VOL. 37 • ISS. 16
Freshwater reports:
Continued from pg 8
lots of smaller fish. Shore and bank anglers are hooking the fish while using G & S Dip Bait, chicken liver and sardines.”
One woman reported catching four catfish and a 19 inch striped bass while using pileworms and sardines from a boat near Verona, but striped bass have been relatively scarce in the catches lately.
Sutter Bypass and other local sloughs are also kicking out channel catfish to 10 pounds, added Bisbee.
Locals are getting geared up for the salmon season on the Sacramento, slated to start on July 16. Remember that the bag limit is only one this season, due to concerns about an estimated low fall Chinook salmon return this year.
- Dan Bacher
Contra Loma Reservoir
Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish Lead Summer Angling Parade
FREMONT- The boat ramp is finished, and boaters may resume launching at Contra Loma Reservoir. Fishing for catfish, largemouth bass, and sunfish has been very good.
“ With summer and warmer temperatures, trout fishing is slowing down, and being replaced with catfish and largemouth bass,” said Edward Culver of the East Bay Regional Park District.“ The catfish bite has been great the last few weeks. Try fishing for catfish at Channel Point or Loma Island with anchovies, nightcrawlers or chicken livers. Boaters have been doing well toward the middle of the reservoir or along the dam.”
“ Black bass have been biting artificial baits / lures or nightcrawlers anywhere around the lake or from boats,” he noted.“ Many of the larger bass seem to be stalking the stocked trout, and some anglers are reporting success by throwing swim baits on the near shoreline, mimicking the stocked trout. We are getting reports of anglers catching bass up to ten pounds. Both boat anglers and shore-casters are having luck, so keep moving if you are not catching.”
The park district stocked their last load of 500 pounds of channel catfish the week of July 9.
Davis Lake
Trolling the Top Method for Targeting Trout
PORTOLA- Boaters trolling an array of lures are experiencing the top trout fishing at Lake Davis as the water temperature rises with the arrival of warmer weather.
“ The trout are being picky, so you have to be willing to change lures to find success,” revealed Jeanne Graham of the J & J Grizzly Store and Camping Resort.“ Fishing guide Ed Dillard is reporting 5 to 10 trout per day while trolling at 10 to 20 feet deep.”
The top lures are Needlefish in red dot / frog and trout or Dick Nite in copper redhead patterns. Most of the fish being caught are 18 inches long and above.
“ Bank fishing for trout is slow,” she said.“ You have to be in the right place at the right time. Fishermen are finding the best action while using worms or PowerBait at Eagle Point and Camp Five.”
Graham said the hex and damsel fly hatches are starting, so fly fishermen should see increasing success on rainbows.
Brown bullhead catfish are starting to hit doughbaits and worms, while largemouth bass averaging 2 pounds each are biting soft plastic worms in the Lightning Tree area.
Lake Davis is holding 83,000 acre feet of water, 94 percent of capacity and 118 percent of normal.
Del Valle Reservoir
Channel Cats Reward Anglers
LIVERMORE – It’ s summer time at Lake Del Valle and the channel catfish plants are in full swing.
The East Bay Regional Park District stocked 750 pounds of channel cats in the lake the week of July 2 and 750 pounds the week of July 9. catfish plants have replaced the trout plants until the water temperature cools down in the fall.
The top baits for the catfish are anchovies, mackerel, nightcrawlers and chicken livers. Anglers should fish early and late in the day for the best whiskerfish success.
Trout plants won’ t resume until the water temperature cools down in the fall, but you can still catch the trout if you fish deep for them. Fish PowerBait, Mice Tails and nightcrawlers near the dam.
Striped bass fishing is best in the Narrows or by the dam. Toss out anchovies, sardines and chicken livers for the stripers. If the stripers are boiling on baits, throw top water lures and swimbaits to entice the hungry bass.
The smallmouth and largemouth bass are now in summer pattern. Fish top water lures and glide baits early and late in the day along shoreline structure – and fish Senkos, plastic
Jeff Cooper hit Lake Del Valle recently, landing and releasing several bass including this husky largemouth. Photo courtesy of THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RECREATION COMPANY, Lake Del Valle.
Freshwater
Dan and Tony limited out on rainbows while trolling Don Pedro Reservoir with Capt. Monte Smith on June 15. Photo courtesy of GOLD COUNTRY SPORTFISHING, Oakdale.
worms and jigs off the points during the day.
Don Pedro Reservoir
Trollers Lay Into Rainbow Trout
LA GRANGE- Trout trolling at Don Pedro has been outstanding since the washout of the Moccasin Hatchery, but this unfortunate event does not account for all of the rainbows showing up in the lake. Limits have been the rule, but trollers have to get on and off of the lake early due to the high volume of recreational boat traffic.
Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said,“ It is really good fishing here right now, and we continue to score with the smaller ExCel and Needlefish spoons in shad patterns, and the bigger grade of fish are still holding in shallower water. The recreational boating traffic is not bad during the week, but it is best to get on the water especially early and off before noon. There are three distinct grades of trout in the lake with smaller nursery-sized rainbows and brook trout below 10 inches, a solid grade at 14 to 15 inches, and the occasional larger rainbows from 18 to 22 inches.
“ We didn’ t hook any kokanee this week, but there was a 1.5-pound kokanee at the cleaning station that
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was landed on an Apex lure. The angler thought it was a king, but it was clearly a kokanee, and the fact is that they are getting larger,” said Smith.
The Blue Oaks launch ramp is back in the water as the lake has dropped to 91 percent.
- Dave Hurley
Eagle Lake
Rainbows Bite At Eagle!
SPALDING- Water temperatures have been steadily rising at Eagle Lake and as a result the trout are moving into deeper water. Currently the top depths for trollers are from 15 to 30 feet.
“ I just got back from a week long fishing vacation. I fished both Eagle Lake and Lake Almanor,” reported Jeff Garcia of Stockton.“ At Eagle the fishing was somewhat tough, but I was still able to land limits on back to back days. I tried grubs, flies and Red Dog lures and had zero action on them. I also tried Kastmasters and Rapalas and didn’ t get hit on them either. Everything I caught came on a Gulp! Night Crawler slow rolled without a dodger. The best depth zone was right at 20 feet.”
“ I caught a total of 5 trout in two mornings of trolling, along with several chubs. I spent most of my time trolling from. 5 to 1 mph at the Eagle’ s Nest, but I did pick up one trout off the Youth Camp. Most of the fish I caught were around 2 pounds, but two of them were close to 3. There is a lot of feed in the lake and the trout I caught were full of something that looked like applesauce. I marked plenty of fish on my sonar. I think they are simply full and that makes them tough to hook,” Garcia speculated.
If you’ re planning a trip to Eagle Lake and would like to take your RV, get in contact with the team at the Eagle Lake RV Park and ask them about the Fish Sniffer Special!-( 530) 825-3133.
CONTINUED ON PG 11
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