Is it too much to ask that the summer never gets any hotter than it’s been over the past few days? Man, the weather’s been absolutely gorgeous and, right on queue, there’s a bunch of good fishing to be had out and about right now.
Here are some of the more interesting picks:
American River: I fished the lower Rio Americano Tuesday and the weather was incredible, the scenery was beautiful and, aside from one bankie who didn’t hang around long, we didn’t see another angler between Sailor Bar and Rossmoor.
Additionally, the steelhead fishing was pretty good. With only one line in the water, we hooked a bunch of small “half-pounder” steelies, along with one super fat spring-run adult and then lost a chrome late-running winter steelhead of about 9 pounds right at the net.
We backtrolled small plugs and side-drifted with nightcrawlers. I’ve only got a couple days of steelheading left available on the schedule before I switch to river stripers, so give me a call if you want to go: (916) 388-1956.
Feather River: Speaking of steelhead, the Feather (at long last) is finally starting to produce. It’s been a slow winter, but some of the smaller spring-run fish are now showing in the stretch of river between the Outlet and downtown Oroville… aka: The Low Flow. It’s mainly a nightcrawler show for bait guys and fluff chuckers have been using nymphs under indicators. The fish are 2 to 4 pounds and super scrappy.
Folsom Lake: With the warm weather, bass fishing is starting to heat up here. Along the shallow flats, you’ll find some eager males cruising around and can catch them on rip baits. The bigger females have yet to come up so you’ll have to go deeper with jigs and drop shot worms.
Trout and some surprising king salmon are also showing for trollers dragging worms, spoons and plugs around on the surface across the dam face. Check in with Jerry “The Prince of Darkness” Lampkin of TNG Motorsports Guide Service: (530) 320-0994.
Sacramento River: Up toward Redding, the trout bite is starting to come back around, while down in the lower end, the first waves of spawning striped bass are pushing upriver. The striper fishing should go full tilt within a couple weeks. While the steelhead fishing locally has been fun, I’m really excited about the spring striper run! We’ll also see the first waves of shad within 3 to 4 weeks — hard to believe we’re already that far into 2010, huh?
San Francisco Bay: There’s quite a bit of fun stuff happening here right now! Trollers in the South Bay have been catching some halibut on anchovies behind size 00 dodgers at Oyster Point and Candlestick. Some sturgeon are also showing around the Dumbarton Bridge (south side).
Big schools of smallish stripers have been holding around the “Marin Islands” and guys drifting live bait or casting ½-ounce swimbaits can hook 50 fish if they catch the tide right. Perch are waking up along the local beaches and Carolina-rigged grubs or GULP Sandworms are the hot tickets. A few stripers are also showing up around Rockaway on poppers and iron. Outside, squidding is the main attraction. Call Hi’s Tackle Box in San Francisco for more: (650) 588-1200.
More Reports: To see what’s going on at more hot spots throughout Nor Cal, hit my Web page: www.fishwithjd.com and click on “fishing reports.”
J.D. Richey’s column runs Fridays in the Journal. Comment online at www.auburnjournal.com.