News
ENLARGE
You can still have a good fishing experience on these hot days if you stay out of the direct sun.
Last Wednesday I fished with Mike Pumphery on Rollins Lake. The plan was to meet at about 6 p.m. and stay until dark. We were hoping for a top water bite on fly rod poppers.
When we left the boat ramp there were a number of family and ski boats on the water. It is the peak of the water sports time with the water at 80 degrees approaching bathtub temperatures. We started down the lake poking into a variety of coves looking for undisturbed water. I did not realize how many family groups were set up in the coves. Many of the protected areas were filled with swimming kids, the sounds of horseshoes clanking and the smells of summer barbeque. There is more to summer than fishing.
We started our fishing throwing poppers to clay banks. The lake was only a couple feet below full pool. A day of wave action had formed a mud line along the shore. Often the baitfish will move into the stirred up mud looking for food. The bass will set up deeper, watching them from below. For me, the popper fishing proved futile after an hour of pounding the back of the coves. Mike switched early on, to a soft plastic pond smelt imitation. He picked up a few fish in the 4- to 6-inch range. The big fish of the evening came on a 6-inch pumpkin colored worm on the transition line between the brown and green water. It was a 17-inch spotted bass, a respectable catch on most lakes.
Ultimately, we moved out of the coves and finished the evening fishing rock banks that had clear water. We had much better luck. I cannot say whether it was the later hour or the clear water. I saw two fish hit the surface but the top water bite was not on. We had a good stretch of action catching modest sized “spots” on chartreuse beetle spins with chartreuse plastic tails. The most effective technique was a slow retrieve along the bottom.
These balmy summer evenings with summer sounds and smells make for an excellent outing even if the fishing is not stellar. Rollins, Scott's Flat and Englebright are all good prospects for a pleasant summer evening on the water.
Saturday afternoon, I headed toward Downieville to sample the fly fishing on the North Yuba. Most of the reports I had heard recommended going up high, to find cooler conditions. Due to time constraints I chose to fish down river from town to get me home a half hour earlier. Based on the results from other anglers higher up I think the fishing is just as good in the lower river.
My son and I fished with Richard Strutz. We were on the water before 6 p.m. What I was looking for was pocket water with boulders and shade on the water. We did well fishing a variety of flies. The determining factor for me was fishing a fly with white wings that I could see. I caught fish on an Orange Humpy, Royal Trude and a Rio Grande Trude. As long as I could see the fly and put it on top of fish holding water, they would come up to take it. The largest fish of the evening might be stretched to the 10-inch mark with creative measuring. Again, it is more about the places we fish this time of year rather than the size of the fish we catch. The word on the North Yuba this year is you will find plenty of action but most of the fish are small. I am reminded of the comment: “Trout don't live in ugly places.”
The summer is marching on. The question is how many evenings can you arrange to be on the water.
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.
Last Wednesday I fished with Mike Pumphery on Rollins Lake. The plan was to meet at about 6 p.m. and stay until dark. We were hoping for a top water bite on fly rod poppers.
When we left the boat ramp there were a number of family and ski boats on the water. It is the peak of the water sports time with the water at 80 degrees approaching bathtub temperatures. We started down the lake poking into a variety of coves looking for undisturbed water. I did not realize how many family groups were set up in the coves. Many of the protected areas were filled with swimming kids, the sounds of horseshoes clanking and the smells of summer barbeque. There is more to summer than fishing.
We started our fishing throwing poppers to clay banks. The lake was only a couple feet below full pool. A day of wave action had formed a mud line along the shore. Often the baitfish will move into the stirred up mud looking for food. The bass will set up deeper, watching them from below. For me, the popper fishing proved futile after an hour of pounding the back of the coves. Mike switched early on, to a soft plastic pond smelt imitation. He picked up a few fish in the 4- to 6-inch range. The big fish of the evening came on a 6-inch pumpkin colored worm on the transition line between the brown and green water. It was a 17-inch spotted bass, a respectable catch on most lakes.
Ultimately, we moved out of the coves and finished the evening fishing rock banks that had clear water. We had much better luck. I cannot say whether it was the later hour or the clear water. I saw two fish hit the surface but the top water bite was not on. We had a good stretch of action catching modest sized “spots” on chartreuse beetle spins with chartreuse plastic tails. The most effective technique was a slow retrieve along the bottom.
These balmy summer evenings with summer sounds and smells make for an excellent outing even if the fishing is not stellar. Rollins, Scott's Flat and Englebright are all good prospects for a pleasant summer evening on the water.
Saturday afternoon, I headed toward Downieville to sample the fly fishing on the North Yuba. Most of the reports I had heard recommended going up high, to find cooler conditions. Due to time constraints I chose to fish down river from town to get me home a half hour earlier. Based on the results from other anglers higher up I think the fishing is just as good in the lower river.
My son and I fished with Richard Strutz. We were on the water before 6 p.m. What I was looking for was pocket water with boulders and shade on the water. We did well fishing a variety of flies. The determining factor for me was fishing a fly with white wings that I could see. I caught fish on an Orange Humpy, Royal Trude and a Rio Grande Trude. As long as I could see the fly and put it on top of fish holding water, they would come up to take it. The largest fish of the evening might be stretched to the 10-inch mark with creative measuring. Again, it is more about the places we fish this time of year rather than the size of the fish we catch. The word on the North Yuba this year is you will find plenty of action but most of the fish are small. I am reminded of the comment: “Trout don't live in ugly places.”
The summer is marching on. The question is how many evenings can you arrange to be on the water.
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.
