Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3807 Mar 15-29 2019 | Page 3

37 Years $ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen! 2 Serving Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Only Lake Pardee Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A Sportsmen March 15 - 29, 201 March 15 - 29, 2019 Vol. 38, Iss Vol. 38 - ISS.07 INSIDE “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” See Page 18 Special Section Baja Roundup PG 35 Since 1982 Our 37th Year Area Reports Good Ocean Salmon Season Expected in 2019 A nglers can look forward to another solid recreational and commer- MADE IN U.S.A cial salmon fishing season on the ocean this year, based on data presented at the CDFW’s annual salmon information meeting in Santa Rosa held on February 27 The National Marine Fisheries Service has fore- casted 379,632 adult Sacra- mento Valley salmon are now in the ocean off the West Coast, compared to 223,854 a year ago at this time. The number is derived from the number of jacks, 41,184, that returned to the Sacramento River and its tributaries in 2018. This forecast, along with data from the Klamath and Trinity rivers, other Central Valley rivers and coastal rivers, will be used by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) to set times and areas open to both sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing this year. “The ocean salmon fishery targets an escapement of at least 122,000 (67.9% exploitation rate),” said Dr. Michael O’Farrell of the National Marine Fisheries Service at the meeting. “If the 2018 regulations were in place, there is a preliminary escapement prediction of 230,500.” Another factor impacting the ocean fishery is the constraints used to protect Sacramento winter Chinook salmon, a fish that the late Hal Bonslett, the founder and publisher of the Fish Sniffer magazine, and I spent many hours 30 years It won’t be long before Golden Gate anglers hit ago fighting to protect under the ocean in search of big beautiful king salmon the state and federal Endan- like these incredible fish. Photo courtesy of NEW EASY RIDER gered Species Acts. SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. The winter Chinook run shows an abundance forecast of 1,924, larger the Sacramento River, than 2018, although well below histor- The maximum allowable age-3 impact ical levels. Remember that in 1969 over 117,000 winter run Chinook returned to CONTINUED ON PG 15 GONE FISHING by Dan Bacher FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Berryessa Lake......................................4 Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoir - East Delta..................................................... 10-11 Eastern Sierra - Feather River............................... 15 Folsom Lake - New Melones Lake ................ 16-17 Pyramid Lake - Redding/Red Bluff...................... 20 Rio Vista - Shasta Lake................................ 22-23 Smith/Chetco/Umpqua Rivers - West Delta... 24-25 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay............................................ 27 Half Moon Bay.......................................................... 28 Martinez - Monterey Bay................................ 32-33 FEATURES Where...When...How... TROUT ANGLERS CHALLENGE.......................12-14 SALTWATER JOURNAL ....................................26-34 BAJA ROUNDUP.................................................33-34 BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Stacy Barawed.........23 BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg......8 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING REPORTS........ 9 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: ‘Hippo’ Lau....................31 GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................7 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................................................6 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg ...............5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................18-19 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......21 BIG CALIFORNIA’S #1 SHOOTING, HUNTING STAFF Bad Weather, Good Fishing…? TACKLE NORCAL & FISHING T TACKLE RETAILER SINCE 1971 ‘BOWS POUNCE! he weather has been tough. We’ve had heavy snow in the mountains, heavy rain in the foothills and valley and the snow level has fluctuated wildly at times, meaning that plenty of fresh snow has been melted by falling rain. The net result is that most waters are stained at best, if not downright muddy and the water is cold. Many foothill and valley lakes are in the 40’s and the lower end of the Delta has been locked into the 48 to 50-degree zone for the past month or so. I can’t sugarcoat things. These conditions make for tough fishing. So much so that I’ve spent most of my “fishing time” over the past couple weeks in the garage getting my Hobie ready for the action to come. Now this isn’t to say that there aren’t viable options available for both hardcore anglers and the weekend warrior that has cabin fever and just needs to hook up… Here are a few options on where and how you might find some willing fish. Sturgeon, Largemouths & Spots I’ll start with a couple thoughts for the hardcore community. Right now, for the guys and girls in the black bass and sturgeon fishing communi- ties that don’t mind wet cold conditions, some tremendous fish have been up for grabs. Trophy hunters in search of huge largemouths and spots that have fanned out across foothill lakes are finding success on fish that range from 4 to 10 plus pounds. The number one approach is working a 4 to 8-inch swimbait along steep banks and main lake points. Big fish are often up and on the hunt at this time of the year. Better still, off color water is thought to make them a bit more vulnerable to anglers than they would ordinarily be. Shasta, Folsom, Don Pedro, New Melones and Berryessa have all kicked out big fish recently. You likely don’t WHAT’S HOT by Cal Kellogg Swimbait enthusiasts that are willing to take on the challenge of cold wet weather have been nailing some big largemouth bass. Kenji Nakagawa used a big trout pattern swimbait to fool this awesome 5 pounder at a Motherlode lake recently. Photo courtesy of KENJI NAKAGAWA, Phenix Rods. See us on the web at www.fishsniffer.com COPYRIGHT 2017 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ANGLERS PUBLICATIONS, INC. CONTINUED ON PG 24 Governor Newsom Appoints San Joaquin Grower Mike Lyons to New ‘Agriculture Liaison’ Position See Page 21 What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - spent the last two weeks hiding from snow storms and getting his Hobie Pro Angler 14 and fishing gear ready for the spring season. Trout? Bass? Stripers? Cal will share all the goodies he’ll be using, including rods, reels, lures, Pro-Cure scents and more in his ‘How To’ column in this issue of The Fish Sniffer. Kellogg said, “Spring is right around the corner. Trout, striper and bass fishing are about to bust wide open and I want to be ready to do as much fishing as possible.” Paul Kneeland - fished Scotts Flat Reservoir in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. He caught rainbow trout to 14 1\2 inches using a Powell Rods 7’ 6” light action graphite rod with a Shimano Calcutta 150 level wind reel loaded with 8 lb test P Line CXX line. He trolled Vance’s and Sep’s dodgers in watermelon and hot pink followed by a nightcrawler on a #4 Mustad Slow death hook on the surface at 1.5 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for steelhead on the American River at Sailor Bar. 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 Flourocarbon Coated Line. He tossed out 1/4 oz. gold/red and silver/blue Little Cleos, coated with garlic scent Pro- Cure Super Gel.