Fishing report

02/21/2013

Wow!  What a busy year this has been so far.  I haven't posted anything since last August.  To catch you all up here is a brief account of this last fall and winter.
August:  I hunted Califonia Antelope with my oldest son and opening morning I harvested a great buck I had been watching all summer.  I was able to fill one of my California deer tags during archery season with my good friend, Travis.
September:  Travis, My brother Todd, Randy our camp cook, and I all headed to Wyoming to work on filling 3 elk tags during archery season.  Second day of the hunt I shot a 5x5 bull, third day out Todd shot a large cow and fourth day out Travis killed a large 5x4 non-typical.  We came home early with lots of meat and are excited about 2013.
October: We filled three X zone tags in a day and a half and then off to Colorado with Randy for elk.  Two more elk hit the ground near 12,000 feet and again we were home early (Randy killed a great 7x6 bull).  Came home to fish the Sacramento River for salmon and hit the tail end of the run.  Todd and I did manage to land one good 18 lbs. King.
November:  I was able to make it out with some long time friends who had a Doyle Muzzleloader tag in their pocket.  We saw some great bucks and Dan eventually put down a big 4x4 just shy of 30 inches (He passed on a 34 inch forked horn along with many other great bucks).
December: I stayed close to home because Becky was pregnant with our 5th child.  On 12/12/12, I was lucky enough to deliver our daughter, Darrah, at home.  The mid wife didn't make it in time and we had to handle it ourselves.  This was definately the best day of the year.
January:  I had a small surgery and have been laid up ever since.  I ended up with some complications and have only made it out fishing one day on Almanor.  Almanor is starting to heat up, The fishing that is not the water temp.  My Father made it out on Shasta Lake with one of my brothers and they were able to land limits each of nice rainbows. 
February:  Wyoming Elk tag draw results are out.  We drew Elk again this year and are hoping for the best.  As the year starts out I will try and do better by keeping this report up to date.  Hope everyone is doing well and is getting geared up for fishing season.

08/06/2012


This summer has been awesome fishing on all lakes in Northern California.  Here are a few Coho that my brother (Todd on left) and his friend, Jimmy, caught while we were fishing Lake Oroville back in early June.  Coho are alot of fun and sure can fight.

The California draw results came out back in June and I have done very little fishing except for some booked trips.  I have put fishing on the back burner for awhile after drawing a great X zone tag and Likely Tables antelope (I have been putting in for nearly 25 years for antelope).  I have been scouting and have found alot of great bucks.  Both antelope and mule deer.  This year was also good to me as I drew two elk tags.  One in Wyoming that I will be archery hunting on and one in Colorado where I will be packed in with horses carrying one of my favorite rifles.   I am sure looking forward to this fall.  I have also been getting alot of great photos of bucks in an over the counter unit in California on my trail cameras.  Looking forward to doing alittle archery hunting here as well.

Well, I had better go shoot my bow some more since the season is almost upon us.  I will post some results from the hunts shortly after they happen.

05/26/2012



Last week I spent a couple of days fishing on Bucks Lake for Mackinaw, Browns and Kokanee.  The Mack bite is on the slow side, but the Browns and Kokanee are biting.  The Kokanee are very small this year with a big one going 12 inches.  The browns are ranging from 12 to 22 inches and up to 3 lbs. on the average.  UV Criplures by Shasta Tackle have been the ticket for the Browns as well as #11 Rapalas in purple.  The Kokanee are also hitting the UV Criplures and pink Hoochies behind UV/pink Sling Blade dodgers.  The best Kokanee bite has been coming from a brass and silver Luhr Jensen dodger trailing an inch and a half of night crawler on a #6 hook after an action disc.  Not your normal Kokanee set up but it sure has been working well. 

Just returned from fishing on Lake Davis with two of my boys, Brayden and Jacob.  They both caught quick limits of beautiful Rainbows.  The wind was blowing pretty good, but it didn't keep these boys from smiling.  We were running Wee Dick Nite's in copper and red, red dot frog Needlefish, black dot frog Needlefish, tiger colored Sockey Slammer's, and even a night crawler following a brass and silver dodger.  We fish at 6 to 10 feet deep on the downriggers, 75 feet back for only a couple of hours and caught 15 or so fish.  Lake Davis is on fire right now and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to catch a quality Rainbow.  Make sure you watch the weather for the wind report as Lake Davis is not the place to be in a small boat in the wind.  We launched at Camp 5 and were able to launch and load up easily because of how protected it is.  The fishing was so good I think I will try and hit it again next week.

For all of you hunters out there, don't forget to put in for the California draws as the dead line is June 2nd.

Until next week.

