Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3909 April 10-24 | Page 14

12
FRESHWATER
April 10-24, 2020
VOL.39 • ISS. 9
Catch & Release Fishing!
Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies...
Sponsored by Kiene’s Fly Shop
916-483-1222 • www.Kienesflyshop.com
9550 Micron Ave. Suite B • Sacramento, CA
Slinging Flies For
Delta Stripers
By Alex Cady
The California Delta is one of the most unique waterways to
fish in California. In one day, on a fast boat, you can fish striped
bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, carp and so much more.
All these different option makes this one of my favorite place to
fish. On a recent trip my dad and I had our eye set on the striped
bass.
So, we loaded up our 8 to 10 weights along with the boat and
the rest of our gear to made the drive to Bethel Island and the
California Delta. Our anticipation grew more and more just like
a kid counting down the days to Christmas. Until we finally
get poke our heads over the sea wall to get out first glimpse of
Franks Tract on the California Delta.
We dropped the boat in, rigged up and headed out as soon as
possible. We checked out a couple of our new spots without
much luck. Thankfully that quick evening session helped us eliminate a
bunch of dead water. The next morning, we woke up to a cold morning
and high hopes. We headed straight to my favorite spot on the main
river.
After the 20-minute run found what we were looking for…… Mark on
our fish finder. Not just a few but an absolute ton for them.
Our first casts got hammered right away. Unfortunately, we had found
the shaker (sub-legal striper) strong hold. We stayed until we got our fill
of shakers.
We changed our game from fishing deep water current edges to
shallow water flats with deep weed/structure and drop offs. This was
the ticket for our larger fish. Right away we were picking off solid 3 to
5-pound fish. This was not a numbers game. We only had a few shots at
the spots with the right conditions then the fish would spook.
We came up to a small point with weeds and a good current edge. We
worked the edges hard for just a few short Stripers. Finally switched up
to a Dustin’s Destoryer in Shad. I got hammered as soon as I made the
first strip off the weed edge. It ended up being a good 8 to 9-pound fish.
It was nice to finally get that solid fish to the boat. The rest of the time
me moved back and forth from deep to shallow water. This made sure we
kept getting a bend in the rod with a hand full of solid fish. One of the
key was switching from weighted flies to unweighted flies as we fished
different locations.
Another key to weed was to fish big flies that moves a ton of water.
This also weeded out the smaller fish, at times.
The last key was to layer up. That run in the morning is really, really,
really cold. It could be in the 30’s in the morning and 70s in the middle
of the day.
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 11
this time and adhere to the Governor’s order of
limiting travel to “essential only”.”
“Unfortunately, fishing does not fall under this
category, and some may think that being in the
outdoors in an open area would be ok due to
limited contact with people. The problem lies with
the limitations of our hospitals here and the threat
to our elderly and those with underlying health
problems,” observed Loe.
“If the virus were to spread in the Eastern
Sierra communities, our hospitals would become
overwhelmed very quickly, and would not be
able to provide the care that is needed for those
who are most at risk of dying from this. We thank
you for your understanding and encourage you
to continue to follow the CDC guidelines for
limiting the spread of infectious disease. We will
re-assess the situation going into April and make
decisions at that time. The fish will be here when
we all come through this and everything returns to
normal,” said Loe.
DON PEDRO LAKE
Lake Is Closed Until Further Notice
LA GRANGE – Due to the ongoing COVID-19
crisis, and in response to Governor Newsom’s
statewide Executive Order N-33-20, Don Pedro will
be moving to a full closure of the reservoir until further
notice. Continue to visit www.donpedrolake.com for
more information.
EASTERN SIERRA
Doctors/Community Leaders Urge E.
Sierra Residents to Shelter In Place
& Ask Visitors To Stay Away In The
Short Term
BISHOP/MAMMOUTH- “Hope everyone
is staying safe and healthy during our
current situation,” related Tom Loe of Sierra
Drifters Guide Service. “To protect our small
community and the health and well-being
of non-residents, we will not be taking trip
bookings for the remainder of the month of
March, but we are still taking bookings for
trips starting in April. Our cancellation policy
will not apply at this time, so if future trips
need to be cancelled they can be with no
fees.”
“We also ask that all non-residents refrain
from traveling to the eastern sierra at
CONTINUED ON PG 17
Now Booking American River Steelhead and Folsom Lake Trout
Drift Boat
Trips
Custom 23’
Rogue Jet
Cpt. Jerry Lampkin – 25 years of experience fishing
Salmon, Steelhead, Stripers, Trout & landlocked Kings on
the Feather, Sacramento, American Rivers and Folsom Lake
3802
T.N.G Motorsports Guide Service
[phone] • www.tngmotorsports.com
Ken Terry was pulling a Speedy Shiner at Lake Amador this March
and was rewarded with this big rainbow trout.
Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador.