14 June 26, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 14
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 11
FOLSOM LAKE cont.
should catch plenty of fish, probably
mostly largemouth with a scattering of
spotted and smallmouth bass.”
Boat ramps at Granite Bay, Folsom
Point and Brown’s Ravine, Rattlesnake
Bar and Peninsula are OPEN. Beal’s Point
is open for day use, but all campgrounds
and boat camping remain closed,
according to the Folsom Lake Marina.
Recreational traffic is extremely busy
on the weekends. Visitors should try to
arrive at the park as early as possible
and should expect long lines or even
temporary park closures. The lake is up,
parking spaces fill rapidly, and once the
parking is gone, the park closes.
Please note that an Annual Pass allows
you into a park only if there is a space
available to park. On weekends between
now and the 4th of July most areas of
the park are forced to close due to lack
of parking. Social distancing is carefully
monitored and if Park Rangers have any
concerns, entrance into the park could be
stopped.
- Dan Bacher
KLAMATH/TRINITY RIVERS
Anglers Will See Reduced
Salmon Quota This Season
SACRAMENTO - Anglers will see
a reduced sportfishing quota for the
Klamath and Trinity Rivers this season,
due to low river returns in the fall of 2019
and with an ocean abundance estimate of
only 186,600 adult Klamath kings.
The California Fish and Game
Commission adopted bag and possession
limits for the Klamath Basin based on
a quota of 1,296 fall-run adults. The
Commission also adopted a size change
for jacks (grilse), or two-year-old salmon
Pheasant, Chukar and Sporting Clays
• 3 PHEASANTS FOR ...$96 At Its Finest
• 8 CHUKARS FOR.......$160
3 Pheasants &
• 12 PHEASANTS FOR $388
100 Sporting Clays
• 3 PHEASANTS + 4 CHUKARS
FOR $170
$130
3817
COLUMBIA RIVER STURGEON
45 Miles North
of Sacramento
Catch OVER
20 Sturgeon
per Day from
60 lbs and UP!!
(Catch & Release Only)
Professional Guide DAN PONCIANO
(360)607-8511
Also booking Fall Salmon on the Sacramento River
www.columbiariverfishing.com
17 Station Sporting Clay Course!
100 Rounds
Sporting Clays
Only $36
1000 Rounds
Sporting Clays Only $320
Company or Corporate shoots
available at reasonable prices!
Pheasant Season Is Now Open,
So Book Early For Best Dates And Rates!
(530) 724-0552
www.lincraahauges.com • traahauge@yahoo.com
Alyssa and Madison teamed up to land this huge stringer of trout when they visited Collins
Lake in late May.
Photo courtesy of the COLLINS LAKE RECREATION AREA, Oregon House.
within the Klamath River basin. The
size used to delineate adult fall Chinook
salmon, currently set at greater than 22
inches total length, has been changed to
greater than 23 inches total length.
In the past, the Department has used
a provisional standard of 55 centimeters
fork length to estimate the jack harvest of
KRFC during the season. This equates
to 21.7 inches when converted to fork
length, and 23.2 inches when converted
to total length. The new jack size will now
be consistent between what’s used for
recreational harvest and what’s used for
research and monitoring.
On the Klamath, the fall season begins
on Aug. 15 and closes Dec. 31. The daily
bag limit will be two Chinook salmon,
no more than one
of which may be
greater than 23
inches, and a
possession limit
of six, of which
only three may
be greater than
23 inches. On the
Lower Klamath,
from the Highway
96 bridge at
Weitchpec to the
3913
FRESHWATER
mouth, 648 adults will be allowed for sport
harvest. The section above the 96 bridge
at Weitchpec to 3,500 feet downstream
of the Iron Gate Dam will get 220 adults.
The take of salmon is prohibited from Iron
Gate Dam downstream to Weitchpec from
Jan. 1 through Aug. 14.
The Spit Area (within 100 yards of the
channel through the sand spit formed
at the Klamath River mouth) will close
when 15 percent of the total Klamath
River Basin quota is taken downstream
of the Highway 101 bridge. In 2020, 194
adults can be harvested below the 101
bridge before the closure at the mouth is
implemented. The rest of the area below
Highway 101 (estuary) will remain open to
recreational fishing.
On the Trinity, where the fall season
begins Sept. 1 and closes Dec. 31., the
quota is set at 428 adults. The quota
will be split evenly; 214 adults for the
main stem Trinity downstream of the Old
Lewiston Bridge to the Highway 299 West
bridge at Cedar Flat and 214 adults for
the main stem Trinity downstream of the
Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar to the
confluence with the Klamath. The main
stem downstream of the Highway 299
Bridge at Cedar Flat to the Denny Road
WHAT’S HOT continued from page 1
gauge the size until they broke the surface.
