VOL. 37 • ISS. 19

FRESHWATER REPORTS:

CONTINUED FROM PG 10

DAVIS LAKE cont.

using red dot frog Needlefish, copper / redhead Dick Nites and other lures.“ The majority of the trout are fish in the 12 to 15 inch range, but some big ones 24 inches and over are mixed in.’

The surface water temperature was 71 degrees when the CDFW planted the rainbows – although it has risen to 72 degrees now, Graham noted.

As if the excellent trout action wasn’ t enough, anglers are bagging big numbers of brown bullhead catfish averaging 1 to 1-1 / 2 pounds all day long while soaking nightcrawlers and Power Bait at Eagle Point and Camp Five.

Aug 31- Sept 7, 2018

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small Rapalas. Early in the morning the trout aren’ t far from the surface, but as soon as the sun gets on the water they drop down.

Last year featured the best fall fishing that Eagle Lake anglers have experienced in the past decade. This fall promises to be even better for trollers and fly anglers working shallow water. If you are planning to get in on this outstanding action, you should start making arrangements now.

If you plan on taking your RV to Eagle Lake this fall be sure to ask the folks at the Eagle Lake RV Park about the Fish Sniffer special.

No RV, no problem! Dave at Heritage Land has a full menu of rental cabins available both large and small. Heck you can even the Fish Sniffer’ s Paul Kneeland’ s rustic Spalding cabin.

LAKE DEL VALLE

Black Bass, Catfish and Stripers Hitting Hard!

LIVERMORE – The water temperature at Lake Del Valle has been hovering around the mid-seventies even with the haze from the wildfires cooling the overall temperature around the lake – and black bass, catfish and stripers are all on the bite.

“ The fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass has been great lately with most being caught on Texas-rigged Senkos,” according to the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company.“ Anglers have been working them in the heavy reed patches along the edge of the reservoir. We recommend using lighter colored lures as the water color is dark green.“

“ The catfish bite has been on fire! Anglers are limiting out quickly. They are using chicken livers, nightcrawlers, and anchovies. We recommend setting the bait close to the fallen or dead trees that are having into the water. Catfish tend to be in deeper water this time of year, 20 + feet deep.,” the report stated.

“ Striped bass are biting and anglers are limiting out in a few hours on the top water in the morning. Anglers are reporting boils out in the Heron Bay. Pencil poppers or Skook Jr. lures are a good bet. We recommend taking some anchovies or sardines over to the Hetch Hetchy group campsite and fishing from there. An anglers caught a 21-pound striper there this week, and we’ ve heard several more reports of fish caught in this area,” the report noted.

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3615

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Now Fishing Striped Bass on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers Now Booking Spring and Fall Run Salmon on the Klamath River!

Ferman Layos of San Jose headed up to Collins Lake for a little summer bass action and ended up landing this huge 9 pound largemouth.

Photo courtesy of THE COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA, Oregon House.

The trout bite has stopped almost entirely as trout retreat to deeper water during the warmer summer months.

DON PEDRO LAKE

Top-Notch Kokanee Bite Continues

LA GRANGE- Don Pedro kokanee action continues despite the end of the summer months, and although the fish are dropping in the water column, limits are still the rule for experienced trollers. The kokanee should be on their way to their spawn mode by this time of the year, but surprisingly, they are still available and in relatively good shape.

Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing was on the lake three times this week, and he said,“ We had to work harder on one day, but we ended up finding them. The kokanee are dropping down in the water column, and as the water releases have slowed down, the colder water has also formed deeper. We are catching kokanee from 50 to 70 feet, and there are some fishermen working as deep as 80 to 90 feet. I have chased them down there, but it has been more difficult to get them to go in the deeper water column.”

“ The interesting captain

JAMES NETZEL

Full Time Guide

3711 thing is that the kokanee have never been around in this kind of shape this late in the year. Normally, the fish will be gone by mid- July, and this is why I am encouraging anglers to get out now since they should be around for a few more weeks. The males are starting to turn, but the fish are still in good shape. We have been running small hoochies in pink or UV along with UV Apex lures behind a Sling Blade. The fish have been more aggressively hitting the lures over the past week,” said Smith. There have been unconfirmed reports of king salmon to 7 pounds, and the kings should be showing up in more numbers as the fall months arrive.

The heavy smoke from the fires has limited bass fishermen from hitting the lake in numbers, and the best action remains on the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot or jigs such as Berserk’ s Purple Hornet as deep as 45 feet. The topwater bite has been absent.

The Marine Reconnaissance Foundation is holding a tournament on August 25th to raise fund for scholarships for the children and spouses of fallen warriors.

The lake dropped slightly to 82 percent.- Dave Hurley

EAGLE LAKE

Private Property And Campgrounds Saved From Fire

SPALDING- The great news coming out of the Eagle Lake region is that during the recent forest fire near the shores of the lake, no private property or campgrounds were lost.

The good news is that the trout bite is solid at Eagle and promises to get better and better as summer gives way to fall. As of press time fishing pressure at the lake was exceptionally light.

To hook up right now, trolling in the Southern Basin is the way to go. Threaded night crawlers slow trolled 15 to 35 feet deep are the best offering. If worms fail to produce try speeding up while pulling orange Speedy Shiners, Ex-Cels or

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EAST DELTA

Bass Tournament Weights Go Down

STOCKTON The last few major bass tournaments in the East Delta have brought in smaller-than-normal largemouth bass limits, and the absence of cover from the heavy herbicide spraying in addition to heavy boat traffic with fishing pressure are considered to be possible reasons for this phenomenon. There is more and more scrutiny by area anglers on the spraying and pelleting, and several sloughs and cuts are now devoid of weeds.

The stripers have moved into the San Joaquin River in numbers, and trolling action is heating up along with more and more trollers dusting off their gear.

Dan Mathisen of Dan’ s Delta Outdoors in Oakley held his final team tournament of the year out of Russo’ s Marina on Saturday with 26 teams and he said,“ The weights were down with all of the boat pressure over the past two weeks from the two large frog tournaments. The top three teams came in with 19-, 15-, and 14-pound limits.

Dave Houston of Livermore was out trolling on the San Joaquin River on Thursday, and he said,“ Despite the good tides, great weather, and very little grass to foul our lures, we had a hard time finding large stripers. We trolled between the Antioch Bridge and Bethel Island for 12 keepers and 18 shakers to 5 pounds, all caught and released. The key is keeping the lure close to bottom and remembering that it will run almost a foot deeper going with the current.”

Clyde Wands, shallow trolling expert, was out in the wind on Tuesday, and he said,“ We quit early due to the wind, but we were able to hide inside of False River for around 11 keeper stripers to 7.5 pounds. We had to get out of the wind, and there were only a few boats out there and everyone seemed to have similar

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CONTINUED ON PG 14

Capt. Brad Bugica