14 March 16 - 30 , 2018

VOL . 37 • ISS . 07

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 9

EAST DELTA cont .

San Joaquin from Eddo ’ s Marina to the San Andreas Shoals with Fish Traps or River2Sea Swavers .

- Dave Hurley

EASTERN SIERRA

Cold Snap Slows Trout Fishing

BISHOP - “ We are seeing a more seasonal weather pattern / cooler temperatatures and this has slowed the bite down in the wild trout section of the Owens ,” reported Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service .

“ BWO hatches continue to be the catalyst for the afternoon snap . Mayfly nymph patterns like Assassins , FB PT ’ s , hares ear , & tiger / olive zebra midge nymphs are good calls for sub-surface presentations . Flows remain very low in all sections running at 70 cfs below the dam at Pleasant Valley Reservoir ,” said Loe .

“ Drift boat trips have been very good for numbers of planted rainbows and browns getting fooled on streamers and mayfly adult patterns . Most guided trips are seeing a few 18-21 inch rainbows come to net . Smaller Punk Perch , Spruce-A-Bu ’ s , & Loebergs are the top streamers ,” tipped Loe .

“ The Upper Owens remains slow , with low fish counts . Windy / cooler weather not helping what few Crowley Steelhead are left in the system to get fooled . Flows are still elevated above mean levels ; however , water conditions are excessively not bad . Looking ahead , I see positive signs of an earlier than normal run of cutthroat this spring . Could see larger fish moving as

according to Penny Crawshaw at the Feather River Fish Hatchery . The 50,000additional steelhead slated for release in mid-March are catchables weighing 1 to 2 fish per pound .

The large numbers of steelhead on hand are a result of the hatchery taking extra eggs last year during the Oroville Dam Spillway crisis . “ We were told to save as many eggs as could in case we had any problems . We saved almost 700,000 eggs , thanks to the pumping system that was installed ,” said Penny Crawshaw at the hatchery . The CDFW also planted 500,000 steelhead smolts at 4 to the pound in the Feather River in February .

Large numbers of adult steelhead returned to the hatchery . “ We trapped around 3,000 steelhead to date ,” said Penny Crawshaw at the hatchery .

In addition to the smolts and catchable steelhead they are releasing into the afterbay , the hatchery staff released the kelts – spawned males – into the river at Verona and into the afterbay . They released all of the spawned females and all wild steelhead into the Feather .

Captain Bryan Roccucci took and exploratory trip to Lake Almanor recently and caught several trout including this beautiful brown .

Photo courtesy of BIG DADDY ’ S GUIDE SERVICE , Quincy .

early as next month ,” Loe concluded .

FEATHER RIVER

Another Landlocked Steelhead Plant Will Go Into Afterbay

OROVILLE – After planting 179,000 Feather River steelhead in the Thermalito Afterbay earlier this year , the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) is planning to stock another 50,000 fish around March 14 , 2018 .

All of the fish already planted are put and grow fish , ranging from 6 to 9 to the pound ,

“ We released around 250 kelts into the afterbay and 250 kelts into the river at Verona ,”’ she said . “ We did this to prevent them from returning to the hatchery after being spawned .”

Anglers are hooking steelhead on the Feather from below the hatchery down to Gridley while using salmon roe , nightcrawlers and flies . Fishermen have also been catching steelhead in the afterbay on nightcrawlers and swimbaits .

Striper fishing is slow , with few fish being caught by anglers using bait and lures , reported Bob Boucke of Johnson ’ s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City .

- Dan Bacher

FOLSOM LAKE

Trollers Brave Icy Weather for Rainbow Trout

SACRAMENTO – On the latest trip by James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service , it was as cold as it gets on Folsom Lake .

“ It was 23 to 24 degrees in the morning and it had rained the night before , so everything was iced over ,” said Netzel . “ We still managed to catch six rainbows . The largest one measured 17 inches , while the second largest measured around 14 inches . The rest were in the 12 to 13 inch range .”

Netzel trolled with Speedy Shiners at 2.7 mph out of Granite Bay .

Netzel will be giving a seminar on trout fishing at Folsom Lake and kokanee fishing in the High Sierra at the Sacramento Boat Show on Saturday , March 10 , at 12 Noon . He will give the same seminar on Sunday , March 11 , at 2:00 p . m .

Shore anglers drifting live minnows under bobbers continue to pick up some largemouth bass at Folsom Lake , according to Eddie Bisbee of Elkhorn Outdoor Sports in Rio Linda .

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