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NORCAL RIVERS: Sac River salmon opener better than expected
Rogue River anglers turning to other rivers, Klamath fishing slows, Delta salmon opener... West Walker Rive action...
WON NORCAL RIVERS REPORTS
'They ripped the salmon'
By Jim Jones/WON Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO
— “They ripped them (salmon) yesterday, and we weighed in 20 of them.” Those were the first words out of Yee Vang of Broadway Bait Rod and Gun’s mouth in reporting on the salmon opener on the Sacramento River on Saturday. After a moment of stunned silence by this reporter, Vang burst out laughing.
“No, it was really slow. I heard through word of mouth there were a couple caught from shore at the Minnow Hole at Riverside and Fruitridge on Mepps Flying C spinners and at Verona.”
Well, maybe they didn’t exactly “rip” them at Verona, but there were more salmon caught than many folks expected, according to John Myer of Verona Marina.
“There were probably about 10 or 11 caught yesterday and a bunch more today,” he said. Now, putting that into perspective, since there were estimates of around 50 boats fishing out of Verona on Saturday, that would put the catch at one fish per 5 boats. Not enough to say they ripped them, but enough to keep true salmon fishermen coming back.
One of those who did much better than average was Jeff Neubauer of Orangevale. He lost a nice fish on Saturday just inside the color line at the mouth of the Feather and returned to the same spot on Sunday to quickly catch his limit.
“Out there two and a half hours, and I have to go home,” he said jokingly. He was fishing by himself and lost his umbrella protecting him from the sun as he struggled to land his 26-pound king, the larger of his 2-fish limit. He said it was a worthwhile trade. His smaller fish weighed 10 pounds.
Larry Barnes of Elkhorn Outdoors Sports said that John Haycock Sacramento escaped the crowd at the mouth of the Feather Saturday and went downstream across from Pinky’s to work a double bladed Silvertron in pink and silver. His reward was a 30-pound king.
Some anglers gave up on the salmon, or didn’t even try and caught a few decent stripers “here and there,” among the usual little ones. Chase Hammann of Sacramento caught a 13 pounder at Miller Park on a sardine according to Vang, and guide Scott Feist put his clients onto a couple of dozen smallish striped bass to 22 inches fishing minnows out of Tisdale.
Klamath fishing slows — Trinity producing some big Chinooks
By Jim Jones/WON Staff Writer
KLAMATH GLEN
— Well, you know the old saying, “You shoulda been here yesterday”. That was never more true than on the Klamath River last week, which had seen a couple of weeks of very good fishing for salmon and steelhead extending through a week ago Monday, but which came crashing down on Tuesday.
“It was like a totally different river,” said Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service. “We had great fishing on Monday, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, it got really tough after we got a little bit of rain and cooler weather that cooled off the water. Those fish just jetted upstream. Fishing picked up a little toward the end of the week, but it was still slow.”
An example of just how good the fishing was, is Joe Ellis’ catch on Monday before the bottom dropped out. He caught three salmon to 20 pounds plus a 12-pound wild steelhead. But, since this is just the start of the Fall run, the drop off should just be a temporary respite.
Up on the Trinity, Liam Gogan of Trinity River Guide Service said that fishing was good, but he believes the fish he was catching were late spring run fish rather than fall fish. This is also the conclusion of Ed Duggan of “D” Guide Service who watches the counts at the Willow Creek Weir closely.
Gogan said that these fish are running very large for the Trinity.
“We’re catching better looking fish,” he said, “but they’re not fall fish yet. Things are looking good.” They have been hitting both Kwikfish and roe, and some have weighed up to 30 pounds.
Rogue River anglers turning to other rivers
By Bill Karr/WON Staff Writer
GOLD BEACH, Ore.
— According to reports from WON Field Reporters Dave Pitts and Curtis Palmer, the Rogue River estuary continues providing a dismal bite, and anglers are turning towards the Coquille and other Oregon rivers where the fishing is better.
“The Rogue River’s king bite remains problematic,” said Pitts, “and boaters remain frustrated by lockjawed kings throughout the lower river and estuary. The dismal bite forces guides and anglers to fish upriver by Agness and everywhere inbetween with both plugs and eggs, but are seeing minimal results.” He said that guides are saying they should have made the move weeks ago to the Coquille. Even so, anglers fishing the middle Rogue are doing fair to good with bait and plugs on kings and some steelhead. The upper Rogue from Foster Bar to Whiskey Creek is closed to the take of kings.
The Coquille River is producing both coho and kings, and wild coho may be taken up to the Highway 42S Bridge near Sturtevant Park until November 30, although there is a quota of 1,200 fish. Anglers may keep one unclipped coho per day and up to five for the season.
“One of the perks to the Coquille is you can dump crab pots off in the lower river, head upriver to fish for salmon, and after putting a few kings in the box, head back down and pull a crab pot of very big Dungeness,” said Pitts.
Guide Curtis Palmer of River Secrets Guide Service fishes plugcCut sardines and herring, and he says the key is trolling speed and depth. Anglers wanting to fish this river should launch at the Bullards State Park and begin trolling starting just below the bridge and working your way upriver some three miles.
