FISHING UPDATES!
Includes Delta Reports
1. Coastal Mountains
CLEAR LAKE BASS & CATFISH
(Clearlake) Fred Miranda of Clearlake was fishing in his boat in the Redbud arm of Clear Lake when he set a new lake channel catfish record with a 33.33 lb. fish on December 18. The monster cat eclipsed the previous lake record of 33.25 pounds that has stood since 1995.
“The angler fooled the fish with a mackerel, shad and juice concoction off Indian Island,” reported Bob Rider at Lakeshore Bait and Tackle. “It took Miranda 15 minutes to land the fish.”
After getting the fish photographed at Lakeshore Bait and Tackle and weighed on a Redbud Hospital scale by a kind nurse, the angler released the cat back into the lake.
“The catfish action has been really good at the lake all year,” added Rider. “The fishing is just starting to slow down. Anglers are experiencing the most consistent action while fishing jumbo minnows and mackerel from shore and boat.”
If you want to hook largemouth bass, live jumbo minnows remain the hot ticket. “A few anglers are catching bass on lipless crankbaits in the shallows, but the majority are being taken on minnows,” said Rider.
“You can target actively feeding fish from 8 to 12 feet deep in the north and south ends of the lake,” said Rider. “Or you can fish minnows in the deep water water from 18 to 25 feet. This is a more subtle bite – you need to hold your rod and wait.”
Crappie fishing remains very slow, with only a few isolated catches of fish reported lately.
2. North Coast
SMITH RIVER SALMON/STEELHEAD
(Smith River) Steelhead fishing is going strong on the Smith and Chetco rivers when the rivers are fishable.
A trip to the Smith on Monday, December 21 yielded solid steelhead fishing for two anglers, reported Jim Burn at Sure Bite Guide Service. “We hooked six fish, landing four in the 9 to 12 pound range,” said Burn.
Fishing was also productive the following day, in spite of high water conditions on the Smith. “We hooked four and landed two fish in the 10 to 12 pound range while side drifting roe at Jed Smith State Park,” said Burn. “There are a lot of steelies in the system.”
Burn’s next trip was to the Chetco River on December 23. “We landed two steelhead to 13 pounds while side drifting roe and puffballs from Redwood to Market,” he stated. “The flows were high at 5,000 cfs.”
“A recent storm raised the Smith to over 21 feet high, the highest it has been so far this season,” reported Phil Desautels of Phil’s Smiling Salmon Guide Service. “All of the leaves that t went into the river because of the storm made the fishing difficult.”
On Wednesday, Desautels made a trip that yielded two hook-ups. “We landed an 11 lb. steelhead and lost the other one,” he stated. “We fought the leaves all day.”
3. Oregon
ROGUE RIVER STEELHEAD
(Gold Beach) Steelhead are being caught by anglers fishing the Rogue River, but the best action is not expected to get underway until the second half of January.
Higher flows and warmer water will greatly improve steelhead fishing on the Rogue, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Some of the best methods for hooking steelhead are plunking a spin and glow or running plugs from a boat on the inside corners of the river. Steelhead fishing will only get better through January.
On the middle Rogue, fishing has slowed in the Grants Pass area for steelhead. The fish are sluggish due to cold temperatures. Anglers are catching a few steelhead on plugs in copper and gold colors and by side drifting small pieces of roe.
Coho are being caught on plugs and spinners such as the Blue Fox with a green squid skirt and Panther Martins. Anglers are anticipating better fishing as soon as the rains come.
On the upper Rogue, boat and bank anglers are catching a few steelhead using roe and yarn and worms for bait. Anglers are advised to try to fish close to the bottom. The Rogue River from the boat ramp at Shady Cove Park upstream to the deadline markers located downstream from Cole Rivers Hatchery Diversion Dam is open to the use of bait, while angling between Gold Ray and Shady Cove is restricted to artificial flies and lures.
4. NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
TRINITY RIVER STEELHEAD
(Lewiston) Recent storms have warmed up water temperatures on the Trinity River and anglers are reporting improving numbers of bright, hard-fighting winter steelhead. “Good numbers of steelhead are now showing on the Trinity River and just about everybody is hooking fish,” said Steve Huber of Steve Huber’s Guide Service.
