Baum Lake – February 13
Matthew and I made a quick trip to Baum Lake and enjoyed nonstop action from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Any nymph pattern or orange attractor seemed to do the trick. Crazy good mornings like this at Baum can really spoil you for trout fishing.
Lake Oroville – March 13
We heard the bass fishing was starting to pick up, so Matthew and I headed to Lake Oroville. It was a battle between float-and-fly and conventional gear. Float-and-fly won handily in terms of numbers, but the biggest fish came on jerkbaits. Then back home in the backyard, Matthew caught a nice bass from the pond.
Sacramento River – March 28
After Coleman Hatchery announced another release of salmon smolts, I headed out early the next morning and drove downstream until I found some surface activity. About three miles below the launch, I spotted stripers busting bait and made a few casts into the boils. Using a 1/4-ounce swimbait on a light spinning rod, I hooked up on my third cast.
I knew right away it was a double-digit fish, so with the light tackle I careful fighting it. While I was battling the fish, a boat came through and drove directly over the pod of feeding stripers. After landing the fish, I waited to see if they would surface again, but they never reappeared. The fish was a fat, healthy 19-pound striper.
Sacramento River near Grimes – April 1
Mike Hendry invited Cliff Kitayama and me out during the spring striper run. We caught plenty of fish drifting live minnows and trolling stick baits. Most of the fish were under four pounds, but we did manage one double-digit striper.
Lake Oroville – April 24
I invited Ray Narbaitz out for a day of spotted bass fishing. Ray is 87 years old and still fishes exceptionally well. I always enjoy spending time with him because he is a wealth of knowledge, has countless stories from the fly-fishing industry, and is simply one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
Yuba River – June 3 & June 7
Kenny Oda texted to say he had found some excellent dry-fly fishing on the Yuba. When that happens, I don’t waste any time. On my next free days I went and found rising fish from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The trout were feeding just beneath the surface, even though there wasn’t a well-defined hatch. They ate my #18 and #20 Blue-Winged Olive duns and emergers.
Lake Margaret – June 25
I hadn’t been a full member of Wilderness Unlimited for eight or nine years. Instead, I stayed on standby because I rarely had time to fish the properties, and the annual membership had become increasingly expensive.
After returning from Lake Margaret, Meng couldn’t stop talking about how incredible the fishing had been. As luck would have it, both of my boys were free the next day, so I made a financial decision—probably not the smartest one—and reactivated my membership for $1,200. To justify the cost, I’d need to fish the Wilderness Unlimited properties at least 10 times over the next year. But the chance to spend a day trout fishing in the mountains with both of my sons made the decision easier.
We used Lake Margaret’s flat-bottom boats (#1 and #4) and brought our own trolling motors. The trout were stacked up near the incoming creek, just as Meng had described. The fishing was phenomenal. It was nonstop action with impressively sized trout, and they eagerly ate everything we threw at them.
We fished from 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., then headed down the mountain to Redding for barbecue at Odell’s. What a great way to finish the day. They’re only open on Thursdays and Fridays, so our timing couldn’t have been better. It was the perfect ending to a memorable trout fishing reunion with my boys.
Sacramento River – July 9
My investment broker, Danny Mehan, hired local guide Ben Thomson for a day of striped bass fishing and invited me to come along. I’ve followed Ben on Instagram for years and had always wanted the opportunity to fish with him.
We fished from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and landed about 30 stripers, ranging from dinks to fish in the 6- to 7-pound class. We did see a few 20 to 30 pound fish follow hooked fish. I learned a lot throughout the day, and it was great spending time with Danny. Ben definitely has striper juju running through his veins—he’s one seriously fishy guide.
