Folsom Lake ‘bows, kings

Bill Wager fooled this incredible 8.5-pound Folsom Lake king salmon fast trolling a red/gold Speedy Shiner 65 feet deep. While Folsom’s drought-affected waters and hot summer conditions make this Sacramento-area lake a challenge to fish, the

rewards are worth the risk for anglers. (JERRY LAMPKIN/T.N.G. MOTORSPORTS GUIDE SERVICE)

WORTH THE GAMBLE

TRUE, FOLSOM LAKE IS UNPREDICTABLE, BUT TROLLERS ARE CATCHING EXTRA-BIG CHINOOK, TROUT

By Cal Kellogg

NorCal trout and salmon anglers have a love-hate relationship with Folsom Lake.

On one hand, we love the big landlocked kings and rainbow trout the reservoir produces. And we love the impoundment’s central location, practically in the shadow of the state capital in Sacramento. It’s an easy destination to access for anglers in the Sacramento Valley and even traveling folks from the Bay Area.

On the flip side, we hate Folsom’s wildly fluctuating water levels, and we really hate the inconsistency the fishery exhibits. You can walk away from Folsom one day with mixed limits of big sassy trout and salmon, only to get skunked the next day with no apparent change in conditions.

That’s disconcerting for most anglers. Let’s face it: Once we have a bite dialed in, we like to enjoy it for a little while before we go back to square one. If you chase kings and ’bows at Folsom, even if you fish it a lot, embrace change because you aren’t likely to enjoy much in the way of consistency.

FOLSOM FACTS

For the uninitiated, Folsom is a medium-sized reservoir by NorCal standards, boasting 11,500 surface acres and about 75 miles of shoreline when at capacity. The reservoir was formed in 1955 when Folsom Dam was completed and impounded the waters of the North and South Forks of the American River. As a result, the lake consists of a main body and two extensive river arms.

In the main body, where the two

Milo Weine and his dad Josh were trolling at Folsom Lake with Capt. Jerry Lampkin when this amazing 6.2-pound rainbow decided to strike. Trollers have the best

chance of landing a large summer trout. (JERRY LAMPKIN/T.N.G. MOTORSPORTS GUIDE SERVICE)

Landlocked kings also swim in Folsom. Josh Weine successfully battled this beautiful 7½-pound king during a recent Folsom Lake trolling adventure.

(JERRY LAMPKIN/T.N.G. MOTORSPORTS GUIDE SERVICE)

river channels merge, you’ll find deep water in excess of 200 feet. The arms are narrow and deep, with substantial rocky structure extending out from the banks.

TROUT, SALMON PLENTIFUL

Rainbow trout were present in Folsom from day one, both in the form of planted fish and native American River steelhead that were trapped behind the dam. These days you have a shot at freshly planted rainbows in the cold months, holdover rainbows that were stocked but have adapted to the reservoir's environment, and landlocked steelhead that spawn in the forks of the American River and adjoining tributaries.

When you hook a native steelhead, you’ll know it; they are long, lean and fight like demons, typically making several wild jumps before yielding to the net.

King salmon were first stocked in the lake back in 1999. Early on, fertile kings were planted. The thinking was they wouldn’t be able to successfully

Angel Soto celebrated Father’s Day by landing this huge 9.5-pound Folsom king in June. “In a normal year we get rainbows to 3-plus and kings up to 4 pounds, maybe a little more,” guide Jerry Lampkin says. “But this summer we

are seeing some really big fish.” (JERRY LAMPKIN/T.N.G. MOTORSPORTS GUIDE SERVICE)

spawn in the river arms. That was a miscalculation and spawning salmon were documented in the south fork. These days sexually sterilized salmon smolts are planted in the lake annually, but it is believed that a population of kings that reproduce in the wild still exists in Folsom.

FOLSOM FISH FOOD

So, what fuels this fishery in terms of forage? The answer is both threadfin shad and Japanese pond smelt in prolific numbers. It’s interesting that at times the rainbows and kings will show a preference for one type of baitfish. At other times they will blitz both shad and smelt.

Historically, Folsom produces rainbow trout to 5 pounds and landlocked kings to 8 pounds, but this year has proven to be an exception. Rainbows to 7 have been weighed and kings in the 7- to 10-pound class have been common. On the high end, salmon to 13 pounds have been documented!

I headed out to Folsom a few weeks back hoping to get in on the epic king action. I dumped my Hobie Pro Angler 14 kayak at Folsom Point and spent the day plying deep water from the dam to Brown’s Ravine. There have been sporadic reports of good action in the lake’s arms, but day in and day out the best fishing has been concentrated in the main body and the mouths of the American’s South and North Forks.

Of course, that day the kings played hard to get, but I did pick up a rainbow and a dandy 3.8-pound smallmouth. The bass grabbed a trolling spoon 60 feet deep in 145 feet of water and I was thinking king salmon all the way until I saw the fish beside the kayak.

A LOCAL’S ADVICE

Capt. Jerry Lamkin of T.N.G. Motorsports Guide Service (530-3200994; tngmotorsports.com) is one of the best trollers on the lake and he has been putting his clients on some really nice kings and ’bows.

“I fish Folsom year-round,” said Lampkin. “Generally, I get kings all year long, but this year was different. We struggled during the winter and early spring, but (in early summer) things really got going for us in terms of big kings and rainbows.”

“In a normal year we get rainbows to 3-plus and kings up to 4 pounds, maybe a little more, but this summer we are seeing some really big fish. My clients have gotten rainbows to 6 pounds and kings up to 9.5 pounds.”

Lampkin talked about how he sets up his rigs for trout and salmon.

“I’m really running three different presentations, and it’s all based on speed. When I go fast, I pull Speedy Shiners at 3 mph. Copper and red has been a solid color for us when targeting kings in 50 to 60 feet of water, but other colors work too,” he said. “When I slow down the next step is rolling shad behind rotating salmon-style flashers at 2 mph. The lowest speed I’ll run is about 1.5 to 1.8. At that speed I’m pulling dodgers and hoochies or other plastics tipped with anchovy meat. The same offerings are hooking trout, but if I want to concentrate on trout I typically mix in a dodger and threaded worm combo trolled above the level of the kings,” Lampkin added.

“I find it interesting that neither the trout nor the kings seem interested in pond smelt right now. We are finding shad in most of our fish. One trout had six full-size shad in its stomach.”

SOLID SUMMER OPTION

So there you have it. Want a shot at a handsome rainbow? How about the landlocked king of a lifetime? Hook up the boat or load up the kayak, get out to Folsom and get after them.

Nobody knows how long this hot summer trolling action is going to last. Sure, there will be pleasure boats and various watercraft to dodge, and yes, you might get skunked (we are talking about Folsom, after all!). But you might just as easily experience the thrill of victory and head home with an ocean-size king in the cooler. CS