Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3905 Feb 14-28 | Page 25

VOL.39 • ISS. 5 TAHOE Limits Of Mackinaw Reward Mid- Winter Anglers SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - Limits, limits and more limits of mackinaw, that’s been the scene at Lake Tahoe this January. Of course, with chilly conditions and snow falling on and off, fishing pressure has been light. But if you would like a limit of keeper macks and a shot at a double-digit trophy caliber laker now is a great time to visit the lake. For folks that don’t have a boat or don’t want the hassle of towing a boat of over icy, snowy roads, Tahoe Sportfishing is a great resource offering both half and full day Brian took a trip to Lake Oroville in early January and caught several quality king salmon on Paulina Peak blades and hoochies fishing adventures including this husky chromer. aboard their fleet of Photo courtesy of BRIAN AZZYVEDO, Oroville. sportfishing boats. Anglers fishing with the Tahoe double-digit monsters have been landed. Sportfishing Team have been rounding Tahoe Sportfishing skippers have been up full limits of lakers this month. Most pulling a variety of offerings, but the staple of the fish are in the 2 to 5-pound class, has been a threaded minnow teamed with but much larger macks including some 23 Feb 14 - 28, 2020 FRESHWATER strikes and hooking fish. That’s how the fishing in the upper end of Suisun Bay and the West Delta is right now. There are fish to be had, but to hook a keeper you’ll likely have to put in some time. The water is cold in the West Delta and that is a main stumbling block for anglers. The fish are lethargic and not inclined to feed. Fish are being found in both deep and shallow water areas, but the current thought among anglers is that it is better to fish shallow because the fish you find shallow are more likely to be on the feed. The top baits for sturgeon at this time are salmon roe and eel, with a few fish being landed on ghost shrimp as well. “My grandson David and I have taken two trips hoping for sturgeon over the past two weeks,” reported Fish Sniffer reader Randy Nelson. “We haven’t gotten any sturgeon, but I did land a 14-pound striper on our last trip. We were fishing right off Chain Island when we got the bass. It hit a pile worm and ghost shrimp combo bait.” Overall striper fishing has been slow. The occasional quality bass has been picked up by sturgeon anglers. If you want to target stripers drifting with live shiners is probably the best approach. Delta anglers have a few more weeks of slow to fair action ahead. The fishing for both sturgeon and stripers will likely improve in early March when water temperatures begin to climb. blades. Josh Williams and his father Raymond towed their North River up to Tahoe on January 22 and enjoyed amazing action while working water that ranged from 40 to 100 feet deep. “I stopped by the Fish Sniffer booth at the Sacramento ISE Show to get some intel on fishing Tahoe and Cal Kellogg gave me some really good advice. He advised pulling trolling flies and Gulp! Minnows behind Sling Blade Dodgers in the 6-inch size. I already had a selection of Gulp! Minnows, but I didn’t have flies so I bought a set of Cal’s trolling flies,” said Josh. “Long story short, we landed 16 mackinaw that went from about a pound to 8 pounds. We took home limits. Both the Gulp! and the flies produced. The largest fish came on one of Cal’s pink and white flies teamed with an Action Disc. We smoked our fish and they came out really good. In fact, I’ll be serving some smoked mackinaw at my annual Super Bowl party,” concluded Josh. WEST DELTA Patient Anglers Battle Sturgeon PITTSBURG- Sturgeon fishing can be easy at times, but most of the time you will have to invest a good deal of time and effort in drawing WILL FISH TACKLE IS MOVING!! Minn Kota Ultrex IS The Ultimate (Don’t worry! Our new location is only a few doors Trolling Motor For California Waters! down at 11954 Masters Court in Auburn) Spot-Lock with Jog: Spot-Lock will hold you in place with unparalleled GPS accuracy. Available on i-Pilot GPS system that is pre-installed, Spot-Lock gives you the power to stay right on top of any productive fishing spot, without touching your trolling motor. With the included heading sensor, you can use Jog to move your Spot-Lock location five feet in any direction. Activate Spot-Lock from the i-Pilot remote or Humminbird fish finder. Lift-Assist: Ultrex’s patented Lift-Assist Design cuts the weight of stow and deploy in half. Features a stainless steel, nitrogen gas-charged spring. AutoPilot™: Automatically navigate your boat in any direction you choose. Just point the head of your trolling motor in the direction you want to travel, activate AutoPilot™, and your trolling motor will keep you on that heading automatically, even correcting for wind, waves and current. Built-In MEGA Down Imaging™: With a trans- ducer built right into the motor, you get crystal clear Humminbird® MEGA Down Imaging and a clean protected look. For more go to minnkotamotors.com Will Fish Tackle Of Auburn, Ca. Is Having A 15% Off Moving Sale! W illfish Tackle is moving. The move isn’t far, the store is just moving a couple doors down the line in the same shopping center on Masters Court where they’ve been located for years. The actual move is slated for February 15 to 17 and the store will be closed during this time. Between now and February 14 the store is having a 15% off sale to liquidate some inventory before the big move. For all the details, check out the ad in this edition of the Fish Sniffer! This is a killer sale you won’t want to miss. Willfish is located at 11944 Masters Court, Auburn, Ca. For more information call (530) 887-0839. RED TAG CLEARANCE SALE All Red Tag Items 15% OFF (sale good now through Feb. 14th) We will be CLOSED Sat. Feb. 15th to Mon. Feb. 17th to make the move. FIXTURE SALE FEB. 18th through FEB. 29th (all Clearance and Fixture sales are Final — no returns or exchanges) (530)887-0839 tep on the Ultrex™ foot pedal and feel what Power Steering does to a trolling motor. Then tap the Spot-Lock button to stay on a fishing spot automatically. Only Ultrex combines the most respon- sive, intuitive steering ever with GPS-powered automatic boat control. The only thing the engineers didn’t do to it, is compromise. Power Steering: The most comfortable, respon- sive steering available. Ultrex’s foot pedal is built for all-day ease, with precision control and instant responsiveness. Steering Lock: When you take your foot off Ultrex’s foot pedal, the motor head remains pointed in the direction you left it. No recoil or readjustment, just easier steering every day. i-Pilot® Link™ Integrated GPS Trolling System: i-Pilot® Link™ gives you unprecedented control over your boat by linking your trolling motor to your Humminbird® fish finder. Control your trolling motor from Link’s color touch- screen remote or the Humminbird. You can set Spot-Locks, record paths, follow depth contours, automatically navigate to your favorite spots, control speed and steering, and more. 11944 Masters Court, Auburn CA Willfishtackle.com TAHOE SPORTFISHING EST. 1953 Lake Tahoe’s Largest Fishing Fleet year-round fishing Half & Full Day Charters single fisherman to large families & private parties We supply everything you need to fish! Mackinaw Kokanee Salmon Rainbow Trout Brown Trout S Call or Book Online (530) 541-5448 tahoesportfishing.com|@tahoesportfishing