Trout Fishing Tips

Each year Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold, California hosts a trout fishing derby on Father's Day. This year the derby will be held on Sunday, June 15, 2008.

Trout will be planted prior to the derby and there prizes will be awarded. You must register to participate in the fishing derby (and early registration is highly recommended).

For more information and to register for the Annual Father's Day Fishing Derby, call (209) 795-1686.

Labels: California, Fishing Derby, trout fishing derby

There will be a youth fly fishing clinic on Saturday, March 15, 2008 near Oroville, California. The clinic is sponsored by the the Wilderness Unlimited Foundation (WUF) and the Northern California Council Fly Fishing Federation (NCCFFF).

The one-day fly fishing clinic will be held at the "99 East" Ranch of Wilderness Unlimited (WU) and is open to all youth between ages 10-16 interested in learning the basics of fly fishing. No previous experience is required.

The clinic, part of WUF’s ongoing fly fishing education program, is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. There is a student expense fee of $30, which covers take-home materials, use of equipment and lunch.

The seminar is limited to 16 students, who will be broken up into four groups. During the day each student will have personal, one-on-one instruction on entomology, knot-tying, casting and fly-tying.

All students will be given ample fishing time as well. The facility is one of Wilderness Unlimited's fisheries, with ponds holding trout, bass, bluegill and catfish.

Reservations are required to attend the youth fly fishing event.

To make a reservation or attain additional information about the seminar, call (877) 611-4868 or e-mail youth_camp@wildernessunlimited.com.

Labels: California, youth fly fishing clinic

Thanks to heavier winter trout stockings by the California Department of Fish and Game, trout fishing has improved at Lake Melones.

Rainbow trout are hanging in near the shoreline in shallow water. Anglers are doing well on PowerBait (chartreuse or rainbow glitter) and worm-marshmallow combos (floated off bottom using a 18-24 inch leader). Angel's Cove and Glory Hole Point are current hot spots.

Trollers should concentrate on the main lake in the dam/spillway area, or in the mouths of major coves such as Angels Cove, Glory Hole Cove, or Mormon Cove. Trout are being found fairly shallow (up to 15 feet deep). Anglers having the best luck are using shad-patterned lures such as Apex, Needlefish or Rapala Countdowns, and they are not using dodgers or flashers.

North Shore Anglers at Lake Camanche are also reporting good success with PowerBait and Kastmaster lures. This week's trout plant of 1,200 pounds will be split between the South Shore Pond and South Shore launch ramp.

Labels: California, Trout fishing at Lake Melones

On October 28th, Lake Pardee the 2007 fishing season will come to a close! This means you have less than one week left to enjoy the fall trout fishing at Lake Pardee!

After that you'll have to wait for the 2008 fishing season, which will begin on February 2, 2008.

Fore more information about fishing at Lake Pardee, click here.

Labels: California, lake pardee

Most anglers know you're not supposed to release non-native fish into the water. Why? Because it usually ends up destroying the existing fishery. Sure enough, that's what happened Northern California's Lake Davis.

For a while now Northern Pike have been destroying the trout fishing at Lake Davis. Pike are believed to have been introduced into the water back in 1994 by anglers used to fishing for them in the Midwest and Great Lakes. But the problem is that pike are voracious predators and they've been eating the trout - thereby destroying the trout population and fishing.

This past week, California's Department of Fish and Game dumped gallons of rotenone (which is harmless to humans and other animals) into the lake to remove the pike. The goal is to restore Lake Davis to a prime trout fishery.

The whole process will take about 45 days. Lake Davis will be restocked when it's free of any of the rotenone - which is anticipated to occur before the reservoir freezes over.

The majority of the stocking will occur in Spring 2008 rainbow and brown trout.

However, the fear right now is that some pike may escape into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, thereby threatening the salmon and steelhead populations in California's river system.

For more information about Lake Davis and the current problem, click here.

Labels: California, Lake Davis

Despite the warmer weather, trout fishing remains excellent in many of the lakes bordering California and Nevada.

One man caught a 15-pound, 13-ounce cutthroat, while trolling 30 feet deep at Pelican Point in Pyramid Lake. He was using a silver spoon with green and orange flash tape.

Others are reported to have released several 6-7 pounders this last week. It seems as if the fishing always gets good just before the season closes (June 30).

Anglers at Convict Lake are also doing well. The biggest rainbows were: 5.8 pounds on a Thomas Buoyant lure at the jetty, 5.3 pounds on a gold Kastmaster lure at the inlet, a 4.8 pounder on a nightcrawler on the south shore and 3.8 pounds on Chartreuse Power Bait at the jetty.

At Upper Twin Lake, a 3-pound, 14-ounce rainbow was caught while trolling with an orange Rapala lure. Several 1-pounders have also been caught on rainbow Power Bait or nightcrawlers.

Labels: California, Convict Lake, Pyramid Lake, Upper Twin Lake

The Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe is proposing wide ranging fishing regulation changes and a lot of anglers are threatening never to fish the lake again. While Pyramid Lake has been a favorite for many California and Nevada anglers, it's not the only lake to fish in.

Some of the proposed changes include:

• Making single barbless hooks mandatory
• Prohibiting (and possessing) the use of downriggers year-round (not just when the lake is closed to trout fishing)
  
• Reduce bag limit
• Close the lake between March 16 and May 15th every year
• Increase annual fishing fees from $50 to $99
  
• Increase annual boating fees likewise

According to the Indian Tribe, these proposed changes will improve the fishing at Pyramid Lake. But to anglers, many of these changes will only hinder fishing.

If you'd a better understanding of the reasoning behind the changes, you can read the full story of the Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe's proposed changes.

If you'd like to voice your comments to the proposed changes call (775) 574-1000, or mail them to PLIT, P.O. Box 256, Nixon, NV 89424.

Labels: California, Fishing Reg Changes at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, Pyramid Lake