NORTH COAST RIVERS

North Coast streams and rivers are regulated by low flow closures. Always call ahead to determine the condition of the river you want to fish. If not mentioned, the river is closed or no reports. The DFG’s Low Flow Closure Hotline for north coast rivers is (707) 822-3164. For the Russian River and counties of Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin, call (707) 944-5533. South Central Coast streams number is (831) 649-2886. Many streams closed, and others change to artificial/barbless only on March 31 and others on April 25.

CHETCO RIVER—The Chetco River remains closed to fishing until at least Nov. 7.

EEL RIVER, main stem—Opened up to fishing from the mouth to the confluence of the South Fork, but it was running mud, according to Darrell Brown of Brown’s Sporting Goods in Garberville.

EEL RIVER, South Fork—The rains brought the river way up and turned it to mud, but it dropped back out just as quickly. Still closed due to low flows.

MAD RIVER—The lower river opened from the mouth to the Hammond Trail Bridge, but that really doesn’t’ mean anything to fishermen…they need the river open higher up to really bring anything in.

ROGUE RIVER, Lower—The fish are scattered, but most boats are still getting a wild coho or two or three each trip, and kings are being caught in the estuary and in the slots upstream. Action is still good here.

RUSSIAN RIVER—The river came up and the mouth blew open, but no reports of any changes in the fishing by deadline on Sunday. There were reports of two steelhead caught before the mouth opened, but there’s no accounting for that.

SMITH RIVER—The Smith got hit with rains big time on Tuesday and opened up for fishing above Rowdy Creek. Wednesday was very mossy and tough to fish, but on Thursday, fishing was wide open for kings to 40 pounds and above, according to Phil Desautel of Phil’s Smiling Salmon Guide Service. Guide Gary Hix took Tommy Bono of Arcata to a 47-pound king on a plug. Some boats had 10 fish days, but everybody got limits. Desautel had limits by 9 a.m the next day.
Guide Tony Sepulveda confirmed the good action and said “big chrome kings were hitting just about anything you wanted to put in front of them, but it looks to be short-lived as the water is dropping out fast.”

TRINITY/KLAMATH RIVERS

KLAMATH RIVER, Klamath Glen—The river was high most of the week and most anglers have left, but there were still some late fall salmon moving upriver, plus a few steelhead.

KLAMATH RIVER, Iron Gate Dam—Salmon fishing continued to be excellent, and the number of fish hooked depended more on the effort put into the endeavor than luck. Some very large fish for the Klamath were being caught, mostly on roe, with Kwikfish also accounting for a few. Small steelhead are starting to show, and they’re being caught mostly on Glo-Bugs.

TRINITY RIVER, Del Loma—Some salmon were being caught and the river is back in good shape after the storm, but the big numbers of bright fish that anglers have been hoping for have not materialized. A “gazillion” of bait-stealing smolts are still causing problems for anglers, especially fly fishermen.

TRINITY RIVER, Willow Creek—Bright salmon can be seen in the holes and moving through riffles, especially around Red Rock and Tish Tang, but they’ve been difficult to catch. The river is in good shape however, with 5 feet of visibility.

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

AMERICAN RIVER—The American River produced a few steelhead and a few striped bass last week, but fishing was slow, especially with the stormy weather. Unlike years past—at least before last year—no salmon were observed at the base of the fish screens at Nimbus Hatchery and the salmon spawning riffles a few hundred yards downstream. A clarification on the upcoming salmon closure is in order. The American upstream of the power lines at Ancil Hoffman Park to Hazel Ave. Bridge will close to fishing between Nov. 1 and Jan. 1, 2010.

FEATHER RIVER—Fishing was very poor on the Feather last week with only a few small steelhead being caught in the Low Flow Section, mostly on nightcrawlers and a bead.

FOLSOM LAKE—Last week’s storm brought cooler temperatures and helped stabilize the lake level, perking up bass fishing. Almost any method worked: spooning, crankbaits, jigging and drop-shotting as bait moved closer to the surface. Look for flats adjacent to creek channels going into coves such as 5 Percent and Beals Point. This is a short term phenomenon and bass will soon be hunkering down in deeper water as the lake continues to cool, so strike while the iron is hot. Second hand reports only, but the cooler water has apparently brought trout and king salmon shallower, too, and perked them up as well. Troll Apexes, Needlefish, hoochies and slow roll shad in front of the dam.

McCLOUD RIVER—Heavy rain brought the river up and chased off fishermen, but the river was dropping back into shape by the weekend. No reports on the fishing.

