Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3706 March 2-16, 2018 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
Camanche Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 20
Vol. 37 - ISS.06
Our
36th
Year
“
March 2 - 16, 2018
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
Early Scouting The Key To Dealing With
Cold Front Bass
Y
ou gotta have a dream, if you
don’t have a dream, how you
gonna have a dream come true?”
That memorable tune from South
Pacific finds
Tonkinese
mother Bloody
Mary counseling
Lieutenant Joe
Cable on the
pursuit of true
happiness with
her daughter Liat.
But you have to
wonder how the
lyrics might’ve
varied had the scene taken place around
some western hemisphere bass factory,
instead of overlooking Bali Ha’i.
Maybe something like: “You gotta
have a stump, if you don’t have a stump,
how you gonna catch a bass post-front?”
Broadway aside, there’s undeniable
logic in knowing the likely spots where
bass will seek refuge in the harsh
conditions on the backside of a cold
front. Raymarine pro Stephen Browning
GONE
FISHING
by
David A
Brown
I
Since 1982
knows well this
game and, in
his estimation,
fishing after
a cold front
is generally
the toughest
scenario a bass
angler will face.
Browning
confronts
this daunting
scenario with a
well-conceived
game plan based
on forethought
and strategy. But Stephen Browning knows that moving baits like spinnerbaits tend to tempt
bass better before and during a front.
first, let’s look
Photo courtesy of DAVID BROWN.
at how the scene
unfolds.
As a weather system approaches the
Then the front passes and things
area, winds increase, skies turn cloudy,
get weird. Wind goes flat, temperature
rain becomes more likely and the falling
drops, high pressure pushes every streak
barometer spurs intense feeding. As the
of cloud from the sky and the dreaded
front moves through, the action continues
“bluebird” conditions can have you
and fish act like they want to eat the
wondering if someone stole all the fish
motor off the transom.
overnight.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
A New Steelhead Run Record Set At
Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery
t’s official; a new record for the
number of steelhead returning to the
[phone] www.dr agonsportfishing.com
A CDFW staff member releases a brightly-colored
male steelhead back into the holding pond at the
Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery in one
season has been set. The hatchery has
received 530 adults and 638 juveniles this
year to date, a total of 1,168
fish. That compares to 719
adults and 402 juveniles last
season, a total of 1,121 fish.
“We’re still spawning and
taking eggs,” said William
Smith, the manager of the
hatchery. “We’ve taken over 1
million eggs to date. Our goal
is to raise 250,000 steelhead
smolts for release into the
river next year.”
He plans to keep the
hatchery open into the first
week of March, since fresh
steelhead are still arriving
every week, with 15 new fish
reported last week.
The hatchery has taken over 1 million
steelhead eggs more than enough to make
sure they meet their production goal of
250,000 steelhead smolts.
Over the next month, The CDFW will
be releasing 300,000 6 to 8-inch steelhead
36 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
smolts in the Mokelumne below Caman-
che Dam.
Experienced anglers fishing below the
hatchery continue to battle
some quality steelhead and
wild trout. “One guy who has
been fishing three to four days
per week has been catching
and releasing around three
fish per day in the 18- to 24-
inch range while using flies,”
said Smith.
The big steelhead run
follows a record salmon
run. A total of 19,904 fall
Chinook salmon went over
Woodbridge Dam in the fall
of 2017.
The factors behind the
record steelhead and salmon
runs include stronger river
pulse flows, closures of the Delta Cross
Channel gates, the use of tagging data
to increase fish survival, barging salm-
on, habitat improvements and the 1998
Lower Mokelumne River Settlement
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Dan Bacher
CONTINUED ON PAGE 25
Brown Administration
Proposes Constructing Delta
Tunnels in Two Phases
See Page 23
Special Section
Baja Roundup
PG 38-39
INSIDE
Area Reports
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor - American River.....................................4
Berryessa Lake - East Delta...........................10-11
Eastern Sierra - Folsom Lake..............................12
Klamath River - New Melones Reservoir.............17
Oroville Lake - Redding/Red Bluff.......................18
Rio Vista - Sacramento Area........................ 24-25
San Pablo Reservoir -
South Oregon Roundup........................ 28-29
Lake Tahoe - Trinity River/Lake...........................30
West Delta..........................................................33
SALTWATER REPORTS
Berkeley - Half Moon Bay.....................................34
Martinez - Peninsula Shoreline....................... 36-37
FEATURES
Where...When...How...
SPRING LAKES GUIDE & NORCAL TROUT
ANGLERS CHALLENGE - PARDEE.......6-9,14-16
BAJA ROUNDUP...............................................38-39
BILL’S TIPS Bill Adelman....................................... 30
BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4
FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................... 19
GO FOR IT: Staff..................................................... 13
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3
MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................20-21
SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 38
SONOMA COAST Kathie Morgan.......................... 32
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 23
WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER - Dan Bacher.............. 35
STAFF
TACKLE
What We’re Using
Paul Kneeland - fished Lake
Berryessa with Mark Ka-
linowski of Concord in Mark’s
22 foot Rogue Jet. They
caught rainbow trout to 18
inches, using a Daiwa DXS 8’
light action IM-7 graphite trigger stick rigged
with the new Daiwa Lexa 100 Line count-
er reel loaded with 8 lb test Yozuri Topknot
line. They trolled shad pattern #2 Needlefish
and Rapala Scatterrap lures off the Scotty
Downriggers at 10 feet deep and 2.4 mph.
Cal Kellogg - fished Collins
Lake from the bank for rain-
bow trout using a 7’3” Cous-
ins fiberglass spinning rod.
Cal matched the rod with an
Abu Garcia Revo spinning
reel spooled with 10 pound FINS Braided
line. The braid was matched with a 6 pound
Vanish fluorocarbon leader tipped with an
Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp octopus hook. Ze-
ke’s Sierra Gold, Berkley PowerBait and
inflated ‘crawlers were the baits of choice.
Dan Bacher - fished for rain-
bow trout at Rollins 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 tossed out 1/8 oz. Yakima Bait Rooster
Tails in Brown Trout, Fire Tiger and Rain-
bow color patterns and 1/8 oz. gold and
black Panther Martins.