Late Evening Rainbows

Nicole and I hit Lake Natoma Saturday evening for an hour and a half and SHE did really well. I got skunked, but anytime someone in my boat catches fish I'm happy. The first fish was taken headed upstream just above the walking bridge, the second headed downstream in the state record pool. Beautiful colors on the fish this time of year. The water was really low and tinted a bit green, visibility to about 6 feet. Looking forward to the water coming up a little, the fish should return to their normal spots.

My Fishing Spot

Most people don't even notice it. When I speak it's name, I am invariably confronted with one of three mutterings: 1) Lake what? 2) Where's that? 3) There's no fish in there! You may be wondering why I would be willing to share my fishing spot with anyone, but therein lies the beauty of the place and the reasons I fell in love with it.

Lake Natoma

I finally got the boat/motor tuned up and ready to hit the water after sitting in the garage all winter. My wife and I decided to give the tune-up a test run for the afternoon at Lake Natoma. We launched at Negro Bar and started trolling with our favorites just below the Auburn-Folsom bridge. Right on cue, three redneck kayakers decided to paddle behind us right on top of our lines! As a result, I decided to cut over to the side of the channel and let them pass. As soon as we got back on our favorite line, my rod started flopping with a fish on! The fish just swam right to the boat, only starting to fight within 10 feet of us. Caught and released the 15" rainbow and decided to start the run over. After dropping downstream a few hundred yards, we put our lines out and started upstream again. Just as we were getting above Rainbow bridge, my rod started thrumming under the strain of a larger fish! As I started to bring it in, she jumped about three feet out of the water to give me a look! I tried to crank her in, but we were in the hard current and it was difficult to hold the boat and reel in the fish. Just as I got her in halfway, the lure fell out softly and she was gone! I estimated her to be about 5-6 pounds, not a bad start to fishing this year! I have to note that the weather has been unseasonably cold, and the water was gin clear. I'm sure that the carburetor idle adjustment I made that quieted the motor didn't hurt. Expect some great fish pictures soon!