ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): The Rec. 1 area was still holding pond smelt just outside the log boom in front of the Osprey nest. Browns are actively feeding in here from first light till 11 a.m. Try a large threaded nightcrawler with Pro-Cure Trophy Trout gel. A combo of crickets and mealworms, or double crickets off the bottom tempted them. Big Springs held salmon, with premium anchovy tails and Pro-Cure's Krill Scent, four to eight cranks off the bottom or crawlers doing the job here.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA: Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts (760-873-4484):
Intake No. 2: Was probably the best fishing of the week. Dark Woolly Buggers were probably the best. Power Bait or Salmon eggs doing very well.
North Lake: Has been doing fairly well with Power Bait or worms. Purple Woollies have done pretty well on the far side by the pack station. Float tubers reported good results with Panther Martins in the center of the lake.
South Lake: Most people are catching fish but are really having to work for them. Best baits are nightcrawlers or chunky cheese Power Bait. Casting Power Bait or red Power Worms by the Gilbert Glacier did pretty well this week.
Bishop Creek: Fish are coming up to most surface flies in Weir Pond, especially green Mosquitoes and Sierra Bright Dots.
Backcountry: Has been pretty good for fishing. The Tyees have been super with nightcrawlers or Salmon eggs. Chocolate Lakes good with Panther Martins or small Kastmasters.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): Fishing this week was still kind of slow with a few planters showing up here and there and 3 Alpers. Is it the warm temps, full moon, who knows. What we do know is that when it turns, watch out - fishing's going to be awesome!
Drift fishing is where it's at - casting your line out as far as you can with a nightcrawler or Power Bait on the hook, turning the motor off, enjoying the peace and quiet and drifting. The best place has been between the points (between the two natural lakes over the shoreline of those natural lakes). Salmon eggs were working at the Dingleberry Inlet. Trolling flashers and a worm got a few fish and the shore anglers were fishing with Power Bait or nightcrawlers.
Father and son team, Lee and Scott Lulovics of West Hills, got the hang of drift fishing - Scott getting a nice 4-pound Alpers on Power Bait with quite a few for appetizers. Tom Trisdale of Corona picked up a 3-1/2 pound Alpers on a red Power Worm. Dad Michael Chew with sons Joshua and Kyle of Orange experienced their first camping and fishing trip with Kyle catching his first fish - Good going, guys!
As you probably noticed, most the snow is gone from the upper peaks, so the snow run-off is pretty much done and the utility companies still need water to make electricity and for irrigation, so the lake is on its way down - so far we are down about 6 feet. Temperatures are still in the mid 70s for the highs and we're fluctuating between the high 40s and low 50s for the lows. Remember, the campgrounds tend to be a bit on the cooler side during the evening hours.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): Blue Lakes have been fairly quiet and there is not much to report.
BOCA RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dick Murphy of "Fishing with Father Murphy" (775-674-2270) (775-240-9163): Best area: Middle of the reservoir and the dam area. Depth: 40-45 feet. Lures: Small green spoons, Murphy's green/pink Lollipop and Glow Baby Bugs.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF: Randy Picton (760-932-7001): Fishing remains very good to excellent with bigger fish starting to appear as the water temps drop with the cooler nights. Limits of Browns and Rainbows up to 3.5 pounds.
Best bets are nightcrawlers and or floating bait of the bottom in 12 to 15 feet of water.
Trolling is good early and late in the day. Try small flashers with worms, Rapalas or Buoyants from the narrows to the dam.
Rental boats available at the Marina, private boat launching at the bath tub.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF: West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported: The water is extremely low and very clear. No fishing reports.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Trout action getting better as water temps drop to 68 degrees. Trollers have been finding the action between 14 and 27 feet deep and boaters still fishing have been picking up fish up to 2 pounds at 300 feet deep off Lightning Tree Point. Shore anglers can expect a good bite at Honker Cove and Mallard Cove with Power Eggs and nightcrawlers.
FEATHER RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Some Steelhead were being caught in the Low Flow Section, and, although most were only a couple of pounds, there a few spotted by anglers that looked to be between 5 and 10 pounds. A few striped bass were being caught below Shanghai Rapids on big streamer flies, topwater plugs, and sardines.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): Fishing has been good at the dam with nightcrawlers and various colors of Power Bait. Early mornings or early evenings are the best times to fish. Bank fishing seems good all around the lake. Make sure you go deep and keep your bait off the bottom. Trolling seems to be good near the dam.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Trout on a steady bite here. At the dam, 9-year-old Jacob Boomsma from Reno caught 4 good rainbows using nightcrawlers. Those rainbows weighed 1 to 1 1/2 pounds each. Other fish have been caught at the dam on Salmon eggs. Josh, Jen and Ashton, from Chilcoot, got a limit of rainbows trolling a copper Dick Nite. Small Needlefish and orange or rainbow-glitter Power bait has also been working.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): The water is low and dirty looking. No fishing reports.
KINNEY RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that the water looks good and this is probably the best place in the general area to fish right now.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: Missy Swain and Shirley at Burke's Market at Silver Springs (775-577-2750): The water is still going down. It is dropping constantly. You can walk across the reservoir at Fisherman's Point. For a fishing report, you will have to ask the Pelicans. They are having a field day, feeding on the fish.
