Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3620 September 15-30, 2017 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Fuller-Rucker Lake Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 Vol. 36 - ISS.20 Our 35th Year Since 1982 September 15 - 30, 2017 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Mystery Man Wins Annual High Roller Lingcod Contest Against Backdrop Of Wide Open Fishing! I n the predawn darkness of August 17, the California Dawn was packed with some of the best and most enthusiastic lingcod anglers in the state, anxious to depart the Berkeley Marina for the lingcod grounds beyond the Golden Gate. All of us had our sights set on capturing the top spot in the annual High Roller Lingcod Derby, a title that would give us both bragging rights to fuel our egos and cash to fill our pockets. The smack talk and preparation had been underway for a week or more and we were all ready to fish! I’ve won the title and the $2000 jackpot in the past and I’ve taken second a couple times. The contest was originally my idea and I have no problem telling my buddies and fellow anglers that I’m there to take their hard-earned money! Fishing next to me on the starboard corner was perennial dark horse Richard Satow, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, hands busy rigging gear. Richard is an outstanding stick, yet the title has long eluded him. He was trying to appear calm, but under that persona is a fierce competitor. Directly across the boat from Richard on the port corner Ron Little had set up shop. Ron is another dark horse. He’s come near to winning the title, but luck hasn’t smiled on him and he hasn’t been able to close the deal. To my right stood Dave Gault. Dave came out of nowhere in last year’s derby and ripped victory from my hands with a last minute monster ling. Sure I still took home the second place prize money, but in the world of huge egos that is the High Roller Lingcod Derby second place only serves to mark the spot of the first LOSER…lol! PAGE 27 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - Lake Berryessa.............................4 Bucks Lake - Clear Lake................................... 8-9 Collins Lake - East Delta................................10-11 Feather/Yuba Rivers - Redding/Red Bluff...... 12-13 Rio Vista - Shasta/Whiskeytown Lakes..............17 Southern Oregon Roundup - Stampede Reservoir .....................................19 Lake Tahoe - Western Nevada............................20 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley/Emeryville - Half Moon Bay.............. 24-25 Monterey Bay - Peninsula Shoreline.....................26 Where...When...How... HUNTING JOURNAL............................................6-7 BAJA ROUNDUP.................................................... 27 BILL’S TIPS - Bill Adelman...................................... 18 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4 COOKIN’ YER CATCH Paulette Kenyon................. 22 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..................... 5 GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 2 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................14-15 RV LIVING - Cliff Woolard....................................... 21 SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 25 SONOMA COAST - Kathie Morgan......................... 22 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 21 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER................................... 23 by Cal Kellogg D SEE OUR NEW BAJA ROUNDUP SECTION ON FEATURES GONE FISHING CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 35 Years Serving Sportsmen “The Man With No Name” pictured here won the 2017 High Rollers Lingcod Derby with these two monster fish. Photo courtesy of CALIFORNIA DAWN SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. STAFF TACKLE Catfish Bite Best In The Heat What We’re Using is tapped out. Who hasn’t suffered from a case of, “I’d rather sit in the air conditioned house and watch baseball” scenario? The beauty of catfish is that they do the bulk of their feeding at night, and that’s obviously when you should fish for them. A hot night may be in the 80’s temperature wise, and that sure beats a day over 100 degrees. Usually it is prudent to bring a light jacket just in case. Most would-be cat fish- ermen take a haphazard ap- proach to the sport. A whole lot of Budweiser has been killed on summer catfishing trips. Rods are typically whatever PowerBait rod was left sitting out in the garage after the last trip to the stocked trout pond. A lot of big catfish have been caught on those wimpy set-ups, but countless more were lost when an unprepared angler hooked a 20 lb plus catfish on a Snoopy Pole. It’s the proverbial dog chasing a car scenario. The dog finally catches the car and then realizes he’s got more than he Cal Kellogg - Fished French Meadows Reservoir for trout during a recent camping trip. For casting a slip bobber/ fly combo he used a 6’6” Cousins FSP 652 fiberglass rod. A 7’6” Cousins SSP 750 graphite rod was em- ployed for fishing sliding sinker rigs armed with inflated night crawlers and Zeke’s Sierra Gold. Both rods were teamed with Abu Garcia Cardinal SX 30 spinning reels spooled with 8 lb moss green Trilene Big Game Line. For leader material, Cal used 8 lb. Vanish fluorocarbon. uring the dog days of late summer and early fall, there is no better fish in freshwater for beating the heat than the oft overlooked channel catfish. When it’s 105 degrees outside, many an angler’s motivation to go fishing bargained for. Don’t be that guy or gal. A good catfish rod should be rated for 12-30 lb test line and be able to handle 2-4 ounces of weight. This will not only enable you to cast a big sinker but the big bait that goes with it. A few years ago, an ac- quaintance of mine got bit by the catfishing bug. I’ve always been a fan of stout tackle, big circle hooks and leaders that could winch a truck out of the mud. Meanwhile, the newcomer took an approach that smaller hooks, baits and leaders surely would add up to more catfish being caught. In fact, he definitely caught way more fish than me. Most of his fish were in the 1-2 pound range. It has been my experience that if you are busy unhooking a 2-pound channel cat, you won’t be hooking up with a 15- 20 pound channel cat. Another perk of using big baits and big hooks is that you will rarely hook the pesky 1-2 pound bait thieves. Eventually, the new comer hooked WHAT’S HOT by Mike McNeilly Field Editor Mike McNeilly bagged these big whisker- fish while fishing a northern Nevada lake. Photo by MIKE MCNEILLY, Fish Snffer Staff. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 An Avalanche Of Lawsuits Challenges Delta Tunnels! See Page 21 Paul Kneeland - fished Eagle Lake with Bridget Looney in the Fish Sniff- er 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught fat rainbows to 22 inches and 3 lbs. 11 oz. using a Cous- ins 7’6” ultra light graphite downrigger rod with a Abu Garcia Revo MGX Extreme level wind reel loaded with 6 lb test Yozuri Top- Knot fluorocarbon line. They trolled red dot frog Speedy Shiners off the Canon Down- riggers 15 to 30 feet deep at 2.4 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for largemouth bass at Ruck- er 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 found solid action on fish from 12 to 14 inches while tossing out Yamasenkos in water melon/green pumpkin patterns on Gamakatsu #1 worm hooks.