Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3808 Mar 29- Apr 12 2019 | Page 26

24 FRESHWATER Mar 29 - Apr 12, 2019 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 23 TRINITY RIVER/LAKE cont. the anticipated effective date of February 22 (subject to OAL approval) to August 31. Trinity River main stem from upstream of the Highway 299 Bridge at Cedar Flat to Old Lewiston Bridge. Closed to salmon fishing from the anticipated effective date of February 22 (subject to OAL approval) to October 15. Fishing for Upper Klamath-Trinity River Fall Chinook Salmon will be allowed in these areas after the closure dates listed above. Quotas and bag and possession limits for Fall Chinook Salmon will be adopted by the Commission in May of this year. Steelhead fishing will be allowed year-round with normal bag and possession limits. The public may keep track of the quota status of open and closed sections of the Klamath and Trinity rivers by calling the information hotline at (800) 564-6479. Additional information can be found in the “2018-2019 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations” and the “2018-2019 California Supplement Sport Fishing Regulations.” WEST DELTA Bait Anglers Hook Sturgeon & Stripers As Action Improves BRANNAN ISLAND- It’s still raining Dennis Sherman battled this stunning Feather River steelhead during a recent trip with Capt. Toby Uppinghouse. Photo courtesy of EDGEWATER OUTFITTERS, Sacramento. and blustery in Northern California, but spring is near at hand and both Delta sturgeon and striper fishing are ramping up. “We’ve been targeting sturgeon recently and we’ve been doing pretty well,” reported Captain Hayden Mullins of Dragon Sportfishing. “We’ve been hooking anywhere from 1 to 4 fish per trip. A few days ago, we had 3 keepers. Yesterday we got 3 fish and 1 of them was in the keeper slot.” “We’ve been fishing in the upper end of Suisun Bay and concentrating on shallow water areas. Our top baits have been eel and roe. We’ve been tossing out a live bait here and there and we’ve been hooking some schoolie size stripers. The bigger stripers tend to be in deep water at this time of the year, so we haven’t crossed paths with any monsters lately,” added Mullins. Captain David Hammond has also been hunting for sturgeon with a good level of success. “We’ve been getting Mark Godfrey landed and released this huge striper while some keepers and tossing an Okuma Swimbait during a mid-winter Delta striper shakers and we’ve plugging adventure. had some missed Photo courtesy of FISHSNIFFER.COM. opportunities too. I’ve been mixing up my baits. Eel and ghost shrimp are my top choices fishing. I think the bass will be right now. With all the run off, I’ve been a little more spread out this mixing in night crawlers too. As much as spring, but there should be I enjoy sturgeon fishing, I can’t wait for plenty of opportunity for striper fishing to kick off. We’ve got a lot everyone to get in on some of fresh water coming down the system good action,” Hammond and that usually adds up to epic spring exclaimed. WHAT’S HOT at times I’ve headed down into the main body hoping to get into a good size king or two. So far, the kings we’ve landed have been pansize, but I know one guy that got a 6 pounder the other day on a chrome and chartreuse Speedy Shiner,” Lampkin exclaimed. “My approach to Folsom is always about the same. I either troll at 3 mph or 1.5. When I’m trolling fast, I’m pulling Speedy Shiners. When it’s time to slow down I like Wee Tads, Wiggle Hoochies and threaded ‘crawlers trailing behind a Sep’s Side Kick. I use different colors of Side Kicks, but watermelon is probably my favorite. With the Speedy Shiners copper and copper orange have been working well, but you’ll want to play around with different colors to see what they want on any given day,” Lampkin tipped. Clearly when Jerry hits Folsom he is planning to catch fish. Mike on the other hand was sort of planning to get skunked when he and Ric visited the lake. “We had zero expectations. We had cabin fever and Folsom was close,” Kielty laughed. “Ten minutes into the trip and we had a really nice 18-inch rainbow. It just goes to show that when it comes to fishing you just never know.” “Surprisingly we got our fish on bigger lures. I was running a 3-inch silver Speedy Shiner when that first fish hit and I stuck with that lure throughout the day. We experimented with Ex-Cels and some other stuff, but the big Speedy Shiners were the ticket,” said Kielty. “The water in the main body was a little stained by very fishable. In the south fork the water was pretty muddy. So, muddy in fact that we didn’t try fishing over there. VOL.38 • ISS. 8 Continued from page 1 We ran over there thinking about looking a bonus. You’ve got to start somewhere for kings, but that mud scared us back to and this is going to be our first kayaking the main body. We found some marks and trip of the 2019 season. Look out fish, we tried rolling shad near them. If the marks are gunning for you! were kings, they weren’t interested,” Finally, if you want to hit Folsom with Kielty shared. somebody that really knows what they “The fish are spread out. Our larger fish are going, jump aboard Jerry’s boat. Not came between 22 and 40 feet deep. We only is Jerry a fun guy to fish with, many actually caught two fresh planters while consider him the top stick on Folsom letting our lines out behind the boat. when it comes to catching rainbows and The planters were pretty enthusiastic. kings. Once again Jerry’s operates T.N.G. They must have been hungry. In the end, Motorsports Guide Service. You can find we finished up with 5 rainbows, tossed his ad in the pages of the Fish Sniffer or a couple back and missed a few more. look him up online. Three of the five were solid chrome bright holdovers and two of them were pansize planters. It was a fun day that for sure. It was good getting on the water after being stuck inside for so long and it’s always a pleasure being on a boat with Ric,” Kielty exclaimed. To find out how Wes Ward and I do at Folsom you’ll have to wait until next issue. The last time we were out there we peddled for 9 miles and got one rainbow between us. Therefore, I’m 3720 taking the Mike ROCKLIN AUBURN Kielty approach. I’m looking forward (916) (530) to being out on the water and we hook 6455 PACIFIC ST. 11844 ATWOOD RD some fish, it will be Best Selection — Best Service — Best Prices 773-7333 Captain Jerry Lampkin (Left) has been putting his clients on some quality rainbow trout while fishing Folsom Lake recently. This feisty fish was landed on February 21. Photo courtesy of T.N.G. MOTORSPORTS GUIDE SERVICE, Sacramento. 888-7825 www.trucksmart.com