Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3820 Sept 13-27 | Page 14

12 FRESHWATER Sept 13-27, 2019 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 7 COLLINS LAKE cont. Catfish activity is still high, with lots of catches in the late evening on chicken livers, mackerel or anything stinky. Jeremiah, Faith & Maya tossed out some hotdogs and hooked two more big whiskerfish including an 11 pound behemoth right out in front of lakefront RV hook-up site #222. - Ed Palma DAVIS LAKE Trollers Battle Big Rainbows PORTOLA – Warm water temperatures have resulted in slow trout fishing for bank fishermen, but trollers are experiencing very good rainbow fishing. For example, Ed Dillard, fishing guide, reported top-notch fishing on his latest trolling venture on the lake. “We landed a total of 17 rainbows, including two in the 19 inch range,” said Dillard. “We trolled with Little Simon lures at 20 feet deep. The surface water temperature was 73 degrees and there were a lot of weeds in the water.: Shore anglers have found little success Cove and near the dam for the best chance of hooking up. “Shore anglers are picking up some largemouth bass and sunfish in Mallard Cove,” she said. “Bass in the 1 to 1-1/2 lb. range are hitting plastic worms, jigs and nightcrawlers. The sunfish are hitting just about anything you throw at them, including redworms and mini-crawlers.” For brown bullhead catfish, she recommend fishing prepared dough baits or nightcrawlers early and late in the day Nick caught this huge largemouth while fishing the annual or at night off Eagle Moonlighter bass event at Lake Amador on August 12. Point and in Mallard Photo courtesy of the LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador. Cove. Davis Lake is holding 71,058 acre feet of water, 86 lately. Jeanne Graham at J&J Grizzly percent of capacity and 118 percent of Store and Camping resort recommended average. fishing early and late in the day with - Dan Bacher nightcrawlers and PowerBait in Mallard WHAT’S HOT a transmission problem or a problem with something transmission adjacent, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the problem was. Looking down at my Chevy with the kayak trailer attached in preparation for a trout mission to Stumpy Meadows Reservoir the next morning, I ask Ross about that friendly yellow light on the Suburban’s instrument panel. “Dude that’s an engine warning light,” he exclaims. “No” I correct him. “It’s an engine SERVICE light!” “Yeah that’s the same thing,” he retorted. “Can I take it up to Stumpy Meadows tomorrow?” “I wouldn’t and I can’t work on it until Wednesday. I’m going out salmon fishing on the New Easy Rider in the morning,” Ross divulged. That’s a fine kettle of fish. I’m stuck with two sick vehicles and my mechanic is going out fooling around with Captain Joey and crew on a Golden Gate salmon hunt, but it gets even better. That afternoon, Gena calls me and reports that HER ENGINE WARNING LIGHT was on…Perfect, three broken cars and a mechanic bobbing around on the Pacific Ocean someplace reeling in salmon! Now let’s talk fishing. I’ve been in a horrible slump. Folks that have read my stuff over the years know that fishing success for me goes in streaks. When I’m LAKE CAMANCHE World-Class Trout & Bass Fishing, year round! 2 1 CAMPING Mid Week Camping Special! Your 2nd Night is FREE! CALL 866.763.5121 Camp one night at Lake Camanche and receive your second night free. Offer must be redeemed by calling (866) 763-5121 and mentioning promo code FS14 at the time of booking. offer not redeemeable online. Not valid on weekend, holidays, full hook-up RV sites or for cottage stays. Supplemental fees may apply. LAKE CAMANCHE’S AMENITIES • Guaranteed Weekly Fish plants (OCT. - MAY) • Boat Rentals • Lodging Available • Stores, Cafe & Marina Grill • Courtesy Launch Ramps on both North & South Shores • RV Sites w/ Full Hookups (LONG & SHORT TERM) LAKE DEL VALLE Stripers and Channel Cats Lead Late Summer Angling Parade LIVERMORE – Striped bass and channel catfish continue to provide top- notch fishing for anglers at Lake Del Valle as the summer transitions into fall. Just ask Ritchard Anderson of Antioch who landed a beautiful, healthy striped bass weighing 20 pounds, or