Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3812 May 24- June 7 2019 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
37 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
Shasta Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 14
May 24 - June 7, 2019
Vol. 38 - ISS.12
Our
37th
Year
Since 1982
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
Top Trout Spots to Visit THIS June!
J
une is a premier month for trout
fishing in the Golden
State, simply because
fishing opportunity is at its
highest for both boaters and
bank anglers.
In June California trouters
have a plethora of different
trout waters to choose from
and due to stable weather and
rising water temperatures the
trout action at most waters
ranges from good to great!
Being a full-time fishing
writer, in any give spring
and summer I’ll visit several
dozen different trout waters
and they are all special in their
own way. If you’re looking to
explore and bag some trout this June here’s
a trio of destinations that will treat you
right!
FEATURES
Where...When...How...
by
Cal Kellogg
Shasta is my hands down favorite lake.
With a capacity of 4,552,000 acre feet,
more than 30,000 surface acres and over
365 miles of shoreline Shasta is the state’s
largest reservoir and also one of Cali-
fornia’s richest lakes in terms of angling
Area Reports
SALTWATER REPORTS
Baja........................................................................... 25
Berkeley - Fisherman’s Wharf............................24-25
Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................26
GONE
FISHING
Lake Shasta
INSIDE
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor - Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoirs......4
Camanche Lake - Don Pedro Lake.................... 8-9
Eastern Sierra - Los Vaqueros Reservoir ............11
New Melones Lake - Pardee Lake...................... 12
Pyramid Lake - Redding...................................... 17
Rio Vista Area - Santa Clara Valley Lakes...........18
Shadow Cliffs Lake - Shasta Lake....................... 20
Tahoe - West Delta.............................................. 21
opportunity.
Shasta boasts rainbow trout,
brown trout, landlocked kings,
largemouth, spotted and small-
mouth bass along with channel
cats, crappie, bluegill and even
the occasional sturgeon.
Day in, day out, threadfin
shad are the primary forage for
Shasta’s gamefish, but in late
May and throughout the month
of June Shasta offers anglers
a bonus known locally as the
“plankton bite”.
Plankton? Well sort of. The
organisms are actually a form
of freshwater shrimp that trout
and other fish love to eat when
the tiny shrimp are formed into
dense clouds.
“The organisms are really daphnia, a
form of freshwater shrimp that thrive in
cold nutrient rich water,” says Lake Shasta
expert Gary Miralles.
“You find these little guys in most of our
reservoirs,” relates Gary. “Up in the Pit
River Arm of Shasta the activity is partic-
ularly intense. The Pit River flows through
farm country before it enters the lake and
as a result it packs a lot of nutrients that act
Special Section
Catch & Release
Fishing: pgs 6-7
With big bad browns like this brute up for
grabs, Shasta is a must visit destination
for any serious Golden State trouter!
Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN’S GUIDE
SERVICE, Redding.
as the catalyst for the daphnia bloom.”
You’ll typically encounter the plankton
early in the day before the sun is on the
water and if you don’t know what it is,
you’d likely avoid it because it makes
CONTINUED ON PG 16
BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3
CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Jason Thatcher.....6
CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING REPORTS................ 7
FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Wes Ward.....................27
GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................2
HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..............................................10
KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg ...............5
MAP FEATURE: Paul Kneeland..........................14-15
MIXED BAG FISHING: Ernie Marlan.........................13
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......21
STAFF
TACKLE
Battling Stripers on the San Joaquin River with Delta Fishing Experts What We’re Using
S
“We are calling it the ‘buzzards are
following us’ tour,” quipped Netzel.
“Everybody on the boat besides me is over
65. Mark and Clyde taught me all that I
know about fishing the Delta. I
owe them a lot.”
On the evening before,
Netzel got a shocking
discovery – thieves had stolen
12 rods and 13 reels,
$5800 worth of gear,
from his boat. So,
Wilson and Wands
brought their trolling
rods with them so
we had plenty of
rods to fish with.
We met James
at his boat in the
Pirate’s Lair Marina
and left the dock at
6 a.m. Our first stop
was just minutes away at the
Old River Flats at the junction
of Old River and the San
Expert troller Mark Wilson shows off the big striped bass Joaquin.
that he hooked, one of three landed during a triple hook-
We hooked one keeper and
up, during a trolling adventure on the San Joaquin River
one shaker right way, releasing
with James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service.
triper fishing on the San Joaquin
River in the Delta has been superb
this year, with a few slower periods mixed
in. Wanting to join in the action before the
fishing slowed down, I fished with James
Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service and
veteran striper anglers Mark Wilson, Clyde
Wands and Roy Rodarte on Friday, May 3.
both. As we trolled with deep diving
Yozuri Crystal Minnows and P-Line
Predator Angry Eyes shallow runners,
we hit a big school of fish “hay stacked”
10 feet off the bottom in 25
to 25 feet of water. We had a
triple hook-up, with Clyde,
Mark and I reeling in keeper
fish to 8 pounds.
However, a sea lion
suddenly appeared, spooking
the fish, and we didn’t get
any more bites there. James
drove the boat to Light 56,
False River and Eddos, where
we hooked a couple of more
keepers.
As the morning proceeded,
Netzel decided to try the area
east of the Antioch Bridge.
We experienced a good bite
there, finishing the day at
11:30 a.m. We kept a total of 8 fish to
8 pounds while trolling with shallow
running Yo-Zuris and P-Line Predators in
7 to 9 feet of water.
“Striped bass fishing has been chal-
lenging this year with the high water
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Dan Bacher
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK
When trout are actively feeding, one of the most effective approaches you can utilize is fast trolling.
While minnow plugs are an obvious choice for fast trolling, many folks overlook a small array of spoons
and that’s a mistake, because spoons can really pay dividends when pulled between 2.5 and 4 miles per
hour. Of course, you have to have the right spoon for this work. The most famous and most readily available
spoons for fast trolling is the venerable Speedy Shiner. Speedy Shiners come in a range of colors and sizes
from 2.5 to 4 inches long. Match the spoon to the conditions and the size of the trout in the lake and hang on!
CONTINUED ON PG 20
Cal Kellogg - Trolled Sugar
Pine Reservoir from his Hobie
Pro Angler 14 Mirage Drive
powered kayak. Cal utilized
two 7 foot Vance’s Tackle spiral
wrapped E Glass trolling rods. The rods were
matched with Abu Garcia 5500 Line Counter
reels spooled with Hybrid Leadcore Rigs
utilizing Yo-Zuri Top Knot fluorocarbon and
braided line. Using these rigs Cal hooked more
than 40 rainbow trout to 16 inches while pulling
Cripplures, Hum Dingers, Wedding Rings and
Flatfish. For added attraction Cal coated his
lures with Bloody Tuna scent Pro-Cure Super
Gel.
Paul Kneeland - fished
Stampede Reservoir with Mark
Kalinowski in The Fish Sniffer
Rogue Jet Coastal 21. They
caught kokanee to 14 inches
using an 8’ ultralight Phenix Reaper composite
kokanee rod with a Team Daiwa Z ultra light
levelwind reel loaded with 6 pound Yozuri
TopKnot fluorocarbon line. They trolled pink/
orange Paulina Peak hoochies and Arctic Fox
Kokanee flies tipped with corn soaked in Pro
Cure Kokanee Special behind hammered
Paulina Peak dodgers in silver/pink 20 feet
deep off the Cannon Downriggers at 1.2 mph.
Dan Bacher - fished for
rainbow trout at Rollina Lake.
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 Flourocarbon
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.