Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3907 Mar 13-27 | Page 6

4 FRESHWATER March 13-27, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 7 Marisa Escareno pulled this huge steelhead out of a southern Oregon coastal river during a late January adventure. Photo courtesy of FISHSNIFFER.COM. FRESHWATER REPORTS LAKE ALMANOR AMERICAN RIVER Trollers Score with Speedy Shiners & Crawlers Nimbus Fish Hatchery Finishes Spawning for Year CHESTER - “What a spectacular few weeks of weather. It is hard to believe that in February of 2019 we received over 10 feet of snow, while this February has been mild with highs in the 50s. Overnight lows have dipped into the teens on a couple of days, mid-twenties have been the norm. Water temp has hovered around 40 degrees for the past few weeks and water levels are unchanged,” reported John Crotty of Quail Lodge. “Boat traffic and fishing pressure have both increased over the past two weeks with fly and bank fishermen targeting fish in the coves around Canyon Dam. With the mild weather the larger fish have moved out of the coves and the majority of the fish being caught of the smaller variety. PowerBait and crawlers are the favorites for bank fishermen and size 12 or smaller green flies on floating line are the number one choice of fly fishermen,” Crotty reported. “I fished a couple of days this past week and while fishing was far from red hot we did manage to catch a mix of browns and rainbows with a nice fat salmon thrown in for good measure. All of the fish we caught were between 2-4 pounds and in great shape. We adjusted methods based upon conditions fast trolling early and slowing down as the sun came up. Both days I fished the lake was flat calm without even a breeze. Fish are scattered throughout the lake, we caught our fish from the Peninsula to Lake Haven and a lone fish in the flats by Bailey Creek. Red/Gold speedy shiners at 2.5 plus and crawlers and pond smelt imitations trolled at one mph or less worked for us,” Crotty disclosed. RANCHO CORDOVA – Nimbus Fish Hatchery has conducted its last steelhead spawning session of this year. The number of fish spawned this season is down significantly from last year. The hatchery trapped 712 adult steelhead and 73 half pounders this year, reported Gary Novak, hatchery manager. That compares to 2628 adults and 73 half pounders last year. The good news is that the facility was able to collect 800,000 steelhead eggs, more than enough to produce 430,000 yearlings to release into the river. Roland Aspiras, Fish Sniffer staffer, said he hooked 5 and landed adult 2 steelhead during his last trip to the river below the hatchery. “I hooked all of the fish while using a bead under a float,” he stated. The Bureau of Reclamation has reduced releases from Nimbus Dam to the American down to 1,750 cfs. - Dan Bacher BERRYESSA LAKE Target Black Bass with Finesse Tactics NAPA – Black bass are moving into shallower water as the water warms up slowly on Lake Berryessa. “The bass fishing has sparked up,” said Scott Alberda of Sweeney’s Sports. “Most of the fish are still being caught while finesse fishing with soft plastic worms in the 4 to 6 inch size. The best colors are purple and red. There is a little bit of a reaction bite on swimbaits.” “The fish are showing from the shore to 15 feet deep,” said Alberba. “Most of the fish are largemouth bass with a few smallmouth and spots mixed in. The fish average 1-1/2 to 3 pounds, with some 4 to 5 pounders mixed in.” Crappie are starting to bite around submerged timber and brush piles. Anglers are using medium minnows or small red, white and chartreuse jigs for the slabsides. The trout fishing remains tough, but is slowly improving. “Anglers are hooking maybe 2 fish per rod at best, while some are getting blanked,” said Alberba. “Most of the fish are in the 18 to 20 inch range. Trolling with minnows, RMT squid and Hum Dingers is most productive.” - Dan Bacher Invites You to Our 22nd Annual KOKANEE POWER Annual Fundraising Banquet Saturday, March 14, 2020 California Automobile Museum 2200 Front St. Old Sacramento, Ca. 95818 3906 No Host Cocktails - 5 pm • Dinner - 7 pm $75.00 Per Person Lots of Free Gifts and Prizes! $600.00 Per Table Of Eight (tables receive $160 in added values!) A chance for: ~ California Lifetime Fishing License ~ ~ Lifetime Kokanee Power Membership ~ ~ Up to $500 in our 50/50 Draw! ~ Raffles, Games and Give-Aways! Free access to Auto Museum for all attendees! Plus Silent and Live Auctions! Come join the Fun! Register online at www.kokaneepower.org Kokanee Power, P.O. Box 3857 or complete and return this portion with payment to: Merced, Ca. 95344-1857 Name: ______________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ City: ______________________________ State: _________ Zip: ________________ Phone: _______________________ E-Mail: _________________________________ ______ (Number Attending) X $75.00 = $_______ Special Early Bird ______ (Table(s) Of Eight) X $600.00 = $_______ Drawing for tickets TOTAL: _______ received by 2/23/20 Please Enclose Check Or Visa / Mastercard (Please Circle One & Enter Info Below) Name (As It Appears On Card): ___________________________________________ Card # ___________________________________________ Exp. Date __________ Signature ____________________________________________________________ For more information, call (888)744-8150 Or see us on the web at www.kokaneepower.org BISHOP Lack of Snow Makes for Good Late Winter Fishing months, and adjustments to your casts, presentations, and line control must be made in order to catch these trophy trout. There are still a lot of very nice fish in the river in the 19-24″ range. Our guides can teach you a lifetime of their knowledge and impart their skills to you by spending a day with any trip request. BULLARDS BAR/ ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS Trollers Lay into Scrappy Kokanee DOBBINS – For sheer numbers of fish, Bullards Bar has been the most consistent lake in northern California for kokanee this year to date. “The kokanee salmon bite is still good at Bullards,” said Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle in Auburn. “A customer fished the lake from noon to 4:30 pm on a recent afternoon. The two anglers ended up with 16 kokanee while trolling with orange and pink hoochies, tipped with white corn, behind dodgers at 40 to 60 feet off Garden Point. The fish they kept ranged from 10 to 12 inches long.” “We had another great day on Bullards,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide Service after his most recent trolling adventure at the reservoir. “We ended up with limits of kokanee for my two clients and got off the water by 11:00 am The sugar mamma Brad’s Cut Plug did it again.“ Bullards Bar is holding 654,920 acre feet of water, 68 percent of capacity and 106 percent of average. Fishing reports from Englebright BISHOP- “Still no hope for snow in the forecast, at least for the next couple of weeks. A weak system will move into the area later in the weekend but it will bring mostly windy conditions with very little if any precipitation. Yes, unfortunately this dry winter is continuing for us, which does not bode well for the coming summer months,” asserted Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service. “The Lower Owens is flowing at its 150 cfs rate. The BWO hatch is really starting to take off here and we are seeing more fish starting to move into the shallows and get into good feeding positions to take advantage of these easy meals. This time of day, the early afternoons can produce the best bites. Small streamers like our punk perch patterns have been accounting for most of our fish. On some days, you will find the fish hanging in Continued on Pg 11 the shallow and soft water, while other times they will be deep and tight to the bottom. Throwing frequent pauses into your retrieves can lure these fish into a strike,” Loe reported. Annual Family Membership Pass “The bite on the Upper Owens is Starting At Only $150 great and it’s the best for consistently Over Stocked With Bass, large fish. I have Catfish, Bluegill & Crappie. experienced many anglers covering way Dove & Goose Hunts too much water in a Available! hurry. Knowing where these fish hold and how they behave (916) 423-1771 is something that has to be learned. WWW.SACFISHING.COM This is not the same Rancho Cordova, CA fishing as the warmer 3907 BLODGETT LAKE Fishing & Hunting At It’s Finest!