Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3805 Feb 15- Mar 1 | Page 19

FRESHWATER REPORTS: this year. Last year the fishing was abysmal. Eager spawners should begin showing around the Sutcliffe area in mid-February. - Mike McNeilly CONTINUED FROM PG 13 cont. QUARRY LAKES Trout Dominate Winter Angling Scene Who says you can’t catch big bass in the winter? Igor was fishing a tournament at Lake Camanche hosted by the Santa Clara Bassbusters this January when he hooked this huge 9.4 pound largemouth. Photo courtesy of THE LAKE CAMANCHE RECREATION AREA, Lake Camanche. sturgeon will light up the screen with a big unmistakable arch. You are looking for multiple marks in a limited area that are holding on and near the bottom. Sturgeon cruising in the middle of the water column are not feeding so ignore them. Once you locate a promising looking area, be aware that the fish swim WITH the current so set up a short distance down current of the marks. The Tackle Sturgeon are light biters, but they grow large and are super strong. You need a 7 to 8-foot rod with a sensitive tip for detecting bites followed up with substantial back bone for setting the hook and wearing the fish down. Due the power of sturgeon a conven- tional reel that will hold at least 200 yards of 50 to 65-pound braid is a must. Terminal tackle and rigging for diamond backs is simple and straight forward. To begin rigging pass the main line through a plastic slider sleeve and then attach a large lock snap swivel. Since sturgeon frequent areas with heavy current and you want the bait stationary on the bottom pyramid sinkers from 3 to 10 ounces are the preferred weight. To the snap attach an 18 inch 50 to 80-pound test mono leader tipped with a barbless 8/0 octopus hook. Most anglers like to put a small half ounce egg sinker on the leader to ensure that the bait sits firmly on the bottom in the current. Since your hook has no barb the bait will have a tendency to work its way off the hook, so you’ll need to pick up a dispenser of big game size Bait Buttons. These are small latex disks that you place onto your hook once you’ve applied the bait. The “bait button” will keep your bait from sliding off the hook, but won’t interfere with the hookset. The Bait Sturgeon will eat a long list of different baits, but the most consistent baits in the area I’ve outline are lamprey eel and salmon roe. For the casual sturgeon angler roe has some drawbacks, namely you’ve got to have a pretty deep supply of roe to use it effectively and I suspect most of the folks reading this don’t have 10 to 20 pounds of uncured roe bouncing around in the freezer. To be effective while fishing roe, you’ve got to keep a big glob of fresh eggs on your hook at all times. To accomplish this, you’ll burn through a lot of roe during a day on the HOW TO Fisherman’s Row using night crawlers. Two of the trout weight three pounds and the third weighed six pounds, reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District. Tim G. of Fremont caught a four-and- a-quarter pound trout from the peninsula, using a Rooster Tail lure. Dexter M. of Union City caught four trout from a kayak using a Cordell lure. The largest of his trout weighed four-and-a-quarter pounds. ,Jose D. of Hayward caught four trout for a total of 16.5 pounds, with the largest weighing seven pounds. He was fishing Mice Tails in the kiosk cove. Brad M. of San Jose caught two trout, each weighing over 6 pounds. He was fishing from a boat with a Rapala lure. Seven-year-old Olivia B. of Redwood City caught her first fish ever, a one- and-a-half pound trout. She was fishing FREMONT – Rainbow trout are the main quarry of anglers at Horseshoe Lake, located in the Quarry Lakes Recreation Area, due to plentiful trout plants and cold water temperatures. The park district planted 750 pounds of rainbows the week of January 28-February 1 and February 4-8, boosting the catch rates at the CONTINUED ON PG 18 reservoir. Anglers are Now Booking American River Steelhead and Folsom Lake Trout employing an array of Custom 23’ Drift Boat nightcrawlers, Rogue Jet Trips PowerBait, Rooster Tail spinners., Mice Tails and Rapals to entice the trout. Cpt. Jerry Lampkin – 25 years of experience fishing Salmon, Steelhead, Stripers, Trout & landlocked Kings on Rich R. of the Feather, Sacramento, American Rivers and Folsom Lake Newark and Wes A. of 3802 T.N.G Motorsports Guide Service Fremont caught (530) 320-0884 • www.tngmotorsports.com three trout from By Cal Kellogg continued from page 16 water. something is wrong and drops the bait, but with the reel, slack will develop and the Eel is a different story entirely. Sturgeon you can’t always count on it. fish will have a great opportunity to toss the love it and it is exceptionally tough. It stays When you see a pump, quickly pick up the barbless hook or roll