WON article New Hogan lake stripers

[Mark V]

Submitted for discussion. Found this article in the W.O.N. a couple weeks ago (pub 7/15/16) Apparently we can't upload a .pdf file to these threads.

New Hogan striped bass boiling on the surface

By Dave Hurley WON Staff writer

VALLEY SPRINGS - New Hogan Reservoir on the Calaveras River has taken off for striped bass, as the linesides are boiling on the surface in the early mornings and evenings. Hot weather always brings out the boils, and the stripers are chasing the lake's abundant threadfin shad on the surface.

New Hogan was once a trophy trout fishery, but with the introduction of striped bass several decades ago, the linesides dominate the lakes fishing interest. A self-sustaining population has developed at the lake due to the stripers' ability to spawn, and with the massive number of stripers competing for the limited food supply, the size of the striped bass is generally small.

Beau Coutroul of the Lake Camanche Recreation Company said, "Striper action has been off the hook, as the fish are boiling all over the lake. The best fishing has been in the evenings as the stripers will stay up for up to an hour in the deeper water of the lake. They stay up longer at depths from 15 to 20 feet, and we have been easing into the boils to throw white Flukes, 6-inch top- water lures, and 8-inch swimbaits for stripers in the 23- to 26-inch range. The fish have just been in- haling the big baits. The key is to move slowly towards the boils and toss from outside of the boil. If two boats are working the boils, it is ideal, as the jet skis and wake-boarders will stay back, but if you are the only boat working the boil, the recreational boats will plow through the middle and the fish will go down.

Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing has been trolling the lake with frozen shad or anchovies in a harness, and he confirmed the heavy boils on the lake. He said, "The fish are all within the top 5 to 10 feet of the surface, and they are actually jumping out of the water on the surface. A few boats are sitting around waiting for the boils, and once the fish start boiling throughout the day, you either have to change your tac- tics or stay home, since trolling slows down. I plan on bringing some rods loaded with topwater lures on future trips.

Bank fishing has also been good with lures as well as cut bait or frozen shad. The striped bass limit at New Hogan is 10 fish per day with no size restriction due to the huge population of bass in the lake.

My first impression from this article is it's prob way over-hyped, but I haven't fished New Hogan lake for over 7 years. Back then I only fished it one day, and didn't catch a striper or find any boils. Three of us did catch a couple large bluegill, a ~6 lb catfish and I think a number of black bass. Does the 10 per day striper limit seem a little alarming?

I still have never caught a striper in a lake, so if New Hogan really has grown a decent population of 'em, it is waaaaay easier to get to than San Luis Res forebay...

Anybody have more recent experience with New Hogan stripers?

Cheers, Mark

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We fly fished it from boats in the summer for many years.

Funny, it is a day time mid-summer fishery with boiling fish on top.

Fish are smaller around 5 pounds so the limit is/was 10 fish per day.

Great place to go to catch good eating fish with no worms or pollution.

Never big numbers for us with a fly rod.

Have not heard about it lately but a fun place to go.

.

[BenFishin]

interesting fishery but not the most fly fishing friendly. it can be exciting to fish when the boils are intense but for the most part, you're not fishing but waiting around (or cruising around) with main motor running waiting for the boils to go off. If your line is in the water, you virtually have no chance of retrieving with time left to chase the action. If you're lucky enough to reach a boil they usually don't last longer than a few seconds. You'd have to fire off a quick cast....no real time for false casting and stripping line out

But most typically by the time you motor over, it usually subsides and just like that they disappear. You can burn a lot of gas and the competition to reach the boil can get intense. Unless you're in an area by yourself, they'll be 3-4 boats all trying to reach the same boil...it's not the most relaxing way to spend the day unless you feel like playing mario andretti in a boat. There is nothing zen about it and it's just like being back in the bay area rat race....lol. When the stripers aren't boiling they're on the move cruising from 20-25' down and fan casting usually isn't all that productive

It's definitely a venue better suited for conventional gear, at least that's been my recent experience

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

interesting fishery but not the most fly fishing friendly. it can be exciting to fish when the boils are intense but for the most part, you're not fishing but waiting around (or cruising around) with main motor running waiting for the boils to go off. If your line is in the water, you virtually have no chance of retrieving with time left to chase the action. If you're lucky enough to reach a boil they usually don't last longer than a few seconds. You'd have to fire off a quick cast....no real time for false casting and stripping line out

