Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
Vol. 39 - ISS.14
Caples Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 12
Since 1982
June 26, 2020
38 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
Special Section
KAYAK Fishing:
pgs 18
Our
38th
Year
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
When times get strange, it’s time
to go trout fishing. These are the
strangest days
I’ve seen, so I’ve
been doing a lot of
trout fishing. More
specifically high
mountain trout
fishing. For me
the past month’s
fishing has been a
fun and frustrating
time in the trout
fishing classroom.
The weather
has been a major
challenge. It’s
very warm for a
few days and the
GONE
FISHIING
by
Cal Kellogg
next thing you know it’s snowing again.
Up and down temperature. Up and down
barometer and big winds associated with
temperature and pressure changes.
I’ve been rained out, snowed out and
hailed on and that’s just in the past two
weeks. When I have gotten on the water
Now that guides are able to get
back on the water, this may be the
perfect time to book your trip and take
advantage of lighter loads.
Fish Sniffer field editor Stacy Barawed caught
several striped bass when she explored the
West Delta with Captain Jeff Soo Hoo including
this great eating bass.
Photo by STACY BARAWED, Fish Sniffer Staff.
High Mountain Trouting!
the fishing
has been
productive,
but definitely
off.
The
action I
experienced
two
weeks
back at
French
Meadows
is a good
example.
I hit the
water right
after the roads were cleared of snow. The
water temperature was 49 degrees on top.
I launched my Hobie kayak in the half
light of dawn and put out a gold Speed
Spoon. Within a couple minutes the spoon
got hit twice. The second strike stuck and
I landed a very nice 16-inch rainbow.
“I must be on to something with two
This hefty Jackson Meadows rainbow couldn’t lay off a an orange Trigger
Spoon Jr. trolled at 1.8 miles per hour, 15 feet deep.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
CONTINUED ON PG 8
West Delta Striper Action With Captain Jeff Soo Hoo!
I played hooky from work recently to
spend a day on the Delta with Captain
Jeffrey Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo
Sportfishing. To my delight,
we had his boat all to
ourselves which allowed
me to pick his brain about
fishing, cooking fish, and
travelling the world to
catch fish.
I boarded his Rouge Jet
Coastal 23 around 7:00am
and we blasted off from
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Stacy Barawed
Lauritzen Yacht Harbor in
Oakley, ready to hunt down
some big stripers on the
San Joaquin River since
my freezer was running
low on taco fixings.
Our first stop wasn’t far
from the harbor. We began east of the
Antioch bridge and would work our way
westward throughout the morning. We
rigged up two Cousins 7104PT HVY
rods with live minnows, dropped our
bait, and the fun began almost instantly.
To say that Captain Jeff knows where
to find them would be an understatement.
On several occasions, I was running
strikes that fast,” I thought as I let the
line out to make another pass through
the area where I’d hooked up….Nothing
happened.
I didn’t get another strike for 90
minutes. Despite the seemingly ideal
surface temperature, my topline went
(and giggling) from one side of the boat
to the other because both rods were
doubled over. Striper fishing
is his passion; even when he’s
not guiding, he’s out on the
Delta searching for them. He
seemed almost befuddled if we
went a few minutes without a
bite. Now that’s work ethic!
Soon we would add 1.5- to
2-ounce spoons on Cousins
83M-T MED rods to the mix.
“If they bite minnows, they’ll
bite spoons…the minnows just
show us how big the school is
down there,” Jeff explained.
Although I always want to
find the big fish (who doesn’t),
I certainly don’t discriminate
against shakers. Feisty
stripers of almost any size are still fun
to battle, and when you’re hooking fish
after fish, occasionally dropping one into
the livewell, you can’t be disappointed.
The fish that drag me from one side
of the boat to the other are usually my
favorites, and on this trip those ranged
anywhere from two pounds to near
double-digits. At times it was hard to
Fish Sniffer TIP OF THE WEEK
Wash Your Hands! Don’t Touch Your Face!
See Page 3 for an update about the Fish Sniffer and Coronavirus
CONTINUED ON PG 8
INSIDE
Area Reports
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor Lake - American River..............................6
Berryessa Lake - Collins Lake............................ 8-9
Davis Lake - Folsom Lake.............................. 10-11
Klamath/Trinity Reservoir - Rio Vista.............. 14-15
Rollins/Scotts Flat - San Pablo Reservoir............ 17
Santa Clara Valley Lakes/San Luis Reservoir -
Tahoe ......................................................... 19
West Delta............................................................ 20
SALTWATER REPORTS
Baja Roundup........................................................... 26
Berkeley - Half Moon Bay...................................24-25
Monterey Bay......................................................26
FEATURES
Where...When...How...
BAJA ROUNDUP........................................................26
FISH SNIFFER COVID UPDATE................................3
CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg..........16
FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY.......................................21
GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................4
HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..............................................23
KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg .............20
MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................12-13
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......22
STAFF
TACKLE
What We’re Using
Cal Kellogg - fished Jackson
Meadows Reservoir from
his Hobie Pro Angler 14. For
trolling Trigger Spoons Jrs
and chub imitating flies, Cal
used a pair of his signature leadcore rods
teamed with Abu Garcia 5500 Line Counter
reels, spooled with Hybrid Leadcore Rigs.
Cal landed a mix of rainbows and cutthroats
to 23 inches.
Paul Kneeland - fished
Jackson Meadows Reservoir
with John Brassfield of
Trucksmart stores in the Fish
Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal.
They caught rainbow and
cutthroat trout to 20 inches .using an Okuma
8 1\2 foot light action SST graphite rod with
a new Okuma Coldwater low profile line
counter reel loaded with 10 lb test Soft Steel
line.. They trolled 2” Luhr Jensen Needlefish
spoons in cop car and Red Racer Speedy
Shiners off Big Jon side planers and off the
Canon Downriggers from the surface to 40
feet deep and 2.2 mph..
Dan Bacher - fished for
rainbow trout at Stumpy
Meadows Reservoir. He used
a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6’
6” medium action spinning
rod, teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235
spinning reel filled with 6 lb. test P-Line
CX Premium Fluorocarbon Coated Line.
He fished with rainbow Berkley PowerBait,
nightcrawlers and 2/5 oz. gold/red stripe
Little Cleos.