ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): An algae bloom continued to be a problem in some areas, but winds were dying and cooling waters make for an improved bite now that the full moon has passed. Rapalas' F-7 and -9 have been a good choice here but so has vertical jigging and bait.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): First and foremost, thank you all for a GREAT season - ice-fishing for the opener, beautiful weather into May and then 10 inches of snow on Memorial Day, and then more awesome weather in June with some excellent fishing. Then July and August and the warm temps and some iffy fishing, but you were all here through it. And cool temperatures over Labor Day and then summer was back and on into October with the temps were above normal until the arctic weekend of the 11th when the temps hovered around 16 degrees (6 degrees if you factored in the wind chill) and another 10 inches of snow. And now the last two weeks - Indian Summer. The temps were in the 60s, who would have figured for our closing weekend.
The parking lot this weekend almost looked like a holiday weekend - oodles of folks took pleasure in the warm temps and would you believe the catching of fish. Yup, catching picked up a bit over the last few days. Just ask Michelle Connell and Ben Ramsoell of Victorville who took 2 lunkers out of Lake Sabrina and 2 out of Intake 2 using white jigs - the fish weighed in at 6 3/4 lbs, 5 1/2 lbs, 4 1/2 lbs and 4 1/4 lbs - all from shore - GOOD JOB! Along with those mammoth fish, quite a few limits were seen making their way to the skillet. Salmon eggs and nightcrawlers seemed to be the ticket to a full stringer. Trolling still hasn't picked up, but now that the landing has closed, Rick and I will get to try our hand at fishing - Whoo-hoo!
We would also like to thank all the sports editors for placing our fishing reports in the paper especially our local Inyo Register - Big Fish picture after Big Fish picture brought many locals and out-of-towners up to the canyon. THANK YOU!
Tis the end of OUR season ~ fishing season actually closes November 15th. Again, thank you to you all for a wonderful season. As we close, we are very happy (no use lying about it - we're tired), but we'll be ready to see you all again next season - we'll be open April 25th, 2009 at 7:00 a.m. Have a GREAT winter.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): The road is open, the weather is great and the fishing is good, mostly at Upper Blue. Limits on both Saturday and Sunday by two anglers using worms.
CAPLES LAKE, CALIF: Doug Busey of Douglas County reported that shore fishing has been good with small Kastmaster or Panther/Martin lures.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF:
East Carson River: Doug Busey reported watching about 8-9 fly fishermen, all trying to fish at one large hole about a half-mile from the Carson River Resort.
West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported the water is low, clear and challenging.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Rainbow action hasn't slowed much and the good bite has been open to just about everybody, bank fishers, trollers and fly fishers alike. Fish up to nearly 5 pounds are being caught.
EAGLE LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): The bite is hot in the Youth Camp and Pelican Point areas on grubs in brown or orange. Anglers have been doing very well fishing off Rocky Point at the entrance to Bucks Bay, just toss out a nightcrawlers under a bobber or float one off the bottom. Early morning is best for shoreline anglers but this bite is there all day long this time of the season.
FEATHER RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Big stripers continued to be caught on Pencil Poppers at Shanghai Rapids. Steelhead, including some larger fish to 9 pounds, were being caught, albeit not in large numbers, all the way from Shanghai Bend into the Low Flow Section. Nightcrawlers and king mealworms have been the hot baits.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): On Saturday, Bob from Chilcoot caught a nice-sized rainbow (15-18 inches long) at the dam, using Power Bait. On Sunday, a family fished off the bank at Turkey Point and caught four 2.5 pound rainbows using nightcrawlers and Chartreuse Power Bait.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Bank fishing has been good at the dam and Lunker Point. Terri Stancil at Wiggin's Trading Post in Chilcoot said some fishermen have been having some success at Spring Creek with nightcrawlers, floating them off the bottom. Spring Creek has also been producing for fly fishermen using black Woolly Buggers.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Doug Busey reported that fly fishermen were doing decent with Woolly Bugger flies.
