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Delta Map Feature

MADE IN U . S . A

See Page 10

Our 40th Year

Since 1982

fter a blistering-hot September , we are finally feeling the cooling effects of shorter fall days . If you have to break out your jacket when leaving your house in the morning , then you should also be breaking out your striper rods ! When water temperatures start to drop from the sixties into the fifties , it signals to the striped bass that it ’ s time to load up on food before the oncoming winter . Another welcoming aspect of autumn is that the menacing delta winds start to taper off , leaving us with tranquil waters to explore . However , my first few trips to the west delta this fall did not present such enjoyable conditions . I headed out of Sherman Island on October 7 and 8 , and each day featured bouts of both calm and not-so-fun weather conditions . I started out trolling on October 7 with Jim Brittain amidst choppy waters . We could not find any stripers trolling , so we switched over to bait fishing on the incoming tide . Just like magic , the frothy rollers disappeared , leaving us with smooth

Trout derby took place on the weekend of October 15 and 16 . The lake was very low , but not as low as it could have been . It was down 120 feet in May , and only dropped about 30 feet all summer , because of short water releases down the Sacramento River . John Brassfield and I arrived at Sugarloaf Cottages in Lakehead Thursday afternoon . The Low water ramp at Sugarloaf was still very usable , and the Sugarloaf docks were right next to the ramp , which made launching the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21 Coastal very convenient . Our group was very short handed this year , as our usual complement of 6 to 8 anglers had been reduced to only 3 because of various un avoidable factors . As the sun set and the night cooled , John and I and Dave Barsi of Oak Run barbequed steaks and had cocktails and cigars overlooking the beautiful Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake . Friday morning , we were at the dock about 6:45 , and it was still not really light enough to see . The water temperature was a warm 72 degrees .

The weather was beautiful with a slight breeze that stayed off and on throughout the day . As usual , we decided to try some spots other than our favorites on this exploration day . We ran over to the mouth of the McCloud and started trolling with Speedy Shiners , Excels and Mag lips . We did see some bait balls at about 45 feet , but every time we went down to them , all we caught was bass . John did land a beautiful 21 inch rainbow , but it wasn ’ t very valuable on a non-derby day ! We fished the Eagles Nest on the Pit arm , as well as Big Backbone and several other spots on the lake . John caught 2 other small trout , all I caught all day was bass ! The air temperature got up to 95 degrees in the afternoon

Jason Carlisle of Elk Grove takes a quick photo before releasing this feisty 32 inch striped bass on October 8 . The fish inhaled an 8 / 0 circle hook baited with chicken livers east of Chain Island in the waters of the West Delta .

Photo Courtesy of Jack Naves

fishing conditions . The only problem was that mostly shakers took our baits , with only one small keeper that

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John Brassfield with the 22 inch king salmon that didn ’ t count in the Shasta Lake Fall Trout Derby ! Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff

– sure doesn ’ t feel like the middle of October ! Friday evening , we had dinner at the Basshole Bar & Grill , along with many

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FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - American River Sac . Area ................ 6 Bullards Bar / Englebright Lakes - Collins Lake .......... 7 Collins Lajke ........................................................... 8 Eagle Lake - Folsom Lake ...................................... 9

Los Vaqueros Reservoir - Mokelumne River .......... 12 Lake Oroville - Pardee / Camanche Lakes ................... 13 Pyramid Lake .......................................................... 15 Shasta Lake - Trinity River ........................................ 17 SALTWATER REPORTS Fisherman ’ s Wharf / Berkeley ................................. 20 Bodega Bay - Monterey Bay .................................. 21 Monterey Bay ........................................................... 23

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

GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ................................ 10-11 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 18

Ernie Marlan fished the Farallon Islands with California Dawn II out of Berkeley , California . He used a United Composites rod rated 20-40lb teamed up with a Shimano Tranx 400 spooled up with 50lb braid and a 30lb fluorocarbon leader . He caught a nice limit of lingcod with the largest weighing around 14 pounds and his limit of rockfish . His bait of choice was a 6oz Ahi Jig in sardine color and a 9 inch swimbait on a 6oz lead head .

Paul Kneeland fished the Shasta Lake Trout Derby with John Brassfield of Trucksmart stores and Mark Kalinowski of Concord in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught rainbow trout to 18 inches using an Daiwa 8 foot DXS composite rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 linecounter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Hybrid line .. They trolled Speedy Shiner spoons in cutthroat and watermelon colors off the Canon Downriggers at 15 to 45 feet deep and 2.7 mph .

Dan Bacher fished for rainbow trout at Pardee Lake . 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 Flourocarbon Coated Line . He fished with rainbow Berkley PowerBait , 1 / 8 oz . gold and black Panther Martins and 2 / 5 oz . gold / red stripe Little Cleos .