Reese

05/17/2012



Wow!!!  Probably the best word to describe the northstate fishing this year.  The Mackinaw fishing at Bucks Lake has been a little slow, but we are pulling a few good ones here and there like this one caught by the Traftons.  The fishing on many of the other lakes has been outstanding as shown by the Wilson family during a break in the fishing at Antelope Lake.  We then went out and caught a few more after the picture.

I just returned from my second trip to Shasta Lake in a little over a week.  The fishing up there has been outstanding.  In all I spent 6 days fishing the lake with around 175 fish boated.  I fished a tournament for trout and salmon, in which our team placed 13th putting us in the money.  My goal for the tournament was to place in the top 25.  We were very happy with the outcome.  Kokanee Power did an outstanding job putting on the tournament.  The land locked King Salmon are big this year if you can find the right school.  They are bitting well right now.  We were trolling for them, but many people are mooching with anchovies.

I will be hitting Bucks Lake this weekend for a couple of days with some gentlemen from the Redding area.  They are in search of some Macks.  The Macks are acting like they are more in summer mode when I fished them last week.  Might have to try some jigging this week if the trolling bite is slow. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful summer weather we are having.  Try and get out and enjoy some fishing if you can, you won't be disappointed.  Check out the other new photos Iposted under Bucks, Antelope and other locations.

Until next week.

Reese

04/25/2012



Over the last week I have fished at three of the best lakes in Plumas County.  I made it up to Antelope Lake several times and limits were caught for all, and we released quite a few as well.  My Father and Brother even made it up for a day and fished with my kids and I.  My Dad even commented that he had never seen fishing this good and he talked about a trip to Canada he took years before.  That speaks highly of the lakes we have here in this County.  I then launched with Janet from the Sacramento area on Lake Davis on the 20th after fishing with her on the 19th on Antelope Lake.  She caught a few beauties and took home some beautiful fillets to make some wonderful dinners.  Bucks Lake is open and the Macks are biting.  I made it up there with Gary on the 25th and we started by fishing the normal areas for Macks.  I was able to graph quite a few, but we had to search for them.  The water temperature is very warm for this early in the season.  The lake hasn't had ice on it in over a month.  We were fishing in a very heavy down pour all morning with winds.  We had 4 good hits during the morning, 3 which we hooked up, but unfortunately we only landed 1.  Gary has lived in Plumas County for 40 years and had never caught a Mackinaw before and was pretty excited. We did help out some stranded boaters and towed them back to the ramp.  I will be back up on Bucks starting the 27th with a local from Quincy who was the high bidder on a trip I donated to the Mule Deer Foundation for their dinner. 

Next week I will be hitting Bucks for 3 days and Antelope for a day, then off to the Shasta Lake Classic Team Tourney for 4 days.  Kokanee Power puts on this tournament in conjunction with the local businesses of Shasta County and others.  The tournament helps support the quality fishing that we all enjoy, and yes, even here in Plumas County.  You don't have to be a proffessional fisherman to enter the tournament.  It is very family oriented and alot of fun.  Check out their web site.

Now is the time to be on the water.  The lakes are higher than they have been in years.  The fishing is outstanding and we have beautiful weather predicted for the next 10 days.  Get out there and enjoy it.

Until next week.

Reese

04/09/2012



The Fishing at Antelope Lake has been Great, Awesome, Wonderful, Beautiful, ect.  There are really no words that describe the fishing at this lake after it thaws and a person can get up there and launch a boat.  We have been catching trout from the surface down to 10 feet.  Limits every day for those on board with a license.  I was even allowed to catch a few limits myself over the last few days, making for some nice meals.  Dodgers trailing night crawlers, rapalas and trolling flies have been the ticket.  Pretty much anything you throw out there will eventually get hit.  Some things have been working way better than others.  Changing out lures often to find what they like best has helped.  Once you figure it out, stick to it and coverer lots of water.  I have been fishing the open water mosterly and doing well.  16-18 inch Rainbows are the norm, with a few Brookies thrown in for a nice change.  We have been catching a few fish up to 20 plus inches as well.  Most fish are averaging 1.5 lbs with a few nearing the 3 lb mark.  20 plus fish in less than 4 hours has been the norm.  Needless to say, most people have left all smiles and with heavy coolers.  The water clarity is poor, maybe 4 feet, so the use of a dodger has been helpfull.

Until next week, Happy fishing.

