Hot-Bites Fishing Reports by The Fish Sniffer Staff
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FISHING UPDATES!
1. Coastal Mountains
BERRYESSA KING SALMON
(Winters) The warming weather at Lake Berryessa has resulted in improved action for king salmon, rainbow trout and black bass.
Rich Crispi of TW Guide Service made his first trip to Berryessa this season and reported decent fishing for king salmon. Crispi and his 11-year-old daughter, Brianna, and 6-year-old son, Richie caught five chinooks to 1.9 pounds.
“We trolled orange Apex lures and orange glow dodgers from the surface to 35 feet deep west of Skier’s Cove on the main body,” Crispi stated. “The best trolling speed was 1.8 mph. Other anglers on the lake reported catching salmon also in the same areas.”
“The bass fishing is picking up with some fish starting to move up,” said Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s Bass Fishing Experience. “The run-off from the rain most of the time is warmer than the lake water and this brings fish up along the edges of the mud lines and creek mouths. Slow rolled white spinner baits and crawdad crank baits can be a good choice.”
The elevation of the Glory Hole at Monticello Dam is 440 feet. The water is now 22.03 feet below the top of the spillway. The lake has now risen 10.05 feet since its low point of 406.92 feet on January 10, 2010.
2. North Coast
SMITH RIVER SALMON/STEELHEAD
(Smith River) Steelhead anglers continue to hook big, bright steelhead on the Smith River while fishing roe and puffballs.
“My crew yesterday, after my slow day on the river the day before, took home their limit of dandy 10 and 12 pounders,” said Phil Desautels of Phil’s Smiling Salmon Guide Service. “The Smith River is at 9.8 feet at Jed Smith Park and 16.1 feet at the Highway 101 Bridge. The river is green and slowly dropping.”
“The weather has been beautiful this week and there are plenty of big steelhead to be caught,” said Kevin Brock of Kevin Brock’s Guide Service. “On Wednesday we had five bites and landed three chromers. There is virtually no fishing pressure on the river now. Vicki Benbow and her husband caught five steelhead in the 10 pound class while side drifting roe with me recently.”
Steelhead action on the Chetco River has slowed down, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The steelhead are spread throughout the system, with the lower river from Ice Box downstream to Social Security bar producing the top fishing for anglers fishing roe and puffballs.
3. Oregon
UMPQUA RIVER STEELHEAD
(Elkton) Steelhead fishing has hit high gear on the Umpqua River at least in terms of wild fish. Relatively few hatchery fish have shown up. Only fin clipped hatchery fish can be retain on the Umpqua at this time.
Recent rains have made for exceptional fishing conditions on the Umpqua, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. In the lower section of the mainstem, anglers are catching and releasing solid numbers of wild fish averaging 7 to 8 pounds and ranging up to 19 pounds. Side drifting with eggs and puff balls has been the top tactic, but plug anglers are catching fish too.
On the north Umpqua, the steelheading is rated as good. As of the middle of January about 1,500 winter steelhead had crossed Winchester Dam and solid numbers of fish have arrived since then.
The south Umpqua opened for steelhead fishing on December 1 and the action has been good. Fish are being caught from Canyonville down to River Forks. Some hatchery fish have shown in the Canyonville area.
The number of hatchery fish is expected to increase significantly next season. Last year 91,000 hatchery smolts entered the system and this year the number was increased 100,000
4. NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
LAKE SHASTA RAINBOWS
(Redding) Everything is going great at Lake Shasta. The water level is on the rise, all the boat ramps are now in the water and the fishing has been fantastic for both trout and bass.
“The fishing has been pretty good over the past several days,” reported Adam Rudolf at Phil’s Propellers. “The bass bite has been very consistent for anglers working 6 inch worms in the blue crawler, osprey and Mojave oxblood colors. The bass are holding from 25 to 30 feet deep, so that’s where you should be fishing your worms.”
“For a shot a larger than average size fish, the bite on small soft plastic swimbaits has been hit and miss overall, but some good fish are being caught. It seems like a couple bass in the 5 pound class are being caught every day and we are seeing decent numbers of 3 pounders,” related Rudolf.
