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Spicer Reservoir Map Feature

MADE IN U . S . A

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Our 40th Year

Since 1982

began to get some of the respect it so duly deserved . But that probably didn ’ t happen till someone tried to catch one on a rod and reel . If you haven ’ t fished for sturgeon on the lower Columbia river , you ’ ll never know what you are missing . But if you get the chance and get into some fish , you ’ ll likely go back again

Three sturgeon on at once !

for more . The white sturgeon is one of the most under-rated sport fish in the world in my book . During the peak of the season when water temps are in the upper 50 ’ s to mid 60 ’ s , it ’ s hard to discount the sturgeon as anything less than the hardest fighting fish in freshwater . When you couple that with a fish that is four to eight

Photo courtesy of Dan Ponicano Guide Service

feet in length , you have a battle royale on your hands . The Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife estimates that there are 400,000 white sturgeon in the lower Columbia between the Mouth and Bonneville dam . That ’ s roughly 100

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fter an almost three-month break from the boat due to outboard and downrigger issues , I finally hit the water on May 30 to test out the repairs . What better place to refresh my fishing skills than Pardee Lake ? I ’ ve had many great trips to Pardee over the years . It features a special daily bag limit of ten kokanee per angler instead of the usual five . There have been some ups and downs in kokanee populations due to drought conditions in recent years , but this year the kokanee population has returned to form . The average size fish is currently ranging between eleven and twelve inches , so break out the light gear and head up the hills for limits ! On May 30 , my kids Grace and Adam were fresh out of school on summer break . The three of us piled into the truck and got an early start on our trip . We pulled into the Pardee Recreation Area at just about 5:30 am in low-light conditions . As we motored north towards the ramp , a noisy turkey suddenly gobbled , and

two deer grazed to our right as we cautiously rolled by . Once on the water , we made our way up the river arm and had four lines in the water in no time flat . The downrigger rod at 30 feet immediately started shaking . “ Fish !” I

called out to Adam , and he gingerly made his way to the rod in a half-woke state . The kokanee danced on the surface as I swiped the net to secure our first fish of the day . “ CAW-CLICK ” my fish counter rang out , and displayed ‘ 001 ’. The fish was bled by cutting the gills and placed into an ice-water bath in the cooler . The next two fish came off , and I told the kids , “ We need thirty , and then we ’ ll grill hot dogs ”. The plan

The author ’ s cleaning board prior to the filleting process . These 11 to 12 inch kokanee and larger trout hit small custom spinners trolled between 26 and 38 feet deep at Pardee Lake on May 30 . The kokanee will continue to grow bigger and push deeper as the summer progresses .

Photo Courtesy of Jack Naves

was to run four downriggers and two topline rods with my Sunfran Smart

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FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Almanor - Berryessa Lake .......................... 10 Bullards Bar / Englebright Lakes - Camanche Lake ... 11 Collins Lake - Davis Lake .................................... 12 Don Pedro Lake - Eagle Lake ................................ 13

Folsom Lake - New Melones Lake ...................... 16 Lake Oroville ........................................................ 17 Pardee Reservoir - Stampede Reservoir ............ 18 Lake Tahoe ........................................................... 19

SALTWATER REPORTS Bodega Bay - Fisherman ’ s Wharf / Berkeley Marina ..... 22 Monterey Bay ...................................................... 24-25

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

GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ................................ 14-15 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 21

Ernie Marlan - planned to fish the Channel Islands for white seabass but the wind did not cooperate and the trip was canceled . Live squid is often the preferred bait and Ernie ’ s rod of choice for this technique is C4 Custom with a line rating of 15-30 teamed up with a Okuma Tesoro 10S spooled with 50lb FINS Braid and a 25lb GAMMA fluorocarbon leader .

Paul Kneeland - fished Jackson Meadows Reservoir with Brian Garcia of Alta in The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet Coastal 21 . They caught rainbow and cutthroat trout to 20 inches and 3 pounds using a 7 ’ Powell composite kokanee rod with a Shimano Calcutta 100 level wind reel loaded with 8 pound Yozuri Hybrid line . They trolled firetiger Needlefish and watermelon Speedy Shiners 10 to 40 feet deep off the Cannon Downriggers at 2.2 mph .

Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Lake Alpine . He used a Berkley Ugly Stik 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 glitter Berkley PowerBait and nightcrawlers on sliding sinker rigs with Size # 4 and # 6 Gamakatsu baitholder hooks .