News
ENLARGE
This is County Fair Week in Nevada County. I have heard from “old timers” that you could count on a rain shower sometime during the fair in the old days.
It happened more often than not. Mother Nature missed it by one week this year. Last Thursday, we had one of those rare summer rains come through the north state.
My most reliable source for Rollins Lake fishing reports is Mike Pumphery. He called last Thursday morning when he was sure that the rain was going to materialize. He asked if I wanted to go fishing at Rollins. He had a feeling that it would be good. I had a previous commitment that precluded my going but Mike offered to call and let me know how things worked out.
Mike is a firm believer in fishing as a storm front is arriving. This pattern works well for him whether the month is January or August. There is a lot of speculation about why this is a good time to fish. The falling barometer is cited. The water surface tension is reputed to become stronger. This prevents insects from breaking through to the air, making easy targets for insect feeding trout. Another factor with an approaching storm is the cloud cover that mutes the sunlight. Regardless of the why, I have also done well as a storm moves in.
After arriving midday, Mike launched at Greenhorn and fished his favorite structure close to the ramp with little result. He moved on to the Bear River arm. His first stop was the mouth of the river. During the heat of August, looking for cool incoming water is a good prospect. But it did not pan out either.
The next option involved working the shoreline structure on the Bear River arm. I fished with Mike a couple weeks ago and we did the best on that trip working the steep rock banks. As Mike worked down the bank with his electric trolling motor he kept an eye on his fish finder. At mid-afternoon he struck paydirt. He spotted a “bait ball” at 20 feet below the surface. Associated with the school of pond smelt were larger marks on the screen that showed predators were herding the bait.
Mike switched lures to a soft plastic baitfish on an ultra light jig head. This bait falls very slowly. When it came close to the bait ball depth, it was hit by a spotted bass. The same happened on the second cast after waiting for the bait to reach the proper depth. When the bass were landed they were burping up pond smelt that measured .75 to 1.25 inches. Mike switched again this time to a small Kastmaster spoon. It falls rapidly allowing him to get down to the action in seconds rather than minutes.
Mike was able to follow the school of pond smelt for almost two hours. Occasionally some of the smelt were cut off from the main group and pushed briefly to the surface by the spotted bass. The school was about the size of his 16 foot boat. The wind would push the boat and he would lose the school for a period of time. When he relocated it the action was back on.
Mike has been purchasing a season pass at Rollins for many years. He regularly fishes the lake in all months of the year. Last Thursday was the best day he has had on the lake for numbers of fish landed. Most of the bass were spots in the one pound range with an occasional smallmouth mixed in.
After hearing his story I thought about how it all came together for him. He had the flexibility in his schedule to go when the weather was right. He knew what the food chain was in the lake and had a number of lures that matched the baitfish. He had a plan to try a number of locations that had produced fish in the past. He also had a fish finder to see below the surface and locate the food source 20 feet down. The most successful anglers are those who comprehend what is going on below the surface.
I often hear about “luck” with respect to fishing success. This is a bit of a misnomer.
I am reminded of a motto I heard from my father, “Luck is the residue of design.”
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.
Salmon count
Red Bluff Diversion Dam salmon count for the most recent three days =
August 9, 2009 = 12
August 8, 2009 = 8
August 7, 2009 = 7
June 15 to date 2009 = 807 salmon
May 15 to date 2008 = 2176 salmon
* The 2009 salmon counts began June 15. The 2008 salmon counts began on May 15, so there will be a major disparity in spring run salmon totals. The main part of this run comes in early. 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.
It happened more often than not. Mother Nature missed it by one week this year. Last Thursday, we had one of those rare summer rains come through the north state.
My most reliable source for Rollins Lake fishing reports is Mike Pumphery. He called last Thursday morning when he was sure that the rain was going to materialize. He asked if I wanted to go fishing at Rollins. He had a feeling that it would be good. I had a previous commitment that precluded my going but Mike offered to call and let me know how things worked out.
Mike is a firm believer in fishing as a storm front is arriving. This pattern works well for him whether the month is January or August. There is a lot of speculation about why this is a good time to fish. The falling barometer is cited. The water surface tension is reputed to become stronger. This prevents insects from breaking through to the air, making easy targets for insect feeding trout. Another factor with an approaching storm is the cloud cover that mutes the sunlight. Regardless of the why, I have also done well as a storm moves in.
After arriving midday, Mike launched at Greenhorn and fished his favorite structure close to the ramp with little result. He moved on to the Bear River arm. His first stop was the mouth of the river. During the heat of August, looking for cool incoming water is a good prospect. But it did not pan out either.
The next option involved working the shoreline structure on the Bear River arm. I fished with Mike a couple weeks ago and we did the best on that trip working the steep rock banks. As Mike worked down the bank with his electric trolling motor he kept an eye on his fish finder. At mid-afternoon he struck paydirt. He spotted a “bait ball” at 20 feet below the surface. Associated with the school of pond smelt were larger marks on the screen that showed predators were herding the bait.
Mike switched lures to a soft plastic baitfish on an ultra light jig head. This bait falls very slowly. When it came close to the bait ball depth, it was hit by a spotted bass. The same happened on the second cast after waiting for the bait to reach the proper depth. When the bass were landed they were burping up pond smelt that measured .75 to 1.25 inches. Mike switched again this time to a small Kastmaster spoon. It falls rapidly allowing him to get down to the action in seconds rather than minutes.
Mike was able to follow the school of pond smelt for almost two hours. Occasionally some of the smelt were cut off from the main group and pushed briefly to the surface by the spotted bass. The school was about the size of his 16 foot boat. The wind would push the boat and he would lose the school for a period of time. When he relocated it the action was back on.
Mike has been purchasing a season pass at Rollins for many years. He regularly fishes the lake in all months of the year. Last Thursday was the best day he has had on the lake for numbers of fish landed. Most of the bass were spots in the one pound range with an occasional smallmouth mixed in.
After hearing his story I thought about how it all came together for him. He had the flexibility in his schedule to go when the weather was right. He knew what the food chain was in the lake and had a number of lures that matched the baitfish. He had a plan to try a number of locations that had produced fish in the past. He also had a fish finder to see below the surface and locate the food source 20 feet down. The most successful anglers are those who comprehend what is going on below the surface.
I often hear about “luck” with respect to fishing success. This is a bit of a misnomer.
I am reminded of a motto I heard from my father, “Luck is the residue of design.”
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.
Salmon count
Red Bluff Diversion Dam salmon count for the most recent three days =
August 9, 2009 = 12
August 8, 2009 = 8
August 7, 2009 = 7
June 15 to date 2009 = 807 salmon
May 15 to date 2008 = 2176 salmon
* The 2009 salmon counts began June 15. The 2008 salmon counts began on May 15, so there will be a major disparity in spring run salmon totals. The main part of this run comes in early. 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.
