Hemphill caught and released 12 bass on a solo night fishing adventure to the lake's south end from 11:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. "The largest fish weighed 5-1/4 pounds and several were over 4 pounds," Hemphill noted.

He caught the fish while using black/red Piranha Swim Jigs and Brush Hogs in 8 to 18 feet of water.

"Bassin' has been fun this week," said Bob Rider of Lakeshore Bait and Tackle in Clear Lake. "I was surprised to sell completely through over 2,000 jumbo minnows in an eight day period from Wednesday a week ago to Thursday."

Bass anglers have reported catches from four feet clear down to 15 feet and everywhere in between. Docks and walls have been good producers as have areas that offer subtle depth transitions. "Spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, shallow cranks, shaky heads, drop shot worms, and even small swim baits are all accounting for a piece of the action," Rider tipped.

There's not much of a crappie bite. "We've seen a few crappie that were caught locally from docks and walls on mini-jigs and minnows," he stated.

Rider reported some quality catfish that tipped the scales to 20 pounds. Fish jumbo minnows, mackerel and anchovies off Indian Island, the mouth of Cache Creek, and even Bass Alley.

When it comes to crabbing, Captain Randy Thornton of Telstar Charters is one of the best. He takes his crabbing very seriously and works hard to ensure his clients enjoy the best possible results.

"We've been doing pretty well with our crabbing gear," related Captain Thornton. "Overall we are averaging about 3 crabs per trap and 10 crab limits have been the rule on most of our recent trips. I'm expecting the crabbing to remain solid well into May," predicted Thornton.

The general rockfish opener in the Fort Bragg area is scheduled for June 13 and anglers are very excited as they look forward to the opener. Rockfish fishing was very good for anglers departing from Noyo Harbor last season and that trend should continue this season as well.

Lingcod scores were a little down last season, but that will likely change, since anglers will be able to fish water up to 180 feet deep. Last season, no areas in excess of 120 feet could be targeted.

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According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, river conditions are high on the Umpqua's main stem, but should improve with warmer weather. For bank anglers, plunking with eggs or Spin 'N' Glows is the preferred method. Remember the main stem Umpqua is closed to wild steelhead harvest, but remains open year-round for adipose fin-clipped steelhead. The recent rain should get the spring chinook season started in the Scottsburg area.

Due to high mortality of hatchery steelhead, smolt releases in 2007 were much lower than normal. Consequently, fewer hatchery steelhead returned to the Umpqua basin this winter. Angling opportunity and catch rates throughout the basin were still good due to the strong wild steelhead population, but only hatchery steelhead can be harvested.

As of March 7, over 4,600 winter steelhead had crossed Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua. The fish are actively moving now with increased flows and warmer water. The North has maintained its color, so it should be good for both bank and boat anglers.  Remember that only adipose fin-clipped steelhead can be harvested on the North Umpqua. The best flows for fishing tend to be between 1,600 and 6,400 cfs.

The North Umpqua is open to catch and release trout fishing from the mouth upstream to Soda Springs Dam. Spring chinook opened January 1, but the first fish isn't usually seen at the dam until the first week of April.

The South Umpqua opened December 1 for winter steelhead fishing. Only adipose-clipped steelhead can be harvested. The warmer water temperature should have the fish moving. Plunking will be the best angling method until the water drops. The best boat fishing flows tend to be between 3,000 and 6,500 cfs. Steelhead are being caught from Canyonville Park down, with the most success occurring in the first 30 river miles.

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"Believe it or not, the trout are still biting even though the water is coming up like crazy," reported Gary Miralles of the Shasta Tackle Company. "I went out with a buddy of mine last Wednesday. Since it had rained about 6 inches and the lake had come up 6 feet really quickly, I figured we'd have a tough time, but we actually ended up doing pretty well."

"Most of the lake was stained so we headed up into the Big Back Bone Arm where the water was fairly clean. We tried several different lures. A red and gold Hum Dinger was the top performer. We ended up catching 5 trout to 17 inches, one 17 inch king and 2 bass to 16 inches. All the fish we caught were holding in the top 15 feet of the water column," said Miralles.

"If you go up to Shasta right now, you've really got to be careful. There is a bunch floating wood on the lake," related Bill Divens of Salmon King Lodge. "I was up at the lake a few days ago and the surface debris really limited the areas we could fish. We ended up with 2 king salmon to 20 inch and a rainbow trout."

According to Phil Mitsueda of Phil's Propellers, the bass fishing on Shasta remains good and there have been some good size fish showing.

