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ENLARGE
Denis Peirce
Even though we are in full-on, summer-heat mode you can roll back the calendar by going higher into the Sierra.
A friend, Peter Bauer, traveled down Highway 395 to the Tioga Pass Road (Highway 120). It is the eastern entrance to Yosemite. This road will give you paved access to the 10,000-foot elevation. The lakes at this altitude have been iced out for about two weeks.
These same conditions at our local Grouse ridge Area occurred in May.
Peter's destination was Saddle Bag Lake. He walked over snow banks to get to the shore of the lake last week. The water was in the high 40s and the fish were feeding heavily on a variety of insects.
The most noticeable insect for Peter was the mosquito. Peter used dry flies of various descriptions to catch fish throughout the day and into the evening. There are numerous lakes in the area, many of which feature good fishing throughout the warm weather months.
Along the eastern Sierra, the East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir is at 240 cubic feet per second, which is very high. The downstream agricultural demands control the flow. The West Walker River, which runs alongside Highway 395, is just now becoming fishable. It has been high due to the snowmelt.
Lakes in the northern Sierra are warming up. Lake Davis is now in the mid 70s as is Lake Almanor. The Hex hatch at Almanor continued in some of the quieter coves over the Fourth of July weekend.
Doug Wilmes of Susanville fished the west side for three evenings and did very well. He started off fishing flies. An adjacent boat was dramatically out fishing them. They showed Doug that they were fishing live meal worms as a Hex nymph substitute. Doug returned with this bait and caught rainbows, browns, smallmouth and landlocked salmon.
Despite the 74-degree water the fish will move into warm water, if the food is plentiful.
Eagle Lake is experiencing similar temps. The pH balance is now in the 9.4 to 9.5 range. During the warm weather months, catch and release is not advised due to mortality. The trolling bite is poor. The best results have come from fishing night crawlers with a slip bobber in the deep water in the south end of the lake.
Closer to home the best flowing water options for trout are the Lower Yuba and the North Yuba. The Lower Yuba fishes well in the evening. During the heat of the day the fish need to be dredged off the bottom. During that magic hour before dark you can hit a caddis hatch and do well. The North Yuba is fishing well. There are few big fish but if action in a beautiful setting is what you want the North Yuba is worth the hour drive.
The spring salmon run on the Trinity River has come on in the last two weeks. The Klamath/Trinity is the only river system where salmon fishing is open at this time. There are bright fish in good condition in the upper reaches of the river.
Currently roe is the best bet. Flatfish with a sardine wrap has not been effective recently. Expect this fishing to last into mid August. Then there will be a break until late September when the fall run moves up river.
The July meeting of the “Gold Country Fly Fishers” will be held at 7 p.m. today. The location will be the Senior Center at the Fairgrounds. Use Gate 2 for parking. The program will feature Phil Fisher and be entitled “Solving Puzzles, Entomology and how to apply it to river situations.”
This is a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the food that trout feed on. Phil is an accomplished fly tier and photographer.
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.
Red Bluff Diversion Dam salmon count for the most recent three days =
July 4, 2008 = 7
July 3, 2008 = 17
July 2, 2008 = 14
June 15 to date 2009 = 361 salmon (approximately 120/week)
May 15 to date 2008 = 1168 salmon (approximately 166/week)
* The 2009 salmon counts began June 15. The 2008 salmon counts began on May 15, so there will be a major disparity in totals. Due to budget considerations the fish counts will not be available daily and “The Union” will publish the most current data available. We are printing the salmon counts at Red Bluff as an indicator of the valley salmon run in general. Salmon fishing on the Sacramento River is closed until November.
A friend, Peter Bauer, traveled down Highway 395 to the Tioga Pass Road (Highway 120). It is the eastern entrance to Yosemite. This road will give you paved access to the 10,000-foot elevation. The lakes at this altitude have been iced out for about two weeks.
These same conditions at our local Grouse ridge Area occurred in May.
Peter's destination was Saddle Bag Lake. He walked over snow banks to get to the shore of the lake last week. The water was in the high 40s and the fish were feeding heavily on a variety of insects.
The most noticeable insect for Peter was the mosquito. Peter used dry flies of various descriptions to catch fish throughout the day and into the evening. There are numerous lakes in the area, many of which feature good fishing throughout the warm weather months.
Along the eastern Sierra, the East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir is at 240 cubic feet per second, which is very high. The downstream agricultural demands control the flow. The West Walker River, which runs alongside Highway 395, is just now becoming fishable. It has been high due to the snowmelt.
Lakes in the northern Sierra are warming up. Lake Davis is now in the mid 70s as is Lake Almanor. The Hex hatch at Almanor continued in some of the quieter coves over the Fourth of July weekend.
Doug Wilmes of Susanville fished the west side for three evenings and did very well. He started off fishing flies. An adjacent boat was dramatically out fishing them. They showed Doug that they were fishing live meal worms as a Hex nymph substitute. Doug returned with this bait and caught rainbows, browns, smallmouth and landlocked salmon.
Despite the 74-degree water the fish will move into warm water, if the food is plentiful.
Eagle Lake is experiencing similar temps. The pH balance is now in the 9.4 to 9.5 range. During the warm weather months, catch and release is not advised due to mortality. The trolling bite is poor. The best results have come from fishing night crawlers with a slip bobber in the deep water in the south end of the lake.
Closer to home the best flowing water options for trout are the Lower Yuba and the North Yuba. The Lower Yuba fishes well in the evening. During the heat of the day the fish need to be dredged off the bottom. During that magic hour before dark you can hit a caddis hatch and do well. The North Yuba is fishing well. There are few big fish but if action in a beautiful setting is what you want the North Yuba is worth the hour drive.
The spring salmon run on the Trinity River has come on in the last two weeks. The Klamath/Trinity is the only river system where salmon fishing is open at this time. There are bright fish in good condition in the upper reaches of the river.
Currently roe is the best bet. Flatfish with a sardine wrap has not been effective recently. Expect this fishing to last into mid August. Then there will be a break until late September when the fall run moves up river.
The July meeting of the “Gold Country Fly Fishers” will be held at 7 p.m. today. The location will be the Senior Center at the Fairgrounds. Use Gate 2 for parking. The program will feature Phil Fisher and be entitled “Solving Puzzles, Entomology and how to apply it to river situations.”
This is a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the food that trout feed on. Phil is an accomplished fly tier and photographer.
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.
Red Bluff Diversion Dam salmon count for the most recent three days =
July 4, 2008 = 7
July 3, 2008 = 17
July 2, 2008 = 14
June 15 to date 2009 = 361 salmon (approximately 120/week)
May 15 to date 2008 = 1168 salmon (approximately 166/week)
* The 2009 salmon counts began June 15. The 2008 salmon counts began on May 15, so there will be a major disparity in totals. Due to budget considerations the fish counts will not be available daily and “The Union” will publish the most current data available. We are printing the salmon counts at Red Bluff as an indicator of the valley salmon run in general. Salmon fishing on the Sacramento River is closed until November.