SACRAMENTO RIVER, Sacramento—In a word—poor. Fishing for striped bass, except for the Port of Sacramento where striped bass to about 8 pounds continued to be caught trolling Mann’s 15’s with a white plastic worm trailer, drifting jumbo minnows, and soaking pikeminnows, bloodworms and mudsuckers from the bank.

SACRAMENTO RIVER, Knight’s Landing—The river was still high and murky by the weekend and fishing for striped bass was poor.

SACRAMENTO RIVER, Redding—Trout fishing got blown out even all the way to Keswick Dam, but water had cleared and become fishable by the weekend. Fishing hadn’t returned to the levels before the storm, but trout were being taken mostly on Glo-Bugs down to Anderson.

SACRAMENTO RIVER, Upper—Trout fishing was temporarily taken off-limits by the storm, but flows had dropped back to fishable condition by the weekend, although very few anglers were back on the water and reports were non-existent. The recommendation to fish close and deep with lots of weight is even more important now with somewhat higher flows.

YUBA RIVER—It should be noted that fishing is restricted to downstream of the Highway 20 Bridge this time of year. Fish caddis nymph and egg patterns and under an indicator for trout to around 15 inches and the occasional steelhead.

NORTH SALTWATER

BERKELEY—Deck assistant Dave Marquardt on the Happy Hooker reported for Captain Bob Wright on Saturday’s excellent action at the Farallon Islands. The 20 anglers on board caught 177 rockfish and 37 lingcod to 17 pounds. Bocaccio to 12 pounds and vermilion to 8 pounds were sacked. “Sack weights were like the old days when it took two hands to lift them,” said Marquardt. The action came from 150 to 155 feet of water outside the Pimple.

BODEGA BAY— Rockfish and lingcod are an option until Oct. 31, but the only trip reported was for tuna on Saturday on the New Sea Angler. Captain Rick Powers reported great conditions and lots of visual perks including a jumping marlin and bluefin tuna, and plenty of albacore jumpers out 55 miles due west at (38’07 and 124’10), but not many hookups. The anglers on board did manage two albacore to 35 pounds and a 15-pound yellowtail.

EMERYVILLE—Excellent action on the Farallon Island rockfish trips, with some good lingcod counts up to limits on one trip on the New Huck Finn. The New Seeker has added a few halibut to rockfish limits on a couple trips, and the Talisman had a good day fishing the bay, scoring seven leopard sharks and a halibut. With rockfish closing Oct. 31, the boat crews are planning their winter strategies. The New Huck Finn will offer bay potluck targeting halibut and striped bass, while the New Seeker is looking forward to sanddab and crab combos.

EUREKA—Before the big storm hit, the fleet got out for Pacific halibut and scored a few fish, including a 70 pounder caught on the Reel Steel. He had two big flatties. Day surf smelt are still running, and while surfperch action has slowed, you can catch them between the rough ocean periods.

FORT BRAGG—Another slow week with the weather complicating things mid-week, and the lack of options minimizing effort on the weekend. Crab opens Nov. 7, and some of the boats will offer crab only trips. Abalone season closes Nov. 30.

HALF MOON BAY—The week’s weather cancelled trips until Friday, then the boats were back out targeting rockfish for the weekend. The bite remained mediocre, but the boats that worked at it found rockfish limits and some lingcod.

LOCH LOMOND—The Morning Star was undergoing routine annual maintenance, and so was not in service. Captain Gordon Hough reported that the boat will be back on the water targeting sturgeon and striped bass out of Crockett.

POINT SAN PABLO—Captain Frank Miller on the Fury got into a hot striped bass bite in south San Pablo Bay, scoring limits on Saturday and Sunday for six anglers each day. He’s still using live bait, and reported a steady bite on schoolie bass around Point Pinole.

SAN PABLO BAY—Striped bass fishing started going off around Point Pinole, and leopard sharks are thick in north bay, all the way to the mouth of the Petaluma River.

SHELTER COVE—Still some time to try for Pacific halibut, the season closes Nov. 1. Abalone is open until Nov. 30, and crab season opens Nov. 7.

SUISUN BAY—Striped bass fishing has been good, and there was even reports of a big halibut caught on a bullhead at the Mothball Fleet.

NORTH COAST LAKES

CLEAR LAKE—The bite continued to be all over the board as it settles into a fall bite. Cover a lot of water with rattle baits like the LV500 or Rat-L-Trap, small to medium-sized rip baits in basic colors, flukes, or smaller swim baits like the Basstrix or the Baitsmith. The bait bite is picking up; two methods of presenting live bait are either under a slip float or on a very light splitshot (free lined). Each day is different, so try them both until the bass show a preference.

