Lake Oroville Fishing Report

Lake Oroville - Oroville, CA (Butte County)


7-31-2008

NORTH VALLEY OUTDOORS By Steve Carson 7/31/08

Lake Oroville fishing action good despite dropping water levels

Despite dropping water levels, anglers are still seeing a lot of success on Lake Oroville, reported Fil Torres at Oroville Outdoors. "Fishing in Lake Oroville is generally pretty good overall right now", observed Torres. "There is some good topwater action for bass very early in the morning, and fishing is very good for bass all night long. For sheer numbers of bass, some anglers are releasing 50 or more fish per night. Size-wise there are lots of 15 to 17-inch spotted bass on reaction baits and jigs, and a 5.77 pounder won the Thursday night tournament. Brent Klein of Oroville even caught a nine-plus pound largemouth bass on a crankbait in the west branch.

"Coho salmon anglers are catching fish from 13 inches to three pounds by trolling with typical kokanee rigs with orange or red lures up in Potter's, Kelly ridge, the mouth of the North Fork and near the green bridge. Because the water has been dropping so fast, the thermocline is closer to the surface than many realize. If you are not catching fish, you may be fishing too deep.

"Good fishing for catfish can be found at night in the south fork on cut baits. Most of the catfish are running three or four pounds, with the occasional larger one."

Torres continued, "Right now, boat launching at Bidwell is still good, and for the remainder of the year it should be the best choice. Pretty soon the Spillway launch will just be the old dirt road and four-wheel drive only. Once the level gets us down to the temporary low-water ramp at Bidwell, the traction grates will be added just like last year. If anglers go out with a buddy boat and help each other, the low water will just be an inconvenience and not a real problem."

Klamath salmon

California anglers facing numerous closures who want to catch some salmon this summer and fall have few options. One of the best is the Klamath River, according to local guide Frank Duarte. "There is not a closure on salmon on the Klamath River", noted Duarte. "There will be a total quota of 22,500 adult king salmon, but that does not start until mid-August."

Duarte added, "The daily limit from mid-August on is two adult kings [over 22 inches] and one jack salmon [under 22 inches], plus one hatchery steelhead for a possible total of four fish per day. As per the Klamath River Punch Card, you can only keep four adult kings per week, but there is no annual limit."

Chico Bass Club

The Chico Bass Club is permanently changing its monthly meeting location to Candy's Delicatessen, 2625 Aztec Drive in Chico, just off Hegan Lane near UPS. This month's meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 6 at 7:30 PM. The club welcomes new members.

Last month's meeting included the announcement that the club's several year-long project of collecting aluminum can pull-tabs to benefit Kidney Dialysis patients had really paid off. Club member Joe Church delivered some 250,000 tabs [about 170 pounds] to the Medford Renal Center, the leading collector of which had been Larry Rohde. The funds raised are used to cover non-insured items for Dialysis patients like transportation and lodging.

Trout plants

The Department of Fish and Game planted catchable-size trout this week in the following area waters: Plumas County- Bucks Lake, Hamilton Branch Creek, Little Grass Valley Reservoir, Feather River North Fork, Warner Creek, Feather River North Fork Almanor; Glenn County- Plaskett Meadows Lake; Shasta County- Baum Lake, Brandy Creek, Clear Creek below Whiskeytown, Hatchet Creek, lower-middle-upper Burney Creek, middle-upper Hat Creek, Whiskeytown Lake; Tehama County- Deer Creek, South Fork Battle Creek.

Send your outdoor news items to Steve Carson via e-mail to scarson@sunset.net





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for Thursday, July 31st, 2008

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