"The last storm to move through pushed Shasta's bass out into 25 to 35 feet of water, but once things settle down and the weather warms they should move right back into the 15 to 25 foot range. Plastic worms, Senkos, small swimbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits are all catching fish. Most of the bass are average size, but there are some larger fish in the mix. There was a bass tournament last weekend and two limits in the 21 pound class were weighed," disclosed Mitsueda.

At Whiskeytown, things remain super quiet as very few anglers are visiting the lake. For trollers, the top option is working the surface with minnow imitating patterns such as Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Sep's Pro Secrets, Needlefish or Excel Lures. Bank anglers are advised to concentrate on fishing standard baits near the powerhouse.

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"The weather was rough over the weekend of March 27-28, but the anglers aboard the Checkmate and Caroline still caught good numbers of mackerel and sanddabs," disclosed Todd Arcoleo of Chris' Fishing Trips. "They fished with Sabiki rigs, tipped with bait strips, off Point Pinos.

Chrissie Chonacki of Randy's Fishing Trips reported that the captains are getting their boats ready for the start of rockfish season, but are available until May 1 for sanddab and mackerel combo trips.

Ken Stagnaro, captain of the Velocity, reported "fairly tough" sanddab fishing on March 27. "After several stops the 13 anglers had managed just a few sanddabs each," Stagnaro said. "However, on the last stop the fish seemed to go on the bite. They ended the day with 125 sanddabs."

On the previous trip, fishing was much better. Sixteen anglers caught big 420 'dabs and just a few mackerel while fishing 8 miles out in 300 ft. of water, said Stagnaro.

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Anglers are nailing the trout while fishing inflated nightcrawlers and other baits near the dam. The trout are quality fish ranging from 12 to 18 inches, reported Jan Vaughn at Vaughn's Sporting Goods.

The Pit River from Lake Britton to Lake Shasta is fishable again, with a green tint to the water. "Fly fishermen are nailing wild rainbows in the 14 to 18 inch class while fishing large black nymphs such as Rubberlegs prince nymphs and black APs in sizes #12 to #14," said Vaughn.

This section of river remains open to zero kill, barbless hook and artificials only regulations through April 24, 2009.

"Anglers have to work hard for their trout at Baum Lake now," said Vaughn. "The fly fishermen are doing best while fishing small nymphs such as Copper Johns 30 inches under a strike indicator. Most of the fish are rainbows in the 8 to 15 inch range."

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"The lake is now ice-free and fishermen have been catching their limits of trout, most while using nightcrawlers and marshmallows," said Shirley Wiggin at Wiggin's Trading Post. "The rainbows have been averaging 14 to 18 inches and weighing up to 2 pounds."

The ramps are accessible, with some ice and snow on them. Some anglers have launched small boats at Frenchman lately.

Lake Davis is in the process of icing out. "The ice is beginning to break up with a little open water at Coot Bay and Mallard Cove," said Jerry Dollard at Dollard's Sierra Market in Portola. "The open water freezes over each night then thaws again by mid day."

For those who enjoy fishing shoulder to shoulder in the tiny open water pools, results have been good with numerous limits of fish up to three pounds. The most effective baits have been night crawlers, Power Bait and spinners. Barring unusual cold weather, the lake should be free of ice by next week, advised Dollard.

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The rapidly rising lake is producing the top action for anglers tossing out an array of plastic worms or tube baits in the main body and river arms. Most of the fish are in the 1-1/2 to 2 pound range, with a few larger spotted and largemouth bass.

"Robbie Merwin won first place in a recent ABA Tournament at Oroville with a limit weighing over 14 pounds, including a 7 pound kicker," said Cline. "Second place, taken by Richard Dobyns, was a 12 pound limit."

Most of the coho salmon reported lately have been hooked by anglers pre fishing or during bass tournaments. If you want to target the coho, drift jumbo minnows at 20 to 25 feet near the dam. Most salmon are in the 13 to 15 inch range, although they go up to 3-1/2 pounds.

The lake level at press time was 770.05 feet above sea level, 139.95 feet from full. The lake is now holding 1,872,000 acre feet of water.

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West Delta anglers are catching sturgeon from the lower end of Suisun Bay, all the way up to the Rio Vista Bridge. The most consistent area has been near the Moth Ball Fleet, but wind has been a problem.

"The sturgeon fishing has been very good down at the Mothball Fleet," related Captain Barry Canevaro of Fish Hookers Sportfishing. "Eel and ghost shrimp have been the hot baits for us recently. We picked up a 58 inch keeper on my last trip."

"Striper fishing in my area has been hit and miss. We are picking up a few stripers on bait while sturgeon fishing. Trollers are having good days here and there, but most of the fish the trollers are getting right now are pretty small. I've heard about some really big stripers being caught down near Martinez. Apparently there aren't a lot of them, but the ones they are getting are really big. In the that area bullheads are the bait of choice," tipped Canevaro.

