Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3712 May 25- June 8 | Page 3

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Lake Amador Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 Vol. 37 - ISS.12 Our 36th Year W Since 1982 May 25 - June 8, 2018 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Three Little Lures that Catch Big Trout hen I open my vest pocket or tackle box, there are three little lures that I depend on to catch the biggest trout in any given body of water. They I have seen the most selectively feeding trout lose their discretion when one of these lures goes wiggling by their face. Of course, I don’t catch every big trout. Big trout get old and large for a reason. They aren’t easy to catch. They live in places that are hard to properly present a lure or bait. They have a pea-sized brain, yet you might even call them “smart.” GONE FISHING Big rainbows really seem to have an affinity for them. I’ve also caught some really big Brook Trout on them. Now, throwing a little tiny Kwikfish isn’t without its Fish Sniffer field editor, Mike McNielly caught this huge Stampede Reservoir problems. mack while pulling a kokanee pattern Lyman Lure. Photo by MIKE MCNIELLY, Fish Sniffer Staff. For instance, without However, the benefits definitely fail the treble hook is going to outweigh the costs. I have found that occasionally catch on the line, and the key is to slowly reel in the Kwikfish the lure will spin like a helicopter blade and feel the consistent thump of the plug on the surface when you go to retrieve it. wobbling side to side. The strike on one Frustratingly, this will happen on one out of these little lures is amazing. Sometime of about every ten or so casts. It’s also going to spook some weary trout. CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 by Mike McNeilly K7 Kwikfish Not many people will cast Kwikfish. I sure am glad they don’t. I have caught a ton of big trout on these things. In fact, it’s probably my number one lure to cast to trout in still or slow-moving water. The Shasta Lake Trout Derby Sets Records With Huge Trout! W Owners Association. The lake was almost completely full, and the water w as clear and gorgeous all over the lake. And the trout were there, in big num- bers and record sizes. We stayed at the lovely Tsasdi Re- sort in Lakehead, with a motley crew of 11 fishermen including one youngster, 8-year- old Drew Bundy of Newcastle. We all arrived Thursday evening and were able to pre-fish on Friday. John Brassfield of Trucksmart Stores and I once again were partners and fished from the Fish Sniffer Rogue Jet 21 Coastal. We tried some unusual areas on Friday and caught trout most everywhere we went. Dave 10 year old Ty Collins of San Ramon with the biggest trout of the Barsi and Steve Fistler fished derby – a German brown that weighed 9.36 lbs. in Dave’s boat, and caught and e just returned from fishing the spring Shasta Lake Trout & Salmon Derby presented by Kokan- ee Power and the Shasta Lake Business released a 4-pound brown on Friday, as is their usual practice. Also joining us in the large cabin were Bruce Wicks and Al Fiske of Foresthill, Mark Kalinowski of Walnut Creek and Gary Caruso of Auburn, and Rob and Drew Bundy of Newcastle and his Matt Behrens of Santa Clarita. The weather was fine all 3 days, with Saturday being a little overcast, but warm and no wind to speak of any day. John and I caught about 20 nice rainbows per day, from 14 to 21 inches. But we never caught any of the big browns and rainbows that some folks did. Our best lures were Speedy Shiners in Red Racer and water- melon, and Excel and Hot Ticket lures in chartreuse and gold/red colors, all trolled from 2.5 to 3 mph. Most of our fish came from 30 to 45 feet deep, with a few caught right on the surface. Many of the fishermen this year were trolling spoons at faster speeds, and this WHAT’S HOT by Paul Kneeland Photo courtesy of KOKANEE POWER. 36 Years Serving Sportsmen CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 One Million Feather River Salmon Released into Sacramento, But Pulse Flow Request Rejected See Page 22 Special Section Baja Roundup PG 27 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor - American River.....................................4 Bullards Bar/Englebright Reservoir - Dell Valle Reservoir............................. 6-7 East Delta - Folsom ..............................................8 Los Vaquero Reservoir - Pardee Lake............10-11 Pyramid Lake - Santa Clara Lakes................ 12-13 Shadow Cliffs Lake - Tahoe................................17 Trinity Lake/River - West Delta...........................18 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................23 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................25 Peninsula Shoreline.............................................26 FEATURES Where...When...How... BAJA ROUNDUP.................................................... 27 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 4 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..................... 5 GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 2 KAYAK FISHING - Chris Mayes................................ 9 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...................................... 3 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................14-15 SALTY TIPS Steve “Hippo” Lau.............................. 26 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION - Dan Bacher.... 22 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER - Mark Fong................ 24 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished for S.F. Bay halibut from the bow of the California Dawn. Cal landed a limit of halibut while using a Cousins Tack- le 7’9” 797 PT Raze rod mated with a PENN Fathom 15LD lever drag baitcaster spooled with 65 pound Yo-Zuri braid. On the business end Cal used a leader constructed of 20 pound test Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. Paul Kneeland - fished the Shasta Lake Trout & Salm- on derby with John Brass- field of Trucksmart Stores in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught rainbow trout to 3 pounds, using a Rogue Rods 7’ 6” light action graphite rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 Line Counter reel loaded with 10 lb test Berkley Fireline.. They trolled Red Racer and Watermelon Speedy Shiners off the Canon Downrig- gers at 25 to 40 feet deep at 2.7 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Sugar Pine Reservoir. He used a Berk- ley Ugly Stick GX2 6’ 6” me- dium action spinning rod, teamed up with a Shake- speare GX235 spinning reel filled with 6 lb. test P-Line CX Premium fluorocarbon coated line. He fished with chartreuse Berkley PowerBait, 1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins and 1/8 oz. Yaki- ma Bait Rooster Tails in brown trout, fire tiger and rainbow color patterns, along with Berkley chartreuse glitter PowerBait.