Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3718 Aug 17-31

FRESHWATER VOL.37 • ISS. 18 Aug 17 - 31, 2018 9 Trout When It Sizzles… < Big trout, like this handsome Lake Shasta brown lock into the thermocline during the late summer and early fall where they feed heavily on baitfish. The fishing can be incredible at these times for anglers equipped with downriggers and a good sonar unit. > A long list of lures will draw strikes from deep water trout that are holding and feeding around the thermocline. Baitfish colored hoochies teamed with dodgers such as this 6 inch watermelon colored Gold Star Dodger are one of author Cal Kellogg’s favorite offerings for late summer and early fall reservoir trout. > Late in presents Late Summer Trout Situations… T he late summer is a unique and often challenging period for trout anglers. Things like warm weather, heavy fishing pressure and ample prey keep some anglers on their heels. Everybody can catch trout in May, let’s take a look at how to get them in August when the going gets hot and the trout play hard to get…Or do they? Reservoir Trout in The Thermocline This is a common situation in many of our big inland reservoirs. Many of these impoundments are packed with rainbows that feed on threadfin shad and/or pond smelt. When the surface temperature at these deep bodies of water soars the water column stratifies. The upper levels of the water column are warm, often 80 degrees or more at the surface. Below this warm water layer, you’ll find a narrow band of water that has the optimum temperature and oxygen level for both baitfish and trout. When the trout and their forage lock into a zone that is perhaps 20 or 30 feet in cross section, some serious and prolonged feeding takes place. The rainbows quickly take on a football like shape and are so aggressive that they will jump on a range of different lures. Despite the abundance of the thermocline many anglers struggle at this time of the year. Typically, these guys are handicapped by either not having a good sonar unit, not having downriggers or both. Thermocline fishing for reservoir trout is a feast or famine proposition. If you’re gear is above or below the zone holding the fish, you won’t catch much. If you are in the zone the bite is often absolutely wide open. At lakes such as Shasta, New Melones, Don Pedro and Berryessa, the productive zone typically forms someplace between 40 and 60 feet deep. When you stumble on a productive area the screen of your sonar unit will light up with bait and the arches made by larger predatory fish. Using your downrigger, put one bait at the top of the hot zone and position your second rod’s rig right in the middle of the hot zone. What to pull? That really has everything to do with angler confidence. Just about any 2 to 3-inch-long baitfish imitation will draw strikes if you put it where it needs to be. I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend something very basic yet very deadly. For a dodger, I’d go with a chrome/blue or chrome/green UV Sling Blade in the 6 inch size. Don’t do anything cute with that blade like bending it or twisting it. We want it straight for fast trolling. 3.5 to 4 dodger lengths behind the blade on 12 to 15 pound fluorocarbon run a baitfish colored 2 inch hoochie on a double hook rig with the rear hook riding behind the hoochie’s skirt. Why a hoochie? Simplicity! A hoochie looks just like a baitfish when rigged behind a dodger and adding scent to them is a no brainer. Squirt them full of Bloody Tuna or Threadfin Shad Pro-Cure Super Gel and they will get hit. Pull that rig at 2.5 to 3 mph, work the sonar marks and you’ll be netting fat rainbows in no time. Shore Fishing at Warm Reservoirs During the late summer, much of the great shore fishing that bait anglers experienced during the spring and early summer is long gone simply because the near shore water is too warm to hold trout. While this may be true much of the day, there are periods when you can intercept rainbows in water that is very warm. I’ve caught big rainbows along shoreline structure at Lake Shasta right at day break FISH SNIFFER HOW – TO by Cal Kellogg the summer when river levels are down, the water is crystal clear and fishing pressure is at its highest point, catching trout on traditional offerings can be difficult. < For fickle stream trout, few offerings are as effective as nymphs and wet flies fished on spinning tackle. For maximum effectiveness make a stealthy approach and employ fluorocarbon line. Trout that pass on spinners, spoons and traditional baits are often suckers for subsurface flies. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3718 Aug 17-31 | Page 9