CA DELTA REPORT
Updated - 8/21/2006
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The temperature was cooling off for entire week but the water temperature was still above 70 degree. Even this Sunday was very windy but it was fishable.
This year is not same as previous year when striped bass fishing was slow but this year striped bass started early with number of good size of striped bass were caught from Three Miles Slough Bridge up to Isleton Bridge. Isleton Bridge is always the best place to fish for striped bass either from bank or from boat. The water is much clearer now. Trolling is still the good method to catch striped bass and salmon. The only different is the salmon lures are either spinner with single or double blades while striped popular lures are Broken Back Rebel. While trolling for striped bass, the boat speed is a bit faster than trolling for salmon. Most striped bass trolling normally run at the speed where Broken Back Rebel swims as close as to the river bottom while trolling for salmon is differed. Early morning, most salmon tend to swim upstream but very close to the water surface. Therefore, robber core sinker can be used to let the lure spins as about 3 to 5 feet depth. During the day, salmon tend to swim close to the river bottom, therefore, 1 or 2 oz sinker should be used to bring the lure as close as the river bottom.
Catfish fishing was good in Old Sacramento River, Mokelumne River, Georgiana Slough, Three Miles Slough, or Steam Boat Slough. The best bait for catfish are crawdad tail meat, clam, chicken liver, night crawler, shad, and anchovy. The best time to fish for catfish is from sunset to mid-night.
Small mouth bass are plenty in most of the Delta channel. Small mouth bass can be found in most of under water structures like boat dock, rock area, bridges. Small mouth bass can be fish by using live minnow, night crawler, grass shrimp, or plastic worm lures.
The summer is almost over and the kids will be back to school after Labor Day weekend.
It’s very good to have family camping trip in the Delta and Brannan Island State Park is the best place.
Best luck to you and have a nice coming weekend.

The Wilson Files- Mark Wilson

Tuesday, August 22, 2006...The Bard Clan, Arthur, Mitchell, Ari, and Daniel Bard went striper trolling with me today. We trolled from Lower Steamboat Slough to Collinsville and Chain Island, and the usual places in between. We had a lot of wind in the morning so I started upriver for no hits at all, except for one snagged salmon about 25 pounds. It jumped all over the river before coming off. A real show. It's now 9:30 a.m. with no fish to show, so we headed downriver to Collinsville in about 30 mph winds. It took about 45 minutes to get there and the bite started. We trolled mostly Rebels in 12' to 14' of water, but finished up with Bombers in 7' to 9' of water. 6 shaker stripers and 15 keeper stripers to 13 pounds. It turned out to be a good day of catching. Hey Bards, thanks for the company. Mt. Diablo was there. Back to Vieira's for another picture and fileting fish and home after sundown. That's it. Good luck. Catch you later - Mark.
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Kokanee Slows

Melanie Lewis reports “We are starting to see more rainbows taken by trollers- usually in mixed limits with kokanee. They are fat and full of shad- most are in the two-to-two-and-a-half pound range. Brightly colored Apex or spinners are what they are hitting, without flashers. Anglers who caught rainbows while trolling this week include John Darroch, Larry Gross, Lindsey George, Bill Cheney, and Richard Kowski. If you are fishing from the bank for trout, you will have the most luck in the local rivers and creeks. Night-fishing under submersible light is also producing limits. Some night-anglers use minnows, but a nightcrawler threaded up onto your line with new chartreuse Double-Glitter Power Bait or spring green Select Power Bait on your hook seems to be the best combo
Bass bite has been up and down, with fishing best at dawn, dusk and night. not many big fish but plenty of action for small keepers and almost-keepers. Fish are filled-to-the-gills with shad. Target main lake points and steep banks in the south side of the lake, and upriver. While there are lots of fish being caught relatively shallow, bigger fish may be deeper. Drag a Carolina-rigged 4” or 6” green weenie worm or Zoom Baby Brush Hog in green pumpkin, 25-30 feet deep. Since the water is stained, you may want to add rattles or brass’n’glass to make a little noise. With all the baby bluegill and bass in the grass in the coves, throwing a crankbait or worm in those patterns should get some action. Night fishing for bass is fun, especially during a full moon. Use big black or June bug worms or Senkos, or black or black/red spinnerbaits.
Hang on to your poles! Big cats are spawning in the cove areas, and are aggressively biting. Tuttletown, Angels Cove, Glory Hole Point, or under the 49 Stevenot Bridge are all good spots to try for big cats. Use mackerel, anchovies, or sardines, a sliding sinker, leave your bail open, and be sure your hooks are sharp. Night fishing is always best for catfish, but we see plenty caught during the day, too. Dave Rannis of LaHabra wins Glory Hole Sports’ Big Fish of the Week Contest with his 11.1 lb. cat caught, along with two others, on sardines. Don Sicka caught 5 nice cats weighing up to 8 pounds. Derek, Peter and Dylan Barrington caught 4 catfish, including a 7.5-pounder.

