Wedding Rings For Trout And More! | The Fish Sniffer
Wedding Rings For Trout And More!
By Fish Sniffer Staff2/27/2017
the excitement of trout fishing on our local lake.
The experience of trolling for rainbows was exhilarating. Each cast brought anticipation, and every tug on the line sent a rush of adrenaline. With the sun shining and the gentle hum of the electric motor, we felt at peace on the water.
As we shared laughs and stories while waiting for the next bite, our bond grew stronger. This simple day on the lake became a cherished memory. We left with a cooler full of fish and a deeper appreciation for the outdoors and each other.
Fishing that narrow, cold lake opened a door to countless adventures ahead, reminding us of the beauty of nature and the joy of spending time together.
Livermore - At an unusually packed Board of Directors hearing the night of Wednesday, March 16, Alameda County Water District Zone 7, a State Water Project contractor, rejected a request to vote in support of Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels project, according to a Restore the Delta news release.
Board members noted the lack of key information including environmental impacts, costs, and the willingness of agricultural contractors to pay their share, Restore the Delta said.
Joan Buchanan, President of Restore the Delta said, “I appreciate the board’s willingness to listen and delay its decision until all the impacts and costs are known. It was the prudent and responsible action for the residents and ratepayers they represent.”
Speaker after speaker in the packed Board room expressed concerns about the irreparable environmental damage additional freshwater diversions from the Delta would cause and the need to rush to support the Delta Tunnels prior to the release of the Environmental Impact Report and the cost impact on local water users. Many also questioned why Zone 7 should state its support when no other federal or state water contractor has gone on record, Restore the Delta said.
Local taxpayer groups were also there in support of the letter from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association delivered that day. The Association's letter outlined in precise detail the legal reasons that the Board could not pledge property taxes to help pay for the tunnels without a vote of the electorate.
Jonas Minton from the Planning and Conservation League reminded the Board members of their fiduciary duty to their ratepayers and bondholders to conduct full due diligence before acting.
After three hours of hearing, the Board voted overwhelmingly to await the final Environmental Impact Report, Record of Decision, and complete financial analysis before considering its position. Those documents are...
By Fish Sniffer Staff10/24/2015
MSJ Guide Service has been consistently finding schoolie sized fish on the Feather River.
Another great day on the Feather River. Both clients Reno and Rueben had their limits of striped bass by 9:30 am. We decided to hang out longer so the Captain could get his two fish too. If you would like to get in on this early striped bass action, get a hold of me by phone or message me through Facebook. Things are just getting started.
Over 250 anglers participated in the NorCal Trout Angler Challenge Tour event at Lake Amador, hosted by Angler’s Press and the Fish Sniffer magazine, on Saturday, March 18.
The lake was in prime shape for trout fishing, with the lake full and going over the spillway and the Mother Lode foothills surrounding the lake displaying verdant green colors resulting from the winter rains. Anglers caught big rainbows from both boat and shore while enjoying the warm and sunny weather.
Lon Garland won first place in the adult division by bagging a 5.95 lb. rainbow. He was fishing in his boat with Ryan Baird and Matt Tomchick, all from Loomis.
"We only landed 3 fish while trolling Rapalas at 25 feet deep," said Garland. "It was the first time that I’ve ever fished Lake Amador. In addition to the three fish we boated, we also lost another trout.
"We thought we were going to get skunked until we hooked our first fish, the big one, after several hours of fishing," he noted.
Adam Papini, a shore angler, won second place with a 5.84 lb. fish that he hooked around 1:30 pm. "I hooked the fish while fishing off the spillway a few minutes ago," he excitedly told me as he brought the still-wriggling trout to the certified scale for Vince Harris of Angler’s Press to weigh.
The third through tenth place winners were (3) Mike Hart, 5.42; (4) Tom Wolfenburger, 4.82; (5) Mark Sepelyak, 4.58; (6) James Townley 4.57; (7) Jesse Trejo Sr., 4.43; (8) David Tabuchi, 4.23; (9) Brandon Wu, 4.19; and (10) Paul Costa, 4.06.
The participants weighed 94 fish in the adult division, with the smallest fish weighing .81 pounds. To qualify for the top 50 adult winners, you had to catch a 1.72 lb. rainbow.
Just a year after the massive Refugio Oil Spill fouled the pristine waters off the Santa Barbara Coast, a leak in an oil pipeline in Hall Canyon in Ventura County was reported at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 23. As many as 700 barrels of crude oil — 29,400 gallons — have been spilled.
