Eye on the Hills: Lightning trout quite tasty if you’re in for a good fight

As you wish folks a Happy New Year this week, you might want to add the word ‘healthy.’ Surveys show that health and happiness top the list of resolutions as we head into 2023.

Two Delta fishermen might have the right idea. I met Ray Fesmire and Kevin Conrad at Lake Temescal the other day, casting off the dock. It turns out they’d driven all the way from Oakley. “It’s fun to change your life up a bit,” Ray said, adding “it’s beautiful here — restful.”

There’s another reason to fish in our little urban lake — the tasty trout. On this blue-sky day when the prehistoric-looking white pelicans were cruising the water looking more like bird-themed pedal boats, the Delta guys were casting for a kind of fish called lightning trout. Kevin said these striking yellow fish are stocked by a fishery near Lassen and are good eating — like salmon. They also tend to grow big and they put up a pretty good fight on the line.

He says the rainbow trout aren’t as good as you’d catch in a cold stream or river, so they usually throw those back.

A $5 fishing fee (in addition to your state license for 16+ years of age) lets you take home five fish from Lake Temescal — any size. And some of the trout are really big — even 10 pounders — can be pulled from this summertime swimming hole. Fresh trout and fresh air. It sounds like a person can knock off two resolutions at once.

Speaking of nature, I wanted to give a shout-out to local wildlife photographer Jim Roach. His social media posts featuring waterfowl photos are a welcome change from the crime posts so often seen on Nextdoor.

And as you look for outdoor activities, consider a hike in another one of the East Bay Regional Park’s popular Oakland attractions. You may spot a cluster of ladybugs in the grove for good luck or, with the recent rains, the rainbow trout might be swimming up Redwood Creek which is now part of Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park.

Ginny Prior can be followed on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com. Email her at ginnyprior@hotmail.com.