News
This October weather is glorious. The mornings are a bit brisk, but the afternoons are balmy. The fishing is good on many different waters.
On the valley rivers the salmon spawn is nearing its peak. The low number of spawning fish ratifies the DF&G decision to halt salmon fishing for this year.
Compared to the peak years of a decade ago the numbers are very low. The current levels of returning fish look to me to be an adequate base for a future comeback.
On the Lower Yuba, there are salmon from above the Highway 20 bridge down to the Sycamore Ranch access. Below that point there are few salmon in evidence.
I spoke to Frank Rinella from the Nevada City Angler Fly Shop. The most successful steelhead/trout rig is a two fly set up of an egg and nymph combination. The trout are below the salmon redds. As the salmon dig spawning redds they lose eggs and dislodge nymphs from the gravel. Early on in the salmon spawn the trout are on a “suicidal” egg bite. After they have been caught and released a couple of times they are more likely to hit the nymph imitation.
This past weekend Saturday had an overcast sky and fewer anglers on the water resulting in decent fishing. Sunday with clear skies and considerably more angler pressure there was a noticeable decline in the catching. Most of the salmon had dropped back to deeper water well below the spawning area, and so had the trout.
Over on the Feather River, I received a report from Craig Bentley at Huntington’s in Oroville. The salmon spawn is on in the Low Flow. In better years there is extensive spawning throughout the “High Flow” as well. This season, Bentley notes, that he has seen no spawning redds below the Afterbay Hole. There are steelhead below the salmon on the Feather with the egg and nymph combination being your best bet.
The situation on the Sacramento River near Redding is similar with local trout biting well on egg patterns.
The Gold Country Fly fishers held their annual North Yuba River outing on Saturday. They fished below Downieville near the Convict Flat area. Water temps were in the high 40s. The fishing was good despite having almost a dozen anglers fishing the area. Ralph Wood (C&R Guide Service, 477-0780) started the trip with a clinic on fishing the river during the fall.
The majority of the rainbows were taken on “Dry & Dropper” rigs, with the dry fly providing most of the action. The most productive dry patterns were Stimulators, Adams Parachute and humpies. Most anglers caught fish with the largest going to 14 inches. Most of the good fishing occurred in the late morning through the early afternoon. The most active fish were at the head of the pools immediately below the riffles.
The Lakes Basin above Bassett’s Station on the North Yuba is fishing very well. Mike Pumphery fished Sardine Lake a couple weeks ago. This was the second consecutive year he has fished there in early October. Both years the fishing has been wide open. Mike said that everyone on the bank was catching fish using all methods from bait to lures. The fish were shallow and actively looking for something to bite. This is a far cry from fishing at this lake during the warm weather months, when the fish are deep.
Farther up the hill from Bassett’s Station, Gold Lake produced excellent fishing last Thursday for Brett Brady (Bare Bones Guide Service 272-7137). Gold Lake does not get drawn down and has a good water level. Brett long-line trolled a variety of lures for good action throughout the day. The best results came along the west side of the lake. Weed beds were the most productive spots on the west shore.
In addition to numerous rainbows the two largest fish he landed were mackinaw close to four pounds. The mackinaw hit as his lures were pulled from the shallows over the drop off, going perpendicular to the shore. Water temp at Gold Lake is in the low 50s with a regular afternoon wind. The normally clear water has a bit of color indicating that this lake has turned over.
A report from Bullard’s Bar from 2 weeks ago put the water temp in the mid 60s. The only fish taken during a weekend on the water, were very small bass from 4 to 12 inches. They were stacked up in the backs of coves near any type of wood, in water from 8 to 25 feet deep.
Davis Lake has had good days this month. Two weeks ago reports were very good. Last week a couple local anglers fished hard for 2 to 3 fish per rod for a long day on the water. October is good, but not with out some slow days.
Eagle Lake near Susanville is fishing very well. The 2008 season has been good to anglers, with both quantity and quality of fish better than recent years. The north end of the lake has water in the mid 40s while the deeper south end has temps in the low 50s. At dawn the air temps are in the high 20s and by afternoon the air can rise as high as 70. A variety of techniques have been producing fish.
The most productive color for trolled flies and grubs has been cinnamon brown for many weeks. A night crawler without any flasher is also very effective. The locals attribute this to the fish keying in on a brown leech present in the lake. The best action has come from trolling around submerged rock piles where many feeding trout are concentrated. Based on previous years results look for orange to be a productive color as the fall gets colder.
If you have not launched a boat at Eagle lately, ask about shallows to avoid getting close to the launch ramp. You can get out safely but the route to follow is narrow. Pay attention to how others navigate away from the ramp.
