14 March 30 - April 13 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 08

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

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COLUSA / KNIGHTS LANDING

Stripers Convene on River

YUBA CITY – Schoolie stripers in the 16 to 25 inch class have moved into the Sacramento River from Verona to Knights Landing .

“ Shore anglers and boaters are hooking stripers while using minnows , pileworms and bloodworms ,” said Eddie Bisbee of Elkhorn Outdoor Sports . “ I ’ ve also heard a couple of reports of anglers hooking some huge stripers in the 30 to 40 inch class while fishing S-Waver Glide Baits in the Colusa and Knights Landing areas .”

The sturgeon fishing has been up and down from Tisdale to Colusa . “ On my latest trip , we hooked a huge sturgeon that we never got near the boat ,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob ’ s Guide Service . “ The fish broke the line on a snag .”

“ So far this season , we ’ ve gone out 11 times and have landed 3 keeper sturgeon and released 4 oversized fish . The fish are hitting best on lamprey eel and ghost shrimp ,” he explained .

DAVIS LAKE

Target Giant Rainbows In Mallard Cove

PORTOLA – Fishing reports at Lake Davis have been scarce lately , since the J & J Grizzly Store and Camping Resort was closed for maintenance during the month of March .

Before the store closed , anglers brought in some quality rainbow trout weighing 4 to 6 pounds that they landed while using worms in Mallard Cove .

You can expect the trout fishing for both bank anglers and boaters to pick up with the arrival of spring at Davis Lake .

The Father ’ s Day Fishing Derby of 2018 will be held on June 16 , 2018 . Proceeds will go to the Eastern Plumas Rural Fire Department :

Lake Davis is holding 69,742 acre feet of water , 84 percent of capacity and 113 percent of the 10-year average .

- Dan Bacher

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James Bratt and his fishing partner hit Bullards Bar this March and scored full limits of kokanee salmon while pulling Paulina Peak dodgers and lures .

Photo courtesy of JAMES BRATT , Nevada City .

DEL VALLE RESERVOIR

Spring Bass Bite Begins

LIVERMORE – Spring is in the air and the influx of water and change in temperatures have the fish changing their patterns at Lake Del Valle .

About 10 feet of water was added in the last 2 weeks and the surface water temperature has climbed to 57 degrees at the marina and 54.5 degrees near the dam .

“ The slight murkiness or off-color water has made it a bass fishing paradise ,” disclosed Jeff Cooper , regular Del Valle fisherman . “ The bass are leaving their winter areas and starting their push to the shorelines . They are holding up on newly formed rock points and trees near the shoreline .”

“ With the calm , almost glass-like conditions , I had to slow everything down on my latest trip to the lake ,” he said . “ picking apart every rock point and tree available , I managed 5 smallmouth and 7 largemouth bass . Many of those were in the 2 to 3 lb . range , with a 5 pound lunker for the day .”

“ My tactics due to the current conditions were a three-part system . In cover , I threw a Texas rigged 5 ” Senko ( Gary Yamamoto in watermelon color with a 1 / 8 oz . tungsten bullet weight . This setup was able to glide through the limbs without getting hung up ,” he advised .

“ With the steep rock ledges , I switch to a ¼ oz . shaky head with a 4 ” Senko . This

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allowed me to get down a little deeper as I slowly twitched it and bounced it down the rocks . Slow presentations were key on Saturday ,” he tipped .

“ Last but not least , my third set up was a ½ oz . lipless crankbait , a Strike King 2 tap redeye shad in chili craw color . Saturday wasn ’ t a chuck and wind day . All of my strikes came from the fish grabbing it on the fall . I would make long cast across the points and slowly bounce it back to the boat . Rip it up off the bottom and let it fall down ,” he divulged .

“ Be prepared to catch a lot of trout with this tactic ,” he tipped . “ They like it too . While checking new areas of the lake in February , I landed 15 trout and lost many more doing this . Speaking of trout , Saturday , trout shore fishermen had a lot of success . There were many cheers and laughter around the lake . I watched 2 families catch 3 big , healthy trout as we floated by . From what I could see , the shore fishermen outdid the trollers on this day .”