The company responsible for the Ventura oil spill, Crimson Pipeline, has a decade-long history of oil spills in California. Spills like this one are becoming increasingly common in a state where Big Oil has captured the regulatory apparatus — and the oil industry is the most powerful corporate lobby.
Fortunately, Ventura County Firefighters halted the oil from flowing towards the ocean, according to Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Mike Lindbery.
“The forward oil flow progress has been stopped,” said Lindbery. “There is no environmental threat to ocean and no evacuations in the area.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response confirmed that no oiled wildlife have been observed or reported — and no oil has reached the ocean or other water from the pipeline spill.
The agency said the oil from the spill has been isolated in Hall Canyon. “There is no oil in the storm drain. Vacuum trucks are collecting the oil,” the CDFW stated.
A multi-agency response has been established to manage cleanup operations in the area impacted by the spill, according to the CDFW in a follow-up statement on June 24. Cleanup crews, including 98 responders and five vacuum trucks, remain on-scene containing and recovering the oil. Air monitoring is being continually conducted to assure safety of responders and residents in the area.
The cause of the spill is currently under investigation. “The unified command response will be independent of that investigation and includes representatives from the...
The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, bankrolled by agribusiness tycoon Stewart Resnick, submitted a new petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to raise the bag limit and reduce the size limit on striped bass in an attempt to reduce their population. They have also included black bass as a so-called “predator” in their petition.
The Coalition is supported by various agribusiness, water agency, and corporate interests, including the California Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Joaquin Tributaries Authority, Southern California Water Committee, State Water Contractors, Western Growers Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, Northern California Water Association, and Kern County Water Agency.
When these water contractors last tried to reduce striped bass through lower size limits and higher bag limits, anglers successfully defeated their proposal with strong attendance at a Fish and Game Commission meeting in February 2012. This effort was supported by Fish Sniffer Editor Cal Kellogg and others who organized over 450 anglers for a meeting in Rio Vista in November 2011.
A spokesperson for the Coalition, Michael Boccadoro, stated that the purpose of the petition is to help preserve Sacramento River Chinook salmon and Delta smelt.
"California families, businesses and farms have sacrificed during this drought to provide water to help preserve salmon and smelt," Boccadoro said. "Modifying size and bag limits for striped bass is an important step to better protect and begin restoring these endangered species. More needs to be done to halt the continuing declines."
The proposed changes would increase the bag limits and decrease the size limits for black bass and striped bass in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and rivers tributary to the Delta.
The black bass size limit would decrease from 12 inches to 8 inches, and the daily bag limit would increase from 5 fish...
Trout fishing continues to be the top story at New Melones with the opportunity for a large rainbow in the 3- to 5-pound range. There are signs that the deep trolling action is starting to slow down, and the bait and rainbows appear to be moving higher in the water column after the past two weekends of rain and runoff. The cold 55-degree water remains at 100 feet in depth, but trollers have to be very cautious when working in deep water in the main river channel upriver from the Glory Hole Marina and the Highway 49 Bridge due to submerged trees grabbing gear.
John Liechty of Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp said that the recent rainfall, shorter days, and cooler weather have brought the lake temperature down to the low 60s, and generally the lake will start to turnover once the surface temperature reaches 56 degrees. He expects this to happen during the middle of November depending on weather conditions. Trolling anglers have been catching some large 3 to 5-pound rainbow trout while trolling over deep water, and as the surface temperature cools, these fish will move up in the water column.
Michael Nelson and Rod Smith caught a very hefty five fish limit. Their largest weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces, and all five fish combined weight exceeded 15 pounds. Mario Lopez landed a 4-pound, 5-ounce rainbow trout while trolling a shad patterned Apex in 105 feet of water.
Gary Burns of Take It to The Limit Guide Service said that the rainbows are still deep from 98 to 110 feet, but very soon they should start working their way up to the surface as the weather cools. His best action has been in the main lake from the dam to the spillway at 2.4 mph with Cop-Car...
Trout are offering the top action at Los Vaqueros. Mt Lassen has made two plants of 1200 pounds of rainbow trout so far in 2017, boosting the trout fishing success.
“In addition to trout, we are still seeing stripers and catfish being caught,” said Brian Demmunik of the Los Vaqueros Marina.
