Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3826 Dec 6-20 | Page 13

FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 26 FRESHWATER REPORTS: FOLSOM LAKE Trollers Battle Kings in North Fork KLAMATH/TRINITY RIVERS Steelhead Hitting on Upper River HORNBROOK – Drift boaters targeting the Klamath River from below the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery to the mouth of the Shasta River continue to find great steelhead fishing as the fish feed on the eggs of spawning salmon. “We are still seeing good number of fish hit the net and have lots of dates left in December to chase fall steelhead.,” said Mario Gomez of Ironhead Guide Service. ”So if you are sitting around waiting for OROVILLE LAKE/ THERMALITO AFTERBAY Brad was fishing a crankbait near the bridge at Collins Lake this November when he hooked into this massive 9.85-pound rainbow! Photo courtesy of the COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA, Oregon House. some water you might want to change your plans and go fish a river that has something going on. We’ve got water and fish in the Klamath.” “Winter steelhead season is just around the corner and soon the most sought after trophy fish will be entering the rivers in the State of Jefferson,” he said. Anglers are using a mixture of flies, plugs, Glo Bugs and nightcrawlers to hook the hard-fighting steelhead on the Klamath. The numbers of fall Chinook salmon and steelhead returning to the Trinity River Fish Hatchery in Lewiston continue to be lower than normal. CDFW staff have trapped 890 fall Chinooks, 47 coho salmon and 21 adult steelhead to date in 2019. KNIGHTS LANDING/ VERONA AREA Striped Bass Hit Below Verona RIO LINDA– While salmon fishing has been tough in the Knights Landing and Verona areas, one angler got into a solid striper bite at the Airport Hole south of Verona. Trout • Mackinaw David Chow Kokanee • Salmon landed two striped bass weighing Bright, Durable, Unique 28 and 4 pounds while soaking grass shrimp, reported Mel Boggs at Glass Lures Handmade In Northern California Elkhorn Bait and Very few www.shallowglasslures.com Tackle. anglers have been 3810 fishing in this area (530) 386-8064 lately for striped bass, salmon or catfish lately. “There is a decent push of king salmon in the Capitol City area from the Sacramento Yacht Club to Garcia Bend,” said Boggs. “Anglers are hooking the fish while trolling with Kwikfish, Silverton spinners and Brad’s Cut Plugs behind dodgers.” “The salmon fishing slowed down at Verona after the Department Largest Trout Stocking Program reduced flows from North of Sacramento Oroville Dam. I haven’t heard any Call for Reservations Lakefront reports on catfish RV being caught in the Camping Knights Landing www.collinslake.com area either,” said P.O. Box 300 . Oregon House . California 95962 3725 Boggs. S h ow a ll 11 John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service said, “The reaction bite for largemouth and spotted bass continues to be very slow with the best action at depths from 50 to 70 feet with spoons or plastics on the drop-shot; however, a few bass are taken on umbrella rigs.” “I have been informing my clients of the difficulty of the bite and rescheduling some trips, but there are many who still want to fish the deep water with finesse techniques,” he noted. The lake dropped slightly to 82 percent of capacity. - Dave Hurley CONTINUED FROM PG 9 AUBURN – Trollers are picking up a few king salmon to 20 inches as the water cools at Folsom. “A couple of locals have been landing 2 to 3 salmon per trip,” said Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle. “They have been trolling in the North Fork with silver/blue and cop car colored Speedy Shiners.” Newton recommended trolling at 45 to 55 deep for the best results. The rainbow trout fishing should also be improving with the arrival of the fall turnover. Shore fishing for trout and salmon should become as productive as fishing from a boat when the fish move into the shallows to feed on pond smelt and threadfin shad. Trollers should employ nightcrawlers behind dodgers, Speedy Shiners and other lures, while bank fishermen should toss out PowerBait, minnows and nightcrawlers for trout and salmon. For spotted, largemouth and spotted