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

20
Nov 22 - Dec 6, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 25
Spotlight On Kayak Fishing...
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in Citrus Heights, CA
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Fall Is The Time For
Tapping Nature’s
Bounty….Kayak Style!
By Cal Kellogg
Fall is such a wonderful time, perhaps the best time of the year for anglers
and hunters. And this is especially true for kayakers.
If you’re a trout angler, you have a lot of options during the fall in terms of
destinations because when the weather cools trout fishing kicks into gear at a
long list of small out of the way lakes. Not only do the holdovers and native
fish in small lakes and reservoir come to the surface once again, but DFW
trout plants
kick into
gear too.
Here in
my neck of
the woods
Rollins,
Collins,
Sugar Pine,
Englebright,
French
Meadows
and Scotts
Flat are all
options that
Here we see Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg letting out his line during
provide
a recent sierra kayaking adventure. One of the best things about
both
kayaking small lakes during the fall and winter is the solitude and
overall lack of fishing pressure.
planter and
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. holdover
trout and
I’ll be you can name a similar list of lakes dotting your region.
With all this in mind, I made a brief trip to Sugar Pine this week and enjoyed
good action on planted trout.
I hit the lake a bit after sunrise and started peddling with a pair of Trigger
Spoons trailing behind the kayak. It was slow going for the first hour or so,
but once the surface temperature started to inch up a bit the trout got active.
First I saw a couple trout swirl, then one jump and the next thing I knew I was
hooked up.
They were standard issue government rainbows that ran up to 14 inches.
They were fun to fight and I was able to put together a nice stringer of fish for
my dad. He’d requested a few fish for dinner and I was happy to help!
The thing to remember when targeting fall trout from the kayak is that the
fish will be shallow most of the time. I like to start off at a brisk pace of 2.5 to
3 mph and only slow down if I can get fish on a fast troll.
However, trolling isn’t the only option available. You can certainly beach
your kayak in a likely looking area, kick back and enjoy a little bank fishing
Fall is a great time for kayakers to target trout at small mountain lakes. This rainbow
blasted a red and gold Cripplure trolled 5 feet deep.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
action while relaxing on a sunny shoreline or you can toss out a slip bobber
or two and float around in open water with a menu of worms and salmon eggs
suspended 3 to 6 feet beneath the surface.
Are you a hunter? If so, kayaks and shotguns go hand in hand. Watefowl
hunting for ducks and geese is a no brainer, but squirrels, turkeys and quail are
on the menu too. Just be sure hunting is allowed before taking a shot.
One of the cool things about hunting from a kayak is that unlike a boat, you
can hunt and shoot while under power. That means you can troll right up to that
raft of ducks, pod of geese or flock of turkey and cut loose once in range.
I tether my gun to the kayak so that I don’t lose it and I never paddle with a
round in the chamber. Instead, I slip a couple rounds of coarse steel shot into
the magazine of my 870 Remington and chamber a round when an opportunity
presents itself, be it a mallard, honker or fat grey squirrel running along on the
bank!
With chilly temperatures and fall colors in full display what could be better than
spending an autumn day kayaking a Sierra lake.
Photo courtesy of CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
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This aggressive Sugar Pine Reservoir couldn’t pass up a gold
Trigger Spoon trolled quickly.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
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