But most typically by the time you motor over, it usually subsides and just like that they disappear. You can burn a lot of gas and the competition to reach the boil can get intense. Unless you're in an area by yourself, they'll be 3-4 boats all trying to reach the same boil...it's not the most relaxing way to spend the day unless you feel like playing mario andretti in a boat. There is nothing zen about it and it's just like being back in the bay area rat race....lol. When the stripers aren't boiling they're on the move cruising from 20-25' down and fan casting usually isn't all that productive

It's definitely a venue better suited for conventional gear, at least that's been my recent experience

Right on the money Ben.......thanks.

[Tony Buzolich]

Chasing boils like those described may be exciting but are hardly ever productive. There use to be lots of boils like that in Mildred Island,and Discovery Bay, and throughout the tidal flats. Birds were the signal here when they could be seen actively diving and chasing bait along the banks. Running the boat fast to get to the boil while all the action was going on was memorable but short lived.

I used to fish Lake Mendocino regularly and the stripers were more like those described in New Hogan. There were hardly any birds to signal busting bait. You had to watch the horizon and look for splashing. Then, if you were lucky enough to see an actively feeding school (and there weren't other boats around) you had to watch as the school would quit, disappear, and then re-surface again. Now, if they weren't spooked you could tell the direction the school was moving. Quietly as possible you would move your boat ahead of the traveling school, and let them come to you. Numerous times I would have bait trying to hide next to the hull of my boat. A few quick casts was all you'd get though before they'd disappear and move on or totally shut down and go deep.

Fishing in lakes like these for stripers is really tough and requires stealth, not roaring engines. When the fish weren't on top I'd have the best luck fishing deep over rock piles or points like fishing for black bass. No where near as much fun as on top but it produced fish too.

This is going back a ways, but at Lake Mendocino they used to plant schoolie size stripers on regular basis almost weekly. This program was headed up by a fellow named "Red ?" something. I can't remember his full name but apparently this stocking program was forced to quit for reasons we'll never know.
Tony

[briansII]

Tony. You probably mean Red Bartley of the California Striped Bass Assoc.. He was very active in CSBA. I had a conversation with the local chapter president about why the stocking program stopped, but I don't remember all the details to give you an accurate summary. My guess is, it's the non striper friendly/non native species attitude that played a big part in it. Way back when I had the conversation, there was only one lake(Millerton) still able to stock stripers, but local interest was low. I do not think they're still stocking....but they could be?

briansII

[STEELIES/26c3]

When I worked for MWD at Lake Skinner (small reservoir in southern California loaded with striped bass), there was a fly guy who trolled a white streamer using lead core to get down.

In my mind, it was a very boring way to catch fish but it was effective.

I suppose one could bring 2 rods; one for trolling streamers and one for casting to boils.

[JAWallace]

My limited experience at New Hogan has been consistent with the others here--I've never hooked a striper there and gave up trying several years ago. It just wasn't fun, but on the other hand, very frustrating. It's not real scenic there either. I have yet to fish San Luis, would love to.

[Mark V]

Thanks for sharing your experience guys. Al B. at the shop said he's fished there 6 times and got exactly 1 grab--zero caught; said the same thing about boils if you find 'em-- by the time you get your fly near there, stripers gone deep.

Suppose its a canyon lake, not easy to catch them on the points like black bass. Andy G. is the only other person I heard talk positively about N Hogan, and he hasn't been there in well over 5 yrs, but I'll have to ask him exactly how he worked the water.

I guess San Luis Forebay is completely different water column, spread out and not very deep?

[mar]

Ben was kind enough to let me ride his sled chasing striper boils at Hogan. Apparently it had slowed down quite a bit when we fished but we still saw and chased a few boils. We casted to a few but had to luck. And yes, they disappear pretty fast but if you stick around in the general area, they mostly come up again and will give you a chance to make a cast or two. And he's right about it being better suited for conventional gear since it allows you to cast quickly and clear line/lures quickly to chase the next boil. But if you have your fly line stripped into a bucket ready to cast, you can be fairly effective with the fly rod. Not a lot of blind casting. You need to be on your game. Be in position to make a quick cast, make sure no line tangles, etc. Different striper game than the Delta and I had a lot of fun when I fished it. Would definitely try it again.