(Oroville) You need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to launch at both the spillway and Bidwell Canyon launch ramps, but the wide-open bass fishing available on Lake Oroville definitely makes it worthwhile.
“Fishing is really good now,” said Brent Cline at Oroville Outdoors, “Boaters are hooking and releasing 50 to 60 fish during a trip. Most of the fish are spotted bass in the 12 to 15 inch range, but two 7 lb. largemouths were also reported lately.“
“You can pretty much use any method you want to use to catch fish” he emphasized. “You can throw top water lures such as Zara Spooks and Ricos. You can toss out worms and Senkos in bait fish patterns. And you can cast tubes and jigs in green pumpkin patterns all over the lake.”
King salmon fishing has also improved with the cooler water. Boaters are trolling hoochies, tipped with anchovy strips, behind dodgers at 40 to 50 feet deep to catch fish averaging 3 to 4 pounds, according to Cline. The best areas are the dam, spillway and Green Bridge.
“Bass fishing in the Thermalito Afterbay was good last week when the water temperature was warmer, but it is slower this week with the cooler water,” said Cline “Anglers have been doing best on largemouths from 2 to 4 pounds while flipping jigs in the tules and fishing Senkos, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.”
Lake Oroville was holding 1,023,835 acre-feet of water, 29 percent of capacity and 48 percent of average, at press time. The water level is 667.57 feet above sea level.