Fish Sniffer Magazine Issue 4016 | Page 2

Up-To-Date and Published Locally ... By Sportsmen ... For Sportsmen !
Port of Sacramento Map Feature
MADE IN U . S . A
See Page 10

39 Years Serving Sportsmen

Vol . 40 - ISS . 16

Our 39th Year
Since 1982

“ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen !” INSIDE

Area Reports

Every Cast Counts

Everything in life counts . Maybe that statement is cliche , but at this point in my life ; being a writer for the Fish Sniffer for ten years , fishing for over 30 , and now married with three kids , everything in life really does count . Earlier this month , several stars aligned allowing me about four hours to drive to the Delta , launch the boat , blast full throttle through white-capped waves and into a section of the west reach that I thought might have an early run striped bass . Or two ? So again , everything in life counts . That includes wind filled days that don ’ t afford you the ability to stand up straight even in a widebodied deep-v boat so you can cast a massive topwater lure . And with every cast trying to make sure I don ’ t fall out with each wave that hits the hull , in the back of my mind I ’ m thinking , “ What am I doing this for ? Maybe staying home would have been a better idea .” Nah . The problem with a wandering mind is that you ( in this case , I ) lose touch with what counts . Literally . I think I can speak for many anglers around the world when I say adventure is what keeps us alive . Not sitting at a desk -- that ’ s something we have to do to make a living . Its not what makes you feel alive .

So its time to grind . You keep casting away looking for the perfect moment . Every cast counts during the time you invest on the water . The tide is right . The sun is setting . There should be a big striped bass lurking in the

Anglers Go Deep at Kokanee Power Lake Pardee Derby II

E ach summer , the saga known as the Kokanee Power derby circuit slowly plays out on lakes across Northern California . The latest installment was the ‘ Lake Pardee II Team Kokanee and Trout Derby ’ held on Saturday August 14 . There was a great turnout , and once again the fishing was challenging for both kokanee and trout . Originally scheduled for New Bullards Bar Reservoir , the derby was moved to Lake Pardee because of ramp access concerns at Bullards Bar . While a last-minute change is never fun for anybody , I was excited to finally get a chance to fish a latesummer derby at Pardee . This is the time of year when pre-spawn fish form tight schools in deep water . Once I heard the news that the derby was moving to Pardee , I immediately

scheduled a pre-fishing trip on August 1 with my daughter Grace . We headed straight upriver to one of the areas where pre-spawn kokanee usually

WHAT ’ S HOT by Jack Naves

start to stage in August . Not surprisingly , there were several boats already working the area I was interested in . We made several passes through the vicinity and picked up some nice 14 to 16 inch kokanee . We left the area to scout other regions of the lake , but were only able to catch small fish . The bigger kokanee were holding between 95 ’ and 105 ’ deep . The smaller fish , which were lighting up the screen in clouds on my sonar unit , were holding above 85 ’ deep . There was some mixing between the larger and smaller kokanee classes , but for the most part the bigger fish were down deeper . With eighteen fish in the box , we headed home , satisfied with the first of several scouting trips to come . For my next pre-fishing trip on August 8 , I was lucky enough to be invited by Jim Brittain of Orangevale to fish in
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GONE FISHING

by Roland Aspiras
This hefty striper was hauled in by Roland Aspiras recently while throwing lures in the Delta .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
The 1st place winner of the Junior Division Adam Naves shows off a 15-inch kokanee . The fish was taken in the Mokelumne River arm during the Lake Pardee derby on August 14 . Adam cranked the fish all the way to the surface from 105 feet down .
Photo Courtesy of Jack Naves

August 27 , 2021

FRESHWATER REPORTS American Basin - Lake Berryessa .......................... 6 Bullards Bar - Lake Camanche ............................... 8
Collins Lake - Davis Lake ........................................ 9 Don Pedro Lake - Folsom Lake ............................ 12 Los Vaqueros Reservoir ....................................... 14 Lake Oroville - New Melones Lake ....................... 15 Pardee Lake - Shasta Lake .................................. 16 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley Marina - Bodega Bay ............................... 20 Half Moon Bay ......................................................... 21 Monterey Bay ........................................................... 22

FEATURES

Where ... When ... How ...
GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ................................ 10-11 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 19

STAFF TACKLE

What We ’ re Using

Ernie Marlan - fished the California Delta for striped bass . He used a Lew ’ s Custom Plus Speed Stick rod teamed up with a Quantum Smoke Heavy Duty 200 reel . He threw a variety of topwater baits and caught a handful of fish with the largest weighing in at 8 pounds !
Paul Kneeland - fished a very smoky Shasta Lake with Mark Kalinowski and John Brassfield in the Fish Sniffer 21 ’ Rogue Jet Coastal . They caught rainbow and brown 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 in red , black and white behind Bottom Line Tackle cannonball flashers off the Canon Downriggers at 80 to 100 feet deep and 2.2 mph .
Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Lake Alpine 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 and chartreuse glitter Berkley PowerBait and 1 / 8 oz . gold and black Panther Martins .