14 June 26, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 14
fish! I shouted, as my daughter
made her way to the rod. I
could tell by the head shakes
and burning drag that this was
a better class of fish. “Slow
and steady” I reminded her,
but despite her best efforts the
fish came up in a ball of whitewater
on the lake’s surface. I
quickly lunged up and over the
outboard motor, stretching to
my limit to scoop the dancing
fish into the net.
“Nice one” I commented, but
Grace wanted to measure it.
“After we bleed it”, I relayed
back to Grace. After knocking
the fish out and ripping the
gills with my needle-nosed
pliers, we left the fish in a
bucket full of water for about
five minutes.
Once bled, the fish measured
at 16.5 inches, but the girth
of Berryessa fish is what sets
them apart from kokanee in
other lakes. They resemble
football-shaped bass when you
first get a glimpse of them in
the water.
Only minutes later, the same
rod went off, and Grace was
back fighting another trophy
fish. This time, the fish was
zigzagging erratically up
towards the surface.
SPLASH! I quickly looked up and the
fish went airborne a second time. “I think
it’s a rainbow,” I relayed, as the fish spun
in a circle and then headed towards the
rear downrigger wire. Eagle Lake strain
of rainbow trout are planted at Lake
WHAT’S HOT continued from page 1
Jack is shown here with two impressive Berryessa ‘kokes. “You’ve
really got to work for them at Berryessa this year and you’ve got
to put in your time until the bite window opens, observed Jack.
Photo by JACK NAVES, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Berryessa. They are two-tone steel and
silver rockets that don’t resemble the
typical round tailed pen fish you see
planted at other lakes.
“Maybe I should take this one…” I
said, but was answered with “Noooo!” in
unison by both Grace and Gina. I
could only imagine the tangles that
were about to ensue, but miraculously
the fish cleared the 27 wires,
lines, clips, and propellers before
ending up in the net. I removed
the hook with the fish still in the
rubberized net.
My son Adam insisted on being
the one to release the fish. He kept
the trout in the net and lowered it
into the water for a quick release.
The clean rainbow was pushing
twenty inches, and hovered near
the surface for only a few moments
before disappearing in a flash.
The day continued with a slow
but steady bite that resulted in ten
nice kokanee plus the fat rainbow
that we had released. As usual,
there were flurries followed by
slow periods when you wander
what you are doing wrong. At noon,
we pulled the fishing lines and
anchored near the beautiful eastern
shoreline for some swimming.
Sparse oaks peppered the golden
rolling hills, offering a picturesque
backdrop to a lazy summer
afternoon.
Next up it was time to pull the
kids on the inner tube. I pride
myself on being one of the only
downrigger-toting boats to double
as a wakeboarding and tubing
machine. We tubed our way back to
Capell, capping of a fun family outing.
You will certainly see me on Lake
Berryessa again this year. Just look for the
kokanee boat with the huge red inner tube
tied off to the side. And hopefully nets
flying as well…
Hefty trout are still on the bite at Lake
Camanche. This heavy rainbow was
landed on June 22.
Photo courtesy of the LAKE CAMANCHE
RECREATION AREA, Lake Camanche.
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