April 28th, 2012 - According to a reliable source, between the rain fall and Sierra Snow Pack, we should see reasonably good flows on the Lower Mokelumne in late May throughout the Summer. Already on schedule are required pulse flows in late August to attract the Mokelumne River Chinook salmon back into their spawning grounds below Camanche Dam. As I have mentioned in past postings, through the efforts of EBMUD and pulse flows along with closing the Locks in Walnut Grove attracted almost 19,000 fish in 2011.
The river re-opens to fishing on Saturday, May 26th and my calendar is already starting to fill. Give us a call and let’s get a date for you on my fishing calendar.
March 30th, 2012 – I fished my final day of the Winter-Spring season today as the river closes on March 31st to fishing until the fourth Saturday in May. New regulations in 2009 allows fishing year-round from the Hwy 99 bridge to the mouth including Lodi Lake but the stretch between Camanche Dam and Hwy 99 bridge in Lodi remains closed.
What a gorgeous day it was today! Lots of birds to watch against blue skies. Lots of turkeys and a variety of ducks. I saw lots of deer tracks along one section of bank with what appeared to be large cat tracks nearby. This is same stretch of river my eldest son saw Mountain Lion cubs last year.
For those of you who like stats, here’s how my clients did so far in 2012
In 9 days of fishing, 15 clients caught and released 129 fish up to 27″ and 6 lbs. That’s average of 14+ fish per day. 33% of the fish were 12″ and under which is ok as most of them were young wild fish, spawned in the river and have all the characteristics of becoming good fish. 16% were 16″ fish, with the rest spread out to 27″. Of the 129 fish caught, 6 were over 20″. If stats are not your thing, simply said, we caught and released some really nice fish.
I hope to see many familiar faces at my fishing seminar for the Central Valley Anglers Club at George;s Restaurant in Lockeford on April 4th at 6:40pm. I hope to see you on the river in the Spring. I’m having minor shoulder surgery on April 5th and hope to be back rowing by the opener in late May.
JJ w/ 23" Hatchery Buck 2-18-12
March 8, 2009 – It’s Walk & Wade time. With the flows at 255cfs, it’s just too much work to drag my heavy raft over the shallow stretches. My new strategy is to access certain stretches along the Lower Mokelumne and concentrate on the most productive water. We’ll have to be stealth in our approach with clear water and spooky fish. This a great opportunity to practice your fly or spinning skills on some really beautiful fish that are very aggressive when hooked. If you venture out, always buddy up for safety. Be courteous to your fellow fisherman and be respectful to private property and as well as the public parks. Most importantly, take care of our precious river by watching for lingering steelhead redds and leaving as little mark or evidence you where there. I hope to see you on the river.
Low & Clear 3-2-12
Friday, March 2, 2012 - I ventured out this morning with the goal to beat the decreased flow schedule from 280cfs to 255cfs. We hit the water at 7:30am with the goal to get down river past some of the already shallow gravel enhancement areas. I shared the bright, sunny day with good friends Dave and Bob. They were great river partners to have on board as they helped play the role of Charlie Allnut by dragging my “African Queen” through the very shallow sections of the river. They fished hard and caught 10 fish for the day. It was a bird-watchers day on the Moke as we witnessed an estimated 30 to 40 wild turkeys take flight from the Cow Beach area straight up the river. We also saw at least 50 to 60 wood ducks pairs along with dozens of mallards, a few sprig, the usual red-headed mergansers, and a host of egrets and herons. One of the wildlife highlights was a huge male otter watching us fish from a weed bed in the Meadow and a red shouldered hawk working the trees with two fledglings. We guessed the otters weight at around 50 to 60 pounds. All in all, it’s a lot more floatable in a smaller craft such as kayaks or pontoon boats than my “African Queen” raft. With the river closing to fishing on March 31st, my recommendation is to walk and wade. Check out Dan Arbuckle’s nice fish on “Fishing & Flow Reports” page.
330cfs Flow
Monday, February 27th, 2012 – I guess there is no middle ground or water when it comes to river flows these days. It seems bizarre that a few months ago I was navigating flows from 5,000cfs down to 900cfs and now our lovely Lower Mokelumne will be reduced to an “adaptive management strategy” flow of 255cfs in order to hold back cold water for pulse flows in the Fall to attract salmon. I rowed good buddies Capt, Kevin Doran and John Kendrick down the Moke yesterday and rubbed the bottom of my raft in several stretches at the current flow of 330cfs. It was also the lowest fish-yield day of 2012. Not to sound big-headed, but if Kev, John and I can’t get more than four fish to the net, things are just not clicking on the Moke.