Los Vaqueros Road, which runs from the South Entrance gate near Livermore to the Marina, was closed for three days, but is now open.
The reservoir is currently storing 128,500 acre-feet of water, 80 percent of capacity. Pumping resumed on Friday and will continue through the month. The water temperature remains 58 to 59 degrees. Water clarity is now fair.
“Fishing for trout continues to be good,” said Demmunik. “They are being caught in South Cove and Oak Point as well as Peninsula Cove. The baits of choice for shore anglers are garlic-scented Powerbaits, nightcrawlers and Kastmaster lures.”
“With boats, we are hearing reports of fish being caught in Cowboy and Peninsula Coves. A 5.52 pound trout was caught in Howden Cove on a Rapala. Fish are still coming out of South Cove and from past the Rock Wall,” he noted.
“Shakers are the main action with striped bass. We are still seeing many undersized fish being caught for every keeper. From shore, cut anchovies or shad are the baits of choice,” he noted.
“Catfish are hit or miss with fish being reported out of Cowboy and South Coves. For those wishing to target catfish, nightcrawlers and chicken liver are the top baits,” he added.
Chabot
Lake Chabot is filling back up, said Stan Wong of the Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters. “The rain this past couple of days has muddied up the lake quite a bit. With a few nice days, it should clear right back up....
Three hundred people from throughout the Monterey Bay area and beyond participated in the 13th Annual Sand Crab Classic Surf Perch Derby, a benefit for the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project, on Saturday, March 11.
The derby featured both the biggest perch ever taken during the event and the biggest fish of any kind, a striped bass, during the tournament.
"We hold this event every year on the second Saturday in March," said Mike Baxter of the Let’s Go Fishing Radio, the co-organizer of the event with Allen Bushnell, also from the Let’s Go Fishing Radio. "The fishing was overall good during this classic. The weather was also sunny and calm with a high tide in the morning."
Whereas people have come all of the way from as far north as Crescent City and as far south as Ventura to fish the event, Taylorsville, California was the furthest anybody came this time.
Jeremy Peck won the GrandMaster prize with his 3.4 lb. barred perch measuring 16 inches long while fishing shrimp "between Santa Cruz and Monterey." That was the largest perch of any kind taken in the event.
He reported very good fishing during the classic, catching 10 other barred perch - his limit - off the beach as well.
Ron Martin landed this year’s "Most Exotic Catch," a 17.2 lb. striped bass, the biggest fish of any kind ever weighed in during the event’s history. Martin is a longtime Sand Crab Classic supporter.
He was fishing for perch off of Manresa Beach with a #4 hook and a plastic grub on 10 lb. test line when he hooked the striper. It took him a good 10 to 15 minutes to get the beast to the sand.
That wasn’t the only striped bass weighed in for the "most exotic"...
The deal made between the Jerry Brown and Donald Trump administrations to fast-track the construction of the Governor’s Delta Tunnels project is becoming more apparent every day.
On July 28, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, under the helm of Director Chuck Bonham, issued an incidental take permit for the construction and operation of California WaterFix in compliance with Section 2081(b) of the California Endangered Species Act.
The mission of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public.
However, in an apparent violation of its mission, the permit allows the project to kill state-listed species, including Sacramento River spring and winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, and other fish species, during the construction and operation of the two massive 35 mile long tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Issuance of this permit represents another significant milestone in the WaterFix planning process, according to the announcement on the California WaterFix website. As described in the permit application, WaterFix will implement measures for construction and operation of the project to fully mitigate the impacts of any incidental take of state-listed species, and will provide additional protection through real-time operation of the facilities in a manner that avoids and minimizes incidental take.
Representatives of fishing, conservation, and environmental justice groups were reviewing the over-200 page document at this time.
A number of the staff and attorneys of various organizations are examining the documents for the possibility of litigation, said Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
A number of issues with the incidental take permit and related documents are apparent after a quick look at...
Stockton, CA -- Delta tunnels opposition researchers have discovered a draft analysis dated September 15, 2017 of CA WaterFix costs completed by the Kern County Water Agency posted at the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District.
This recent Kern County analysis provides a comprehensive review of how expensive the Delta tunnels project would be for Kern County farmers, and elucidates more realistic cost numbers for State Water Project Contractors than those touted by Metropolitan Water District.