Huber reported anywhere from 2 to 5 steelhead on recent fishing adventures in the upper river from Bucktail to Steelbridge. On his latest drift boat adventure, Huber and his dad, Harold, caught two steelies in the 5 to 6 pound range while back trolling Hot Shots.
“Most of the fish we’re seeing are hatchery steelhead,” noted Huber. “Only one of the fish caught lately by my anglers was wild.”
“This past week fishing has been sparse due to the lack of fishing pressure,” said E.B. Duggan, fishing guide. “Up river the Steelbridge/Poker Bar saw the most fishing pressure with about 6 drift boats on the river and the Evans Bar to Junction City was the next most fished. Junction City saw less fishing pressure but they also were landing one to two adults per trip with about 50/50 native to hatchery steelhead. “
This run also had a few bank fishermen working the river with about one fish per try using roe. “Del Loma only had three fishermen working the area from the banks using roe, “noted Duggan. “Only one native adult was caught and released.”
“Only two drift boats made the Willow Creek run over the holidays and no bank fishermen that I know of,” stated Duggan. “It appears that roe was the best producer for landing the ironheads.”
More native adults showed up in the lower river this past week. A couple of good places to try would at the mouth of Willow Creek, Mill Creek and Beaver Creek down in Hoopa. These are staging areas for the native fish to head up the creeks for spawning, advised Duggan.
The Trinity River Hatchery count was chinook, 7,410 in 2009 vs. 5,079 in 2008; coho, 3,169 in 2009 vs. 4,654 in 2008; and steelhead, 222 in 2009 vs. 470 in 2008.
“Upper Trinity redd counts continue to go up, so if those figures are good then we are looking at about 17,500 Fall Run Chinook returning to the Trinity River,” said Duggan. “This is looking better and better as the counts go on.”
Trinity Lake is 126 feet below the over flow (5ft increase) and 36.9 percent of capacity (0.5% increase). The Trinity River at Lewiston is 313 cfs.
5. Monterey Bay
JUMBO SQUID/CRABS/SANDDABS
(Monterey) Combination trips for Humboldt squid, sanddabs and dungeness crabs are providing lots of cold weather excitement for anglers departing from Fisherman’s Wharf.
Ten anglers fishing aboard the Checkmate on Friday, December 25 bagged 60 squid, 50 crabs and 20 sanddabs per rod, according to Chris Arcoleo of Chris’ Fishing Trips. “They’re catching the squid on squid jigs at 15 feet below the surface at the edge of the Monterey Marine Canyon,” said Arcoleo.
The Checkmate trip on December 26 yielded great fishing also. The 14 anglers nailed 80 squid, 65 crabs and an average of 15 to 20 sanddabs per rod, noted Arcoleo.
The Chubasco had a great day of squid fishing December 26 when the 17 anglers nailed around 150 squid and 34 crabs on a Monterey Bay combo fishing adventure. The 5 anglers aboard the boat on December 23 bagged 60 squid and 11 crabs, according to Chrissie Chonacki at Randy’s Fishing Trips.
Anglers fishing on the Velocity are catching lots of sanddabs and white croakers (kingfish) on half-day adventures off the Santa Cruz coast. The 8 people going on the latest trip caught 180 sanddabs and 40 white croakers while fishing squid strips on small jigs, according to Ken Stagnaro of Stagnaro’s Fishing Trips in Santa Cruz.
6.Northeast California
BAUM LAKE RAINBOWS
(Burney) Baum Lake produces huge rainbow trout every winter – and this year is no exception. “It’s time for big fish at Baum,” said Steve Vaughn of Vaughn’s Sporting Goods.
Pete Amos of Cassel caught and released the largest fish of the season to date, a massive 13 lb. wild rainbow, while using a Wooly Bugger,
Jim McCann of Fall River also reported a great day of trout fishing at Baum Lake while using a Rapala. “He released an 11 lb. rainbow and kept a 6 pounder,” said Vaughn. “He kept the smaller rainbow because the fish completely swallowed the Rapala.”
In addition to Rapalas, Kastmasters and Roostertails are also kicking out rainbows at Baum. Fly fishermen are nailing rainbows, along with an occasional brown, while using Wooly Buggers, small midges, blue wing olives and small nymphs.
