Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3825 Nov 22- Dec 6 | Page 18

16
Nov 22 - Dec 6, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 25
GONE FISHING
shoreline looking for the warmest water they
can find. This is the time when boaters can
troll shoreline structure with great success
and bank anglers prosper while soaking bait
under slip bobbers and fan casting with shad
imitating lures.
While the surface bite is improving daily,
it seems like we are a few weeks away from
the trout and bait moving toward the banks
due to the warm storm free fall we’ve had. Yet
fall weather patterns are notoriously fickle so
things could change abruptly. It’s November
after all!
Lake Almanor
Lake Almanor sits practically in the shadow
of Mount Lassen near the town of Chester,
California at an elevation of 4,500 feet. The
lake boasts robust numbers of both brown
trout and rainbow trout. The average trout
goes about 3 pounds. Fish that run from 4 to 6
pounds are common and double digit fish are
caught every season.
At this point, Almanor’s browns spawn
naturally in the lake’s tributaries. Rainbows
spawn successfully too, but their numbers
are also bolstered by DFW trout plants and
a pen project which takes hatchery trout and
holds them in pens within the lake for nearly a
year. These fish are giving a high protein diet
and they grow fast. When the pen rainbows
are released they are husky 2 to 3 pounders
that are fully acclimated to the lake, so a high
percentage of them survive.
In terms of forage, Almanor features a
robust population of pond smelt, big numbers
of crawfish and extensive insect hatches
including hatches of huge inch long hexagenia
mayflies.
While Almanor is full of big trout, the avail-
ability of forage makes hooking the lake’s
browns and rainbows very challenging.
In the fall, Almanor’s rainbows will be
largely finished with eating insects and will be
targeting pond smelt, but with huge numbers
of smelt available don’t expect the trout to be
push overs.
Success at Almanor demands, patience and
prospecting. I never expect limits at the lake,
but I know if I put in my time and pay close
attention to detail I have a chance at boating a
monster.
A couple weeks back my wife got a 5 plus
pound rainbow at the lake and last fall I got
a 7 plus pounder. My long-standing goal has
been to land a 10 plus pound wild rainbow
and in my opinion, short of traveling to a
destination like Alaska, Almanor offers the
best chance for achieving my goal…Monster
swim at Almanor!
New Melones Reservoir
Situated behind New Melones Dam on the
Stanislaus River is New Melones Reservoir.
When the lake is at full capacity it encom-
passes 12,500 surface acres. Trouters that
visit the lake find big numbers of big rainbow
trout and some very elusive, very large brown
trout.
New Melones is a shad lake, so shad pattern
lures are the way to go for trollers and bank
continued from page 1
casters. If you’re in a boat, use your
sonar to find the bait and you’ll be well
on your way to find the rainbows.
Bank anglers enjoy great action at
New Melones from late fall through
spring tossing standard dough baits,
inflated worms and casting with spoons
such as Kastmasters and Cripplures.
There is a group of dedicated live
bait anglers at Melones that catch their
trout by drifting live minnows below
slip bobbers. When that bobber dips,
it could be a rainbow, brown, bass or
even a channel cat!
Lake Tahoe
The Tahoe Basin represents a lot of
very different things to many different
people. It is a land of alpine ski runs,
in fact the world’s elite winter athletes
traveled to the basin in 1960 to
compete in the Winter Olympics.
The basin is a place where high
rollers ply the gaming tables in high
rise casinos and a place where million-
aires come to play.
When I think of the Tahoe Basin I
think of the lake that is its name sake
and the massive trophy trout that reside
there. Nowhere except perhaps in
Alaska, the Northwest Territories or
the Great Lakes do you have as good
a chance of hooking a 20 plus pound
trout as you do at Lake Tahoe.
From a physical standpoint alone
the lake is an amazing spectacle. Lake
Tahoe sets at an elevation of 6,225 feet
and is roughly 12 miles wide and 22
miles long. The lake holds 122,160,280
acre-feet of water that covers a surface
area of more than 193 square miles.
Lake Tahoe boasts a maximum depth of
1,637 feet, making it the tenth deepest
lake in the world.
Tahoe provides fishing for mackinaw,
rainbow trout, brown trout and kokanee
salmon, but the real attraction is the
size of the trout it produces. Tahoe
holds mackinaw in excess of 30
pounds, brown trout in the middle teens
with the promise of fish beyond 20
pounds and double digit rainbows.
“Mackinaw are the apex
predator within the lake.
Macks greatly outnumber
both browns and rainbows
and this shows in the
catches,” relates Gene
St. Denis of Blue Ribbon
Charters.
Top lining and deep water
trolling are the two basic
approaches to catching trout
at Lake Tahoe. For numbers
of keeper size macks, deep
water trolling is the way to
Big numbers of rainbows like this incredible fish are on
go. Use your sonar to find the the menu for anglers that visit Lake Shasta during the late
fish and then grind on them, fall and winter.
Photo courtesy of ROBERT HOWER, Redding.
trolling slowly until you start
hooking fish.
monofilament tipped with an 8-pound
Deepwater macks aren’t picky.
fluorocarbon leader.
Basically, you are trying to show them
something that
looks like a 2-inch
minnow moving
slowly. Lures
slathered with a
good shot of gel
based scent work
best.
Located just 35 miles north of Reno,
Top lining at
Pyramid Lake is home to some of the
Tahoe is always
best sport fishing on earth. Discover
exciting because
it’s the approach
all that Pyramid Lake has to offer.
that produces huge
macks, browns and
‘bows. The tradeoff
is that toplining is
very hit and miss.
Stormy days and
periods of low light
during late spring
and early summer
are great times for
speed trolling big
minnow plugs in
Tahoe’s shallows.
Discover Pyramid Lake Online at:
Rainbow trout and
kokanee colored
www.pyramidelake.us
plugs work the best.
Most anglers run the
Follow us on Twitter and “like’ us on Facebook
plugs back 200 to
3822
300 feet on 8-pound
Discover
Pyramid Lake
Powered by Clean, Quiet, Dependable Honda 4 Stoke
Outboards. Now available in 2 hp. to 250 hp. Models...
the right outboard motor for any boating need.
GREGOR SALES EVENT
Affordable Selection • EZ-Financing • Call Now!
We Make It Worth
The Drive!
GREGOR 18’ & 20’
EAGLE
Spacious • Stylish • Stable
• Durable • Economical
This Isn’t Grandpa’s Gregor. It’s Classy,
Rugged, Lightweight But Heavy Duty!
GREGOR 17’ & 20’ OSPREY
GREGOR 15’ & 16’ TALON
Trade-Ins Are
Welcomed. Call
Now For Details.
Don’t Wait For The 2020 Boats
Shows. Call Now For A Great Deal!
If you want huge rainbows and browns Lake
Almanor is a great place to head, but be
warned the fishing is seldom easy at the North
State trout factory. These fish were caught
during a fall outing with Bryan Rocucci.
Photo courtesy of BIG DADDY’S GUIDE
SERVICE, Quincy.
GREGOR SPORTSMEN
16 & 18 WT
All Osprey Packages Are Affordably
Priced And Easy To Finance. Call Now!
[phone]
3320 Boyington Rd. at Penryn in Loomis, CA
3825
For optimum performance and safety,
read the Owner’s Manual before
operating your Honda Marine Product.
Always wear a personal flotation
device while boating.
www.auburnoutboardmarine.com