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Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif., Justin Miller Column: Unusually Heavy Rain Leads to Poor Fishing in All Areas Except Collins Lake

Posted on: Thursday, 30 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Justin Miller, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.

Mar. 30--March 30, 2006 - Saturday is April 1, and that means plenty of jokes and pranks are sure to arrive from a variety of sources.

So, if your fishing buddy tells you Friday night that he wants to take you striper fishing and he's heard fish are hitting like crazy on the Feather River, kindly decline his offer and save yourself humiliation from becoming an April fool.

Typically awesome fishing conditions for early April have been temporarily put on hold by seemingly endless periods of heavy rain.

"It's just not happening. We haven't caught a break in a long time," Bob Boucke of Johnson's Bait & Tackle said. "The fish are out there, but the water is just not cooperating."

Boucke said releases at Oroville Dam are 20,000 cubic feet per second, which has raised the Feather River considerably. He said the Sacramento River is spilling into the Sutter bypass.

"It's ugly too," Boucke said of the Sacramento.

Frank Escovedo of Fish On! bait and tackle said striper are in the river but water temperatures aren't right for a strong bite.

Boucke and Escovedo each said their respective bait shops are struggling because of the terrible fishing conditions.

"It's killing us and it's hurting everyone," Boucke said. "I've got farmers sitting in the shop crying because they can't fish and they can't plant."

Escovedo said anglers may want to try fishing for catfish on areas of the rivers that have spread to slower flows or attempt hitting Lake Oroville for bass to break their cabin fever.

"There are a lot of bass up there and you might even catch a holdover coho salmon," Escovedo said.

Collins Lake

Miserable weather still hasn't slowed the trout bite with weekly plants paying off for anglers.

"Rain or shine didn't matter when it came to catching trout this past week," lake employee Kathy Hess said in a report.

Anglers trolled Kastmasters for limits of fish near the dam or under the power lines up to 20 feet deep.

The largest reported catch weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces. Most fish reported weighed 2 to 3 pounds.

Shore anglers found luck using Kastmasters or the Collins staple - chartreuse PowerBait.

Lake Oroville

Bass moved to find warmer water from creek inflows and anglers used RoboWorms or Senkos fished wacky-style for catches up to 16 inches.

Bullards Bar

Uncle Larry's spinners tipped with corn worked well for anglers seeking kokanee catches near the dam.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Justin Miller can be reached at 749-4796. You may e-mail him at jmiller@appealdemocrat.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Appeal-Democrat

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