Thermalito Afterbay Update

Thermalito Afterbay - Oroville, CA (Butte County)


by Craig Bentley
12-8-2015
Website

Largemouth bass bite has slowed down with cold water and the steelhead bite is on and off at Afterbay. Pool elevation is 134 feet. The water temperature is 50 to 53 degrees back in the coves with cooler water at 50 coming from the Thermalito canal. There's about eight feet of visibility. Steelhead fishing is fair for boaters with a few anglers catching a fish or two while trolling.

Bank fishing has been fair with a few fish being caught at the Wilbur Road canal and near the Hwy.162 Bridge. Anglers use pink Gulp eggs, with a nightcrawler or scented marshmallow, using a three foot leader and a sliding sinker setup, while bank fishing for steelhead trout or coho salmon.

Pond smelt that have been on the flats in the main body in both the north and south waters of the Afterbay have seemingly dispersed. Boaters have been trolling with minnow type lures or a threaded nightcrawler behind a dodger or drifting a fly-lined nightcrawler from the surface down to ten feet deep, along the west wall of the Afterbay, on the flats, or on the edges of the channels in front of the outlets, north of the Highway 162 Bridge and the mouth of the inlet canal.

Bass fishing has slowed way down at the Afterbay with the dropping water temperatures. Few bass anglers are trying for the bass that have been holding in ten feet of water, or more along the rocks and moving to deeper water as storms roll through.

Boating anglers have been casting wacky rigged Senko's, skirted jigs or white spinner baits near cover, or working Gitzits in the rocks. Drop-shotting small plastic minnows or tubes, off the rock walls will also work. Few reports have come in from any bass anglers fishing the Afterbay last week.

Productive techniques used here include casting crank baits, spinner baits, chatter baits and flipping Brush Hogs, Super Flukes, Sweet Beavers, Senko's or other creature baits to the edges of the weed mattes, or along the rocks. There are some fish that will go two to five pounds, a lot of three to four pounders with mostly smaller bass of about twelve inches, up to one or two pounds being caught.


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More Reports

Golden State Guide Service Reports
for Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
Lake Oroville: Lake Oroville Fish Report
Diversion Pool: Diversion Pool Update
Thermalito Forebay: Thermalito Forebay Fish Report

Golden State Guide Service Reports
for Tuesday, November 24th, 2015
Lake Oroville: Fall Bass Bite Continues
Diversion Pool: Fishing is Slow
Thermalito Forebay: Thermalito Forebay Fish Report
Thermalito Afterbay: Steelhead Fishing is Fair
Feather River: Feather River Fish Report