LAKE BERRYESSA— The koke and king salmon action was from 60 to 110 feet down and a few fish are still being taken. Spoons and drop-shotting around the schools of bait has still been steady for bass up to 3 pounds. Cooler weather has been lowering the surface temperature and the bite will only get better.

UPPER BLUE LAKE—Trout were taken in both basins with holdover trout at 35 feet, newly planted ones from the surface down, and the private stocked big boys holding in 40 to 45 feet. It is very easy to tell the broodstock fish on your graphics. Kastmasters were used without flashers or leadcore pulled 5 to 6 colors out.

SIERRA LAKES/RIVERS

BLUE LAKES—Both lakes are now back on the DFG trout planting list, but the campgrounds are now closed. No current reports were available from Woodfords Station.

BOCA LAKE—Lake is low and trailered boat launching is no longer possible, car toppers, kayaks or canoes only. Fishing has been very good, especially up in the inlet area as browns stage for spawning. The rainbows are waiting for the browns to spawn so they can feed on the loose eggs. Anglers should release browns over 18 inches to protect the resource, take a picture! Macks are holding further out from the inlet and falling for large spoons cast into deeper water.

CAPLES LAKE—The lake came up a foot with the rain last week. Boaters are catching limits of 10- to 15-inch planters on flasher/worm combos, Kastmaster spoons and Rapalas. A 6-pound rainbow was caught off the spillway. Launching is still good off the gravel ramp and the resort should be in operation of at least 2 to 3 more weeks.

CARSON RIVER (East, West)—Alpine County planted 1350 pounds of rainbows and browns in the West Fork and the East Fork this past week. The rainbows weighed from 3 to 7 pounds and the browns went 1 to 6 pounds. Two Sacramento anglers fishing the East Carson checked into the Carson River Resort with 10 fish that averaged 3 pounds each. They were all caught on salmon eggs. Dave Kirby at Woodfords reported similar action on the West Fork since the rain increased the flows. Anglers were coming in with limits of 2 1/2 to 3 pound rainbows caught on Panther Martins, Kastmasters and jigs.

DAVIS LAKE—Trollers are still catching big numbers of rainbows. Ed Dillard’s last charter picked up 52 fish, mostly 12 to 13 inchers with eight fish in the 17- to 19-inch range. A size 10 black leech did very well early in the day and then the copper/red Dick Nite worked at 6 feet did the trick. Rick Kennedy at Tight Lines Guide Service was out Sunday in the wind and already had 30 fish when contacted by WON. He was catching them on copper/red Dick Nites and had kept three fish weighing 2 ½ pounds and was releasing the rest. There are a lot of weeds floating in the water, so trollers need to watch their gear to avoid fouling. The best area was from Honker to the island for both guides.

DONNER LAKE—Fishing has been good at the west end near the boat launch and at the east end at the outlet. The kokanee are stacked up at the outlet with nowhere to go to spawn and the rainbows and browns are feeding on the eggs. Macks are falling for big spoons cast in the early morning at the public piers and at the outlet.

FEATHER RIVER CANYON—An 8-pound rainbow came out of Caribou Powerhouse this past week on a crappie jig. Trout fishing in the North Fork is still pretty good for the experienced angler. The season will close in the river on November 15. Butt Valley Reservoir is still kicking out nice rainbows and a few browns on threaded nightcrawlers. The browns should be staging up at the inlet providing anglers with a chance at a trophy fish. The trolling will only get better at Butt Valley.

FRENCHMAN LAKE—Cold water conditions have made fishing more successful later in the day. Shore anglers have been catching limits near Turkey Point and Frenchman’s on nightcrawlers and Power Bait. Trollers have been doing well on Dick Nites and Roostertails in the afternoon near the dam. The Frenchman’s Campground is now the only open campground.

GOLD LAKES BASIN—A group of four deer hunters reported all killing bucks and doing very well fishing the stream coming out of Gold Lake.

ICE HOUSE RESERVOIR—Ice House Resort reported that the shore anglers were catching limits of small planters on worms.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR—Fishing has really picked up here with a plant by Alpine County. One angler in a small aluminum boat reported catching and releasing 30 trout trolling a rainbow Kastmaster this past week. There were 25 to 30 float tubers from a Nevada fly fishing club on the lake on Sunday in the wind.

JACKSON MEADOW RESERVOIR—The lake is low with shallow hazards near the boat ramp. The water temp is at 54-degrees and the trolling bite is red hot according to Rick Kennedy at Tight Lines Guide Service. His clients caught over 50 fish on Saturday. The best bite came toplining a watermelon Crystal Basin Wild Thing dodger or Sep’s Side Kick with an 18-inch leader and threaded nightcrawler. Most of the rainbows were 12-inch planters but several holdovers to 16 inches were landed.