bass, Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse in Sacramento recommended fishing with drop shot rigs or spooning with Blade Runner spoons off main lake points. Folsom Lake is holding 539,705 acre feet of water, 55 percent of capacity and 112 percent of average. The water level 421.42 feet in elevation. - Dan Bacher Dec 6 - 20, 2019 G laSS l ur eS • Trout • Bass • Crappie • Bluegill • Catfish 800-286-0576 LOS VAQUEROS Trout and Catfish Keep Los Vaqueros Fishermen Busy LIVERMORE – Good-sized stripers, trout and catfish are the reward for anglers venturing out at Los Vaqueros Reservoir. Shore anglers are landing limits of trout while fishing PowerBait and nightcrawlers at South Cove and past the Rockwall. Peninsula, Cowboy Cove, and Howden Cove have produced limits of trout for rental boaters. Anglers were recently treated to a double plant of Mt. Lassen and CDFW trout, with 950 pounds of rainbows planted by the CDFW and 1000 pounds by the Mt. Lassen, reported Katrina of the Los Vaqueros Marina. Anglers are also hooking good numbers of channel catfish next to marina buoy line.” John Kitta caught his limits of both catfish and rainbow trout in Penn Cove and in the middle of the lake. Big fish honors go to Edmund Banayos, who caught an 8.56 lb. trout in Penn Cove while using PowerBait. Qurone Ashton and Jacob Schober caught 9.7 and 10.2 lb. trout in Cowboy Cove. Martin Chinn landed a 5.25 pound rainbows. Fishermen tossing out anchovies are picking up striped bass while tossing out Rat--LTraps and anchovies. Deonte Sweeney of San Jose caught a 8.47 lb. striper with a Rat-L-Trap, while Ron Chue fooled a 13.65 lb. striper with an anchovy in Cowboy Cove from a rental boat. The North Side Fishing Access is closed. Portions of the Los Vaqueros Trail including dam fishing access are currently closed to the public, since a geotechnical field investigation for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project is in progress. The Los Vaqueros Trail connecting to the Badger Pass Trail near Peninsula Cove is closed to the public. The Mortero Trail and connection to Alkali Meadow Trail is also closed to the public. For more information, call (925) 688-8175. If you are looking to rent a boat, contact the Marina ahead of time to check current wind conditions at (925) 371-2628. - Dan Bacher Fifty-Eight Boats Battle Bass in North Valley Tackle Open OROVILLE – Fifty-eight boats came out in beautiful weather to fish for bass in the third annual North Valley Tackle Open at Lake Oroville on Saturday, November 2. The total payout was $5700 + hundreds in prizes. “We had lots of first-time tournament anglers and some father and son teams,” said Jamey Sorenson at the North Valley Tackle and Pro Shop. “It was a good family event and we are planning another one in spring. We gave away some great prizes in addition to the cash payouts.” Shane Robertson/Mike Osborne won first place with five fish weighing 11.55 pounds, with a big fish of 3.44 pounds. They won $1280 + $170 for second big fish. Wayne Chaney/Wade Wheaton finished in second place with 10.87 pounds, with a big fish of 2.48. They won $650. Chris Layton placed third with 10.27 pounds, winning $600.00. Brent ONeill/David Griswold placed fourth with 10.2 pounds, with the first place big fish of 3.51 pounds. They won a total $800.00 Done Reighley/David Hill placed fifth with 10.01 pounds, with the third place big fish of 2.69 pounds. They won $550.00. Reports from king salmon enthusiasts have been sparse over the past couple of weeks. Anglers were catching salmon in the 17 to 19 inch range, along with some bigger fish in the 4 to 5 lb. range in the West Branch near Limesaddle. Boaters were doing best trolling with glow hoochies, tipped with anchovy strips, behind dodgers, according to Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle. CONTINUED ON PG 12 NEW MELONES LAKE Trout Bite Picks Up ANGELS CAMP- The water temperatures are cooling to some degree, and the trout bite is starting to improve with anglers catching quality rainbows and an occasional German brown while trolling with Speedy Shiners, Needlefish or Countdown Rapalas at depths from 55 Shonna hit the Delta in early November and pulled in the feisty keeper striper. to 65 feet in the main lake. Photo courtesy of BOB CROWDER, Rio Vista.