Fish Reports

Backcountry snowmelt pouring from Rush Creek and Horsetail Falls keeps the lake full, with real-time water temperatures hovering between 63°F and 68°F. Recent hatchery trucks dropped a fresh batch of 500 to 700 pounds of rainbow trout, though an abundance of natural bugs makes the catching technical. Fish feed near the surface during cooler mornings and late afternoons before moving into depths of 15 to 45 feet midday. Productive setups include dough baits and crawler imitations alongside olive, dark green, or black streamers and various dry flies.

Rainbow trout averaging 2 to 4 pounds are active for anglers trolling depths of 10 to 20 feet. Surface temperatures range from 68 to 75 degrees with some patchy algae present. Boats moving between 1.5 and 3.0 mph with lead-core setups are finding success. Small spoons in copper, red, gold, orange, or perch patterns are pulling the most fish.

Kokanee and king salmon are biting at separate depths across the main lake despite agricultural drawdowns. Shallow anglers are hitting fish from 10 to 25 feet using light trolling spinners and soft plastics. Deep trollers are finding schools from 65 to 80 feet near the bottom using heavier setups and cured bait corn. The lake currently sits at 95.8% capacity with water temperatures around 80 degrees and outflows averaging 600 cfs.

Trollers are landing quality king salmon and rainbow trout by working the main body from Folsom Point toward the dam and out by the secondary dikes. Wind-induced surface chop is creating an optimal morning ambush window by breaking up water clarity. Most fish are holding at depths between 30 to 70 feet. Speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph are proving effective when dragging small or large baitfish-imitation spoons, or dark green, blue-green, and magenta hoochies.

Trout are biting well between 5 and 20 feet deep with some fish holding down to 35 feet along the western shoreline and near rock structures. Anglers are finding success trolling with small spoons and needlefish in pink, orange, red, or copper shades. Casting size 8 to 14 orange or olive woolly buggers under a float around rock piles is also producing results. Surface algae is scattered across the water but finding clean areas is not difficult. Catches are averaging 2 to 4 pounds as a tui chub hatch begins.

The reservoir is holding near ninety-seven percent capacity at an elevation of 437.30 feet. Kokanee salmon are scattered across the lake rather than schooling heavily but are biting well. Trollers are hooking fish at depths from 20 to 75 feet using unbranded spinners and ringed lures behind dodgers tipped with corn. Boat speeds between 1 and 2 miles per hour are optimal with some trout and crappie mixed into the catch.