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

FRESHWATER REPORTS:

CONTINUED FROM PG 22

ROLLINS / SCOTTS FLAT

Trout Plants Spur Action At Halsey Forebay And Scotts Flat

AUBURN- Winter trout fishing at Rollins Lake is hit and miss for browns and rainbows, but the bass bite is decent. For trout, much better options are Scotts Flat Reservoir above Nevada City and Halsey Forebay just northeast of Auburn.

“ I skipped Rollins this week in favor of a trip to Scotts Flat because it was planted a couple weeks ago. It’ s been a while since the last plant at Rollins. If you visit Rollins, targeting spotted bass is your best bet,” related Jason Pleece of Meadow Vista.“ At Scotts I got in on some pretty good bank fishing with my wife and daughter. We got 6 planter rainbows in a couple hours on Berkley Mice Tails.”

Charles Brands of Auburn reported solid planter rainbow action at Halsey Forebay.

“ I visited Halsey last week with my fishing buddy Richard Fleck. I got 4 rainbows and Richard got a five fish limit. Everything came on shrimp flavored pink Atlas eggs” said Brands.

If you are looking for tackle or fishing information for a trip to Rollins, Scotts, Halsey Forebay or surrounding waters, Will Fish Tackle in Auburn has what you need. Will Fish Tackle is located at 11944 Masters Court in Auburn, Ca-( 530) 887-0839.

RUSSIAN RIVER

It’ s Late Season Steelie Time!

GUERNEVILLE- Conditions on the Russian River were excellent for late

3708 season steelhead fishing until the latest storms hit the watershed, reported Steve Jackson of King’ s Sport & Tackle.

“ We are still seeing new fish entering the system, but now in the mix are down runners or spawned out steelhead that are heading to the ocean,” he said.“ Flows as of this report are 690 cfs with excellent visibility.”

“ Rain forecasts are calling for unsettled weather, so check in with us at King’ s before you head out. 707-869-2156,” he noted.

Anglers are reminded that bait season on the Russian closes April 1st, but the river does not.

SACRAMENTO AREA

Striped Bass Run Begins

SACRAMENTO – The spring striper run has begun in the metropolitan area as they move up the Sacramento River on their annual spawning migration.

“ Most of the fish being caught now are undersized fish, with an occasional legal-sized fish,” said Uncle Larry Barnes of Sacramento Pro Tackle.“ Anglers are experiencing the best action while using chartreuse colored nightcrawlers below Discovery Park.”

James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide

SUTTER MARINE IS YOUR DEALER FOR

Complete package with welded walk thru windshield, single piece. 190 performance bottom, rod storage, tackle tray, 2 Elite helm seats on storage boxes, glove box, instruments, 115 hp Yamaha with offshore bracket, custom trailer and much more!

We Offer A COMPLETE Service Department Featuring Factory Certified Technicians

380 Garden Hwy.• Yuba City, Calif.

Young William from Roseville caught this beautiful rainbow trout while fishing Lake Amador on March 10. The fish weighed nearly 6 pounds!

Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador.

Service is now fishing the Delta for spring stripers

“ Last week we worked our butts off to catch 1 keeper. Today we caught about 20 keepers in 2 hours. We fished from 7:30-11. We lost count how many fish we caught. We had seven doubles while trolling YoZuris.,” Netzel reported.

Other locals are heading down to the Delta to focus on black bass. Alan Fong of Fisherman’ s Warehouse reported solid fishing on his latest trip to the Mokelumne River in the North Delta.

“ My fishing buddy and I caught and released 14 largemouths. The biggest fish weighed a little over 4 pounds and the top five fish weighed between 17 and 18 pounds,” said Fong.“ We flipped with Brush Hogs in 2 to 4 feet of water.”

“ The water temperature was 60 degrees,” he said.“ My next trip will be to the Central Delta area around Mildred Island.”

- Dan Bacher

SAN PABLO RESERVOIR

The Trout Bite Rebounds

EL SOBRANTE – The trout bite has started to rebound at San Pablo Reservoir, according to Marcella Shoemaker at the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company. PowerBait, Mice Tails and nightcrawlers in bright colors like chartreuse, orange, spring green are producing the most success.

Big trout honors go to Jerry Barksdale of Pinole, who caught a 5.6 lb. trout using Power Eggs at the boat Launch.

Royce and Riley Rufine and Darwin Tsang of Castro Valley landed 5 trout using PowerBait in Scow Canyon. Karleigh Hood of Rohnert Park bagged 2 trout using PowerBait in Scow Canyon also.

“ Jessie Pardilla of Daly City caught a bass weighing 5.10 lbs,” said Shoemaker.“ I am happy to say that he released the fish. He used a ¼ oz. jig head with a KVD Swim’ N caffeine Shad in Sather Canyon.”

Finally, Gabby Cruz of San Pablo caught a carp while soaking PowerBait.

The lake level is 307.7 feet above sea level and the surface water temperature is 53.9 degrees.

SANTA CLARA VALLEY LAKES

Finesse Techniques Best for Largemouths

COYOTE- Changing conditions continue to test anglers in search of pre-spawn bass, while crappie fishing remains spotty.

Eric Tang at Coyote Bait and Tackle reiterated the need for patience this week while searching out bass at all the regional lakes.

“ It’ s mostly a finesse bite right now. Two weeks ago they were all sitting on points and up shallow. Now, they’ re backing off a bit. Try a jig or finesse worm first off, then switch over to a spinnerbait or crankbait to see if there’ s anything willing to hit a fast( er) moving bait,” he tipped.

“ Stick to rocks at both Anderson and Calero. At Coyote try looking at the entrances of the coves,” he added.

Crappie fishing remained spotty, but Tang recommended fishing minnows at Calero.

“ The bite at Chesbro was good but the weather ruined it. Watch for it to get better after the storms move through and we get the water temps back up,” Tang noted.

- Roland Aspiras

SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE

23 Lb. Channel Catfish Leads Catches

FREMONT – Rainbow trout are providing the most consistent fishing at Shadow Cliffs Lake, but it was a giant catfish that topped the latest catches.

“ We still have catfish at Shadow Cliffs,” quipped Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District.“ Steve caught a 23-pound monster along the Stanley shoreline.”

Boaters have been doing well on trout and are catching their limits while using PowerrBait, nightcrawlers, spinners and spoons. For example, Rodney caught his limit of trout, including a nine-pound fish, while soaking on PowerBait from this boat.

“ The weather has been cold in the mornings but warming up to a comfortable temperature in the 60s by the afternoon,” said Sullivan.“ The water temperatures is 54 degrees, depending on depth.”

The CDFW stocked 1000 pounds of rainbows in Shadow Cliffs the week of March 5, while the park district stocked 750 pounds the week of March 12.

There is no current report from the back ponds of Arroyo Del Valle, but the catch

CONTINUED ON PG 28

These young ladies teamed up and landed this dandy West Delta striper during an early March fishing trip.

Photo courtesy of ANGELA N MO ARCE, Sacramento.