Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3809 April 12-26 2019 | Page 3

37 Years Serving Sportsmen Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Lake Amador Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 24 Vol. 38 - ISS.09 Our 37th Year Since 1982 April 12 - 26, 2019 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Early Spring Overnight Adventure To Lake Camanche! L ake Camanche is a beautiful foothill reservoir located east of Lodi near the town of Ione. It boasts 54 miles of shoreline and 7700 surface acres when full. John Brassfield of Auburn and I took a trip to Lake Camanche in the middle of March, and luckily hit the finest weather we have seen in Northern California for months! We launched John’s 18’ Duckworth at the north shore ramp on Friday afternoon, and headed east to the Narrows. The water was quite stained from all the rains, but still had 3 to 4 feet of visibility. We put out trolling rods with Speedy Shiners and Tasmanian Devil lures and started trolling at about 2.5 mph. We trolled up the mouth of the Mokelumne River and then trolled back down to the main lake. We saw several other boats fishing, but no one was catching. My Tasmanian Devil on the surface got hit 3 times, but the fish didn’t stick. Finally, John hooked and landed a fat 18 inch rainbow on a perch colored Speedy Shiner at 10 feet deep. We ran out to the Hat Island and dam area and found much clearer water, if no more willing trout. We headed back to the boat ramp just as dusk was starting to settle. It was a very short – 150 Paul Kneeland shows off part of the bounty available at Camanche – a fat 3 ½ pound rainbow trout and a yard -- drive up Lake wide 2 ½ pound crappie. to our cottage Photo by GARY CARUSO, Auburn. located right at the top of the boat ramp. may need to prepare a fine meal for the We settled into the lovely family. cottage that overlooked the lake from its John and I relaxed on the back deck large back deck. with cigars and bourbon and watched a This cottage is ADA compatible, and beautiful sunset over the calm waters of features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a large the lake. Then we barbequed juicy rib kitchen and living area. The kitchen steaks with baked potatoes and salad is fully supplied with dishes, utensils, and then retired to our separate rooms to refrigerator, microwave and anything you GONE FISHING by Paul Kneeland CONTINUED ON PG 20 Everything but Trout at Collins Lake I miscalculated this week, but not by much. I’ve been watching the situation at Collins Lake closely. Trout plants at the lake started several weeks ago and thousands of pounds of rainbows have now entered the lake, joining the lake’s already robust holdover population. Yet few of those trout have been caught…Why? Muddy stained water, that’s why. Collins Lake came up quickly with all the big rain we had in February and is now 100% full with water spilling out of the dam big time. The rapid rise resulted in chocolate milk colored water that pretty much shut down trout fishing, but the water has been clearing. When I saw a photo of Bryan Durgan holding an 8-pound trout on the Collins Lake website this week, I studied the photo closely. The trout was incredible, but what really caught my eye was the water behind Bryan. It looked to be more stained than muddy and I could even see some rocks below the surface. In short, while the water was far from clear it looked fishable. That was all the prompting I needed. I hooked up the kayak trailer, rigged the rods and the next morning Lucy and I were off to Collins. I figured the condi- tions were not going to be prime, but I was pretty sure that there would be enough clarity for trolling. When the trout bite breaks loose at Collins the fishing is going to be incredible and I aim to be there when it does! Lucy and I arrived at the launch ramp just after dawn and I dumped the kayak into the lake. My first thought was, “Hmmm the water looks muddier than I thought it would be”. Undeterred I padded out about 50 yards, put two offerings in the water and headed up the swim beach. Near the surface, I had a shad pattern Arctic Fox trolling fly working. On my second rod a WHAT’S HOT by Cal Kellogg Bryan Durgan busted this huge 8.25 pound rainbow during a recent bank fishing adventure at Collins Lake. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK Wedding Ring Spinners have a strong following among Norcal kokanee trollers, because they know the flash and vibration of the blade draws salmon in from a distance. To overcome the high murky water conditions, we are seeing this spring, trout trollers should be running Wedding Rings too. Team a brightly colored model with a threaded worm and you’ll reap the benefits of the vibration and flash of hardware as well as the scent, taste and feel of natural bait. - Cal Kellogg CONTINUED ON PG 29 Special Section Catch & Release Fishing - pgs 8-9 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Lake Chabot...........................................4 Clear Lak - Eastern Sierra.............................. 10-11 Feather River - Pyramid Lake ........................ 20-21 Quarry Lakes - Shasta Lake........................... 22-23 Chetco River - Trinity River/Lake........................27 West Delta............................................................ 29 SALTWATER REPORTS Baja Roundup........................................................... 35 Berkeley - Bodega Bay............................................ 30 Fisherman’s Wharf - Half Moon Bay....................... 33 Monterey Bay......................................................34 FEATURES Where...When...How... TROUT & KOKANEE JOURNAL........................12-19 BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Stacy Barawed.........26 BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg......8 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING REPORTS........ 9 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Cal Kellogg...................31 GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................7 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................................................6 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg ...............5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................24-25 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......28 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - Hiked and plugged for trout at Sugar Pine Reservoir using a 7’ Berkley Amp AS701M rod teamed with an Abu Garcia Cardinal S10-C spinning reel spooled with 8 pound test Yo-Zuri Hybrid Line. For targeting rainbow trout Cal tossed an orange and brass Cripplure and a 1/6 ounce pink and silver Rooster Tail Spinner. Pro-Cure Carp Spit Super Gel was applied to both lures. Cal landed and released 3 rainbows and got in a 4.22 mile hike in the process. Dan Bacher - fished for steelhead on the American River at Rossmoor 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. Paul Kneeland - fished Lake Camanche with John Brassfield of Trucksmart Stores in the John’s 18’ Duckworth. They caught rainbow trout to 19 inches and 3 1/2 pounds, using a Daiwa DXS 8’ light action IM-7 graphite trigger stick rigged with the new Daiwa Lexa 100 Line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot line. They trolled perch colored Speedy Shiners and Hot Steel Rapalas with Pro Cure Trophy Trout scent on the surface and off the Canon Downriggers at 13 feet deep at 2.5 mph.