Fish bits for the week of 11/21/18
“USED TROUT STREAM FOR SALE. MUST BE SEEN TO BE APPRECIATED.”
― Richard Brautigan,
Trout Fishing in America
Bucks Lake
The road is closed to get up to the lake from Oroville due to the Camp Fire. “It’s been closed for 10 days but we are all up here,” said Bucks Lake Lodge owner Rebecca Guereque.
Frenchman Reservoir
Fish are biting according to reservoir regular, Gary Blanchard. Goodwin’s Store staff also confirmed. People are bringing fish into the store as well as showing off pictures of their fine catches. “The water is low,” said store staffer Johnny Hernandez. “Crystal Point to Lunker Point are good spots.” The fish are biting. “Frenchman campground is closed, the parking lot, but it’s a good place to fish for those who are willing to walk down, it’s a good spot,” said Hernandez. “The dam, that little island, that’s a good spot. A guy got three and lost three on a lure there today.” Hernandez says the best times to fish are from 7 to 10 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the afternoon.
Lake Almanor
John Crotty of Almanor Fishing Association checked in to let us know how things are around the lake Nov. 18.
After another week of dry weather, help is on the way. Rain and snow are forecast to start today, Nov. 21, and continue through Sunday; finally some weather. Overnight lows can dip to 25 and highs are not expected to exceed 55 degrees. This combination has resulted in dropped water temps into the low 50s. The expected change should get fish into winter mode with larger fish heading to the coves. Water clarity is 10-15 feet (depending on location) and lake level continues to drop. Air quality remains good.
“I fished two days this past week, targeting fish in 20 feet of water on the north/west side of the lake,” said Crotty. “We fast trolled as long as there was a little breeze on the water and switched to the slow stuff when the lake flattened out. We did catch a few fish with a couple of four-pound rainbows thrown in the mix.” Speedy shiners trolled at 2.5-3 mph, Artic Fox trolling flies at 1.5 and crawlers and gulps at 1 mph all caught fish. Red/gold, red dot frog and silver w/red speedy shiners; pond smelt, rainbow and brown trolling flies also caught fish.
Fly-fishing in the coves should pick up with the weather change and there should be some larger fish thrown in the mix. “Green wooly buggers and wiggle tails should produce fish,” said Crotty.
Highway 70 remains closed while 32 and 36 are open. Snow level could impact travel over the passes. Consider checking current road conditions prior to coming up the hill.
Lake Davis
Robert Garcia and Ella have been consistently catching fish. “We caught five,” reported Robert last week. The weather seems pretty darn cold, but Ella, at age 10, doesn’t seem to mind. “We caught two today,” he said on Nov. 17 around noon. “A nice 4-pounder and a smaller one.”