FISH REPORT
FEATHER RIVER: The flows are dropping back down after rising to 2,400cfs to assist the plant of 1,000,000salmon smolts to make their journey down the river into the main Sacramento from their release point at Boyd’s Pump. The flows were at 2,094cfs on Sunday, but they will drop precipitously. The rising water and the salmon smolts brought schoolie striped bass into the river, and trout patterned lures are effective when the schools are moving with the smolts. The majority of stripers are males with the larger females yet to arrive in numbers. If the flows are raised again this month, more linesides will make the trek into the river.
LAKE OROVILLE: Oroville has been producing the largest grade of kings, and Rusty Chester of Topcoat Flashers landed a 10.2pound king while trolling a white P-Line hoochie behind one of his custom double-sided flashers in fluorescent and Forest Green at 60 feet on a set back of 60 feet between 1.8and 2.1miles per hour. Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle said, “Oroville has been kicking out quality, but the numbers are limited with a good score from 3 to 6 kings per boat. Trolling has been the better technique with pearl hoochies or a tube bait behind a 6-inch flasher as mooching hasn’t picked up yet. The bass are grouping up along the shorelines in small pockets, and the reaction bite has improved. Angler’s Press will hold the next large bass tournament on April 17. The Bidwell Canyon, the Spillway, and Lime Saddle ramps are open with Loafer Creek remaining closed. Updated information available at 530-5382200. The lake rose from 39 to 41 percent despite a brief period of water releases down the Feather River to push the salmon smolts
out of the low water.
AMERICAN RIVER, Sacramento: For all intents and purposes, the steelhead season ended weeks ago as the total run was disappointing at best. The occasional downstreamer is landed on roe, nightcrawlers, or Little Cleo’s, but few anglers are even trying. The flows remain low, but they increased from 1169 to 1681 cfs at Fair Oaks this week.
AMERICAN RIVER, Above Folsom: The river is catch and release barbless hooks artificial- only above Folsom in Placer, El Dorado, Amador, and Alpine counties, and the river isn’t open for the take of trout until the Saturday preceding Memorial Day through September 30th. Trout plants are scheduled in the South Fork at Coloma and Chili Bar during the week of April 11th.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Red Bluff to Colusa: Sturgeon fishing has been fair in this section of the river as the diamondbacks are already starting to make their move back down the river. The striped bass are also scarce with most linesides heading into the Feather River. The launch ramp at Colusa is open, and although the flows are low, but the river is navigable. The flows remain low at 5051cfs at the Colusa Bridge.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Verona to Colusa: Striped bass moved through the river system in their push to spawn in the tributaries. A temporary rise in flow in the Feather River also created an incentive for the stripers to move along with the warming water temperatures. Knight’s Landing to Tisdale remains the top location for sturgeon with eel/nightcrawler combinations, ghost shrimp, or salmon roe, but the sturgeon baits of ghost shrimp and eel have been difficult baits to located. 1st and
2nd Beach at Knight’s Landing have been producing sturgeon from the banks. The flows at Verona have dropped from 7575 to 6934 cfs.
TRINITY RIVER, Willow Creek: The lower Trinity is green with flows holding steady at around 3,200 cfs on the Hoopa gauge as of Sunday. Like the Klamath, fishing pressure has been light. Reportedly anglers fishing from the South Fork to Willow Creek are finding quite a few half-pounders. There should be plenty of hungry, spawned-out steelhead making their way down as well. Should be in prime shape all week.
LAKE SHASTA: Jeff Goodwin of Jeff Goodwin’s Guide Service reported good action most days for rainbow trout, brown trout, and Kokanee salmon. The water temperatures have dropped to around 56degrees, but with more warm weather on the way combined with lower-than-normal lake levels, we’ll see Shasta warm up quickly. John Boitano of JB Guide Service said, “The bass are migrating to the banks to spawn, and they are cleaning beds. There are shallow fish in 2- to 5-feet of water as they are cruising to make beds. Plastics are still working best, but there are also bass taken on steep rock walls with glide baits. The minnow bite has also been outstanding with Phil’s Propellers selling as many as 5500minnows per week. The public docks of Centimudi, Sugar Loaf, Jones Valley, and Packer’s Bay are open. The lake rose slightly to 53 percent.