in your line and cut on the hook forever, bait stealers can’t ruin rod, being careful not to tug the line against you off. it and one or two good size lampreys will the fish, as this will spook it. The best course Once you’ve got one on the hook enjoy the provide all the bait you need for the season. of action is to move the rod tip toward the fight and make sure the fish is completely Finally, lamprey generally prompts a fish, allowing a slight amount of slack to spent before sliding it into the net. strong prolonged bite from the sturgeon that form in the line and then move the tip to the Oh yes...I didn’t mention it earlier, but come knocking, giving you plenty of time to side until you feel the slightest resistance. At you’ll need a big salmon size net to land set the hook. that point stay statue still with your thumb your fish. To bait up cut a 2 to 3-inch fillet off the locked against the reel’s spool to prevent the You’ll also need to buy sturgeon tags. As side of the lamprey, pin it on the hook drag from slipping during the hook set. of now, keepers are 40 to 60 inches long through one end and put a Bait Button or The second pump will start as a feeling measured from the tip of the nose to the fork two on the hook. of pressure that builds in strength. At this of the tail. Read the regulations and follow Before casting the bait out and every time point you should be feeling a decent amount all the rules to the letter. your reel it up to check it for weeds, sweeten of resistance, almost as if a big clump of Wardens aren’t too concerned about the it with some Pro-Cure Super Gel. Anise Plus weeds has hung on the line. This is the time fish holocaust that takes place at the Delta is my favorite, but Bloody Tuna, Eel and to hammer the hook home by sweeping the pump every year, but they love to cruise Predator are good bets too. To increase the rod upward. the Delta and write expensive tickets for scent trail, I like to add a little Pro-Cure to A lot of guys make the mistake of looking sturgeon anglers that violate the rules with my sinker too. up at the rod tip and freezing after hookset. small infractions...Such is the state of the Closing The Deal Don’t do that, start reeling immediately. A game. Know the law and follow it closely. Sturgeon can be caught at any stage of hooked sturgeon will the tide day or night. However, the action is often head right at Now Booking typically most consistent during periods of the boat and if you strong tidal movement and the best fishing don’t pick up line Lake Almanor takes place at the begin- Rainbows and nings and ends of the Come visit tides. Browns! When you cast out your line be sure to Captain Bryan Roccucci at Lakehead on the set the drag at the Sacramento River arm level you’ll want it for fighting a fish and place the rod in a balancer Call for Best Dates – or rod holder with the reel in gear. I prefer a balancer, but most of the pros I’ve mention run with standard rod holders. I think for the *Trolling • Fully equipped cabins with novice, it’s easier to Motors pick up the rod and set decks overlooking the lake *Fishfinders the hook without pulling • Free Boat slips at private dock the bait away from a *GPS chomping sturgeon *VHF • Gameroom, volleyball, pool, when using a balancer. Radios horseshoes and more! The classic sturgeon *Radar (530)238-2575 bite is called a “pump”. *Batteries www.tsasdiresort.us This is because your and rod will pump steadily Chargers Great Food & down in the balancer drinks, newly anywhere from 6 inches ONE DAY SERVICE remodeled bar, Largest Service to 2 feet or more. A on Installations with appointment Center outdoor patio, lots of fun! typical bite will result in the West! in two or three pumps (530)962-3050 before the fish realizes LAKE SHASTA Lake Almanor Eagle Lake Lake Davis Bucks Lake Lake Tahoe www.BigDaddyFishing.com (530) 370-1001 lure was the same Lyman I have trolled on every trip this year. Every time I switch lures I wind up going back to “Old Reliable.” “Old Reliable” is a pearl colored Lyman with a green back and a black ladder stripe along its dorsal. Today that lure produced over a dozen fish with two of them over the ten pound mark and the best of the bunch at fourteen pounds. The aggressive cutthroats were absolutely slamming the plug despite 44 degree water temps. Everybody who is relatively competent and paying their dues is finding success on nice trout. Fly anglers are catching quality fish at beaches from Popcorn to Monument Rock. Pelican and Separator have been drawing fair crowds. The big question yet to be answered is whether or not the spring bite will be worth a damn at the Nets Beaches 17 Marine Electronics Sales • Service • Installation Sunny’s Electric Marine 3705 (916) 487-3868 PYRAMID LAKE Feb 15 - Mar 1, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 5