Well, we survived the Memorial Day weekend, the filming of the new “Captain Marvel” movie, some very cold and nasty weather and now have settled down to beautiful weather and very good fishing. Yes, fishing is good even though we have not had a CDFW plant since the end of April. I expect the next plant to be before Fourth of July weekend. But, who knows?
By the time this edition arrives to your favorite newsstand, we at the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project will have completed our second planting of trophy trout. About 1,000 of them will be introduced to the lake by SLTTP planting chairman Bob Bernier and his committee. Several have been caught from shore over the past month in the Camp Edison area, but many have moved to other locations on the lake. Of the 1,000 from the April plant, I would estimate that 800 are still there.
For us trollers, we are picking up one every now and then. My friend and fellow guide Todd Wittwer picked up two in one day. They are fighters! We had a break off from one that must have been on angel dust or something. The most crazy, acrobatic minutes I have seen in some time. The fish broke off eventually before arriving at the boat. But what a thrill to the fellow who had it on for a while. Bernier says this strain of trophies are real fighters and disperse about the lake quickly in search of food.
Speaking of that, the lake has risen faster than I have seen it in recent years. The quick rising water washes up on shore and collects insects that end up floating into the lake and into a trout’s mouth. The trout we have caught all have full stomachs of munched insects that resemble Skoal or Copenhagen chew. I don’t know why they hit our tackle but they do. This last plant of CDFW fish were larger than in the past, about ¾-pound each. Nice fish and they provide a good struggle to the boat or shore.
The kokanee bite is simply very good to excellent. The third year kokes are about 15 inches now on the average and are nice and firm. Their pink meat makes for great eating. We had been getting most kokes at about 28 feet deep in the Island and Black Rock areas. Now, we are finding them a little deeper to 43 feet near The Point. Pink Mountain Hoochies behind a Mountain Dodger have been good for us. We have limited out each trip this past week and nearly all season. Others are getting them too.
Shaver is experiencing heavy fishing and boat traffic due to the great fishing. It’s got to be the most popular lake in the central region. It should get even better in the weeks ahead with the next CDFW plant, the SLTTP trophy plant and the continued success in kokanee fishing.
Be careful out there and a reminder to be aware of the boats around you. Often I see two guys in a boat looking at their lines, baiting hooks or in general too busy to see that they are cutting another boat off. Be courteous by paying attention.
Huntington Lake has been kicking out some trout and kokanee too. To avoid the heavy fishing activity here at Shaver, you might want to take it on. Pink Hoochies, Koke Busters and Apex tipped with corn have been good.
Some upcoming activities at Shaver will be the annual fireworks. This year it will be on Saturday, June 30. The SLTTP appreciation pancake breakfast for the supporters of the SLTTP will be held July 14 and the SLTTP annual fundraising dinner will be on August 11. The youth derby, held last Saturday, had a great turn out for fishing, games and hotdogs. Greg Marks, Ed Delaney and the SLTTP crew do a great job each year treating the Central Valley kids to a fun morning at Shaver.
The fishing forecast for Shaver is rated good to very good for kokanee fishing. After the lake crests from its continued filling, the trout bite should increase due to the lack of abundance of swimming insects. The plants, both CDFW and the SLTTP trophies will help. It should be a banner June and July fishing season! Get the boat out, dust off the rod and reel and head to the mountain lakes for some good fishing and cooler weather.
Until next time, take care and yell at me when you hit the lake. I love hearing from you. You can text at 559-281-6948 or email at dickchip@netptc.net. I am always here to help.