Iron Canyon Reservoir was producing rainbows averaging 12 to 17 inches and going up to 21 inches before the latest storms made access to the lake difficult. Anglers reported the top action while tossing Kastmasters from shore.
Fishing pressure for the Pit River’s legendary wild rainbows is light, due to the stormy weather and the closure of the road to the Pit #4 and #5 Powerhouses. The Pit River from Lake Britton to Lake Shasta will remain open to zero kill, barbless hook and artificials only regulations through April 24, 2009.
to Iron Canyon, since snow and ice can be a real problem this time of year.
7. Northern Sierra Nevada
DAVIS/FRENCHMAN ICE FISHING
(Portola) Ice fishing has begun at Lake Davis, now that there is 4 to 5 inches of ice on the lake. Anglers are finding road access to the dam and north to Coot Bay.
Few anglers have tried fishing since the lake iced over. One of the few was John Pato of Portola, who landed two hefty rainbows while fishing Power Bait and nightcrawlers at Coot Bay, according to Jerry Dollard at Dollard’s Sierra Market.
When ice fishing, anglers should always be cautious, especially just after the lake ices over and later in the winter before ice out. “I’ve heard some reports from snowmobilers who said some open water is showing again in the cove at Coot Bay,” said Dollards.
“Frenchman Lake is icing over slowly,” said Shirley Wiggin at Wiggin’s Trading Post in Chilcoot. “Most people can make it to the dam, but past the dam is icy and muddy. Some have made it to Lunker Point and have reported open water at the Narrows.”
One angler reported that there was 4 to 5 inches of ice on the lake. A few have tried using nightcrawlers, marshmallows and orange, yellow and green flies.
“Anglers are averaging 3 to to 4 rainbow trout weighing from ½ to 1-1/2 pounds,” said Wiggin. “The best times are mid-morning and early afternoon.”
8. Sacramento Valley…
COLUSA/KNIGHTS LANDING SALMON
(Yuba City) The six-week salmon season on the Sacramento River from Knights Landing to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam closed on December 31, making sturgeon fishing the top local angling option.
Bobby landed a 48 inch sturgeon weighing 32 pounds while fishing on the river at Knights Landing on Thursday, December 24. He used an eel//nightcrawler combo from shore to entice the diamondback, according to Bop Boucke at Johnson’s Sporting Goods.
Expect the sturgeon action to heat up as the river level rises more from winter storms. Toss out ghost shrimp, pileworms and lamprey eel from shore and boat for the diamondbacks.
“The salmon fishing was pretty slow this season – it wasn’t good as it was last year,” commented Boucke. “However, some persistent anglers caught salmon nearly every time they made it out on the river.”
Boaters experienced the top fishing from Tisdale to Knights Landing while anchor fishing and trolling with Blue Fox spinners, Sacramento spinners and Kwikfish. Shore anglers also reported bagging some beautiful, bright chinooks while fishing Kwikfish in the Mud Flats area south of Tisdale.
David Gonzalez bagged a 38 lb. chinook while fishing a Kwikfish from his boat. On a previous trip, Gonzalez nailed a 30 lb. salmon on a Blue Fox spinner.
9. San Joaquin Valley…
NEW MELONES CRAPPIE/RAINBOWS
(Angels Camp) Although most anglers continue to focus on trout fishing from shore at New Melones, good numbers of crappie and catfish are also showing in the catches.
Ellery Stevenson of Oakland caught his limit of crappie, topped by a 1 lb. 14 oz. fish, on Saturday, December 26. He was fishing Pan Assassins from the bank in Angels Cove and Carson Creek, reported Amber Garduno at Glory Hole Sports.
Stevenson also caught a limit of rainbows weighing up to 3 pounds, 4 ounces, as well as 20 fat crappie, on yellow crappie jigs when he hiked into the Carson Creek area after sunset on a previous trip.
Plenty of big holdover rainbows continue to be caught. They are fat and healthy- 2 ½ pounds is the average size. In addition, the DFG has been regularly planting catchable-sized rainbows
“Glory Hole Cove and Tuttletown ramp have been the top spot for shore anglers, as well as those still-fishing from their boats,” advised Melanie Lewis. “Fish are coming into the shallows, so target 5-20 feet of water. “
Use Berkley chartreuse or green glitter Power Bait, Power Eggs, or a crawler/marshmallow combo. Throwing a small silver/blue, firetiger, or rainbow trout patterned spoon such as a Kastmaster or shad or rainbow trout imitation lure such as a Rapala Countdown is another good choice, noted Lewis.
