Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 2724 Nov 9-23 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
Pyramid Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 14
Vol. 37 - ISS.24
Our
36th
Year
I
Since 1982
November 9 - 23, 2018
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
rods, teamed up with Shimano Tekota
line counter reels filled with 40 lb. P-Line
Braid.
The day began with a sizzle,
as both Abourezk and Wilson
landed their one fish limits to
14 pounds by 7:30 am. Both
fish were bright kings that had
apparently just moved up from
the ocean.
Now it was time for Captain
Smith and I to catch our
limits. Smith decided to move
downriver below Garcia Bend.
After a couple of hours without
hook-ups, one of the rod tips
went down as a salmon grabbed
the plug and I began reeling the
fish in. Smith netted the beauty
after it put up a dogged battle.
It weighed 17 pounds and was the day’s
biggest fish.
Finally, around noon, Smith filled out his
limit with another shiny salmon around 8
pounds. We were done in time for lunch
while fishing in the heart of the bustling
Sacramento metropolitan area.
“This has been a good year for salmon
fishing,” Smith said. “Three anglers
fishing with me caught their limits of
GONE
FISHING
by
Dan Bacher
T
Area Reports
Where...When...How...
Charles Wilson shows off this hard-fighting
Chinook caught while trolling a Brad’s Cut
Plug on Sacramento River in the Capital
City during a guided angling adventure with
Captain Monte Smith on September 28.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
salmon to 20 pounds on Monday, 4
anglers bagged limits of Chinooks to
20 pounds on Tuesday. And 2 anglers
landed limits of salmon to 10 pounds on
Thursday.”
A couple of weeks after our trip,
Aburezk and Wilson made another trip
CONTINUED ON PG 10
a sharp slap followed by some tugs.
Every cell in my body screamed, “Set
the hook!” I ignored my instinct and
remained still as the bite increased in
intensity.
At the point when the bite
felt like a dog playing tug of
war with a towel, I reacted
and drove the hooks home
with a powerful sweep of the
Lamiglas rod. The connection
was solid and the salmon felt
powerful.
Rising to my feet I
announced, “Fish On!”. One
of my partners ran for the net,
while the other frantically
reeled in the other lines. It
had taken a while to get the
hook up and the last thing we
wanted to do was lose the first
fish of the day.
I ground on the reel and was careful
not to pump the rod tip. The strategy
worked. The salmon stayed deep and
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Cal Kellogg
John Higley had a great time fishing the Sacramento River
with Mike Bogue and Cal Kellogg on October 5.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
INSIDE
FEATURES
We Didn’t Get Skunked!
he weather was great
and the company was
grand. Sitting in the North
River’s comfortable swivel
seat, I was at
once filled with
expectation and
dread.
On one hand,
the river was
full of big fish
that had been on
the chomp day
after day. On the
other hand, rain
had turned the
river from near
crystal clear to
the color of iced
tea overnight
and it seemed to
merge into an ever-deeper
shade of brown with each
passing minute…
When the bite came, it
was classic. First I felt
Special Section
Baja Roundup
PG 27
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor - Lake Berryessa......................................4
Lake Camanche - Del Valle Lake..............................7
Eagle Lake - Folsom Lake .....................................8
Klamath River - New Melones Lake.....................11
Oroville Lake/Thermalito Afterbay -
Pyramid Lake............................................. 12
Quarry Lakes - San Pablo Reservoir.............. 16-17
Santa Clara Valley Lakes - West Delta.......... 18-19
SALTWATER REPORTS
Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................23
Fisherman’s Wharf - Half Moon Bay......................25
Monterey Bay......................................................26
Limits of Salmon in the City Limits
n spite of the forecast of modest
numbers of salmon on the ocean this
season by the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), this
has turned out to be a surpris-
ingly good year for Chinook
fishing in the ocean and the
Sacramento and Feather rivers
to date.
Dr. Michael O’Farrell,
NMFS scientist, forecasted
approximately 229,400
Sacramento River fall Chinook
adults would be swimming
on the ocean this year, but the
number that actually showed
up appears to be much larger.
The top-notch fishing for
salmon that anglers have expe-
rienced on the Sacramento in
the State Capitol was underscored by the
recent trip I made with Monte Smith of
Gold Country Sportfishing.
After Smith launched at the Sacra-
mento Yacht Harbor boat ramp, we began
trolling Brad’s Cut Plugs behind Pro-Troll
Flashers.in the chilly pre-dawn darkness
below Miller Park. Fishing with us were
Michael Abourezk and Charles Wilson.
Smith put out 9-1/2 feet Phenix Trifecta
36 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
CONTINUED ON PG 10
Memo Directs Department
of Interior to Slash
Salmon Protections
See Page 22
CRAB SEASON SPECIAL................................20-21
BAJA ROUNDUP.................................................... 27
BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Dan Bacher............ 13
BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 3
FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY .................................... 24
GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 6
HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg.............................................. 9
KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT ................................. 5
MAP FEATURE: Paul Kneeland........................14-15
SALTY TIPS: Hippo Lau.......................................25
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher..... 22
STAFF
TACKLE
What We’re Using
Cal Kellogg - fished
Lake Valley Reservoir for
rainbow trout. Cal utilized
a 7’ Fenwick HMG 70 ML
rod rated for 4 to 10 pound
test matched with an Abu Garcia Revo
SX spinning reel. The reel was spooled
with 6 pound Trilene and a 6 lb. Vanish
fluorocarbon leader was employed. Cal
landed 11 trout to 14 inches while soaking
inflated ‘crawlers.
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
3 1/2 pounds, using a Rogue Rods 7’ 6”
light action graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa
100 Line Counter reel loaded with 8 lb test
P Line Tactical Flourocarbon line. They
trolled RB Tackle and Mack’s Humdinger
spoons in gold/red color on the surface
and off the Canon Downriggers at 14 feet
deep at 2.5 mph.
Dan Bacher - fished for
rainbow trout at Spicer
Reservoir. 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 chartreuse Berkley PowerBait,
1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins
and 2/5 oz. gold/red stripe Little Cleos.