Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3810 April 26- May 10 2019 | Page 6

Apr 26 - May 10, 2019 FRESHWATER A little rain didn’t prevent this excited angler from landing a huge brown trout while trolling at Lake Almanor April 5. The fish was released after the photo. Photo courtesy of BIG DADDY’S GUIDE SERVICE, Quincy. FRESHWATER REPORTS LAKE ALMANOR LAKE AMADOR Anglers Whack Big Trout as Water Hits 44 Degrees Huge Trout Reward Anglers CHESTER - The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat…That pretty much sums up the fishing at Lake Almanor this week. When anglers found biters, the results were incredible with fish to 9 pounds showing. At other times anglers worked areas that seemed to be stacked with trout, yet got zero bites. “We’ve caught some incredible trout this week, but we’ve also been frustrated at times. We are catching fish every day. Some days our top trout is a 4 pounder. Other days our smallest fish is 4 pounds and we see browns that range up to 7,” exclaimed Captain Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service. “The gear we’ve been using varies as much as the temperament of the fish. We’ve gotten big fish on spoons, plugs, flies and soft plastics. We’ve hooked up trolling fast and we’ve hooked up trolling slow. The transition to spring has been slow up here and we are still seeing snow and stormy weather. There is a lot of snow on the bank. The water temperature is now up to 44 and that is helpful. All in all, the fishing is good now and it’s going to be great soon. There are a lot of big trout starting to wake up and there are areas holding fish that have yet to come to life,” said Roccucci. “I fished one area last week where my sonar screen constantly had multiple fish on it spread across a variety of depths. We worked them hard and ended up leaving because they wouldn’t bite. We found biters when we moved so we ended the day on a good note, but it’s that kind of inconsistency you see when the lake is transitioning from winter to spring conditions,” Roccucci concluded. LAKE AMADOR Trout Planted Seasonally! • Cafe • RV Park • Waterslide • Campground • Disc Golf • General Store Cafe Open Seasonally On Friday, Saturday & Sundays IONE – There are some huge trout swimming around in Lake Amador, thanks to the plants of hefty cuttbows, Donaldson strain-rainbows and Lightning Trout (Goldens) that continue to be stocked from Lake Amador Resort’s on-site fish hatchery. Just ask James Benke, who landed two trout weighing 12 and 8.18 pounds while bait fishing at the spillway. Or ask Ryan Wake, who caught a 10.46 lb. monster while soaking PowerBait. “The trout fishing is a little slow for the trollers,” said Elizabeth Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort. “Boaters are doing best while bait fishing up on shore. Bank anglers are doing while tossing out Power Bait, Mice Tails, Rapalas and Kastmasters the spillway, the corners of the dam, the cove past the boat ramp and at the campground.” “The bass fishing is really picking up,” said Lockhart. “The fish are on their beds now and angler are hooking largemouths while using Senkos, swimbaits and other lures.” Arturo Garcia and Max Langridge won the recent drawing of tagged fish caught during the lake’s annual trout derby. They each won $500 each. The lake is completely full and the boat ramp facilities are in full operation. - Dan Bacher AMERICAN RIVER 209-274 -4739 7500 Lake Amador Dr., Ione, CA 95640 WWW.LAKEAMADOR.COM American Shad Expected Soon SACRAMENTO – The Bureau of What Ails Your Boat? Specializing in: • Jet Boat Repair • Inboard Repair Reno, NV VOL.38 • ISS. 10 Reclamation has increased releases into the American River below Nimbus Dam to 10,000 cfs. The change was made because of forecasted Increased inflows and storage management,” said Peggy Manza of Reclamation. These higher flows are expected to draw large numbers of American shad into the river. Expect shad fishing to be in full swing by mid-May, although there are probably already schools of shad in the river. Target the shad with Teeny Rounders, darts and an array of plastic grub tails and jigheads. Expect the shad to first show at Discovery Park and the lower river below Watt Avenue first, then move upriver into the Sunrise and Sailor Bar Bas. Steelhead fishing pressure on the American has been light lately. However, drift boaters should expect to hook a few spring-run steelhead in the 2 to 8 lb. range while pulling plugs, side drifting nightcrawlers and tossing out lures throughout the river. Craig Newton of Willfish Bait and Tackle reported one bite, but no steelhead caught during a recent plug pulling adventure on the American. The hatchery trapped a total of 2912 steelhead, including 258 half pounders and 2754 adults this season, according to Gary Novak, hatchery manager, It was the second-best year run over the past decade, only exceeded by the 3409 steelhead that they counted in 2018. - Dan Bacher BERRYESSA LAKE • Pump Work • Engine Work Bass Move Up, Trout & Crappie More Elusive [phone] Email: [email protected] New Location, Same Great Service (Formerly Jetstream Concepts) 3807 NAPA - Spring temperatures are finally starting to heat up, bringing bass up shallow for prime bed fishing conditions. “Anglers are catching 2-3 pound largemouth in 4-10 feet of water,” according to Tom Dudenhoeffer of Sweeney’s Sports. “Water is off-color, so break out those darker Senkos, brush hogs, and crankbaits. And don’t stay in one place - be willing to cruise up and down those shorelines whether you’re fishing from a boat or the bank.” Larry Hemphill guided a father/son team who limited around 15 pounds, mainly drop-shotting. “The bite was great IN the narrows - certain areas,” said Hemphill. Folks are hunting and pecking for crappie right now, in the usual spots: submerged brush tops, docks, and entrances to coves. They’re starting to spawn, and there’s a good amount of baitfish available. Trout fisherman continue to find success trolling around inlets, coves, and deep points for 3-4 pounders. “It’s only going to get better, especially with temperatures on the 70s over the next two weeks,” says Dudenhoeffer. “The north end of the lake will begin to explode - it’s the start of a great fishing month!” The Capell Cove ramp is still closed due to flooding, but the water should start receding with no threat of rain over the next couple weeks. - Stacy Barawed Continued on Pg 8 Lake Almanor Now Booking Lake Almanor Eagle Lake R ainbows and Lake Davis Browns! Bucks Lake Captain Bryan Roccucci Lake Tahoe www.BigDaddyFishing.com Call for Best Dates – [phone] 4 Salmon • Striper • Trout • Kokanee • Stripers • Oroville Kings • Stampede Kokanee [phone] • [phone] www.fishbarebones.com 3807