Catfish and black bass fishing has come alive for West Delta anglers. For catfish anglers will want to target areas that 8 to 12 feet deep off shore of spawning areas. Clams and anchovies have been the top baits for whiskerfish.

Black bass are now in a prespawn mode and can be found lurking along the outer edge of weedlines in sheltered areas right next to the current. Soft plastics worked methodically are working best at this time, but for a shot at a real monster, swimbaits or magnum size topwater lures are the way to go.

For a complete Delta Report, click here.

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"Bass is improving fast," said Chuck Rowell of A-1 Bait and Tackle. "Work the surface to twenty-five feet deep - with darker plastics, like browns and purples leading the way. Live minnows and crawdads are also taking fish. We are seeing a definite pre-spawn pattern. Look for fish in Barrett Cove, Piney Creek and Horseshoe Bend."

"Trout are hitting trolled offerings from the surface to thirty-five feet deep.," tipped Rowell. "Trout colored Apex, Copcar Needlefish and flashers or Wedding Rings tipped with nightcrawlers are taking the majority of the fish. Look for water upriver of Barrett Cove."

Rowell noted that kokes are beginning to show at forty-five deep and are falling for Rocky Mountain Assassin spinners - in the dam area. The crappie bite is very good on jigs and small minnows - night fishing is best and look for brushy structure.

"Lake McSwain bankies are taking trout at the Brushpile and Handicap dock with Power Bait, while trollers are pulling flasher/crawler combos and Needlefish at the dam," said Rowell.

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"Union Valley is 2/3 full, which is better than this time last year," said Mathis. "We got into a few macks up to five pounds. They are scattered and we are working deep water, 80-90 feet deep, with large minnow imitation plugs and Double flutter lures. It's still tough, but will improve."

Mathis also reported that Ice House rainbow and brown fishing has been slow and Loon is still iced over.

Jim Cozzens of Sly Park Lake Resort reported a decent mack and bass bite hitting at the lake.  "Sara Orman landed a twelve pound mack last week with a Kastmaster.  Bass are starting to hit with good regularity and brown trout are also doing well."

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"The fishing on the Lower Owens is just about as good as it gets," reported Gary Gunsolley at Brock's Sporting Goods. "The flows are running at about 100 cfs, which is just about perfect for both wading and drift boating. Not only are anglers catching big numbers of trout, but many of the trout are really nice sized, averaging 12 to 14 inches and range up to 16."

Both nymphs and dries are taking fish. Early in the day small nymphs are the way to go, but at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon caddis flies and blue wing olives start hatching. Once the insects start to hatch, the trout come right up to the surface to dine on them," said Gunsolley.

At Pleasant Valley Reservoir, float tubers are still bagging some good size browns while slowly striping woolly buggers, matukas and other streamers. In the inlet above the lake, the trout are smaller than those found in the reservoir, but they are on a good bite. In the inlet anglers are using nymphs and small dries.

For Tom Loe's Sierra Report, click here.

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"The fishing has been going pretty good, but I think it is going to get even better soon," related Linda Hampton at Crosby Lodge. "Quite a few of our customers have landed big fish. Tony Roth got a 10.8 pounder and Bobby Wheeler nailed an 11.48 pounder. Overall we've seen a number of 9 pound fish. The Seperator and Shot Dog areas have been the best for fly anglers. The fly guys are getting most of the quality fish right now, but boaters are doing okay on small fish."

"The weather and wind have made fishing more difficult recently, but some good trout are being caught," reported Carla Molino at Pyramid Lake Store. "We have not seen the big rush of large fish that we typically see in the spring, but they'll show up soon. When they do, the fly action will bust wide open. At this point I'd rate the fishing as good, but not great."  

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"The Tigerfish had a pretty good day of halibut fishing yesterday," reported Gary Freedman at the Emeryville Sportfishing Center on March 29. "They had 20 anglers aboard and ended up with 13 halibut to 13 pounds. There is no live bait available at this time, so they targeted the fish with trolling tackle and frozen anchovies. We are hoping that live bait will be available within two weeks."

Over at the Berkeley Marina things are much the same, with halibut fishing just getting underway.

"On March 29, we ran up into San Pablo day for some sturgeon fishing," related Captain Joe Gallia of the New Easy Rider. "We did pretty good. We had 8 anglers aboard and they ended up with 3 stripers, 4 shaker sturgeon and a pair of keeper sturgeon."

"The halibut are in the bay and we'll be targeting them more and more in the next couple weeks. We ran one trip up in the Paradise area the other day and end up scoring 8 halibut for our 8 anglers," added Gallia.