Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3725 Nov. 23-Dec 7 | Page 15

15 Nov 23 - Dec 7, 2018 FRESHWATER VOL.37 • ISS. 25 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 11 cont. day night fishing was available in October. “Striper fishing is decent, but we haven’t seen any big fish caught lately,” he said. “Anglers are throwing out cut sardines, shad and anchovies around the reservoir.” Just a reminder, stripers need to be 18 inches or more to be legal. Please release the small fish as quickly and carefully as possible. The water level is currently at 149,000 acre feet. With the cooler days and windy weather, the water temperature is floating between 62 and 64 degrees depending on the time of day. If you are looking to rent a boat, contact the marina ahead of time to check current wind conditions at (925) 371-2628. NEW MELONES RESERVOIR Bass Bite Is in Transition ANGELS CAMP - The bass bite remains in transition at New Melones due to the water temperatures varying from 65 to 71 degrees in different locations throughout the lake. The shad are starting to school in huge groupings, and it is only a matter of time before the bass action breaks out. John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service said, “I was on the lake two full days over the weekend, and the bite is not hot by any means. We averaged around 25 spotted or largemouth bass both days, but we had to move around a lot for find the fish. We covered from the river arm to the dam and just kept bouncing around. We threw topwater in the mornings for a total of one fish out of a few blow ups, and most everything was on the bottom anywhere from 5 to 60 feet. You have to keep an open mind now in order to find active fish. Working two days in a row showed me that the fish are moving as we picked up four or five fish off of a single ledge, island top, or wall one day, and they were gone the following day. That’s why we are running and gunning. It is going to get really good soon, and I can’t wait. The fall is one of my most favorite times to fish, and we can expect the bite to bust wide open any day now.” Mike Gomez of Berserk Baits said, “Melones has been the one Mother Lode lake producing a larger grade of bass, and another possibility at Melones is the opportunity to land a big rainbow trout. I caught a 6.5-pound rainbow on a drop- shot recently, and both the bass and trout Trophy Adam Moss caught his impressive 6 pound rainbow while fishing Cowboy Cove at Los Vaqueros Reservoir on October 26. Photo courtesy of the LOS VAQUEROS RECREATION AREA, Los Vaqueros Reservoir. Black Bass are focusing on the huge shad schools. We have seen shad schools taking up the entire screen on our electronics in only 20 feet of water, and at this time of year, I focus primarily on working the bait balls.” The Glory Hole Sports Annual Catfish Contest ended on October 31, and the top three finishers were Elmo Bauer with a two fish weighing 27.98 pounds with Brandon Smith in second at 24.29 and Mike Noldin in third at 23.34. For crappie, Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp said, “The bite is slow, but it is not at a standstill with fishermen reporting finding the slabs in the marina cove and also trolling in the main lake at 40 feet. During the fall, crappie can be found both shallow or deep depending upon the water temperatures to dictate the most comfortable area to forage for food. Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing said trout fishing has been slow overall, but trollers continue to find rainbows to 7 pounds each week, while using spoons such as Speedy Shiners, Excel lures and Needlefish at depths ers Tim 1st Pros! To 3019 2319 LARRY HEMPHILL OROVILLE LAKE/ THERMALITO AFTERBAY CDFW Stocks 139,000 Kings in Oroville www.lunkerlarry.com www.thefi shsniffer.com/hemphill 20% OFF ALL-DAY BOAT RENTALS AT SAN PABLO RESERVOIR SHADOW CLIFFS LAKE LAKE DEL VALLE LAKE RANCHO SECO (510) 223-1661 (925) 449-5201 (925) 426-0197 (209) 748-2318 LAKE PARDEE (209) 772-1472 Offer valid on all boat rentals Monday - Friday For more information about Boating, Camping & Recreation Visit WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINREC.COM All other boat rental terms and conditions still apply.Offer subject to boat rental availability. Offer expires on 12/31/2018 and is not valid with any other coupon/discount with any other coupon/discount. Boaters Find Cutthroat Success SUTCLIFFE - On a recent trip on my boat, this writer found surprisingly slow fishing. However, the slow bite I found on the day I went was an anomaly. I ran into the Pyramid King, Jeff Morris, and solicited a fishing report from him. “How’s the fishing?” I queried. “It sucks today. You should have been here yesterday. Had 5 over ten. The best one was 15 pounds.” I’m blaming it on the full moon, or at Sacramento & Feather River Salmon Trips! 3706 Guide & Instruction Service ( 530 ) 674–0276 Northern California Lakes Licensed & Bonded PYRAMID LAKE OROVILLE – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife stocked 139,000 chinook salmon from the Feather CONTINUED ON PG 14 River Fish Hatchery in late September 2018 for Lake Oroville’s popular landlocked salmon program. “We stocked them 24ft Alumaweld Jet Boat over a 3 day period of September 25, 26 G-Loomis & Shimano Gear Provided and 27,” said Penny Salmon • Trout • Stripers Crawshaw, hatchery NOW OPEN! D AY OR N IGHT G UIDED T RIPS L EARN S HALLOW T O D EEP W ATER T ECHNIQUES Boats of 40 to 60 feet in the main body and up river, the rainbows are moving closer to the surface. New Melones is currently at 1028.85 feet in elevation and 73 percent of capacity. Under New Management GREAT Fishing for: Trout • Kokanee • Catfish Large & Smallmouth Bass Crappie • Bluegill • Sunfish Store • Campsites/RV sites Marina • Boat Launch New Boat & Motor Rental Fleet Call for Information & Reservations (800) 416-6992 4900 Stony Creek Rd. Ione www.rockymountainrec.com Shad • Steelhead • Sturgeon Professional Guide Robert Weese since 1985. Northern California Guide Service 3615 530-755-7196 • norcalsalmonguide.com Marine Electronics Northern California Guide Service Sales • Service • Installation Sunny’s Electric Marine ONE DAY SERVICE on Installations with appointment (916) 487-3868 *Trolling Motors *Fishfinders *GPS *VHF Radios *Radar *Batteries and Chargers LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR manager 2. “The fish are about 23 to the pound, about 6 inches long.” Few anglers have been fishing the reservoir for salmon lately. In fact, targeting the Chinooks is probably not a great idea until the spring when the fish will be of catchable size. Anglers trying to catch the large holdover salmon will be getting hit constantly by the small fish now when they troll through an area. The North Valley Tackle Annual Bass Tournament held on Oroville on November 3 was a big success. “Fifty five boats entered the event and the fishing was good,” said Jamie Sorenson at North Valley Tackle in Oroville. “Anglers did well on jerkbaits and other reaction baits in the morning. After that bite slowed down, anglers caught lots of fish while dragging tubes and fishing Ned Rigs at 20 feet deep and less.” Frank and Tanner Martinez captured first place with a limit weighing 11.83 pounds. Chris Layton and his partner took second place in the event with 11.34 pounds. The only boat ramp available to launching is Bidwell Canyon, with three boat lanes and a dock available, according to Sorenson. Lake Oroville continues to drop. The water level has dropped to 686.11 feet above sea level. The reservoir is holding 1,151,723 acre feet of water, 33 percent of capacity and 54 percent of average. Very few anglers have been targeting the landlocked steelhead in the Thermalito Afterbay lately. The Feather River Fish Hatchery stocked over 231,682 steelhead in a variety of size ranges in the winter and spring of 2018, according to Crawshaw. - Dan Bacher Largest Service Center in the West!