We started finding schools of bigger fish once we
headed west of the Antioch bridge towards Sherman
Lake. I was able to experiment with different jigging
techniques, varying my speeds and depths to see what
worked best at each location.
“Make sure you control the drop. If you drop it too
fast, the line may get tangled with the hook…you also
risk missing a bite on the descent,” Jeff advised. And
of course, he was right. A slow, controlled descent
with a single-hooked spoon started producing good
results. By mid-morning, our livewell was full and our
goal was to start upgrading.
At one point, we located a small school of significantly
larger fish. A couple of bites were missed before
we saw one rod bent nearly in half, the line heading
straight for the motor.
The pull was so strong, I couldn’t even get the rod
out of the holder without the risk of it being yanked out
of my hands and plunged into the depths of the Delta
for eternity. Captain Jeff took control; but as soon as
he got it free, whatever was on the other end of the line
made a quick run and snapped the line.
“That was a double-digit fish,” Jeff remarked,
shaking his head. That fish would haunt us for the next
half hour.
Luckily, we kept finding schools for the rest of the
morning. Every now and then, we’d open up the
livewell to replace fish – always a good problem to
have. Between catches, we would chat about family,
travels to Hawaii, and food; an accomplished chef and
Bridge in Hawkins Bar is closed to all
fishing September 1 through December
31. The take of salmon is prohibited from
the confluence of the South Fork Trinity
River downstream to the confluence of the
Klamath River from Jan. 1 through Aug.
31.
Once these quotas have been met, no
Chinook salmon greater than 23 inches in
length may be retained. Anglers may still
retain a limit of Chinook salmon under 23
inches in length.
Important Reminder: Spring-run Chinook
salmon fishing regulations will run from
July 1 through Aug. 14 on the Klamath
and through Aug. 31 on the Trinity. The
bag limit is one salmon per day, with two
in possession.
Additional season information can be
found on CDFW’s ocean salmon webpage
or by calling CDFW’s ocean salmon
hotline at (707) 576-3429 or the Klamath-
Trinity River hotline at (800) 564-6479. All
anglers on the Trinity and Klamath rivers
must have Salmon Harvest Cards in their
possession when fishing for salmon.
KNIGHTS LANDING/
COLUSA
Channel Cats Reward Nocturnal Bait
Soakers
SACRAMENTO – While sturgeon
and striper fishing has slowed on the
Sacramento River from Verona to Colusa,
channel catfish are offering top-notch
action in the Knights Landing area at
night.
“Many of the fish are in the 8 to 10 lb.
range and fish up to 15 pounds have been
brought in,” said Tim Boggs of Elkhorn
Bait and Tackle. “In the 8 years I have
owned the shop, I’ve never seen as many
big cats as I have this year.”
Boggs said the best area is from above
the Highway 113 Bridge to First Beach.
The top available baits at this time are
G&S Dip Bait and nightcrawlers; bait
shops haven’t been able to procure live
jumbo minnows lately.
“Some downstream stripers in the 3 to
6 lb. range are showing throughout the
river, but they are few and far between,”
said Boggs. “I haven’t seen any sturgeon
brought into the shop over the past 10
days, although catfish fishermen report
seeing sturgeon still jumping around them
at night.”
- Dan Bacher
CONTINUED ON PG 15
former restaurant owner, Captain Jeff texted me
one of his secret recipes to complement the fish I
would be taking home.
“It’s all about the Baja sauce,” he grinned.
We slowly headed back to the harbor around
noon. I kicked back, enjoying what seemed to be
perfect Spring weather: sun high in the sky, a few
scattered clouds, and a light, constant breeze.
The boat suddenly came to a halt. Jeff looked at
me and said, “Take a look at the graph.”
There were so many fish on the graph I couldn’t
discern how many were actually down there. Jeff
quickly rose to his feet, I scrambled to replace my
GoPro battery, and we got down to business.
This was easily the best spot of the day. We spent
about 25 minutes there, with only two or three casts
without hits. These were the biggest and most
aggressive stripers by far, allowing us to upgrade
with ease. Drag was constantly being peeled and I
was pulled from left to right.
The action was almost comical. “We might
be setting unrealistic expectations for people,” I
chuckled.
He laughed. “Your arms are going to hurt
tomorrow!”
But as the saying goes, all good things must come
to an end. Later at the dock, Captain Jeff fileted
my fish with surgical precision, and I departed with
enough meat to last at least a few Taco Tuesdays.
Watch the video on my YouTube channel, Stacy
Goes Outside.