VOL . 37 • ISS . 04

to launch .

“ Black bass offer the best action on Oroville now ,” said Bob Boucke of Johnson ’ s Bait and Tackle . “ I haven ’ t heard any reports from anglers targeting king salmon lately .”

Boaters are using rip baits and drop shot rigs with Robo Worms to hook spotted bass , mostly fish in the 12 to 15 inch “ slot ,” with an occasional larger fish . “ Most of the fish are holding at 20 to 30 feet deep ,” noted Boucke .

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) stocked 25,000 salmon fingerlings in Oroville last May . The agency also planted 110,000 chinooks in the 6 to 9 inch range in November .

The lake is currently holding 1,299,043 acre-feet of water , 37 percent of capacity and 58 percent of average . The lake elevation is 705.75 feet in elevation , 194.25 feet from maximum pool .

- Dan Bacher

PYRAMID LAKE

The Cutthroat Story Remains The Same

RENO - The bite and the conditions have changed very little since the last report . The troll bite is consistently good for boater ’ s top-lining with 4 ” Lyman Lures . Spoons like Kastmasters and Krocodiles can also work , but they are nowhere near as effective unless aided by the angler .

If spoons are used , the angler needs to hold the rod and impart some additional action by giving the rod a pull every once in a while . Lyman ’ s work great because of the darting , dipping and side to side wobble of the plug . A spoon rhythmically wobbling side to side pales in comparison , hence the need for the angler to add additional action .

Adam Benoit of Vacaville landed and released this huge 44 pound striper while fishing the Sacramento River near Colusa this January . The fish grabbed a Hiroshima Custom Glide Bait .

Photo courtesy of FISHSNIFFER . COM .

Deep diving Mag Lip Flatfish also can work at times . These plugs will dive 15-20 plus feet depending on the set back , line diameter and speed they are pulled at .

The shore bite is still a waste of time , or difficult and a trial of patience with the occasional reward- depending on the day . Deep drop-off beaches like Spider Point and Blockhouse continue to produce fish for persistent anglers , but the shallow water fly rod bite has been very poor . If there is a silver lining to this gloomy report , it is the fact that shore anglers have seen an uptick in the size of the fish they have been catching .

The other big news in Western Nevada was the Topaz Lake opener . The lake fished well for rainbow and rainbow / cutthroat hybrids on the opener . In addition to beautiful orange meat and fat laden holdovers , fishermen reported landing some big planters over 5 pounds . The top offerings were the same things you might find in your grandpa ’ s tackle box ; sets of flashers trailed by a threaded night crawler on a baitholder hook produced very well .

- Mike McNeilly

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Feb 2 - 16 , 2018

And when Mom bought a wig to cover her rapidly thinning hair , she bought one the exact same shade as the dog ’ s silky blonde

Now Mom was a stubborn old girl and she didn ’ t mellow much with age . She especially didn ’ t take kindly to suggestions voiced by me , her daughter . One of those suggestions was that she should leave the dog at home when we took a rockcod trip out of Bodega Bay , even though Mom was sure Toots would be just fine waiting for us in the van . “ Mom , that ’ s eight hours without a bathroom break ,” I argued . “ She ’ ll be fine ,” said Mom in a tone that ended the discussion .

The big day came . The sun shone brightly on the blue waters of the bay , and the flag at the Coast Guard station was flapping away . Beautiful . I was responsible for bringing the fishing rods and lures , while Mom had offered to bring lunch for us both . We lugged our stuff down to the boat and got ourselves squared away , and I never thought to ask about the dog . Out of sight , out of mind .

Other passengers came aboard and soon the deck was abustle as men rigged their lines with shrimpfly ganions and diamond jigs . I set Mom up with a shrimp-fly rig and tied a trusty Tady lure on my own

19

outfit . I chose a heavy one since the breeze looked like it would push us along at quite a clip .

And away we sailed , hitting a bit of a rough patch just as we cleared Bodega Head . The boat rode the swells like a mechanical bull , pitch and buck and spin , and passengers crowded into the cabin to avoid the spray that splattered the deck . Mom grabbed her tote bag containing

our sandwiches and stowed it under one of the tables . Was I a bit suspicious that the bag might hold more than lunch ? Maybe , but why start an argument ? After an hour , Mom was starting to look a bit green and queasy so I offered to sit with her outside on the deck . As I did , the captain ’ s voice on the loudspeaker announced that we were turning around because the seas were rising . Just as we spun about , we hit one of those leadcore waves SMACK ! Tackle boxes teetered . Someone ’ s rod hit the deck . I heard crashes inside the cabin , and Mom let out an ear-shattering shriek .

