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FishWisher's Home Page~Select from the blog list (left) any of my many fishing & boating adventures on the foothill lakes and the 1000 mile California Delta. Enjoy!~ Comments welcome at FishWishr@yahoo.com (note the missing e) |
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Fishing New Melones ReservoirNew Melones Lake Fishing Click for hundreds June 18-19, 2009  New Melones Lake Stanislaus River Arm and the Hiway 49 Bridge. I haven't fished New Melones for a couple of years. When I had the C-Dory, I enjoyed anchoring for the night in a cove, then dangling a night crawler over each side of the boat and waiting for a trout to come along and take a bite. I would fish under a light which would attract bait fish which would attract trout. Well, that's how it's supposed to work. And there was the trolling for trout and kokanee, too. I'd usually head home with a limit on the second day. But this trip was not like past trips. I did the night crawler under the light thing for hours - and not one taker. I don't know why there was no action. I trolled for several hours the first day before anchoring - and caught one kokanee of about 10 inches, and released it. The next morning I caught another kokanee of about 12 " or so as soon as I started trolling, and that was it for the whole trip. And there are the lake lice to consider. (Lake lice = water skiers, jetskiers, etc.) New Melones is very popular with the speed crowd, and that does not help the fishing nor my quest for peace and quiet. Admittedly, my second day (Friday morning) was very short; I noticed the numbers of lake lice on the water and even more arriving at the ramp. I don't care to share the lake with so many people, so I left for home about 0930. This week's adventure was not my most enjoyable fishing trip. And then there is the new toll booth one must pay to visit the lake. New Melones has had free admission for many years but that ended last year. All in all, this was not one of my better visits to New Melones Lake. Maybe I should consider another lake for my next adventure. Perhaps nearby Pardee Reservoir, where there is only fishing and no body contact allowed. It is a more expensive lake to visit, but the peace and quiet without the lake lice might be well worth it.Stay tuned. Camanche for the last time this season... June 11, 2009
Camanche Reservoir Trout Fishing Click for hundreds I'd love to post a photo with a stringer of about 15 pounds, but it ain't gonna happen this week:  This little one pound rainbow will have to do it this week - and I didn't even know he was on the line 'til I popped the line loose from the downrigger cable to change lures. The slim pickins weren't for lack of trying. I began trolling 20' to 30' at 0845 and kept at it 'til 1500. Some of the time I tried bait fishing with Berkeley's Power Bait, but that didn't garner any interest, either. I marked several fish as I trolled, but they weren't buying. One fella stopped to chat with me as I was tying the boat down after my fishing and said that last week they had two limits in four hours - and no fish at all this week. So it goes.  One cannot complain too much when spending the day trolling...  ...or bait fishing. Camanche is a relatively shallow lake - and quite warm in the summertime. The surface temperature was 72° during this week's visit, and the trout have moved down to about 30'. Still, it gets too warm for trout and very soon the trout will start displaying sores on their skin from the warm environment.  Even my usually feeble attempts at wildlife photography was limited to a buzzard! With the delta summer wind pattern seemingly in place already, my fishing will now be on New Hogan Reservoir for stripers and New Melones and Pardee Reservoirs for trout - and an occasional kokanee. Life is good! Brannan Island Fishing June 2009California Delta Fishing Click for hundreds  Johnny poses with their 15# striper caught while trolling near the Rio Vista Bridge. I lost two weeks of fishing when my Humminbird chartplotter/fish finder refused to light up. It worked just fine, but I couldn't see a thing. Thanks to Humminbird's repair service, I was able to ship it to the factory for repair and got it back in about a week. I wasn't about to fish the Delta without it! I hooked the boat up to the motor home and headed to Brannan Island State Rec Area on Tuesday the 2nd, planning to head downriver about 25 miles to Suisun Bay for some sturgeon fishing. The plan was for my friend Willie to meet me at the boat Wednesday morning, and that my friend John and his son Johnny would tow their fine Hewescraft to the ramp and join us for the day. Everyone showed up as agreed, but we chose a very windy week for our trip, thinking the wind would calm down the day we planned to fish. But when we got out on the Sacramento River it was just too windy and rough for a 25 mile cruise. We braved the wind and waves for a few minutes but as conditions worsened, we chose to head upriver to the "Old Sac" and fish around the small town of Isleton. John and Johnny trolled along the river bank near the Rio Vista bridge where they caught the big 15 pounder and also a 21" striper which they released. They also caught two other small keepers as they bait fished on the river later in the day. Willie and I bait fished with shad and eel at the Isleton Bridge and also off Decker Island in the afternoon when the tide changed and the river settled down. We caught just a shaker striper each that day, and tossed them back. We also tried a second trip downriver in the afternoon, hoping it was calmer. We got most of the way downriver before having to turn back at the big PG&E power plant across from Simmons Point. At least we tried our best to get to the sturgeon grounds.  