Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3817 August 2- 16 2019 | Page 9

Aug 2 - 16, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 17 7 Catch & Release Fishing! Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies... Sponsored by Kiene’s Fly Shop 916-483-1222 • www.Kienesflyshop.com 9550 Micron Ave. Suite B • Sacramento, CA Fur & Feathers: Your Guide To Fly Rodding For Bass Ray Bergman was one of the deans of American sportfishing. He held the post as angling editor at Outdoor Life magazine from 1934 to 1960. When Bergman retired from the staff of Outdoor Life he had more than 300 articles to his credit. Bergman targeted all North America’s freshwater species including trout, bass, musky, pike, steelhead and salmon. Of these trout and bass were the species he most enjoyed pursuing. Whether fishing for trout or bass, fly fishing was Bergman’s favored approach. Bergman fished with conventional tackle, but given a choice he’d grab a fly rod every time. As a child, I discovered Bergman’s fishing books on a trip to the library. I was mesmerized by Bergman’s accounts of pursuing black bass with flies. For Bergman, who’s fishing career started in the early 1900’s, using a fly rod for black bass was a logical choice. At that time, spinning gear was in its infancy and bait casting gear was crude and best suited for presenting large heavy lures. Back then a fly rod represented a “finesse” tactic that allowed the anglers to make a subtle presentation with lightweight offerings. Today’s bass anglers seldom pick up a fly rod, while this is unfortunate it’s understandable. Unlike in Bergman’s time, we have access to both high quality spinning and bait casting gear that enable us to utilize lures spanning the spectrum from heavy swimbaits to ultra-light jigs. Yet, I believe that every bass angler should give fly tackle a try. There is something intangible about using a fly rod that is satisfying. Picture the scene, your deer hair mouse lands delicately along the edge of the tules. You begin twitching the fly forward. Suddenly the water bulges, the tules shutter and you see the sleek green largemouth as it rushes the fly. The rod snaps upward drawing into a graceful arc as the bass surges out of the water with the hair mouse pinned to its lip… Are you ready to take a step back in time and try for bass the Ray Bergman way? If so, let’s begin by looking at the necessary tackle. Fly fishing has the undeserved reputation as being a complicated and expensive endeavor. Sure, you can make it that way, but you can just as easily keep things basic. Mail order houses such as Bass Pro Shops offer fishing ready rod, reel and line combos for under $70 that will do the job nicely. That’s less than you expect to pay for a comfortable bait casting or spinning rig. Fly rods are rated by line weight. The smaller the line weight the more delicate the rig. For bass, you’ll want to stick with a 7 or 8 weight rod that is 9 feet in length. Once you’ve settled on a rod, reel and line the next step is setting up a leader. Fly leaders taper from heavy to light. The heavy section attaches to the fly line while the fly attaches to the light end. The taper is critical since this is what caused the leader to lay out straight. Commercially tapered leaders are available, but you can easily make your own. My bass leaders consist of three 30 inch sections. For the rear section I use 30-pound mono. The middle section is made of 20-pound mono, while the light end consists of 12 or 15-pound mono. I connect these sections using improved clinch knots. With your rig assembled and your leader attached it’s time to start casting. Most beginners think that learning to cast is difficult. In reality it is pretty simple FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 4 BERRYESSA LAKE cont. strong at the lake for boaters trolling with an array of hoochies, spinners and spoons, tipped with white shoepeg corn. “I fished Berryessa with my good friend Maggie,” said Rich Crispi of TW Guide Service after his latest trolling adventure on Berryessa. “We had 17 kokes to the boat, releasing 7 and keeping 10. We also lost four good fish.” “We trolled at 80 to 105 feet deep with RMT pink double glow squid and pink passion Uncle Larry’s and pink and purple RMT assassin spinners. There was a good morning bite, but then it slowed to a pick bite. You got to chase the marks on your fish finder,” Crispi advised. - Dan