According to Rudolf, to catch rainbows anglers have to do nothing more than topline with shad imitating lures.
“The trout bite has been really good for anglers trolling the surface with standard lures such as Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Kastmasters and Rapalas. Silver and blue has been a good color combination,” tipped Rudolf.
Gary Miralles of the Shasta Tackle Company advises trouters to top line Cripplures and Hum Dingers in UV colors from 150 to 200 feet behind the boat. Miralles reported that the rainbows are running 15 to 16 inches with a few of them edging up to 3 pounds.
As of press time Shasta was 53 feet from maximum pool..
5. MONTEREY BAY WHITE SEABASS/JUMBO SQUID
(Monterey) Fishing for jumbo (Humboldt) squid is “phenomenal” – and the crab and sanddab fishing isn’t too shabby on Monterey Bay either, reported Chris Arcoleo of Chris’ Fishing Trips.
“On February 21, the 20 anglers aboard the Checkmate landed over 100 squid, along with 102 crab and 15 to 20 sanddabs per rod,” said Arcoleo. “They hooked the squid on big squid jigs at the edge of the Monterey Marine Canyon. Most of the squid hit at 50 feet down.”
A trip on February 18 yielded over 200 squid, 80 crabs and an average of 15 to 20 sanddabs per rod for 20 fishermen aboard the Checkmate, noted Arcoleo.
Skiff anglers are still catching a few white seabass between the Holiday Inn and the Soldiers Club while drifting frozen squid, but Arcoleo emphasized that the bite is inconsistent.
“The Humboldt squid fishing is still very good,” said Chrissie Chonacki at Randy’s Fishing Trips. “The 7 people on the Chubasco took 25 squid and 42 crabs and some sanddabs and mackerel on the latest trip on February 21.”
The latest half day trip on the Velocity produced 20 dabs and 15 white croaker (kingfish) per angler, according to Ken Stagnaro of Stagnaro’s Fishing Trips. The fish are hitting Tom’s Jigs, baited with small squid strips, in Monterey Bay.
6.Northeast California
BAUM LAKE BROWN/RAINBOW TROUT
(Burney) Baum Lake, heavily planted with rainbow and brown trout by the Department of Fish and Game, is producing lots of both species in the 9 to 17 inch range.
“About 60 percent of the fish are rainbows and the other 40 percent are browns,” explained Steve Vaughn at Vaughn’s Sporting Goods. “Fly fishermen are finding success on blue wing olive, small midge and Griffith’s Gnat patterns.”
Bait fishing enthusiasts are experiencing success with mealworms, nightcrawlers and Pautzke salmon eggs, while lure tossers are fooling trout with Kastmasters, Panther Martins and Roostertails.
The road from Pit River #5 to the Iron Canyon Dam is now plowed, so anglers can fish from the bank there for rainbows and browns. However, there is too much snow for vehicles to access the lake on the road beyond the dam, according to Vaughn.
Vaughn hasn’t heard any recent reports from fly fishermen going to the Pit River. The Pit from Lake Britton dam downstream is open to catch and release fishing with barbless hooks and artificials only through April 24, 2010.
7. Northern Sierra Nevada
LAKE ALMANOR RAINBOWS & BROWNS
(Chester) “The winter trout bite at Lake Almanor is wide open!” exclaimed Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service. “Over the last several days, we have connected with fish on a morning bite that featured double and even triple hook ups.”
The hot action has been near the dam and along the east shore with tons of fish rolling at the surface, stacking up on the sonar and chasing pond smelt from the depths to the surface. The fish are a fat and feisty mix of browns and rainbows ranging from 2 to 4.5 pounds
“Early limits have been the rule. In addition, we have been doing a lot of catch and release fishing just adding up the numbers and enjoying some great fights,” said Roccucci.
There are 3 basic rigs that have been producing fish for Roccucci. These include Arctic Fox tube flies in the Pond Smelt pattern rigged with an action disc, the “Mad Cow” Uncle Larry’s Spinner rigged with a “pony tail” of white or black and white is also producing, and a black and white spoon similar to a Needlefish.
