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Monterey Bay Map Feature
MADE IN U . S . A
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42 Years Serving Sportsmen
Vol . 43 - ISS . 4
Our 43rd Year
Since 1982
“ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen !” INSIDE
Area Reports
Think Like A Striper When Fishing For Stripers
S triped bass spend a lot of their time in the ocean and are very aggressive when attacking their bait . When anglers use a relatively light fishing rod and reel the fight can be amazing . You never know if you are going to catch that 3-5lb or that 20-40lb fish . Anglers find stripers great table fare but most would agree that the smaller fish are better to eat than the larger ones . Anglers have several options on what technique to use when targeting striped bass . They often use a variety of baits while sitting on anchor or fishing from shore . Pluggers cast a variety of lures while others troll for them . I have had the opportunity to troll for stripers with a lot of friends as well as fishing guides in the California region . In my opinion , the best trollers are the ones that troll their baits into specific spots or zones . They are using the current , tule islands , and other structures to their advantage . They locate depth contours in the river to identify paths the stripers are traveling . They identify schools of bait and what
F
RESNO – In another disastrous year for salmon fisheries in California , the Pacific Fishery Management Council ( PFMC ) at its meeting on Monday , March 11 adopted three alternatives for 2024 ocean salmon fisheries off California including two options for an extremely limited season and one for a complete closure . “ California fisheries offer very limited opportunity in 2024 due to the low forecasts for Klamath River and Sacramento River fall Chinook , and constraints surrounding California Coastal Chinook ,” according to the PFMC . “ Two alternatives for both commercial and sport fisheries offer limited opportunity coastwide , with the third alternative proposed being closed in all areas . Recreational fishing alternatives would authorize up to seven short open fishing periods ranging from four to six days in length beginning in June and running through October , according to the CDFW . “ Scheduled dates would not be guaranteed and would be subject to two different statewide harvest guidelines . If the total sport catch reaches the limit prior to September , remaining dates prior to September would be canceled .
A few years ago Abby Marlan landed her personal best striped bass . She was so excited but once she took a couple pictures she was eager and all smiles about getting it back in the water . She understands the importance of releasing big stripers .
Photo Courtesy of Ernie Marlan
depths the bait is in . I believe great striper pluggers and great shallow water striper trollers
PFMC adopts three alternatives for very limited or closed salmon seasons in California
GONE FISHING by Dan Bacher
WHAT ’ S HOT by Ernie Marlan have many differences but they do have a lot in common . Pluggers make a cast into a specific spot or zone because they “ think like a fish ” and when they make a cast they believe that a fish is there for a reason . A few of those reasons include ambush spots , current and back eddy ’ s . Shallow trollers often use their boat to troll their lure into similar areas as well . Let ’ s use the West Bank on the California Delta as an example . Pluggers and shallow water trollers are able to get their lures into similar locations like near the tules and up tight to other structures in the shallow water . Most importantly , they are able to get their
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Fall-run Chinook salmon return to the Sacramento River system to spawn .
Photo courtesy of the CDFW
Similarly , if total sport catch reaches the limit for dates scheduled in the months of September and October , remaining dates would be canceled ,” the Department pointed out in a statement . The three alternatives for ocean recreational salmon fishing seasons for the Fort Bragg , San Francisco and Monterey regions are the following : Alternative 1 will feature five potential short periods of
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March 22 , 2024
FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - Lake Berryessa .............................. 12 Camanche Lake - Collins Lake ............................... 13 East Bay Lakes - Feather River .............................. 14 Folsom Lake - Los Vaqueros Reservoir ................. 15
Lake Oroville - Pyramid Lake .................................. 18 Rio Vista / West Delta ............................................... 19 Shasta Lake - Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers .......... 20 Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers ................................. 21
SALTWATER REPORTS Fisherman ’ s Wharf // Emeryville / Berkeley ................ 23 Monterey Bay .............................................................. 25
FEATURES
Where ... When ... How ...
GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ..................................... 18 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 22
STAFF TACKLE
What We ’ re Using
Ernie Marlan fished for bass on Lopez Lake in San Luis Obispo County . He used a Lew ’ s Custom Lite Series Rod 7 ’ long and with a line rating of 6-12lb teamed up with a Team Lew ’ s HyperMag baitcasting reel . He caught a few largemouth and a smallmouth bass while using a Strike King Chick Magnet in Sexy Shad color .
Paul Kneeland fished Lake Oroville with Brian Garcia of Alta and Ron Nedved of Colfax in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught landlocked king salmon to 19 inches using a Daiwa DXS 8 ’ light action IM-7 graphite trigger stick rigged with a Daiwa Lexa 100 Line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Hybrid line . They trolled firetiger Speedy Shiners and white Apex lures off the Canon Downriggers 20 to 45 feet deep at 2.2 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 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 .