“ As the water continues to rise and warm up , the lake will form new shorelines and the fishing will just get better . Pre-spawn behaviors are starting and the male bass are wanting to reach the shallows to make their beds . The big females will be grouped up off the first and second points . Once the water reaches 60 degrees , the females will move into the shallows too ,” he concluded .

EAST DELTA

Largemouth and Striped Bass Biting on San Joaquin

STOCKTON - The colder water temperatures that were a deterrent to the Florida-strain largemouth bass a few weeks ago have warmed up to the high 50s to even 60 degrees , and the bass are back on the bite .

Kris Huff , pro staff for Delta Wood Bombers , said , “ The Delta is a fun fishery right now with a lot of stripers in the area along with largemouth chewing . We started out striper fishing , but we didn ’ t connect with anything over 8 pounds so we decided to target largemouth bass , focusing upon current breaks and weed lines in 3 to 6 feet of water with chatterbaits or plastics on the drop-shot . The most active fish were found in water temperatures from 50 to 60 degrees , and we put together a solid limit over the 30-pound mark .”

Dan Mathisen of Dan ’ s Delta Outdoors was out with his wife , Sandra , on Thursday afternoon , and he said , “ The Delta is on

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fire right now , and we are hooking fish left and right on spinnerbaits , black and blue Senkos , or swim jigs .” Mathisen is hosting his Pro-Am tournament for his circuit out of Big Break Marina on March 18th , and there is optimism for a big weight since the last tournament out of Russo ’ s Marina on Bethel Island posted a winning limit of nearly 29 pounds .

Neil Simpson of Lodi was on the San Joaquin with a friend from the Bay Area , and he threw Lucky Craft ripbaits , spinnerbaits , and swim jigs while his friend was fly fishing . He said , “ He caught more than me on a 3- to 4-inch streamer , and we released a number of shaker stripers along with legal linesides to 6 pounds . He also landed a 4-pound largemouth bass on the streamer . The stripers were taken on Kei Tech paddle tail swimbaits in Sight Fish with a chartreuse tip .”

Mike Pipkins of Gotcha Bait in Antioch reported a good bluegill and crappie bite near the Lazy M Marina and also in Discovery Bay as fishermen are finding the slabs with crappie jigs and then tossing out waxworms under a bobber . He said , “ In addition to the panfish , male stripers in the 4- to 7-pound have been coming into the shop . A 28-inch striper was landed off of the Antioch Fishing Pier this weekend on frozen shad .”

Luther Thompson of H and R Bait in Stockton reported a decent crappie bite off of Inland Drive , Whiskey Slough , and Eight Mile Road with small to medium minnows .”

- Dave Hurley

EASTERN SIERRA

Winter Weather Challenges Trouters

BISHOP - “ The Upper Owens River remains slow ,” reports Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service . “ There are a few nice fish holding in the deeper pools , however numbers are declining . Flows remain on the high side and you will see some turbidity , and dirty water as the snow melts along the banks , and at the headwaters near Big Springs . This area got about a foot of snow from the last storm , with some snow drifts shutting down the larger rutted roads with two foot of snow . The access roads are all wheel drive only and a mess .”

“ Pleasant Valley Reservoir has been good in the transition area near the inlet . The lake level has really dropped making access fine . Watch the mud near the lake after it thaws , it can be nasty ! Power generation has not been occurring , so the river has been very easy to wade . “ Freeze tubing ” has been good for those hearty fly fishers willing to kick around from the launch ramp to the inlet using full sinks and streamer patterns . The small river section down from the powerhouse is good for wading , & casting dry / dropper bead head rigs ,” said Loe .

“ Hot Creek has the usual winter time aquatic weed issues .

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Water levels are moving up due to some snow melt . There are good numbers of smaller fish concentrated just below the hatchery and in the deeper pockets and slots in the canyon . Moderate snow accumulations here might make felt soled wading boots like ice skates ,” Loe exclaimed .

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