Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3809 April 12-26 2019 | Page 29

FRESHWATER REPORTS: 5 fish on the troll.” “The first fish was a 17 inch chrome colored rainbow that I shook off at the side of the kayak. The next 4 fish were mackinaw that ranged from 3 to 7 pounds. I kept the largest mack and it’s in the smoker right now. I got everything on a perch pattern plug trolled on 6 colors of lead core,” tipped Evans. High Sierra legend Mark Wiza hit Tahoe recently and rounded up a pair of husky trout. One was a brown over 5 pounds and the other one was a rainbow. Mark got both fish while trolling Lyman Lures. The Tahoe Sportfishing team has been on the hunt for macks and enjoying beautiful sunny skies for the past several days. Clients have been landing a steady parade of macks in the 3 to 6 pound class and a double digit trophy size fish is always possible. Captain Bobby rounded up a double digit mack back on March 14. Tahoe Sportfishing skippers have been running a variety of offerings, but the most consistent success comes on dodgers and flashers teamed with threaded minnows. CONTINUED FROM PG 23 SHASTA LAKE cont. fish responding to reaction baits such as crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but the most consistent fishing continues to come on Mothers Finest Worms, Senkos and spider grubs rigged quarter ounce darter heads. As of press time Shasta was 25 feet from the top and inching up slowly. CHETCO RIVER A 20 Lb. Steelhead Hits the Net! BROOKINGS – Mario Gomez of Ironhead Guide Service was fishing for steelhead on the Umpqua River at press time, but before he did, he reported that a client in his boat landed a 20 lb. steelhead on one of his season’s last trips on the Chetco River. The steelhead season on the Chetco closed on March 31. “I did it, I finally reached the pinnacle of steelhead fishing,” said Gomez. “We caught and released a true river monster. I got one of my long time clients on a 20 pound steelhead today. This is the first 20 pounder to hit my net and what a way to end my season on the coast.” “We hooked this warrior in a fast riffle and battled it out for well over 10 minutes, I had to ninja the boat around and fire up the motor and chase this fish up a rapid because he would not turn around for us. After I saw the size of the fish for the first time all I could think about was losing my second 20 pounder. Last year I hooked a fish that made this one look like a young buck.,” he said. “We fought and fought, lifted and reeled for what seemed like a lifetime. The fish finally came out of the current two holes below where we hooked it and started to show us his belly. This fish plowed through the water like you wouldn’t believe and with just a small flick of his tail ,he pulled 6 feet of line out with a stout drag. After saying lift lift lift, ok reel down TRINITY RIVER/LAKE Quality stripers and big smiles, that’s been the situation for anglers fishing with Capt. James Netzel this March. These fish were landed on March 19. Photo courtesy of TIGHT LINES GUIDE SERVICE, Loomis. ,about 100 times the prehistoric looking dinofish hit the net,” said Gomez. “After we got the boat situated I hopped out and got the hook out and pulled the net away from the boat so Bess could see her fish. She still didn’t realize what she had just accomplished, and the special place she just took her fishing career. Once I handed her this monster and she tried to get her hand around his tail and hold this fish up for a picture she soon realized what she was holding,” he stated. “We took some great pictures and videos and sent this genetic anomaly back into the river where he lurks in to spread his seed and create more river monsters. What a day: I have been fishing for 30 HOW TO Globally speaking, with a leadcore rig I can reach down as deep as 25 feet. To get down deep I spool out all three colors of leadcore and then click the line counter to zero. The three colors of leadcore alone will get me down about 15 feet. If I put out an additional 50 feet of backing I’ll make it to 20 feet and with 100 feet of braid out I can get down to 25 to 27 feet when trolling a spoon at 2 miles per hour. Here’s how and why the rigs differ. I have one leadcore rig that I use for “deep” leadcore work say for working from 15 to 25 deep. Since this rig will always have all three colors of leadcore in the water and the rig will be a good distance behind the kayak, the line coming off the end is fairly short and is set up like this. 20 feet of 15 or 20 pound Yo-Zuri TopKnot Fluo- rocarbon Line is spliced to the end of the leadcore using the same type of connec- tion I described