Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3815 July 5-19 2019 | Page 6

4 FRESHWATER July 5 - 19, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 15 FRESHWATER REPORTS ALMANOR Trout Fishing Red Hot! CHESTER - “It has been all about the big rainbows here at Lake Almanor with a few browns and salmon on the menu as well,” reported Captain Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service. “These brutes are cruising the waters of the lake and taking full advantage of Almanor’s “food factory”, the aquatic insects.” “Hatches are taking place at various locations around the lake including the east and west shores as well as up north, and tend to draw in actively feeding fish. Because the bugs come from the bottom of the lake and rise to the surface, fish can be found at all depths looking to feed,” said Roccucci. “In recent trips, we have been catching fish at a variety of locations from the surface to the bottom and just about every level in between. These fish have a special kind of attitude as they gorge themselves on the available hatches. Big runs, spectacular jumps, big bends in the light tackle rods. This is some exciting spring fishing,” Roccucci exclaimed. “The lake is full and continues to see a good amount of cool fresh water rolling down the tributaries. Look for the solid fishing to continue as we move into summer with even more big hatches fueling these beautiful fish,” Roccucci advised. and mini-crawlers for the bluegill. The lake is only four feet from full and the boat launching facilities are in full operation. - Dan Bacher AMERICAN RIVER Shad, Stripers Are Hitting SACRAMENTO – The Bureau of Reclamation has reduced water flows on the American River to 6,000 cfs, for the purpose of “storage management,” said Reclamation spokesperson Peggy Manza. This has created better conditions for pursuing American shad and striped bass this summer. “My brother has been catching and releasing a lot of shad in the mornings while fly fishing with an array of shad flies on the American in the Sunrise area,” said Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse. “Spin fishermen are using chartreuse and champagne plastic grubs with 1/16 oz. to 1/32 oz. jig heads for success also.” He recommended using the 1/32 oz. heads with split shot and the 1/16 ox. Jig heads under bobbers. “A few anglers are picking up stripers while throwing top water lures in the morning and evening hours,” said Fong. “Most of the fish are in the 18 to 22 range. The big stripers are feeding on the shad at this time.” - Dan Bacher AMADOR LAKE Channel Cats on Summer Prowl IONE – Channel catfish offer anglers the best chance of connecting with fish at Lake Amador as the water temperatures rise in the hot summer weather. One angler brought in two 10 lb. catfish after bait fishing at the lake, according to the Lake Amador Resort. Richard Stein of Roseville landed an 8.16 lb. channel catfish while fishing a nightcrawler by the dam in the middle of the day. Anglers are tossing out chicken livers, anchovies and mackerel for the cats in the coves throughout the reservoir. If you want bass, your best bet is to fish early and late in the day with top water lures. During the day, anglers should employ nightcrawlers, Senkos and jigs in the in the Jackson Creek and Mountain Springs arms of the lake for the largemouths. Shore anglers and boaters are can hook bluegill and crappie around docks, brush and other structure. Use minnows and Mini Jigs for the crappie and redworms BERRYESSA LAKE Trollers Lay Into Big Kokes, Rainbows WINTERS – Kokanee fishing has shifted into high gear at Lake Berryessa, where anglers are catching fat kokanee while using an array of offerings. “We’ve been just killing the kokanee at Berryessa,” reported Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse. “On one trip, three of us caught over 40 fish before 11 a.m. and ended up with our limits of fish in the 13 to 15 inch range and two 16 inchers.” “On the next trip, the fishing was slow until 11:30 a.m. We landed bigger fish, though. The three of us kept 15 kokanee, including 6 fish over 16 inches. The top fish measured 17-1/2 inches long. The fish hit orange and chartreuse spinners behind Brad’s dodgers at 38 to 45 feet deep.” He added, “The fish are scattered throughout the water column and the main body of the lake. They’re not schooled up.” Les Fernandes of Fish On Charters