Delta salmon opener no surprise — POOR!
By Robin Wade/WON Staff Writer
RIO VISTA
— It comes as no surprise that the salmon opener on the Delta this past weekend was pretty much a bust for almost everyone. A low count for the ocean season, warm waters, bad tides and a holiday boating crowd discouraged both anglers and fish from showing up. Stripers were a better option on the Sacramento River side, while sturgeon kept a few anglers happy on the San Joaquin River side.
“The waters are still too warm for many of the salmon to show up, it needs to cool down a few more degrees,” said Capt. Kev of Lucky Strike Charters. This reporter called several Delta sources, and tallied maybe five fish and not many more anglers. After the holiday boat traffic subsides, reports may improve.
“The next batch of stripers haS arrived in the Delta system, especially in the area ranging from the Middle Grounds to above Chain Island,” Capt. Kev said. “The largest striper of the week reported was a 36 pounder but the consistent numbers ranged from 10 to 20 pounds.”
Anglers have found the best option was using big baits, with the incoming tide being reported as the most productive tide set, at water depths ranging from 35 to 15 feet.
On the San Joaquin side the best bet was for sturgeon action. “Anglers have found some very good action below the Middle Grounds. Wind is still making some days a challenge though, but those who have gotten out on the water have found the best results on the incoming tide, working depths from 45to 65 feet, with grass shrimp and eel leading the way with bait preference,” Capt. Kev said.
West Walker River trout action is still “excellent”
By Robin Wade/WON Staff Writer
WALKER
— Trout anglers making the trip to the West Walker River are all going home with smiles on their faces. Sam Foster at the Toiyabe Motel reports that people are catching so many fish that catch-and-release is mandatory if you plan to stay out all day.
“The fishing has been excellent, with lots of catch-and-release going on with every angler who stays out more than an hour or so,” said Sam Foster, owner of the Toiyabe Motel. “The river is just loaded with fish. The DFG has been making weekly plants and Mono County has been putting some big Alpers trout to sweeten the pot — the last Alpers plant was made this past week just before the holiday. Most of the trout that people are catching are the 10-to 14-inch DFG rainbows, but the river has a ‘zillion’ little browns in it that were planted by the DFG.”
These small 8- to 9-inch browns are driving everyone crazy because they hit your bait or lure before the bigger rainbows have a chance to get to it. Next year though, the brown trout fishing should be just fantastic as these fish grow into catchable size, he said.
Foster reported that anglers were about 50-percent fly fishermen and 50-percent bait and lure tossers. No one had landed any of the big Alpers this past week, but several people reported hooking big fish that eventually broke them off. Mono County will be making a couple more Alpers plants before the end of the season on November 15.
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WON NORCAL RIVERS REPORTS 'They ripped the salmon' By Jim Jones/WON Staff Writer SACRAMENTO
— “They ripped them (salmon) yesterday, and we weighed in 20 of them.” Those were the first words out of Yee Vang of Broadway Bait Rod and Gun’s mouth in reporting on the salmon opener on the Sacramento River on Saturday. After a moment of stunned silence by this reporter, Vang burst out laughing.“No, it was really slow. I heard through word of mouth there were a couple caught from shore at the Minnow Hole at Riverside and Fruitridge on Mepps Flying C spinners and at Verona.” Well, maybe they didn’t exactly “rip” them at Verona, but there were more salmon caught than many folks expected, according to John Myer of Verona Marina. “There were probably about 10 or 11 caught yesterday and a bunch more today,” he said. Now, putting that into perspective, since there were estimates of around 50 boats fishing out of Verona on Saturday, that would put the catch at one fish per 5 boats. Not enough to say they ripped them, but enough to keep true salmon fishermen coming back. One of those who did much better than average was Jeff Neubauer of Orangevale. He lost a nice fish on Saturday just inside the color line at the mouth of the Feather and returned to the same spot on Sunday to quickly catch his limit. “Out there two and a half hours, and I have to go home,” he said jokingly. He was fishing by himself and lost his umbrella protecting him from the sun as he struggled to land his 26-pound king, the larger of his 2-fish limit. He said it was a worthwhile trade. His smaller fish weighed 10 pounds. Larry Barnes of Elkhorn Outdoors Sports said that John Haycock Sacramento escaped the crowd at the mouth of the Feather Saturday and went downstream across from Pinky’s to work a double bladed Silvertron in pink and silver. His reward was a 30-pound king. Some anglers gave up on the salmon, or didn’t even try and caught a few decent stripers “here and there,” among the usual little ones. Chase Hammann of Sacramento caught a 13 pounder at Miller Park on a sardine according to Vang, and guide Scott Feist put his clients onto a couple of dozen smallish striped bass to 22 inches fishing minnows out of Tisdale. Klamath fishing slows — Trinity producing some big Chinooks By Jim Jones/WON Staff Writer
KLAMATH GLEN
— Well, you know the old saying, “You shoulda been here yesterday”. That was never more true than on the Klamath River last week, which had seen a couple of weeks of very good fishing for salmon and steelhead extending through a week ago Monday, but which came crashing down on Tuesday.“It was like a totally different river,” said Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service. “We had great fishing on Monday, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, it got really tough after we got a little bit of rain and cooler weather that cooled off the water. Those fish just jetted upstream. Fishing picked up a little toward the end of the week, but it was still slow.” An example of just how good the fishing was, is Joe Ellis’ catch on Monday before the bottom dropped out. He caught three salmon to 20 pounds plus a 12-pound wild steelhead. But, since this is just the start of the Fall run, the drop off should just be a temporary respite. Up on the Trinity, Liam Gogan of Trinity River Guide Service said that fishing was good, but he believes the fish he was catching were late spring run fish rather than fall fish. This is also the conclusion of Ed Duggan of “D” Guide Service who watches the counts at the Willow Creek Weir closely. Gogan said that these fish are running very large for the Trinity. “We’re catching better looking fish,” he said, “but they’re not fall fish yet. Things are looking good.” They have been hitting both Kwikfish and roe, and some have weighed up to 30 pounds. Rogue River anglers turning to other rivers By Bill Karr/WON Staff Writer GOLD BEACH, Ore.
