Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3726 Dec 8-21 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Rollins Lake Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 Vol. 37 - ISS.26 Our 36th Year I Since 1982 December 7 - 21, 2018 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” GONE FISHING A I’ve had several requests to tell the story of an incident that occurred to my dad and I when we visited the lake with a family friend 42 years ago. With zero knowledge of where or how to fish Davis, I towed my Hobie Pro Angler 14 kayak to the Lightning Tree Launch Ramp on the northeastern end of the lake. We arrived just after daybreak. There where couple fly anglers at the ramp deploying float tubes. After chatting with them briefly and exchanging well wishes, I slid the Hobie into the water. Minutes later Lucy and I cleared Lightning Tree Cove and set a Fish Sniffer editor and Kayak City pro angler Cal Kellogg traveled to course toward Lake Davis and caught several quality trout while trolling from his Hobie an island I kayak. He kept this quartet of husky rainbows for the smoker. could see in the Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer. INSIDE Area Reports FEATURES Collins Lake offers top-notch trout fishing for young anglers fishing from the bank, as this photo attests. Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff. right here at the top. But FYI, fishing November at Collins Lake is fantastic! We’ve planted about 6000 pounds of trout since mid-October and we’re expecting another 2000 pounds before Thanksgiving. Aniyah, Tisha, Sabrina & Fred Tinsley loaded up their cooler three days in a row trolling lures mid-lake and out by the dam. Their biggest this trip was a six CONTINUED ON PG 19 Lake Davis Revisited: Bigfoot Leave Me Alone! little while back, my Labrador Lucy and I paid Lake Davis a visit and experienced some top notch trout action! I do a lot of trout fishing throughout California, so considering that Lake Davis is one of the north state’s best trout fisheries it’s surprising that I hadn’t wet a line in the lake since 1976 when I was only 9 years old. We’ll get back to ’76 in little bit, since Special Section Baja Roundup PG 27 FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Lake Berryessa......................................4 Lake Camanche - Del Valle Lake..............................7 Don Pedro Reservoir - Folsom Lake .....................8 Knights Landing - Quarry Lakes...........................11 Rancho Seco Lake - Sacramento Area.......... 12-13 Shadow Cliff Lake - Tahoe................................... 17 Trinity River - West Delta..................................... 18 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................23 Fisherman’s Wharf...............................................25 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................26 Fantastic Fall Fishing & Prayers for Paradise t feels kind of ridiculous, or at least off the pain and anguish of the people out of place, to be writing about around us but rather that sometimes the fishing when our hearts, minds and hands last thing they need is a line of people are so focused on the ongoing tragedy interrogating them about their trauma, happening in Paradise, Cali- about their loss, about their fornia and the surrounding feelings. But meaningful area. support from a trusted friend or With the local Cascade family member helps folks stay Fire still fresh in our minds grounded. Recovery takes time. we are attuned to the instant If you are in crisis you might by devastation that fire and wind find yourself asking “what am Ed Palma, I doing fishing”, often times can wash over the foothills, even still it seems we are ill Collins Lake under the shadow of guilt equipped to understand what is and confusion. The answer is Resort going on just 45 minutes drive simply catching your breath north of us. (and hopefully catching a fish!). I am however, reminded of a clip I Give yourself grace and space to work recently watched where bush pilot Trent through flashbacks and to process the Palmer suffered an engine failure in his state of things in your own time. If it’s not KitFox, luckily managing to land in the fishing, make time for the activities that middle of nowhere. After walking a ways would bring you joy even when you don’t he found some folks fishing a pond, where feel like it. Take care of your soul. he was able to call for help. In the midst of the unanswerable Help was hours away, what to do? The questions that disasters-of-nature stir up, good folks at the pond tossed him an being outdoors reminds me personally, Ugly Stick and he caught (and released) that God is still creative. I don’t know if bass while, unable to do anything else, he there’s a way to segue to a simple fishing waited. report but I believe that cognizance of our Fishing is good for the soul. neighbors and ourselves takes priority over I am not at all suggesting that we shrug a list of fish so I put the most important bit 36 Years Serving Sportsmen distance to the south. The water was shallow and weedy. I knew that the lake’s rainbows earned their living by gobbling up aquatic insects so I opted for a slow troll and armed my rods accordingly. On my topline rod, I rigged up with an Arctic Fox Trolling Fly in the Tui Chub pattern paired with an Action Disc and a single medium size split shot. I figure this would put the fly just beneath the surface if I trolled it 60 to 70 feet behind the kayak. My second rod was my hybrid leadcore rig. I tipped the leader on this rod with a small gold Dick Nite Spoon. With the fly working behind the kayak, I spooled out the Dick WHAT’S HOT by Cal Kellogg CONTINUED ON PG 20 Voters Defeat Proposition 3, Jerry Meral’s Water Bond See Page 22 Where...When...How... BAJA ROUNDUP.................................................... 27 BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Larry Hemphill........ 16 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 3 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Dan Bacher................. 24 GO FOR IT: Staff..................................................... 96 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg............................................ 10 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Thien Dang ............. 5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................14-15 SALTY TIPS: Hippo Lau.......................................25 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher..... 22 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Rollins Reservoir for rainbow trout. Cal used a 7’ Lamiglas spinning rod rated for 4 to 10 pound test matched with an Abu Garcia Cardinal spinning reel. The reel was filled with 8 lb. moss green Big Game line. Cal caught a limit of trout to 14 inches in about an hour while tossing a small orange Rooster Tail Spinner. Paul Kneeland - fished Davis Lake with Brian Garcia of Colfax in The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21 Coastal. They caught rainbow trout to 19 inches using a Rogue Rods 7’ 6” light action graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 Line Counter reel loaded with 15 lb test P-Line TCB Braid. They trolled Sep’s and Vance’s dodgers in watermelon and chartreuse/copper followed by a nightcrawler from the surface to 10 feet deep at 1.8 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Sugar Pine Lake near Foresthilll.. He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6’ 6” medium action spinning rod, teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235 spinning reel filled with 6 lb. test P-Line CX Premium Flourocarbon Coated Line. He fished with rainbow Berkley PowerBait, 1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins and 2/5 oz. gold/red stripe Little Cleos.