In between the persistent wet weather patterns that are still pulsing through the North State,  there are consistent reports of 13 to 14 inch Kokanee coming out of Whiskeytown Lake. This is very early in the year for kokes of this size to be found. Normally early spring  Kokanee at Whiskeytown range in the 10 inch category, so to have fish at this size this early bodes well for even larger in the late summer, early fall of the year.

Trollers are targeting the “normal “ areas for the kokes; the cold water curtain, in front of the dam and adjacent to the Highway 299 bridge. Not many anglers are taking advantage of this early season bite so there is not a lot of pressure at this time.

Bass angling should also be on the upswing as they are moving into spawning mode but reports are hard to come by. Whiskeytown bass anglers are very secretive keeping local knowledge close to the vest. Whiskeytown bass are difficult to dial in and only personal time on the water will unravel their secrets.

Gary Heffley has been a valued contributor to MyOutdoorBuddy for over 10 years serving as manager, sales representative and reporter for much of Northern California. He is an avid outdoorsman and loves to fish and write about his adventures. He has a long history in the Sporting Goods field and uses that extensive experience to impart his wisdom in his writing.