FRESHWATER REPORTS:

CONTINUED FROM PG 12

FEATHER RIVER cont.

41 fish on our latest trip. We kept 3 fish in the 21 inch class and released a 20 lb. female striper.”

They drifted jumbo minnows below Boyd’ s Pump. Only a few of the fish they caught weren’ t legal-sized.

Johnson’ s Bait and Tackle confirmed the great fishing. Anglers are hooking the stripers on a array of swimbaits, pileworms and Alabama rigs. The fish are concentrated from below the mouth of the Yuba River all of the way to the river mouth at Verona.

FOLSOM LAKE

Mixed Bag Spring Fishing In Full Swing

GRANITE BAY-“ I’ ve been on Folsom a few time over the past 10 days while learning to used my new Hobie Kayak and I’ ve seen a little bit of everything,” reported Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg.

“ Mostly I’ ve been bass fishing. There are lots of bass that seem to be on beds and there are still plenty of fish in the late pre-spawn mode. I’ ve been getting bass on standard plastics like Magic Worms and Senkos. I personally have not gotten much reaction bait action, but I have friends that are scoring well with Alabama Rigs. One guy I know had a 40-fish day on the A-Rig. The bass being caught are the usual collection of spots, smallmouths and largemouths to 3 pounds,” said Kellogg.

“ The last time I hit the lake I trolled a small Rapala through the rock gardens above the Granite Bay launching facility. I caught a couple one pound spotted bass and a half dozen crappie that ranged from 6 to 8 inches. Those are the first crappie I’ ve

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Cooper caught and released this feisty smallmouth bass while fishing at Lake Del Valle this April. Photo courtesy of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN RECREATION COMPANY,

Lake Del Valle. caught at Folsom,” Kellogg related.

“ The water has been stained at Folsom especially in the arms, but the clarity is improving. Trollers have been catching a few trout that range up to 3 pounds, but reports of success have been scattered. I’ ve trolled a fair amount from my kayak and have yet to hook a trout this spring, but I believe that the water clarity was the driving factor behind my lack of success. The trout are there and the action is going to be good when they decide to start biting in a meaningful way,” Kellogg concluded.

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KLAMATH RIVER

Fall Chinook River & Ocean Seasons Set

SACRAMENTO- Klamath River fall run Chinook are“ likely to be one of the better fishing opportunities due to higher returns that will support both ocean and inland salmon seasons,” according to Harry Morse of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In the Klamath River, the season will open Aug. 15 and continue through Dec. 31. The Trinity River season will be open from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The daily bag limit is two salmon no more than one over 22 inches. The possession limit is six salmon, no more than three over 22 inches. In addition, the

Klamath Spit Area at the mouth of the river has addition regulations:

• This area will be closed to all fishing after 15 percent of the total Klamath River Basin Quota has been met

• All legally caught adult salmon must be retained.

• Anglers must leave the split area once the adult daily bag limit is met.

• Anglers can fish other areas of the Klamath River to fill their daily bag limit( i. e. jack component.)

In the Klamath Management Zone on

1 / 8 to ¼ ounce gold Kastmaster. When it comes to spinners I use Panther Martins and Rooster Tails extensively. My favorite spinners tend to be dark brown or black, although other colors work well too.

Your selection of flies doesn’ t need to be extensive. A few No. 8 black, brown and olive woolly buggers will get the job done nicely.

As far as natural baits go baby night crawlers, salmon eggs and crickets are the most popular choices. Crawlers and eggs are at their best early in the season, while crickets come into their own with the arrival of summer.

In recent years, the folks at Berkley have come out with a number of interesting and effective synthetic baits for the stream angler including Micro Power Nymphs, Micro Power Wigglers, Power Honey Worms, Egg Clusters, Gulp! Earthworms and Gulp! Maggots. These synthetic baits are effective substitutes for live baits. They have a long shelf life and you don’ t have to worry about them dying and spoiling the way you do when using worms and crickets.

With rod, reel and the rest or your gear in hand along with a selection of bait it is time to get out on the water and catch some trout. Presenting baits and lures in streams goes hand in hand with predicting where trout will be holding.

The overriding factor when fishing streams is current. Trout reap benefits from current in the form of the forage, security and oxygen it provides for them. However, current is also a liability because it causes stream trout to expend more energy than they would in a still water environment. Stream trout don’ t want to hold in slack water near the bank because they feel vulnerable to predators in these areas, but they don’ t want to hold directly in the current either because they will burn more calories than they can replace. As a result, trout will generally be found holding near objects that break the current or in locations that feature swirling currents and eddies.

the ocean, the area between the Oregon / California border and Horse Mountain( 40 ° 05’ 00” N. latitude), the season will open June 1 and continue through Sept. 3.

The minimum size limit is 20 inches total length. The daily bag limit is two Chinook salmon per day. No more than two daily bag limits may be possessed when on land.

On a vessel in ocean waters, no person shall possess or bring ashore more than one daily bag limit. Retention of coho salmon( also known as silver salmon) is prohibited in all ocean fisheries off California.

The 2018 sport seasons, dates, locations and bag limits will be published in the 2018-2019 Sport Fishing Regulations Supplement, which will be posted on the CDFW website in May. Additional season information can be found on CDFW’ s ocean salmon webpage or by calling CDFW’ s ocean salmon hotline at( 707) 576-3429 or the Klamath-Trinity River hotline at( 800) 564-6479.

LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR

Stripers Are Grabbing Anchovies

BYRON – While most of the keeper stripers being hooked at Los Vaqueros Reservoir now are in the 19 to 20 inch range, some larger fish are being released.

“ A lot of anglers are catching their limits of keeper stripers while fishing anchovies in the south cove and Cowboy Cove,” reported Rony at the Los Vaqueros Marina.“ One angler caught and released a 25 pound striper while another fisherman hooked and released a 14 pounder while using anchovies from shore.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Anytime the current is broken, say by a large rock or a submerged log a pocket of nearly slack water forms directly next to the object on the downstream side. Trout like set in these pockets because it allows them to burn a minimal amount of calories while having access to all the forage items being swept past the pocket.

The most important factor when presenting worms, eggs and synthetic baits is that they need to drift along the bottom at the same speed the water is flowing. This is known as making a drag free drift. Moving and fishing upstream against the current allows you to make a natural presentation with bait.

Achieving a drag free drift is where a good selection of split shot becomes important. Getting a drag free drift while fishing a rock in 4 feet of water will require more weight than fishing a similar rock in a foot of water. When you are first getting started, you’ ll have to experiment a good deal to achieve the correct weight for a natural drift. Once you’ ve gained some experience a quick glance at the spot in question will give you a pretty good idea of how much weight you’ ll need.

When drifting bait, often times the bite is signaled by nothing more than the line stopping at other times you’ ll feel a tap or two. When either occurs lift the rod and feel for a fish. If something is detected drive the hook home and start fighting that feisty trout.

Bait is great, but when you can catch fish on lures or flies that’ s even better because you don’ t have to fuss with re-baiting all the time. These offerings should be fished with enough added weight to keep them near the bottom as with fishing bait, but the actual presentation is quite different.

Lures and wet flies are tossed directly across or slightly downstream and allowed to swing across the current on a tight line. Once they’ ve reached a point directly downstream, let them to hang in the current for several seconds while pumping the rod tip a couple times before slowing reeling in. After a few casts move downstream to the next spot and repeat the process.