Bacher BULLARDS BAR/ ENGLEBRIGHT RESERVOIRS Mark Morrison fishing Guide Service Salmon, Stripers, Trout, American Shad 1-6 people - Full day trips Fishing gear supplied Sacramento, American and Feather rivers 916-308-3228 markmor14@gmail.com 3817 markmorrisonfishingguideservice.com Bigger Kokanee Show at Bullards DOBBINS – The kokanee salmon are getting bigger at Bullards Bar Reservoir as the summer proceeds forward. “My two clients landed limits of kokanee on my latest trip to Bullards By Cal Kellogg as long as you don’t try to cast too far. If you can cast 20 or 30 feet you’ll catch plenty of bass. A large lawn is the perfect place to start. Instead of using a fly tie a couple short pieces of yarn to the leader. To cast, grasp the rod in your dominant hand and strip a few feet of line off the reel. The cast is made by moving your forearm from the 10 o’clock position to the 1 o’clock position. As you make that This Folsom Lake spotted bass jumped all over a shad pattern fly during a fly fishing trip this movement keep your wrist rigid. April. At the top of the cast, pause Photo courtesy of KIENE’S FLY SHOP, for beat in order to let the line Sacramento. straighten out behind you. When you come forward aim for a location above and beyond where you want the fly to land. This way the fly will come to rest gently. As you practice evaluate your casts and adjust your timing until you leader is laying out smoothly. Hardcore fly anglers utilize sinking lines to probe depths to 20 and beyond. The casual enthusiast should stick with floating line to target bass from the surface to 8 feet deep. If the bass are deeper than that conventional tackle is a better choice. For shallow water fishing, there are three basic types of flies, surface bugs, divers, and streamers. The most effective surface bugs are made out of deer hair to resemble mice or frogs and should be worked accordingly. A diver minnow shaped with a deer hair head and long feather body. These flies are worked like a floating minnow plug. At rest, they set on the surface. When retrieve with a series of tugs and pauses they dive and display a rise and drop action that predators can’t resist. Streamers are sinking flies constructed of feathers and fur. These flies are tied to imitate baitfish. Think of streamers as suspending crankbaits. After casting the streamer, allow it to sink to the desired depth and then work it along with an erratic strip and pause retrieve. The biggest adjustment you’ll have to make when switching from conven- tional tackle to fly gear is the means of retrieving line. With conventional gear the reel is used to move the lure through the water. To work a fly run the line between the index and middle fingers of the rod hand and retrieve line by stripping it in with your free hand. When you hook a fish the fingers on the rod hand act as your drag. When the fish runs release line. When the bass weakens keep the line tight by stripping line in. The classic places for using flies are cover choked waters, but don’t hesitate using them in rocky open water reservoirs. I’ve had some memorable days targeting Folsom’s acrobatic spots and smallmouths with yellow divers worked over rocky structure. Bar,” reported Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’s Guide Service. “Out of their 20 fish, 15 were in the 12-1/2 to 14 inch range.” “The fish were hitting anything pink in the usual spots” said Reimers. “We used Brad’s Kokanee Cut Plugs at 30 to 50 feet deep.” Mike Cunningham at Willfish Bait and Tackle in Auburn confirmed the top-notch kokanee salmon fishing at Bullards Bar. “Our customers reported the top kokanee action while trolling orange hoochies behind dodgers at 60 feet deep,” he stated. Boaters can hook some wild rainbows while trolling nightcrawlers behind dodgers in the river and creek mouths, but most anglers are concentrating on kokanee at Bullards now. Another good lake to target rainbows is Englebright Reservoir, located on the Yuba River below Bullards Bar. Trollers can hook rainbows in the 12 to 18 inch range while trolling nightcrawlers, spinners, spoons and other lures behind flashers or dodgers. Ray Huey of Castro Valley was tossing a Bullards Bar is holding 885,739 acre plastic worm at Lake Chabot on June 25 and feet of water, 92 percent of capacity and caught this hefty 6-pound catfish. 121 percent of average. Photo courtesy of the LAKE CHABOT MARINA, Lake Chabot. Continued on Pg 8