Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3623 Oct. 17- Nov. 10 2017 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Sacramento River - Sacramento to Colusa MADE IN U.S.A See Page 16 Vol. 36 - ISS.23 Our 35th Year Since 1982 Oct. 27 - Nov. 10, 2017 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Huge Stripers On Tap In West Delta F all striper fishing on the West Delta is one of my favorite fisheries in California. In between bouts of north wind, calm reigns over the waters, and we get to experience the delta at its finest. On October 8, I planned a trip to the West Delta with Andre Fontenot of San Bruno. Andre and I have mutual friends, but we have never been able to connect for a fishing trip until now. Andre was curious about my method for catching striped bass, so I told him we would be using circle hooks. After launching the boat and trolling for a short period of time, we anchored in 24 feet of water on the Sacramento River between Sherman Island and Pittsburg. We got our lines out and immediately started getting bites from sub-legal stripers. The next bite on my rod seemed out of place compared to the taps we had been experiencing. My rod tip slowly dipped down about six inches and stayed loaded up. The rod tip continued to bob up and down a few inches at a time, never letting up. “Big fish” I said in a whisper tone. Andre was probably thinking I was nuts, because the rod wasn’t pegged to the water. In my experience, I’ve learned that the smooth, constant bites are usually the bigger fish. As the rod continued to dip, I started reeling at a moderate pace with the rod still in the holder. The rod loaded up, and I said, “Fish on!” The pressure let up, and I thought I lost the fish for a moment, but then I felt the pressure again and pulled the rod out of the holder. “It’s a keeper, get the net”, I relayed to Andre. The fish made its way to the port side of the boat, and then made a blistering run way out to the side. “I bet it’s a sturgeon”, I said as the fish continued to peel line off the reel. Andre cleared the other rods, and the F PAGE 30-31 INSIDE Area Reports FEATURES Where...When...How... by Jack Naves Andre Fontenot of San Bruno wrangled this limit of quality Delta stripers while fishing with Jack Naves on October 8. Photo by JACK NAVES, Fish Sniffer Staff. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 Chrome Invades The American River The other beauty of the American is that it really lends itself to drift boats and bank fishing due to its approachable size. I just so happen to own a beat up old Willie drifter and have a strong set of legs. Jet boats are at somewhat of a disadvantage as the river is on often on the small side for upstream propulsion, and there is 5 MPH speed limit on the entire river. There are enough fish in the American this year that we have been finding them in some of the more marginal holding spots. In years when there aren’t a ton of fish, it’s pretty routine to just pound out the primo spots for one For boaters fishing the American, roe is probably the best offering, but plugs or two fish. The also-ran work too. Ethical bank anglers will find success drifting roe suspended beneath spots just aren’t worth a slip bobber in the river’s deeper holes. This quality king gobbled roe back in fishing when the river is late August. at 1,200 CFS or when Photo by MIKE MCNEILLY, Fish Sniffer Staff. SEE OUR NEW BAJA ROUNDUP SECTION ON FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor Lake - American Basin............................4 American River - Colusa/Knights Landing......... 8-9 Davis Lake - East Delta.......................................13 Feather River - New Malones Reservoir..............14 Oroville Lake - Rio Vista................................ 18-19 Rollins/Scotts Flat Lake - San Pablo Reservoir ..................................21 Santa Clara Lakes - Lake Tahoe/Donner.............24 West Delta..........................................................26 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Half Moon Bay.....................................28 Monterey Bay - Peninsula Shoreline.....................29 GONE FISHING or the first time in several years, there is a really good run of Chinook salm- on on the American River. The last time it seemed worthwhile to pursue the Ameri- can’s fall salmon run was about three years ago. Let’s face it, the last few years have been pretty slim pickings. 35 Years Serving Sportsmen there aren’t many fish around. However, when the river is at 3,000 CFS and there’s an above average amount of fish finning about, it’s com- mon to pick up two or even three bonus fish per day in these medio- cre locations. It’s anecdotal, but when salmon aren’t just in the obvious spots but also the nooks and crannies, there’s obviously a lot of them around. Another real bright spot, pun intended, are the con- stant convoys of fresh salm- on entering the river. Fresh from the ocean salmon have been entering the American since about mid-August. A few quiet guides and local anglers have been discretely plying the river for a re- spectable 2-3 fish per trip. Many of these fish were Coleman Hatchery strays lured into the American’s above average cold flows this season. These fish were determined to be Coleman fish by the wire tag implants found in 25% of all hatchery produced Central Valley salmon’s noses. WHAT’S HOT by Mike McNeilly CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 State Auditor Reveals DWR Broke the Law in Delta Tunnels Planning See Page 25 NOR CAL TROU T ANGLERS CHALLENGE ..........................................6-7, 10-12 BAJA ROUNDUP...............................................30-31 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4 COOKIN’ YER CATCH - Paulette Kenyon............... 22 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................... 15 GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................16-17 SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 30 SONOMA COAST - Kathie Morgan......................... 26 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 25 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER................................... 30 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Camp Far West Reservoir for bass. Cal used a 7’6” Cousins SSP 750 graphite rod teamed with Abu Gar- cia Cardinal SX 30 spinning reel spooled with 8 pound moss green Trilene. Using this rig Cal landed and released 11 spot- ted and largemouth bass to 2 pounds while slow rolling 3 inch smoke colored Yamamoto grubs pinned on quarter ounce darter heads. Paul Kneeland - fished Pyramid Lake, Nevada with Brian Garcia of Colfax in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught Lahontan cutthroat trout to 5 1/2 pounds using a using a new Lamiglas Kwik Se- ries 8’ light action Composite trigger stick rigged with an Abu Garcia 4600 C-3 lev- el wind reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot flourocarbon line. They trolled a “Tui chub” 4 ½ inch Apex and watermelon 4” Silver Horde spoons behind Vance’s cannonball flashers off the Canon down- riggers at 65 to 85 feet deep and 2.4 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Fuller Lake off Bowman Lake Road. 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 tossed out 1/8 oz. Yakima Bait Rooster Tails in Brown Trout, Fire Tiger and Rainbow color patterns and 1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins.