We dodged the 4th year drought bullet
Well, with all of the wonderful liquid sunshine we have had the past few weeks, I thought I would take another look at some of Northern California’s lake’s levels to see how much they have come up… One thing to remember is that there is still a bunch of water to come as the Serria snow pack melts. We are in good shape and we all should feel blessed because we dodged the 4th year drought bullet!
As of Feb. 6, 2023. — *Trinity Lake = 53 percent full
Lake Shasta = 55 percent full Lake Oroville = 58 percent full
There is still room to grow, and a lot more water will come down from the Feather River.
Bullards Bar = 61 percent full Folsom Lake = 54 percent full
The thing to understand about Folsom’s capacity right now is that it is already in flood control mode, meaning that water is already being released to balance out the reservoir because there is still plenty of the year to go. Remember, there’s the snowpack yet to consider when it melts.
Lake Berryessa = 71 percent full Lake Sonoma = 80 percent full Blue Lakes = 100 percent full Lake Mendocino =90 percent full Lake Pillsbury = 85 percent full
Right now, Lake Mendocino and Pillsbury have been full and now are in flood control mode
Indian Valley Reservoir = 100 percent full? I was told it is in much better shape than that? Clear Lake = 80ish percent full (guess) Lake Emily (Brooktrails) = 100 percent full& Just 4 fun,the Upper Mill Creek Pond = 100 percent full
Blue Lakes — Good news! California Department of Fish and Wildlife once again stocked the Upper Blue Lake with some really nice trout. Trout like the cold water. So, the trout bite is still going pretty well on the upper Blue Lake. The best places to fish are; The Blue Lakes Lodge, Pine Acres, and The Narrows resorts docks.
Here is my trout fishing tip for you all. If the the water is calm like glass, rig your pole with a slip cast float bobber with a 24 inch leader and salmon eggs on the hook. If the wind picks up, take the bobber off and replace it with a slip weight. Replace the salmon eggs with pink or orange PowerBait. Calm water, fish off the top, ripply water, fish off the bottom. I have been doing this for over 35 years and it always works.
Good Luck.
Lake Sonoma- The fishin’ has gotten better as of late. The bass have started to schooled up at the mouths of coves and are hanging out in rock piles or rocks with timber. Crawdad colored jigs have been working best. Some bass are also being caught on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and slow draggin’ plastics. Most fish are at 15 to 25 feet of water.
Clearlake- The bass fishing tournament season has begun on Clearlake. There are bass anglers everywhere on the weekends. So, I would suggest fishin’ mid-week if at all possible. Teresa and I have had success throwing a umbrella rig or large swimbaits, one of my old favorites is the Trash Fish. There are fish in the tules and around docks . Make long casts beyond your targeted area and slowly reel in your swimbait or umbrella rig, allowing it to bump off the bottom some. And then, Whamo, fish on!
During the spring months, we like to fish the north end of the lake (Lakeport and around towards Kelseyville) The “Dock Talkers” are saying that there are a lot bass staging around the mouths of creeks. Lately, Rodman Slough, Rattlesnake Island and the deep water at Henderson Point have been some of the hot spots…So they say?
Lake Pillsbury — There is not much going on up on the mountain. There really isn’t anyone fishing the lake right now so, there isn’t much to report on. The word is the road is in fair shape. I would think that like all the lakes in our area right now, the bass are starting to move up getting ready to spawn. You know, “they” say that
10% of the anglers catch 90 percent of the fish. So, go give Lake Pillsbury a try. You’ll probably be the only angler on the water. The odds are on on your side.
“An expert is a person with whom you go fishing, and if nobody catches anything, knows all the reasons why.” — Anonymous
Got any fishing stories or pictures you would like to share? Please email me at go4reelfishin@pacific.net.
Thank’s for reading and remember 2 keep It reel !
Don-4REEL Fishin’