for attaching the braid to the leadcore. To the end of the heavy fluorocarbon, I slide on a bead, tie on a trolling swivel and run a leader off that. The “shallow” leadcore rig is the one I use at lakes like Davis where I want to fish a tiny Dick Nite or a fly 5 feet deep a good distance back. This rig has 60 feet of or 20-pound fluorocarbon coming off the leadcore tipped with a bead, trolling swivel and leader. I’ve caught a lot of big trout using these “hybrid leadcore” rigs! My final rod is a standard 6’6” Fenwick fast action spinning rod rated for 6 to 10 pound test balanced with a 30 size Abu Garcia Cardinal reel. The reel is spooned 27 Apr 12 - 26, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 9 By Cal Kellogg SACRAMENTO – At its February 2019 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission approved the following emergency regulations to protect spring run Chinook salmon: Trinity River main stem from its confluence to the Highway 299 Bridge at Cedar Flat. Closed to salmon fishing from CONTINUED ON PG 29 TAHOE Full Menu of Trout on Tap for Trollers SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - “I was back on Tahoe this week fishing from my Hobie Compass,” reported Danny Evans of Reno. “I tried jigging for macks north of Cave Rock without success, so I started trolling a Rapala along the break line back past Cave Rock and to the south. I caught Come visit LAKE SHASTA at Lakehead on the Sacramento River arm continued from page 6 with 8 pound Yo-Zuri TopKnot fluoro- carbon. This is the rig I use for toplining. Why a spinning rod? Kayaks are narrow craft and while my Hobie is easy to control, it’s easy to get off course when I’m working with my hands and leaning this way and that. If I have a leadcore rig working, I don’t like to spool out a topline right next to it because during the spooling out process I may wonder off course and tangle the lines. A spinning rod makes this process much easier. I put out a leadcore rig and drop it into a rod holder. Then I flip my topline offering out 40 or 50 feet to the opposite side of the kayak, engage the reel and put the rod in a holder. As the line comes tight the lure swings in behind the kayak, no fuss, no tangling. On the business end of the spinning rig I still run a leader, but it is short since I’m casting it. I tip the mainline fluorocarbon with a standard snap swivel and attach about 16 inches of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader tipped with a tiny lock snap. The swivel is there to prevent line twist, but I can still fire off a decent cast. Yo-Zuri Line years and have been dreaming about this fish my whole life.,” Gomez concluded. Fishing for Spring Chinook Salmon Closed You might have noticed I’ve switched over to Yo-Zuri line exclusively. Over the past couple years, I’ve used more and more of Yo-Zuris line and I’ve found them to be top quality so this year I’ve done a full switch. For standard applications, I’m using Yo-Zuri Hybrid Copolymer that is a mix of fluorocarbon and nylon. This line is • Fully equipped cabins with tough and waterproof, while offering some decks overlooking the lake stretch. In freshwater, I’m running with TopKnot • Free Boat slips at private dock fluorocarbon leader material and in saltwater • Gameroom, volleyball, pool, I’m using the pink H.D. Carbon fluoro- carbon leader. For all you halibut guys out horseshoes and more! there, one of my secrets to success has been (530)238-2575 tying my 3 way leaders with 15 pound H.D. www.tsasdiresort.us leaders. It’s tough line that produces a lot of “extra” strikes for me. Great Food & For situations that call for spooling up drinks, newly with fluorocarbon, the TopKnot mainline remodeled bar, works well. It’s fine, super tough and outdoor patio, lots of fun! invisible. If you are casting for trout or finessing black bass, this is the stuff to spool (530)962-3050 your reel with. 3705 Finally, we come to Yo-Zuri Super Braid available in light blue or dark green colors. 3204 The 10 to 40-pound braid is made of 4 strands and is super 5 hours smooth. The heavier $ stuff is made of 8 strands and is equally smooth. For heavy All Gear Provided deep sea fishing I like the blue color, but in freshwater I tend to go with • Discounts for Cash • the green, although • Large or Small Groups • this is largely habit. Group Discounts • Gift Certificates Honestly, I don’t Over 50 Years Experience on The Lake think it matters P.O. Box 488 and I’ve used the Carnelian Bay, CA 96140 blue a great deal in E-mail: bigmack-2@att.net • www.mickeysbigmack.com freshwater. Fish Lake Tahoe! DaiLy Trips 90 (800) 877–1462 (530)546–4444