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Outdoors
The salmon fishing opener on the Feather River had the attention of more anglers in the north state than any other fishery.
There were two main areas that drew most of the anglers, the top of the river in the Oroville Wildlife Area and below the mouth of the Yuba River. Both of these held the promise of water temps below the magic 65-degree mark.
The upper river attracted the largest number of anglers. My sources estimated that there were more than 70 boats above the Gridley Bridge up to the closed sign below the Afterbay Hole. In addition to the boat anglers there was an estimated 400 shore anglers. Craig Bentley drifted this stretch of the river and mentioned he had never seen this level of civility on the Feather River in crowded conditions. Everyone was very courteous.
Guide Brett Brady (www.fishbarebones.com) fished Saturday and had two takedowns on his rods, which resulted in one fish landed.
His first fish hit a Quick-fish with a sardine wrap in low-light conditions early on. The second fish which did not make it to the net came on roe later in the morning. Bentley also had two fish on but both of these were lost.
The fish count for the day was about a dozen fish landed by the boat anglers and at least two confirmed salmon landed by bank anglers. One bank angler landed a 20-pound salmon on a chartreuse glo Panther Martin and the other shore caught fish was taken on fly tackle with an egg cluster fly and it weighed in at 25 pounds.
Craig Bentley fished Sunday morning, also. He had his drift boat on the water early and was able to anchor his boat at the no fishing line. During the morning there were fish rolling all around his boat and he did not get a takedown despite his extensive array of tackle presented. The angler count on Sunday was at best 25 percent of the turnout for the opener.
The river temps were consistently in the 65- to 68-degree range, which is good for August. Bentley had a 62 degree reading in the upwelling in “Charlie's Hole.” The volume of boat traffic was a contributing factor to the results as was the water temp and the inability to fish the Afterbay Hole and Low Flow sections. My best read on the situation is that the good holding areas for salmon were placed off limits by design. The legal fishing zone is composed mostly of traveling water rather than holding water. Consequently, you will need to be in the right place at the right time to intercept traveling fish.
I was corrected by Craig as to best times to find the lowest water temps of the day in the open areas of the Wildlife Area. The coolest temps occur between 8 and 9:30 a.m., before rising through the day. The warmest temps occur between 6 and 8 p.m.
If you go early in the day, legal fishing time starts one hour before sunrise (which was 5:05 a.m. Sunday). We are not allowed on the Wildlife Area prior to legal fishing time. Bentley offered another tip for anglers. The current high flow conceals a lot of weed growth close to the bottom. Check your gear often. If you have vegetation on your offering you will not catch fish.
The best salmon fishing results came from the Feather below the mouth of the Yuba River because of the cool Yuba water and less boat traffic. Bob Bouke from Johnson's Bait & Tackle was on the river and reported water temps consistently at 62 degrees. He reports about three dozen salmon were brought out at the Yuba City boat ramp during the course of the opening day. Many of these fish came from the deep holes located below the Yuba and above the Shanghai Rapids. Guide Scott Feisty (www.feistyfish.net) boated five fish Saturday and one on Sunday for his clients. Successful anglers reported fishing with Quick-fish as well as trolling with spinners.
Your best bet for salmon is the cool water below the Yuba. If you are an experienced salmon angler get your boat and go. For those of us with less river salmon experience, our best bet is an experienced salmon guide.
The Fish Travelers Guide Service reports a decent trout bite on Eagle Lake. Recently, schools of tui chubs have begun to show at the surface and in the bellies of landed trout. You can take some fish high in the water column if you locate schools of tui chubs on top. Otherwise 30 feet is his preferred depth. The bite has been lasting past 8 a.m.
A report from Webber Lake at the 6,000' feet in elevation has the trout biting at 18 feet below the surface, just beyond where the shallows steeply drop into deep water. Anglers have been suspending a variety of nymphs at this depth and catching good numbers of trout. The point of this report from private water, is that this is probably a pattern throughout the Sierra at similar elevations.
At the very high elevations above 10,000 feet, there are still snow drifts remaining in shaded areas. There continue to be a lot of surface puddles producing clouds of mosquitoes. The high lakes near the east entrance to Yosemite are fishing well.
All of the rivers on the east side of the Sierra are now fishable. The East Carson and the West Walker were the last to drop into shape.
A report from Clear Lake mentioned a heavy algae bloom. This has contributed to a tough bass bite, but the biggest problem would be if your engine water intakes get clogged. Be sure to check your engine temps and make sure your water cooling system is working properly if you fish there or in other weedy waters.
