Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3802 Jan 4-18 | Page 6

4
FRESHWATER
January 4-18, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 2
This sharp looking rainbow was caught
during a December 7 Lake Shasta trolling
trolling trip with Captain Jeff Goodwin.
Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN’S
GUIDE SERVICE, Redding.
FRESHWATER REPORTS
LAKE AMADOR
22 and 16 Lb. Catfish Top
Holiday Season Catches
IONE – While most anglers are
focusing on the trout at Lake Amador,
there are some huge catfish available
in the lake during the winter.
Just ask Lonis from San Francisco,
who landed two monster cats weighing
22.09 and 16.26 pounds. He fooled the
fish with nightcrawlers in a the Doney
Bay area of the lake.
Big trout plants continue every week,
with a total of 1,000 pounds pf Lake
Amador Hatchery Donaldson trout
and cuttbows stocked during the latest
plant. The fish average 3.5 pounds
each and go up to 10 pounds.
“Reports of depth vary with some
fisherman catching them on the
surface to 30ft deep,” advised
Elizabeth Lockhart at the Lake Amador
Resort. “PowerBait, Micetails, and
nightcrawlers have been working well
as bait, with lures like Kastmasters
and Roostertails doing good as well
for both shore fisherman and boaters
fishing the back of the Lake. Trolling
has been best with Broken Back
Rapalas.”
Trollers have also reported catching
crappie while targeting trout.
Congratulations to David Smith, who
landed a trout with a $100 tag on it.
The lake is 28 feet from full and
the boat launching facilities are in full
operation.
The Lake Amador Trout Derby began
on November 23 and will run through
March 3. The event will feature 300
tagged trout in 3 months – and over
$3000 in cash and prizes. There is a
$7 one time entry fee.

- Dan Bacher
LAKE
AMADOR
AMERICAN BASIN/
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR
French
Meadows
Produces
Browns and
Rainbows
Between
Storms
AUBURN –
Few anglers
have been
fishing in the
reservoirs of
the American River watershed lately, but at
least a couple of Auburn anglers traveled to
French Meadows after the latest storm to
target trout.
“There was some snow on the side of
the road at the lake, but they were able
to launch a boat,” said Craig Newton at
Willfish Bait and Tackle. “They started the
morning targeting browns on the north
end of the lake with Rapalas and then
switched over to fishing for rainbows with
nightcrawlers behind dodgers. They ended
up catching their limits of browns and
rainbows in the 15 to 17 inches long.”
Newton hasn’t heard of anybody
fishing at Hell Hole, Sugar Pine or other
Sierra Nevada lakes lately. However,
one customer reported landing two kings
measuring 17 inches each while trolling
Speedy Shiners at the mouth of the North
Fork.
The CDFW stocked Jenkinson Lake with
rainbow trout the week of December 16.
AMERICAN RIVER
Steelhead Numbers Are
Looking Up
ORANGEVALE –
The American River
from the closure line
below the Nimbus
Fish Hatchery will
open to fishing on
January 1, 2019
and anglers are
gearing up for some
top-notch fishing.
The section that
will reopen to fishing
is from the U.S.
Geological Survey
gauging station
cable crossing
about 300 yards
down-stream
from the Nimbus
Hatchery fish rack
site to the SMUD
power line crossing
at the southwest
boundary of Ancil
Hoffman Park.
The hatchery
has trapped a total
of 191 adult male
steelhead and
Trout Planted Seasonally!
• Cafe • RV Park • Waterslide
• Campground • Disc Golf
• General Store
Cafe Open Seasonally On
Friday, Saturday & Sundays
209-274 -4739
7500 Lake Amador Dr., Ione, CA 95640
WWW.LAKEAMADOR.COM
• Trout
• Bass
• Crappie
• Bluegill
• Catfish
LAKE BERRYESSA
Trollers
Smack Quality
Rainbows
NAPA – Trout
fishing is “really
good” on Lake
Berryessa as
boaters bag
rainbows in the
2 to 4 lb. range,
reported Alan Fong
of Fisherman’s
Warehouse.
“Anglers are doing
best while trolling
Shad Raps and
EAGLE LAKE
CABINS
Home of the Eagle Lake Trophy Trout
* Furnished Cabins from $50 night or $300 week
* Awesome Trophy Trout Fishing
* Hiking and Biking
* Great for Relaxation
Largest Trout Stocking Program
North of Sacramento
Lakefront
RV
Camping
122 adult
females to date, a total of 331 adults,
according to Greg Ferguson at Nimbus
Fish Hatchery. The facility has also
trapped 3 male juveniles and 6 female
juveniles.
The hatchery spawned 13 pairs of
steelhead on December 19, taking in
87,100 eggs. Based on the numbers of
fish showing now, the hatchery should
have no problem making their mitigation
goal of 430 steelhead smolts.
“It’s looking really promising,” Ferguson
stated. “The Eel River-strain hatchery fish
are showing in better numbers now than
they have over the past few years.
The salmon run this year was smaller
than in most years, but the hatchery still
ended up taking 8,465,329 eggs, more
than enough to produce 4 million salmon
smolts for release in the spring of 2019.
The facility began trapping on November
5 and did their last spawn on December
13.
The hatchery trapped 1717 unmarked
Chinook males, 1586 unmarked
females,976 unmarked jacks and 148
unmarked jills this fall. The facility
also counted 599 marked males, 549
unmarked females, 410 marked jacks and
78 marked jills.
Water releases to the American below
Nimbus Dam remain at 1800 cfs.

- Dan Bacher
2315
Call for Reservations
800-286-0576
www.collinslake.com
P.O. Box 300 . Oregon House . California 95962
3802
For Reservations [phone]
686-920 Spalding Rd., Susanville, CA 96130
www.eaglelakeheritage.com
Scatter
Raps at
a speed
of 3 to 4
mph with
a setback of 110 feet
behind the boat,” said
Fong.
The trout are focusing on schools of
shad. The shad are showing from the
surface to 50 feet deep all over the lake.
Shane at Sweeney’s Sports reported
slower black bass fishing at Berryessa
now than it was a couple weeks ago,
but anglers are still picking up decent
numbers of fish.
“My fishing buddy and I hooked and
released around 15 bass while using an
array of techniques on a recent trip,” he
said. “We fished with drop shot set ups,
Rico rigs, and glide baits. The fish ranged
from 2 to 3 pounds; all were largenouths
except three smallmouths.”
The areas they fished included the south
side near Cappell Cove and two offshore
points near The Narrows. “Anglers are
also reported a bite on jigs and A-Rigs in
the lake’s north end,” Shane concluded.
BULLARDS BAR/
ENGLEBRIGHT
RESERVOIRS
Trolling Yields Trout Limits
SMARTVILLE - Fishing pressure is light
and the trout fishing is good at Englebright
Reservoir.
Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide
Service reported “off the hook” fishing
on his latest trip to Engelbright. Steven
Ruiz and James Newman landed their 10
Continued on Pg 7