NORTH POND (on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area): Elmer Bull: Saturday, my son, a friend of his and fished. I caught Bass and they got skunked. The water is pretty low, there is lots of moss and it is pretty tough fishing, right now. I would not recommend fishing here until the temperature cools off.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): The Upper Sac is fishing well from Box Canyon down to the lake. The further upstream, there are typically more fish but smaller fish, while the closer to the lake you get the less fish but the bigger they are. The best fishing is in the morning and evening, with some mid-afternoon lulls. There are tons of Midges (blacks and olives) all over the rocks, and some good Caddis hatches and tiny May Flies after 7:30 am. The most productive fishing has been Nymphing from daybreak to about 2:00 p.m., more Nymphing from 5:00 to 7:30, and some dry fly action after that. There are lots of fish rising right before dark, but they're being particular, so matching the hatch is important. Most fish seem to be keying in on small dark Caddis. For Nymphs, brown micro May Flies, Prince Nymphs, and big Bird's Nests.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Dave Jacobs (Professional Guide Service) (800-355-3113):
Rainbow Trout: Fishing for wild rainbow trout on the lower Sacramento or Sac River from Redding downstream below Anderson has slowed for the time being for trout guides both on conventional spin and fly gear. River releases from Keswick dam near Redding have dropped today 9,500 CFS. Guides are reporting fair fishing for wild rainbow trout 1-3 pounds with the occasional big trout of 4 plus pounds from Redding downstream near Red Bluff. Depending on which section of river you fish will determine which baits are best. Many trout have been over 16 inches with some in the twenty plus inch class. 15 to 20 plus rainbow trout hook-ups a day a real possibility this time of year. Boats cannot pass the Cypress bridge construction in Redding from 7,000 CFS and up. Side drifting small Glo Bugs in various egg color combos and/or live cricket or crawlers with a Quickie Puffball have worked well. Back trolling small Hot Shot 50's or small K-4/K-5 Kwikfish in various color combos can also be very effective.
Salmon Season Update:
All Central Valley rivers are now closed to salmon fishing to protect the Sacramento River Fall Chinook Salmon. The Salmon season will re-open on November 1st and remain open until December 31st, 2008. Angler's will be allowed one salmon per person and Salmon fishing will be allowed from the Red Bluff Diversion Dam downstream to Knight's Landing.
SHASTA LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Fair fishing continued in the mouth of the Dry Creek and Arm for both salmon and trout. The best bite has been from 36 to 100 feet deep. Try from the Bridge Bay to the dam, for rainbow trout. Waters Gulch has also been producing as well for both trout and bass. Reaction baits, fished early and late in the day, are finding "small" bass. For the warmer, mid-day fishing, try grubs, dart-headed worms, or drop-shot worms in green pumpkin or other dark colors, fished deep, out to 30 feet as bass are suspended.
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dick Murphy of "Fishing with Father Murphy" (775-674-2270) (775-240-9163): Best area: The boat ramp to the island and the dam area. Depth: 60-70 feet. Best lures: Murphy's Glow Baby, Lollipop Bugs and black/Chartreuse spinners.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has picked up. We have been trolling 100-300 feet deep. We locate the fish on the fish finder and then troll Dodgers and a live minnow in a "Figure Eight" pattern, bouncing the bottom. I've been trolling at Dollar Point and Cal/Neva Point. We fish early and have caught several limits. The Macks are running 5-10 pounds.
LAKE TAHOE " East Shore: Gene St. Denis reported: Shore fishing is slow. The jiggers are jigging at depths of 150-250 feet with white Crippled Herring jigs.
TOPAZ LAKE: Chuck and Linda Fields at the Topaz Lake Marina (775-266-3550): Lot of water skiers and jet skiers. Beautiful weather. Water is still slowly dropping. This is the last weekend for our launch facility. There is some fishing but no catching.
VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: It's into the top of the 7th and the score is tied for the season. Looks like another winner for the Eastern Sierra as far as weather goes, with some high clouding in the morning, but clears by early afternoon making it a great week for those waiting to head back to reality for the winter. Had a 2-day cooling after some good winds early this week, but it has returned to sleeveless tops and shorts, for how long guess it's up to Mother Nature.
I did well on barbless flies last night during the twilight time, which is my favorite time to fish. Inflated crawlers, Captain America, Fluorescent Red Candy Power Bait and Salmon eggs were the top catchers for the week.
Lures taking limits were No. 502 Silver Prism Super Duper, red/gold Thomas Buoyant, and fire stripe Hot Shot.
I did well on the 'Lil Jake black/yellow spots, it's a great lure for backcountry fishing.
Flies for the "long rod" guys were the double dry, Stimulator and small Blue Dun Nos. 20-22 during a good ripple or over by the weeds. Blue Damsels are hitting the shoreline near any weedy area, as well as small Olive Elk Hair Caddis No. 18.
No big fish this week, guess they are laying low during this heat. Maybe when things cool down a bit they will start to surface again. It's kind of been a pattern this summer.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: Perch and trout are on the bite. Shore fishermen fish the deeper coves for trout. Perch moving all over the lake with the west side being the most productive.