VOL . 36 • ISS . 24

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 13

TRINITY RIVER / LAKE cont . acre-feet of water , 74 percent

of capacity and 107 percent of capacity .

- Dan Bacher

WEST DELTA

Stripers And Sturgeon Chomp !

BRANNAN ISLAND - For the most part fishing is really good in the West Delta , but there are some slow days and weeds are a major challenge in some areas .

Striper anglers are hooking up on both bait and plugs . Trollers pulling deep running Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows are hooking limits regularly . Average size bass run 5 to 7 pounds and pull the scale down to 25 pounds on the big end of the spectrum .

Pluggers are smacking fish on consistently on Fish Traps and occasionally on big topwater baits such as Spooks and Delta Wood Bombers .

These folks smashed limits of big Sacramento River king salmon while trolling Brad ’ s Killer Bait Cut Plugs with Captain James Netzel on October 9 .

Photo courtesy of TIGHT LINES GUIDE SERVICE , Loomis .

Overall the easiest way to score a limit of bass is soaking shad . You ’ ll have to sort through some shakers , but if you stick it out you ’ ll likely take home a limit of schoolies . If luck shines on you a

jumbo in the 15 to 25-pound class may grab that shad .

If you want to trophy hunt , pike minnows , split tails and live bluegill are the way to go .

Stripers are definitely the focus

Nov . 10 - 24 , 2017 depending on if you are fishing shallow fast water or deeper slower water . No matter if you are fishing shallow or deep water your lure has to be working near the bottom , so if the lures you have are not heavy enough to work within a foot of the bottom , don ’ t be afraid to add split shot to the line about a foot above the lure .

The first thing you ’ ve got to understand about presentafor most anglers these days , but sturgeon enthusiasts are bagging keepers . The upper reaches of Suisun Bay is the place to look for diamond backs . Roe is the best bait , but eel is a must have too . In general , the best fishing has been taking place in water that ranges from 25 to 50 feet deep .

While there are lots of sturgeon holding in the West Delta , not all of them are biters , so don ’ t squat and rot . When you set up on good marks give them a chance to bite and if that bite doesn ’ t come , make a move and find some hungry fish .

WILD HORSE RESERVOIR

Shore Anglers Lay Into Trout

ELKO – The lake still has more algae than normal for this time of year but fishing is very good here as shore anglers report good fishing for trout in the Hendrick ’ s Arm on both sides of the highway , according to the Nevada

17

Department of Wildlife ( NDOW ).

Fish are averaging 14 to 17 inches with the occasional fish between 20 and 24 inches . From Hendricks to the dam , the water is clearer than the southern two thirds of the lake . Penrod arm is also fishing well as is the area on the west side of the lake near the hot springs .

Boaters are also doing well , though no report on how the canyon by the dam is fishing . Minnow imitators with black or blue over white or silver should work as well as fire tiger patterns . Fishing Bait fishermen should use the usual worms or PowerBait for trout .

While most fly rodders report good luck with leeches , especially when fished under an indicator ( bobber ), they also should be trying the standard fall reservoir patterns : scuds , damselfly nymphs , and blood midges . Chironomid patterns should also be near the top of the list for flies .

Wild Horse was stocked last week with approximately 20,000 trout bringing this year ’ s total to almost 148,000 fish .

- Joe Doucette

experience to consistently hook salmon while tossing hardware , but the strikes you get are savage and often occur right at your feet . Let ’ s take a closer look at this adrenaline filled underutilized form of river fishing .

Rods for tossing hardware don ’ t need to be heavy , yet this really isn ’ t a light tackle method . A good rod is either a spinning or conventional stick that is 7 to 8 feet long . The rod should feature a medium action and be rated for 10 to 20 pound mono .

In terms of reels you don ’ t need a huge line capacity . A baitcaster or spinning reel capable of holding in the neighborhood of 100 yards of 20 pound mono will work just fine .

This brings us to fishing line and this is where any notion of hardware fishing being a light tackle approach goes right out the window . For hardware

• $ 15 Per Chukar

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If you choose to use monofilament , limp abrasion resistant 20 pound test is the way to go . However , 20 , 30 or even 50 pound test braid is an even better choice . 30 pound braid is much finer in diameter that 20 pound mono and this allows you to get lighter lures deeper and cast farther than you could with mono .

Okay now that you ’ ve got a rod and reel combo rigged up it ’ s time to pick up some lures . In general , lures ranging from a ½ ounce to one ounce are most useful , but you can toss in a few ¼ ounce

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3620 models too . For spoons you ’ ll want to stick with standard wobblers like the Krocodile , the Mepps Syclops or Blue Fox Pixees . Your spinner selection should be a little more extensive . You ’ ll want lures with Colorado , Indiana and willow leaf blades . Colorado ’ s run the shallowest while willow leafs run the deepest and Indianas are a compromise in terms of running depth . There are a myriad of different spinners on the market that will work including the Mepps Longcast , Mepps Flying C , the classic Blue Fox Vibrax or the new Panther Martin Two Tone Roe Spinners .

I ’ d like to tell you that you don ’ t need a big selection of lures , but that isn ’ t the case . Color is critical . When you find salmon or steelhead grouped in a pool , initially they will hit just about any color lure , but then the bites and follows will taper off .

To get more strikes from that group of fish you have to keep switching lure styles and colors . Once they become accustomed to one lure or color typically no more strikes will come on that offering . Standard must have colors include , brass , silver , pink , orange , chartreuse and firetiger .

When it comes to working these lures there are two basic presentations

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3624 tion is that if a lure approaches salmon or steelhead from the tail it will spook them . To get strikes a lure has to approach the fish ’ s head from the front or side .

When working deeper slower water you want to cast upstream and reel the lure across and downstream toward the fish . Getting the lure deep with this type of presentation is seldom an issue , but you ’ ll have to reel quickly to make the lure work as it moves with the current .

In shallower faster water cast the lure directly across the stream , allow it to sink a bit and then allow it to swing across the current on a tight line . Usually the current is enough to make the lure work , but if not slowly retrieve line . Using this method , proceed to move downstream one step with each cast and you ’ ll cover riffles and runs very systematically .

Finally , as you work your lures remember you want them to be working as slowly as possible .

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The longer they stay in the strike zone the better your chances . As you retrieve your lures keep them in the water all the way to the rod tip . Very often salmon and steelies will follow the lure all the way to the bank before striking .