Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3711 May 11-25 2018 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Rio Vista Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 20 Vol. 37 - ISS.11 Our 36th Year I May 11 - 25, 2018 Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Kayak Attack Rainbows At Collins Lake! was using the “hybrid leadcore outfit” I’ve written so much about in the pages of the Fish Sniffer consisting of a short fluorocarbon top shot, 3 colors of 17 lb. leadcore and 20 lb. braid backing spooled on an Abu 5500-line counter attached to a Vance’s trolling rod. I’d tipped the rig with a shad pattern Hum Dinger, put out 2 colors of leadcore and slipped the rod beneath the kayak’s seat. Looking at my GPS I settled into a rhythm of peddling that propelled the Hobie Pro Angler 14 forward at 2.5 miles per hour. I was peddling along, enjoying the still of the early morning when the trout struck. The rod tip was a bit behind me and out GONE FISHING by Cal Kellogg of sight, so I didn’t see the strike. Instead I heard it, a strange tick, tick, tick… The sound took a second to register but when it did, my head snapped to the right. The rod tip was buried in the water. The line was going straight down, line Andrea Kukulka shows off one of the bass she landed and released when she was pulling off fished Collins Lake on April 21. Sharing the kayak with her are Nikita and Chug. Photo courtesy of JASON GRAVES, Sacramento. the reel and the sound was being hour. Yet I knew that provided the hook made by the surging rod tapping against held, no trout in the lake could defeat the the kayak’s aluminum rail. smooth drag of my Abu and the strength The rod was locked under the seat pretty tightly against the diving trout, but I robbing power of my Vance’s rod. My first glimpse of the rainbow was twisted it free. The fight was on! jus t that, the glimpse of a flash through The trout was determined to stay deep and swam along at just over 2 miles an CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 Angler Hooks and Releases Giant 57.10 Lb. Striper on Sacramento River he carefully released the leviathan back into the river to fight yet another day. As far as I know, this is the largest striped bass caught so far this year in the state and may be the Captain Billy Driessen caught and released this massive 57.10 lb. striped bass on largest taken in the U.S. this year. the Sacramento River below Chico on April 7. Driessen was using Photo courtesy of CAPTAIN BILLY DRIESSEN. an 11” Hiroshima Customs Glidebait, paired with an 8’ Elite Styx - SW Glide very striper angler is excited by 9614 XXHeavy Mod/Fast 6-14oz and the prospect of catching a fish over Okuma Komodo 463 bait casting reel with 100 lb. Power Pro braided line. Driessen 30 pounds, but most will never catch a emphasized that “countless hours of rod fish over 40 pounds, let alone one over 50 and bait development went into creating pounds. Captain Billy Driessen accomplished the a one of a kind setup for chasing (trophy stripers) on a daily basis.” impressive feet of catching a giant 57.10 “We found her hunting on a long sandy lb. striped bass on the Sacramento River spawning flat with 3’ - 8’ of water behind on April 7 around 6:30 p.m. Even better, E 36 Years Serving Sportsmen a pair of large snags,” explained Drie- seen. “At the bottom of the flat was immediate deep water access for her to retreat into after she was done feeding making it an ide- al trophy striper spot. “ “She charged the sub-surface bait roughly 15’ away from the boat, creating a wake like a Great White Shark, and by the time she exploded on the bait she was at the side of the boat leaving 4 grown men squealing like school girls,” he said. WHAT’S HOT by Dan Bacher CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 Bill to Abolish Delta Stewardship Council Fails in Committee Council Approves Delta Plan Amendments Rubber Stamping Twin Tunnels Project See Page 30 Special Section Baja Roundup PG 38-39 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - American River.....................................4 Berryessa Lake - Dell Valle Reservoir............10-11 Davis/Frenchman Lake - East Delta ..................12 Eastern Sierra - New Melones............................17 Pardee Lake - Rio Vista......................................19 Rollins/Scotts Flat - Shadow Cliffs Lakes...........23 Shasta Lake - Tahoe...........................................25 Trinity Lake/River - West Delta...........................26 Trinity Lake/River - West Delta..................... 28-29 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................32 Half Moon Bay - Peninsula Shoreline.............. 34-35 FEATURES Where...When...How... BASS ANGLER NEWS .............................6-9, 14-15 SALTWATER JOURNAL ..................................32-37 BAJA ROUNDUP...............................................38-39 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................... 13 GO FOR IT: Staff..................................................... 16 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................20-21 SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 37 COOKIN’ YER CATCH - Paulette Kenyon............... 24 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 30 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER - Dan Bacher.............. 36 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - trolled Collins Lake for trout from his 14 foot Hobie Pro Angler kayak with Jason Graves and Andrea Kukulka. Cal used a pair of 7’6” Vance’s Tackle ULT 762 troll- ing rods topped with Abu Garcia 5500 LC line counter reels. One reel was spooled with 10 lb moss colored Trilene Big Game line. The other was spooled with 20 pound braid backing and 3 colors of leadcore On the business end, Cal pulled shad pattern Hum Dinger spoons and Yo-Zuri L Minnows. The trio landed several trout to 4 pounds as well as some spotted bass. Paul Kneeland - fished Stampede Reservoir with Bridget Looney of Colfax in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught limits of kokanee to 15 inches using a Lamiglas Fish Sniffer special 7’6” ultra light graphite downrigger rod with a Abu Garcia Revo MGX Extreme level wind reel loaded with 6 lb test Yozuri TopKnot fluorocarbon line. They trolled orange Paulina Peak hootchies and Yakima Bait Tight Line kokanee rigs be- hind silver Arrow Flash dodgers off the Canon Downriggers 15 to 25 feet deep at 1.2 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for striped bass on the San Joa- quin River with James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service . He used a Cousins FSTR795 8 foot rod teamed with a Shi- mano Tekota 500 Line Counter Reel, filled with 25 lb. test Fins 40G braid- ed line. He trolled with shallow-diving and deep-diving Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows in red/ white and chartreuse, tipped with Zoom Trick Worms. Bacher caught his limit of stripers to 6 pounds, as well as releasing other keepers and shakers.