Researchers found that:
Total WaterFix costs are estimated at $32.1 billion to $41.4 billion over 50 years; however, Kern County Water Agency only looked at interest rates of 3.55% or 3.88%. Higher interest rates would result in significantly higher total costs. These costs do not include potential cost overruns.
Computations in 2033 dollars show that dividing the maximum capital costs by the average water supply yield results in an estimated cost range of $888 per acre-foot of water to $1427 per acre-foot of water for Kern County Water Agency water users. Using 2017 dollars, the price is discounted to $553 to $889 per acre-foot.
Kern's total costs range from $4.9 billion to $7 billion, and annual costs range from $153.9 million to $247.5 million.
Restore the Delta executive director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla noted, "Water this costly would cut deeply into profit margins for smaller farms within the Kern County Water Agency service area, and even the profits of big industrial farms like Stewart Resnick's Paramount Farms. It is feasible that the real end-goal is for urban ratepayers within the Kern service area and Metropolitan Water District to subsidize the project, or that Kern County Water Agency could resell a portion of water back to Metropolitan Water District to make enough revenue to cover bond repayment."
Prior to Westlands Water District's withdrawal from California...
State Auditor Reveals DWR Broke the Law in Delta Tunnels Planning
The recent audit by the California State Auditor has uncovered significant legal violations by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) during the planning phase of the controversial Delta Tunnels project. The findings indicate that DWR failed to comply with various state laws intended to protect water resources and public interest.
Key points from the audit include:
DWR did not fully consider the environmental impacts of the Delta Tunnels project, which is intended to increase water supply reliability.
The agency neglected to engage in necessary public consultations, limiting transparency and stakeholder involvement.
Budget overruns and mismanagement were reported, raising concerns about the effective use of taxpayer funds.
The Delta Tunnels project, aiming to re-engineer the water conveyance system in California, has faced criticism from environmental groups and local communities. The revelations from the audit have prompted calls for increased oversight and accountability regarding large-scale infrastructure projects affecting California's water supply.
Moving forward, it remains crucial for DWR to address these findings and ensure compliance with existing laws to maintain public trust and safeguard California's natural resources.
Showing the enormous power of the oil industry in California despite the state’s green image, every bill except one opposed by the powerful oil industry has failed to make it out of the state legislature this year and during the 2015-2016 session.
The latest victim of intense lobbying by Big Oil is Senate Bill 188, a bill authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to prohibit new pipelines or other infrastructure needed to support new federal oil and gas development.
Senator Jackson introduced SB 188 in response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order opening the door to expanded offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters off the California coast.
The oil industry killed that bill, Senator Jackson told the Sacramento Bee on September 1. They are far too powerful.
The defeat of the bill is a big victory in Sacramento for the oil industry and the Trump administration. The Western States Petroleum Association, the California Independent Petroleum Association, the California Chamber of Commerce and California Manufacturers & Technology Association spent big money lobbying to defeat the legislation, as well as pass the oil industry's wish list cap-and-trade bill, AB 398.
A long list of environmental, consumer, fishing and indigenous groups supported the legislation, including the California Coastkeeper Alliance, Environmental Defense Center, Defenders of Wildlife, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Seventh Generation Advisors, Sierra Club California, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation.
The Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, held the bill in suspension during their hearing on Friday, September 1. Gonzalez Fletcher’s Office declined to comment on the bill in response to a phone call and email.
Before the bill died in Appropriations, the bill passed through the Assembly Natural Resources Committee by a vote of...
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Interior said its position had not changed.
"While the Department of the Interior shares the goals of the state of California to deliver water with more certainty, eliminating risks to the California water supply, and improving the environment, at this time, the Department under the current state proposal does not expect to participate in the construction or funding of the CA WaterFix. The Department and Reclamation will continue to work with the state and stakeholders as the project is further developed," the department said.
place as drastically as they do underwater. Water can filter certain wavelengths of light, affecting how colors appear. For instance, red light tends to diminish quickly in deeper water, while blues and greens penetrate more effectively.
This means that the visibility of a lure's color can change depending on water clarity and depth. In clear water, lighter colors may stand out better, while in murky conditions, brighter or more fluorescent colors could make a bigger impact.
Additionally, fish may also associate certain colors with specific prey. Over time, if they have experienced positive encounters with a given color, they may be more likely to bite lures of that color.
Ultimately, the best approach is to experiment with different colors and pay attention to what works during different conditions. The effectiveness of a color can also depend on the location and time of year, making adaptability key for anglers seeking success on the water.
