News
ENLARGE
Salmon tend to move from salt water into fresh on the high tides of the full moon period. An explanation is that the higher tides facilitate getting over sand bars that can close river mouths.
The full moon on Aug. 7 coincided with the recent rainstorm and brought a surge of salmon and steelhead into the estuary of the Klamath River. The rains temporarily lowered the water temps from 73 degrees down to 68. On a daily basis salmon are moving in and out of the estuary.
The warm temps preclude good in-river fishing for sport anglers. The commercial net fishing at the mouth is producing good numbers of salmon. The next full moon will occur on Sept. 4, the Friday before Labor Day. The Labor Day holiday is traditionally the kick off to the fall salmon and half-pounder steelhead fishing. This year with the full moon, this holiday should prove to be good fishing.
Closer to home on the Feather River, water flows were as high as 7,500 cfs in late July. They were lowered to the 2,000 cfs level five days after the full moon. The combination of the high water and full moon brought an influx of salmon into the Feather. The majority of the salmon appear to be “jacks.”
The Feather River is closed to salmon fishing for the entire season. For those tempted to break this rule I will pass along a story. An angler took a salmon from the low flow section this summer and was apprehended. He received a $2,000 fine and is currently spending his weekends wearing blaze orange cleaning highway shoulders. What was a $500 fine a couple of years ago is now four times as much.
Up in the high country the kokanee (sockeye salmon) are turning towards their spawning mode. At Stampede Reservoir the majority of the kokanee were in the deepest water off the face of the dam. The males are developing hook jaws. They are loosing the luster from their sides and they are beginning to shed some of their scales.
Anglers pursuing these fish have been having a tough time of it. Keith Kerrigan of Sierra Anglers Guide Service has moved up the lake to intercept the fish as they move toward the Little Truckee River. He reports better fishing due to less crowded conditions but he still has to put in a long day to produce a limit of fish for his clients. He has landed a few fish over 16 inches but the majority are shorter than 15 inches.
Doug Wilmes (Bottom Line Guide Service) reports an up tick in the trolling at Eagle Lake. During the summer, the bait anglers using night crawlers do very well on the lake, fishing deep below slip bobbers. The young of the year minnows become the more important food source as we get closer to fall. Doug noted that this past week fish landed on his boat were burping up numerous tui chub about 1.5 inches long.
The trout at Eagle Lake are located in the deeper south basin. They are on the surface at first light. Doug reports the most productive catching depth is 25 to 30 feet down. He is targeting rock structure at that depth.
Frank Rinella fished the North Yuba last week. He was able to find 60-degree water at high elevation. At midmorning when he started, the fishing was good on dry flies. By midday when the sun was fully on the water he had a very tough time. Into the afternoon when there was shade again on the water the fish were back on. Frank likes to change flies frequently to see how selective the fish might be. Last week he did well on Buzz Hackles and Renegades (No. 16). When he switched to Stimulators, Pink Cahills and nymphs the fish were not as interested. Franks fellow anglers fished Parachute Adams (No. 16 & 18) for most of the day and did well.
For anglers interested in the fall fishing at Crowley Lake near Mammoth, there is an unusually high lake level at this time. Normally by mid August the lake has been lowered.
The dropping water levels exposes the mud shore that turns the lake turbid with the wave action. This season the lake is still very clear. The explanation I have heard is that the lake level is predicated more on hydro-power production than water need this summer. The abundance of wind produced electricity in Southern California has precluded the need for hydro generation, allowing for the storage of more water at Crowley for the time being.
The trout action at this time is centered on the cold water inlets. A concentration of angler boats marks the cool water locations. Another effect of holding more water at Crowley has been moderate fishable flows on the Owens River through Bishop.
My source for this is Don Meiers who guides Crowley spring and fall. Currently he is guiding Lake Mary at the 9,000 foot elevation above Mammoth. Lake Mary is 59 degrees and Crowley is 70 degrees at this time.
Ed Everhart fished a bass tournament on the Delta last Saturday. The largemouth bass bite for him and his son Cole was tough. Their best bite came where current was sweeping close to banks with tules. They did well throwing red crawdad plugs and retrieving them with the current. The problem was that they were catching stripers instead of largemouth bass.
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 13, 2009 = 36
August 12, 2009 = 36
August 11, 2009 = 18
June 15 to date 2009 = 917 salmon
May 15 to date 2008 = 2337 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.
