Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3821 Sept 27, 2019 | Page 14

12 Sept 27 - Oct 11, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 21 Rio Vista Bass Derby Fishing in California? Check Health Advisories Before You Eat Your Catch F By the Clean Water Program, Alameda County, California ishing is a great way to enjoy life. All across California, and in Alameda County—where our program monitors local waterways for pollutants of concern,—you’ll find many excellent places to cast a line, from lakes and reservoirs to piers and shoreline spots. Fish is also an important part of a healthy diet, providing a lean source of protein, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids—known to lower the risk of heart disease. However, not all fish are safe to eat, as some contain elevated levels of contaminants such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). For example, in San Francisco Bay, it not recommended for anyone to eat surf- perches. Women under 46 and children should not eat Striped Bass, while men can consume up to two servings per week. California Halibut is limited to 1 serving per week for women and children, and two servings per week for men. The chemicals found in the fish can harm the brain and nervous system, especially in unborn babies, infants and children. The specific recommendations vary by fishing location. If you’re planning to eat your catch, be sure to check the fish advisories issued regularly by California’s Office of Envi- ronmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). They are in effect in many parts of the state. Protect yourself, your family and friends and limit your fish consumption to the recommended types and amounts of fish. Visit the website and search the map for your location: https://oehha.ca.gov/fish/ ca-fishmap Learn more about how you can help protect our waterways from additional pollution at www.cleanwaterprogram. org. Smacking Delta Stripers On The Troll With Yo-Zuris S tripers might hit a variety of different trolled lures, yet you can limit your lure selection to two different models without hurting your success rate. For shallow work in water that is 6 to 9 feet deep, a shallow running minnow plug like a 5.25 inch Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow work great. At times when it is necessary to work deeper water, say from 12 to 16 feet deep a deep diving Yo-Zuri Crystal minnow is the choice of most anglers. Yo-Zuris run true and come with strong high quality hooks. In terms of color you’ll want plugs in red head/white body, rainbow trout and chartreuse initially. You can add more colors as you gain more experience, but in reality these tried and true colors will catch fish 90% of the time. Fishing in California? Have fun! But if you eat your catch, be aware not all fish are safe to eat. Protect yourself, your children and family from ingesting unhealthy levels of mercury and PCBs. A unique aspect of Delta trolling is the addition of a 6 inch plastic worm to the back of your minnow plugs. The worm most often used is a white Trick Worm, but other brands and colors of worms will work. The worm adds vibration, action and size to your plug. So how do you use these lures and tackle to troll up a mess of stripers? Stripers are aggres- sive hunters that actively patrol shoreline structure in search of prey. When you begin a day of trolling you want to start out working shallow water tight to weed beds, tules, rip rap, snags and irrigations pipes. Ideally you want to seek out water that is about 8 feet deep. For this shallow water work your trolling speed and the distance you put the plug behind the boat is critical. You want GONE FISHING in the water, the first rod went off. Ocean salmon trolling is a lot like kokanee fishing: hoochies, flashers, downriggers, and missed opportunities. Yes, missed opportunities as I failed to land my first two hookups. Meanwhile, Anthony, Ian and Chris were having a more successful start to the day and each put a nice keeper salmon in the box. Mind you we were getting bit as fast as Captain Jeff could help us get our gear in the water. It was Matt’s turn next and when his rod went off, I could tell that this was a fish clearly a grade above the ones we had in the box The big salmon made a strong initial run and when it slowed, Matt kept cranking on it. After a spirited battle, he brought the fish within range of the net and Captain Jeff scooped it up without incident. by Cal Kellogg to be moving between 3.5 and 5 miles per hour and you want the lure 140 feet behind the boat. If you fail to hook up in shallow water or are marking fish in deeper water, it is time to switch over to a deep running Yo-Zuri. For this work you’ll want to shorten your line to about 100 feet and slow your speed to about 3 miles per hour. Stripers will still hit a fast moving plug in deep water, but the large lip and action of deep divers doesn’t allow them to run well at higher speeds. As a final bit of advice, I believe every Delta troller should have a good lip gripper and a needle nose pliers aboard. Minnow plugs have lots of hooks and stripers like to thrash. I know a lot of guys that have been hooked in the hand or arm, but hooked stripers….Ouch! Continued from page 1 The beautiful salmon ended up being the largest of the day, some 20 plus pounds. My luck was about to change and soon I was hooked up again. I was careful to maintain constant pressure on the fish and when it made a b-line for the boat, I reeled furiously to keep tension on the line. One more run and the fish was spent. A scoop of the net and the fish was on board. The bite raged on and soon we had secured our limits. The ride back to the harbor was a happy one for all. We tied up at the dock early and Captain Jeff quickly and skillfully filleted our catch. What a great day, beautiful weather, good people, and early limits. If you would like to get in on the action, you can contact Fish On Charters at 707-490-4067. Check your location for health advisories https://oehha.ca.gov/fish/ca-fishmap alameda county cleanwaterprogram.org/fishing This big king hit the deck of the Pacific Dream after an epic battle on light mooching gear! Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.