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FRESHWATER
16 Aug 3- 17, 2018 VOL. 37 • ISS. 17
By this time of year, throughout many parts of the country, bass have seen a fair amount of fishing pressure. Common sense tells us that bass in this situation can become harder to catch and luring them to bite requires downsizing both line and bait. While this may be a good tactic for most places, targeting pressured bass in summer doesn’ t always require picking up a spinning rod and a finesse bait.
As the popularity of tubes, finesse worms and creature baits continue to increase, the traditional plastic worm seems to be used less and less. For this reason, a big 10-inch worm can be the best choice for several summertime situations.
Large worms( I also use a 7-inch Berkley Ribbontail Power Worm in more open water) are great for the warmer months. I start using them in the late
BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT by Jay Yelas
Up-Size For Summer Bass
spring when the bass start keying on shad and other baitfish and continue it throughout the summer.
When it comes to choosing a big worm, I rely on the water’ s color, fish size and the surrounding structure to help me decide. Stained or dark water that is holding quality fish is a prime place to try a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm, preferably in a darker color. The big profile is easy for the bass to pick up, plus the action of the longer body draws bass in. To the fish, eating one big meal takes a lot less effort and energy than chasing down several smaller meals. In the summer, big bass like to lay up in the shade of trees and other structure in hopes of ambushing their prey, so to make the best use of this bait, make sure you are casting it in and around heavy cover like vegetation and wood.
My basic set up is a 7-foot medium-heavy baitcasting rod and a low-profile reel
spooled with 17-pound Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon line. Usually, a quarter-ounce weight is best, but I may use a heavier weight depending on the wind, depth of the water I am fishing and the rate of fall that I am looking for. Sometimes, a fast-falling bait can trigger reaction strikes – especially in the summer. I simply Texas rig the worm with a 4 / 0 or 5 / 0 hook and fish it like I do any other plastic worm.
Summertime can be a great time for catching bass, even when the temperature reaches triple digits. By fishing big worms, you can effectively target the big bass where they live during the hottest times of the year. And by using bigger baits, it allows you to fish with heavier line and stouter gear so there’ s less of a chance that the big one will break you off. So this summer, instead of downsizing your line and bait, go bigger and catch bigger fish.
This article comes courtesy of Berkley.
For more information visit them online at www. berkley-fishing. com.
Guide Service said he experienced“ pretty good” salmon fishing on the Sacramento below Red Bluff opening day.
“ The two anglers out with me landed two salmon in the 12 to 20 lb. range, released two smaller fish and lost three others,” said Weese.“ We back trolled with T-55 Flatfish and K-16 Kwikfish with sardine wrappers.”
Then on Tuesday, the three anglers fishing with Weese bagged early one fish limits of salmon in the 15 to 18 lb. range.
Savvy anglers fishing the Feather River landed some bright, beautiful kings on opening day, although the fishing wasn’ t as good as it was on the Sacramento.
“ Bob Bradbury and I caught one 18-pound salmon, lost one and had another takedown on the Feather River below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet on opening day,” said Rob Reimers of Rustic Rob’ s Guide Service.“ We saw about a half-dozen fish landed by the 15 boats out on the opener.”
They hooked their fish while anchored up with a # 16 Brad’ s Killer Fish in the“ Psycho Clown” pattern.
Tim Boggs of Elkhorn Bait and Tackle also reported tough fishing on opening day.“ We went upriver on the Feather River all of the way to Beer Can Beach from Verona,” said Boggs.“ We didn’ t see any fish caught nor did we see any roll.
The high water temperature is believed to be largely responsible for the slow fishing.“ The water temperature was 72.9 degrees at Beer Can Beach and 73.12 degrees on the Sacramento below Verona. We didn’ t weigh in any fish at the shop,” said Boggs
The daily bag limit is only one fish and the possession limit is two fish this season. For more information, go to: https:// www. wildlife. ca. gov / regulations
It looks like the federal fishery managers underestimated the amount of the salmon showing in the ocean this season, as they have often done.
The 2017 Sacramento River fall Run Chinook jack counts were well above normal. A total of 24,375 jacks returned to the Upper Sacramento, Feather River and American River Basins last fall.
The jack counts are
employed to model the ocean abundance forecasts for the year. Forecasts by Dr. Michael O’ Farrell of the National Marine Fisheries Service presented at the CDFW Salmon Fishery Information meeting in Santa Rosa on March 1 suggest there are 229,400 Sacramento River fall Chinook adults this year. The Sacramento Index forecast for 2018 was nearly identical to the 2017 forecast.
However, based on the fishing found now on both the ocean and river, it appears that the actual number of salmon in the ocean is much more than forecast, since there has been good fishing reported in such a wide area on the ocean from Bodega Bay to below Half Moon
Big chromers are up for grabs on the Sacramento River. This incredible fish was landed on July 16 in the Redding area during a trip with Capt. Kirk Portocarrero. Photo courtesy SACRIVERGUIDE. COM,
Redding.
WHAT’ S HOT Continued from page 1
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Bay. For more information, contact: Kirk Portocarrero, sacriverguide. com, 800-670- 4448; Sacramento Pro Tackle, 916-925-0529;
Robert Weese, Northern California Guide Service, 530-755-7196; Rob Reimers, Rustic Rob’ s Guide Service, 530-632-0051; and Elkhorn Outdoor Sports, 916-991-5298.
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