Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 41, Issue 07 | Page 13

VOL . 41 • ISS . 7 May 13 , 2022
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FRESHWATER REPORTS :
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LAKE OROVILLE
Spillway Stage 2 Ramp Now Open As Bass Fishing Sizzles
OROVILLE – The Spillway Boat ramp has reopened . Boaters are currently using the Stage 2 ramp with lots of available parking . Access is now made through the spillway bypass road starting from the Dam Crest parking lot . Access is open 24 hours for the boat ramp . The Bidwell Canyon , Loafer Creek and Limesaddle ramps remain open to boat launching . The Foreman Creek and Stringtown car top ramps are also open , For information about current launching conditions , call the Lake Oroville Visitor Center at ( 530 ) 538-2200 . Black bass fishing continues to be excellent at Lake Oroville , with experienced anglers hooking and releasing big numbers of spotted bass . “ On Sunday , my fishing buddy and I caught and released about 70 fish , including a few over 2 pounds , up in the Middle Fork ,” said Jamey Sorensen at North Valley Tackle and Pro Shop . “ We dragged a variety of plastics from the bank to 30 feet
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Jack Naves with a 4 pound brown caught 80 feet deep rolling shad in the Dry Fork area of Lake Shasta . photo by Jack Naves , Fish Sniffer staff deep . I caught several spotted bass over 2 pounds on a Senko .” “ The evening bite for bass up Limesadde was off the hook ,” confirmed Tom Hoy on the Lake Oroville Fishing Reports Facebook Page after his latest trip on Oroville . “ I lost count at 27 fish . The topwater bite exploded about 6:30 p . m . I caught 9 fish on maybe 16 casts , with five or 6 missed strikes . I swapped back to Keitechs and they were hitting ‘ em on the fall . It was crazy fun .” Fishing remains very slow for trollers on Lake Oroville , with only an occasional king salmon or wild rainbow trout being caught . Lake Oroville is holding 1,935,866 acer feet of water , 55 percent of capacity and 70 percent of average .
- Dan Bacher
PARDEE LAKE
Rainbow and Lightning Trout Plants Boost Catches
IONE – Plants of rainbow and lightning trout continue to keep bank anglers and boat fishermen busy at Pardee Lake , while the kokanee fishing remains spotty . The reservoir is now 96 percent of capacity . Mt . Lassen planted 1000 pounds of rainbow trout and 1000 pounds of lightning trout on April 29 . They planted another 1000 pounds of rainbow trout in the lake on May 6 . “ The trout fishing is picking up ,” reported Dave Keyser of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company . “ Boaters are hooking the trout from mouth of the river to twin coves while trolling Needlefish and Speedy Shiners . Bank anglers are catching trout up to 5 pounds while using green garlic PowerBait off Rainbow Point and Treasure Island .” Kokanee fishing is tough , with the fish averaging only 8 to 10 inches long . “ If you find them , some of the fish might bite ,” said Keyser . “ The fish are hitting hoochies , Apex lures and J-pexes , behind flashers at mouth of the river up to twin coves . Most are in the top 20 feet of water .” Kenny McDonald and his wife , Tina , of Manteca won first place in the adult division of the recent
Kokanee Power tournament at Pardee with a three-fish limit weighing a total of 1.19 pounds . The Kevin Smith Team , including Kevin Smith , Karla Smith , Rachel Smith and Rick Larson , placed second with three fish weighing a total of 1.17 pounds . Bass fishing is good for boaters . “ Very few big fish have been reported ,” Keyser said . While largemouth and smallmouth bass are both showing , smallmouths are predominating in the catches . One customer reported catching his bass on drop shot rigs . The water temperature has ranged from 65.6 degrees to 67 degrees . The Pardee Marina is now open with a full fleet of rental Pontoons , 14 ft . and 16 ft . fishing boats , kayaks , canoes , and pedal boats . Information : ( 209 ) 772-1474 . Cafe Pardee will be open Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 2 pm . Information : ( 209 ) 772-1475 .
- Dan Bacher
RIO VISTA
Sturgeon , Stripers Are Both Biting
RIO VISTA - Zack Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures reported excellent catch and release fishing for white sturgeon in the West Delta . Most of the fish are oversized ; not as many legal-sized “ slot ” fish are showing in the catches . “ A group of linemen from Missouri hammered the sturgeon on a recent trip ,” said Medinas . “ They were rewarded with 11 sturgeon , including 8 oversize , 2 slot fish and 1 undersize . We fished in the Middle Ground area off Pittsburg with salmon roe in 38 feet of water .” “ Spring is the best time to catch giant sturgeon as they make their way into their spawning grounds ,” added Medinas . Information : ( 925 ) 497-7171 . On another successful trip on the Delta , Medinas noted that “ four generations of fishermen ” hooked into sturgeon . “ It was really cool how the day turned out . The fish we caught were all size appropriate for the anglers who caught them . There is some incredible sturgeon fishing to be had right now in the warm water and warm weather . Medinas said will be sturgeon fishing for a few more weeks before he moves to Fisherman ’ s Wharf in San Francisco to begin San Francisco Bay potluck halibut / striped bass and ocean king salmon / rockcod trips .. Striper fishing is also very good in the Delta . Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo Sportfishing reported topnotch fishing while drifting live bait on the Delta on both the San Joaquin River and Sacramento on his most recent trip . “ We had a catch and release trip today , but we kept a few that were hooked deep . We experienced tons of action , and the guys called quits before 11am !. We might just see them back before we wrap up the season at the end of the month .” Information : ( 925 ) 899-4045 . Ron Retzlaff and three other anglers caught 50 stripers , keeping their limits of keepers and releasing the rest , on a trip to the West Bank of the Sacramento River , reported Craig Newton of Willfish Tackle in Auburn . They trolled with deeprunning Yo-Zuri lures for their fish . Information ( 530 ) 887-0839 .
- Dan Bacher
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR
Kokanee Salmon Top Spring Angling Parade
TRUCKEE – The kokanee salmon bite has begun on Stampede Reservoir , according to Richie Hight at Paulina Peak Tackle . “ We had a great morning on Stampede ,” reported Hight after his first trip on the lake this season . “ I fished with Gary Durbin and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the kokanee fishery . The average fish was 13-1 / 2 ” and the largest was 14 ”. It ’ s great to see the quality improved over the last couple years ” “ The fish are in the top 20 ’ and scattered throughout the lake . We targeted wherever we saw kokanee jumping and the bite was very good . Orange was the color today , along with Wonderbread ,” Hight observed . James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service reported that he will start his kokanee guiding season at Stampede on June 1 .
SHASTA LAKE
Rainbows , Kokanee , Browns and Kings Are In The Mix
Shasta Lake - Shasta lake is sitting at 125 ’ to crest and right about 55 ° surface temperature in the morning . The lake is really doing well and lots of fish are being caught from surface to 100 ’. Some days the fish are very active all day and sometimes just in the morning or early afternoon . We are getting multiple limits of rainbows along with several juvenile browns . We ’ re going with spoons , small flies and bait heads . We ’ re also picking up a few Kokanee in the 14-15 ” but
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