Two coaches launching boats at the same time at Brannan's boat ramps. That's my coach in the foreground; campground neighbors Ken and Howard were launching in the background. They planned to fish the area for several days.  Parked at the RV area of Brannan Park.  John and Johnny aboard John's EZ-Duz-It, bait fishing off Decker Island on the Sacramento River. I spent the night in the coach, then loaded up the boat on Thursday morning and headed for home. This was not the most productive trip nor the most pleasant weather, but we did go fishing, and that's really all a feller can ask for. Our hope is that next week will be calmer and that we can make it down to Suisun Bay for some good sturgeon fishing. If we don't get down there next week, I'll likely give up my Delta fishing 'til the fall as it is too windy for comfort nearly every day of the summer. Camanche Lake Trout FishingCamanche Trout! Click for hundreds May 14, 2009 Lake Camanche is my favorite trout lake due to the big ones that come out of their on a regular basis. While I really wanted to hit Suisun Bay for more sturgeon fishing this week, the wind dictated that I fish elsewhere. So I mounted the downriggers, loaded up for a trout trip and headed for the foothills.  Another fisherman holds up his eight pounder plus another I'd guess around five pounds. The fella told me that he catches the big ones by fishing early in the morning. I didn't start fishing 'til after 0900, and the fishing had slowed somewhat by then. My trolling pattern was mostly between Hat Island and the dam and in that general area of the lake. My first - and biggest - fish of the day hit hard on a Rapala Firetiger and fought furiously. He finally landed in the net after several runs from the boat - and weighed in at two pounds. It felt good to kick the skunk out of the boat after last week's big zero at Hogan Lake.  My two pounder; note the normal tail is squared, not rounded as Camanche trout are. I understand they get rounded at the hatchery. Perhaps this one was planted when he was a fingerling. I continued trolling for a total of about seven hours. I caught three more smaller trout for a total of four, and kept at it longer than I might have for that limit fish #5. The limit was not to be - but I'm not complaining.  My rather humble stringer of Lake Camanche Trout. The fish hit on a variety of lures including the Rapala mentioned above, one came on a trout pattern Needle Fish and another came on a Rapala trout pattern. I trolled one side at about 10 to 15 feet, the other around 20 to 23 feet. I never did troll the surface as I saw no fish feeding on the surface. The fish I marked were at about 20 to 25 feet.Perhaps the wind will lie down next week and I can go on another Suisun Bay sturgeon adventure. Whatever the case, I plan to be out there fishing for something! New Hogan Lake - Skunked.June 24, 2009  It's only June and the old dam is already rising high out of the low water. I'm beginning to think Hogan Lake (in the low foothills east of Stockton, CA) will not turn on like it has in times past. I haven't had a really good day of fishing there in years, and sometimes wonder why I keep trying. But I tried for over four hours rolling 'chovies at 15' to 35' for no action at all. I spoke with two other boaters who were fishing and neither had a fish. Usually hot weather means good fishing there, and it was over 90° yesterday and the water was about 76° on the surface. Next week I'm heading for Pardee unless it's not windy on the delta (fat chance!). At least there I won't be putting up with the lake lice!  I can't complain too much - at least the weather was perfect and the earlier trolling time was calm and quiet. Next week, maybe I'll actually catch a fish at Pardee! May 7, 2009 Click for hundreds  The rods bent and ready... and not a pop all day! I am addicted to the striper fishing on New Hogan Reservoir near Valley Springs, Ca. The lake is a US Army Corps of Engineers facility. Years ago this was a trout lake, and for some reason it was decided to stock striped bass one year, thinking they'd not reproduce - but they sure have! The stripers ate all the trout and Hogan is now one of three lakes in California where the limit is ten per day, not the usual three. And the usual size minimum of 18" is removed so that any striper is a keeper. Even so, I've never caught a striper less than 18" on this lake, nor have I caught any above 26" or so. They are very uniform and - some say - stunted. But on rare occasion a 30+ pounder is caught.  FishWisher the boat sits at the end of a long ramp - the lake is very low this year and will likely get much lower.  FishWisher launched with downriggers mounted, ready for a day's troll! I trolled the lake for over five hours for nary a bump. My usual troll is one line at 20' and another at 30'. That used to be the hot set-up, and I marked several fish around 20' to 25' this day - but none were taking my rotating frozen anchovies.  Hogan was cool and cloudy in the morning...  ...and sunny and breezy by afternoon. I have often sworn off Hogan after days like I just had, but I always manage to go back for another go at those very finicky stripers because...  ...there's always the chance for a great day on Hogan such this day back in 2004 when I caught the limit of ten and couldn't even get them all on the stinger! Days like that keep me coming back to Hogan! |
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