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FRESHWATER
14 July 6- 20, 2018 VOL. 37 • ISS. 15
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
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AMADOR LAKE cont.
that were 5 + lbs.,” said Lockhart.“ 2500l bs. went to the launch ramp and 2500 lbs. went to the spillway.”
Anglers are using chicken liver, hot dogs, sardines, anchovies in 10 feet of water tight to the shore throughout the campground area..
Lori Lockhart said bluegill are hitting throughout the lake near submerged wood. Use a redworm, mealworm or piece of a nightcrawler for the best results.
“ Expect a good night bass bite as we approach the full moon,” Lockhart added.“ Use a crawdad crankbait, Robo Worm or Senko off the main lake points for the best success.”
The lake is only 3 feet from full- Dan Bacher
AMERICAN RIVER
Shad Go On Evening Bite
SACRAMENTO – If you want to hook shad on the American River at this time, your best bet is to fish in the evenings.
“ Anglers are still catching shad on the American River, but the fishing has slowed down from what it was a couple weeks ago,” said Alan Fong at Fisherman’ s Warehouse.“ The fish are going on their best bite for 1-1 / 2 hours in the evening. My brother, Don, has been catching and releasing good numbers of shad while fishing both flies and pink plastic grubs under a bobber in the evenings at Sunrise.”
You can expect the top shad action in the upper section of the river from the El Manto Hole to Sunrise, although fishermen are still hooking shad in the lower section.
The striped bass bite on the American hasn’ t picked up yet.“ The stripers are still eating the shad,” noted Fong.
Anglers targeting stripers should throw big swimbaits, Zara Spooks, Pencil Poppers and other lures early and late in the day from Sailor Bar to Howe Avenue.
Bureau of Reclamation water releases to the American River below Nimbus Dam remain at 3,500 cfs.
- Dan Bacher
BERRYESSA LAKE
Quality Largemouth, Spotted and Smallmouth Bass Top Catches
NAPA- Larry Hemphill, fishing guide,
• Trout
• Bass
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• Bluegill
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Largest Trout Stocking Program North of Sacramento
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800-286-0576 www. collinslake. com P. O. Box 300. Oregon House. California 95962 3715
Sandy and John Settles hit Lake Berryessa on June 6 and caught some very nice rainbows. Photo courtesy of KRISTY CARPENTIER, Walnut Creek. reported another good trip featuring a 15-16 pound limit and a big fish of all three species – largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass – at Lake Berryessa.
“ I caught a 4 lb. largemouth, a 3-1 / 4 lb. spotted bass, and a 3 lb + smallmouth,” said Hemphill during the trip with a wellknown outdoor writer.“ The smallmouths have been tough to find lately.”
“ I have known the writer for many years and fished with him several times. He was struggling to catch bass, which is not like him. He finally did catch a few. It was a hoot having him take photos in different spots around the lake,” said Hemphill.
“ This has been the best spring for bass- size-wise, that I have ever seen,” said Hemphill.“ Am I doing all the right things? I seriously doubt it!! The bass are just bigger this year, plus the hundreds of small largemouth that have now dropped out of sight.”
“ There are‘ jaws’ roaming around everywhere on their post-spawn bite,” he stated.“ There are still a lot of fairly shallow bass eating drop-shot worms and wackyrigged Senkos. I would start adding small nail weights as the water warms. They will go deeper as hot weather sets in.”
“ I did get a few topwater bass but was too late for a good bite. I did notice that some quality bass were hanging just on the outside of newly forming weed beds,” added Hemphill. The trout fishing continues to be great at Lake Berryessa.“ I slowed it up and got into some bruisers,
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catching a limit of rainbows ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 lbs.,” said Rich Crispi of TW Guide Service after his latest trolling adventure.“ We boated about 14 trout, with about 6 planter bows and the rest quality fish.”
He used Apex lures and pink radical glow tubes with spinners, behind RMT 5.5 Bahama Mama and 50 / 50 hyper plaid Bahama Mama dodgers.“ The fish are pushing down, but can still be caught high up at first light,” he tipped.
BULLARDS BAR / ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS
Kokanee Salmon Get Bigger
SMARTVILLE- The kokanee salmon fishing at Bullards Bar Reservoir continues to be excellent – and the fish are getting bigger.
Cal Kellogg, Fish Sniffer Editor, reported epic kokanee fishing at Bullards Bar during a trip to the reservoir with Brett Brady of Bare Bones Guide Service.
“ We trolled at 55 to 65 feet deep,” he said.“ The nicer fish are hitting deeper. We caught kokanee averaging 13 inches
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long on Brad’ s Killer Fish, hoochies, Uncle Larry’ s spinners and other lures, tipped with white corn. Our top fish was just a little under 15 inches. Gena, my wife, two other anglers and I bagged our 10 fish limits of kokanee.”
Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’ s Guide Service confirmed the top-notch kokanee fishing at Bullards Bar on his most recent trolling adventure using Brad’ s Kokanee Cut Plugs.
“ We boated 10 fish limits for two,” said Reimers.“ It was a great day fishing for kokanee at Bullards Bar with Manny of MSJ Guide Service. We used the new Brad’ s kokanee dodgers; they worked very well with a fast side to side movement.”
“ On a trip I made to the lake about 1-1 / 2 months ago, the kokanee were mostly in the 10 to 11 inch range, with the top fish going 13 inches,” said Alan Fong of the Fisherman’ s Warehouse.“ However, a customer showed me a photo of five fish ranging from 14 to 15 inches long that he had landed on his latest trip to Bullards Bar.”
“ The larger fish are showing best at 45 to 50 feet deep,” noted Fong.“ The fish are hitting micro-hoochies and other lures, tipped with white corn, behind dodgers in the dark day area.”
Bullards Bar is holding 849,348 acre feet of water, 95 percent of capacity and 113 percent of average.
At Englebright Reservoir, anglers continue to target rainbows while bait fishing with PowerBait and nightcrawlers or trolling with spoons, spinners and nightcrawlers behind dodgers.
Englebright is holding 65,767 acre feet of water, 94 percent of capacity and 98 percent of average.
- Dan Bacher
CAMANCHE LAKE
Summer Bass Fishing Going Strong
BURSON- Anglers getting on the water early and late in the day are hooking quality largemouth and spotted bass at Lake Camanche.
Ernie Williams reported a“ beautiful day in the water, with Grampa and son., a good 45 + fish day. All of the fish were caught pm soft plastics. We observed a water clarity of 14’ and water temperature of 78 *.
Part-time Camanche resident and
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Ken Salvi caught this 4 lb, 24 inch German brown in July 2017 near Emigrant Creek. For information, call( 209)-258-8888
CAPLES LAKE RESORT P. O. Box 88, Kirkwood, Ca 95646
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