Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3802 Jan 4-18 | Page 9

FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 2 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 4 BULLARDS BAR/ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS cont. fish limits of rainbows averaging 13 to 14 inches long while trolling on Englebright with Reimers. “We caught all of the fish on nightcrawlers behind dodgers,” said Reimers. “The majority of fish were showing near the dam and in the Houseboat Cove, We also saw a 4 point buck that almost came out to us in the boat like we wanted to feed it.” Englebright is holding 65,410 acre feet of water, 93 percent of capacity and 106 percent of average. Larry Hemphill, fishing guide, made a short trip with his buddy Mike Sperbeck to check out conditions at Bullards Bar. “The conditions were not so good,” he explained. “The Dark Day ramp is out of the water - no launch is possible. The ramp at the dam is at the curve - it is ok, but awkward. It’s oood to have a buddy help with the launch.” “The bite was very slow – we did not hook any quality spots, 7 or 8 with only 2 keepers,” said Hemphill. “I saw only saw two other boats on the lake. The water was clear and the water temperature was 53 to 55 degrees. Hemphill tried several different styles of winter fishing, but drop-shotting and small types of beaver baits worked the best. “I did see some bait on the meter, but not much. No creeks were running. Weekend rain may help some if the storms hold together,” he concluded. Bullards Bar is holding 538,220 acre feet of water, 56 percent of capacity and 100 percent of average. - Dan Bacher CAMACHE LAKE Troll Slow for Winter Trout ORANGEVALE – Trout plants continue at Lake Camanche with 1200 pounds of Mt. Lassen Hatchery rainbows released at the North Shore Marina and 900 pounds each at the South Shore Marina and the South Shore Pond during the last plant. The colder water temperatures have led to different techniques for success by trollers, and the best fishermen are able to adjust. Robbie Dunham of Koke Machine Guide Service was out three times with clients over the past week and he said, “It is a good bite with around 15 to 20 grabs to put in two limits with averaging 2 pounds per rainbow. The fish are all over the place between the Narrows, Big Hat Island, Little Hat Island, and even in open water. The water temperature has dropped to between 55 to 58 degrees during the day, and the colder water requires a switch to grubs on a slow troll.” January 4-18, 2019 water off shore in the same areas where the crappie are showing. The bluegill are much more numerous than the crappie. We weighed in a bluegill that weighed 1.1 pounds.” Some of the better mid lake deep water spots to target the bluegill and crappie include the Shag Rock and Anderson Island areas. “Most bass anglers are reporting catching and releasing 5 to 10 fish during a trip, although those that locate a school of fish are landing up to 20 fish. Most of the fish range from 1-1/2 to 4 pounds, with a couple of 6 pounders mixed in,” said Burruss. Drop shotting with Robo Worms and shaking heads The rainbow bite is on at Lake Don Pedro. This big fish was landed is producing the during an early December trolling adventure with Captain Monte Smith. top fishing off the Photo courtesy of GOLD COUNTRY SPORTFISHING, Oakdale. rockpiles at 12 to 25 feet deep. The live minnow drifting for bass is slower than “You can still catch fish on Speedy usual, according to Burruss. Shiners, but the grubs are working best - Dan Bacher right now. I run 3-inch Power Grubs on a four-foot leader with either 1/8 or 3/16th ounce just to get the bait below the surface. Trolling speed is very important as it is necessary to slow down to 1.4- to 1.6 miles per hour,” he advised. COLLINS LAKE Beau Courtroul of Lake Camanche Enjoy Trout Fishing In Winter Village reported landing bass on 5 of his Solitude first 7 casts near the dam before the wind came up and blew him off of the water OREGON during his latest trip on the lake. The lake HOUSE – Fishing held at 72 percent. pressure has been - Dave Hurley light at Collins Lake as the year nears its end. The only report of catches over the past couple CLEAR LAKE of weeks is by Bluegill Show In Large two anglers who caught big trout Numbers from shore. CLEARLAKE – Boaters who like to William hook panfish are hooking big numbers of Mirakasaki of bluegill, along with some crappie, at Clear Sacramento Lake. landed a 5-3/4 “You could catch 25 bluegill in an hour lb. rainbow while if you wanted to,” reported Dave Burruss fishing yellow of Clear Lake Outdoors. “The bluegill are PowerBait near hitting small jigs and redworms in deep his campsite. 7 Likewise, Richard Hensley of Olivehurst also bagged a 5-3/4 lb. rainbow by the beach. The fishing has slowed down since earlier this fall after trout plants went into the lake, but there are still plenty of trout swimming around in the reservoir to excite anglers. Bank anglers should toss out PowerBait, nightcrawlers and other baits from shore, while boaters should troll with Kastmasters, Needlefish, Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Ex-Cel spoons and other lures. Bass anglers should target the deep water off points and ledges with drop shot rigs, jigs and spoons. Expect to catch mostly spotted bass in the 2 to 4 pound range, along with an occasional largemouth. Catfish action can be very good during the winter, particularly after a big storm that raises the flow in the lake’s tributary, Dry Creek. Use mackerel, chicken liver, anchovies and dough baits for the channel cats. Collins Lake is 34 feet from maximum pool and the surface water temperature is 56 degrees. LAKE DAVIS Lake In Transition Between Open Water, Ice Fishing Seasons PORTOLA – It’s the time of year when Lake Davis is in transition between the spring, summer and fall open water fishing and winter ice fishing seasons. “The ice is forming on the north end of the lake, but it’s not thick enough to ice fish from,” said Jim Graham of the Grizzly Store and Campground Resort. “The ice is only about 1/8 inch thick at the dam.” “On my latest drive around the lake, the roads had been plowed and were clear,” he noted. “Both Mallard Cove and Coot Bay were accessible. I didn’t see anybody fishing on the lake.” Nor have any anglers come into the shop to report catches of trout. There are lots of big rainbow trout for anglers to CONTINUED ON PG 13 EGO KRYPTEK TOOL SERIES TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE WATER! #1 LANDING NET SYSTEM ON THE WATER! FEATURING KRYPTEK CAMO TECHNOLOGY SPRING OF 2018. SAVVY ANGLERS VISIT WWW.EGOFISHING.COM Joshua Minas traveled to Collins Lake recently and ended up taking this big channel cat home for dinner! Photo courtesy of THE COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA, Oregon House.