Heads Up: Topaz Trout Derby opens Jan. 1

Fishing Reports

Trout go deeper, bite well at Collins Lake By Kathy Hess
05/22/13 -- Most of the trout limits are taken from boats now since the surface temperature reached the 70 degrees this week. Trollers are working down to 20 feet and more with downriggers or three colors plus monofilament leaders... Full Story
Coffel & Fieber win from 10-ft boat By Vince Harris
05/21/13 -- Call it luck, call it fate, or you may even want to say it’s a fluke, but whatever name you choose to give it, the fact of the matter is that Jeremy Coffel and team partner Jay Fieber have serious skills - and can flat out fish... Full Story
Where’s that kicker? By Gary Heffley
05/21/13 -- The lament of any angler…second place and lower in any tournament, derby, or just in trying to best their buddies out on the lake. Yeah, I know second place is first-loser and anything there or lower gets...Full Story
Kilarc trout on the bite By John Higley
05/21/13 -- Last Sunday my better half Sharon and I drove to Kilarc Reservoir, near Whitmore, to fish with her son Scott and his son Harrison. Scott was new to the place but I’ve taken Harrison there several times and I’m glad he still... Full Story
First-hand report: Trinity Lake is a fun fish By Steven Ray
05/19/13 -- Trinity Lake is a great lake to fish in the spring time. There are no crowds and the fishing is outstanding for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. We had a fun fishing trip on the lake yesterday... Full Story
GSSA says DSC plan is a failure 05/17/13 -- The Golden Gate Salmon Association delivered a letter to the Delta Stewardship Council today highly critical of the Council’s failure to address the recovery needs of the Central Valley salmon...Full Story
Congressman proposes salmon-kill bill 05/17/13 -- The Golden Gate Salmon Association says effort to seize more salmon water would harm salmon and coastal towns. GSSA reports Rep. Jim Costa (D) Fresno, has introduced a bill in Congress proposing to open...Full Story
Mt. Shasta Free Kid’s Fishing Days By Gary Heffley
05/16/13 -- My three favorite Saturdays of the year are just about here as the CA DFW, other sponsors, and volunteers are all making ready for the Free Kid’s Fishing Day events to be held once again at the Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery... Full Story
Colusa Stripers still slow By Gary Heffley
05/16/13 -- Reports from Kittles’ Outdoor Sport in Colusa still have the majority of the striper action from Meridian south. But the stripers are due and they could move up at any time. I would suggest calling ahead for an up-to-date...Full Story
Trinity Trout or Whiskeytown Kokes By Gary Heffley
05/16/13 -- Trinity and Whiskeytown Lakes are good bets at this time for those who prefer to chase their trout or salmon on flat water as opposed to swift current. I had a chance to talk with local guide Mike Elster, of Mike’s Fishing...Full Story
Options aplenty for Eureka ocean anglers Fishing the North Coast, by Kenny Priest
05/15/13 -- Seasons best clam tides coming next week. You’d be hard pressed to find better fishing anywhere along the California coast than what’s been happening in Eureka. The salmon season is off to a hot start... Full Story
Topaz trout keeping anglers happy By Mike Mogler
05/14/13 -- Sunday, April 14 was the conclusion of the 2013 Topaz Lodge and Casino Trout Derby. Jeremy Ritter from Gardnerville took top honors for the largest trout in the Derby with his 5lb. 24.5 inch rainbow. Phil Oren from Arizona... Full Story
Carpenter & Glass win Bassin' for Bucks By Jason Haley
05/14/13 -- The 27th Annual Bassin’ for Bucks team tournament concluded May 4 at Ten Mile Lakes, Oregon. The event drew 33 boats and a tough group of anglers including notables like Phil Strader of Glide and Jiggs Benn of Mrytle Creek...Full Story
Don't Dump that Fish By Erin Loury, FISHBIO
05/13/13 -- [Posted with permission of FISHBIO] All the world's a fishbowl for an aquarium fish set free. As anyone whose pet fish has defied the odds can attest, aquarium fish are bred to be hardy survivors. Unfortunately... Full Story
Fishing improving slowly in Hat Creek area By Jim Cimaglia
05/12/13 -- Upper Hat Creek fished better this past weekend with very low pressure mid-week due to afternoon thunderstorms and lots of rain. Fish and Game planted some good rainbows on Friday, so with decreased pressure...Full Story
Bonus on the Sacramento River By Chuck Giles
05/11/13 -- Any day spent on the water with your family is a great day. Any day you catch fish with your family is a bonus. Yesterday, I had a great day and got the bonus to boot. About two weeks ago my daughter who... Full Story
Bucks Lake + Big Daddy equals big macks By Chuck Giles
05/09/13 -- As he does every year at this time, Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service, heads up to Bucks Lake for some trophy mackinaw. He has found them! “Everything is biting on the lake right now; browns, rainbows... Full Story
Delta Big Bass Challenge drew 325 anglers

By Vince Harris
05/08/13 -- The 3rd annual Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge held on the California Delta last weekend at Russo’s Marina, was a huge success as a record field of 325 turned out to get their share of the over $30,000 in cash... Full Story
Casey/Carroll win American Bass tourney

