Up-To-Date and Published Locally ... By Sportsmen ... For Sportsmen !
Mokulmne River Map Feature
MADE IN U . S . A
See Page 14
43 Years Serving Sportsmen
Vol . 44 - ISS . 1
Our 43rd Year
Since 1982
“ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen !” INSIDE
Area Reports
An Alaskan Wilderness Adventure
L
ast July we had the opportunity to travel to Alaska courtesy of the folks at Alaskan Wilderness Outfitting company in Cordova , Alaska . The company is owned and operated by Tom and Katie Prijatel , who have been doing these trips for over 40 years . Actually , the first trip I ever did for the Fish Sniffer was with them in 1989 ! On this trip , my good friends John and Hellen Brassfield joined me and Bridget Looney for the trip up north . We left Sacramento at 5:30 in the morning on July 4th , and the temperature was already at 78
GONE FISHING by Paul Kneeland
degrees . It was the middle of a very long hot spell of 100 plus degree days that happen in the Sacramento valley in July . We arrived in Cordova about 2:30 in the afternoon and were greeted by cloudy skies , drizzling rain and a high temperature of 55 degrees – it was wonderful ! Friday morning Katie picked us up at the hotel and drove us to their home at Eyak Lake where we boarded a beautiful 1954 model Beaver floatplane that had been totally renovated and looked like it just came off the showroom floor ! The weather was overcast and cool with a slight breeze as we idled down the lake and turned into the wind . Tom advanced the throttles and in no time
The floating cabin out of Cordova Alaska . Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff
we were off the water and rising above the village of Cordova heading out over Prince William Sound . After a short ten minute flight at about 500 feet in elevation , Tom banked the plane to the east and pointed at a small cove surrounding our home for the next few days , a handsome floating cabin on Simpson Bay . He made a pass out toward the middle of the bay , and turned toward the cabin
CONTINUED ON PG 22
Winter Striper Fishing Chronicles : The West Delta
T his winter ’ s striped bass action in the West Delta has been spotty . One day it will be okay , and the next day not so much . Seasoned guides fishing with live minnows or mudsuckers have consistently been able to put fish into their clients ’ coolers . Private anglers using traditional methods like cut bait , on the other hand , have been struggling . A good day will be followed up by a dreadful day , and great days have been rare . I typically focus my attention on the west side of the Delta for striped bass during the winter months . In recent years , this recipe has been remarkably successful . But not this year . Kicking off on October 26 , Kirby Desha of Lincoln joined me for a skunk trip on the Sacramento River near Sherman Island . We tied into what we thought were a couple of decent keepers , only to find Sacramento Pikeminnows in the fivepound-class at the ends of our lines ! The conditions looked great , but for whatever reason , striped bass were
WHAT ’ S HOT by Jack Naves not present . On November 9 , I fished solo near Chain Island on the Sacramento River to find lights-out fishing conditions . I experienced three double hookups , and a buddy fishing nearby limited out with four anglers . This was it ; I thought - the fish had arrived ! Less than a week later on November 14 , I fished with Kirby again to find almost dead conditions . We barely scratched out one keeper soaking chicken livers all day . Following up about a week later on November 23 , I fished with Mick Berklich of Sacramento . We were able to scratch out limits fishing on a strong incoming tide . We only had two schools come through , but we made it count . We pulled two fish from each school and got off the water around 11:00 am during a heavy downpour . The action between the schools was dead , with not even pikeminnow junk bites to keep us entertained .
CONTINUED ON PG 20
Mick Berklich of Sacramento hoists a hefty eight-pound striped bass on Friday , December 6 on the Sacramento River near Sherman Island . The fish hit raw chicken livers wrapped with Atlas Mike ’ s Miracle Thread on an 8 / 0 Gamakatsu circle hook in twenty-six feet of water . This fish capped off a picturesque day on the West Delta for Mick and the author .
Photo by Jack Naves , Fish Sniffer Staff
January 10 , 2025
FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - Lake Berryessa .............................. 11 Bullards Bar / Englebright Lakes - Camanche Lake ... 13 Clear Lake - Don Pedro Lake .................................. 16 Eagle Lake - Feather River ..................................... 17 Folsom Lake - Klamath River ............................. 18 Lake Almanor - New Melones Lake .......................... 19 Lake Oroville - Rio Vista Delta ...................................... 21
Sacramento River - Shasta Lake .................................. 23 Trinity River - Truckee / Little Truckee Rivers ................. 24
SALTWATER REPORTS Bodega Bay - Monterey Bay ...................................... 26
FEATURES
Where ... When ... How ...
GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ..................................... 14 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 25
STAFF TACKLE
What We ’ re Using
Jack Naves fished Lake Amador with Robbie Dunham of Koke Machine Guide Service in Jack ’ s 20 ’ North River Seahawk . They caught five cutbow trout to three pounds using Edge Mag Pro HSR 7111-1C rods in the downriggers and Edge Mag Pro HSR 902-2C rods for side planers . The rods were teamed with with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C3 ‘ Kokanee ’ levelwind reels loaded with FINS 40G 15-pound test braided line with a 50 ’ top shot of Trilene XT 10-pound test clear . They trolled orange Arctic Fox tube flies tipped with red worms 7 to 9 feet deep off Cannon Downriggers at 2.7 mph .
Paul Kneeland fished Bullards Bar reservoir with Bridget Looney in The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet Coastal 21 . They caught kokanee to 11 1 \ 2 inches using an 8 ’ ultralight Phenix Reaper composite kokanee rod with a Team Daiwa Z ultra light levelwind reel loaded with 6 pound Yozuri TopKnot fluorocarbon line . They trolled pink / orange Silver Horde micro hoochies and pink Vances Sockeye Slammers tipped with corn soaked in Pro Cure Kokanee Special behind Vances dodgers in silver / pink 25 to 35 feet deep off the Cannon Downriggers at 1.2 mph .
Dan Bacher fished for rainbow trout at Folsom 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 .