Reese

03/09/2012

Shasta Lake Fishing Report:

Made it up to Shasta Lake for two days of fishing with my favorite people.  The first day my Father (Mac), my Son (Brayden), and our best friend (Randy) fished in the Dry creek arm.  We caught 9 Salmon that day.  Nothing bigger than 16 inches, but boy will they taste good.  We tried over near Digger Bay but could not get anything to bite, so we returned to Dry Creek and picked up two more.  The next day, Cooper (Randy's Grandson) was able to join us.  He had never caught a fish before.  So we headed back into the Dry Creek arm to see if we could make that first happen.  Right off the bat we hooked up two and landed Cooper's first fish.  He was excited.  We fished in Dry Creek for about 2 hours only landing one more fish.  By then the boats had really stacked up in the arm and we were having to manuever around quite a few people anchored up mooching.  We packed up and headed up the Sacramento Arm to above Elmore Bay.  Right off the bat we hooked up with a nice one and a half pound Rainbow for Cooper.  We fished for another hour there with no further luck.  We then headed over to check out the Goose Neck Campground and use the facilities.  Next stop was the Obrien Arm where we quickly caught two more Salmon and then called it a day.  The lures of choice were anything in any color from pink to silver to white.  All behind Shasta Tackle Sling Blades between 50 and 75 feet deep.  The Rainbow was caught 20 feet down.  What a great way to spend a couple of days.  We worked on some elk and antelope hunting plans for this upcoming fall as well.  Congratulations to Cooper and his first fish.  Until next week.

Reese

03/02/2012

Pyramid Lake-  That is where we made it to this week.  Fished with Greg and Larry and had a great time with calm waters.  Couldn't have been a nicer day.  The fish we caught ranged from 16 to 22 inches.  We didn't catch many but did find a bite late in the afternoon on the north end of the lake.  Jay Fair trolling flies in Tui Chub and a black spoon with red dots were the only thing we could get them to bite on.  We could mark fish on the sonar but couldn't get any of them to bite.  We ended up catching our fish at 20-25 feet down. 

Next week I am finally going to get up to Shasta Lake.  By next Thursday the storms will have long since past and the lake should have calmed down and the good fishing returned.

See you on the water.

Reese

02/23/2012

Lake Davis Fishing Report

Made up to Davis today with Gary and Jim.  We were able to launch at Mallard Cove.  The ramp is not steep so after putting on chest waders we were able to get the boat in the water.  The fishing was anything but bad today.  We were hooking 5+ fish an hour, sometime closer to 7 or 8.  Most of the Rainbows were running from 14 to 18 inches.  Beautiful fish.  We started fishing around 8 AM and were finished with catching over 20 fish.  We kept our limits of 5 apiece for a nice dinner and released all the rest.  All the fish were filleted and we were finished by 1230 PM.  No complaints here.

We started marking fish right off the bat at 20 to 30 feet deep on the graph.  We dropped the first line in the water, set it on the downrigger at 20 feet and with in 30 seconds had the first fish on.  We were trolling a number of different lures at approximately 1.5 mph.  Shasta Tackle sling blades trailing a wiggle fin and a inch and a half of nightcrawler on a #6 Owners hook caught several fish today.  We also used copper and red Needlefish, tiger colored Sockey Slammers and copper and orange Sep's spoons.  We didn't change much thoughout the morning because these were working great.  This was Gary's first time to use downriggers.  He has bought a new boat and is looking forward to trying it on his own.  I have no doubt he will do fine since he was doing it like a pro by the end of the morning. 

You can launch at Camp 5 but you will need a 4x4 to pull the boat as the road is very icy.  The launch ramp there is clear.  I launched my big boat there on 02/25/2012 with no problems.

Didn't make it to Shasta Lake this week.  Hoping that I can make it up there next week.  The good fishing season is approaching, although it has been great this winter due to the lack of weather.  Never thought I would launch on Lake Davis in the middle of Feb. 

I'll keep you posted on the most current conditions.

Reese

02/17/2012

Lake Almanor Fishing Report

Made it to Lake almanor today and fished the morning with Travis and Bob.  Trolling has been alittle slower than it was a couple of weeks ago.  The same lures are working, but I found that UV Criplures from Shasta Tackle were the ticket today.  When the fish hit these lures they hit hard.  5  feet down and running lines out to the planer boards seemed to be the best.  The water temp is still around 37.5 to 38.5 degrees.  Some of the fish we caught were puking up smelt, but not like they had been in the last few weeks.  We fished the east shore this morning with lots of other boats.  We only saw one other net go out today.  I think it was a slow day for most. 

Tomorrow night is the Quincy Chapter Mule Deer Foundation Dinner.  Lots of great prizes and guns will be given away.  This year I donated 2 different trips.  The first is a 2 day Mackinaw trip for 2 to Bucks Lake.  The second is a 1 day trip for trout on Antelope Lake or Bucks Lake for 4.  Looking forward to seeing you all at the dinner.

