VOL. 36 • ISS. 21 |
FRESHWATER |
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Sept. 29- Oct. 13, 2017 |
17 |
Tips For The Fall Trouter
^Author Cal Kellogg caught these quality brown trout at French Meadows Reservoir. The small high and medium elevation lakes that dot the Sierras hold some dandy browns and rainbows and fall is one of the best times to catch them.
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Terminal tackle for bait fishing is simple and can be carried in a small compartment box. Octopus hooks, baitholder hooks, some swivels and beads, split shot and bullet weights along with a spool of fluorocarbon leader material is all you need for success.
^Fall trouters don’ t need a big selection of lures. This is especially true for bank anglers that need to pack light and stay on the move until they find fish. Bank casters need lures that cast well and do a good job of imitating the flash and vibration of baitfish. The lures shown here fill the bill perfectly. From left to right we see a hefty Kastmaster, a 3 / 8 ounce Vibric Rooster Tail and a sinking Yo-Zuri L Minnow.
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Plugging for trout with lures is a lot of fun, but fall trouters shouldn’ t overlook bait. When trout aren’ t aggressive and chasing, bait will often outperform lures. The well armed angler will have both worms and dough baits on hand. Here we see author Cal Kellogg’ s favorite big fish offering, an inflated night crawler teamed with a pair of bright orange cheese flavored Atlas Glitter Mallows.
Get Ready For Fall Trout Action!
Fall is such a wonderful time, perhaps the best time of the year for anglers
and hunters. For starters the weather here in northern California is generally fantastic with cold nights, chilly mornings and comfortable afternoons. Sure we usually get a storm or two during October and November, but we also get plenty of blue bird days.
“ I wish fall was six months long”… I’ ve made this statement many times because presents
FISH SNIFFER HOW – TO by Cal Kellogg
with the outstanding trout, bass, striper and lingcod fishing that takes place during the fall combined with deer, bear, quail and duck hunting there simply isn’ t enough time to sample everything!
To be truthful with all the angling options that the fall months provide, it was pretty hard settling on a subject for this issue’ s how to column. After a bit of thought and having written a good amount of material about lingcod and black bass fishing over the past two issues I decided to focus on trout fishing this week.
Fall trout action is great for both trollers and bank anglers, because the holdover trout that spent the summer months lurking in the depths of our lakes and reservoirs move to the surface spurred on by cool water temperatures and an abundance of bait. On an instinctive level at least, the trout know they’ ve got to take advantage of the feeding opportunities offered during October and November if they are going to survive the lean winter months. This being the case, fall trout feed heavily, making them prime targets for anglers.
One of the quirks and really wonderful things about fall trout fishing is that bank anglers do as well if not better than boaters. Fall trout gravitate to the shoreline and often the hot fishing zone is within a few yards of dry land. This territory is tough to work for boaters using standard trolling tactics, but for bank anglers it’ s home sweet home.
Excellent fall bank fishing can be had at any of our large reservoirs including New Melones, Don Pedro and Shasta and I’ ve written about these opportunities many times in the past. Yet, in many ways I think the most satisfying fall bank fishing opportunities take place at the scores of small lakes that dot the upper foothills and lower Sierras. Whether you are talking about Scotts Flat Reservoir near Nevada City, French Meadows Reservoir on the Foresthill Divide, Spicer Reservoir off Highway 4 or Kangaroo Lake way up north near Mount Shasta, small lakes offer the bank bound fall trouter excellent fishing, solitude and inspiring scenery. If you want to get away from it all for a day or a weekend during the fall, a small lake foray is a great option.
Bank fishing for small lake trout can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, but for me part of the charm is keeping things simple. You can do well by driving up to a lake, walking a short distance, plunking down in a chair and staying in that location all day long. I’ ve done plenty of this, but as a general rule I like to stay on the move when working a small lake. For me exploring a bit is part of the fun of the small lake fishing experience. This being the case I like to travel light.
My bank fishing gear consists of two spinning rods, a daypack or large fanny
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