My heart stopped . Down the deck tumbled that silky blonde fur ball , and I leaped after it , reaching out to try to prevent it from being swept through the scupper to certain death . But my suddenly athletic mother was ahead of me . Slipping down the deck , at the very last moment she plunged her hand into the salty surge and triumphantly pulled out – her wig .

Remembering the good times , I ’ ll be looking for you on the banks . hooks and work the beads inside the hoochie ’ s body .

Hoochies , with the exception of wiggle hoochie , have no built-in action . So , whether you are using a hoochie you ’ ve rigged yourself or one that came out of a packager pre-rigged , you ’ ll have to use a dodger to give the lures some action .

As a general rule , you ’ ll want the hoochie to be 2.5 to 3 dodger lengths behind the rear of the blade . If you are using a 4-inch dodger that means you ’ ll want your hoochie from 10 to 12 inches back . Rigged this way the dodger will give the hoochie a very seductive pulsing speed up and slow down motion .

When I ’ m rigging hoochies for targeting king salmon and kokanee sometimes I want a little extra attraction such as when the fish are holding in deep water so I ’ ll team my hoochies with E-Chips . I accomplish this by sliding an E-Chip on my leader instead of the beads . I smear a little Pro-Cure fish scent on the E-Chip to act as lubricant and then push it into the body of the hoochie . As the hoochie dips and darts behind the dodger the E-Chip puts out a steady stream of fish attracting electric pulses .

When I ’ m fishing for kokanee I

naturally tip my hooks with corn . When coho or kings are on the menu I like to tip my hooks with little pieces of anchovy , herring or shad . I think the taste of real meat really encourages the salmon to get the lure well back into their mouths , resulting in better hookups and more fish landed .

I spend a lot of time rolling baitfish and pulling threaded worms when I ’ m trolling and I regularly use hoochies to enhance both of these presentations . The next time you rig a shad or anchovy for rolling or thread a worm slide a hoochie down the leader after the bait is rigged . You want the hoochie draped over the end of the bait .

Teaming hoochies with natural baits is a real winner , but few freshwater anglers are doing it . Saltwater anglers have long known how effective this tactic is for species as diverse as salmon , halibut and even marlin .

Hoochies are a natural choice for spicing up spoons and crankbaits . With spoons simply slip a hoochie over the back hook . You ’ ll need to use a fairly large spoon so that the hoochie doesn ’ t ruin the action , but when you get the right combination the look is very seductive .

To apply a hoochie to the rear of a crankbait you ’ ll need to work a little harder . Using a slit ring pliers remove the rear treble from the bait , slip a hoochie over the hook and then put the hook back on the bait . If you do this I guarantee that your Rapalas will stand apart from the Rapalas being pulled by everyone else you know .

I ’ ve got a lot more to say and little space , so let ’ s move on to the wiggle hoochie . The wiggle hoochie looks goofy and honestly , I avoided using them for a long time , but I ’ ve got to admit that they are a deadly trout lure . I ’ ve caught dozens of hefty rainbows on them and I ’ ve watched Fish Sniffer Publisher Paul Kneeland catch dozens more .

We run our wiggle hoochies without the addition of dodgers and they work great . At times , I ’ ll put wiggle hoochies on a 36 inch leader and slide them down a deep downrigger line as a dropper . While fishing for kokanee at Don Pedro , I had to stop using my wiggle hoochie dropper because I was catching so many rainbows that I wasn ’ t able to keep my kokanee lure in the strike zone for any length of time .

What about hoochie color ? For trout and kokanee , I usually go with bright pink or orange hoochies . For kings and coho I start out with baitfish colors . Hoochies are so economical

at Raahauge ’ s Hunting Club Hosted by Cal Kellogg $ 25 Per Pheasant

Single And Group Hunters Are All Welcome !

and come in such a diverse range of colors , it doesn ’ t make sense not to have a wide range of colors represented in you tackle collection . Sometimes the fish want natural colors and at other times those crazy bright combination colors are deadly . Don ’ t forget a selection of UV and glow models too …

Lunch Included

Bird Cleaning Dogs and Dog Handlers

Available !

MARCH 3 ,

2018 3704

BOOK EARLY !

This Hunt Is Going To

SELL OUT FAST !! ( 530 ) 724-0552

A Sheldon Bright Production