Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3720 Sept 14-18

Up-To-Date and Published Locally... By Sportsmen... For Sportsmen! Fuller/Rucker/Spaulding Lake Map Feature MADE IN U.S.A See Page 14 Vol. 37 - ISS.20 Our 36th Year Since 1982 Sept 14 - 28, 2018 “The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen!” Journey to the Kokanee Fisherman’s Valhalla – Flaming Gorge! I have always been an enthusiastic kokanee fisherman. I love fishing for the little silver bullets all over northern California, from Whiskeytown to Don Pedro and everywhere in between. They fight extremely well, are a ton of fun to catch, and I love them on the barbeque! The first week of August I made the journey to that hallowed kokanee lake – Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Mark Kalinowski of Concord and I sailed east in his big Ford Excursion towing his beautiful 22-foot Rogue Jet. It was a nice treat for me to be the passenger for a change and able to take in the sights instead of concentrating on the road. The 14-hour road trip culminated about 6 pm in Green River Wyoming, where we bought our fishing licenses and headed to camp at Buckboard Marina in the GONE FISHING by Paul Kneeland central part of Flaming Gorge. As we pulled into the small campground, both Mark & I perked up as we spotted a distinctive bright blue Wooldridge boat outfitted to the gills. Mark exclaimed “Hey – that is Sambo’s boat!” Sure enough we Mark Kalinowski of Concord holds a hefty Flaming Gorge Kokanee. spotted Sambo Photo by PAUL KNEELAND, Fish Sniffer Staff. Lage of Concord and his buddy is a very small world! Gary Edminster, who we often see Thursday morning we launched the fishing kokanee and trout tournaments in Rogue Jet and headed east to where Northern California. we could see a pretty good size “fleet” Sambo said they had been there for a of kokanee boats. We went around the few days and were catching a ton of nice main flotilla and worked what Mark kokanee. They gave us a few tips on what called the “rock wall” area. to use and where to go, and we said we’ll CONTINUED ON PG 13 see you on the water. Sometimes it really Big Catfish Should be on Your Menu E Mike McNeilly caught these massive South Fork cats on June 24. One fish went 17 pounds and the larger one was nearly 21! Photo by MIKE MCNEILLY, Fish Sniffer Staff. very summer I herald the virtues of the Channel Catfish. I would reckon that 95% of anglers are overlooking this awesome gamefish. I’m glad they do. When it’s hot out, there’s no better way to avoid the heat than going nocturnal. You’ll probably have the lake to yourself, and you will probably catch the biggest fish swimming in your local lake. Big catfish are really easy to pattern in the summer months. Depending on your location, they will begin spawning as 36 Years Serving Sportsmen early as April or as late as mid-June. The water temperature is the key driving factor. Higher altitude mountain lakes will have a later spawn than lowland warm water impoundments. Don’t sleep on mountain lakes with Channel Cats. They often grow big on a diet of dead planter trout. You know when you see the boat full of guys trolling flashers and a worm, and they really poorly handle their fish before tossing it overboard? I think we all know the dudes I’m talking about. They squeeze the poor trout so hard you can hear him gurgling. Those guys just fed the local 20 pound Channel Cat every time they “catch and release.” Old Mr. or Mrs. Channel Cat grows big and fat on dead government trout. They provide a hell of a service too by keeping our lakes clean. WHAT’S HOT by Mike McNeilly CONTINUED ON PG 20 Fishermen, Tribal Members and Conservationists Push for Increased Flows on San Joaquin River See Page 25 Special Section Baja Roundup PG 27 INSIDE Area Reports FRESHWATER REPORTS Almanor/Bucks Lake - Lake Berryessa..................4 Bullards Bar/Englebright Resv - Collins Lake.........6 Davis Lake - Feather River ............................ 10-11 Folsom Lake - New Melones Lake...................... 12 Oroville Lake - Shasta/Whiskeytown Lakes... 16-17 Stampede Reservoir - Western Nevada......... 18-19 SALTWATER REPORTS Berkeley - Bodega Bay.........................................22 Half Moon Bay - Monterey Bay.............................24 Peninsula Shoreline.............................................26 FEATURES Where...When...How... HUNTING JOURNAL............................................8-9 BAJA ROUNDUP.............. ...................................... 27 BASS FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Randy Pringle.......... 21 BULLETIN BOARD................................................... 3 FISH SNIFFER HOW-TO: Cal Kellogg..................... 7 GO FOR IT: Staff....................................................... 2 KAYAK FISHING SPOTLIGHT: Cal Kellogg.............. 5 MAP FEATURE: Dan Bacher.............................14-15 SALTY TIPS: Hippo Lau.......................................24 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION: Dan Bacher..... 25 WHAT’S HOT SALTWATER: Dan Bacher .............. 23 STAFF TACKLE What We’re Using Cal Kellogg - fished Lake Clementine outside of Auburn, California from his 14 foot Hobie Pro Angler kayak. The Fish Sniffer’s Wes Ward joined Cal on the trip with his Hobie Outback kayak. For tossing small topwater poppers for smallmouth bass Cal used a 7 foot Cousins Tackle GSP 703 spinning rod matched with an Abu Garcia Orra spinning reel spooled with 20 lb. test P-Line braid. On the business end Cal tossed a variety of 2 inch long plastic poppers. In all, 10 bass to 2.5 pounds were landed including one feisty largemouth. Paul Kneeland - fished New Melones Reservoir with Bridget Looney of Colfax in the Fish Sniffer 21’ Rogue Jet Coastal. They caught limits of Kokanee to 14 1/2 inches using an 8’ Phenix Reaper composite triggerstick kokanee rod with a Team Daiwa Z ultra light reel loaded with 6 pound Yozuri TopKnot fluorocarbon line. They trolled orange Yakima Bait Spin N Glo kokanee rigs and Paulina Peak green/yellow micro hootchies behind watermelon Vance’s dodgers off the Canon Downriggers 65 to 95 feet deep at 1.4 mph. Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow and brown trout at Fuller Lake. He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6’ 6” medium action spinning rod, teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235 spinning reel filled with 6 lb. test P-Line CX Premium Flourocarbon Coated Line. He fished with chartreuse Berkley PowerBait, 1/8 oz. gold and black Panther Martins and 2/5 oz. gold/red stripe Little Cleos.

Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3720 Sept 14-18 | Page 3