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Pardee Lake Map Feature

MADE IN U . S . A

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Since 1982

Special Section KAYAK Fishing : pgs 20

Our 38th Year

Fall Trout derby took place on the weekend of October 10th and 11th . The lake was down about 115 feet but the water was clear and beautiful . We were very happy to be able to participate in the Trout Derby , since all tournaments and derbies had been cancelled since March because of Covid 19 . Unfortunately , because of the pandemic , they didn ’ t have the usual group dinner at the Lions Club and also no raffle to enjoy . John Brassfield and I arrived at Sugarloaf Cottages in Lakehead and were joined by Dave Barsi and Steve Fistler , Mark Kalinowski and Rich Crispi , and Kurt Koch and Joe Trammell . We launched the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21 Coastal and parked it in the slip below the cabins . As the sun set and the night cooled , we barbequed steaks and had cocktails and cigars overlooking the Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake . Friday morning , we were in the boats and heading down the Sacramento River

Stacey Barawed doubled down on Sacramento River salmon while fishing with the HeadRush Sportfishing Team . Photo by STACEY BARAWED , Fish Sniffer Staff . arm of the lake about 6:45 am . The weather was cool in the morning and very warm in the afternoon . Water temperature on the surface was 73 degrees ! On pre-fish days , John and I like to explore different areas of the lake . We tried several spots in the Sacramento arm , Dry Fork , Big Backbone and the mouth of the McCloud . We saw very little bait on the fish finder . We did see fairly consistent marks at 40 and 60 feet deep , but couldn ’ t get them to strike . We also saw lots of marks at 100 to 120 feet deep , but every time we went that deep we only caught bass ! I ran a top line off the Big Jon side planers most of the morning using several different lures to no avail . Finally , about noon , John caught our first and only trout of the day – an 18-inch rainbow that hit a gold Speedy Shiner at 55 feet deep . Saturday morning , we started in the

John Brassfield of Trucksmart Stores shows off a nice Shasta Lake rainbow caught on a Speedy Shiner being trolled 55 feet deep . Photo by PAUL KNEELAND , Fish Sniffer Staff .

Gooseneck area of the Sacramento arm . Some weather came in overnight and it was overcast and cool all day . We even got sprinkled on a little bit . About 7:30 we hung up a downrigger ball , and I threw the kicker into reverse to stop our forward movement . We were able to recover the

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Chris just transitioned from trout on Lake Tahoe to big Kings on the Sacramento River . I ’ d been looking forward to my first salmon trip of the season for weeks , and I couldn ’ t get on the boat fast enough that morning ! As soon as I boarded , deckhand Larry Nevills got right down to business , combining canned tuna with ProCure gel and securing lumps of the mixture to a variety of Brad ’ s KillerFish K14 lures . It would be a while before first light , so Larry had plenty of time to prepare at least a dozen lures in case we needed them . In pitch darkness , I was surprised at how many boats were already staged on the water . As soon as it was safe , we started our first drift . We launched from Discovery Park and would make multiple drifts throughout the day from Discovery down to the Freeport area . You could certainly tell it was the beginning of salmon season – not only were boats of every size and shape on the water , but the banks , espe-

For the uninitiated anglers out there , I ’ m going to share a dirty little secret with you . Not only are worms one of the most effective trout baits available , but are also among the simplest to employ effectively whether you are firmly seated on the bank or trolling from the stern of a high tech aluminum trout sled .

For more , see “ How to ...” on page 10

cially around Miller Park , were lined with anglers eager to catch that night ’ s dinner . My only other experience with salmon was in the San Francisco Bay , where the water is exponentially deeper and downriggers and heavy weights are required to get the lines down . In contrast , this area of the Sacramento River requires none of that , since many areas are less than 20 feet deep . All you need is the right lure , a small weight , and a little luck . With no bites on our first drift , we motored back up north towards the Tower Bridge and started all over again . Somewhere halfway through the second drift , I heard someone yell , “ Fish on !” and one of our rods was doubled over . “ Here we go !” I thought . I started to feel that familiar adrenaline rush I ’ ve learned to associate with fishing on Chris ’ s boat . A funny thing happens on the Sacramento River when someone ’ s hooked

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FRESHWATER REPORTS LAKE Almanor - American Basin Lakes ................. 4 American River - Clear Lake ................................. 11 Collins Lake - Don Pedro Lake ............................ 13 Eagle Lake - Lake Oroville ............................. 16-17 Rancho Seco Reservoir -

San Pablo Reservoir ............................. 18-19 Shasta Lake - Tahoe ............................................ 21 Tahoe - West Delta .............................................. 22

SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay ............................................ 24 Half Moon Bay- Monterey Bay ........................ 26-27

Where ... When ... How ...

TROUT ANGLERS CHALLENGE ............... 6 -9 BAJA ROUNDUP ........................................................ 27 BULLETIN BOARD ..................................................... 3 CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING : Cal Kellogg .......... 12 FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY : Dan Bacher ................... 22 GO FOR IT : Staff ......................................................... 5 HOW-TO : Cal Kellogg .............................................. 10 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT : Zack Clift ................ 20 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ............................... 14-15 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ...... 25

Cal Kellogg - fished Lake Davis from his Hobie Pro Angler 14 . He landed 27 rainbows to 3.5 pounds while pulling trolling flies on his signature series leadcore rods . The trout were holding from 8 to 20 feet deep .

Paul Kneeland - fished the Shasta Lake Trout Derby with John Brassfield of Trucksmart stores in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught rainbow trout to 19 inches using a Lamiglas 7 ½ foot ultralight graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa low profile line counter reel loaded with 6 lb test PLine flourocarbon line .. They trolled Hot Ticket and Speedy Shiner spoons off off the Canon Downriggers at 25 to 70 feet deep and 2.7 mph .

Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Lake Pardee . 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 , 1 / 8 oz . gold and black Panther Martins and 2 / 5 oz . gold / red stripe Little Cleos . Dan coated his baits and lures with Bloody Tuna scent Pro-Cure Super Gel .