Thermalito Afterbay Update

Thermalito Afterbay - Oroville, CA (Butte County)


by Craig Bentley
12-16-2015
Website

Pool elevation is 134 feet. The water temperature is 50 to 53 degrees back in the coves with cooler water at 50 coming from the Thermalito canal. There's about five feet of visibility. Steelhead fishing is slow to fair for boaters with a few anglers catching a fish or two while trolling. Fishing has been different each day, with varying conditions determining how good the catching is.

Bank fishing has been slow to fair with a few fish occasionally caught at the Wilbur Road canal and near the Hwy.162 Bridge. Anglers use pink Gulp eggs, with a nightcrawler or scented marshmallow, using a three foot leader and a sliding sinker setup, while bank fishing for steelhead trout or coho salmon.

Pond smelt that have schooling in the main body in both the north and south waters of the Afterbay have seemingly dispersed. Boaters have been trolling with minnow type lures or a threaded nightcrawler behind a dodger or drifting a fly-lined nightcrawler from the surface down to ten feet deep, along the west wall of the Afterbay, on the flats, or on the edges of the channels in front of the outlets, north of the Highway 162 Bridge and the mouth of the inlet canal. Cover some water to find the biters then work it!

Bass fishing has slowed way down at the Afterbay with the dropping water temperatures. Few bass anglers are trying for the bass. The bass have been holding in ten feet of water or more along the rocks and moving to deeper water as storms roll through.

Boating anglers cast wacky-riggedSenko's, skirted jigs or white spinner baits near cover, or working Gitzits in the rocks. Drop-shotting small plastic minnows or tubes off the rock walls will also work.

No reports have come in from any bass anglers fishing the Afterbay last week.

Productive techniques used here include casting crank baits, spinner baits, chatter baits and flipping Brush Hogs, Super Flukes, Sweet Beavers, Senko's or other creature baits to the edges of the weed mattes, or along the rocks.




More Reports

Golden State Guide Service Reports
for Wednesday, December 16th, 2015
Lake Oroville: Lake Oroville Update
Diversion Pool: Diversion Pool Update
Thermalito Forebay: Thermalito Forebay Update

Golden State Guide Service Reports
for Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
Lake Oroville: Lake Oroville Fish Report
Diversion Pool: Diversion Pool Update
Thermalito Forebay: Thermalito Forebay Fish Report
Thermalito Afterbay: Thermalito Afterbay Update
Feather River: Feather River Fish Report