Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 26
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Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 23
What’s Happening • What’s New
What’s
Hot!
Sponsered by:
Brad’s Pro Staff
Sacramento Valley Reports
Jeff Goodwin’s Guide Service – Captain Jeff Goodwin
The Sacramento River King salmon season kicked off this year on July 16th below the Red
Bluff diversion dam. We stacked the boat with four river fishing guides, including myself, and
an hour before official sunrise we were ready to drop our KF-16’s into the frigid waters of the
Bamboo hole a few miles below Red Bluff. We shared the hole with another 10-12 boats, but
we had arrived early enough to get a good position in the hole where we knew there would be
big, bright King salmon hugging the bottom below. The bite didn’t really take off until about
7:00 am, but when it did, several boats hooked up with some really nice kings. we weren’t the
first boat to hook into our first King salmon, but within a few minutes of the bite turning on we
were hooked up as well. Flows on the Sacramento River were running over 11,000 cfs and we
were using 5-6 oz. weights off a sliding dropper to get our KF-16’s down to the bottom of the
25’ Bamboo hole. We fished the Bamboo hole the whole morning and by 10:00 am had 5 bright
Kings in the box. Like many years the Pink Magic KF-16 and the Dragonfly KF-16 were the hot
lures for sure. Another key component to our success were fresh Pacific Sardine fillets wrapped
with Atlas Mikes Miracle thread. Thats a winning combination in any good river guides book
for sure. The proof is in the results though and we were definitely one of the top boats on the
Sacramento River opener that day.
The Sacramento River actually has two different openers, the next of which is above the Red
Bluff Diversion Dam on August 1st. The August 1st King salmon opener is most often experi-
enced in the Barge Hole which is located at the mouth of Battle Creek which hosts the Coleman
National Fish Hatchery about 5 miles upstream. Every year, early run fall Kings stack up in the
This excited angler
50’ foot deep hole and can provide some excellent salmon fishing on August 1st. I had scheduled
caught this fish on 10-
11-19 while fishing with a film day with Pautzke Outdoors on August 1st this year and they wanted to fish for salmon. We
Jeff Goodwin’s Guide
met at the Balls Ferry Boat Launch at about 3:30 am and got in line to launch. All went well and
Service.
within an hour or so we were running down river towards the Barge Hole. I had prepared to fish
Photo Courtesy of Jeff
Goodwin. KF-15’s in the Barge Hole and had them wrapped with fresh Sardine fillets and ready to go when
the official start time came just before first light. I had 5 guys on the boat and with nearly 70
boats in the Barge Hole, I just handed out rods and kept the boat in position all morning. We dropped the KF 15’s down with
8 oz cannon ball sinkers, making sure our gear was running right under the boat. With all those lines in the water, fishing
down and away from the boat just isn’t an option. Once again we saw a little later morning bite, but our KF 15’s were on
fire! We hooked 7 nice King salmon and landed 4, which was an above average score for the day. It wasn’t quite what we
had expected as far as the August 1st action go’s, but overall ended up with some great King salmon in the box. We finished
up around 10:00 am on the water and filmed the rest of the show before heading back to the launch.
After the openers, my guide team and I started running guided salmon trips in August and September down in the Corning
area. We experienced some great days on the Sacramento River, with most days beginning with back trolling Brad’s
KF 16’s in some good morning plug water that usually had salmon sitting in them. I was averaging 1-3 Kings most days
within the first hour of the day and almost all of them were caught on either the KF 16 Pink Magic or Kenai Rainbow color
patterns. By the end of September we moved up to the Anderson area again and have been finding success with both the
KF 15 and 16’s regularly. The water temps are running around 52 degrees so the plug bite has been a little slower than most
years in the past at this time during the season. The first light bite is crucial, but we’re getting a few each day early in the
morning. The salmon are still moving upstream towards Coleman National salmon hatchery and the holes are starting to
get crowded with a big batch of Kings which are starting to get aggressive. I anticipate the plug bite will improve in the
coming weeks and there should be a lot more clients getting yanked on by our big Sacramento River King salmon through
mid December when the river finally closes to salmon fishing. Looking back its already been a great year and we owe a lot
of our success on the water again this season to the effectiveness of the Brad’s Killer Fish 15’s and 16’s! Tight lines! If you
would like to book a trip contact me at 707-616-1905 or www.jeffgoodwinfishing.com
MSJ Guide Service – Captain Manuel Saldana
This year’s Chinook
salmon took a while to
show up in the Feather
River do to the warm
water temperature, which
was approximately 62
degrees in July and
August. The Sacramento
River was running in
mid-fifties during the
same time.
One of my favorite
ways to catch chinook
salmon is to back troll
a KF-16’s Brad’s Killer
Fish. Before fishing the
KF-16’s I make sure they
are running correctly. I do
This angler caught this
this by facing my boat up
beautiful salmon while
stream against the current.
fishing with MSJ Guide
Then, simply put the lure
Service and using a
KillerFish by Brad’s.
in the water and see if it
Photo Courtesy of MSJ is running straight. Most
Guide Service.
of them run correctly out
of the box but it is worth
the time to check. If they are not running straight,
simply turn the eye of the lure to the left or to the right
depending on which way it needs to be corrected.
The second step is to find some good bait. I like to use
sardine wraps or crawdad tail on the Brad’s lures. My
preference is to use bait from Big Red Worm Company
because it is the freshest bait out on the market.
Mid-September rolled around the salmon showed up
and fishing got good for my clients while fishing the
KF-16’s. One thing that my clients love about fishing
the KF-16’s is that the hit is vicious and that they love
every minute of it. The month of October is also going
to be a month to remember as well. Remember, when
November comes around the Sacramento River should
get really good because this is the time of the year when
the trophy salmon head up the Sacramento River .
Book your trip today if you would like a chance to catch
some salmon on some Brad’s Killer Fishing Lures. I
can be reached at 530-301-7455 or via web at https://
msjguideservice.com/
BRAD’S CUT PLUGS & KILLER FISH
Sacramento Valley Salmon
Mainline
40# - 60# Braid
Sliding Weight System
6 Bead Chain
Bead
a
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Brad’s Barrel Swivel
Brad’s 6 Bead Chain
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ish Lea
Killer-F - #60 test
0
3
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o
4’
Lead
4oz - 12oz
Brad’s 10mm Bead
Lead Dropper Line
2’ of #12 - #20 test
Brad’s Duo Lock Snap
Split Ring
Mainline
40# - 60# Braid
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inli
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Brad’s Split Ring
Brad’s 6 Bead Chain
der
ish Lea
Killer-F 0 - #60 test
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’
4’ - 6
Brad’s Barrel Swivel
Lead Dropper Line
12” of #12 test
Brad’s Duo Lock Snap
Lead or Diver
4oz - 12oz lead or
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No matter what the water conditions are, Brad’s has your go-to!
For more information, please visit our website:
www.BradsKillerFishingGear.com
@BradsKillerFishingGear