The full moon on Aug. 7 coincided with the recent rainstorm and brought a surge of salmon and steelhead into the estuary of the Klamath River. The rains temporarily lowered the water temps from 73 degrees down to 68. On a daily basis salmon are moving in and out of the estuary.
The warm temps preclude good in-river fishing for sport anglers. The commercial net fishing at the mouth is producing good numbers of salmon. The next full moon will occur on Sept. 4, the Friday before Labor Day. The Labor Day holiday is traditionally the kick off to the fall salmon and half-pounder steelhead fishing. This year with the full moon, this holiday should prove to be good fishing.
Closer to home on the Feather River, water flows were as high as 7,500 cfs in late July. They were lowered to the 2,000 cfs level five days after the full moon. The combination of the high water and full moon brought an influx of salmon into the Feather. The majority of the salmon appear to be “jacks.”
The Feather River is closed to salmon fishing for the entire season. For those tempted to break this rule I will pass along a story. An angler took a salmon from the low flow section this summer and was apprehended. He received a $2,000 fine and is currently spending his weekends wearing blaze orange cleaning highway shoulders. What was a $500 fine a couple of years ago is now four times as much.
Up in the high country the kokanee (sockeye salmon) are turning towards their spawning mode. At Stampede Reservoir the majority of the kokanee were in the deepest water off the face of the dam. The males are developing hook jaws. They are loosing the luster from their sides and they are beginning to shed some of their scales.
Anglers pursuing these fish have been having a tough time of it. Keith Kerrigan of Sierra Anglers Guide Service has moved up the lake to intercept the fish as they move toward the Little Truckee River. He reports better fishing due to less crowded conditions but he still has to put in a long day to produce a limit of fish for his clients. He has landed a few fish over 16 inches but the majority are shorter than 15 inches.
Doug Wilmes (Bottom Line Guide Service) reports an up tick in the trolling at Eagle Lake. During the summer, the bait anglers using night crawlers do very well on the lake, fishing deep below slip bobbers. The young of the year minnows become the more important food source as we get closer to fall. Doug noted that this past week fish landed on his boat were burping up numerous tui chub about 1.5 inches long.
The trout at Eagle Lake are located in the deeper south basin. They are on the surface at first light. Doug reports the most productive catching depth is 25 to 30 feet down. He is targeting rock structure at that depth.
Frank Rinella fished the North Yuba last week. He was able to find 60-degree water at high elevation. At midmorning when he started, the fishing was good on dry flies. By midday when the sun was fully on the water he had a very tough time. Into the afternoon when there was shade again on the water the fish were back on. Frank likes to change flies frequently to see how selective the fish might be. Last week he did well on Buzz Hackles and Renegades (No. 16). When he switched to Stimulators, Pink Cahills and nymphs the fish were not as interested. Franks fellow anglers fished Parachute Adams (No. 16 & 18) for most of the day and did well.
For anglers interested in the fall fishing at Crowley Lake near Mammoth, there is an unusually high lake level at this time. Normally by mid August the lake has been lowered.
The dropping water levels exposes the mud shore that turns the lake turbid with the wave action. This season the lake is still very clear. The explanation I have heard is that the lake level is predicated more on hydro-power production than water need this summer. The abundance of wind produced electricity in Southern California has precluded the need for hydro generation, allowing for the storage of more water at Crowley for the time being.
The trout action at this time is centered on the cold water inlets. A concentration of angler boats marks the cool water locations. Another effect of holding more water at Crowley has been moderate fishable flows on the Owens River through Bishop.
My source for this is Don Meiers who guides Crowley spring and fall. Currently he is guiding Lake Mary at the 9,000 foot elevation above Mammoth. Lake Mary is 59 degrees and Crowley is 70 degrees at this time.
Ed Everhart fished a bass tournament on the Delta last Saturday. The largemouth bass bite for him and his son Cole was tough. Their best bite came where current was sweeping close to banks with tules. They did well throwing red crawdad plugs and retrieving them with the current. The problem was that they were catching stripers instead of largemouth bass.
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 13, 2009 = 36
August 12, 2009 = 36
August 11, 2009 = 18
June 15 to date 2009 = 917 salmon
May 15 to date 2008 = 2337 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.