Sal Herrera of Castro Valley, who bagged an 8 lb. striper. Neither angler reported what bait or lure they used or where they fished on the lake. Roger Choate of Livermore scored both a 6 lb. striper and a hefty catfish, but also didn’t say what he was using or where he was fishing. “The stripers are averaging behind five and eight pounds and go up to 20 pounds,” according to Captain Jacob. “Lots of the bigger fish are being caught in Heron Bay and in the Narrows. The striper boils are growing, and fishermen are taking full advantage, with the boils only lasting from about 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.” “After the boils die down, the best bet is frozen cut baits like anchovies, sardines, and shad. The hot striper lures include Flukes (white/silver/blue), Super Spook Jrs, and anything that could mimic a shad. CONTINUED ON PG 13 Continued from page 1 visit for VOL.38 • ISS. 20 3805 www.CamancheRecreation.com Big smiles and limits of hard fighting stripers, that’s been the scene in the West Delta for anglers fishing with Captain David Hammond. Photo courtesy of DELTA PRO FISHING, Elk Grove. hot I can catch yellowfin tuna in the bathtub, but when I’m slumping I can’t hookup in the middle of a feeding frenzy. My first trip last week prior to Car-Mageddon, was to French Meadow to troll for trout from my kayak while testing gear. I launched early because I had a big full moon and I knew the bite window would be just after dawn. I was in such a rush to get on the water that I forgot to turn my cameras on. Naturally over the next hour I got 5 strikes and landed 3 rainbows to about 17 inches…And got none of the action on film. When I clued in to my mistake I turned the GoPros on and trolled for 4 more hours without a strike! Never one to give up, I was back at the lake two days later with Gena for an afternoon trip. The moon was still pretty big, but I figured we could get into some action before dark. Wrong again, we trolled for 3 hours without a bump. That was 7 straight hours for me without a bite. When is the last time I trolled for trout for 7 straight hours without a strike? It’s been a long time, because I can’t remember a trout fishing dry spell like that! But of course, there is more, somewhere between getting skunked and my F-150 exploding, my bad knee got angry and sore. Usually it’s fine if I wear my knee brace when hiking, hunting, fishing or working in the yard. As a result of the soreness, I haven’t been able to hike, so I’ve had to cut my diet to maintain my weight. The good news on that front is that the knee feels better today and during the down time I’ve been doing a lot of pushups. In fact, I just achieved a new personal best, 50 push-ups in 104 seconds. Not bad for a 52-year-old writer with a fleet of broken cars and a bad knee! Are there fishing options for the fresh- water guys reading this? You bet and I’ll be getting in on some of it soon. Delta striper trolling is off the hook in the West Delta. Up north there are some very big kokanee showing at Whiskeytown and the thermocline trout bite is coming along nicely at Shasta. All the creeks and rivers, such as Hat Creek, Deer Creek and the Middle American are booting out trout to fly and gear anglers. Dries, nymphs and spinners are all working. Eagle Lake and Almanor are giving up lots of big bad rainbows, Buck’s is the place to go for both trout and snack size kokanee. And at Tahoe, the kokanee bite has gone from good to downright fantastic! And of course, there are some other bites that are out of the mainstream, but still really fun. For example, my buddy Jason Pleece just hit Rollins Lake with a buddy of his and they caught 20 decent- size panfish including a good crappie and Rollins isn’t even known as a panfish fishery. That’s the kind of stuff you can get in on during the late summer and early fall, when you want a break from river salmon, trout and striper fishing. Speaking of river salmon, the bite hasn’t broken loose yet, but it won’t be long. The fish are moving closer to the Golden Gate and putting on a lot of mass. That’s usually the first sign that the river fishing is about to go off. When it does, I think we are going to have an epic fall that harkens back to the good old days!