Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3801 Dec 22-Jan 4 | Page 18

18 FRESHWATER Dec 21, 2018 - Jan 4, 2019 FRESHWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 13 PYRAMID LAKE cont. at Pyramid right now. You don’t need downriggers or even a state of the art fish finder. All you need is a vessel that doesn’t leak too much, a reliable power source, and some good weather sans wind. The fish are invading the shallows, and trolling just below the surface where the bottom depth is 20’ or less is paying dividends. The top method at this time is either top lining with a 4” Lyman and a long setback of about 250’ or fishing an Apex with a 150’ monofilament top shot following one or two colors of lead core line. For both setups the monofilament portion should be 10-15 pound test premium monofilament such as Maxima Ultragreen. If you insist on fluorocarbon, 15-20 pound test should suffice. Either way, this will get your lure down anywhere from about 8-12’, and this is where the trout are Late season salmon fishing has been very good on the Sacramento feeding. River for anglers fishing with Captain Mike Bogue. This big chromer Obviously, every was landed on November 21. day is different, but Photo courtesy of MIKE BOGUE’S GUIDE SERVICE, Redding. BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT overall the fishing has been superb. Lots of big trout have been falling for this no fuss- no muss trolling. It is really nice to simply let a lure out behind the boat and drag it around until a big cutthroat climbs on for a ride. Fish from 8-14 pounds have been fairly common, while behemoths over 20 pounds are always a possibility. Keep in mind, this lake can get dangerous in a hurry, so small crafts should stick close to the west shore. The area around Warrior’s Point is an easy spot to beach launch for small boats, and there aren’t too many shore anglers to keep boaters from getting in close. - Mike McNeilly VOL.38 • ISS. 1 The fall bass bite is outstanding at Lake Berryessa. This handsome spot smacked a Blade Runner Spoon during a November 27 outing. Photo courtesy of PAGANELLI’S BASS FISHING EXPERIENCE, Sacramento. QUARRY LAKES Anglers Bag Hefty Rainbow Trout, Channel Cats FREMONT - Lots of anglers going to By Dr. Keith Jones Size Does Matter When It Comes To Bass While field testing once in Florida, my guide and I came across the curious sight of a bass floundering helplessly at the surface. We discovered that the 4-pound bass had a prey fish lodged in its throat. The meal was too large to go forward, yet too stuck to back out. The prey in this case happened to be another bass; a 3-pounder. Neither bass survived, and I have often suspected the victim died deeply resenting its captor’s poor lack of judgment. Exceptions such as this notwithstanding, most feeding bass practice size selection. In fact, size is one of the primary criteria by which bass choose their prey. Bass look to optimize their meal size, attacking prey that is neither too large nor too small, but falls within a preferred size range. Bass practice prey size selection as soon as they start feeding, demonstrating that size selection is instinctual. Selection might be controlled by the optics of the visual system. Young bass may shy away from oversized meals by avoiding large images cast on the retina. Ultrasmall prey may be overlooked simply because they lie below the animal’s visual detection threshold. Choosing the right food size becomes increasingly a learned behavior as a bass grows and gains experience. The bass learns to more accurately predict the prey sizes it can and cannot handle. Since prey size is often directly related to its ability to escape, struggle, and inflict injury, young bass quickly learn the harsh consequences of biting off more than they can chew! Research at the Berkley lab shows that bass not only apply size selection principles to artificials, they have their size optimums. For active bass in the 1- to 2-pound range, lures of 2.5 to 3.0 inches evoke the strongest responses. Smaller lures received fewer strikes, as did larger lures. Although small finesse-style baits regularly catch big bass, and small bass are sometimes taken on big baits, bass anglers still relate lure size to bass size. Small lures catch small bass; big lures catch big bass. The real dilemma for anglers on the water comes in choosing the best lure size for any given population of bass. Missing the optimal size doesn’t spell instant failure, but it does mean a lower catch rate. Lures that are too Horseshoe Lake in recent weeks have caught big trout, along with a few catfish, as the park district and CDFW continue their fall-winter rainbow plants. The park district stocked 750 pounds of rainbows the week of December 3 and 1,000 pounds the week of December 10. Big trout honors go to Miguel, L. from Union City , who caught an eight-pound rainbow from Fisherman’s Row using chartreuse PowerBait, reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Ray P. from Fremont caught a seven- pound trout from Fisherman’s Row using PowerBait. On the previous day, he reported landing his limit of rainbows. 15 year old Tristan from Fremont also bagged a seven-pound trout from Fisherman’s Row while using PowerBait. Mike S. of Santa Clara landed two trout weighing five and five-and-a-half pounds. while using white Power Eggs in Heron Bay. Garret S. of Modesto caught a five- and-a-half pound trout in Badger Cove on chartreuse PowerBait. Brianna G. bagged a six-pound trout while fishing chartreuse PowerBait. While most anglers have been fishing bait from the shoreline, trolling is also productive. “Jack A. caught four trout trolling Horseshoe Lake using a lure made TAHOE SPORTFISHING est.1953 small fail to stimulate bass, whereas oversized lures tend to inhibit strikes. The reasons behind the discriminations are different, but the results are the same, fewer bass in the boat. Determining the best lure size to fish with will always be a dynamic process. Natural bass populations are always mixed in size, and their feeding moods constantly swing back and forth from aggressive to passive. In general, however, bass are more tolerant of lure downsizing than upsizing. Decreasing lure size usually has a minor effect on catch rates. In contrast, even minor increases above the size optimum can yield major decreases in catch rates. If your catch rate falls off after upsizing, you are beyond the preferred size. Downsizing the lure is in order. But, if after downsizing your catch rate falls off, odds are the lure is smaller than the optimum size and you need to go back up a step or two. An increase in catch rate indicates a movement in the right direction. This article comes courtesy of Berkley. For more infor- mation about fishing and their extensive line of products, visit them online at www.berkley-fishing.com Lake Tahoe’s Largest Fishing Fleet year-round fishing Half & Full Day Charters single fisherman to large families & private parties We supply everything you need to fish! Mackinaw Kokanee Salmon Rainbow Trout Brown Trout Call or Book Online (530) 541-5448 tahoesportfishing.com|@tahoesportfishing