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Fishing Report
fishing1

I’m beginning to see an increase in boats being towed through my neighborhood, leading me to believe that the fishing must be improving. Obviously, the weather has something to do with it, but I’m going to trust my instincts and hold to my original belief. If you fish long enough, you can’t help to not notice the subtle changes. From my earliest of days, I can remember trying to analyze why a fish only bit in a certain spot, and only on a certain bait. Since then, I’ve tried to take those bits of information to make me a better angler. To the outsider, they may think I’m just lucky, I do get lucky sometimes but it doesn’t hurt that I was fishing the right bait, in the right color, at the exact same depth that I caught fish before. Having experience and knowledge can be a double-edged sword at times. Often a person can be stubborn or unwilling to try a new bait or technique. Some of the best anglers that I know are what I would consider masters of one or two techniques but can also catch fish doing just about everything else. The most elite of anglers usually possess both skill and what I can only describe as freakish luck. I’ve been on a boat with a few of those guys before and its mind boggling. Not only were they the calmest in some of the most stressful conditions, they managed to catch fish doing what everybody else was doing and not catching fish. On one occasion, I witnessed one of them throw his bait towards a big fish that was cruising by the boat and the fish turned and bit his bait; that never happens!

 

Delta Report:

Right now, the bass fishing is really starting to show signs of picking up. The spinner bait is a deadly bait this time of year for big females that are usually found around sparse tulle points. The outgoing tide is the best tide right now, once the tide bottoms out the fishing slows down and the bigger fish become harder to find. The water clarity in a lot of places is still not the greatest but the temperatures have risen and our next full moon should create an awesome bite. The striper bite still hasn’t turned on yet. All indications are that the bite will turn on earlier than last year as the water temperatures are already in the low 50’s. Because of the high water and debris in the water a lot of anglers have chosen to avoid the Delta lately.

 

New Melones Lake:

Trout fishing remains good, a lot of anglers have made their way to the lake recently to try their luck. Anglers fishing from shore should target main points such as Glory Hole Point, Osprey Point, under the Highway 49 Bridge, and Tuttletown. Nightcrawlers floated with marshmallows or inflated with a worm inflator have produced the most rainbows from shore. Berkley Select Power Bait or Power Eggs have caught plenty of fish, and throwing a silver/blue Kastmaster or spinner such as a Rooster Tail is also effective from shore. Anglers trolling should head to the main lake between the spillway and dam and troll from the surface down to 30 feet deep. All of the lake’s launch ramps are currently open.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

For rainbows try fishing from the surface down to 20 feet deep. Bass fishing is starting to pick up as plenty of fish are being caught on small plastics right now down to 40 feet deep. Like New Melones the water levels continue to rise causing fishing conditions to change daily. All of the lake’s launch ramps are currently open.

 

Lake Pardee:

The lake is now open for camping and fishing. Bass fishing this time on the lake has always been tough. The trout bite on the other hand hasn’t disappointed.

 

Lake Amador:

Plenty of trout are still being stocked providing anglers with limits of fish. Anglers are having luck while fishing with power bait off the bank or while trolling shad imitating lures just below the surface. Bass fishing is still slow, once the water temperatures increase the bass will surely start making their way towards their spawning areas.

 

Weekly Tip:

I once fished a week on Lake Oroville and it rained every day. Nothing I could wear was able withstand day after day of rain except for my fleece. What I learned is that fleece although wet, kept me warm and dried up a lot faster than any of the other fabrics I was wearing. It was also a lot lighter when wet.