A quick note about locations: Kevin is currently fishing in the Sacramento River near Chico for shad, in Lake Oroville for coho, and in Redding for fantastic wild trout action. Fishing is great everywhere right now.

A quick note before getting into the fishing report - tomorrow morning, I'll be presenting at the breakfast meeting of the Rooster Tails Fishing Club of Northern California in Auburn, Ca. If you are in the area, come on by!

These Monthly breakfast meetings are held on the 3rd Friday of every month at Auburn Elk's Lodge at 195 Pine Street, Auburn, CA 95603. A wide-selection buffet breakfast is available between 8:00 - 9:00 am. The meeting begins at 9:00 am. Cost is $12 per person. Their website is http://www.roostertailsfishingclub.org/.

And now on to the fishing report (and it's a good one!). It"s been amazing fishing this week, and we've had some adventures too.

Redding Wild Trout Fishing Is Excellent
On the Sacramento River in Redding, the trout fishing was very good again, with 30 plus fish days.

These are quality trout - we caught them up to nearly 5 pounds, with several doubles and even a triple hookup. It is truly world-class trout fishing, and it's a trip every angler should do at least once.

The wildlife along the river is really starting to show up in the mornings too, due to the heat in the afternoon. We spotted bald eagles, ospreys, green herons, great blue herons, and white egrets. There were wood ducks, mallards, mergansers, and Canadian honkers, all with cute little fluffball babies.

Maggie spotted a deer and barked at it, of course. We had a beaver slap its tail right next to the boat, and Maggie really didn't like him either.

But Then - Something Unexpected!

On the way home from Redding on Friday evening, the truck just died along I-5. The engine keeled over, dead as a doornail. Finito.

A quick look under the hood revealed the bad news - kablooie time. There was oil everywhere, 8 quarts of it to be exact. It was all over the engine, compartment, and underside of the truck. The truck and boat were not going anywhere without assistance.

After contacting Allstate road service, the big yellow tow truck showed up, hooked up, and headed to the repair shop. With the truck and boat in tow, it caused quite a sensation for the I-5 rush hour traffic.

I would like to send out a great big Thank You to all the people that called and offered help - it was appreciated!

But the breakdown was causing another problem. The next day was first annual Lake Oroville Coho derby, put on by the California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc. (CIFFI - and what a great organization! Their website is at ciffi.org.). People were counting on me, so a solution had to be found - and quickly.

Off to the Lake Oroville Coho Derby
I had to borrow a truck but made it to the launch ramp by 4:50 am. I invited as my guests Mike Lasagna and his two kids, Gina, 12, and Jacob, 9 years old. They had a blast!

It was excellent fishing - we caught 25 coho salmon by 9 am, as my neighbor (and truck lender - thanks!) also caught his limit.

As Jacob was netting a fish for his big sister, Gina, I looked over at my rod and it was bent over double! I knew this was a good fish, but was it a coho? The week before, we had landed a 12 pound carp at this same location. Hmm.

But then the fish jumped out of the water, and Mike shouted "IT'S A COHO!" And wow, what a fish. It weighed 4.3 pounds, taking big fish honors for the competition, and ensuring an easy first place finish for the team.

Overall, Team Brock did really well. The team took 3 of the top 5 spots for adults, and 2 of the top 5 spots in the children's division. That's 5 winning spots for just 5 people on the boat! All told, the fishkevinbrock team brought home $1170 and lots of raffle prizes, making for a pretty good day. Great job, everyone!

The highlight was having all the kids get involved, and being able to share this event with them. Buckhorn Catering did a fantastic job on the food. Kent Brown even showed up and made everyone laugh while he MC'd (although he missed the cleanup).

All in all, it was a great event! If you have kids, this is an event you don't want to miss next year. You can read more about this year's fishing derby here.

Shad Fishing Is Hot!
To round out the week, it's also been hot shad fishing! Lots and lots of these silver acrobats are being caught, and it's been a great week for them.

Salmon Season Is Coming Up Fast
Salmon season is coming up soon too, so just a quick reminder - due to the large reported counts of offshore salmon and an expected great run, people are already booking way in advance.

I only have a few dates left in August and September. If you would like to get in on this year's expected hot king salmon fishing, please let me know soon so I can get you in and hold your spot.

From all indications, it should be a great year!