"The program is very successful, since we're now seeing rainbow trout and king salmon up to 3-1/2 pounds," said Rod Browning, president of the California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc. (CIFFI). "For example, on my last trolling trip to Berryessa, a few weeks ago, I caught rainbows in the 19 to 20 inch class."

Probably the best example of the big fish found in Berryessa resulting from the pen rearing program was an exceptional stringer of king salmon that one angler, Jimmy from Suisun, caught in Markley Cove on March 4. The shore fisherman landed five king salmon ranging from 3 to 3-1/2 pounds while fishing minnows under a bobber, according to Fran McNeil at the Markley Cove Resort.

The trout are raised in 10 x 10 wooden pens 12 feet deep, surrounded by a chain link wire cage to keep predators from ravaging the fish. Employees from Markley Cove Resort plant the fish twice per day, while Don Nevis and two other CIFFI volunteers clean the pens once per week. The whole remarkable project has cost only $38,000, since the labor is provided by volunteers.

"The reason why we started the program was to add larger-sized trout and salmon to the lake's fishery," said Browning. "When the trout are planted at catchable size, they're not used to feeding on shad, the lake's main forage, because their mouths are too small. However, when they are put in the pens and raised to a larger size, they start feeding on the shad that school around the pen and adapt better to living in the lake."

The king salmon can be found throughout the lake. "We're seeing a lot of salmon over 2 pounds and a few over 3 pounds this spring," said Mike Keen of Spanish Flat Resort. "Many quality chinooks are being caught off the bank here by anglers fishing minnows under bobbers."

Because of a disease at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, king salmon weren't planted in Berryessa in 2001 or 2002. However, the DFG stocked 25,000 kokanee salmon in the lake last year and will plant 50,000 kokanee this April.

The pen-raised rainbows scheduled for release this spring will supplement the 58,000 catchable rainbows, a 50/50 mixture of Eagle Lake and Coleman strain trout, planted by the DFG in Berryessa every year, according to Sid Poe, hatchery manager at the DFG's Silverado Fisheries Base. The Department isn't planting the trout from mid-March through mid-April like they did in previous years, but is now spreading the plants out from January through April.

When I was at the lake on March 16, boaters experienced solid action on a mixture of holdover and recent planter rainbows. Tasha McGlashan, Mike Jones, Betty Jones, Roger Briggs and Bill Cerrito teamed up to catch 16 trout while fishing in two boats. The group, on a piscatorial outing from the Vaca Valley Christian Life Center in Vacaville, landed the fish while trolling Kastmasters near the dam.

Erick Scheme and Brian Garcia, also of Dixon, landed 7 rainbows while trolling Needlefish near the dam from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 7 to 8 feet deep. Their friends, Mike and Tamson Brock of Dixon, also caught 10 fish measuring 14 to 15 inches while trolling in the same area.

Although the trout and salmon fishing is good now, the action should only get better as the thermocline forms in the late spring or early summer. During the summer months, the fish concentrate at a defined strata in the water, though they will go towards the surface to feed on the shad. During the fall, the lake turns over and bank anglers generally find as good action as boaters because the fish scatter throughout the water column.

Besides trout and salmon, Lake Berryessa is also known for the excellent black bass fishing found throughout the year, particularly in the spring and fall. In spite of the cold weather and impending storm, bass fishing was productive on March 16 during a team tournament held by the Vineyard Region of Western Bass.

Pat Miller and Joe Gallegos won first place with 7 bass, a mixture of largemouths, spots and smallmouths, weighing 17.26 pounds. Gallegos also took big fish honors in the tournament with a fat, healthy 7.48 pound largemouth. Doug Harris and Alan Butt placed second with 7 bass totaling 14.62 pounds, while Bryan Crutcher and George Grover took third with seven fish going 13.54 pounds.

The fish taken in the tourney were a mixture of spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass. Other anglers landed most of their fish while using Green Weenies and a variety of plastics anywhere from 5 to 20 feet deep.

Other fish that thrive in the lake's rich waters include black crappie, channel catfish, white catfish, bluegill and redear sunfish. Of all the lake's fish, crappie are my favorite. Claude Davis and I used to catch large numbers of black crappie while using mini jigs and minnows in Markley Cove during spring and fall from 1986 to 1991. Unfortunately, the crappie population has declined since then, although persistent anglers still find good action on fish to 2-1/2 pounds.

Davis, in his last report from Markley Cove before his death, said the crappie bite could be predicted by the annual blooming of plum or peach trees in local orchards. "If you see plum or peach trees bloom in February, try for crappie," Davis advised.

The lake, which covers 21,000 acres with 165 miles of shoreline when full, is only 4-1/2 feet from full now. The lake has seven full service resorts, with 750 campsites, found throughout the reservoir.

For facilities information, call the Bureau of Reclamation, (707) 966-2111. For fishing information, call Spanish Flat Resort, (707) 966-7600, and Markley Cove Resort, (707) 966-2134.