Wilbur Road

Location and description: The Afterbay is part of the Department of Water Resources’ massive Oroville-Thermalito Complex. The afterbay sits 2 miles south-west of the tail end of the Thermalito Forebay, with only a 9,100-foot-long) canal connecting them.

The Thermalito Afterbay is located within approximately 11,800-acre Oroville Wildlife Area. The area includes primarily riparian woodland habitat along the Feather River and grasslands around the Thermalito Afterbay.

Season: Fishing in the afterbay is open yearround. Warm water fish species( largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, channel catfish, and black crappie) can be found in the Thermalito Afterbay, in addition to the landlocked steelhead. Salmon, steelhead, shad, and striped bass can be found in the near Feather River.

Wildlife species seen in the area include coyote, badger, fox, bobcat, porcupine, osprey, white-tailed kite, egrets, woodpeckers, and warblers. There are good populations of coyotes, deer, dove, quail, and waterfowl, and fair populations of squirrel and rabbit.

For more information, call the area at( 530) 538-2236 or the North Central Region Rancho Cordova office at( 916) 358-2900.

Activities: fishing, wildlife viewing, hunting, and shooting range

Facilities: camping, restrooms, and launch access. Free boat launching is available at the Wilbur Road, Monument Hill and Larkin Road Recreation Areas.

For motel information, contact the Oroville Chamber of Commerce at( 530) 538-2542.

Fishing guides: Rob Reimers, Rustic Rob’ s Guide Service,( 530) 632-0051, http:// www. rusticrob. com /

Richvale Hwy Butte City Hwy

Fishing Notes

• Landlocked Steelhead offer the most consistent action in the fall and winter. Shore anglers should fish PowerBait, Berkley Gulp!, Pautzke Fire Bait, nightcrawlers, minnow and an array of lures for the fish. Trollers should use nightcrawlers behind dodgers and minnow imitation lures. Good lures to use include Needlefish, Rapalas, Sting Kings, Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Sockeye Slammers, Uncle Larry ' s spinners and Apex lures. Expect to catch fish in the 2 to 3 lb. range, with an occasional larger fish.

• Largemouth and Spotted Bass provide the top fishing in the spring and fall, though they can caught all year. Fish swimbaits, ripbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and other lures. around brush, rocks and other cover. The fishing is hit and miss, but when it ' s on, anglers can experience superb catch and release action.

• Crappie and Bluegill are found around brush and cover. Fish small minnows and jigs for the crappie and redworms, mealworms and waxworms for the bluegill.

162

99

East Hamilton Road

To Yuba City

Butte

Larkin Rd.

Canal

Clay Pit State Rec. Area

Butte County

Nelson Avenue

Grand Avenue

Nelson Ave.

Garden Dr.

Oro Dam Blvd

162

To

Oroville Oroville

Municipal Airport

Larkin Rd.

Forebay

Thermalito

Oroville Wildlife Area

Thermalito

Feather River

Oroville Wildlife Area

Pacific Heights Road

To Marysville

70

These two Feather River Fish Hatchery trucks finished up this year’ s landlocked steelhead plants into the Thermalito Afterbay on April 4.

Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.

Doug Popelreiter, a member of the Lake Oroville Recreational Advisory Committee and before that the Lake Oroville Fishery Enhancement Committee, was there to witness the plant.

“ We’ ve always supported fish plants by the CDFW to enhance the fishery at Oroville and Thermalito,” said Popelreiter.“ The steelhead fishery adds an extra layer of recreational opportunity besides the sunfish and black bass warm water fishery. It is clear that this water also supports a quality cold water fishery. Anything that DWR can do to improve recreation on the Lake Oroville complex is greatly appreciated.”

Some anglers have already caught some of the big steelhead kelts. Crawshaw said one angler earlier this year showed her a 10-pound steelhead on his stringer, along with two smaller fish, that he landed while shore fishing at the afterbay.

For bank fishing, Crawshaw recommended fishing in the Monument Hill area ioff the rip rap and rocks.

“ All along the afterbay, there are wells to help pump the water table down so it doesn’ t flood Highway 99. This movement of water stirs up the food,” she said.

She recommended using nightcrawlers and Mepps spinners for the fish.

Trollers find the best success while trolling nightcrawlers behind flashers and dodgers in the main channel where the cold water flows through, as I’ ve done with Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’ s Guide Service several times.

Resident warm water fish species in the afterbay include largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, channel catfish, and black crappie. Since there are numerous tules and weed beds, anglers find success while flipping with jigs and Senkos and tossing out spinnerbaits and swimbaits for the largemouths.

The Thermalito Afterbay is part of the Department of Water Resources’ massive Oroville-Thermalito Complex. The afterbay sits 2 miles( 3.2 km) south-west of the tail end of the Thermalito Forebay, with only a 9,100-foot-long( 2,800 m) canal connecting them.

The Afterbay provides storage for the water required by the pumpback operation to Lake Oroville, helps regulate the power system, produces controlled flow in the Feather River downstream from the Oroville-Thermalito facilities, and provides recreation to the area. It also serves as a warming basin for agricultural water delivery to the numerous rice and grain fields just west of the Afterbay.

The Afterbay has a maximum operating storage of 57,040 acre feet, a water surface area of 4,300 acres at maximum. storage, and a shoreline of 26 miles at maximum. operating storage.

Thermalito Afterbay Dam, at 42,000 feet-long, is the longest crest in the California State Water Project system. Construction on the Afterbay began in 1965 and was completed in 1968.

Besides the afterbay, there are abundant salmon, steelhead, striped bass and shad fishing opportunities in the nearby Feather River in the Oroville area, along with Lake Oroville’ s prized spotted bass, landlocked salmon, channel catfish and sunfish populations.

For more information, contact the Feather River Fish Hatchery,( 530) 538- 2222.

Over 231,000 Feather River steelhead like these were stocked by the CDFW in the afterbay this year.

Photo courtesy of CDFW.