14 July 7 - 21 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 15

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 11

FEATHER RIVER cont .

Bob Boucke of Johnson ’ s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City reported that anglers fishing minnows , pileworms , sardines and anchovies are landing good numbers of stripers from shore and boat on the Feather below the Yuba City Boat Ramp . Fishing from Star Bend to Nicolas is also worth a try .

“ Anglers are hooking more shakers than keepers ,” said Boucke . “ The keeper – sized fish range in size from 18 to 30 inches long .”

For American shad , Boucke suggested fishing the Yuba River below Daguerre Point Dam . Fishermen are using an array of jigheads with chartreuse , pink , orange and yellow grub tails , as well as shad flies .

- Dan Bacher

FOLSOM

Largemouths , Spots & Smallmouths Reward Bassers

SACRAMENTO – The recent heat wave at Folsom Lake has attracted hordes of jet skiers , wakeboarders and recreational boats to the reservoir . At this time of the year , it ’ s best to fish early and late in the day to avoid the boating pressure .

Donald Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience reported slow fishing on his latest trip to Folsom , but the two anglers fishing with him still managed to catch and release 12 bass to 2-1 / 2 pounds .

“ We caught a mixture of largemouth and spotted bass , along with two smallmouths ,” said Paganelli . “ The largest fish was a 2-1 / 2 lb . largemouth . We drop shotted with Aaron ’ s

Magic Rob Worms and green pumpkin tubes , rigged weedless , at 10 to 20 feet deep around submerged willow trees in the North Fork .”

He reported surface water temperatures in the low to mid seventies .

All of the main boat ramps - Granite Bay , Folsom Point , Brown ’ s Ravine ’ s and Rattlesnake Bar ramps - are open now on Folsom Lake .

“ Debris is still on the lake and boaters need to be very careful . Launching can be a problem , as the driftwood is everywhere ,” according to the Folsom Lake Marina .

Folsom Lake ’ s water level was 461.52 feet in elevation , 4.48 feet from maximum pool , and the reservoir was holding 927,462 acre-feet of water , 95 percent of capacity and 114 percent of average , at press time .

- Dan Bacher

LOS VAQUEROS RESERVOIR

14 Lb . Striper Tops Summer Catches

LIVERMORE – Trout fishing remains productive at Los Vaqueros Reservoir . Striper fishing has slowed , but fewer “ shakers ” and more medium to large fish being caught .

Anglers weighed in two quality stripers over the past couple of weeks . Alberto Sandoval of Oakland landed a 14 pound striper while fishing an anchovy in Cowboy Cove , reported Nick Sanders of the Los Vaqueros Marina .

“ One of our regulars brought his son , Michael Ansagay , to Los Vaqueros for

lingcod . The crab season was winding down ; so , we didn ’ t get any crab – just measly little ones that had to be tossed back … Abalone were another story and strangely almost over-abundant inshore - as if they had nowhere else to go .

Lingcod is on the menu tonight ; and , Eric brought us back enough rockfish to enjoy until his next trip . Last week ,

Eric took me , Brody ( our new Labrador retriever puppy ), and our older doggy Tess to Del Valle Reservoir . A 24 and a 26 inch striper gave me a good fight ; but , I ended up bringing them both onboard where Brody had fun licking them , just like our Deke use to do .

Recently , I ’ ve learned how the America of my childhood has changed dramatically due to the machinations of a fossil fuel billionaire family named Koch in collaboration with others of their ilk , set on using their money and influence to bring back America ’ s “ gilded age ” – a time when they had control over the government and the people suffered greatly as a result .

With the legislation that came out of the great depression , it took the Koch ’ s until the early 1980 ’ s to gain traction and for Americans to develop amnesia over those times .

Koch hired scholars who figured out how to

This happy angler was fishing the Sacramento River below Redding this June when she hooked and landed this beautiful wild rainbow trout .

Photo courtesy of MIKE BOGUE ’ S GUIDE SER- VICE , Redding .

the first time in early June ,” said Sanders . “ He landed a nice 27 ’ 7.50lb striped bass around the corner of South Cove while using a SPRO lure .” The pier by the Marina and from Oak Point south towards South Cove are among the better stripers spots . From shore , cut anchovies or shad are the top baits .