“The common theme here is they all resemble a pond smelt,” he stated. “While there is a ton of surface action, our best bite has been down from 9 to 11 feet on the Cannon Downriggers with the shallower lines at 4 and 6 feet picking up their share including some of the bigger browns.”
The recent mild weather has kept the area roads in good shape and the boat ramp at Canyon Dam is perfect, with both lanes clear and useable.
8. Sacramento Valley…
LAKE OROVILLE COHO SALMON/SPOTTED BASS
Oroville) Lake Oroville is hosting an improved spotted bass bite, now that the weather is warming and the water level is rising.
Brent Cline of Oroville Outdoors reported solid fishing on his last two trips to Oroville. Cline and his fishing partner caught and released 15 to 20 fish each day while pre-fishing for a tournament.
“The fish averaged 1-1/2 to 2 pounds and our largest weighed 2-1/4 pounds,” said Cline. “We nailed the bass while fishing brown and purple jigs and green tubes at 25 to 40 feet deep in the main body and the fork.”
They also landed several coho salmon in the 14 to 15 inch range. ”The coho all hit tubes,” said Cline.
Bob Bradbury of Johnson’s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City and his fishing partner reported top-notch fishing for coho during a trolling adventure at Oroville.
“We caught and released lots of coho in the 12 to 16 inch range while trolling from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.,” said Bradbury. “We top-line trolled with hoochie/crawler combos behind dodgers from the dam to the green bridge.”
The lake level is 703 feet in elevation, 197 feet from maximum pool. Boats can now launch at the spillway ramp.
9. San Joaquin Valley…
DON PEDRO RAINBOWS
(La Grange) Hard-fighting rainbow trout are still hitting hardware at Lake Don Pedro, according to Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing.
“Excel’s Slimfins and Hum Dingers are still taking trout up to two pounds,” he explained. “We are still long-lining behind the boat working a lot of water to get into fish, but we are seeing multiple limits per trip plus double digit hookups.”
Smith’s two daughters, Jordan and Taylor Smith, caught six beautiful holdover rainbows to 3 pounds and one smallmouth bass during a trip to Don Pedro on Saturday, February 21.
Danny Layne of Fishin’ Dan’s Guide Service is also seeing fair to improving action on rainbows at or near the surface. “Water clarity is good with the level rising and a surface temperature at 54 degrees,” he reported.
“Work the top 20 feet with Uncle Larry’s spinners, Vance’s Slim Willie’s in tandem with a crawler or small Ex-Cel shad lures for bows to two pounds,” he tipped.. “Mexican Gulch, Laughlin Island or Jenkins Hill are productive areas. A few kings are showing in Fleming Bay at 60-80 feet deep on rolled shad or Matrix paddle tails.”
Manny Basi of The Bait Barn reported an improving bass bite at Pedro. “Last week’s tourney saw first place pull in a twenty-five pound sack,” said Basi. “River 2 Sea swimbaits have been doing well and others are getting into bass with drop shot action and jigs with green pumpkin trailers.”
10. Central Sierra Nevada
JENKINSON MACKINAW TROUT
(Riverton) Fishing has picked up at Jenkinson Lake as anglers have scored on hefty mackinaw trout.
“A nine pound, twenty-seven inch mackinaw was taken by Nate Turner this week,” said Jim Cozzens of Sly Park Lake Resort. “Nate pulled a broken-back Rapala at the islands and battled the fish to the boat.”
Good numbers of macks in the 1-3 pound range have been caught at the islands also. “Few reports of rainbows or browns are available as most anglers have focused on macks,” he tipped.
Most Crystal Basin lakes are still blocked by snow or frozen over. Expect trout fishing at Ice House and Union Valley reservoirs to improve as the weather warms.
11. Southern Sierra Nevada
OWENS RIVER RAINBOWS & BROWNS
(Bishop) The weather has been clear and pleasant in the Bishop area over the past week. The water is still frigid, but the warm sunny days have made conditions very comfortable for winter anglers in pursuit of brown and rainbow trout.