JENKINSON LAKE (Sly Park)—The lake has been removed from “No Stocking” list and DFG trout plants will be resumed. With the unsettled weather, including 6 inches of rain, not much has been happening this past week. There were some reports of a few macks being caught, but no one checked them in at the store for weighs or pictures. Browns should be staging up in the inlet and a Rapala on a dark, windy will get bit!

LAKE TAHOE—The unsettled weather over the past week made fishing a little tough but on the days when the wind laid down fishing was pretty good for macks. Mickey Daniels had a good day earlier in the week with 5 or 6 fish, all 6 to 7 pounds, caught trolling Sling Blade/Koke-a-nut rigs at 300 to 350 feet. Weather cancelled trips over the weekend. Chuck Self at Chuck’s Charters reported catching macks averaging 5 pounds on Flatfish and Wobbler spoons from 120 to 300 feet depending hour of the day– the higher the sun, the deeper the fish. Rainbows are hitting along the buoy lines and rocky points in 8 to 15 feet of water on flasher/worm or flasher/minnow combos. The rainbows are ranging from 12 inches to 4 1/2 pounds.

LOON LAKE—Browns are hitting for shore anglers and trollers with the fish running 14 to 18 inches. One troller reported doing well with a dodger/Uncle Larry’s spinner combo.

PROSSER LAKE—The lake is very low but full of fish. The creek beds as they approach the main lake are good for anglers using nightcrawlers and salmon eggs or casting Panther Martins and Kastmasters.

PYRAMID LAKE—14 1/2-pound and 10 1/2-pound cutthroats were weighed in a Crosby’s Lodge this past week. Both were caught jigging at Pyramid Rock. Fishing for smaller fish has been good with trolled Apex and Flatfish accounting for numbers and jigging picking up the bigger fish.

RED LAKE—Cold nights have improved the bite and shore anglers are picking up a mix of rainbows, brookies and cutthroats on worms.

SILVER LAKE—Lots of limits of planters being caught trolling flasher/worm combos at 10 to 15 feet.

STAMPEDE RESERVOIR—Fishing at the inlet of the Little Truckee River has been good for rainbows and browns. Again, the browns are staging here for the spawn and fish larger than 18 inches should be released to protect the resource. Smaller macks are holding out past the rainbows and browns further from the inlet and the bigger macks are being taken jigging at the dam at 60 to 90 feet. The smallmouth bite is good along the east side of the lake on jigs and spinners. Boat launching is now next to the main ramp on the gravel.

TRUCKEE RIVER—The General Section above River Ranch is fishing pretty well for small rainbows in the deeper pools and pockets. This section closes November 15. The Special Section got a little off color from the rain this past week but is still fishing well. Anglers are throwing streamers and crayfish patterns, black stones with a small Copper John on a dropper, or casting small Panther Martins. Remember to observe the barbless hook regulation on all lures in the Special Reg Section.

UNION VALLEY RESERVOIR—With the only launching now at the dam, Ice House Resort does not see anyone going to the lake and had no report. No other reports were available by press time.

WEST WALKER RIVER—Rains brought a lot of badly needed water to the area and now the river is in beautiful condition. There are still plenty of anglers out. There haven’t been any plants recently but bait anglers are still catching limits of fish running 1 to 3 pounds on salmon eggs and worms, according to Pam Hamic at the West Walker Motel.

NORTHEASTERN AREA

LAKE ALMANOR— Troll from the surface down to 10 feet with a Speedy Shiner and three colors pulled. The fall bite is here and trout are feeding in the surface. Smallmouth bass limits were also reported. The west or east side (by Dorado Inn) are good areas to target both. If you’re not getting them where you are, watch for bird activity elsewhere and fish there.

BAUM LAKE— BWO’s are a good bet, good patterns are sparse PMD’s, midges, and mahogany duns are appearing. Scuds are a good bet for nymphs. Nightcrawlers and meal worms seem to be the bait of choice, but no reports on which lures are doing best.

BRITTON LAKE—Nice crappie up to 13 inches were reported by hardy fishermen, as overnight lows are getting down into the low to mid 20s.

BURNEY CREEK—No reports but with cooler weather, watch for the October caddis to start hatching.

EAGLE LAKE— With the return of fall-like weather, the trout bite resumed and trollers were hooking and releasing 10 to 12 fish per day up to 3.5 pounds in 6 to 12 feet of water, trolling baits set from 5 to 9 feet deep. Sep’s 2-inch grubs in the brown color patterns or watermelon and orange grubs have also begun to take fish regularly in the transition areas of the lake from the south basin into the middle and north basins.

