* Cash Prizes * Maximum 250 Anglers * 4 fish limit per day per team -- Brown & Rainbow Trout Only *$ 150 entry fee includes dinner , no host bar and Derby Shirt
22 Sept 14 - 28 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 20
FRESHWATER REPORTS :
CONTINUED FROM PG 17
SHASTA / WHISKEYTOWN LAKES cont .
trout action was fantastic every day .”
“ I usually favor the McCloud Arm , but with the fire activity up there I opted to stay on the Sacramento Arm . The trout were holding around 60 feet deep and they hit a variety of different lures . The best thing I used was a cop car colored Speedy Shiner in the large size trolled at 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour ,” reported Baxter .
“ Most of the trout I caught were rainbows that went 2 to 3.5 pounds , but I also got 4 brown trout . All the browns were over 3 pounds . The largest one on my Rapala digital scale weighed 5.56 pounds ,” Baxter exclaimed .
Bass fishing is good to very good . Throughout the midday hours hooking up is all about working soft plastics in 20 to 50 feet of water . The most exciting action is the walking bait bite that takes place early and late . Get tight to the shoreline and make long casts parallel to the bank .
When working plastics most of the bass being caught are 1 to 2 pound spots . On the surface lure , you ’ ll catch plenty of spots , but there are some largemouths that range up to and beyond 5 pounds in the mix too .
Shasta is currently just over 60 feet from maximum pool and boat launching is in full operation at several locations around the lake .
There are zero fishing reports coming out of Whiskeytown . There should be some big late season kokanee up for grabs , but fishing has been on hold due to the massive fire that burned the area surrounding the lake .
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR
Trollers Nail Quality Kokes
TRUCKEE – James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service finished his season off at Stampede Reserovir with superb kokanee salmon action .
“ My last trip of the year produced phenomenal fishing ,” said Netzel . “ My three clients were done with their limits of kokanee by 10:00 a . m . We eeeded through at least 50 or so 12 ” -15 ” to get our boat limits to over 17 .”
“ Since we began our season at the lake , we experienced the best fishing
HOW TO By Cal Kellogg continued from page 7
a gaudy colored bait for working muddy or stained water and there is no better finish for this work than the tried and true chartreuse , orange and black combination known as firetiger . Before we start thinking about how to present these baits let ’ s consider the type of tackle you ’ ll want to employ . Like most cranks , lipless crankbaits sport small trebles that are prone to tearing out if you use a rod that is too stiff . For this reason , reasonably flexible sticks are a wise choice , with fiberglass cranking rods offering the best chance of avoiding mishaps . You ’ ll want to team the rod with a highspeed bait caster that has a gear ratio of at least 6.4 to 1 . I prefer an Abu Garcia Revo STX that features a 7.1 to 1 gear ratio . For working relatively open water with half ounce baits 12 to 17 pound mono or fluorocarbon works well . Many knowledge able anglers advise using mono over fluorocarbon because mono tends to float up and they feel this helps to avoid snags when working shallow water . If the game plan calls for you to work weed beds or tule edges , forget about using mono and spool up with 30 to 50 pound braid . When using braid , remember to fish with a relatively light drag to keep from straightening out hooks when a good size bass strikes , but you ’ ll appreciate the power braid offers when you have to rip you bait free from the matted salad . Fishing lipless cranks can be super simple or as complex as you want it to be . At times , all you need to do is make a long cast and steadily crank the bait back to the rod tip . When the water is clear , you ’ ll want to crank quickly . When the water is stained or muddy , back off with the speed . Most lipless cranks sink . This allows you to systematically cover a broad range of different depths with a simple cast , count down and crank approach . As with most crankbaits , lipless cranks will catch a bass once in a while when retrieved through open water , but it ’ s when they are worked near or actually bouncing off cover that they are at their most effective . Bass anglers encounter three basic types of cover … rocks , wood and weeds . Rocks are the easiest to work for the beginner . Simply cast the bait beyond the area where you think the bass are holding , allow it to
FRESHWATER
