Last weekend saw 56 handicapped children go out on Lake Oroville for a day of pro-style bass fishing they will never forget, at the third annual "Catch a Special Thrill [CAST] event.

"Everything went really well", commented Don Reighley of Oroville, who co-ordinated the boats and fishing volunteers. "We had a total of 56 kids go out on 42 boats, plus a big houseboat from Lime Saddle Marina for the severely handicapped kids in wheelchairs who couldn't have gone out otherwise.

"There was a long white stretch limo to take the kids back and forth from the launch ramp to the main parking lot. Lunch was prepared by the Chico Bass Club, and breakfast was served by the Oroville Kiwanis. We had about 15 firemen from CDF who helped load the kids into the boats.

"The kids were on the water for about 2 ?? hours; it was too hot to stay out any longer. A lot of fish were caught, including both spotted bass and coho salmon up to about four pounds."

Fil Torres of Oroville Outdoors was one of the volunteers, and took a pair of 7 and 13-year old brothers from Berry Creek out on his boat. "Fishing itself was slow, but we did get a lot of bites", observed Torres. "The kids loved running the trolling motor and going through all my storage lockers.

"I run a lot of tournaments, and I have to say that this is one of the best-run events I've ever been a part of. The kids were great, they just want to be out there and have fun."

Sacramento River

Exceptionally large salmon were the story on the Sacramento River last weekend, according to local guide Kevin Brock. "We caught some nice big salmon between Irvine Finch and Woodson Bridge over the weekend", said Brock. "The biggest was a 44-pounder, and we also got a 42-pounder. The fish were beautiful bright chrome with red meat."

"We were using spinning tackle with just 12-pound test line and a 15-pound test fluorocarbon leader, and were dragging double hot red Pro-Cure roe and a pink or orange puff ball."

"The fish were definitely on the move, and have already mostly moved upstream. There are new fish downriver moving towards us, and there were two salmon over 40 pounds caught near Grimes."

Feather River

Not much change has occurred for salmon chasers on the Feather River, reported Rick Thompson at McGrath's in Oroville. "We are definitely seeing warm water conditions", said Thompson. "All the fish being caught are right up in the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet or the low flow and are being caught on beads. Most are getting kind of dark and are running from 15 to 25 pounds, but you do hear of a chrome one now and then. You have to work hard at it to catch your fish."

Thompson added, "There are still some 10 to 15-pound stripers hitting down by Marysville on sardines, anchovies and topwaters."

Chico Bass Club

The Chico Bass Club presented its annual awards for the 2006-07 season at the Sponsor's Appreciation Banquet at Logan's Roadhouse: Fisherman of the Year- Jeff Buckley; second place- Rich Cavanagh; third place- Cheryl Cavanagh; Sportsman of the Year- Jeff Buckley; Rookie of the Year- Jim Carr; President's Award- Larry Meyer; Big Stringer of the Year- Rich Cavanagh [19.28 at Clear Lake]; Big Fish of the Year- Toni Corpe [7.43 at Clear Lake]; Tournament of Champions winner- Jim Carr, second place- Jeff Buckley, third place- Don Cummings.

The club's August tournament took place at the Thermalito Afterbay. The water level was up and the weather was great. Unfortunately, the fishing was not so great, and very few fish were caught. Final results: Rod Miller- 13.94 pounds total; Vi Widman- 4.31; Mike Johnson- 3.43; Cheryl Cavanagh- 1.65; Rich Cavanagh- 1.59; Toni Corpe- 1.32; Big Fish- Rod Miller- 3.85.

Butte trains wardens

The DFG is teaming with Butte College to provide peace officer training for prospective Fish and Game Wardens. The first Academy class begins Feb. 4, 2008, and is tentatively scheduled to be a 30-week course. Butte has a 39-year history of police recruit training. The 928-acre main campus is also a designated wildlife refuge.

The Academy at Butte College will be able to accommodate 40 cadets per class twice a year. The College will accept non DFG-sponsored law enforcement students into resource academy training classes if there are unfilled spaces available.

For more information call the DFG's Lt. Jeff Longwell at 916-653-7726 or Butte's Academy Director Mike Dunbaugh at 879-4349.

Trout plants

The DFG planted catchable-size trout this week in the following area waters: Plumas County- Hamilton Branch Creek, North Fork Feather River Almanor, Warner Creek, Tehama County- Deer Creek; Shasta County- Baum Lake, Lake McCloud, lower-upper Burney Creek, middle-upper Hat Creek, Sacramento River; Siskiyou County- Bass Lake, Greenhorn Reservoir, McCloud River Fowlers, Sacramento River, Lassen County- Ash Creek; Placer County- Halsey Forebay; Sacramento County- Folsom Lake at Granite Bay.