FALL RIVER WILD TROUT AREA—Fishing reports have been good with BWO’s, PMD’s, woolly buggers, and wiggletail zugs for nymphs.

HAT CREEK WILD TROUT AREA— The riffle is best fished with pt’s, birds nest, or hare’s ear. Look for PMD’s, and callibaetis. Reports indicate fishing/catching is slow.

PIT RIVER— Excellent reports from the Pit 4 and 5 reaches, however the construction is making access difficult. Nymphing seems to be doing the best with rubber leg princes, hare’s ears, and birds nest. Try a size 14 or larger.

LAKE SHASTA— The trout are in a feeding frenzy all around, in the Bridge Bay area trout limits were very easy in the top 10 feet on UV Cripplures, and Hum Dingers in blue/silver. Water temperatures are holding at 64 degrees, and trout fishing will continue to be outstanding until it get’s too cold for them.

NORTHERN FOOTHILLS

AMERICAN RIVER—Season is winding down with fishing upstream of Hwy 49 ending on November 15. Cooler weather has improved the bite at access sites along the Middle and North Forks. The Middle Fork below French Meadows is still a good bet.

BULLARDS BAR—Few reports are coming in to Emerald Cove Marina. Try drifting a single salmon egg up in the river for trout feeding on kokanee spawn. Spotted bass action should be good with the cooler water. Try topwater early, then switch to worms and jigs on the points down to 25 feet.

CAMP FAR WEST—Lake is low and launching on the old ramp is getting more difficult. 4-wheel drive is recommended for small fiberglass and aluminum boats. Anglers are doing well on good-sized crappie around the exposed stumps on worms and mini-jigs. The black bass bite is still good for fish up to 4 pounds on plastic worms and jigs.

COLLINS LAKE—Fishing has been slow with little pressure on the lake this past week. Most boaters this past week were fishing for bass. Trout plants will not start until next year.

ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIR—Boaters are toplining Rapalas from Keystone Cove to the inlet for rainbows and browns, 10 to 16 inches. Fishing pressure has been very light.

FRENCH MEADOWS RESERVOIR—Very few boaters are hitting the lake but those that make the trip are being rewarded with limits of small rainbows caught trolling orange spoons or threaded nightcrawler/dodger combos.

FULLER LAKE—No current reports available from the Foresthill Ranger Station but cooler weather should have turned on the bite for trollers using flasher/worm combos. Shore anglers should be catching fish off the dam and the day-use area on Power Bait and worms.

HELL HOLE RESERVOIR—Construction on Wentworth Springs Rd will cause delays getting to the lake from Georgetown. The upper and lower campgrounds are still open. Brown trout have been staging up at the inlet in preparation for spawning and are hitting Rapalas especially when the sunlight is off the water, early or late.

LAKE OROVILLE—The lake came up over a foot with the recent rain. Bass action is still good and should improve more as the water cools. Bass are being caught all over the lake on a variety of lures from the top down to 30 feet. Anglers are reporting good action on topwater baits, especially buzzbaits, in the early morning and then switching over to worms fished on dart-heads, splitshot and drop-shot rigs. The SXE Shad Roboworm is the pattern mentioned most by worm fishermen. Catfish are hitting nightcrawlers and anchovies in the Lime Saddle area. A 7 1/2-pound salmon was reportedly caught during a recent major bass tournament, but no other coho action has been seen.

ROLLINS LAKE—Still waiting for the DFG to resume trout plants since it was removed from the “No Stocking” list. Angling pressure has been very light, but brown trout should be gathering at the river inlet in preparation for spawning and trollers toplining Rapalas should be doing pretty well.

SCOTT’S FLAT LAKE—Still waiting for the DFG to resume trout plants since it was removed from the “No Stocking” list. Boaters are catching some of the holdover trout on nightcrawlers and Power Bait at the inlet. Brown trout should be staging at the inlet area and trollers using Rapalas should catch some good fish. Bass anglers have been picking up a few smallmouths, but pressure is very light.

SUGAR PINE RESERVOIR—Good News!! The lake has been removed from the “No Stocking” list and the DFG will resume trout plants. Fishing is still very slow.

STUMPY MEADOWS RESERVOIR—Good News!! The lake has been removed from the “No Stocking” list and the DFG will resume trout plants. Construction on Wentworth Springs Rd is causing 30-minute delays getting to the lake, but the fishing has been very slow.

THERMOLITO AFTERBAY—Feather River Outfitters reported a good bass bite going on here with fish to 5 1/2 pounds reported this past week. Bass have been hitting buzzbaits, frogs, worms and Senkos.

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