Next week I am headed to Shasta Lake for a few days if the weather is good.  Reports have it that the trout are biting exceptionally well.  Fishing Shasta lake is alot of fun.  Plenty of places to fish with lots of fish.

Pray for some more rain and snow.  We certainly need it.

Until next week.    Reese 

02/03/2012

The fishing on Lake almanor has been good.  Temperatures have been cold in the morning causing ice on the east side of the lake in the shade.  The fish have been hitting on white trolling flies, dodgers trailing nightcrawlers, and my personal favorite, white wiggle hoochies from Shasta Tackle.  We have been running our gear between 5 and 15 feet.  The first hour of daylight has been the best.  Most of the fish we caught were puking up smelt.  The big rainbows are going to be spawning soon and some probably have started. 

Watch out for the slippery dock at the Canyon Dam ramp, be safe while fishing and enjoy the sunrise while on the lake.

01/21/2012
It has been awhile since I have updated my fishing report page.  We have finally received some of the much needed wet weather to fill our lakes and streams.  I have spent some time hunting geese and ducks, but am now looking forward to the upcoming fishing season.

Because of the lack of weather I was able to launch my boat on Bucks Lake during the first week of January.  Unheard of for this time of year.  Part of the lake was frozen but we were able to find some of the big Mackinaw that call Bucks Lake home.  The fish were scattered and we did not find them in the usual places that we find them in the spring or summer.  We fished the north side of the Bucks Creek channel in the main body of the lake.  The lake water temperature was around 36.5 degrees.  With the temperatures so cold we started the gear high until we located some Macks on the graph.  The graph showed what few Macks we could find between 45 and 60 feet deep.  In the end we land three Macks that came at 50 and 55 feet deep.  The largest was 15 lbs even.  We only graphed a few schools of the large fish, but what a away to start the new year.

I spent some time fishing Shasta Lake this winter with family.  We netted alot of Rainbows and land locked Salmon, even a few bass hit our deeper rigs.  The fish were caught anywhere from the surface down to 60 feet deep depending on where we found the bait.  Wiggle Hoochies and Criplures, along with a few Apex lures thrown in were our best producers.  With the turn of the new year I will be focusing my time on Lake Almanor.  The bite should be good as spring approaches.

11/09/2011
I've been gone hunting in Wyoming for several weeks.  Antelope and Mule deer were on the agenda.  Freezers were filled and good times were had.  Came home to California to hunt Blacktail deer with my wife.  We ended up putting three more bucks in the freezer.  Becky killed 2 of them, including a giant D3 blacktail. 

Antelope Lake was fishing great at the end of October.  I wanted to get back up there at the beginning of November but the snows came.  Went to Bucks Lake instead and fished for an evening and a morning.  Fantastic fishing for Browns.  We didn't catch any big ones, but caught alot of average fish up to 16 inches.  UV criplures by Shasta Tackle were working well along with UV Sling Blade dodgers with night crawlers trailing.

Headed to Shasta Lake this weekend to fish with my Father and Brother.  The report is that the lake is fishing good for 2+ lb. Bows.

With winter coming I will be fishing Lake Almanor for the trophy Browns and Bows.  Looking forward to the holidays.  Make sure to spend extra time with family and friends since you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Be safe and enjoy the fishing.

08/13/2011
Bucks Lake fishing report. Fishing has been slow for Macks. Picking up a few here and there, but nothing of any size. Word has it a few people are catching them while jigging. The trout bite is doing great. Most of the fish being caught are between 10 and 16 inches and are planters. Every once in a while you will catch a good hold over from the year before. The fish are coming at 20 to 33 feet deep depending on what part of the lake you are fishing on. In the Mill Creek channel I have been running a Sling Blade dodger trailed by a #4 hook with a piece of night crawler on it. I have been putting a WiggleFin action disc in front of the hook to give it extra action. I have then been dropping the gear down to 20-25 feet with the Cannon downriggers in the Mill Creek channel and trolling at 1.3 to 1.5 mph. It has been nothing to catch 30 to 40 fish in a couple of hours, 90% have been Brook trout. I have tried lots of different lures and spoons but have not been getting the same effect. Trolling the same set up in Haskins inlet where the power line crosses the channel has
been productive on Rainbows and Browns up to 16 or 17 inches (FOR SAFETY DON'T DRAG YOUR DOWNRIGGER BALL ON THE BOTTOM, THE POWER LINE IS BURIED BUT DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES). Not as many fish but the quality has been better. Trolling off the rocky point across from Lake Shore Resort, 30 to 33 feet down has been producing Browns, Rainbows, and small Macks, again up to 17 inches or so. Make sure you use good quality sharp hooks or you will get alot of hits and less set hooks. Boat safely and enjoy this wonderful summer we are having.