Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3814 June 21- July 5 2019 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! 37 Years Serving Sportsmen Fishing in the City Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 June 21 - July 5, 2019 Vol. 38 - ISS.14 Our 37th Year Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” The West’s Best Trout River? C alifornia anglers are blessed with a bunch of different options when it comes to trout fishing including large foothill reser- voirs, urban lakes and ponds, high mountain lakes, rivers and streams. With so many trout to catch and so many fisheries to explore, some spots naturally don’t get as much attention as they deserve. For by example, northern California is home Cal Kellogg to what may well be the best trout river in the lower 48, yet despite its size and prowess as a trout fishery it’s often ignored by trout anglers. The fact is, I meet avid Golden State trouters every year that have never fished the river and I seldom hear it GONE FISHING INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoirs......4 Camanche Lake - Lake Del Valle....................... 8-9 Don Pedro Lake - Feather River ..........................11 Folsom Lake - Knights Landing/Colusa............... 12 Los Vaqueros Reservoir - Oroville Lake/Thermalito Afterbay.................. 17 Pardee Lake - San Pablo Reservoir.............. 18-19 Shasta Lake - Tahoe............................................ 20 West Delta............................................................ 22 mentioned when the conversation turns to California’s best trout destina- tions…I’m talking about the mighty Sacramento! The Upper Sacramento The Sacramento The Sacramento River below Redding is one of the best wild is California’s most rainbow fisheries in the lower 48. important river. Photo courtesy of MIKE BOGUE’S GUIDE SERVICE, Redding. When most folks think of the Sacra- The upper river’s clear cold spring fed mento they think of the big river you waters are home to a plethora of aquatic see pushing through the Delta, it’s insects…This is trout water of the waters a major artery for both cargo highest degree! ships and gamefish such as sturgeon, While both fly anglers and anglers stripers and king salmon. armed with spinning gear have success In its upper reaches the Sacramento on the upper Sac, fly fishing is king in is much different. Above Lake Shasta this region. Most of the stream has a the river starts out as a freestone stream zero limit and anglers are restricted to below Lake Siskiyou and gradually using artificials with barbless hooks. transforms into a broad placid river that The river’s hard fighting wild rainbows looks and fishes like a spring creek. CONTINUED ON PG 16 Plugging For Spring Stripers! R ecently my buddy Jarred Mcachrean and I decided to go looking for Delta stripers. It all started when Jarred texted me one morning and asked if I wanted to go fishing. We met in Galt, Ca and fueled the boat up as we were anxious to get on the water and get to work on some of the most aggressive fish in the local area, big bad Delta stripers! We got to Tower Park Marina and put the boat in the water. As we idled through the no wake zone I imme- diately began at rigging my Phenix Recon Elite paired with and Okuma Helios SX for battle. My bait of choice was a River 2 Sea S-waver. As we approached our first spot I immediately began throwing to the tip of a tule island that had current pushing bait into it. On my second cast the rod almost got ripped out of my hand. I Immediately swung and connected with an absolute tank. As the fish was running with no sign of stopping my rod went limp. I reeled my lure in with disappointment and was soon to find out that my split ring was completely straightened out and one of the hooks was missing. The water temperature was sitting around 56° with approximately 2 foot of visibility. We decided to run to our next spot. As we pulled up to our spot Jarred made a long cast to the “Sweet Spot”, immediate connecting with a solid striper. WHAT’S HOT by Arlando Abella Fish Sniffer staff writer Arlando Abella spends most of his time chasing black bass, but he recently took a time out to get after some spring stripers on the California Delta. As you can see the bass were biting! Photo by ARLANDO ABELLA, Fish Sniffer Staff. Special Section Catch & Release Fishing: pgs 6-7 F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK When fishing lakes and reservoirs, narrows are awesome features that should never be over looked. Other potential hot spots include creek channels, drop offs and rock covered humps that extend upward out of deep water. These areas are great for tossing lures, drifting natural baits or still fishing with cut or live bait because they tend to concentrate a range of different gamefish including trout, bass, panfish and catfish. CONTINUED ON PG 19 SALTWATER REPORTS Baja........................................................................... 25 Berkeley - Fisherman’s Wharf............................24-25 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................26 FEATURES Where...When...How... BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg............6 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING REPORTS................ 7 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Steve ‘Hippo’ Lau..........27 GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................2 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..............................................10 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Wes Ward .................5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................14-15 MIXED BAG FISHING: Ernie Marlan.........................13 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......21 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Oxbow Reservoir for rainbow trout. Cal employed a 7’ Fenwick HMG 70 ML rod rated for 4 to 10-pound test matched with an Abu Garcia Revo SX spinning reel. The reel was spooled with 6 pound Yo-Zuri Hybrid and a 6 lb. fluorocarbon leader was employed. Cal caught 5 rainbows to 17 inches while soaking inflated worms coated with nightcrawler scent Pro-Cure Super Gel. Paul Kneeland - fished Davis Lake with Brian Garcia of Colfax in The Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught rainbow trout to 23 inches and 4 1/2 pounds, using a Daiwa DXS 8’ light action IM-7 graphite trigger stick rigged with a Daiwa Lexa 100 Line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot line. They trolled Excel and Jakes spoons in red and silver with Pro Cure Trophy Trout scent on the surface and off the Canon Downriggers at 20 feet deep at 2.4 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Spicer Reservoir. 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.