Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen!
Vol. 39 - ISS.20
Camanche Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U.S.A
See Page 14
Since 1982
September 25, 2020
38 Years
Serving
Sportsmen
Special Section
KAYAK Fishing:
pgs 18
Our
38th
Year
During the fall, winter
and spring, when the
“The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!”
Delta Stripers One On One
bulk of our striper population
is residing in the Delta, there
are a number of different
ways to target them. You can
soak cut bait, show them live
bait, troll for them, plug for
them, jig for them and even
toss flies at them.
For consistent numbers day
in day out, bait fishing and
trolling are great choices and
truth be told these are the
tactics that the vast majority
of Delta anglers employ.
While these approaches do
offer steady results, they aren’t necessarily
the most exciting ways to skin a striper.
If you want to experience the best
of what Delta striper fishing has to
offer you’ve got to cast for your fish.
Depending on your preferences, that
might mean using spinning or baitcasting
gear or turning to fur, feathers and long
rods to tempt them with flies.
I refer to plugging and fly casting as one
on one striper fishing for good reason.
GONE
FISHING
by
Cal Kellogg
Trout anglers can expect outstanding rainbow
action at Lake Shasta this fall when big ‘bows
that have been hanging out in deep water return
to the surface.
Photo courtesy of JEFF GOODWIN’S FISHING
TEAM, Redding.
It’s you against the
fish. You are working
the lure and when
the fish strikes it
doesn’t expend
energy pulling out
line against a clicker
or tussling against
a 1,500 pound boat
moving at trolling
speed. As soon as a
bass takes a casted
plug or fly, the angler
gets to experience the
power of the striper
immediately and
directly.
Now I’m betting
that some folks reading this
that haven’t had the pleasure of
plugging for stripers think that
casting for bass is complicated
and takes a lot of specialized
skills. Well I’m here to tell
you that plugging for bass is
actually pretty simple. The
hardest part of the equation
CONTINUED ON PG 11
Big heat, big wind, fire
storms, horrible air
Delta stripers can be caught using a variety of different
methods, but the most exciting approach is plugging
for them.
Photo by JACK NAVES, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Fantastic Fall Trout Action Looms Right Around the Corner
quality, all National Forests
in California currently closed
until further notice and on
and on it goes. As a result,
I haven’t hit the water this
week. Instead I lurked around
the homestead dodging the
smoke and hoping no fire or
pestilence would come my
way!
Last week, I did plan on
hiking deep into the American
River Canyon in search
of trout, but that day my
computer decided to implode.
By the time I got my computer issues
figured out it was getting late in the
morning, so I settled for a short trip to
the Mammoth Bar section of the Middle
American.
That piece of river receives plenty of
pressure due to the easy access it offers,
but I did manage to fool a pair of small
wild rainbows on a Panther Martin
Spinner.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready
for some true fall weather. Chilly nights,
WHAT’S
HOT
by
Cal Kellogg
beautiful mild afternoons,
perhaps a storm or two and
a dusting of snow in the
Sierra. I crave the changes
that prompt fat mountain
trout to strap on the feed
bag and urge sleek bucks
to leave their dark hiding
places and ghost the ridges
preparing for the November
rut…
I had a Fish Sniffer reader
reach out to three days back
asking me for some ideas on
where he might go hunting
for trout this fall. I tossed
out several potential destinations
to him including these.
Caples Lake for Browns, Brooks,
‘Bows & Macks
Some trout fishing destinations offer
superb angling, others offer exceptional
scenery, still others boast both. Caples
Lake, setting near the crest of Sierras is
near the top of this list providing both
lights out fishing for rainbows, browns,
brook trout and macks and breath taking
Fish Sniffer TIP OF THE WEEK
SOCIALLY DISTANCE - BE SAFE!!!
CONTINUED ON PG 16
INSIDE
Area Reports
FRESHWATER REPORTS
Almanor Lake - Lake Berryessa.............................8
Bullards Bar/Englebright Reserviors -
Clear Lake.............................................. 10
Collins Lake - Davis Lake.....................................11
Eagle Lake - Eastern Sierra................................. 12
Feather River - Folsom Lake............................... 13
Klamath/Trinity Reservoir - New Melones Lake.. 16
Oroville Lake/Thermalito Afterbay - Redding....... 17
Rio Vista - Sacramento Area ......................... 18-19
San Pablo Reservoir- Shasta Lake .......................... 21
Stampede Reservoir - West Delta.......................... 22
SALTWATER REPORTS
Berkeley - Fishermans Wharf.................................. 26
Half Moon Bay.......................................................... 27
Monterey Bay......................................................28
FEATURES
Where...When...How...
HUNTING JOURNAL ................................... 6 -7
BAJA ROUNDUP........................................................28
CATCH & RELEASE - FLY FISHING: Cal Kellogg..........18
FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY: Steve ‘Hippo’ Lau..........24
GO FOR IT: Staff.........................................................9
HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg................................................5
KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Jim Ware .................20
MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher...............................14-15
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher......25
STAFF
TACKLE
What We’re Using
Cal Kellogg - is planning
a trip to the West Delta for
striped bass with Abe Wong
of Fair Oaks once the wild
fire danger ramps down in
the foothills. Cal will use a
7’ Lamiglas Certified Pro baitcasting rod
teamed with an Abu Garcia Revo Toro reel
spooled with 60 lb FINS braided line for
fishing filleted shad on a sliding sinker rig.
Paul Kneeland - fished
Boca Reservoir with John
Brassfield of Trucksmart
stores in The Fish Sniffer
Rogue Jet Coastal 21.
They caught kokanee to 14 inches using
an 7’ Powell composite kokanee rod with
a Shimano Calcutta 100 level wind reel
loaded with 6 pound Soft Steel HT line. They
trolled brass/red Arrow Flash micro spinners
behind Vances copper pink dodgers with
corn soaked in Pro Cure Kokanee gel from
the surface to 40 feet deep off the Cannon
Downriggers at 1.3 mph.
Dan Bacher - fished for
largemouth bass at Rucker
Lake. He used a Berkley Ugly
Stick GX2 6’ 6” medium action
spinning rod, teamed up
with a Shakespeare GX235
spinning reel filled with 8 lb. test P-Line CX
Premium Fluorocarbon Coated Line. He
fished with wacky-rigged 5 inch Yamamoto
Senkos in watermel;on and green pumpkin/
black flake on Gamakatsu Finesse Wide
Gap Hooks in #1 and 1/0.