22 April 27 - May 11 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 10

Victoria Reyes of Rocklin and her father , Ben , show off the 2.43 lb . trout that earned her third place in the NTAC youth division at Collins .

Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .

Vince Harris of Angler ’ s Press and Sheldon Bright of the Fish Sniffer with the winners of the youth division of the NTAC event at Collins Lake on April 7 .

Photo courtesy of CDFW .

Sheldon Bright of the Fish Sniffer poses with the Rooster Tail winner at the Collins NTAC event . Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .

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CAST AND RETRIEVE

Without a doubt , the most popular way to fish a Rooster Tail is to employ the cast-and-retrieve method . It ’ s so easy , just tie a Rooster Tail on the end of your line , cast into a lake or stream and reel / retrieve your spinner back to you .

In lakes , most anglers searching for fish , cast-and-retrieve spinners while working their way along the shoreline or from a drifting boat .

The most common method used in rivers is to cast your Rooster Tail out , across and slightly upstream ; allow it to sink near bottom while reeling up any slack line , then pulling back on your rod tip slightly , causing the blade to start its spin before beginning a slow retrieve . The current will sweep your spinner downstream as you reel it back . Once your spinner swings in near shore , it ’ s time to reel in and cast again .

Choose different colored Rooster Tails for changing light and water conditions . If one color is not working try a different color .

Bleeding Frog

2.56 ; ( 8 ) Johannes Versendall , 2.35 ; ( 9 ) Rob Cetinich , 2.22 ; and ( 10 ) Frank Nitta , 2.22 .

‘ I ’ m really thrilled by this derby because it is truly a family-centered event that allows anglers to introduce the sport to new people , especially children , within their family or circle of friends ,” said Lincoln Young , manager of Collins Lake Resort . “ In addition , the derby is affordable .”

Sponsors included Fisherman ’ s Warehouse , Gone Fishing Marine , Atlas Mike ’ s , Berkley , Yo-Zuri , Yakima Bait , Costa Del Mar , Silver Horde / Gold Star , Panther Martin , Dodge , Mack ’ s Lures , Pro-Cure , SeaEagle . com , Dick Nite Spoons , Thomas Fishing Lures , Hot Spot , Apex , Rapala and Tasmanian Devil .

Anglers who finished in the top 50 in any one of the 2017 NorCal Trout Angler ’ s Challenge events are qualified to participate in the end-of-the season championship at the lake .

The 1200-acre reservoir , located on Dry Creek , a tributary of the Yuba River , features 12 miles of shoreline located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills just over an hour northeast of Sacramento between Marysville and Grass Valley .

More than 50,000 rainbow trout are planted in Collins every spring and fall , meaning that Collins Lake has the largest private planting program north of Sacramento . Thousands of these trout are trophy- sized , planted at 3 to 8 pounds and growing even larger .

The resort , in cooperation with the CDFW , Kokanee Power and CIFFI , has also sponsored a successful pen-rearing program to enhance the trophy trout fishery at the reservoir .

The CDFW puts the trout in the 12 floating pens at a subcatchable or catchable size . each November . When they are released in increments between mid-March and the end of April , they range from 2 to 3 pounds . The net pens were filled on November 16 , 2017 , by the CDFW , assisted by volunteers .

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Trout grow big and fat in Collins , feeding heavily on the lake ’ s abundant threadfin shad and other forage . Rich Moore set the lake rainbow record of 14 pounds , 3 ounces in May 2009 . The lake brown record , set in 1991 by Bill Clutter , is 9 pounds .

Spotted and largemouth bass offer great fishing at Collins also . Dan Raub captured the lake largemouth bass record of 13 pounds , 4 ounces in June 1998 while fishing a live crawdad . James Everhart employed a trout swimbait to nail the lake spotted bass record of 9 pounds , 8-1 / 2 ounces in 2008 .

“ Spotted bass are the most abundant bass in the reservoir ,” said Collins . “ We see good numbers of 4 to 5 pounders and fish up to 7 pounds every year . Over the years , we ’ ve weighed in at least a dozen spotted bass over 8 pounds .”

Channel catfish also offer an excellent fishery at the lake throughout the year , with the best action generally available during the summer and early fall months

“ A positive aspect of the recent drought is that it has exposed the shoreline and allowed brush to grow around the lake ,” said Young . “ When the lake filled last spring with the rains , it inundated the brush , providing good habitat for juvenile bass and sunfish to feed and hide from predators . We ’ re seeing the same thing happening this year also .”

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Ricardo Diaz Jr . won first place in the adult division of the event with his 4.8 lb . rainbow he landed while soaking PowerBait from shore at Collins Lake . Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staffer .

The lake is now full , the result of the heavy spring rains in the Collins Lake watershed .

For more information , contact the Collins Lake Recreation Area at 530-692-1600 , www . collinslake . com , and Anglers Press at ( 916 ) 768-0938 , www . anglerspress . com .

Call or come in and we will find a model and price perfect for you and your family .

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Spring Frog

For more tips and videos on how to fish Rooster Tails go to yakimabait . com

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Luke Clausen Yo-Zuri Pro Staff