Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3611 May 12-26, 2017 | Page 22

FRESHWATER

20 May 12-26 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 11

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

SOUTHERN OREGON ROUNDUP cont . for bank anglers to catch spring Chinook . April is when we usually see good numbers of spring Chinook entering the river .

The middle river dropped into reasonable shape last week , and winter steelhead and a few spring Chinook salmon were caught around Grants Pass . Plunking or fishing sideplaners has been effective for bank anglers , while side-drifting bait or pulling plugs has been productive for boat anglers .

The upper Rogue is high but steelhead fishing has been fair . Remember that the river is much clearer from Big Butte Creek to Cole Rivers Hatchery , providing an opportunity to fish for steelhead when the rest of the river is not fishable . Fish can be found in the softer water along the shore and around structure .

The mainstem Umpqua is closed to wild steelhead harvest but remains open yearround for adipose fin-clipped steelhead . The mainstem has been low but it looks like it will be high for the weekend . Late winter steelhead should be decent with dropping river levels , with “ plunking ” being a good strategy . Spring Chinook season is in full swing with regular reports of anglers catching fish throughout the main .

Trout fishing has been good at Garrison Lake when the weather conditions have allowed anglers to get on the lake . Both boat and bank anglers were picking up a mix of trout up to 3 pounds .

Fish Lake is now free of ice , and the boat ramp is open . Nine hundred trophy trout were released last fall , and the few anglers that have been willing to deal with the cold weather have been catching a few of these nice fish , along with the stocked Chinook salmon . Brook trout and tiger trout are also available . Anglers should concentrate their efforts in the water along the shore , which will warm more quickly on the sunny days . The reservoir is now 63 percent full .

Trout are scheduled to be stocked this week in Empire lakes , Bradley Lake , Powers Pond , Tenmile Lakes and Mingus Park Pond . Anglers are having success catching trout using small spinners or PowerBait

LAKE TAHOE

Limits Of Macks Come Quickly For Trollers

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Mackinaw fishing is very good at Lake Tahoe with most trips producing full limits . Most of the fish are keepers in the 2 to 8 pound class , but there are larger fish in the mix too .

The skippers at Tahoe Sportfishing have been putting their clients on limits of mackinaw all week long . On April 21 a client fishing with Captain Bobby went big , hooking and landing an 11.4 pound laker .

The top offering for the Tahoe Sportfishing fleet has been rigged minnows trolled behind a set of flashers .

Mickey Daniels of Mickey ’ s Big Mack Charters has been enjoying solid action at the north end of the lake . Mickey ’ s clients have been hooking mackinaw up to 7 pounds . Some fish are being kept for the table while the others are tagged and released .

Mickey hooks his fish on a variety of offerings including Shasta Tackle Kok-A-Nuts teamed with Sling Blade Dodgers .

TRINITY RIVER / LAKE

Bureau Releases Spring Flows Below Lewiston Dam

LEWISTON — Water releases from Lewiston Dam into the Trinity River increased on Saturday , April 22 , and reached approximately 11,000 cubic feet per second ( cfs ) by Wednesday , April 26 . The peak flow will continue until Friday , April 28 , according to the U . S . Bureau of Reclamation .

Releases will decrease to 2,050 cfs on May

7 and ramp up to 5,400 cfs on May 10 . The releases will start ramping down on June 4 until the summer base flow of 450 cfs is reached on August 11 .

The releases for this “ extremely wet ” 2017 water year will result in an annual total volume of 815,000 acre-feet , Reclamation stated . The releases meet “ extremely wet ” water year objectives of the ROD and efficiently promote additional geomorphic change in the river by increasing hydrologic variability .

People residing near the river or recreating on the river can expect river levels to increase and should take appropriate safety precautions . Landowners are advised to clear personal items from the floodplain prior to the releases .

The December 2000 Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Record of Decision ( ROD ) created a plan for the restoration of the Trinity River and its fish and wildlife populations . The Program ’ s restoration strategy includes four different restoration elements , two of which include increased releases to the river and sediment management .

More information on the Trinity River ROD can be found at www . trrp . net / background / rod /.

Meanwhile , black bass fishing is shifting into high gear at Trinity Lake . “ Boaters are hooking largemouths and smallmouths to 6 pounds while using Senkos , Gitzits , Flukes , swimbaits and jigs ,” said Tim Brady at Trinity Outdoors . “ The fish are showing in 5 to 20 feet of water in the submerged vegetation .”

Trollers are also nailing a few king salmon averaging 2 pounds while trolling Apex lures with Deep Six divers near the dam .

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WILD HORSE LAKE

Lake Is Going Over Spillway

ELKO — Wild Horse Reservoir is not only ice free , but it is spilling , according to Joe Doucette of the Nevada Department of Wildlife .

“ You can launch a boat and the boat dock is in the water ,” said Doucette . “ For the first time in a few years , the boat ramp is under water and ready for use .

“ Fishing has been slow to fair for trout as the water temperature is still in the mid forties ,” said Doucette . “ Expect bass fishing to be slow this year as the bass fishery recovers from the drought .”

Bait fishermen should use the usual worms or PowerBait here , according to Doucette . Garlic Power Eggs of just about any color seem to work very well .

“ Spin fishermen should be using spinners and minnow imitators like Rapalas . This time of year gold , black and gold , or green and gold spinners work well . For the minnow imitating lures , black over white or silver , dark blue over white or silver and dark green over white or silver work well ,” said Doucette .”

“ Fly rodders should be using chironomids , hares ears , PT ’ s and wooly buggers . The campground is open and is on a first come first served basis ,” he tipped .

-By Dan Bacher

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WEST DELTA

Striper Bite Outstanding In West Delta

BRANNON ISLAND — Striper fishing is very good in the West Delta , with both trollers and bait anglers rounding up limits daily . Most of the fish are schoolies that range from 16 inch sub keepers on the small side to 24 inch keepers . There have been some larger bonus bass from 8 to 21 pounds showing up too . Trollers are pulling their tried and true staple Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows in both deep and shallow running configurations . The best trolling is taking place on the San Joaquin side because that is where the water quality is the best , but the Sac is pushing out bass for trollers too .

Bait anglers are soaking live mud suckers , pile worms and sardine fillets for their fish .

If you ’ re a bait guy , for a change of pace you might give drifting a try with live shiners or live mudsuckers as that approach is working well too .

Captain David Hammond of Delta Pro Fishing reported very good action on both stripers and sturgeon . His clients have been bagging limits of quality stripers while trolling various West Delta locations .

Sturgeon trips have yielded a mix of shaker and keeper fish .

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