Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3813 June 7-21 2019 | Page 7

5 June 7 - 21, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 13 Spotlight On Kayak Fishing... Sponsered by Kayak City in Citrus Heights, CA Kayak City.Com 916.565.1400 Sugar Pine Reservoir: A Top Sierra Destination For Kayakers! By Cal Kellogg It wasn’t long after I moved to Auburn, California back in 1995 that I discovered the outstanding trout and bass fishing that exists at Sugar Pine Reservoir on the Foresthill Divide and I’ve been targeting trout and bass at the lake ever since. My most recent trip to the lake took place last week. I caught over 40 trout to 16 inches during the two days I trolled the lake from my Hobie Pro Angler 14. The trout were in the top 15 feet of the water column and were snapping on Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Flatfish and Wedding Rings. If you haven’t visited Sugar Pine Reservoir it’s a great destina- tion for kayakers and bank anglers. The reservoir lies about 15 miles beyond the town of Foresthill and is sets at an elevation of 3,500 feet. The lake’s primary tributary is Shirttail Creek. Construction of the 205 foot high 689 foot long earth and rock dam began in 1979 and the project was completed in 1982. While the lake is part of the Central Valley Water Project with the purpose of providing water for irrigation, drinking and fire prevention, the facility was opened for public recreation in 1985. Sugar Pine is relatively small in size, boasting 6,921 acre feet of water and a maximum surface area of 165 acres. A foot and bike trial runs all the way around the lake. A boat ramp is located on the south shoreline. The lake has a 10 mile per hour speed limit, so angler never have to be worried about being hassled by water skiers or recreational watercraft enthusiasts. The lake has a pair of campgrounds to serve the visiting angler. The Shirttail Campground is located at the lake’s northwest end, while the Forbes Creek Campground sets on the eastern shoreline. Sugar Pine is a clear water lake with a bottom composed mainly of When the breeze came up at Sugar Pine large and small rocks. The water near and it was time to troll quickly, Cal broke the face of the dam is over 100 feet out his tried and true chrome and blue deep and this represents the lake’s Hum Dinger. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. deepest area. There are some trees in BULLARDS BAR/ ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS Boaters Bag Kokanee Salmon Limits DOBBINS – Want a 10 fish limit of scrappy kokanee salmon? Then head to Bullards Bar Reservoir. Boaters are hooking limits of kokanee while trolling hoochies and Brad’s Kokanee Cut Plugs, behind dodgers, at 10 to 60 feet deep, disclosed Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle. “The bigger fish are showing deeper,” noted Newton. “The fish are spread all over the lake – there are no tight schools at this time.” Rainbow trout are also available for anglers trolling with nightcrawlers behind dodgers or trolling with spoons and spinners up the Yuba River arm in the top 20 feet of water. Bullards Bar is holding 937,683 acre acre feet of water, 97 percent of capacity and 115 percent of average. Englebright is holding 71,820 acre feet of water, 102 percent of capacity and 106 percent of average. - Dan Bacher JC BASS FISHING GUIDE SERVICE With Pro Bass Fisherman Jason Cordiale CAMANCHE LAKE ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME Trollers Target Rainbows Near Dam Learn Progressive Techniques for Bass On The Delta, Clear Lake & Berryessa www.jcbassfishing.com [phone] [email protected] 3811 BURSON – Trout plants at Lake During the two days Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg spent fishing Sugar Pine Reservoir he caught upwards of 40 rainbow trout to about 16 inches. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. the water near the dam and stumps are a common feature throughout the lake. While much of the bottom is relatively clean, weed beds do develop is certain areas during the late spring and summer. In terms of bass, the lake has a strong smallmouth population with fish running up to 3 pounds. There is also a sleeper Florida strain largemouth popu- lation that features fish up to and beyond the 10 pound mark. Few people target these big trout eaters seriously. The lake’s western shoreline drops off quickly and there is not much in the way of points or other structural features, although there is a lot of overhanging vegetation that provides shade. Bass anglers will find the eastern shoreline much more interesting, since it provides a variety of flats, points and drop-offs. The most intriguing area is located about midway down the eastside where Forbes Creek flows into the lake. The creek channel winds well out into a big bay. The bottom leading away from the creek on the south side is fairly flat and punctuated with stumps, while the bank falling into the creek on the north side is pretty steep and studded with a handful of massive fallen pine trees. At the north end where Shirttail Creek flows in there are a series of big gravel humps and gravel flats that are certainly worth exploring. On the trout fishing front, Sugar Pine is primarily a put and take fishery that receives aggressive plants from the DFW. Fishing pressure is generally fairly light, so the planters tend to stick around for a while and some holdovers do exist. My biggest rainbow ever at the lake was 22 inches long and sported a clean square tail. When the water is cool, you’ll encounter trout all around the lake, but as things warm up they tend to hang out in the middle of the lake over the main creek channels. Camanche are finished until fall, but trout fishing is very good for anglers trolling near the dam. Robbie Dunham of the Koke Machine Guide Service has been finding rainbow trout success while trolling Speedy Shiners at depths to 40 feet from the main river channel to the triangle between Big Hat, Little Hat Island and the dam. “What an awesome fun day at Lake Camanche,” Dunham reported after his last trip. “Michael and his grandson Logan and I spent the day trolling. It didn’t take too long and Logan boated the first fish, a giant weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces. “ “Then we just kept going towards the dam and picked up 3 more. Then the ‘Kiss of Death,’ the wind, came up. So we moved around for a while, picking up a couple here and there.” “We started to head back towards the ramp and almost had a double. The fish count was: 8 on the limit stick. We had a couple come off near the boat and another 3 grabs that didn’t stick. Other fish included a 4.2 pounder and a couple of 3 pounders.,” he explained. “On a previous trip, Steve wanted to learn how to use downriggers and catch some Lassen rainbows,” noted Dunham. “After doing some chatting, we lowered our lures down. It wasn’t long and there was fish on, but we. lost it. Then we had four in the box.” “I made a circle back to where we were catching. Then it happened - the 33’ rod was crushed. I grabbed the rod and knew it had some weight to it. I slid the net under a 7 lb. brute with just awesome colors and not one copepod,” he concluded. Camanche black bass are currently in their post-spawn mode. Anglers should employ finesse techniques from 10 to 15 feet deep for the bass. Expect an improved reaction bite with the shad spawn. The lake is now holding 331,930 acre feet of water, 80 percent of capacity and 118 percent of average. Continued on Pg 14