By Jason Haley
05/06/13 -- Danny Casey and Terry Carroll won the first event of the new American Bass region, Oregon Cascade, on Emigrant Lake, April 28th. They had a mixed bag totaling 13.56 pounds and overall big fish... Full Story
BASS recognizes North State waters By Gary Heffley
05/01/13 -- It is usually always nice to see recognition for excellence. But some anglers will be upset that their supposed secret is out. BASS Magazine recently published their listing for the top 100 bass fishing waters... Full Story
Fish Talk -- Salmon season is upon us Fishing the Rogue by Charlie Brown
04/30/13 -- The Chinook salmon is the official fish of Oregon. A number of Chinook salmon populations are considered endangered, but overall the species is making a healthy recovery in Oregon. The spring 2010 salmon... Full Story
Where to fish in the North State By Gary Heffley
04/25/13 -- With many visitors coming to the North State for the first time here is a general overview of angling opportunities available near the Redding and the many other waters this region has to offer... Full Story
Grumpy cure; Kids Fishing Day By Chuck Giles
04/23/13 – Medical science need look no further for a cure to the doldrums. It has been within our grasp all this time. We all just need to go watch a kid catch a fish. What follows is a timeline for my research which came to a... Full Story
Excellent salmon fishing seems certain, if… By Frank Galusha
04/22/13 -- The California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) adopted ocean and inland salmon season regulations for 2013 at its meeting last week in Santa Rosa. Forecasts of abundant Sacramento and Klamath River fall...Full Story
New protections set for Clear Lake Hitch 04/16/13 -- The Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), which is endemic to Clear Lake in Lake County, is now a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The California Fish and Game Commission... Full Story
ODFW rolls out interactive fishing map 04/15/13 -- The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife this week rolled out another interactive fishing map designed to help anglers find fishing locations all across Oregon.
The GoogleTM-based maps detail 349 locations...Full Story
Salmon Forecast: Time to reflect & improve By Erin Loury, FISHBIO
03/26/13 -- [Posted with permission of FISHBIO]  After many dreary years of low salmon escapement in the Sacramento basin, the 2012 Sacramento Index (SI), or adult population estimate of 618,258 Chinook proved... Full Story
SkyCrest Lake Kids’ Fish Derby is June 8 03/25/13 -- The Willow Creek Fire Safe Council will be holding its 6th annual SkyCrest Lake Youth Fish Derby and Firewise Day on Saturday, June 8th. at SkyCrest Lake on Underwood Mountain Road in... Full Story
First ocean salmon season opens April 6 By Frank Galusha
03/20/13 -- The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) have announced the recreational salmon season from Horse Mountain, Humboldt County...Full Story
New Ocean Fishing regs are available 03/02/13 -- New 2013-2014 Ocean Sport Fishing Regulation booklets are now available at California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) offices and wherever sport fishing licenses are sold. Anglers and divers need to be aware of...Full Story
OR Boat inspections target invasive species 02/07/13 -- The aquatic invasive species boat inspection station at the Ashland Port of Entry will open on Feb. 11, 2013. Stations in Gold Beach, Klamath Falls, Lakeview and Ontario will open in the coming months...Full Story
Can these fish survive? By Mr. Hook
02/04/13 -- Late last summer I was lucky enough to spend an entire afternoon in one of my favorite honey holes on Lake Shasta. Sure there were jet skiers, houseboats, and wake boarders jammin’ around everywhere, and I had to...Full Story
Fish habitat improvement funds released 01/22/13 -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and local partners today announced $2 million in financial assistance to help landowners take additional steps to boost local salmonid and other...Full Story
OR DFW: Double up on purple varnish clams 01/17/13 -- Oregon clam diggers may harvest twice as many purple varnish clams in 2013 as they did in previous years, making it easier to harvest a full meal of this small but tasty clam. Also new to shellfish regulations this year, divers must...Full Story
ODFW Fishing Regulation changes 01/17/13 -- Prohibitions at Oregon’s marine reserves at Redfish Rocks and Otter Rock are in effect as of Jan. 1, 2012. Fishing, crabbing, clamming, hunting and gathering seaweed are all prohibited. Beach walking, surfing, bird watching,...Full Story
Fish aggregating devices round up tuna By Chris Becker, Fishbio.com
12/11/12 -- Similar to bugs buzzing around a light in the dark, fish will flock to a floating object or structure in the vast emptiness of the open ocean. The tuna industry has learned to exploit this behavior to make tunas easier to catch with the...Full Story
“Hook Sets are Free” By Gary Heffley
11/20/12 -- Randy Pringle, a well-known California bass guide and speaker was the first person who I heard mention that simple and quite profound fishing tip at an ISE show in San Mateo many years ago...Full Story
A primer on fishing Lake Shasta By Gary Heffley
Shasta Lake draws more visitors to Shasta County than any other single attraction. While it is often a challenge to fish, it is more likely to produce stringers of fat trout or spotted bass. Trout to four and five pounds are caught here routinely...Full Story
Lake Oroville; 'tis the season By Chuck Giles
01/11/12 – Lake Oroville is probably one of the best lakes for sheer numbers of Spotted Bass in Northern California. This is not just on a seasonal basis, but year round. To start, I have a list of baits that produce decent results... Full Story
Riverspeak 08/10/12 -- It was 1956. The boy was 13 years old. He traveled with his parents whenever they went to Tahoe. They camped near the bridge that crossed the Upper Truckee River near Meyers Grade. His father liked to hear the stream...Full Story
To help or not to help? That is the question By Chuck Giles
8/07/11 – Whether we realize it or not, those of us who enjoy boating have joined an exclusive fraternity. We signed nothing obligating us to help each other in times of distress. However, there are laws, and moral obligations...Full Story