Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3812 May 24- June 7 2019 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! 37 Years Serving Sportsmen Shasta Lake Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 May 24 - June 7, 2019 Vol. 38 - ISS.12 Our 37th Year Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Top Trout Spots to Visit THIS June! J une is a premier month for trout fishing in the Golden State, simply because fishing opportunity is at its highest for both boaters and bank anglers. In June California trouters have a plethora of different trout waters to choose from and due to stable weather and rising water temperatures the trout action at most waters ranges from good to great! Being a full-time fishing writer, in any give spring and summer I’ll visit several dozen different trout waters and they are all special in their own way. If you’re looking to explore and bag some trout this June here’s a trio of destinations that will treat you right! FEATURES Where...When...How... by Cal Kellogg Shasta is my hands down favorite lake. With a capacity of 4,552,000 acre feet, more than 30,000 surface acres and over 365 miles of shoreline Shasta is the state’s largest reservoir and also one of Cali- fornia’s richest lakes in terms of angling Area Reports SALTWATER REPORTS Baja........................................................................... 25 Berkeley - Fisherman’s Wharf............................24-25 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................26 GONE FISHING Lake Shasta INSIDE FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoirs......4 Camanche Lake - Don Pedro Lake.................... 8-9 Eastern Sierra - Los Vaqueros Reservoir ............11 New Melones Lake - Pardee Lake...................... 12 Pyramid Lake - Redding...................................... 17 Rio Vista Area - Santa Clara Valley Lakes...........18 Shadow Cliffs Lake - Shasta Lake....................... 20 Tahoe - West Delta.............................................. 21 opportunity. Shasta boasts rainbow trout, brown trout, landlocked kings, largemouth, spotted and small- mouth bass along with channel cats, crappie, bluegill and even the occasional sturgeon. Day in, day out, threadfin shad are the primary forage for Shasta’s gamefish, but in late May and throughout the month of June Shasta offers anglers a bonus known locally as the “plankton bite”. Plankton? Well sort of. The organisms are actually a form of freshwater shrimp that trout and other fish love to eat when the tiny shrimp are formed into dense clouds. “The organisms are really daphnia, a form of freshwater shrimp that thrive in cold nutrient rich water,” says Lake Shasta expert Gary Miralles. “You find these little guys in most of our reservoirs,” relates Gary. “Up in the Pit River Arm of Shasta the activity is partic- ularly intense. The Pit River flows through farm country before it enters the lake and as a result it packs a lot of nutrients that act Special Section Catch & Release Fishing: pgs 6-7 With big bad browns like this brute up for grabs, Shasta is a must visit destination for any serious Golden State trouter! Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN’S GUIDE SERVICE, Redding. as the catalyst for the daphnia bloom.” You’ll typically encounter the plankton early in the day before the sun is on the water and if you don’t know what it is, you’d likely avoid it because it makes CONTINUED ON PG 16 BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Jason Thatcher.....6 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING REPORTS................ 7 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Wes Ward.....................27 GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................2 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..............................................10 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg ...............5 MAP FEATURE: Paul Kneeland..........................14-15 MIXED BAG FISHING: Ernie Marlan.........................13 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......21 STAFF TACKLE Battling Stripers on the San Joaquin River with Delta Fishing Experts What We’re Using S “We are calling it the ‘buzzards are following us’ tour,” quipped Netzel. “Everybody on the boat besides me is over 65. Mark and Clyde taught me all that I know about fishing the Delta. I owe them a lot.” On the evening before, Netzel got a shocking discovery – thieves had stolen 12 rods and 13 reels, $5800 worth of gear, from his boat. So, Wilson and Wands brought their trolling rods with them so we had plenty of rods to fish with. We met James at his boat in the Pirate’s Lair Marina and left the dock at 6 a.m. Our first stop was just minutes away at the Old River Flats at the junction of Old River and the San Expert troller Mark Wilson shows off the big striped bass Joaquin. that he hooked, one of three landed during a triple hook- We hooked one keeper and up, during a trolling adventure on the San Joaquin River one shaker right way, releasing with James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service. triper fishing on the San Joaquin River in the Delta has been superb this year, with a few slower periods mixed in. Wanting to join in the action before the fishing slowed down, I fished with James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service and veteran striper anglers Mark Wilson, Clyde Wands and Roy Rodarte on Friday, May 3. both. As we trolled with deep diving Yozuri Crystal Minnows and P-Line Predator Angry Eyes shallow runners, we hit a big school of fish “hay stacked” 10 feet off the bottom in 25 to 25 feet of water. We had a triple hook-up, with Clyde, Mark and I reeling in keeper fish to 8 pounds. However, a sea lion suddenly appeared, spooking the fish, and we didn’t get any more bites there. James drove the boat to Light 56, False River and Eddos, where we hooked a couple of more keepers. As the morning proceeded, Netzel decided to try the area east of the Antioch Bridge. We experienced a good bite there, finishing the day at 11:30 a.m. We kept a total of 8 fish to 8 pounds while trolling with shallow running Yo-Zuris and P-Line Predators in 7 to 9 feet of water. “Striped bass fishing has been chal- lenging this year with the high water WHAT’S HOT by Dan Bacher Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff. F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK When trout are actively feeding, one of the most effective approaches you can utilize is fast trolling. While minnow plugs are an obvious choice for fast trolling, many folks overlook a small array of spoons and that’s a mistake, because spoons can really pay dividends when pulled between 2.5 and 4 miles per hour. Of course, you have to have the right spoon for this work. The most famous and most readily available spoons for fast trolling is the venerable Speedy Shiner. Speedy Shiners come in a range of colors and sizes from 2.5 to 4 inches long. Match the spoon to the conditions and the size of the trout in the lake and hang on! CONTINUED ON PG 20 Cal Kellogg - Trolled Sugar Pine Reservoir from his Hobie Pro Angler 14 Mirage Drive powered kayak. Cal utilized two 7 foot Vance’s Tackle spiral wrapped E Glass trolling rods. The rods were matched with Abu Garcia 5500 Line Counter reels spooled with Hybrid Leadcore Rigs utilizing Yo-Zuri Top Knot fluorocarbon and braided line. Using these rigs Cal hooked more than 40 rainbow trout to 16 inches while pulling Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Wedding Rings and Flatfish. For added attraction Cal coated his lures with Bloody Tuna scent Pro-Cure Super Gel. Paul Kneeland - fished Stampede Reservoir with Mark Kalinowski in The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet Coastal 21. They caught kokanee to 14 inches using an 8’ ultralight Phenix Reaper composite kokanee rod with a Team Daiwa Z ultra light levelwind reel loaded with 6 pound Yozuri TopKnot fluorocarbon line. They trolled pink/ orange Paulina Peak hoochies and Arctic Fox Kokanee flies tipped with corn soaked in Pro Cure Kokanee Special behind hammered Paulina Peak dodgers in silver/pink 20 feet deep off the Cannon Downriggers at 1.2 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Rollina Lake. He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6’ 6” medium action spinning rod, teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235 spinning reel filled with 6 lb. test P-Line CX Premium Flourocarbon Coated Line. He fished with rainbow Berkley PowerBait, 1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins and 2/5 oz. gold/red stripe Little Cleos. Dan coated his baits and lures with Bloody Tuna scent Pro-Cure Super Gel.