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Rio Vista Area Map Feature

MADE IN U . S . A

See Page 10

Our 40th Year agle Lake above Susanville ,

California is a world renowned fishery for it ’ s very own strain of rainbow trout . Eagle Lake rainbows are the only species of trout that can live in the high alkalinity of the lake , and therefore are much more robust than other species of trout . They grow fast and provide the best eating trout I have ever tasted . John Brassfield and I went up to Eagle Lake in mid September , which normally isn ’ t a great time to fish the lake . The lake opens to fishing on Memorial weekend , and late May , early June and October are usually the best months to catch fish . We arrived at the south shore boat ramp about 10 am after driving from Colfax and launched the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet Coastal 21 with no problem . Eagle Lake has been suffering from the drought conditions of the last several years , but the big water of 2022-23 has helped the lake tremendously . The boat ramp at the south end of the lake should be very usable for all boats for the rest of the year .

When we arrived , the weather was gorgeous , about 65 degrees air temp and 66 water temp , with a slight south “ trolling breeze ”. Tim Noxon of Fish Traveler Guide Service had told us he had been catching

lots of trout in the south basin from Wildcat Point to Christie campground . He said to follow the birds . We motored out of the boat ramp and turned left and started trolling towards Wildcat . We noticed that the water was very green . It almost looked like a pea soup , with visibility about 4 feet . We hadn ’ t gone 100 yards when the downrigger on my side popped and I had a nice trout on . John netted a fat 3 pound , 18

Since 1982

John Brassfield of Trucksmart Stores hefts a fat 4 ½ pound Eagle Lake rainbow caught on a small Rapala in September .

Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer Staff

inch rainbow and it was on ! There were lots of birds around – grebes , pelicans , sea gulls , terns and more . The screen of the Lowrance fishfinder

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AN DIEGO - The Pacific bluefin tuna is one of the most elusive fish found in waters off the California coast . These pelagic ( open water ) migrants are known for providing one of the hardest , most grueling fights of any fish in our offshore waters , with the largest fish often being fought by teams of two or three anglers . But three fishing gals - Cat Kaiser , operation and events director for the Golden State Salmon Association ( GSSA ), Annie Nagel of Rohnert Park and Jessy Ryan of Novato – managed to do something virtually

unheard of . They teamed up to catch their four fish limits of tuna and three fish for the boat , a total of 15 fish , on a 2-1 / 2 day trip off San Diego . And they caught those fish with both light and heavy fishing gear . After returning from a trip to San Clemente Island aboard the 90 foot Condor , under the helm of Scott Meisel , owner and captain , and night captain Clint Dunn , Kaiser was ecstatic about the trip . “ Three bruised , blistered , bloody , and sore gals caught 15 bluefin of the perfect kick your butt size , “ said Kaiser . “ We caught boat limits and were treated to the best bluefin fishing I ’ ve ever experienced .” The trip started when Kaiser , Nagel and Ryan flew

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Jessy Ryan , Cat Kaiser and Annie Nagel display bluefin tuna that they landed during an epic 2.5 day fishing adventure aboard the Condor in San Diego .

Photo courtesy of Condor Sportfishing

FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - American River ................................. 6 Lake Berryessa - Bullards Bar Lake ........................... 7 Lake Camanche - Collins Lake .................................. 8 Davis Lake - Don Pedro Lake .................................... 9

Feather River - Los Vaqueros Reservoir ............ 12 Lake Oroville - Stampede / Prosser / Boca Reservoirs .. 13 Lake Tahoe - Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers ........ 15 Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers .............................. 16

SALTWATER REPORTS Bodega Bay - Half Moon Bay ................................ 19 Monterey Bay ........................................................... 21

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

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

Ernie Marlan fished with his son Andrew Marlan for striped bass on the targeted striped bass on the California Delta . They caught and released several fish while using topwater , lipless crankbaits , swimbaits and spoons . The big fish of the day weighed 10 pounds and was caught on a topwater bait . They used a Lew ’ s Elite TLE610MH 10-20lb rod team up with an Elite Ti reel spooled up with 30lb braid and a 16lb fluorocarbon leader .

Paul Kneeland fished Davis Lake with Brian Garcia of Alta in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught rainbow trout to 20 inches and German Browns to 18 inches using an Okuma 8 ’ Kokanee Black composite rod with a Okuma Convector low profile line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Soft Steel line . They trolled HotTicket spoons in purple / silver and red / white Tasmanian Devils off the Canon Downriggers from 20 to 30 feet deep at 2.2 mph .

Dan Bacher fished for rainbow trout at Ice House Lake in the Crystal Basin . He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6 ’ 6 ” medium action spinning rod , teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235 spinning reel filled with 8 lb . test P-Line CX Premium Fluorocarbon Coated Line . He fished with Berkley Tequila Sunrise Power Bait on a # 14 Eagle Claw gold treble hook on a sliding sinker rig .