Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3620 September 15-30, 2017 | Page 20

FRESHWATER

18 Sept . 15 - 30 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 20

HOW TO By Cal Kellogg continued from page 5

Kastmaster or a Krocodile jigged vertically is hard to beat . These same spoons are effective when fished horizontally for bass chasing bait near the surface . Using a spinning rig or casting rig loaded with 20 to 30 pound braided line tipped with an 8 foot section of 25 pound fluorocarbon , simply cast the spoon well beyond the flashing bait and immediately begin a slow retrieve with the rod tip held high . This way the spoon will be swimming along 1 or 2 feet below the surface .

I believe that spoons are among most underutilized lures in bass fishing . Most guys acknowledge their effectiveness when fished vertically , but most anglers don ’ t think of fishing them horizontally . Trout anglers trolling with Kastmasters , Cripplures , Needlefish and Sep ’ s Pro Secrets catch big numbers of bass . Why ? The answer is simple ; these lures match the size and action of the bait bass often feed on . In addition , trout trollers are generally working in open water well off the bank .

Suspended bass holding offshore over deep water represent one of the most challenging situations in bass fishing , yet trout trollers often catch these fish with relative ease . Bass are generally drawn into open water by the presence of bait and are challenging to catch because they are not relating to structure . This leaves anglers without a defined “ target ” to fish toward . I often wonder if bass anglers experimented with fan casting “ trout ” spoons if they wouldn ’ t put more keepers in the live well .

When the bait is holding within 15 feet of the surface other productive lures include crankbaits , spinnerbaits and surface lures such as Zara Spooks and Tiny Torpedo ’ s .

In situations where you can see baitfish breaking , but the bass chasing them play hard to get on reaction baits a light colored fluke rigged without added weight and dead sticked in the boils can be absolutely deadly . It ’ s also a great bait to follow up with after a bass strikes and misses a surface lure .

Live bait teamed with a slip bobber can also be used with very good results . One

September , back before I joined the Fish Sniffer staff my dad and I located an area on the North Fork at Folsom that featured a lot of jumping baitfish .

Arming ourselves with slip bobber adorned spinning rods and two dozen minnows we caught a variety of fish including spotted bass approaching 4 pounds , rainbow trout over 4 pounds and a bad tempered squawfish that was well over 8 pounds .

The cooler the water temperature becomes the further the bait and bass will push up the tributaries and arms . As a result , they will be found in ever-shallower water . Once the bass have vacated open deep water areas , you can start targeting them holding near ambush points . The best areas feature vertical structure , access to deeper water and evidence of nearby baitfish . Standing trees and steep rock banks positioned on bends in creek channels are examples of the types of spots you should seek out .

While the weather in fall is typically more stable than it is in the spring , drastic

changes can occur . When storms or cold weather move in , remember to let the water temperature dictate how and where you fish .

The air temperature may be in the 40 ’ s , the sky can be overcast and the wind can be gusting , but if the water temperature is in the 60 ’ s the bass will still likely be found dogging baitfish in the top 15 feet of water . The conditions on the boat may make it appear that a slowly worked jig or a spoon fished vertically over deep structure would be the best approach , when in reality the conditions below the surface call for a crankbait burned along the twists and turns of a creek channel .

As quickly as the fall fishing develops it can evaporate . Once the water temperature drops below 60 things start slowing down as both bass and baitfish begin moving deeper once again as they adopt a winter lifestyle .

Fortunately for us some of the best bass action of the year will take place in the near future . With a little effort and detective work we can get in on it before old man winter shuts things down .

A TOUGH START TO MY SALMON SEASON

We came – we saw – we conquered nothing . More simply put , our first salmon trip of the season was a bust . The plus was that we did go fishing .

My posture always has been that there are only two times one should fish . First , when you have the time and second , when the bite is on .

One of the many things that caused me grief back when I spent far more time on the water was observing anglers lose fish due to the poor evaluation of a situation . At the top of the list was losing a salmon due to the mishandling of the net . This issue was covered in my previous column . And I actually got some response .

First , a long time friend and fishing buddy joined me on our initial salmon adventure . He advised that he had read the netting instructions 3 times , then brought the column along on the boat in case I caught a fish and he needed to re-read the info .

My son called mid morning to see how it was going . The second thing he mentioned was the netting procedure , advising me to not screw it up . While we were talking my spinner rod took a serious dip and I tried to grab it with my off

BILL ’ S TIP SHEET by Bill Adelman

hand . Didn ’ t even feel lip .

Dave , another friend has joined me a few times and when I caught a salmon , which yes , has happened a few times , took the rod at the end so that I could do the netting . No way said he . On yesterday ’ s trip , we counted 7 different boats fishing at anchor and five boats trolling .

We didn ’ t see a hookup in our area and the trollers indicated like luck as they cruised by , flashing the safe sign or thumbs down . When they happened to ask us how we were doing , my stock response is always the same … we need only one more for our first one .

In recent years we were forced to fish in water up to 14 feet deep . Yesterday ’ s runs were 21 – 24 feet in the same areas . Back in the pre drought days we always fished 20 + foot depths . Kinda brought back memories of fun times .

There were some pluses as well . No mosquitoes yet and the slight morning breezes were a positive . Temperatures were fine , hitting a high of 88 when we departed the marina .

There was a lot of floating crud whirling around the launch ramp at Verona , but the launching options were perfect . The flow speed at the bottom of the rock wall was fairly stiff and could grab you if you didn ’ t anticipate it .

What was strange is what has to be a sand bar dead center in the departure lane from the ramp . The depth was at about 8 feet until you hit the outside flow of the shed . It dropped to 3 – 4 feet and my first thought was that my LCR was not functioning , so I double checked and sure enough , that shallow .

When the creek drops by about 5 feet , will this be a problem ? When we fell off the bar , the drastic drop went to 13 feet .

When we return next week I ’ ll spend a bit more time studying this drop . It ’ s possible that it flows the same way down the side of the shed . If so , anchoring just far enough to the outside of this break so that your inside plug is nestled up against the bottom of the break will be an enviable spot .

Approaching salmon will drop into this depth and follow it upstream . My choice will be to set the anchor just below the end of the seam and allow the boat to drift back about 35 feet , which hopefully will put us right on the migration route . If this approach doesn ’ t work , so what ?

The bite was off . They ’ re not coming through today . The water is too warm , as yesterday ’ s surface temperature was 66 degrees . We ’ re using the wrong colors . They ’ d only hit a double bladed spinner while all we had were single blades .

We tried bloody tuna scent and today ’ s bite was only on garlic . Even though the visibility was but a scant 18 inches or so , they could see the leader at 21 feet and shied away . There are many more and should anyone be in need , please advise and I ’ ll offer them .

WOW , can you believe it ? The next column will be number 500 . Thinking back to the first one , which I only remember by going back and reading it , where has the time gone ?

Hal called me one evening and asked if I did any writing . Of course . responded I . He asked for a few submissions and after reading them offered this Tips column .

Most have been tips , a few anti DFW and a couple were political . Boy , wouldn ’ t it be fun to be a political pundit during these times ? For sure I ’ d need blood pressure pills .

So , next time , who knows where it will go . We ’ ll see where the mood takes me . Seeya then and Tight Lines !

Update ! Since I wrote this column , we managed to catch a salmon . On August 30 , Ron Marciel put our first salmon of this season in the boat while fishing a K-14 Kwikfish at Verona .

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