Now for more sad news, the reduced flows may be sustained throughout the Spring and Summer until they start pulse flows in the Fall. I’m going to do some recon and see if a “Walk & Wade” program might be worth people’s time. Meanwhile, pray for rain . . . lots of it.
5,000cfs Flow
Ed Rogers - Log Hole 19" Wild Fish 2-18-12
Saturday, February 18, 2012 – My guest today on the Lower Moke was Ed. With the cloudy cover, we had a better advantage of sneaking up on the fish in the clear, low flows of 330cfs. Ed picked up a couple of nice fish first thing and then set the bar for the rest of the day with a gorgeous 19″ wild steelhead. Ed brought his own ultra-light spin gear and did a great job finessing these aggressive fighters to the net. We met JJ and Nate, two young fly fisherman from the Sierras. They both did well and JJ released a fat 23″ hatchery buck. Ed asked me what the weirdest thing that I ever had seen on the river. I really had to think about my answer. Little did I know that a few hours later, we saw a fox swim upstream, get out and shake, and then run a bank only to turn around and stare us down. If you are pondering whether to spend a day on the Lower Mokelumne, give me a call and I’ll try to provide you with a memorable day like Ed had. I hope to see you on the water.
Trisha - First Fish of the Day - 25" 2-17-12
Friday, February 17, 2012 – I had the pleasure of fishing Ron and his daughter Trisha on the Lower Moke Today. It was a clear morning and the day had a good start when Trisha felt a bump, set the hook, and landed a 25″ wild hen steelhead. I would estimate it at a solid five pounds and it gave Trisha a run for her money until she got it to the net. As always, we released her and watched her swim back into the current for a rendezvous later down the line. Ron and Trisha were on their game as they cast deep into snaggy cover along the banks and fallen trees to land and release 15 fish with all but five over 16″. This is first class fishing folks and you should join me for a memorable day on our Valley Jewel, the Lower Mokelumne.
Will & James 2-12-12
Sunday, February 12, 2012 – Another great father-son day on the water with James & Will. James tossed nymphs with an indicator and landed a nice 17″ late in the day that did a jig across the water. This beauty slammed a BD Pheasant Tail and jumped at least six times. Will started the morning with two 15″ wild fish with great colors and the shoulders of a soon to be larger fish. As always encouraged, we released all of our fish today. The abundant wildlife kept a slow fish day busy with looking at geese, a flock of buffle heads, mergansers, turkey vultures, several species of hawks, ospreys, sandhill cranes, and my first mink sighting on the Lower Moke
Lower Mokelumne February 11, 2011 - 2,600 cfs
The photos you see in this blog were taken 2/11/2011 at a flow of 2,600 cubic feet per second and on 6/30/2011 at 5,000cfs. Right now, we’re bumping down at 330cfs and if our weather doesn’t give us some substantial rain soon, we could be looking at emergency flows of as low as 250cfs by March in order to conserve water for pulse attraction flows this Fall. There seems to be no middle ground on flows. Too much to fish in last year, not enough this year. Give a guy a break!
Commercial Break – Two Free Fishing Seminars coming up soon. The first one is at The Fisherman’s Warehouse in Manteca, California on Thursday, March 22nd at 6pm. I’m going to focus on how to read water and where to find the fish. Call The Fisherman’s Warehouse at 209-239-2248 for more info.
The second event is on Wednesday, April 4th at George’s Restaurant in Lockeford, California and is hosted by the Central Valley Anglers Club. The presentation starts at 6:45pm with dinner available at 5:30pm. Call The Fisherman’s Friend at 209-369-0204 for more info
Lower Mokelumne June 30, 2011 - 5,000cfs
In closing, if you wade the river please be aware of salmon redds (nests) so you don’t disturb them. Thanks to our local biologists from EBMUD, many are marked with bright-colored plastic tags. Remember, keep one hatchery fish person, per day and release all the wild ones. I hope to see you on the river.
John & Jack 2-3-12
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 – I had the pleasure of guiding John and Jack Hurlburt from Benicia today. The plan was to teach Jack how to fish the Lower Mokelumne while dad had the opportunity fly fish. Our day started cold with ice on the raft and quickly changed to shirt-sleeve weather. Jack was a great student and in a short time was casting like a veteran and hauling in wild fish up to 15″. This turned out to be a quiet day for catching with a total of 12 fish caught and released including a couple of squaws in the 4lb. range. The wildlife ranged from a flock of turkeys to many other birds including blue herons, egrets, hawks, turkey buzzards, red-headed mergansers, Canadian honkers, and a lot of wood ducks. We’re loving the weather but we can really use some rain. Let’s hope for a wet February and March. Hope to see you on the river.
