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Fishing Report 12/12/18
Fish

Being a boat owner has its challenges. For almost 30 years my boats have been parked under a covered carport located in my backyard. In all that time, I’ve had an occasional cat try and make my boat its home but usually not for long since I’ve always had a dog in the yard. Recently while I was working on my boat, I noticed some rat or mouse droppings. I immediately started panicking since rats and mice are known to chew through wiring. I had just spent at least a month sorting out all my wiring and getting things working properly. My number one objective immediately became getting rid of whatever was visiting my boat. I’ve had success before using a Rat Zapper. Loaded with fresh batteries and bait, it took a few days, but I finally caught him/her. Excited about my catch, I told a friend at work and he told me that rats don’t usually travel alone. So, I set the trap once again and have been checking it daily. So far so good, the last thing I need is to be driving down the lake or river at 50 plus miles per hour and having a rat come out from underneath my console.

 

Delta Report:

Stripers continue to bite well for anglers fishing reaction baits as well as live bait in and around schools. Stripers rarely hole up in one spot for long, they may like to frequent certain areas, but they are prone to be moving constantly. Waiting them out sometimes is the best method this time of year. Largemouth bass fishing is slow right now as most fish are being caught on jigs and rip baits. Anglers are targeting areas out of current right now. Crappie are said to be biting well around the docks, small crappie jigs and minnows seem to be doing the trick.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

Trout fishing has really started to pick up for anglers trolling between 20 and 35 feet deep with Speedy Shiners. Bass fishing is great right now for anglers fishing with jigs and small worms through schools of bait. A lot of the schools of bait can be found between 30 and 40 feet deep.

 

New Melones Lake:

Not many anglers are fishing for trout right now on the lake. Those that are fishing are struggling to catch anything as the trout have become extremely hard to find right now. Even anglers fishing off the bank are having difficulty getting a bite. Spotted bass fishing is great right now for anglers fishing around schools of bait with jigs or drop shotted worms. Many of the schools of bait can be found between 35 and 45 feet deep. For quality bass anglers are fishing with umbrella rigs and glide baits.

 

Lake Amador:

Weekly trout plants continue to take place, many trout are being caught while fishing as shallow as three feet deep. Anglers fishing off the bank are doing well while fishing off the bottom with trout bait as well as under a bobber. The buzz around the lake is about all the tagged fish that have been planted into the lake along with the lightning trout. Their colors are truly amazing. The tagged fish are part of the lake’s annual trout derby that you can enter into at the lake’s store.

 

Lake Camanche:

Trout fishing has been good lately. Many anglers are catching limits of trout. The North Shore area has been good lately for anglers fishing off the bank with Power Bait. Anglers trolling for trout are trolling Rapala (J-7) Brook Trout patterned lures from the surface down to 10 feet deep. Most trollers are staying around South Shore area. Bass fishing is fair for anglers willing to slow down and fish small plastics, Robo Worms, and one-ton jigs. It’s important to look for schools of bait right now as the bass are surely near.

 

Tip of the Week:

I learned a long time ago that there is no wrong way to fish and that fish don’t care about brand names or how much money was spent on tackle. Lately, I’ve been reading up on a technique where it requires an angler to rig his worm weight upside down. It’s a technique that was performed accidentally but has since been proven effective. An upside-down rigged weight actually creates more disturbance than a traditionally rigged weight and is easier to keep in one place.