While there may not be one definitive answer regarding the importance of lure color, understanding the underwater environment and being willing to try different approaches can significantly enhance fishing success.
Here in the Northern California foothills fall is in the air. We’ve had a bit of rain, nighttime temperatures are dipping and if you look at the ridges the leaves on the hardwoods have gone from green to brown and soon they’ll be bright yellow.
On the trout fishing front, it won’t be long before handsome holdover rainbows and reclusive browns that spent the summer feeding in deep water migrate back into shallow water making themselves ideal targets for both topline trollers and bank anglers.
I really enjoy targeting trout during the fall. The fish are typically ready strikers and the fishing pressure at most destinations is light. Over the years I’ve compiled a short list of go to trout techniques that typically produce solid results during the fall and early winter. Let’s take a closer look…
Sep’s Strike Master Dodger Teamed With A Worm Or Fly
Sep’s Strike Master dodgers fill an important spot in my trout trolling arsenal. They are the dodger I reach for when I want some attraction, but don’t want all the vibration and flash created by a standard size herring dodger.
Sep’s Strike Masters are oval shaped and measure 2.5 by 3 inches. They work well when trolled from 1 to 1.5 miles per hour. When I’m fishing in higher elevation lakes during the fall the trout are typically pretty aggressive, but they can be spooky at times so I like the subtle action Strike Masters offer.
Typically when fishing a lake like Caples or French Meadows, I’ll run a threaded mini-crawler about 12 to 14 inches behind either a brass/chrome or watermelon colored Strike Master. High elevation trout earn their living gobbling up aquatic insects and they seem to have a real sweet tooth for worms.
Rancho Cordova The salmon ladder at Nimbus Hatchery in Rancho Cordova opened Monday, Nov. 2, signaling the start of the spawning season on the American River.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) hatchery workers opened the gates in the ladder at 9:30 a.m. and may take more than a half-million eggs during the first week alone in an effort to ensure the successful spawning of the returning fall-run Chinook salmon.
California is entering what may be a fifth year of unprecedented drought. Because of current river conditions, salmon are returning later in the year than typical. Overall, the fall-run Chinook salmon return numbers are lower than normal. CDFW seeks to match historic hatchery production goals this year, but that may not be possible given the conditions.
Drought conditions may affect the number of salmon returning to the river to spawn, but hatchery workers will continue to collect eggs throughout the fall with a goal of producing four million salmon fry, said CDFW Program Manager Dr. Bill Cox. We are working closely with other federal and state agencies to release cold water into the river system to give salmon the best chance to get up river to the hatchery.
The three major state-run hatcheries in the Central Valley – the Nimbus Hatchery in Sacramento County, and hatcheries on the Feather River in Butte County and the Mokelumne River in San Joaquin County – will take approximately 24 million eggs over the next two months in order to produce Chinook salmon for release next spring.
Once the young salmon reach 2 to 4 inches in length, one-quarter of the stock will be marked and implanted with coded wire tags prior to release. CDFW biologists use the information from the tags to chart the salmon’s survival, catch and return rates.
Not much has changed at Lake Berryessa over the past couple of weeks – the bass bite continues to rage and the trout and salmon fishing remains slow.
“For the better fish, we’re working drop shot rigs and Blade Runner spoons from 30 to 50 feet deep,” said Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s Bass Fishing Experience. “The fish are feeding heavily on the threadfin shad now.”
On his latest guided fishing adventure, Paganelli and his client caught and released 15 bass. “Our largest fish included a largemouth pushing 5 pounds, a 3-1/2 lb. smallmouth and a spotted bass going about 4 pounds,” said Paganelli.
They concentrated on the main body north and south of Big Island. “The surface temperature is still in the high sixties and we need cooler days and nights to cool the temperature down for us to see more variety, including rainbow trout and crappie, in the catches,” he noted.
When the lake finally turns over, bank anglers can expect to nail rainbow trout and king salmon while tossing out minnows and nightcrawlers under bobbers in the lake’s coves.
Stockton Water hyacinth remains the story in the San Joaquin as the floating green menace continues to plague area boaters. Extensive mats of hyacinth have forced the closure of the City of Stockton’s launch ramps at Buckley Cove and Louis Park, leaving only Morelli Park as the only viable launch in the area.
