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TOP PICKS
AMERICAN RIVER--Striper fishing continued to pick up, and they're spread throughout the river all the way to Nimbus Dam where fish to 10 pounds were caught on sardines. This is almost entirely an early morning and late evening affair. Get off the water when the sun penetrates the water, and the rafters appear. Look for seams and eddies where fast water flows into holes. Move on if there is no action within a reasonable amount of time. Getting a blowup on a Pencil Popper or a vicious strike on a big streamer fly are thrilling, but odds are better with bait like sardines, crawdads, minnows, and pike minnows soaked on the bottom. Trolling in the lower river can be productive, too.
LOON LAKE--DFG plant scheduled for this week and lake is at 82-percent capacity. Wayne Trumbly of Placerville and Lee Yager of Sacramento fished on July 28 and were finished up with limits, consisting of 9 rainbows and one brown, including a beautiful rainbow of about 2 1/2 pounds, by 8 a.m. The trout are holding deep and the bite is best early in the morning before the sun is on the water. They were trolling by the dam with dodgers and a threaded 'crawler, and with a Needlefish. Editor Bill Karr went up on July 29 and fished off the second dam before sunrise and picked up two nice rainbows on Berkley Gulp!, then dropped into the Rubicon River below the dam and caught some good browns on nightcrawlers. Very little pressure here during the week
COLLINS LAKE--Lake has dropped a couple more feet to 26 feet down. Night fishing off the docks has been very productive with many limits of trout coming in on Power Bait and worms. A 6 1/2-pound rainbow and 10-pound 14-ounce catfish came off the docks this past week. Kids are catching some big redears on worms off the docks, too. Shore anglers are concentrating on the deeper water at the dam for limits of rainbows. Trollers need to get out very early and work along the dam at 20 to 35 feet with flasher/worm combos and Kastmaster spoons.
NEW MELONES RESERVOIR--The kokanee bite got a little tougher, "I mean, we had to work for our fish, where before, it was a no brainer to get our fish," said guide Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing. The fish are deep, from 75 to 120 feet, on the move, and farther north in the main lake. Top strike getters are glow lures behind UV dodgers.
DELTA REGION--SACRAMENTO RIVER side--Slack tides helped the striped bass bite and more slack tides are on the books for this coming week. Trolling shallow running Yo-Zuri's in 10 feet of water or less from Decker Island up to the mouth of the Old Sacramento. Another good bet was to target summer sturgeon. This coming week the mid-afternoon outgoing tides at depths between 45 feet and 65 feet should be the best to focus on.
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER side-- Stick with topwater tackle, as that is what stripers have been hitting on as they forage for shad throughout the system. Swimbaits in shad or lighter colors are also finding scattered stripers as they are on the move looking for bait.
GENERAL
NORTH COAST RIVERS
North Coast streams and rivers are regulated by low flow closures. Always call ahead to determine the condition of the river you want to fish. If not mentioned, the river is closed or no reports. The DFG's Low Flow Closure Hotline for north coast rivers is 707) 822-3164. For the Russian River and counties of Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin, call (707) 944-5533. South Central Coast streams number is (831) 649-2886. Many streams closed, and others change to artificial/barbless only on March 31 and others on April 25.
ROGUE RIVER, Lower--Salmon fishing is getting better and better, with over 80 boats working the estuary for big, bright, ocean-fresh kings running 30 and even 40 pounds. Anglers who know what to do--stay deep and slow and work the better areas--are way outscoring newcomers and some are getting limits. All on bait, some on spinner-baits, and a lot of them are eating large, blue-label plug-cut herring trolled straight--with no blades.
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AMERICAN RIVER--Striper fishing continued to pick up, and they're spread throughout the river all the way to Nimbus Dam where fish to 10 pounds were caught on sardines. This is almost entirely an early morning and late evening affair. Get off the water when the sun penetrates the water, and the rafters appear. Look for seams and eddies where fast water flows into holes. Move on if there is no action within a reasonable amount of time. Getting a blowup on a Pencil Popper or a vicious strike on a big streamer fly are thrilling, but odds are better with bait like sardines, crawdads, minnows, and pike minnows soaked on the bottom. Trolling in the lower river can be productive, too.
LOON LAKE--DFG plant scheduled for this week and lake is at 82-percent capacity. Wayne Trumbly of Placerville and Lee Yager of Sacramento fished on July 28 and were finished up with limits, consisting of 9 rainbows and one brown, including a beautiful rainbow of about 2 1/2 pounds, by 8 a.m. The trout are holding deep and the bite is best early in the morning before the sun is on the water. They were trolling by the dam with dodgers and a threaded 'crawler, and with a Needlefish. Editor Bill Karr went up on July 29 and fished off the second dam before sunrise and picked up two nice rainbows on Berkley Gulp!, then dropped into the Rubicon River below the dam and caught some good browns on nightcrawlers. Very little pressure here during the week
COLLINS LAKE--Lake has dropped a couple more feet to 26 feet down. Night fishing off the docks has been very productive with many limits of trout coming in on Power Bait and worms. A 6 1/2-pound rainbow and 10-pound 14-ounce catfish came off the docks this past week. Kids are catching some big redears on worms off the docks, too. Shore anglers are concentrating on the deeper water at the dam for limits of rainbows. Trollers need to get out very early and work along the dam at 20 to 35 feet with flasher/worm combos and Kastmaster spoons.
NEW MELONES RESERVOIR--The kokanee bite got a little tougher, "I mean, we had to work for our fish, where before, it was a no brainer to get our fish," said guide Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing. The fish are deep, from 75 to 120 feet, on the move, and farther north in the main lake. Top strike getters are glow lures behind UV dodgers.
DELTA REGION--SACRAMENTO RIVER side--Slack tides helped the striped bass bite and more slack tides are on the books for this coming week. Trolling shallow running Yo-Zuri's in 10 feet of water or less from Decker Island up to the mouth of the Old Sacramento. Another good bet was to target summer sturgeon. This coming week the mid-afternoon outgoing tides at depths between 45 feet and 65 feet should be the best to focus on.
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER side-- Stick with topwater tackle, as that is what stripers have been hitting on as they forage for shad throughout the system. Swimbaits in shad or lighter colors are also finding scattered stripers as they are on the move looking for bait.
GENERAL
NORTH COAST RIVERS
North Coast streams and rivers are regulated by low flow closures. Always call ahead to determine the condition of the river you want to fish. If not mentioned, the river is closed or no reports. The DFG's Low Flow Closure Hotline for north coast rivers is 707) 822-3164. For the Russian River and counties of Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin, call (707) 944-5533. South Central Coast streams number is (831) 649-2886. Many streams closed, and others change to artificial/barbless only on March 31 and others on April 25.
ROGUE RIVER, Lower--Salmon fishing is getting better and better, with over 80 boats working the estuary for big, bright, ocean-fresh kings running 30 and even 40 pounds. Anglers who know what to do--stay deep and slow and work the better areas--are way outscoring newcomers and some are getting limits. All on bait, some on spinner-baits, and a lot of them are eating large, blue-label plug-cut herring trolled straight--with no blades.
More...