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.
On the valley rivers the salmon spawn is nearing its peak. The low number of spawning fish ratifies the DF&G decision to halt salmon fishing for this year.
Compared to the peak years of a decade ago the numbers are very low. The current levels of returning fish look to me to be an adequate base for a future comeback.
On the Lower Yuba, there are salmon from above the Highway 20 bridge down to the Sycamore Ranch access. Below that point there are few salmon in evidence.
I spoke to Frank Rinella from the Nevada City Angler Fly Shop. The most successful steelhead/trout rig is a two fly set up of an egg and nymph combination. The trout are below the salmon redds. As the salmon dig spawning redds they lose eggs and dislodge nymphs from the gravel. Early on in the salmon spawn the trout are on a “suicidal” egg bite. After they have been caught and released a couple of times they are more likely to hit the nymph imitation.
This past weekend Saturday had an overcast sky and fewer anglers on the water resulting in decent fishing. Sunday with clear skies and considerably more angler pressure there was a noticeable decline in the catching. Most of the salmon had dropped back to deeper water well below the spawning area, and so had the trout.
Over on the Feather River, I received a report from Craig Bentley at Huntington’s in Oroville. The salmon spawn is on in the Low Flow. In better years there is extensive spawning throughout the “High Flow” as well. This season, Bentley notes, that he has seen no spawning redds below the Afterbay Hole. There are steelhead below the salmon on the Feather with the egg and nymph combination being your best bet.
The situation on the Sacramento River near Redding is similar with local trout biting well on egg patterns.
The Gold Country Fly fishers held their annual North Yuba River outing on Saturday. They fished below Downieville near the Convict Flat area. Water temps were in the high 40s. The fishing was good despite having almost a dozen anglers fishing the area. Ralph Wood (C&R Guide Service, 477-0780) started the trip with a clinic on fishing the river during the fall.
The majority of the rainbows were taken on “Dry & Dropper” rigs, with the dry fly providing most of the action. The most productive dry patterns were Stimulators, Adams Parachute and humpies. Most anglers caught fish with the largest going to 14 inches. Most of the good fishing occurred in the late morning through the early afternoon. The most active fish were at the head of the pools immediately below the riffles.
The Lakes Basin above Bassett’s Station on the North Yuba is fishing very well. Mike Pumphery fished Sardine Lake a couple weeks ago. This was the second consecutive year he has fished there in early October. Both years the fishing has been wide open. Mike said that everyone on the bank was catching fish using all methods from bait to lures. The fish were shallow and actively looking for something to bite. This is a far cry from fishing at this lake during the warm weather months, when the fish are deep.
Farther up the hill from Bassett’s Station, Gold Lake produced excellent fishing last Thursday for Brett Brady (Bare Bones Guide Service 272-7137). Gold Lake does not get drawn down and has a good water level. Brett long-line trolled a variety of lures for good action throughout the day. The best results came along the west side of the lake. Weed beds were the most productive spots on the west shore.
In addition to numerous rainbows the two largest fish he landed were mackinaw close to four pounds. The mackinaw hit as his lures were pulled from the shallows over the drop off, going perpendicular to the shore. Water temp at Gold Lake is in the low 50s with a regular afternoon wind. The normally clear water has a bit of color indicating that this lake has turned over.
A report from Bullard’s Bar from 2 weeks ago put the water temp in the mid 60s. The only fish taken during a weekend on the water, were very small bass from 4 to 12 inches. They were stacked up in the backs of coves near any type of wood, in water from 8 to 25 feet deep.
Davis Lake has had good days this month. Two weeks ago reports were very good. Last week a couple local anglers fished hard for 2 to 3 fish per rod for a long day on the water. October is good, but not with out some slow days.
Eagle Lake near Susanville is fishing very well. The 2008 season has been good to anglers, with both quantity and quality of fish better than recent years. The north end of the lake has water in the mid 40s while the deeper south end has temps in the low 50s. At dawn the air temps are in the high 20s and by afternoon the air can rise as high as 70. A variety of techniques have been producing fish.
The most productive color for trolled flies and grubs has been cinnamon brown for many weeks. A night crawler without any flasher is also very effective. The locals attribute this to the fish keying in on a brown leech present in the lake. The best action has come from trolling around submerged rock piles where many feeding trout are concentrated. Based on previous years results look for orange to be a productive color as the fall gets colder.
If you have not launched a boat at Eagle lately, ask about shallows to avoid getting close to the launch ramp. You can get out safely but the route to follow is narrow. Pay attention to how others navigate away from the ramp.
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.
