Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3626 Dec 8- 22 2017

VOL.36 • ISS. 26 and Up-To-Date Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Mokelumne River Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 Vol. 36 - ISS.26 Our 35th Year Since 1982 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” icture the best fireworks display you’ve ever seen: Blast after thunderous blast, with a myriad of dazzling elements all competing for your attention. That’s kind of how it is with the fall bass gorge fest; that exciting time when largemouth, smallmouth and spots crank up the feeding in advance of winter’s approach. Throughout the nation, threadfin shad, along with other regional faves, have a tough time in the fourth quarter, as they face the most relentless pursuit they see all year. Of course, the purpose here is nutritional intake; a fattening up, if you will, intended to get the fish through the cold season’s greatly diminished feeding opportunities. But, while angling entertainment never factored into nature’s design, it is most certainly a welcome byproduct. For anglers, it’s all in the way the bass feed; the absolute reckless abandon with which they attack baits, the extended feeding periods that often last throughout the day, the noticeable decline in edginess. Summarily, this is one of the best times of the year to catch numbers of fish, with the ever- present potential of running into a pack of big’ns. “This is one time of year you really want to watch for the birds and watch activity along the surface to see what’s happening,” said Raymarine pro Tim Horton. “Moving into the INSIDE Area Reports Where...When...How... BAJA ROUNDUP...............................................26-27 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..................... 9 GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................14-15 SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 26 SONOMA COAST - Kathie Morgan......................... 22 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 21 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER by Cal Kellogg........... 23 B.A.S.S. Elite pro Tim Horton says the key to more fall bass is locating baitfish. Photo courtesy of TIM HORTON, B.A.S.S. Mental and Physical Tough ness Tested at Addathon Iron Man Sturgeon Derby T PAGE 26-27 FEATURES by David A. Brown 119 under-size, 104 slot-size, and 24 over-sized sturgeon were landed by 28 two-man teams for a whopping total of 247 sturgeon, according to the derby director, Andy Doudna. “The wind was pretty bad at times, especially when the strong outgo- ing tide went up against the west wind. A lot of the guys looked in shel- tered water when the wind was at its worst on Saturday after- noon but found little to no fish. The ones that stayed in open JP Pitta landed and released several sturgeon during the Addathon Derby including water found some of this hard fighting fish. the best success,” he Photo courtesy of JP PITTA, Sacramento. he bi-annual Addathon Iron Man Sturgeon Derby returned to the California Delta on the rainy and windy weekend of November 4th and 5th, but it didn’t stop the competing teams from catching mind-blowing numbers of stur- geon. SEE OUR NEW BAJA ROUNDUP SECTION ON FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor Lake - American River.............................4 Lake Berryessa - Del Valle Lake....................... 6-7 Dom Pedro/McClure - Feather River.....................8 Folsom Lake - Oroville Lake...........................10-11 Lake Pardee - Redding/Red Bluff........................12 Rio Vista - Shadow Cliffs Lake ...........................16 Shasta Lakes - Lake Tahoe ................................18 Trinity River/Lake - West Delta ...........................20 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................22 Half Moon Bay - Peninsula Shoreline.............. 24-25 GONE FISHING CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 35 Years Serving Sportsmen December 8 - 22, 2017 Monitor Fall Bait Roundup For More Bass P 3 Dec. 8 - 22, 2017 related. Greg McElroy and Dan Ditlevsen of Brentwood once again took first place honors after winning the Spring Derby by landing 17 under-size, 21 slot-size, and 4 over-sized sturgeon. “We moved around a lot during this derby. Every 30 minutes we were pulling an- chor if we didn’t get any bites. We found fish from PIttsburg all the way up to Rio Vista. We used salmon roe for bait,” McElroy noted. Cesar Trapasso of Oran- gevale and Rickey Acosta of Sacramento took second place with nine under-size, 14 slot- size and 1 oversized sturgeon. “We found fish both incoming and outgoing tides in Suisun Bay, Big Cut, Grizzly Bay and the Horse Shoe. How- ever, we had to fish them smart because how swift they were going to move with WHAT’S HOT by Roland Aspiras CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 U.S. Senate Confirms New Reclamation Commissioner See Page 21 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Paul Kneeland - fished Lake Berryessa with John Brassfield of Trucksmart in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught rainbow trout to 19 inches, using a Daiwa DXS 8’ light action IM-7 graphite trigger stick rigged with the new Daiwa Lexa 100 Line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test Yo- zuri Topknot line. They trolled watermelon and shad pattern Apex Trout Killers off the Canon Downriggers at 10 feet deep and 2.2 mph. Cal Kellogg - fished Camp Far West Reservoir for bass from the shoreline. Cal used a 7’ Fenwick HMG70M-FS spinning rod matched with an Abu Garcia Revo S-30 spinning reel. The reel was spooled with 8-pound moss green Trilene. With this rig, Cal worked Senkos, Robo Worms and Kalin Grubs. On the day 3 spotted bass and one largemouth bass to 2.5 pounds were landed. Dan Bacher - fished for crappie at Rancho Seco Lake. He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6’ 6” me- dium action spinning rod, teamed up with a Shake- speare GX235 spinning reel line with 6 lb. test P-Line CX Premium Flourocar- bon Coated Line. He tossed out a 1/16 oz. white Mini-Jig and a 1/32 oz Berkley PowerBait Atomic Tube in a grass- hop- per pattern in the coves around sunken trees and brush.

Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3626 Dec 8- 22 2017 | Page 3