OROVILLE LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Very good for catfish. Bass and Coho bites are improving. Big stringers of cats, 3 to 10 pounds, are coming in from the North Fork and the dam on mackerel, anchovies, sardines and chicken livers. Coho are hitting for trollers and moochers near the Hwy. 162 Bridge at 40-60 feet. One troller reported 9 fish to 2+ pounds on a Sling Blade/KoKoNut combo. Bass are hitting worms and tubes in the forks down to 20 feet. Some good over-slot fish coming in.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: Valerie at Crosby's Lodge at (775) 476-0400: This past week we had a 6-pounder, a 7-pounder and our first 10-pounder. Mike McNeilly of Reno caught it at Hell's Kitchen fishing deep with a watermelon-colored spoon). Another fisherman reported having a 66 fish day at the Pyramid.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: George and Carla Molino of the Pyramid Lake Store at (775) 476-0555: Fishing has improved a lot. Boats are doing well by fishing deep. Fly guys are doing OK. Shore fishermen are fishing the deeper drop-offs at Spider Point and Block House. Fishing is scattered all over the lake. There were a few fish being caught up north. On the other side of the lake, fishing is better at 60-80 feet deep. George (Cutthroat Charters) had a 60 fish day with the best fish in the 6-8 pound class. On another day, everyone on the boat caught at least one fish over 26 inches. The lake is still turning a little but is getting better with the cooler weather.
RED LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby: Fishing is still pretty good for brookies.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): The Upper Sac is fishing well from top to bottom, and the October Caddis are just now starting to hatch. Nymphing with big October Caddis Nymphs (or Stones) in the morning and early afternoon is productive, and dry and dropper rigs can be productive from late afternoon through evening.
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 been good this week with a great trout bite and a few Fall Steelhead mixed once in awhile on conventional spin gear. The trout bite has been good this week with a tougher Steelhead bite on the Sacramento river in the Anderson Balls Ferry area. Trout guides are reporting better fishing for wild rainbow trout 1-3 pounds with the occasional big trout of 4 plus pounds from Redding downstream near Red Bluff. Most rainbow trout have been over 16 inches with some in the twenty plus inch class. Fall salmon are spawning making for multiple rainbow trout hook-ups a day are a real possibility this time of year while trout fishing. 20-30 wild bows hooked per day can be expected in October. More Fall salmon are moving upstream and trout fishing will only improve through October and November. Trout fishing has been best side drifting small Glo Bugs in various egg color combos with a Quickie Puffball being best bet. Trout fishing has also been good by back trolling small Hot Shots 50's or small K-4/K-5 Kwikfish in various color combos.
Salmon Season Update:
All Central Valley rivers are now closed to salmon fishing to protect the Sacramento River Fall Chinook salmon. The Sacramento river salmon fishing season will re-open this Saturday, November 1st and remain open until December 31st, 2008. Anglers will be allowed one salmon per person and salmon fishing will be allowed from the Red Bluff Diversion Dam downstream to Knight's Landing. Very large Fall Sacramento salmon have been seen this year and very large Sacramento salmon could be returning for the late Fall salmon fishing season. These salmon are fresh, big and some of the hardest fighting king salmon of the year!
SILVER LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that two anglers in a boat caught their limits with small imitation minnow lures. Their biggest was a 4.5 pound Mackinaw and the rest were browns.
SHASTA LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): With cooler nights and a less stratified lake to fish, most trout anglers are netting fish. Most fish were being caught from the surface down to 20 feet but the best bite came in the top 10 feet. Fishermen were using a variety of baits but a Cripplure produced the majority of larger ones. Greg Argesta from Phil's Props said the lake is turning over and topwater and spinner baits were beginning to produce bass.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Just returned from his 9-day backpack trip in the Mt. Whitney area of California. He and his partner experienced a white-out blizzard and temps of 14 degrees on their first day and a white-out blizzard and temps of 22 degrees on their last day. They were at an elevation of 11,000-12,000 feet. In between those two days, the weather was excellent and the fishing for Golden Trout (up to 18 inches) was great. They fished numerous lakes using Kastmaster lures or a piece of worm plus some Power Bait, floated up off the bottom. They saw no other persons, but did see eight California bighorn sheep and lots of mule deer.
UPPER TWIN LAKE, CALIF: Annett's Mono Village (760-932-7071): Annette Pilcher from Big Bear Lake used a red dot/frog Needlefish for her 4-pound, 14-ounce brown. A red/gold Thomas Buoyant brought in a 3-pound, 7-ounce rainbow for Adrian Attrill of Riverside. The resort is closing Oct. 31. See you next year.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: The fishing is the best that I've seen in my 12 years at Wildhorse. The trout are heavier per inch than ever. My cook came in with three trout that weighed 12 pounds, 9-ounces total. The Perch and Smallmouth Bass are getting hammered by the Wipers. The bass tournament only yielded one "Smallie" for 13 fishermen. We need to get the trash fish (Wipers) out of this lake.