Big trout honors go to Rama Krisa of Stockton, who landed a 3 lb. 3 oz. rainbow while soaking green Power Bait off Glory Hole Point. Jack Winter of San Andreas bagged a 3 lb. trout while fishing a silver/blue Kastmaster during Christmas weekk. Zach Porterfield of Riverbank used chartreuse Power Bait to land a 3-pound, 7-ounce rainbow while bank-fishing near Tuttletown.
Leon Atkins received a great Christmas present when he landed a 21 lb. 12 oz. channel catfish on December 24. He enticed the monster catfish using a crawler/Roostertail combo from shore off Glory Hole Point.
Finally, Jason Taylor of Sonora was still fishing from a boat in Angels Creek when he bagged a 4.9 lb. largemouth.
New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,148,637 acre-feet of water and IS 126 ft. from capacity. The surface water temperature is about 54-57 degrees.
10. Central Sierra Nevada
JENKINSON TROUT
(Riverton) Unless you are looking for a trailer adventure, with chains in deep snow – trout action in the Crystal Basin is on hold until roads get plowed and access is safe. Ken Mathis of Ken’s Custom Tackle reportedthat access to Loon, Ice House and Union Valley isn’t safe and recommends anglers check road conditions and availability before heading up the hill.
The only lake accessible at press time in the Highway 50 Corridor is Jenkinson Reservoir. Jim Cozzens at Sly Park Resort reported that action has been very slow due to extreme cold and snow – but some planter trout has been taken in the docks area on Powerbait. Mackinaw haven’t shown in a week and browns haven’t shown either.
John Wadden of Will Fish Bait and Tackle reports that access to French Meadows and Hell Hole is most likely finished for the winter as heavy snow has closed off access to the area.
11. Southern Sierra Nevada
OWENS RIVER RAINBOWS & BROWNS
(Bishop) If you are a trout angler and would like to sling flies for cold water winter trout, Bishop is a great place to visit. The Owens River is providing consistent action and Pleasant Valley Reservoir is producing trout too.
The Lower Owens River is flowing at 105 cfs and trout are active during the midday hours despite chilly water temperatures, according to trout guide Brian Lopez. Midges and small nymphs are the best offerings. Anglers are finding the best action while working slow areas adjacent to the main current.
The fishing in the Owens River Gorge is slow. The water is extremely cold in the gorge since in that area the water gets little direct contact from the sun. Add to the slow bite, icy treacherous conditions and it becomes clear that the gorge won’t be worth visiting until next spring.
Pleasant Valley Reservoir is booting out trout for both fly and conventional tackle anglers. Most of the fly fishing activity is taking place near the inlet were anglers are striping streamers teamed with sinking lines for the occasional brown trout.
Conventional tackle anglers are employing Power Bait, worms and Pautzke salmon eggs for planted rainbows. You can also hook up while plugging with spoons and spinners, but bait fishing is the most effective approach.
12. Nevada
PYRAMID LAKE CUTTHROATS
(Sutcliff) There are monster cutthroats being caught at Pyramid Lake, but to get one you’ve got to invest a good deal of time and exhibit plenty of patience.
“There are not a lot of fish being caught at Pyramid at this time,” reported Carla Molino at Pyramid Lake Store. “On one hand, the bite has slowed down, but beyond that with the poor weather we’ve seen recently few anglers are fishing. It has been cold and very foggy at times. The fog is keeping boats off the water and the cold discourages a lot of folks from coming out.”
“Overall guys that come out and catch 1 or 2 trout are doing well. If we could get a few days of sun, it would really help the fishing and the fishermen,” said Molino.
“We’ve had some large fish weighed, but it takes patience to get a bite right now,” reported Linda Hampton at Crosby Lodge. “Don Cupps caught a 11.15 pounder while fishing a fly near the Blockhouse. Adam Garcia took a 10 pounder on a Flatfish while casting from the bank at the Blockhouse,”
Hal Garonson also caught a 14 pounder while trolling a Flatfish from his boat near Warrior Point. “The water is cold and you’ve got to fish hard to hook trout,” she advised.