Good to very good midge fishing is available on the Lower Owens River in the morning hours, reported Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service. In the afternoon the focus changes to working with Pheasant Tails and other small nymphs in sizes ranging from No. 16 to 22. Most of the trout being caught run 9 to 14 inches, but larger fish are possible.
“The Owens River Gorge is full of small browns and they are willing biters,” stated Loe. “Yet due to the low amount of sunlight that hits the gorge, hiking conditions remain icy and treacherous. The small size of the trout, combined with the difficult and often times dangerous hiking conditions, makes the gorge a poor choice for most anglers. There is no sense in risking a fall to catch a bunch of smallish trout.”
The water level at Pleasant Valley Reservoir remains high and overall fly guys are having a tough time hooking rainbows and browns, but spin anglers are doing okay. Casting with spoons and minnow plugs has been paying off for some anglers, but overall soaking Power Bait and worms has been the best approach.
12. Nevada
PYRAMID LAKE CUTTHROAT TROUT
(Sutcliffe) Fisherwomen had the upper hand during Crosby’s Lodge annual President’s Day Tournament, claiming two of the top three places. Debbie Finnell, a first-time angler, proved the first time is the charm with a first place cutthroat weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.
Ken Tadman landed a second place fish at 11 pounds, 13.6-ounces. Peggy Navarrete scored again for the distaff side with an 11-pound, 9.6-ounce cutthroat.
Larry Nunez of Crosby’s Lodge said, “Both trollers and fly-fishermen are landing fish, and there were a couple of 11-pounders brought in on Wednesday, February 17. Trollers have been dragging Flatfish in yellow/red or large spoons in red/white at depths from 15 to 35 feet with fly-fishermen finding black flies the top pattern.”
Carla Molino of the Pyramid Lake Store reported, “We thought things were going to break out over the three-day weekend with all of the great weather that we have experiencing, but the bite didn’t really take off until Monday, President’s Day.”
She added that her husband, George, put a client onto an 8.5-pounder on a watermelon Apex lure. “Prior to the start of this week, George has had to work hard, and by all means it is not without effort now, but fishing is clearly improving,” said Molino.
The launch ramp is open with all of the snow cleared from the surrounding mountains. The next tournament is scheduled for March 13th at Crosby’s Lodge – the Hook, Line and Sinker – a two-day tournament with a registration fee of $60.00. Information on the derby – (775) 476-0400
13. SAN FRANCISCO BAY
SAN PABLO BAY/SUISUN BAY STURGEON
(Martinez) The sturgeon fishing in San Pablo and Suisun Bay is showing signs of improvement now that a good deal of fresh water run off has reached the bays.
“My brother Capt. Chris and I ran a long overnight charter during the Super Bowl Derby and it was pretty exciting,” related Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sportfishing. “We ended up with keepers measuring 46, 50, 53, 58 and 63 inches. The 63 incher came on Chris’s watch and that fish ended up winning the second day of the derby. It was caught by Larry Ramirez and he won $7,500. Our 53 incher took the seventh place prize. The 58 incher would have won some money too, but we bled it and that disqualified it from the contest.”
“In addition to the fish we landed, we also hooked a massive oversize fish. We fought it for over 3 hours on heavy gear, but we were never able to slow it down. Eventually the hook pulled out,” added Smith.
Captain Jim Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing has been experiencing slower action than his son Chris.
“I was out one day last week and we hooked 3 fish and we lost them all. I suspect they may have been foul hooked. The day before I went out Capt. Chris ran my boat and his guys ended up boating three sturgeon while fishing up in Grizzly Bay. Chris is pretty hot right now, that’s for sure,” reported Jim Smith.
Delta Reports
East Delta
(Stockton) Late winter and early spring is swimbait time in the Delta and a lot of big black bass are caught. While winter conditions are still the rule right now, anglers are beginning to get glimpses of the exciting big fish action to come when the tides and conditions are right.
