Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 27

FRESHWATER REPORTS:
fishing opportunities, kept sturgeon fishing
pressure very light. If you go salmon roe is
the best choice, but eel works too.
Salmon fishing out of Rio Vista and
along the Benicia shoreline have bounced
up and down and schools of
kings push up the system.
Anglers do pretty well for a
few days and then things
slow. While the water
temperature is coming down,
it’s still fairly warm and
that is causing the fish to
push up river quickly.
CONTINUED FROM PG 23
TAHOE
cont.
The team at Tahoe Sportfishing has
some of the best skippers on Lake Tahoe.
The Tahoe Sportfishing boasts a fleet of
8 boats that range from 30 to 45 feet in
length. The boats are safe and the crews
are well trained, so you’ll be able to relax
and fight fish!
With some of the most exciting fishing of
the year taking place on Tahoe, give the
folks at Tahoe Sportfishing a call now to
secure your spot [phone] or check
them out online at tahoesportfishing.com
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FISH SNIFFER
DIGITAL!!!
WEST DELTA
Big Tides, Big Wind & Lots
of Weeds Frustrate Striper
Anglers Big smiles and a big rainbow! This incredible fish was caught during a trip on Lake Tahoe
with the Tahoe Sportfishing Team in late August.
Photo courtesy of TAHOE SPORTFISHING, South Lake Tahoe.
PITTSBURG - Anglers fishing the lower
end of the Delta and the upper reaches
of Suisun Bay experienced a frustrating
week due challenging conditions.
Big tides kept the water off color and
full of weeds, which are starting to die do
to cooling water conditions. The weeks
and stained water were bad for both
trollers and bait anglers. Did anglers catch stripers? Yes, but it was slow going and it
took a strong effort to boat a limit of small
fish.
Looking forward, next week should offer
outstanding action for trollers, since the
tides are ramping down and as a result
the water should have better clarity.
There will still be plenty of weeds
in the system and will remain a major
opted for a smoother, calmer route
hugging the Marin coast as opposed to
the choppy conditions of the Farallon
Islands. We set out for a nearly two-hour
run, and I was able to catch a quick nap
with the added bonus of Chris’s dog, Zoe,
keeping my lap warm the entire time.
Soon enough, it was time to catch
some rock cod to be used as lingcod bait
later that morning. We found a great
spot, dropped our lines in, and started
collecting bait. Rock cod fishing itself is
pretty fun, and even the smaller fish can
provide a good fight – so I was excited
to see what lingcod would have in store
for me.
Once we caught enough bait, it was
time to locate some monsters and get
down to business. We stopped in an area
near Bolinas and rigged up our fresh-
caught bait using trap rigs and 16-ounce
weights. With a hook through the mouth
and an exposed treble protruding from the
body, my squirmy little yellow rockfish
was going to be a lingcod-catching
machine!
And that’s precisely what happened!
Not much time passed before I felt it: tap,
tap, tap…TUG!
I’ll never forget my first lingcod bite,
because it was completely different than
anything I had experienced before. It
wasn’t erratic. My line didn’t zig-zag. It
just felt like dead weight slowing trying
25
Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019
FRESHWATER
VOL.38 • ISS. 23
GONE FISHING
magazine.fishsniffer.com
annoyance for anglers trying to soak bait
in the main stem of the Sacramento. Bait
soakers will have a better shot by working
side sloughs where flows are less intense
and there are less weeks suspended in the
water column.
There have been few reports of sturgeon
anglers working Suisun Bay. The fish are
there, but the wind combined with other hot
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Continued from page 1
to pull a 5’5” girl over the side of a boat. I
live for this, by the way.
Determined as ever to land the thing,
I planted my feet as best I could, hips
occasionally banging the boat rails as I
reeled in as instructed: firmly but steadily.
The water was choppy, and the boat was
rocking, but I managed to hang on.
It was a two-minute fight that felt like
twenty minutes. When it finally surfaced,
in all of its blue-tinted glory, it was love
at first sight. I hadn’t even landed the
darn thing and all I could think about was
getting my line back into the water and
catching another one.
I snapped a photo with my catch, and
learned the hard way that you don’t pick
up a lingcod like you would a largemouth
bass. I later read that lingcod have 18
razor-sharp teeth, although my bleeding
thumb at the time also taught me that.
Back in the water my line went, and
just moments later I caught the “fish” I
would never land. We all know how that
turned out, and it actually happened more
than once. That’s the risk you take when
hunting the rocky depths of the Pacific.
The bite eventually died down,
so we moved onto another spot
and tried a new bait – herring –
and beefed up our offerings with
24-ounce weights. This combi-
nation was a game changer for
almost everyone on the boat and
remained as such for the rest of the
afternoon. Not only was I able to
hook three more lingcod, but the
angler next to me pulled in a total
of seven, including the largest of
the day which put up such a fight it
forced him to the opposite side of
the boat!
By the time we started heading
back to the marina I was exhausted
and could feel bruises forming on
my hips and where I had held the
rod under my left arm all day. It
was worth it, though. We ended up
just under the boat limit for lingcod
and I’ve got enough rockfish to
make tacos for the rest of the year.
Big thanks to the crew of the
Pacific Dream, although I’d like to
think that cheesecake brought me
at least a
little extra
luck that
day.
Stacy ended up with a limit of lingcod and a mixed
bag of rockfish during her bottom fishing adventure
aboard the Pacific Dream.
Photo courtesy of CAPTAIN CHRIS SMITH, Pacific
Dream Sportfishing.
TAHOE
SPORTFISHING
EST. 1953
Lake Tahoe’s
Largest Fishing Fleet
year-round fishing
Half & Full Day Charters
single fisherman
to large families
& private parties
Best Selection — Best Service — Best Prices
When not at the rail battling fish, Stacy spent
some quality time hanging out with Zoe, the
Pacific Dream’s four legged crew member.
Photo courtesy of CAPTAIN CHRIS SMITH,
Pacific Dream Sportfishing.
(916)
ROCKLIN
773-7333
6455 PACIFIC ST.
Mackinaw
Kokanee Salmon
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AUBURN
(530)
888-7825
11844 ATWOOD RD
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3720
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