Sept . 15 - 30 , 2017

13

6pm earlier this week .” Jill Chewning reported catching and releasing 11 largemouth bass while using Robo Worms off a rowboat . Other anglers are hooking bluegill while tossing out mealworms , wax worms and other baits , but the bite is quieter than it was earlier in the summer .

“ We received a 1200 lb catfish plant this past Wednesday , meaning a total of 9,800 lbs this year ,” she said .

“ Otters will steal your fish ,” Pacheco added . “ We are having more incidents involving our family of River Otters here at the reservoir getting caught on the end of fishermen ’ s lines .”

LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR

Channel Cats & Stripers Pace Catches

BYRON - “ Even with the very hot weather , we ’ re seeing improved striper and catfish fishing , and trout fishing remains good ,” reported Brian Demmunik at Los Vaqueros Marina . “

He said catfish are starting to show up in greater numbers from South Cove to Cowboy Cove for anglers tossing chicken liver and anchovies . There was a 1000-pound catfish plant on August 23 from Mt . Lassen ..

“ Anglers have been shy to come in to the Marina and weigh their fish , but we have been seeing a number of decent sized fish on going by to be cleaned ,” Demmunik tipped .

Striper fishing is improving with fewer shakers showing and more medium to large fish being caught . Anglers are doing best using cut anchovies or shad off the pier by the Marina and from Oak Point south towards South Cove are doing decently , according to Demnunik .

“ Fishing for trout continues to be good even with the hot temperatures , with a lot of activity at the fish cleaning station ,” he said . “ Anglers are hooking the fish in South Cove and Oak Point as well as past the Rock Wall . South Cove also continues to produce a good number of fish . The baits of choice for shore anglers are garlic-scented PowerBait , nightcrawlers or Kastmaster lures .”

The water clarity remains good . The surface water temperature hovers between 71 and 75 degrees depending on the time of day .

Now Catching

STRIPED BASS

CATFISH LARGEMOUTH • SALmON • TROUT BASS

• STRIPED BASS

The New Marina

• Building CATFISH

& Boat Rentals

• NOW LARGEmOUTH

OPEN BASS

!!!!

The reservoir is storing 151,800 acre-feet of water , 95 percent of its 160,000 acre-foot capacity . Pumping has stopped and the reservoir will continue to drop .

NEW HOGAN

Toss Lures Into Striper Boils

VALLEY SPRINGS – The striped bass boils are back on with the extended period of triple-digit heat , and as many as 50 boils have been seen throughout the lake in a single day .

Swim flukes or Rat-L-Traps are the top baits for those chasing the boils . Largemouth bass are also getting on the boils , and they are mixed in with the striped bass . Recreational boating remains high on the weekends .

The lake has dropped to 67 percent of capacity .

- David Hurley

NEW MELONES LAKE

Trollers Score Heavy Trout , Bass And Cats Active Too !

$ 25 boat rentals every

Los Vaqueros Recreation Co . Monday

9990 Los Vaqueros Rd . thru Friday

Byron , CA , 94514

( non holidays )

www . NORCALFISHING . COm A Contra Costa Water District Facility

2907

ANGELS CAMP - One of the best trout bites in the state is raging at New Melones Reservoir . If trout trolling isn ’ t your bag bass and catfish are available too .

“ The fishing here at Melones isn ’ t red hot in terms of the number of fish we are catching , but it ’ s hard to image a rainbow bite where the fish have a bigger average size ,” exclaimed Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing while trolling from his Willie boat on August 29 .

“ The smallest rainbows we are getting run about 3 pounds . The average fish are around 3.5 to 4 and the biggest one that ’ s come into my boat recently weighed in at 6 pounds . I ’ m finding the fish and bait on my sonar unit and hooking them with shad pattern spoons . The best bite has been in the 50 to 70 foot depth range ,” tipped Smith .

Bass anglers are dragging dark colored plastic worms during the daylight hours for a mix of largemouths and spots that range up to 4 pounds . Early and late in the day small swimbaits , poppers and walking baits are drawing strikes off main lake points .

For catfish , you ’ ll want to work the coves after dark . Top baits include crawfish tails , liver and mackerel .