sink and retrieve it such that it bangs and bounces off the rocks . If you are working a fairly deep rocky bank when the water is cold and the bass are not responding to the bait when it is bounced along the rocks , a yo-yo type retrieve might be the ticket . To do the yo-yo , make a long cast along the length of the bank over 10 to 20 feet of water . Allow the bait to sink on a tight line . When it reaches the desired depth , sweep the rod tip upward , use the reel to retrieve the slack and repeat . This will make the bait shoot upward while vibrating violently and then it will fall like an injured baitfish . Typically , you won ’ t feel the bass hit the bait . Instead the fish will just be there when you make your next sweep . The procedure for working wood is pretty much the same , except you ’ ll usually have a more defined target . If you are working a downed tree , for example , you ’ ll know exactly where the tree is . You want to cast the bait well beyond the target and then retrieve it such that it bangs off a certain section of the tree . Lipless cranks don ’ t hang up too often when working rocks and when they do you can usually shake them loose . Wood is a different story . When dealing with wood the front hook will often hang up and if it gets buried there is no getting the bait loose . For this reason , if your game plan calls for encountering a lot of wood , for example if you were going to work the standing timber in Shasta ’ s Pit River Arm , it is a good idea to remove the bait ’ s front hook . You ’ ll still hook plenty of bass , but the number of snags will be cut down tremendously . Weeds and crankbaits don ’ t mix , everyone knows that , but this assertion is dead wrong when it comes to lipless cranks . When working submerged weed beds and weed edges , a lipless crank is one of the very best baits you can employ . Bass will emerge from the weeds and whack a lipless crank , there is no question about that , but that is really generalizing . Most of your strikes will occur just after the bait hangs up , provided you react the right way . When you feel your bait load up in the weeds you want to respond by ripping it loose and then burning it with the reel . This is the way that you trigger reaction bites when working the salad . Remember , if you ’ re not hanging weeds , you ’ re not fishing the bait correctly .
These anglers smacked limits of quality Stampede Reservoir kokanee while fishing with Captain James Netzel in late August . Photo courtesy of TIGHT LINES GUIDE SERVICE , Loomis .
when it was still dark and then the fishing slowed down when the sun hit the water ,” he noted . “ However , during the last two weeks of the season , the best fishing began after the sun hit the water .”
“ On the final day , we started across the lake from the ramp and then worked toward the dam . We started at 50 to 60 feet deep and then went down to 60 to 80 feet deep after the sun hit the water . We used the Paulina Peak clown pattern micro hoochies behind a new prototype dodger .”
After taking a couple of weeks off , Netzel will begin fishing for salmon on the Sacramento River in the metropolitan area .
- Dan Bacher
Don ’ t Miss the Fun at the FALL TROUT DERBY !
18th
Annual
TAHOE
Mack Bite Ranges From Slow To Good Depending On The Day
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - “ We had a mix of everything this week from good fishing to a very slow pick bite along with some big surprises in the form of double digit macks . We ’ ve had macks up to 20 pounds this week . The bite is going to be stabilizing over next few weeks with lakers and kokanee on good jig bite ,” exclaimed Mike Nielsen of Tahoe Topliners Sportfishing .
The Tahoe Sportfishing Team is putting their clients on exciting mixed bag action . The kokanee bite at the south end of the lake is hot with limits and near limits coming in when salmon are the target .
Tahoe Sportfishing skippers are using minnows and flashers to hook macks that average 3 pounds and range up to 10 . Last week a handsome 4 pound rainbow showed up on a mackinaw trolling adventure .
“ The kokanee bite has gotten really good at Tahoe ,” reported Reggie Wilks of Carson City . “ The kokanee at Stampede are bigger , but I really love catching them at Tahoe . I ’ ve been scoring with hoochies and blades from Paulina Peak Tackle in Reno . I ’ ve gotten limits of kokanee to 13 inches the last three times I hit Tahoe . I also picked up an 11 pound mack on a micro hoochie , so there are some good lakers hanging around the salmon .”
Mickey Daniels of Mickey ’ s Big Mack Charters has been enjoying solid action at the north end of the lake . Mickey ’ s clients have been hooking mackinaw up to 7 pounds . Some fish are being kept for the table while the others are tagged and released . Mickey employs a variety of different lures for his fish including Shasta Tackle Kok-A-Nuts teamed with Sling Blade dodgers .
Saturday & Sunday , October 20 & 21 , 2018
$ 250 for big fish on Saturday & Sunday ( 833 ) 347-4661
* Cash Prizes * Maximum 250 Anglers * 4 fish limit per day per team -- Brown & Rainbow Trout Only *$ 150 entry fee includes dinner , no host bar and Derby Shirt
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