping up going . The wind keeps you from fishing light line and light weights , but we have been scoring with a black / blue jig on a ½ oz . jig head tipped with a Berkley Max Scent Chunk as a trailer . We are expecting a real cold spell this week , but right now the bass are still in the same mode , holding off the main current , but staying in moving water near weeds .”

Dan Mathisen of Dan ’ s Delta Outdoors hosted a tournament out of Big Break Marina on Saturday , February 17th , and he said , “ The weather is supposed to be good on Saturday , and we are getting interest from all over . One of our anglers picked up a 41-pound limit with no fish smaller than 6.8 on Tuesday , and although the big ones haven ’ t gotten active yet , he did well in preparation for the tournament .

“ The best action has been with Senkos or plastics on the drop-shot along with spinnerbaits when the wind is blowing . Small stripers continue to be hooked by trollers ,’ he stated .

Luther Thompson of H and R Bait said , “ I know that crappie are coming back on in Whiskey Slough and Eight Mile Road along the first bridge to the end with small to medium minnows . Stripers in the 22- to 23-inch range are found with shad or anchovies in the normal location , but the striped bass action has been slow overall .”

Scott Marran of Yuba City did an exploratory striper trip this week , and after finding slow action near Liberty Island on the Sacramento River , he motored over to the San Joaquin . He said , “ We drew a blank from the sand bar at the Antioch Bridge to the tule berms above Oule Point . We started catching small stripers on live mudsuckers before the outgo hit , and we found the ‘ golden hour ’ for three quality stripers to 8 pounds . It ’ s not great fishing overall , but very encouraging for early February .”

- Dave Hurley

EASTERN SIERRA

Trout Fishing Decent , Water Levels Extremely Low

BISHOP - ” The Middle Owens down to a trickle , 75 cfs below the dam at Pleasant Valley Reservoir . Focus on the deepest pools , and the riffles at the base of them during the hatches . Solid blue winged olive activity after mid-day ,” reported Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service .

“ The bite has slowed on the Upper Owens . High flows , and a significant drop in numbers from the migratory rainbows we call Crowley Steelhead . Some dry fly action is available on midges with smaller resident trout ,” said Loe .

“ Flows on the East Walker River have crashed . The river is running about 40cfs now . Hit the depressions on the larger

Yuriy Deahuntsoy landed and released this incredible trout while fishing the Upper Owens River .

Photo courtesy of SIERRA DRIFTERS GUIDE SERVICE , Bishop .

bends and runs . Numbers are not the best here , but the rainbows are thick bodied and average 16 inches ,” Loe tipped .

“ Hot Creek access remains fine . Numbers are good for smaller fish that are eager to hit midge clusters , and first generation blue winged olives after midday ,” related Loe .

“ Water levels at Pleasant Valley Reservoir are high , making access to the transition area difficult . The pocket water below the power house has decent numbers with a few large fish holding in the deeper water . Dry / dropper rigs work best here . The slow moving / deeper water near the lake mouth has some trophy-sized fish that will take a Parallel Assassin fished on a dead drift ,” said Loe .

“ Drift boat trips have been kicking out good numbers of mostly smaller planted fish . We are connecting with some larger hold over rainbows and browns using Spruce-A-Bu ’ s , Loebergs and parallel Punk Perch patterns . There are increasing opportunities for dry fly action using BWO ’ s ,” Loe concluded .

FEATHER RIVER

CDFW Stocks 500,000 Steelhead Yearlings In River

OROVILLE – Hatchery trucks from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) on February 12 began the weeklong process of stocking a half million young steelhead smolts on the Feather River near Yuba

City . The 125,000 fish released Monday were the first of the fish reared from eggs rescued from the Feather River Fish Hatchery during last year ’ s Feather River spillway failure . Plants will continue through Thursday near Yuba City .

More than a million steelhead eggs were endangered in February 2017 when silt and debris overwhelmed the hatchery water system following the spillway failure . With less than 72 hours to complete fixes on aeration and filtration systems CDFW engineers went to work to save the steelhead eggs stacked in hundreds of trays at the hatchery .

Feather River steelhead are on the state and federal list of species of concern , and the hatchery is key to maintaining the viable run in the Central Valley . The eggs in the hatchery during the Feather River spillway event represented a year-age class of steelhead .

Engineers redesigned the water in-flow system using city water for the incubating steelhead . They also brought in massive six-foot-tall charcoal filters to purify the city water and reconfigured the aeration system . These alterations made this week ’ s release of more than 500,000 steelhead possible .

“ CDFW engineers did something that had never been done successfully before on a massive scale ,” said Feather River

Fish Hatchery Manager Anna Kastner . “ The eggs were in a fragile state of incubation and could not be moved , so innovation was the only option . The use of city water for incubation paid off .”

CDFW Engineers George Heise and Beth Lawson , working with hatchery personnel , pathologists and biologists , conferred on the requirements of redesigning the system . Once agreed upon they went to work .

“ Our options were limited and something had to be implemented immediately . The team told us what they needed and we went to work making it happen ,” Heise said .

Thousands of anglers fish these waters annually , significantly boosting the local economy . Finding an emergency fix for the potential catastrophic loss of a year of hatchery production of steelhead was critical – recreationally , economically and biologically .

John Church , a local fisherman from Yuba City , is one of the many anglers who value and rely on steelhead fishing opportunities on the Feather River . “ It ’ s really important to me and family … I take my daughters to the Feather River for the chance to catch a steelhead each year ,” he said . “ It is what we go there for .”

FOLSOM LAKE

Boaters Battle Bass , Rainbows

SACRAMENTO – Both black bass and rainbow trout are rewarding anglers fishing at Folsom Lake .

“ Kevin Gonzalez landed three bass , topped by a 6-lb . largemouth , on his latest trip to Folsom Lake ,” said Tim Boggs at Elkhorn Outdoor Sports . “ He was using large minnows from his boat .”

“ Anglers are hooking lots of trout while trolling Needlefish with nightcrwawler trailers in the South Fork out of Brown ’ s Ravine ,” noted Boggs . “ The fish can be found near the surface early in the morning down to 22 feet later in the day . Most are 13 to 16 inches long , with some larger fish mixed in .”

James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service reported one great day of trout trolling at Folsom , despite windy weather .

“ We kept at it at Folsom Lake in the crazy

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3706

CAPTAIN

JAMES NETZEL

Full Time Guide

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