Alex Breitler of the Stockton Record said, “The alien weed stretches from bank-to-bank across Buckley Cove near the west end of March Lane, and has engulfed all of the docks there. Two neighboring marinas are socked in as well.”
Freezing temperatures are needed to kill the hyacinth, and so far into November, the temperatures have remained very warm, allowing the hyacinth to grow.
The recent winds have cleared some of the bank areas in the southern part of the Delta, and Brandon Gallegos of H and R Bait said, “The Whiskey Slough Road side of the slough was cleared out by the wind which pushed the hyacinth up on the opposite bank, and stripers in the 21 to 24-inch range have been landed with live mudsuckers or fresh shad. In the main San Joaquin River, stripers in the 17 to 23-inch range are taken on the same baits in the clearer areas.”
“The Tracy Oasis is a good location for redear sunfish or largemouth bass, but striper fishermen need to drift live mudsuckers due to the hyacinth,” he tipped.
Further west, Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “We have been catching and releasing up to 70 stripers throwing the ima Big Stick or Little Stick for topwater while working below the surface with the Optima Double AA Bubba Shad or 2-oz. P-Line Laser Minnows in chartreuse/silver or blue silver.”
Their larger fish have come in the shallows with swimbaits, but the schools are thick in the San...
The first fall trophy trout plant, weighing a total of 1,800 lbs, arrived at Collins Lake on October 23. The load included 25% trophy sized trout and 75% catchable ones, reported Kathy Hess of Collins Lake Resort.
"Our lake level is low but now stabilized," said Hess. "The water will no longer be released. All we need is rain to start filling us up again; all of the long term forecasts say we should expect a wet winter."
A 5 lb. 8 oz. bass was caught by Stetson Stokes of Chico. Stetson was trolling a Rapala type lure on the east side just south of the islands.
Noah LaPointe of Auburn was shore fishing near the dam with PowerBait when he hooked a 6 lb. 12 oz. catfish.
"Prohbat Palma had a great couple of fishing days, bringing home a limit of bass on the first day," said Hess. "He fished from a boat near the islands and the biggest one on his stringer was close to three pounds. The next day he caught one bass and one catfish on PowerBait."
"Come on out this weekend and enjoy the great weather and great trout fishing. Don’t forget to stop in at the store and have your photo taken or, better yet, take one on your phone and send it to kathy@collinslake.com so I can use it my next report," she added.
If you want to fish in solitude, you can definitely find it now at Folsom Lake. The lake is at its lowest level in history, holding only 151,089 acre feet of water, 15 percent of capacity. The lake level is 353.67 feet in elevation, 112.33 feet below.
While few anglers have been fishing the lake, shore fishermen willing to do some hiking should find improving rainbow trout and king salmon action off the shore at Granite Bay and Browns Ravine as the water cools down and the lake turns over. Fish PowerBait and inflated nightcrawlers on sliding sinker rigs or minnows and worms under bobbers.
The guys who reported catching black bass while trolling with crankbaits a couple of weeks ago aren’t talking now. They were hooking a lot of fish, mostly spotted and smallmouth bass to 4 pounds, while fishing at 10 to 15 feet deep with Strike King and Timber Tiger medium diving crankbaits and similar lures.
While all concrete ramps on Folsom Lake are currently closed due to the low lake level, the two anglers were carefully launching their boats from shore. The lake must be above elevation 369' before the Granite Bay ramp will return to operation.
Pittsburg While sturgeon anglers had been marking sturgeon in the West Delta throughout the fall, the fish just recently started hitting in a major way. As of press time outstanding sturgeon fishing is now raging in the Pittsburg area.
The sturgeon fishing has gotten really good recently, related Captain David Hammond of Delta Pro Fishing. We’ve had keeper sturgeon on our last three trips along with lots of shaker action. Roe has been the hot bait in the Pittsburg area. While targeting sturgeon this past week we also picked up a 21 pound striper.
Speaking of bass fishing, the striper bite remains a little inconsistent. Some days we troll up limits and other days we struggle a bit and end up with near limits. I think the striper action is really going to get exciting once the water temperature drops a bit more, added Hammond.
Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sportfishing has also been enjoying very good sturgeon fishing in Suisun Bay. On his most recent trip his clients got a keeper sturgeon and a pair of oversize fish. The oversize fish hit at the same time. They had several other bites on the trip, but no other fish were hooked. The day before Steve’s anglers got a pair of keepers, 4 shakers and a keeper striper.
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.