— According to reports from WON Field Reporters Dave Pitts and Curtis Palmer, the Rogue River estuary continues providing a dismal bite, and anglers are turning towards the Coquille and other Oregon rivers where the fishing is better. “The Rogue River’s king bite remains problematic,” said Pitts, “and boaters remain frustrated by lockjawed kings throughout the lower river and estuary. The dismal bite forces guides and anglers to fish upriver by Agness and everywhere inbetween with both plugs and eggs, but are seeing minimal results.” He said that guides are saying they should have made the move weeks ago to the Coquille. Even so, anglers fishing the middle Rogue are doing fair to good with bait and plugs on kings and some steelhead. The upper Rogue from Foster Bar to Whiskey Creek is closed to the take of kings. The Coquille River is producing both coho and kings, and wild coho may be taken up to the Highway 42S Bridge near Sturtevant Park until November 30, although there is a quota of 1,200 fish. Anglers may keep one unclipped coho per day and up to five for the season. “One of the perks to the Coquille is you can dump crab pots off in the lower river, head upriver to fish for salmon, and after putting a few kings in the box, head back down and pull a crab pot of very big Dungeness,” said Pitts. Guide Curtis Palmer of River Secrets Guide Service fishes plugcCut sardines and herring, and he says the key is trolling speed and depth. Anglers wanting to fish this river should launch at the Bullards State Park and begin trolling starting just below the bridge and working your way upriver some three miles. Delta salmon opener no surprise — POOR! By Robin Wade/WON Staff Writer RIO VISTA
— It comes as no surprise that the salmon opener on the Delta this past weekend was pretty much a bust for almost everyone. A low count for the ocean season, warm waters, bad tides and a holiday boating crowd discouraged both anglers and fish from showing up. Stripers were a better option on the Sacramento River side, while sturgeon kept a few anglers happy on the San Joaquin River side.“The waters are still too warm for many of the salmon to show up, it needs to cool down a few more degrees,” said Capt. Kev of Lucky Strike Charters. This reporter called several Delta sources, and tallied maybe five fish and not many more anglers. After the holiday boat traffic subsides, reports may improve. “The next batch of stripers haS arrived in the Delta system, especially in the area ranging from the Middle Grounds to above Chain Island,” Capt. Kev said. “The largest striper of the week reported was a 36 pounder but the consistent numbers ranged from 10 to 20 pounds.” Anglers have found the best option was using big baits, with the incoming tide being reported as the most productive tide set, at water depths ranging from 35 to 15 feet. On the San Joaquin side the best bet was for sturgeon action. “Anglers have found some very good action below the Middle Grounds. Wind is still making some days a challenge though, but those who have gotten out on the water have found the best results on the incoming tide, working depths from 45to 65 feet, with grass shrimp and eel leading the way with bait preference,” Capt. Kev said. West Walker River trout action is still “excellent” By Robin Wade/WON Staff Writer WALKER
— Trout anglers making the trip to the West Walker River are all going home with smiles on their faces. Sam Foster at the Toiyabe Motel reports that people are catching so many fish that catch-and-release is mandatory if you plan to stay out all day.“The fishing has been excellent, with lots of catch-and-release going on with every angler who stays out more than an hour or so,” said Sam Foster, owner of the Toiyabe Motel. “The river is just loaded with fish. The DFG has been making weekly plants and Mono County has been putting some big Alpers trout to sweeten the pot — the last Alpers plant was made this past week just before the holiday. Most of the trout that people are catching are the 10-to 14-inch DFG rainbows, but the river has a ‘zillion’ little browns in it that were planted by the DFG.” These small 8- to 9-inch browns are driving everyone crazy because they hit your bait or lure before the bigger rainbows have a chance to get to it. Next year though, the brown trout fishing should be just fantastic as these fish grow into catchable size, he said. Foster reported that anglers were about 50-percent fly fishermen and 50-percent bait and lure tossers. No one had landed any of the big Alpers this past week, but several people reported hooking big fish that eventually broke them off. Mono County will be making a couple more Alpers plants before the end of the season on November 15. |
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