Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3825 Nov 22- Dec 6 | Page 22

20 Nov 22 - Dec 6, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 25 Spotlight On Kayak Fishing... Sponsered by Kayak City in Citrus Heights, CA Kayak City.Com 916.565.1400 Fall Is The Time For Tapping Nature’s Bounty….Kayak Style! By Cal Kellogg Fall is such a wonderful time, perhaps the best time of the year for anglers and hunters. And this is especially true for kayakers. If you’re a trout angler, you have a lot of options during the fall in terms of destinations because when the weather cools trout fishing kicks into gear at a long list of small out of the way lakes. Not only do the holdovers and native fish in small lakes and reservoir come to the surface once again, but DFW trout plants kick into gear too. Here in my neck of the woods Rollins, Collins, Sugar Pine, Englebright, French Meadows and Scotts Flat are all options that Here we see Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg letting out his line during provide a recent sierra kayaking adventure. One of the best things about both kayaking small lakes during the fall and winter is the solitude and overall lack of fishing pressure. planter and Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. holdover trout and I’ll be you can name a similar list of lakes dotting your region. With all this in mind, I made a brief trip to Sugar Pine this week and enjoyed good action on planted trout. I hit the lake a bit after sunrise and started peddling with a pair of Trigger Spoons trailing behind the kayak. It was slow going for the first hour or so, but once the surface temperature started to inch up a bit the trout got active. First I saw a couple trout swirl, then one jump and the next thing I knew I was hooked up. They were standard issue government rainbows that ran up to 14 inches. They were fun to fight and I was able to put together a nice stringer of fish for my dad. He’d requested a few fish for dinner and I was happy to help! The thing to remember when targeting fall trout from the kayak is that the fish will be shallow most of the time. I like to start off at a brisk pace of 2.5 to 3 mph and only slow down if I can get fish on a fast troll. However, trolling isn’t the only option available. You can certainly beach your kayak in a likely looking area, kick back and enjoy a little bank fishing Fall is a great time for kayakers to target trout at small mountain lakes. This rainbow blasted a red and gold Cripplure trolled 5 feet deep. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. action while relaxing on a sunny shoreline or you can toss out a slip bobber or two and float around in open water with a menu of worms and salmon eggs suspended 3 to 6 feet beneath the surface. Are you a hunter? If so, kayaks and shotguns go hand in hand. Watefowl hunting for ducks and geese is a no brainer, but squirrels, turkeys and quail are on the menu too. Just be sure hunting is allowed before taking a shot. One of the cool things about hunting from a kayak is that unlike a boat, you can hunt and shoot while under power. That means you can troll right up to that raft of ducks, pod of geese or flock of turkey and cut loose once in range. I tether my gun to the kayak so that I don’t lose it and I never paddle with a round in the chamber. Instead, I slip a couple rounds of coarse steel shot into the magazine of my 870 Remington and chamber a round when an opportunity presents itself, be it a mallard, honker or fat grey squirrel running along on the bank! With chilly temperatures and fall colors in full display what could be better than spending an autumn day kayaking a Sierra lake. Photo courtesy of CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. THE TRUSTED NET OF KOKANEE ANGLERS! EGO S2 SLIDER REACH–LARGE CLEAR RUBBER NET. 5 HANDLE EXTENDS FROM 48” TO A MAX OF 108” 5 This aggressive Sugar Pine Reservoir couldn’t pass up a gold Trigger Spoon trolled quickly. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. SCAN WITH YOUR MOBILE DEVICE TO SEE THE S2 SLIDER IN ACTION! JOIN THE REVOLUTION AT WWW.EGOS2SLIDER.COM