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Port of West Sacramento Map Feature

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Our 43rd Year he October 1st opening of trout season at Pyramid Lake is a date my friends and I will never miss . The fishing at this spectacular desert lake is excellent almost all year , but the opener is something else altogether ! The only problem with Opening Day is the mass of people launching at the one ramp on the lake . In years past we have been there , to see trucks and trailers lined up all the way around the parking lot , out the pavement to the main highway , and lined up as much as a quarter mile down the highway ! It took us over an hour of waiting in line to get into the water . This year we decided to miss that rat race , and went up to the lake on the second day , Wednesday October 2 . That morning we launched The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 22 ’ Coastal at 6:30 am with a group of about a dozen other boats . The weather was beautiful , with a slight south breeze and an air temperature of 56 degrees . Brian Garcia , John Brassfield and I headed over to the east side and started trolling at the south end of Pyramid bay . The

Jason Carlisle of Elk Grove shows off a six-pound striped bass landed on Sunday , September 22 . The fish inhaled raw chicken livers wrapped with Atlas Mike ’ s Miracle Thread on an 8 / 0 Gamakatsu circle hook . The fish was hooked in Sherman Lake near the outlet to the Sacramento River in twelve feet of water .

Photo by Jack Naves , Fish Sniffer Staff

Alan Fong and friends show off a monster 18 pound cutthroat caught last week at Pyramid Lake , Nevada .

Photo courtesy of Cory Kellar , Hendrix Outdoors

water temperature was 67 degrees and very clear . I put on a “ triple threat ” color Doctor Spoon behind Vance ’ s cannonball flashers and 20 feet above that rigged a “ tui chub ” color 4 inch Lyman plug . We hadn ’ t gone 100 feet when a fat cutthroat ripped the line off

Since 1982 my downrigger on the Doctor Spoon . After a spirited fight , Brian netted a beautiful 24 inch , 4 pound trout . We decided to take turns on the rods as they went off . Brian was up next and got another 24 incher on the same Doctor Spoon . When the third one hit and John was up , we decided to put cannonball flashers on both sides , and it seemed to be a big help all day . We trolled north to Red Bay and turned back around to pass the Pyramid again , where we were seeing more bait than anywhere else . We were trolling at 2.3 to 2.6 mph , and and had lines set at 80 feet and 60 feet

ometimes you just have to make the call to let mother nature win . This was one of those mornings . Before entering the main gate at Sherman Island , I pulled over to the shoulder along the river levee road . I braced against

the wind to open the door on my pickup , and it slammed shut behind the second I released it . Standing on a rocky shoreline in pre-dawn darkness outside of the truck , I faced west into the source . Rollers crashed and foamed onto the rocks at my feet . I stood there in the dark , wincing into the wind , considering turning back and launching at Brannon Island to fish more sheltered waters . Jason Carlisle and I had planned

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an early fall striped bass fishing trip to the Delta on Sunday , September 22 . Knowing from experience that September can feature the nastiest of winds in the area , I had a backup plan . “ We ’ ll give it a shot , and fish inside of Sherman Lake if worse comes to worst ” I relayed to Jason . That scenario played out , and whitecaps slashed across the bow of the boat as we pulled out of the sheltered launch ramp cove . Knowing that fishing on the main stem of the Sacramento River would be unpleasant , if not dangerous , I zigzagged through the rollers to the west part of Sherman Lake . Sherman Lake is a large shallow basin of water sandwiched between the Sacramento River , San Joaquin River , and Broad Slough . It isn ’ t really a lake by definition , as it ’ s connected on all sides to the tidal waters of the Delta . The area is generally referred to as ‘ The West Delta ’. Striped bass tend to pile into the region in late July . They scatter

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FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Almanor - California Delta ............................... 6 Davis Lake - Eagle Lake ........................................... 7 Folsom Lake - Los Vaqueros Reservoir ................... 8 Los Vaqueros Reservoir ............................................ 9

Lake Shasta - Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers .......... 13

SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley / Fisherman ’ s Wharf - Bodega Bay ............ 15 Half Moon Bay ........................................................... 17

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

GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ..................................... 10

Ernie Marlan fished Lake Lopez in his 22 ’ Skeeter Bay Boat and he caught crappie and bass . His bait of choice was a drop shot rigged 2 ¾ ” Salmo Slick Shad in salt and pepper color while using a 7 ’ 2 ” Lew ’ s Custom Lite spinning rod with a line rating of 6-12lb teamed up with a Lew ’ s Custom Lite 200 spinning reel .

Paul Kneeland fished Pyramid Lake with John Brassfield of Trucksmart stores and Brian Garcia of Alta in the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21 Coastal . They caught Lahontan cutthroat trout to 15.25 pounds , using an Okuma 8 ’ 6 ” SST steelhead Rod with an Okuma Cold Water SS line counter reel loaded with 10 lb test Soft Steel line . They trolled 4 inch Silver Horde and Lyman plugs in red dot frog and blue / white colors and Silver Horde spoons in bright chartreuse and yellow / red behind Vance ’ s Cannonball flashers , trolling off Canon Downriggers at 60 to 80 feet deep and 2.5 mph .

Sheldon Bright fished a private lake in Sacramento County and caught 11 largemouth bass up to 3 pounds while throwing a weightless 3.75 ” white Zoom Fluke presented by a Daiwa Fuego LT / Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Spinning combo spooled with 8 lb Yo-Zuri Fluorocarbon line .