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 .