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of “The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report,” which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. Contact him via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
There were two main areas that drew most of the anglers, the top of the river in the Oroville Wildlife Area and below the mouth of the Yuba River. Both of these held the promise of water temps below the magic 65-degree mark.
The upper river attracted the largest number of anglers. My sources estimated that there were more than 70 boats above the Gridley Bridge up to the closed sign below the Afterbay Hole. In addition to the boat anglers there was an estimated 400 shore anglers. Craig Bentley drifted this stretch of the river and mentioned he had never seen this level of civility on the Feather River in crowded conditions. Everyone was very courteous.
Guide Brett Brady (www.fishbarebones.com) fished Saturday and had two takedowns on his rods, which resulted in one fish landed.
His first fish hit a Quick-fish with a sardine wrap in low-light conditions early on. The second fish which did not make it to the net came on roe later in the morning. Bentley also had two fish on but both of these were lost.
The fish count for the day was about a dozen fish landed by the boat anglers and at least two confirmed salmon landed by bank anglers. One bank angler landed a 20-pound salmon on a chartreuse glo Panther Martin and the other shore caught fish was taken on fly tackle with an egg cluster fly and it weighed in at 25 pounds.
Craig Bentley fished Sunday morning, also. He had his drift boat on the water early and was able to anchor his boat at the no fishing line. During the morning there were fish rolling all around his boat and he did not get a takedown despite his extensive array of tackle presented. The angler count on Sunday was at best 25 percent of the turnout for the opener.
The river temps were consistently in the 65- to 68-degree range, which is good for August. Bentley had a 62 degree reading in the upwelling in “Charlie's Hole.” The volume of boat traffic was a contributing factor to the results as was the water temp and the inability to fish the Afterbay Hole and Low Flow sections. My best read on the situation is that the good holding areas for salmon were placed off limits by design. The legal fishing zone is composed mostly of traveling water rather than holding water. Consequently, you will need to be in the right place at the right time to intercept traveling fish.
I was corrected by Craig as to best times to find the lowest water temps of the day in the open areas of the Wildlife Area. The coolest temps occur between 8 and 9:30 a.m., before rising through the day. The warmest temps occur between 6 and 8 p.m.
If you go early in the day, legal fishing time starts one hour before sunrise (which was 5:05 a.m. Sunday). We are not allowed on the Wildlife Area prior to legal fishing time. Bentley offered another tip for anglers. The current high flow conceals a lot of weed growth close to the bottom. Check your gear often. If you have vegetation on your offering you will not catch fish.
The best salmon fishing results came from the Feather below the mouth of the Yuba River because of the cool Yuba water and less boat traffic. Bob Bouke from Johnson's Bait & Tackle was on the river and reported water temps consistently at 62 degrees. He reports about three dozen salmon were brought out at the Yuba City boat ramp during the course of the opening day. Many of these fish came from the deep holes located below the Yuba and above the Shanghai Rapids. Guide Scott Feisty (www.feistyfish.net) boated five fish Saturday and one on Sunday for his clients. Successful anglers reported fishing with Quick-fish as well as trolling with spinners.
Your best bet for salmon is the cool water below the Yuba. If you are an experienced salmon angler get your boat and go. For those of us with less river salmon experience, our best bet is an experienced salmon guide.
The Fish Travelers Guide Service reports a decent trout bite on Eagle Lake. Recently, schools of tui chubs have begun to show at the surface and in the bellies of landed trout. You can take some fish high in the water column if you locate schools of tui chubs on top. Otherwise 30 feet is his preferred depth. The bite has been lasting past 8 a.m.
A report from Webber Lake at the 6,000' feet in elevation has the trout biting at 18 feet below the surface, just beyond where the shallows steeply drop into deep water. Anglers have been suspending a variety of nymphs at this depth and catching good numbers of trout. The point of this report from private water, is that this is probably a pattern throughout the Sierra at similar elevations.
At the very high elevations above 10,000 feet, there are still snow drifts remaining in shaded areas. There continue to be a lot of surface puddles producing clouds of mosquitoes. The high lakes near the east entrance to Yosemite are fishing well.
All of the rivers on the east side of the Sierra are now fishable. The East Carson and the West Walker were the last to drop into shape.
A report from Clear Lake mentioned a heavy algae bloom. This has contributed to a tough bass bite, but the biggest problem would be if your engine water intakes get clogged. Be sure to check your engine temps and make sure your water cooling system is working properly if you fish there or in other weedy waters.
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of “The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report,” which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. Contact him via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
