Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 10

8 Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 23 Nor Cal Trout Anglers Challenge NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge Tournament Of Champions To Take Place At Collins Lake November 2 & 3! by Cal Kellogg W hile many folks think of Collins Lake as a spring trout fishing destination, the impoundment also offers outstanding action during the fall months. When the Northern California Trout Anglers Challenge Tournament of Champions is held at Collins Lake on November 5 and 6, the trout bite for big holdover rainbows should be red hot. There will be a long list of prizes up for grabs at the Collins Lake TOC including a beautiful boat, motor, and trailer. To catch a limit of handsome fall trout at Collins Lake you likely won’t have to do anything fancy, basic tactics should work just fine. When it comes to soaking bait off the bank at Collins worms work, but dough bait is king. PowerBait is the tried and true standard in color schemes like rainbow, chartreuse and orange, yet other dough concoctions work too. I’ve enjoyed excellent results while soaking PowerBait and Zeke’s Sierra Gold at the lake over the past several years. If sitting and soaking bait isn’t your style, but you still want to fish off the bank hiking and casting is the sport for you. Fall and winter trout tend to concentrate just under the surface near the bank, making them a prime target for bank bound pluggers. When I plug at Collins, I typically carry a pair of spinning rods with me. One is armed with a quarter ounce blue and chrome Kastmaster. The other is rigged with a water filled bobber trailing a black woolly bugger streamer fly. Some days they want that flashy Kastmaster. Other days they want the fly and on the best days they’ll eat both with gusto! Trollers score well at Collins and with a fleet of comfortable and afford- able rental boats, anyone can troll the lake whether they own a boat or not. What to pull? I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours trolling Collins Lake over the past decade and I’ve TROUT TACKLE! Kingfisher Lite Spoons caught hundreds of trout on dozens of different offerings. I think that any standard trout trolling offering will take some trout some of the time at Collins, but based on my experience there are a pair of offerings that will hook trout almost all of the time. These are the Kastmaster and minnow plugs like Yo-Zuris and Rapalas. Collins Lake holdovers feed on shad and a quarter ounce Kastmaster in chrome, chrome/blue or chrome/green does an outstanding job of imitating the forage as do chrome and blue Cripplures. In terms of minnow plugs I stick with either black over silver or rainbow patterns in 1.5 to 3 inch models. With both of these lures I like to keep trolling speeds fast in the 2 to 2.5 mph range. You can learn more about Collins Lake and their facility that includes a store, marina, camp sites, RV sites, rental cabins and more by visiting them online at www.collinslake. com. For questions about the tourna- ment or to register call Angler’s Press (916) 768-0938. On line at www.angler- spress.com. Gold Star/Yamashita Squid for Big Pyramid Trout! Silver Horde Plugs Dodgers Coho Killer Spoons SILVERHORDE.COM – (425) 778-2640 AVAILABLE AT THESE FINE RETAILERS: Bayside Marine Santa Cruz (831)475-2173 Coyote Bait & Tackle Coyote (408)463-0711 Hi’s Tackle Box San Francisco (650)588-1200 Discount Mart Bay Tackle El Cerrito (510)235-2032 Will Fish Tackle Auburn (530)887-0839 Sacramento Pro Tackle Sacramento (916)925-0529 Fisherman’s Warehouse Sacramento (916)362-1200 Manteca (209)239-2248 San Jose (408)873-0113 Petaluma Sport & Dive Petaluma (707)763-0930 JD Auto Gone Fishin’ Sand City (831)899-1111 Outdoor Pro Shop Cotati (707)588-8033 Jerry’s Marine & Tackle Atascadero (805)835-5414 Englund Marine Crescent City (707)464-3230 West Marine Select Locations Englund Marine Eureka (707)444-9266 Sponsor Support For NTAC Tour Strong! If you’ve ever attended a NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge event in the past, you know that a lot of tackle and bait is given away. Without the tour’s extensive sponsor list these special giveaways wouldn’t be possible. Gone Fishin’ Marine of Dixon has come forward as an NTAC sponsor again this year and will have a strong presence at tour events. Thomas Lures, Silver Horde, Yo-Zuri, Mack’s Lure/Shasta Tackle, Hot Spot/Apex, Rapala, Luhr Jensen, Pro-Cure and Dick Nite Spoons will be providing an array of lures, dodgers, scents and more. Yakima Bait has jumped into the fray once again and is providing all manner of baits including the tried and true Rooster Tail and Flatfish that have been killing trout for decades. Berkley is providing line, bait and more. Pro-Cure Bait Scents is also a part of the NTAC team in 2019, so you’ll be seeing Super Gel and other products at events this season. Last but not least, the team at Fish- erman’s Warehouse are on board. If you want gear tailored to our local fisheries, Fisherman’s is a great place to go! When it’s time to purchase gear, please remember these manufac- turers and retailers that have stepped forward to promote the great sport of trout fishing across northern and central Cali- fornia.