Lake Pardee

Water conditions: The water level rose again slightly since the last report and is at spill. Clarity is presently good to 15 feet. The water temperature measured 77 degrees at surface and 74 at the 20 foot mark at the Marina, temperatures are slightly cooler in the body of the Lake and upstream locations.

Weather: Expect warmest temperature midweek then cooling into the weekend. Early morning starts, River Mouth and upriver destinations are presently the most popular.

Trolling: Conditions are basically the same as last report. Limits are the exception for trollers; most are finishing up the day with less than a limit. Boaters are working the Narrows, the face of the Dam and the larger coves upstream. The bite is still best between 6 AM and noon. Small lures, pink/white hoochies and beaded spinners tipped with lots of garlic or anise scented white shoepeg corn followed with a large silver/blue or watermelon dodger (some are also pulling a medium sized set of ball flashers lately). The warm weather continues to heat the surface and send the fish deeper in search of cooler habitat. Look for Trout at 30 feet and some small Kokes at 60 feet.

Shore Anglers: Some brave souls were dunking bait this morning across from the Marina at Stoney Point Landing-an umbrella is a must. Rainbow Point has been the hot spot lately, use white eggs and get 30 to 40 feet out into the channel that runs parallel to shore. Sliding sinker set up still the best method.

Some recent success stories: Skip and Linda Walde of Sunnyvale show off two very nice limits of Rainbow taken at Blue Heron Pt. using white eggs. Butch and Irene Walker of New Mexico bagged two 2.5 lb trout with yellow eggs, still fishing in Twin Coves, also in Twin coves Frankie Stevens landed this nice 2 pound Rainbow using a night crawler. Nice job!!

Still Fishing: Presently still fishing is hot, start at Twin Coves and work your way through the larger coves upstream.

As of 08/21/06 a total of 57,000 lbs of trout has been planted so far this season by Pardee Lake Recreation Inc. and the California Department of Fish and Game.

Camanche Bass and Catfish Action Decent
Reports from those who have been visiting Camanche are encouraging for the Bass anglers. The bass bite continues to be red hot this week. Lots of 1-4 pound bass are being caught around the rock piles and cliffs in the Lancha Plana area. Camanche Jack's worms and leeches in smoke, green, or purple are the colors most often mentioned. The submerged island tops in the main part of the lake have been giving up plenty of bass this week. Fish 10-15 feet deep, near deeper water. Tube baits and deep running crank baits are the ticket here. The big bass for the week was caught by young Dillon Parrish, of Elk Grove. He caught an awesome 6.2 pound bass on a minnow, fishing from shore in the campgrounds at North ShoreI have been fishing topwater lures, such as Ricos or Lucky Craft Pointer minnows in Rainbow or orange are taking some good ones as well. Works areas with wind pushed current around brush and thick grass cover near the Causeway and dike #1.

Catfish action has slowed down just a little but still biting. Use Mackerel, liver or nightcrawlers from 8 to 20 deep after dark. The Camanche arm and Causeway cove are among the hottest areas to try. Don't overlook the Trout or Beaver ponds at Southshore for after-dark Catfish.

Trollers who are on the water very early, or late, report finding fish from Hat Island to the Dam, above the old river channel. Now that water temperatures have topped 81 degrees the fish are very deep during the day .between 45-65 feet. Needlefish in chartreuse color, and R-Lures and Ex-Cel lures in green/gold, and blue/gold are reported as the most successful colors this week. The bait fishing at Dike 3 continues to be great for overnighters using Power Bait, Power Eggs, or night crawlers, especially when using underwater lights at night. Anchor in about 50 feet of water, and drop your bait to the bottom. The Camanche Hypolimnetic Oxygenation System, trade named the "Speece Cone", has been in operation since the 13th of August. The H.O.S. distributes oxygen to the lower lake waters at the dam. The southern end of the dam will soon become the best place to try for Trout as the oxygen-laden water provides ideal conditions within 30 feet of the surface. The "cone" usually operates until mid-to-late October to improve the waters released into the Mokelumne river fish hatchery.

Pennies on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You be the judge!