Stream trout season off and biting

Last Saturday was the opener of the stream trout season. Throughout the Sierra, the snow pack was intact between the 4,000- and 8,000-foot level.

Late last week stream flows were low due to the cool weather. But as the weekend weather warmed, the flows picked up noticeably. The North Yuba increased from 700 cubic feet per second Friday to 1,700 cfs Monday. Salmon Creek, below Bassett's Station, changed from clear to muddy brown as the snow melt put soil into the water.

As is typical of the North Yuba, a good size brown trout was landed by a local Sierra County angler. This year it was Ed Wharton who came in with a 24.5-inch, 5-pound brown trout. He was not forthcoming with exact details, but speculation was that the fish was taken on bait, downstream from Downieville. My source noted a couple other browns caught and released on opening weekend.

I checked in with contacts from Bishop to Dunsmuir. The common denominator was that the number of fishermen was lower than in previous years. The price of gasoline has finally reached the point where I question whether I should use my vehicle for any particular trip. I think that anglers need to consider car pooling. The way to be invited more often is to be generous in helping to pay for fuel.

I did not hear any reports from Fuller Lake, which is thawed. The Bowman Road is open to the far end of the lake and snow covered beyond. The launch ramp access is still snow covered. Above Bassett's, the road to Graeagle has been plowed only four miles up. As of Friday there was no lake in the Lakes Basin that was ice free. Sardine, at the lowest elevation, had 20 feet of water along the shore and the center of the lake was still frozen.

Striper fishing continues to be the best bet for good sized fish in the north state. The delta continues to fish well for trollers in a wide variety of locations. The size and diversity of the delta waters is conducive to trolling now that the temps have reached the upper 50s and low 60s. Farther up the Sacramento River, the schools of fish are confined to a much smaller area. When the bite is on, there are too many boats for trolling to be an effective option.

Last Wednesday Jerry Chan, Larry Fore and Jackie Spivey fished with guide Gary Manies on the Sacramento River. They launched at Ward's Landing near Colusa and fished downriver from the Meridian Bridge. The most productive technique was to drift live minnows along the bottom. The majority of the fish were in the 20- to 22-inch range which is typical for "schoolie males".

I finally received a series of good fishing reports from Pyramid Lake in Nevada, the best of which came from a friend Peter Bauer who fished the Pelican Point area last Thursday.

The "Nets" area below Sutcliffe has closed to fishing and many of the anglers have moved up to the beach north of Pelican. Fishing was fair for the majority of anglers who fished by retrieving streamers and lures. The good bite came to those fishing chironomid patterns suspended below a float. Peter took fish consistently throughout the day by hanging a large #8 black "Zebra Midge" about a foot off the bottom in 10 to 12 feet of water. Starting midday, the fish showed a preference for a smaller #12 midge into the afternoon.

The water surface temps at Pyramid are in the mid 40s early in the day and rise to the high 40s by late afternoon. There is a closed zone immediately around the launch ramp at Pelican. Peter fished south of the ramp among the tufa rock formations. His largest fish was more than 10 pounds and measured 30 inches. As the water temps move into the 50s fishing should continue to be good.

For those of you who intend to apply for big game hunting tags, the DF&G has set June 2 as the date your application need to be in. Go to www.dfg.ca.gov for details.



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. He may be reached via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com