also reported great With Pro Bass Fisherman fishing on his latest trolling adventure on Berryessa. “We Learn Progressive Techniques for Bass landed 10 kokanee On The Delta, Clear Lake & Berryessa and 3 trout. We ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME trolled with Mack’s www.jcbassfishing.com JC BASS FISHING GUIDE SERVICE Jason Cordiale [phone] [email protected] 3811 Sling Blades with pink Wiggle Hoochies, Kok-A- Nuts and double whammy Kokanee Pros at 30-40 feet deep.” “Black bass fishing is really good at Berryessa,” stated Fong. “The fish are hitting top water lures.” A mixture of spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass are available at the reservoir. BULLARDS BAR/ ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS Kokanee Limits The Rule at Bullards DOBBINS – If you want to catch a 10 fish limit of kokanee salmon, Bullards Bar Reservoir remains the number one prospect in California. “Fishing for the kokanee is still decent,” said Craig Newton at Willfish Bait and Tackle. “The kokanee are showing all of the way from the dam to Garden Point and up Willow Creek. There are a lot of 10 to 11 inch fish, with some fish in the 12 inch class showing also. The bigger fish are available at 45 to 65 feet deep.” Boaters are using pink and orange hoochies, tipped with white corn, behind dodgers., for the kokanee. Anglers can also hook some wild rainbows while trolling nightcrawlers behind dodgers in the river and creek mouths. Rainbow trout are also on tap at Englebright Reservoir. “One customer reported catching two rainbows measuring 15 and 18 inches while trolling nightcrawlers behind flashers across the lake from the houseboats,” said Newton. Bullards Bar is holding 953,432 acre feet of water, 99 percent of capacity and 114 percent of average. Engelbright Reservoir is holding 71,012 acre feet of water, 101 percent of capacity and 106 percent of average. - Dan Bacher CAMANCHE LAKE The Bass Bite Is On BURSON – Boaters are experiencing top-notch black bass fishing on Lake •Cabins •Campground •Restaurant & Bar •Fishing Boat Rentals Call for Information and Reservations 3614 www.fishbarebones.com 3807 [phone] 40800 Highway 88, Pioneer, CA 95666 www.bearrivercampground.com Trout Planted Seasonally! • Cafe • RV Park • Waterslide • Campground • Disc Golf • General Store Cafe Open Seasonally On Friday, Saturday & Sundays Great Fishing for Rainbows, Browns and Lake Trout! [phone] • [phone] Camanche, while trollers are hooking plenty of rainbow trout in the deep water near the dam. Roger Cummings of Prather brought in 2 bass weighing 3.13 and 4.2 lbs. during a recent trip. He said he was fishing by the dam but didn’t report any baits, according to Terry at the Camanche Recreation Company. Camanche employee, Sarah, reported lots of action during a recent trip on the lake with her fishing partner. “Both of us used a drop shot rigs with Bass Pro Shop Tournament Series worms,” she stated. “We fished multiple areas along the shoreline that we thought might be good ‘sabotage spots.’” “I personally caught 15 smallmouth bass, 4 of which were legal size. The biggest was 16”. Jason caught about 9 smallmouth bass and 1 spotted bass. Only one of his smallmouth was legal size 14” and the spotted bass was 13” We kept six in total that were legal size and they tasted great!” Robbie Dunham of Koke Machine Guide Service reported continuing solid trout fishing at Camanche while trolling near the dam. “Today I fished with Paul from the Fisherman’s Friend,” said Dunham. “He is totally a bass guy and had ever seen a downrigger in action before the trip. He met me at North Shore ramp at 5:30. We started down the river channel and worked our way to the dam, fishing open water with Speedy Shiners. We ended the day with 8 trout on the stick, with 12 grabs. We took turns bringing in these fish.” Lake Camanche was up to 87 % full and was at an elevation of 228.23 ft above sea level at the time of this report. Pardee Lake was still at 101% full and spilling over its spillway. The flow into Lake LAKE AMADOR Salmon • Striper • Trout • Kokanee • Stripers • Oroville Kings • Stampede Kokanee This young man hit the waters of Don Pedro Reservior with Captain Monte Smith on June 7 and tangled with these big ‘bows. Photo courtesy of GOLD COUNTRY SPORTFISHING, Oakdale. 209-274 -4739 7500 Lake Amador Dr., Ione, CA 95640 WWW.LAKEAMADOR.COM Continued on Pg 13