Low level impoundments

It’s been a while for posting for me. I’ve enjoyed and have been blessed to do a lot of fishing this winter and early spring. I hope to share more often with the board. For now, suffice to say the warmer temperatures are bringing the bass closer to the shallows everywhere.

Mostly been hitting Rancho Seco with my float tube. I share many conversations with other fishers when I visit. I’m still a newbie to Rancho Seco but getting the hang slowly. Met a conventional gear fisherman on the lake one day who grew up fishing the pond. He recalls days way back when the bass were plentiful and very large. His lure of choice is a swim bait as big as some of the bass I’m catching. I always ask him to cast across the lake from me to scare the fish my way. I can hear the plop across the whole lake. It must work…. So far he has caught over 38 bass over 10lbs using his custom lure.

He and I think the bass will come back in numbers and size soon. The management of Rancho Seco last year changed the rules to include catch and release only of all bass. I have seen more beds this year than the previous four. So here’s to seeing another California fishery coming back because of good conservation methods and management practices. Now go and enjoy one of many low elevation lakes with wide open fishing.

Inspiring post, Bill.

With 'catch-n-release for bass only', it will make it a great bass fishery again.



It is bass time in all the low-elevation reservoirs and ponds now, even here in Florida and probably Texas.




I fished Rancho Seco some over the past 30 years or so, but also listen to the folks who fished it a lot.


It is a nice fishery for bass, panfish, and planted trout. Another fact is that it is usually very clear.



Mike Monroe, George Innis, and Chuck Campana all fished it a lot and had interesting information and stories.



George fished it with conventional tackle many years ago and told me that underwater is the original dam with big bass.


Mike Monroe fly fished it from his pram and used a long leader and a large 'Casual Dress', a shaggy nymph, for bass.


Chuck fly fished it from his pram in the cooler months for planted large Rainbow trout. He would visually find a school, then cast a

small olive woolly bugger on a floating line and a 15 foot leader to 4x. The fish were spooky in the clear water.