Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3903 Jan 17-31 2020 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
38 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
American River Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 14
January 17-31, 2020
Vol. 39 - ISS.3
Our
37th
Year
M
Since 1982
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
Will Fish Tackles the East Cape
Los Barriles, Baja California Sur
y wife Kim and I have been
enjoying the wonders of the East
Cape in southern Baja since the late 80s.
When we bought Will Fish Tackle a few
years ago it was a foregone
conclusion that sometime in
the near future we would be
hosting a trip to our favorite
Mexico destination.
That time came this year,
in the second week of
November. We arranged a
trip for 14 of our customers
to spend 5 days in the
Baja with 3 days dedicated to fishing the
waters off Los Barriles. When I say “we”
I mostly mean Kim, as she did the heavy
lifting of making the travel arrangements.
We had a great group of travelers that
included some seasoned saltwater anglers
and some first timers. Five couples joined
us where the spouses took the opportunity
to experience the outstanding big game
fishing that this region is known for.
We started our trip on a direct flight
from Sacramento to the Los Cabos airport
and the winding lines through immigra-
tion and customs. Kim had arranged for
ground transportation from
the airport to our hotel, the
Palmas de Cortez, via two
very comfortable air condi-
tioned vans.
Our drivers met
us at the curb and
after a brief stop at
a roadside bodega
for coolers full
of refreshments,
we headed to Los
Barriles. The drive
takes 45 minutes to
When Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle in Auburn headed
an hour depending on traffic down to the Baja Peninsula this fall the action was great for
and livestock encounters
several different species including hefty dorado.
Photo courtesy of CRAIG NEWTON, Will Fish Tackle.
along the way. We passed
the Tropic of Cancer on our
way north, officially leaving the tropics
concoctions. After a few refreshments
behind. Crossing several arroyos and
and a meal we stopped by the fishing
ridges we wound our to the point where
office to meet with Anibal to set up the
the highway meets the eastern coast of
boats for the next three days.
Baja at Los Barriles.
We had reserved five deluxe cruisers
After a painless check in at the Palmas,
with help from Mark Dougherty of East
we made a quick stop at the poolside bar
Cape Guides. We drew for boats and
for a margarita poured by Hector. Hector
made our food and drink orders with
has been working the bar at the Palmas
anticipation of great fishing the next
for over 50 years and mixes some tasty
CONTINUED ON PG 16
GONE
FISHING
by
Craig
Newton
Exploring The World’s Best Trout Lake With Capt. Sam Shallow!
L
ocated some 40 miles to the
northeast of Reno, Nevada,
Pyramid Lake is the remnant of ancient
Lake Lahontan. The lake lies totally
within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
Reservation. Fed by the Truckee River,
Pyramid Lake has no outlet.
As a result, the lake loses water through
evaporation and subsurface seepage and
has a salinity level 1/6 that of sea water.
While Pyramid’s spectacular high desert
beauty is a site to be seen, for fisherman,
the number one drawing card is the lake’s
world class Cutthroat Trout fishery.
The lake record cutthroat was
taken back in 1925 and weighed
an astonishing 41 pounds. More
recently, each season fish in the
20lb class are caught.
For several years now I have been
wanting to fish
the lake, so when
Sam Shallow, the
owner operator
of Deep Water
Guide Service,
invited me to
join him for a
day of fishing,
I was quick to
accept his offer.
The 2019 – 2020
season opened on
October 1, 2019 and
will run until June 30,
2020. Captain Sam
Big trophy size cutthroats are what bring anglers to Pyramid Lake. is one of a limited
number of licensed
Captain Sam Shallow nailed this trophy ‘cutt on a large Shallow
Glass spinner.
boat guides authorized
Photo courtesy of MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
F ish S niffer T IP OF THE W EEK
by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
An avid fisherman since his childhood,
he has been fishing the lake for over a
decade and has been
guiding for several
years now. In addition,
he and his brother
Christopher own
and operate Shallow
Glass Lures, a line
of premium hand
crafted baits featuring
Gamakatsu hooks
and hand blown glass
beads that they produce
themselves in their own
Glassblowing Studio.
Captain Sam offers
anglers a variety of
different fishing options
including, trolling,
jigging, casting, and fly fishing. All
tackle is provided, Captain Sam fishes
only the best Shimano Reels and Seeker
Rods.
Let’s Go Fishing
It was a brisk late fall morning when
my fishing buddy Ian Rigler and I made
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Mark Fong
CONTINUED
ON PG 20
When it comes to trout fishing, the cool kids are all power trolling these days. They are rigging up with spoons and trolling
anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 plus mph. Yet the fact of the matter is that today’s speed trollers aren’t doing anything new.
“The best trout lure in my entire line up is the Mack’s Lure Hum Dinger and if you want big trout the half ounce model is
very hard to beat,” says trout tackle guru Gary Miralles told me more than a dozen years ago.
The half-ounce Hum Dinger can be run all the way up to 5 mph. The Hum Dinger was designed to trigger reaction strikes
and to do that it has to be moving quickly.
Special Section
KAYAK Fishing:
pgs 6
INSIDE
Area Reports
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor - Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoir........4
Camanche Lake - Clear Lake.................................7
Collins Lake - Davis Lake.......................................8
Del Valle Lake - East Delta ..................................11
Eastern Sierra - Rancho Seco Lake............... 12-13
Redding - Rio Vista.............................................. 17
Rollins Lake - Tahoe....................................... 18-19
Tahoe - West Delta.............................................. 21
SALTWATER REPORTS
Baja Roundup........................................................... 26
Berkeley - Half Moon Bay...................................24-25
Monterey Bay......................................................26
FEATURES
Where...When...How...
BULLETIN BOARD.....................................................3
CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Dave Leak.............8
FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Cal Kellogg...................27
GO FOR IT: Staff.......................................................10
HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................................................5
KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Kevin Hofer ...............6
MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................14-15
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......22
STAFF
TACKLE
What We’re Using
Cal Kellogg - fished Rollins
Lake from his Hobie Pro
Angler 14 kayak. During
the trip, Cal caught a pair
of brown trout to 17 inches.
For fishing worms under a slip bobber, Cal
employed one of his signature series 6’6”
spinning rods teamed with and American
Premier spinning reel spooled with 175
yards of 8 pound Trilene Big Game line. On
the business end Cal employed an 8 pound
Vanish Fluorocarbon leader and a No. 8
Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp octopus hook.
Paul Kneeland - fished Lake
Oroville with Bridget Looney
in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue
Jet Coastal. They caught
landlocked king salmon to
3.4 pounds, using a Okuma
9’ light action Kokanee Black Rod with a
Daiwa Lexa 100 line counter reel loaded with
8 lb test Yozuri Topknot Flourocarbon line.
They trolled white Tasmanian Devils behind
Vance’s cannonball flashers off the Canon
Downriggers at 40 to 45 feet deep and 2.1
mph.
Dan Bacher - fished for
rainbow trout at Halsey
Forebay. 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 Fluorocarbon Coated
Line. He fished with rainbow Berkley
PowerBait, nightcrawlers and 2/5 oz. gold/
red stripe Little Cleos.