Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3903 Jan 17-31 2020 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! 38 Years Serving Sportsmen American River Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 January 17-31, 2020 Vol. 39 - ISS.3 Our 37th Year M Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Will Fish Tackles the East Cape Los Barriles, Baja California Sur y wife Kim and I have been enjoying the wonders of the East Cape in southern Baja since the late 80s. When we bought Will Fish Tackle a few years ago it was a foregone conclusion that sometime in the near future we would be hosting a trip to our favorite Mexico destination. That time came this year, in the second week of November. We arranged a trip for 14 of our customers to spend 5 days in the Baja with 3 days dedicated to fishing the waters off Los Barriles. When I say “we” I mostly mean Kim, as she did the heavy lifting of making the travel arrangements. We had a great group of travelers that included some seasoned saltwater anglers and some first timers. Five couples joined us where the spouses took the opportunity to experience the outstanding big game fishing that this region is known for. We started our trip on a direct flight from Sacramento to the Los Cabos airport and the winding lines through immigra- tion and customs. Kim had arranged for ground transportation from the airport to our hotel, the Palmas de Cortez, via two very comfortable air condi- tioned vans. Our drivers met us at the curb and after a brief stop at a roadside bodega for coolers full of refreshments, we headed to Los Barriles. The drive takes 45 minutes to When Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle in Auburn headed an hour depending on traffic down to the Baja Peninsula this fall the action was great for and livestock encounters several different species including hefty dorado. Photo courtesy of CRAIG NEWTON, Will Fish Tackle. along the way. We passed the Tropic of Cancer on our way north, officially leaving the tropics concoctions. After a few refreshments behind. Crossing several arroyos and and a meal we stopped by the fishing ridges we wound our to the point where office to meet with Anibal to set up the the highway meets the eastern coast of boats for the next three days. Baja at Los Barriles. We had reserved five deluxe cruisers After a painless check in at the Palmas, with help from Mark Dougherty of East we made a quick stop at the poolside bar Cape Guides. We drew for boats and for a margarita poured by Hector. Hector made our food and drink orders with has been working the bar at the Palmas anticipation of great fishing the next for over 50 years and mixes some tasty CONTINUED ON PG 16 GONE FISHING by Craig Newton Exploring The World’s Best Trout Lake With Capt. Sam Shallow! L ocated some 40 miles to the northeast of Reno, Nevada, Pyramid Lake is the remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan. The lake lies totally within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation. Fed by the Truckee River, Pyramid Lake has no outlet. As a result, the lake loses water through evaporation and subsurface seepage and has a salinity level 1/6 that of sea water. While Pyramid’s spectacular high desert beauty is a site to be seen, for fisherman, the number one drawing card is the lake’s world class Cutthroat Trout fishery. The lake record cutthroat was taken back in 1925 and weighed an astonishing 41 pounds. More recently, each season fish in the 20lb class are caught. For several years now I have been wanting to fish the lake, so when Sam Shallow, the owner operator of Deep Water Guide Service, invited me to join him for a day of fishing, I was quick to accept his offer. The 2019 – 2020 season opened on October 1, 2019 and will run until June 30, 2020. Captain Sam Big trophy size cutthroats are what bring anglers to Pyramid Lake. is one of a limited number of licensed Captain Sam Shallow nailed this trophy ‘cutt on a large Shallow Glass spinner. boat guides authorized Photo courtesy of MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff. F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. An avid fisherman since his childhood, he has been fishing the lake for over a decade and has been guiding for several years now. In addition, he and his brother Christopher own and operate Shallow Glass Lures, a line of premium hand crafted baits featuring Gamakatsu hooks and hand blown glass beads that they produce themselves in their own Glassblowing Studio. Captain Sam offers anglers a variety of different fishing options including, trolling, jigging, casting, and fly fishing. All tackle is provided, Captain Sam fishes only the best Shimano Reels and Seeker Rods. Let’s Go Fishing It was a brisk late fall morning when my fishing buddy Ian Rigler and I made WHAT’S HOT by Mark Fong CONTINUED ON PG 20 When it comes to trout fishing, the cool kids are all power trolling these days. They are rigging up with spoons and trolling anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 plus mph. Yet the fact of the matter is that today’s speed trollers aren’t doing anything new. “The best trout lure in my entire line up is the Mack’s Lure Hum Dinger and if you want big trout the half ounce model is very hard to beat,” says trout tackle guru Gary Miralles told me more than a dozen years ago. The half-ounce Hum Dinger can be run all the way up to 5 mph. The Hum Dinger was designed to trigger reaction strikes and to do that it has to be moving quickly. Special Section KAYAK Fishing: pgs 6 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoir........4 Camanche Lake - Clear Lake.................................7 Collins Lake - Davis Lake.......................................8 Del Valle Lake - East Delta ..................................11 Eastern Sierra - Rancho Seco Lake............... 12-13 Redding - Rio Vista.............................................. 17 Rollins Lake - Tahoe....................................... 18-19 Tahoe - West Delta.............................................. 21 SALTWATER REPORTS Baja Roundup........................................................... 26 Berkeley - Half Moon Bay...................................24-25 Monterey Bay......................................................26 FEATURES Where...When...How... BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Dave Leak.............8 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Cal Kellogg...................27 GO FOR IT: Staff.......................................................10 HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................................................5 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Kevin Hofer ...............6 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................14-15 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......22 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Rollins Lake from his Hobie Pro Angler 14 kayak. During the trip, Cal caught a pair of brown trout to 17 inches. For fishing worms under a slip bobber, Cal employed one of his signature series 6’6” spinning rods teamed with and American Premier spinning reel spooled with 175 yards of 8 pound Trilene Big Game line. On the business end Cal employed an 8 pound Vanish Fluorocarbon leader and a No. 8 Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp octopus hook. Paul Kneeland - fished Lake Oroville with Bridget Looney in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught landlocked king salmon to 3.4 pounds, using a Okuma 9’ light action Kokanee Black Rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot Flourocarbon line. They trolled white Tasmanian Devils behind Vance’s cannonball flashers off the Canon Downriggers at 40 to 45 feet deep and 2.1 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Halsey Forebay. 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, nightcrawlers and 2/5 oz. gold/ red stripe Little Cleos.