Fishing for trout continues to be good even with the warming temperatures with a lot of activity at the fish cleaning station . The rainbows are hitting in South Cove and off Oak Point , as well as past the Rock Wall . For maximum success , toss out garlic-scented PowerBaits , nightcrawlers or Kastmaster lures .

INGREDIENTS

• 1 albacore tuna loin , about one pound

“ There was a 1000 pound trout plant June 15 . The next plant will depend on the increasing water temperature ,” said Sanders .

Travis Barney of Sunnyvale landed a 4.89 pound trout in South Cove while fishing a gold Kastmaster

The reservoir is storing 152,936 acre-feet of water , 96 percent of its 160,000 acre-foot capacity . Pumping has stopped and the reservoir will slowly drop .

The water clarity remains good . Water temperature jumped significantly to 69-70 degrees this week .

NEW HOGAN LAKE

Striped Bass Still Biting

VALLEY SPRINGS - Fishing pressure has slowed down at New Hogan with the arrival of the recent heat wave and hordes of recreational boats , yet the anglers getting out on the lake early in the morning are still hooking stripers .

“ A friend reported catching 7 striped bass on one trolling trip and 4 stripers on another trip ,” said Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing .

Smith ’ s latest venture to New Hogan produced 13 stripers for 3 anglers . “ They lost a few and missed a few also ,” stated Smith . “ We trolled threadfin shad and anchovies at 16 to 30 feet deep .”

Smith still hasn ’ t heard of stripers boiling on the surface as they chase schools of threadfin shad .

New Hogan is holding 242,753 acre feet of water , 77 percent of capacity and 146 percent of average .

The bag limit for stripers is 10 at New Hogan with no size limit .

- By Dan Bacher strong-arm public opinion by publicly associating whatever industries didn ’ t want with the loss of something Americans cherish - like their guns , their jobs , sanctity of marriage , etc .

Through acquisition of radio and TV outlets and their lavishly paid army of talking heads , they stirred up fear in Americans ; and , gradually , opposition to anything that threatened their bottom line became a rallying cry of ordinary people too . They even found billionaire allies in the hard Christian right and elsewhere who worked to misinform their flocks .

Koch ’ s influence has been referred to as a “ Kochtopus ” because their tentacles are in everything and they are camouflaged inside a myriad of groups , non-profits , and think tanks . However , I tend to think their conglomeration resembles a ghost net , endlessly gobbling up whatever comes along without thought or conscience . Everyone is caught and immobilized in their net . Families are split and friends aren ’ t talking ; but the billionaires never had it so good !

So , should I have been surprised to find the Kochs are also behind the privatization of commercial fisheries and these individual quotas ? While making some sense environmentally , these policies also cause harm to small commercial fishermen , California salmon fisheries , and created lack of access issues for our Indian tribes .

Recently on CSPAN , author , Lee van der Voo discussed this topic in her excellent book , “ The Fish Market : Inside the Big-Money Battle for The Ocean and Your Dinner Plate .” She too admired Zeke Grader , founder and president of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen , who was also opposed to this quota system which Lee sheds light upon in her book . She has kindly shared this delicious recipe with my readers . Go for it

Mix the following ingredients , coat the tuna loin , wrap and refrigerate for one hour or longer .

• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce ( or 2 teaspoons of wheat-free tamari for gluten-free option )

• 1 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger

• 1 clove garlic , minced or grated

• 1 green onion ( scallion ) thinly sliced ( a few slices reserved for garnish )

• 1 teaspoon lime juice Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high to high heat . When the pan is hot , remove the tuna loin from the marinade and sear it for a minute to a minute and a half on each side ( even a little longer if you want the tuna less rare than red in the center .) Remove from pan and slice into 1 / 4-inch thick slices . Sprinkle with a few green onion slices . Serve over a salad of spinach with shredded carrot and green pepper . Mix first , and then add a light dose of the following sesame dressing , tossed in a bowl :

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons sesame seed , toasted

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil ( I didn ’ t have sesame seeds so I just used 3 tsp of sesame oil ). Plate the salad and lay 3 slices over tuna loin over the top and garnish with green onion . Add a top drizzle of thick soy sauce , like syrupy Indonesian soy , and stripe plate sides with wasabi .

If you have any questions , comments , cooking tips or recipes to share , feel free to write me at : Paulette or Cookin yer Catch ; c / o the Fish Sniffer ; PO Box 776 ; Colfax , CA 95713-0776 or email me at cookcatch @ comcast . net .