13. Bays & Ocean
SAN PABLO BAY STURGEON
(San Rafael) Sturgeon fishing has been “really good” during the big, moving tides and tough during the slow tides, reported Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle.
“The tides are crummy, it’s raining and it’s cold,” said Fraser on Sunday, December 27. “Hardly anybody has been fishing. However, that should all change with the next series of good tides.”
The most recent sturgeon trip on San Pablo Bay by Fraser yielded two sturgeon in the 60 pound class for Rico Petri of Fairfax and Gary Graw. They also lost one sturgeon and missed a take down while fishing mud shrimp in 11 feet of water off China Camp.
“Just about every boat on the bay that day reported catching at least one sturgeon,” noted Fraser.
Delta Reports
East Delta
Stockton) Anglers plying the East Delta are experiencing the annual winter slow down. The water has dipped below 50 degrees and both black bass and striper fishing have become inconsistent for most.
“One day the fishing is good and the next day it is slow. I’d describe things as being up and down,” related Randy Pringle of the Fishing Instructor Guide Service. “The water is cold and most of the stripers we find are moving quickly and don’t want to stick around. I’ve been burning a lot of fuel to find stripers. When you find them, you can hook them with Road Runners and Berkley Hollow Bellies. Every once in while you can get one to come up and smack and Ima Big Stik on the surface, but overall the surface bite has been slow.”
“Black bass fishing has been a pretty simple proposition. You’ve either got to dead stick or go fishless. That’s a simple formula, but most guys have a tough time putting it into practice. I’ve been working calm areas next to deflected current with Ima Flits and Berkley Hand Poured Worms rigged on Zappu Heads. I’m catching fish on these baits, but the key is not moving them. The longer you allow them to set motionless in the strike zone the better your chances of hooking up,” tipped Pringle.
Rio Vista
(Rio Vista) Those that don’t let the cold weather deter them are finding solid striper and sturgeon action in the Rio Vista area, provided they exercise a bit of patience.
“The water has become pretty cold, but I did get stripers on my last trolling trip,” related Captain Rene Villanueva of Steelie Dan’s Guide Service. “Overall the trolling was slow, but the fish were pretty big. We hooked a total of 6 fish and landed 3 up to 14 pounds.”
“To get hit we had to troll slowly against the current. We got all our strikes on deep running Yo-Zuris with a lot of Pro-Cure smeared on the worm tails,” tipped Villanueva.
Shawn Peddy at Rio Vista Bait reported that quite a few sturgeon have been weighed in over the past several days.
“Grass shrimp has been producing good numbers of sturgeon, but eel and ghost shrimp are worth using too. Bait anglers are still catching quite a few stripers. Shad is a good bait, but you can hook them on grass shrimp too,” said Peddy.
“I’ve been weighing fish all week,” reported Allison Shawnego at Hap’s Bait. “Sturgeon and stripers are being caught from a lot of different locations. Guys have hooked keeper sturgeon at Decker and Sherman Islands, on the San Joaquin near the Antioch Bridge and up near Liberty Island.”
“Grass shrimp and ghost shrimp are hooking both sturgeon and stripers. If you just want to target stripers, mudsuckers and frozen shad are working pretty well,” related Shawnego.
West Delta
(Pittsburg) The West Delta striper bite has been up and down based largely on the weather and tides. If the weather is stable and there is a decent tidal flow, the action has been pretty good. When the conditions deteriorate the bite slows.
The one thing that no one is complaining about is the size of the fish. Most of the bass being caught are bigger than 10 pounds and there has been a good showing of 20 plus pounders.
“Some days the striper fishing is pretty good, but on other days it is pretty slow,” related Captain Barry Canevaro of Fish Hookers Sportfishing. “When we have weak tides the bite goes downhill, but when the tides are moving the fish feed pretty well. The fish we’ve been catching are mostly quality fish that range from 8 to 25 pounds. Shad has been the best bait for us. We were fishing shad a few days ago and picked up a beautiful 60 inch sturgeon.”
The folks at B & S Bait in Pittsburg described sturgeon fishing as “slow” over the past several days. They expect the sturgeon fishing to improve with larger tides. They recommended that would be diamond back anglers focus on soaking grass shrimp, ghost shrimp and eel.
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