39 Years Serving Sportsmen

Vol . 40 - ISS . 10

Our 39th Year

Since 1982

May 28 , 2021

“ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen !” INSIDE

Area Reports

The Lovely Martha Family Legacy Continues With A Great Day On The Bay

I have been reading the halibut reports coming out of the San Francisco Bay and the bite had been very consistent with some of the party boats reporting two fish per rod and no less than a fish a rod in recent weeks . Not only were they catching a lot of fish but there have been reports of some fish in the 20 pound class as well . It was time for me to book a trip so I decided to book it with the Lovely Martha out of San Francisco . I was excited for this trip because I have not been on a boat that was based out of San Francisco since I was a pre-teen . I also invited Amy Wellenkamp since she is an amazing photographer and I wanted to capture some great pictures . Over the years I have learned to enjoy the adventure of fishing just as much as the fishing . This time I ended up staying in my hometown of Alameda the night before . I was able to get there in the early afternoon the day prior to the trip which allowed me time to drive around the island and

Kirby Desha of Lincoln lifts two 16 inch kokanee that slammed a pink and blue spinner at Lake Berryessa on May 15 . The fish were caught at 45 feet deep trolling the main lake .

What ’ s Hot by Ernie Marlan reminisce about my youth and how I became so passionate about fishing . It was also pretty amazing to drive over the Bay Bridge really early in the morning with no traffic . In fact , as I was driving over the bridge I thought about the amazing opportunities that we have here in Northern California . The reality is that some travel from across the world to visit San Francisco and I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to fish out of this amazing destination . This trip was special for Amy for a couple of different reasons . First , Amy had never fished on the SF Bay . Secondly , she had never caught a halibut . We boarded the Lovely Martha at about 5:30 am with hopes that she would have an opportunity to add halibut to her long list of species that she has caught . Andrew , one of the deckhands on the Lovely Martha started the morning off with some detailed

Kokanee season has a certain smell to it . I ’ m not talking about the weird scents we put on our corn and lures ( garlic tuna ?) It ’ s something that you can smell when you take your first step outside when you get up early – in the darkness before dawn . I think it ’ s dry Northern California grass wetted by a light dew . It ’ s hard to say exactly what it is , but I know it when I smell it . The scent instantly triggers one thought in my mind : “ I should be on my way to kokanee fishing !” I caught my first whiff of the kokanee season several weeks ago when the temperatures spiked into the 90 ’ s . Unfortunately , I was waiting for some parts on my outboard motor , so the call of the kokanee would have to wait . June tends to be the best month for kokanee fishing , but I usually get out to Lake Berryessa in April once the striper fishing has tapered off . This year I didn ’ t

Chuck has been fishing with the Lovely Martha since 1959 and currently fishes about once a week with them . Chuck definitely had the hot hand for the day and gave us a lesson or two on how to catch fish !

Photo Courtesy of Amy Wellenkamp

instruction . This included what to expect , how we were going to fish ,

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Kokanee Season Ramping into Prime Time

GonE Fishing by Jack Naves

make my first trip to Lake Berryessa until May 15 , but the results were well worth the wait . For my first trip of the season to Lake Berryessa , I was up around three o ’ clock in the morning as usual . Kirby Desha of Lincoln joined me , and we cut a path due west to the hills of Napa County . The early morning darkness cloaked the damages done by the wildfires of 2020 , but you could sense a change . No deer or coyote crossed our path on our way down the grade to the lake . I cranked my neck around to back the boat down the ramp , and I imme-

CONTINUED ON PG 15

Freshwater reports Lake Almanor - Eastern Sierra ............................ 8-9 Ebbetts Pass - New Melones Lake ...................... 12

Lake Oroville - Shast Lake ................................... 14 Lake Sonoma ....................................................... 17 Trinity River .......................................................... 18

Saltwater Reports Bodega Bay - Monterey Bay .............................. 20-21

FEATURES

Where ... When ... How ...

GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 HOW-TO : Roland Aspiras ............................................ 5 MAP Feature : Dan Bacher ................................ 10-11 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 19

STAFF TACKLE

What We ’ re Using

Ernie Marlan - fished for halibut on the SF Bay with the Lovely Martha . He caught one halibut that weighed in at 15lbs . His rod of choice was a 8 ’ 6 ” Phenix Trifecta teamed up with a Quantum Smoke HD spooled with 50lb FINS Braid tied to a California Dawn live bait leader .

Paul Kneeland - fished Davis Lake with Bridget Looney in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught rainbow trout to 21 inches , using a Lamiglas Fish Sniffer special 7 1 \ 2 foot ultralight graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 low profile line counter reel loaded with 6lb test Yozuri Hybrid line .. They trolled Hot Ticket spoons in chartreuse / red dot and Silver Horde Kingfisher Lite spoons in orange , both on the surface with Big Jon sideplaners and off the Canon Downriggers at 15 to 25 feet deep and 2.3 mph .

Sheldon Bright - Sheldon & Gavin Bright caught Largemouth Bass up to 3-pounds on Lake Berryessa while drop shotting 6 ” Robo Worms with 7 ’ Daiwa Arid spinning rods with US Spincaster 230 XL reels and 6lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid Fishing line .

Fish Sniffer Magazine Issue 4010 | Page 2