Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3820 Sept 13-27 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! 37 Years Serving Sportsmen San Francisco Bay Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 16-17 September 13 - 27, 2019 Vol. 38 - ISS.20 Our 37th Year Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Rockfish, Lingcod & Lots Of Halibut Aboard The Happy Hooker! O n August 22, I wrapped up the Cal Kellogg School of Fishing charter boat season for the summer of 2019 with a trip aboard the Happy Hooker with Captain Jonathan Smith at the wheel. I planned for the trip to be a classic Golden Gate live bait potluck adventure. I wanted to target coastal lingcod and rockfish outside S.F. Bay and then hit the halibut and striper grounds inside the bay in the afternoon for a shot at halibut and perhaps a striper or two. The trip went as planned, except the weather outside the gate was a little sloppy due to wind chop driven by a stiff breeze out of the northwest. For me the day got started when my feet hit the floor at midnight. By about 1 o’clock in the morning I was out the door. I made a quick stop in Auburn to pick up my fishing buddy Andy and we arrived at the Berkeley Marina at about 4:30. By 6 o’clock the decks of the Happy Hooker were jammed with Fish Sniffer readers and we were off to the rich waters of the Marin Coast. As soon as we cleared the Golden Gate Bridge we could tell that the weather was going to be bouncy, but with Greg Brown and Joey Smith working the deck and me working the back of the boat, keeping everyone baited up and fishing we figured we’d be able to put some meat on the decks without too much trouble. The black rockfish cooperated and there were some nice browns and chunky canaries mixed in. Lingcod played hard to get, but we picked up This hefty halibut was caught in the bow of the a handful including a Happy Hooker on August 22. handsome 12 pounder that hitch hiked Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER up on a black rockfish. SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. In all we spent about two and a half hours drifting Duxbury Reef. With sacks A couple days before, Captain bulging with rockfish and anglers tired Jonathan had stumbled upon a big from navigating the pitching decks we school of white sea bass inside the bay got no complaints when Jonathan and I and scored limits of the hard fighting decided it was time to head back to the bay and great eating fish, so expectations to try our luck on halibut. CONTINUED ON PG 21 GONE FISHING by Cal Kellogg I Slumps, Skunks, Warning Lights & A Sore Knee… Kellogg School of Fishing Trip. Typically, the day before a charter trip I get up late, do a little writing, get in a light workout, pack the vehicle and rest up for the next day’s action. But this isn’t going to be a typical day, so I figured I should get up and get some work done before the proverbial cow patty hits the fan… It all started a couple months ago when I was driving around in my F-150 and something felt a little “funny”. Hmmm, I passed it off as imag- ination. Over the next several weeks I experi- enced that funny feeling a few more times and made a mental note to get the truck in to my mechanic… Around that time, Lake Almanor has been the scene of outstanding trout fishing all I found a beautiful summer long. This incredible fish was landed during a late August used Chevy trolling trip with Captain Bryan Roccucci. Suburban 2500 4x4. Photo courtesy of BIG DADDY’S GUIDE SERVICE, Quincy. t’s 4:15 AM and I’ve been up long enough to take Lucy out and brew a pot of coffee. Why so early? Well I’d like to tell you I’m up for a fishing trip or one of my crazy hikes into the back country, but I’m not. I’m slated to be down in Berkeley aboard the Happy Hooker tomorrow hosting a Cal I’d been looking for one for a long time, the price was within my budget, so I bought it! Late last week I was driving the Suburban when the “Service Engine Soon” light came on. It didn’t seem too pressing, sort of like when the flight attendant tells you to fasten your seatbelt for landing. You know, a friendly instruction, standard operating procedure, nothing to worry about. Fast forward to Monday, now I’m driving the F-150 again coming back from the dump when the transmission goes haywire, warning lights and alarms start going off and clearly, I have a big problem. Oh well, I have two vehicles, so I have the Ford towed to the mechanic and wait for the verdict. When Ross calls me he tells me I have WHAT’S HOT by Cal Kellogg CONTINUED ON PG 12 F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK Fall stripers will strike a long list of natural baits. Shad, bullheads, and mudsuckers represent the mainstays of most Delta anglers. If you are looking for a trophy striper bullheads and mudsuckers are two of the best baits you can use. When rigging these baits, either alive or dead you’ll need a bait needle. Pass the needle through the bait from just behind the gills to the just before the tail. Once the bait is impaled on the needle connect the leader to it and pull the leader through the bait’s body leaving the hook setting next to the baits head. When a fish picks up your bait give it plenty of time to run before setting the hook! Special Section Catch & Release/ Fly Fishing - page 7 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Berryessa Lake......................................4 Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoirs - Collins...... 10 Davis Lake - East Delta.................................. 12-13 Eastern Sierra - Folsom Lake.............................. 14 Klamath/Trinity Rivers - New Melones Lake ....... 19 Oroville Lake/Thermolito Afterbay - Quarry Lakes/Shadow Cliffs Reservoir........20 Redding/Red Bluff - Santa Clara Valley Lakes... 22-23 Shasta/Whiskeytown Lakes - West Delta....... 24-25 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay............................................ 27 Fisherman’s Wharf...............................................29 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay...................... 30-31 FEATURES Where...When...How... HUNTING JOURNAL..............................................8-9 BAJA ROUNDUP......................................................29 BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg......7 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Steve ‘Hippo’ Lau..........28 GO FOR IT: Staff.......................................................15 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg.............................................. 11 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg ...............5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................16-17 MIXED BAG FISHING: Ernie Marlan........................18 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......26 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Oxbow Reservoir for rainbow trout. Cal used a 7’ Fenwick HMG 70 ML rod rated for 4 to 10 pound test matched with an Abu Garcia Revo SX spinning reel. The reel was spooled with 6 pound Trilene and a 6 lb. Vanish fluorocarbon leader was employed. Cal landed one pansize brown and one rainbow trout while fishing worms under a slip bobber. Cal applied nightcrawler scent Pro-Cure Super Gel to his worms. Paul Kneeland - fished with Gary Caruso and John Brassfield in The Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21’ Coastal at Lake Oroville. They caught king salmon to 21 inches and 3-1\2 pounds using a Lamiglas Fish Sniffer special 7’6” light action graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 Line Counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot fluorocarbon line. They trolled red/white Tasmanian Devils behind Vance’s cannonball flashers and green wiggle hoochies behind silver Sling Blades, coated with Rooster Tail salmon spray, 40 to 60 feet deep off the Canon downriggers at 2.2 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Loon Lake. 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 Fluorocarbon 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. Dan coated his baits and lures with Bloody Tuna scent Pro-Cure Super Gel.