Butte County Fishing Reports

Salmon season on the Sacramento reopened July 16 below Woodson Bridge (Corning), and early signs are good... fish are already showing, with one guide reporting kings in the 25-30 lb class since opening day. Water's running warm for July, so salmon are holding in deeper, shaded, or spring-fed cool pockets. Two-fish daily limit... season runs through mid-December.

Best bets right now are the confluence spots: Discovery Park (where the American meets the Sacramento) and the Feather River mouth near Verona, both solid for bank or boat access.

Striper action is winding down, although a few schoolies are still reportedly being caught in Colusa.

Pond smelt are the dominant forage right now at Lake Oroville. King salmon, rainbows, and spotted bass are all keying in on the schools. Trollers are getting a ton of action on hoochies tipped with anchovy fillets between 50-100 feet, with rainbows higher in the water column and kings deeper. Some big fish being pulled out... plenty of 5 pounders with a few in the double digits last week.

Bass are also chasing these smelt schools near rocky structure in 20-30 feet. Any lure that resembles these baitfish is producing like crazy... crankbaits, swimbaits, Roostertails, etc.

A lot of good spotted bass action coming out of Oroville right now. Water temps are hovering between 62–65 degrees, and fish are generally in one of three spawn phases. Dropshotting is the best move right now for most consistent action, combined with either a 4½-inch roboworm or small swimbait. The northern end of the lake is serving up warmer water temps compared to the south/east, so fish are shallower and more easily targeted there. Ned rigs, small T-rigged crawdad soft plastics, and small crankbaits are producing as well. Not a lot of size, most fish in the 1 pound range, with the occasional 2-3 pounder mixed in.

Trollers targeting trout and/or salmon have reported inconsistent action recently, although many say the bite should turn in the next few weeks.

CDFW released almost 130,000 fingerling Chinook salmon (up to 6 inches) into Oroville last week. This stock obviously won't help anglers this seasib, but will stabilize the salmon fishery for the coming years.