“The water is murky and cold right now, but conditions are getting better,” reported Randy Pringle of the Fishing Instructor Guide Service. “My number one offering is a dark colored Berkley Hand Poured Worm rigged on a Zappu Head. With this rig the less you move it and the more time you spend dead-sticking the more action you will have.”
“While dead-sticking worms is a great way to hook fish, we have been getting some windows of very productive swimbait fishing. The big giant swimbaits aren’t working yet, because the bass are just too sluggish. If you want to throw swimbaits, there is nothing better than the Berkley Hollow Belly. The bait has a slim profile and when fished slowly it really appeals to the fish,” said Pringle.
“I’m using Hollow Bellies in the Bluegill color during high tide periods on flats where the bass will be spawning later on in the spring. You don’t want to do too much with the bait. Just cast it out and slow roll it back to the boat. Over the past week my clients have nailed bass to 8 pounds on the Hollow Belly,” disclosed Pringle.
“If you get windy conditions crankbaits will catch a few fish. I’ve been throwing the Ima Shaker series of baits because they run shallow and have a wide wobble. They move a lot of water and catch the attention of the bass, while moving slowly and staying in the strike zone,” added Pringle.
Rio Vista
(Rio Vista) The good bite for sturgeon continued this past week, with fish being caught through out the Rio Vista area.
“We had lots of fish get weighed in over the past week!” exclaimed Allison Shawnego from Hap’s Bait and Tackle. “The fish are everywhere, from the Powerlines to Cache Slough.”
“Guys are using a mixture of baits, but ghost shrimp, pile worms and frozen shad have been getting them,” said Shawnego.
“Gary Buchada of Modesto caught a 57 inch, 47 pounder from the Power Lines area on grass shrimp, and Mike Garcia of Modesto landed a 64 inch, 66 pound fish at the Rio Vista Bridge on frozen shad,” noted Shawnego. “We also had a fish come from Steamboat slough, a 54 incher by Pat Rucha,” she added.
A bank angler fishing Sandy Beach also bagged a fish at 51 inches. “The fish was caught Saturday on ghost shrimp,” Shawnego said.
“Striper fishing picked up a little bit with the warmer weather,” Shawnego commented. “We had a couple of schoolies come out of Sherman Island on frozen shad, but trolling is still out of the question,” Shawnego noted. “Mark Wilson is fishing the other (San Joaquin) side of the system right now, since the water is clearer down there.”
West Delta
(Pittsburg) After a period of slow action, both sturgeon and striper fishing is heating up in the West Delta. The water temperature has climbed into the middle fifities and the water quality hasimproved over the past week.
“The fishing has been getting better and better here in the Pittsburg area,” reported Captain Barry Canevaro of Fish Hookers Sportfishing. “We’ve been catching a mixed bag of stripers and sturgeon. Some of the stripers have been really good fish up to about 14 pounds.”
“Most of our stripers have come on shad, while our sturgeon have been eating brined ghost shrimp. Most of the time we’ve been fishing in water that ranges from 25 to 35 feet deep. The number of sturgeon we had been marking backed off for a while, but now the fish seem to be moving back in,” said Canevaro.
“I haven’t heard about any successful striper trolling being done down in this area, but it won’t be long. The water temperature is 55 degrees today and that is certainly warm enough for a trolling bite to develop,” added Canevaro.
Captain Rene Villanueva of Steelie Dan’s Guide Service hasn’t been fishing the Delta much, but he expects that to change soon.
“The last couple times I went out, the fishing was pretty slow and we only got a couple small stripers, but the way the water temperature has come up I don’t think it will be very long before we get a good trolling bite. The water has cleared quite a bit and that is going to help too,” said Villanueva.
“We boated 8 shaker sturgeon in four days and lost 2 good fish that threw the hooks after about 30 seconds, along with a few stripers to 25 inches thrown in,” said Eddie Trujillo of Reeltru Guide Service. “The hot bait has been grass shrimp and eel (marinated in Pro-cure sturgeon cocktail).”
The best action has been in the Big Cut in 35 feet of water, with the morning outgoing being the best tide. The water surface temperature is up to 56 degrees and the sturgeon have been biting with more aggression, noted Trujillo.