3125

CONTACT THE FISH SNIFFER ( 800 ) 748-6599

3615

FISH SNIFFER DIGITAL !!!

www . fishsniffer . com

This incredible rainbow trout couldn ’ t lay off a Sling Blade and Hum Dinger combo trolled at Lake Shasta in late August .

Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN ’ S GUIDE SERVICE , Redding .

LAKE OROVILLE

Trollers Get Deep For Landlocked Kings

YUBA CITY – While most locals are concentrating on the salmon fishing in the Feather River below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet , a couple of anglers are catching some king salmon on Lake Oroville , reported Bob Boucke of Johnson ’ s Bait and Tackle .

“ They ’ re using hoochies , tipped with anchovies , behind dodgers , at 80 feet deep ,” advised Boucke . “ The area of the lake near the dam where I normally fish is blocked off the state now , so your best bet is to troll near the Green Bridge . The fish average 14 inches long ; I haven ’ t heard of any big ones landed .”

“ You can catch and release all of the spotted bass from 10 to 13 inches that you want at Oroville , but the bigger fish are elusive ,” said Boucke .

For better quality fish , try throwing out top water lures such as Zara Spooks and Pop-Rs early and late in the day . After the sun goes on the water in the morning , it ’ s best to fish with shakey heads , drop shot rigs and tubes at 20 to 40 feet deep .

Lime Saddle Marina , Bidwell Canyon and Loafer Creek launch ramps are all open now .

Lake Oroville is holding 3,537,577 acrefeet of water , 49 percent of capacity and 74 percent of average . The lake level is 754.11 feet in elevation , 145.89 feet from full .

- Dan Bacher

LAKE PARDEE

Big Trout Plants Go In , But Few Are Fishing

IONE – While rainbow trout continue to be planted every two weeks , at Lake

24ft Alumaweld Jet Boat G-Loomis & Shimano Gear Provided

Salmon • Trout • Stripers Shad • Steelhead • Sturgeon

Professional Guide Robert Weese since 1985 .

Northern California Guide Service

530-755-7196 • norcalsalmonguide . com

Pardee , few anglers have been fishing for them because of the hot weather .

“ On the average day , there have been only 3 to 4 boats out on the lake because of the heat ,” said Brad at the Pardee Lake Marina

The Calaveras Trout Farm stocked 2.000 pounds of rainbows on both August 18 and September 1 . Two more plants of 2,000 pounds each are slated for September 15 and September 29 .

Experienced anglers are catching some kokanee salmon at Lake Pardee as the fish move into fall spawning mode , but the bite is far from red-hot .

“ Two experienced anglers , Jeff and Dale of Lodi , reported catching 10 kokanee on their latest trip to the reservoir ,” said Aaron at the Pardee Lake Recreation Area . However , your average angler is struggling for a couple of fish .

Trollers should use spinners , hoochies , wiggle hoochies and Apex lures , tipped with white corn , at 70 feet deep from the south end through the mouth of the Mokelumne River past Deer Island .

Pardee is 95 percent of capacity , in great shape for this time of year .

REDDING / RED BLUFF

Salmon Bite Comes On Strong

REDDING - Salmon fishing on the Sacramento River has improved dramatically over the past week . Two weeks ago anglers were fishing for one to two bites per day . Currently anglers are landing limits and near limits of kings daily .

Mike Bogue of Mike Bogue ’ s Guide Service has been putting his clients on solid numbers of salmon up to and beyond the 20 pound mark while working a combination of Yakima Bait Flatfish and Pautzke cured roe . He runs with the plugs early and then switched over to roe tactics as needed . Bogue is fishing the stretch between Redding and Red Bluff .

Kirk Portocarrero of SacRiverGuide . Com is enjoying the much-improved action on the Sacramento .

“ We are boating anywhere from 4 to 10 kings per day ,” says Portocarrero . “ Most of the fish we see are 10 to 15 pounds , but there are a few bigger fish to 25 showing up occasionally . There seem to be more fish entering the system every day and I ’ m starting to see fish stacking up in some of the deeper pools .”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 17