VOL. 37 • ISS. 02

GONE FISHING Continued

great day, catching plenty of tuna for the icebox.

And they had an unusual story to tell as well. In Dave’ s words,” We were in the school of tuna and I knew I had hooked a good fish as it peeled off line. I heard a shriek of excitement as Wanda hooked another hard-fighting tuna off the starboard corner. The captain and deckhand shouted words of encouragement to both of us as we did our

A gorgeous striped marlin about to be released. Photo by Paul Kneeland, Fish Sniffer staff

FRESHWATER REPORTS:

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SOUTHERN OREGON ROUNDUP cont.

island near the Takelma boat ramp, and shallower areas of the main reservoir. Bank anglers have good success on either side of the dam, but are reminded to not block access to the Takelma boat ramp.

Rainbow trout“ pounders” were stocked in October in Bradley Lake, Powers Pond, Butterfield Lake, Upper Empire Lake and Saunders Lake. Lower Empire Lake was not being stocked this fall because of low water levels. Anglers are catching trout fishing bait near the bottom of the lakes or by trolling spinners.

LAKE TAHOE

Fish Sniffer Readers Smack Macks!

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE-“ My brother Rex, his wife Jill, my wife Anne and I had a unique Christmas this year,” disclosed Doug Wiseman.“ We spend three days of our Christmas vacation on Lake Tahoe, boating and fishing from my brother’ s Parker Boat.”

“ We landed a total of 17 mackinaw to 12 pounds, 2 brown trout to 3 pounds and a 14 inch rainbow using a variety of different techniques. We had the best results on the macks while pulling Arctic Fox Flies behind 6 inch UV Sling Blade dodgers near the bottom from 100 to 150 feet deep. That’ s the rig that produced our 12 pounder,” exclaimed Wiseman.

“ The deep water trolling was so good that we actually didn’ t spend too much time trolling deep. We wanted a big brown so we spend a lot of time top line trolling Rapalas, Bombers and Yo-Zuri minnow plugs along the shoreline. This approach produced a few macks along with our browns and the lone rainbow,” continued Wiseman.

Mickey Daniels of Mickey’ s Big Mack Charters has been enjoying solid action at the north end of the lake. Mickey’ s clients have been hooking mackinaw up to 6 pounds. Some fish are being kept for the table while the others are tagged and released.

Mickey hooks his fish on a variety of offerings including Shasta Tackle Kok- A-Nuts teamed with Sling Blade Dodgers.

best to control this double hook-up!

All of a sudden the captain voice came to a higher pitch as he yelled to Wanda,“ Reel, reel, reel”! The deckhand jumped to Wanda’ s side and began yelling“ Reel, reel, reel!.”

As I looked into the crystal clear water— a shape about thirteen feet long with a huge hammer-like head just enveloped the twenty-plus pounder on Wanda’ s line! She screamed an expletive as her line went limp and the deckhand and captain sighed in disgust. She lifted her rod to expose HALF of her hook! That damn shark bit through almost 1 / 4” of steel and stole her fish! I wouldn’ t have believed it if I didn’ t see it happen!”

The Sea of Cortez is one of the premier saltwater fishing destinations in the world. It offers great fishing for blue and striped marlin, dorado or“ mahi mahi”, tuna, wahoo, roosterfish and a dozens other species. Hotel Palmas de Cortez is a beautiful hotel that caters to the needs of the fishermen and their families. It features large, spacious rooms with air conditioning, many of which look right

TRINITY RIVER / LAKE

Hatchery Fall Chinook, Steelhead Counts Up This Season

WEAVERVILLE- There appear to be plenty of steelhead showing now in the Trinity River, but they don’ t seem to be making it into the hatchery in any numbers. Let’ s hope for some significant rain and snow to prod the fish to move into the hatchery and the upper 20 miles of river.

The latest steelhead count at the hatchery has fallen below that of last season, with 801 fish trapped compared to 1,5474 last season.

The total number of Chinooks, including both spring and fall-run fish, is 7011, including 2,197 grilse and 4,814 adults. That compares to 3650 chinooks, including 731 grilse and 2919 adults, in 2016.

Even though that number is better than last year, it’ s just a fraction of the 24,415 chinooks counted at the hatchery in 2012. The hatchery did meet their fall Chinook egg take this season.

Coho salmon numbers remain below last season’ s counts. The hatchery trapped 418 Coho this season, compared to 527 last year.

Steelhead fishing still remains“ fair” on the Trinity River, reported Tim Brady at Trinity Outdoors. Fishing pressure has dwindled since the beginning of the year.

Jan 18- Feb 2, 2018

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Dena Salazar of Colorado with a 30 pound wahoo taken trolling out of Hotel Palmas de Cortez. Photo by Paul Kneeland, Fish Sniffer staff out on the Sea. Great food at 2 restaurants and wonderful cocktails, snacks and hors d’ oeuvres are all available at the beautiful bar over looking the ocean. Rates are very reasonable, with fishing packages starting at only $ 540 per person for 3 nights and 2 days of fishing.

Mark Wiza wanted a mackinaw for dinner on December 10, so he headed out onto Lake Tahoe and reeled up this 8 pounder while trolling.

Photo courtesy of MARK WIZA, South Lake Tahoe.

“ There’ s fish everywhere, but not a lot of fish anywhere,” advised Brady.“ Guys who think they need to hook 10 fish to have a good day are disappointed.”

Anglers are using an array of offerings, including flies, roe, spoons and

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The Speedy Shiner is a highly effective trolling bait for all types of gamefish, especially rainbow and brown trout, lake trout or mackinaw, and landlocked

It is King and Coho Salmon. constructed

The Speedy Shiner has a very effective action up to 4 mph. of quality solid brass, stainless steel rings and extra strong hooks VMC hooks. The light reflecting embossed scale design creates an enticing flash that attracts fish and triggers them to strike!

The Speedy Shiner is available in 2 1 / 2”, 3 1 / 4” and 4” sizes and 20 fish catching colors. Proudly Made in USA.

For more information on Hotel Palmas de Cortez, see them at the Sacramento ISE show, visit their website at www. vanwormerresorts. com, or give them a call at( 877) 777-8862

nightcrawlers, to catch steelhead ranging from 2 to 8 pounds. The top fly patterns include brown rubberlegs, golden stoneflies, copper johns, pyscho princes, hare’ s ears

AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL TACKLE DEALER.

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