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( 209 ) 295-4868 40800 Highway 88 , Pioneer , CA 95666 www . bearrivercampground . com
FRESHWATER
8 Sept . 15 - 30 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 20
GREAT FALL FISHING AT CAPLES LAKE ! on Highway 88 at Carson Pass
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WHAT ’ S HOT By Mike McNeilly continued from page 1
a huge catfish in the 20-pound range and broke him off before he could seal the deal . There ’ s just no reason for light gear with this style of fishing . 30-50 lb . leaders and 40-65 lb . braided mainlines on a 4000 size and up spinning reel is par for the course .
Hooks are worthy of a paragraph all of their own . You ain ’ t fishin ’ unless you are using circle hooks when it comes to catfish . In the last 5 or so years of pursuing trophy channel catfish , I have lost a whopping 2 fish because they came unhooked .
Furthermore , most of the fish I catch are hooked in the corner of the mouth and can be released should I desire to do so . You don ’ t even have to set the hook . The engineering of the hook does it for you .
I rig my hooks in tandem and knot them to the leader with two egg loop knots . The hooks are typically separated by about 5-7 ”. If one circle hook in the corner of the jaw is good , two is better .
Come enjoy the beautiful Fall Colors
The biggest reason I use two hooks though , is that it makes my presentation look very natural . For big catfish , nothing will beat whatever natural forage fish is available in the lake . If bluegill are the main forage fish , and they can legally be used as bait , then that ’ s what you should use . If carp are the main forage fish , then that ’ s what the catfish will want to eat .
When none of these are options , like in some of the Sierra district lakes , you may use dead saltwater fish as bait . In this case , and anchovy , mackerel , sardine or herring will suffice . Some anglers swear by saltwater fish as bait , but I think that is over played and over hyped . In my experience , these baits will work , but they have not produced nearly as well as the predominant forage fish .
We have done head to head competitions , and the prevalent forage fish usually wins . Results may vary at your local lake , and store bought saltwater fish are convenient , so try both .
Ken Salvi caught this 4 lb , 24 inch German brown in July 2017 near Emigrant Creek . For information , call ( 209 ) -258-8888
CAPLES LAKE RESORT P . O . Box 88 , Kirkwood , Ca 95646
www . capleslakeresort . com
3620
Regardless of the bait , I like to take a fillet off the baitfish and cut it into approximately a 2 ” wide by 4-6 ” long hunk of meat . Think of a piece of super thick cut bacon as your template . A big catfish will have no problem slurping up a piece of fish bacon .
Perhaps the biggest part of the catfish equation is where to fish for catfish . For some reason there is a misconception that catfish are denizens of the deep . That may be true during the middle of the day when they are essentially sleeping or inactive .
At nighttime , those fish come alive and head into the lake ’ s rich shallows to feed . A lot of the lakes I fish have very gently sloping shorelines and very muddy banks typical of reservoirs receding during the summer . It ’ s not uncommon to find cats feeding in very shallow water .
How shallow ? We ’ ve hooked them and had them immediately wallowing on the surface . They wallowed on the surface because they had nowhere else to go but up . That means we were hooking them in 3-4 ’ of water at most .
Of course , shallow is a relative term . On a big deep canyon reservoir like Lake Shasta , a 20-40 ’ submerged flat may be comparatively shallow and attractive to nocturnal cats . If you have a shallow river delta with a slight to moderate amount of current , then you really have hit the jackpot . The only downfall to these shallow areas is that they can sometimes be very weedy .
My buddy , Vance , has figured out a great way to fish these areas , “ We use giant red and white bobbers with a cut up bluegill for bait ,” Vance explained .
He then casts out and waits for the bobber to shoot under the water . The bite is usually far from subtle . Vance has already lost a few rods when they were hauled off into the water by a hungry catfish .
Catfish get very little respect and very little serious fishing pressure . If you want to beat the heat and have a busy lake to yourself , it ’ s
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Mark Wiza backpacked into the Sierra Nevadas this August for a shot at back country trout and caught several including this dandy cutthroat .
Photo courtesy of MARK WIZA , South Lake Tahoe .
FRESHWATER REPORTS :
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LAKE BERRYESSA cont . smelt and threadfin shad . They were healthy , really thick fish .”
Barr was using chrome and purple Apex lures and Brad ’ s Kokanee Cut Plugs , tipped with Pautzke Fire Corn emeasered with herring oil .
“ We hooked the fish in the area from the north side of the Narrows to the main lake ,” he tipped . “ Our speed was 2 to 2-1 / 2 mph .”
Don Paganelli of Paganelli ’ s Bass Fishing Experience reported solid bass fishing on his last trip to the lake .
“ The water temperature was 80-plus degrees , so there was no top water bite ,” he said . “ The two fishermen with me caught and released 10 fish , a mixture of smallmouth and largemouth bass , while only fishing until 10:30 am .”
“ The fish averaged 1-1 / 2 pounds each ,” he noted . “ We caught all of the fish while drop shotting with morning dawn colored Rob Worms in 15 to 20 feet of water on the east side of the main body . There is no spoon bite yet ; the fish are still in their summer pattern .”
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BUCKS LAKE
Crowds Thin , Kokanee Bite Rolls Forward !
QUINCY - “ Now that school is starting back up and vacation season is coming to an end , the boat traffic is pretty light up at Bucks Lake and us anglers pretty much have the place to ourselves ,” reported Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy ’ s Guide Service .
“ The kokanee bite continues to be excellent for fish in the 12 to 13 inch class and it looks like the action is going to remain good for the next few weeks . The limit on kokanee at Bucks is 10 fish this year , so this is a great time to come up , enjoy some exciting
Great Fishing for Rainbows , Browns and Lake Trout !
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( 209 ) 295-4868 40800 Highway 88 , Pioneer , CA 95666 www . bearrivercampground . com
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