Angling Report - Lake Oroville - 01/19/23
Alright, let's get into it. It has been a while since my last report. Much too long. My last boat as many of you know had a transom failure. We won't get into that. I'm back on the water now so let's dive into what was officially my first fishing trip out of the new ride.
I had no idea what to expect considering the recent heavy rainfall. The main lake very stained/ borderline chocolate and as you got into the backs of pockets or the river arms the lake started to clear up a bit. Driving the new boat was a little nerve-wracking. There were THOUSANDS of giant logs floating down the lake out of the Feather River. Some areas were so thick with logs you could only idle and push your way through them. I never ran the boat over 35mph this day and felt that even that may have been a little fast.
I started on the main lake in the very stained water on a large protruding point. I began with a spinnerbait, jerkbait and hula grub. The jerkbait was getting short strikes and the Hula grub was as well. I left the area and started up the Feather where I have the least amount of experience on the lake. I wanted to focus on fishing new areas. I have a not-so-secret technique when the water is rising in reservoirs. Go shallow no matter what!. I caught my first fish a 3lb spot in the back of a pocket with a creek flowing in. Fish came in a shade pocket in about 1' of water. I continued to work my way up trying 45% and steeper clay banks and the backs of pockets along with channel swing banks. A few bites here and there after switching to a finesse a-rig. No takers on a spinnerbait. I got into more fish as I got into cleaner water. There were not a whole lot of bites to be had. I could see many fish suspended with bait right at 40' but couldn't get those to bite. Taking my chances shallow paid off though. after catching a few more fish I figured I had a pattern and decided to roll with it. Fish incoming water in the backs of pockets in 5-15' of water slow rolling the a-rig over the flooded brush. Once I got this dialed I could catch at least one out of every 2-3 pockets I hit. Roll up check with Active Target. Make a few casts dragging the a-rig over the brush in the pockets and sure enough, they would rise up and either smash or follow the rig. I finished the day with just over 11lbs and probably did better than the few other boats out fishing deeper structures.
- Tow Vehicle: Ram 2500 Big Horn
- Boat: Blazer 625 Pro Elite
- Motor: Suzuki DF250SS
- Trolling Motor: Lowrance Ghost
- Electronics: Lowrance HDS Live 12 x 2, Active Target
- Rods: ALX Powerbolt (custom made for A-Rig)
- Reels: Daiwa Tatula 200
- Line: 20lb. Suffix Advance
- Lures used: Keitech 2.8/3.3, Shanes Baits a-rig, Outkast Tackle jigheads
- Pressure: no clue.
- Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent 9.4%
- Weather: Clear and sunny. Just above freezing int he morning warming into the low 50's
- Wind: calm to maybe a few mph?
- Air Temp: 32-53
- Water Temp: 47-52
- Water Clarity: 0-1'
- Areas targeted: Feather River arm, main lake and Middle Fork Feather River