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8 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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Sportsman Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 12 • Issue 5 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTORS Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Art Isberg, Todd Kline, Abraham Navarro, Lance Sawa, Bill Schaefer SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Celina Martin, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Aumann INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@calsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email ccocoles@media-inc.com Twitter @CalSportsMan Facebook.com/californiasportsmanmagazine ON THE COVER Guide Todd Kline shows off a nice SoCal largemouth. Spring is just around the corner and spawning season means some great opportunities at a lunker bass. (CAMERON KARSTEN/GRUNDÉNS)
MEDIA INC PUBLISHING GROUP P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com www.mediaindexpublishing.com
10 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
calsportsmanmag.com | FEBRUARY 2020 California Sportsman
11
CONTENTS
VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 5
70
’FOWL PLAY IN SOCAL
(ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
In California, winter brings some of the nation’s best waterfowl hunting. And while the Central Valley is a far more famous destination for duck hunters, don’t tell that to the folks in the Southland who head to Riverside County’s marshy San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Mt. San Antonio College student photojournalist Abraham Navarro spent a day there with several waterfowlers and shares images from the marsh.
FEATURES
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
29
49 61
SPRING SPAWNERS ENTICE BASS ANGLERS Spring is just around the corner and that means hungry bass will be moving shallower from their deep winter haunts as they look for easy meals and prepare for the spawn. Guide Todd Kline, who shares his monthly adventures with us, details his gear, tactics and tricks for hooking prespawn and spawning largemouth at California lakes.
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SACRAMENTO RIVER DEEPWATER TROUT TIPS The waters from just below the Shasta Dam downstream to Keswick Dam on the Sacramento River hold big, feisty rainbows, but not everybody knows how to fish them up out of their deep hidey holes. Enter NorCal outdoorsman Art Isberg, who offers up the method he discovered for scoring a few trout for the frying pan.
53
NEW GEAR MAKES FOR HAPPIER CRABBERS From San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf to Monterey’s Cannery Row to far up the North Coast, Dungeness is one of the state’s most prized seafoods. Recreational crabbers set out their pots with the hope of catching a limit of these tasty crustaceans for cookouts back home. Our From Field to Fire team of Scott and Tiffany Haugen break down the best new gear to make your Dungie outing more productive, plus whip up a crab quiche recipe to die for!
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Catching saltwater bass California angler abroad: Charter boat smelt fishing in Japan What to feed your adult hunting dog
DEPARTMENTS 15
19
23 25
The Editor’s Note: Thoughts on the Delta striped bass controversy The Adventures of Todd Kline: Lake Havasu scouting trip Photo contest winners Outdoor calendar
Read California Sportsman on your desktop or mobile device. Go to www.calsportsmanmag.com/digital California Sportsman is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Send address changes to California Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues are available at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2019 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 12 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE
Striped bass are a major talking point in California’s contentious Delta water wars and will be discussed at the California Fish and Game Commission’s Feb. 20-21 meeting in Sacramento. (CHRIS COCOLES)
“Your husband’s all right, Mrs. Brody. He’s fishing. He’s just caught a couple of stripers. We’ll bring ’em in for dinner. We won’t be long; we haven’t seen anything yet. Over and out.” –Capt. Quint from Jaws
M
y first experience fishing for striped bass in the Delta didn’t go well. My brother-in-law, a friend and myself headed up to Rio Vista, bought some bait and snacks and cast our lines from the bank along the Sacramento River. We didn’t catch anything. Things went much better for our group years later on a gorgeous spring Saturday on the Feather River outside Marysville (California Sportsman, June 2017), as we not only brought back a cooler full of fillets off keepers but caught (and released) multiple large hens. Our intent in releasing the 20-something-pound fish: allow those females to spawn again and ensure a thriving Delta striped bass fishery stays healthy and intact. There are some at the forefront of California’s water wars who would chastise our decision to release any striper, a non-native fish introduced to the Delta in the late 1800s. As conservationists have called for native king salmon to be protected, opponents – farmers and urban water districts top the list – have blamed stripers for eating up young salmon (and native Delta smelt) and want numbers of that East Coast species reduced in the coveted waters. Enter this month’s California Fish and Game Commission meeting, where a long-delayed discussion about striped bass regulations will be brought forward again. Expect a lot of passionate arguments from both sides. I’ve gotten to know many of the Central Valley’s fishing guides who fill charter trips not only for king salmon but the ever-popular “linesides,” as stripers are also affectionately known. They’re a species that anglers love to fish for and guides are eager to book in spring. And political power plays will drive those who want fewer bass in the water – provided they get that water pumped their way while scapegoating stripers as the villains. “It’s definitely water interests putting pressure on (regulators) to lighten the protections for this species in order to find a way to ship more water south,” James Stone, president of the Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association, recently told the Sacramento Bee. The stripers have my vote. –Chris Cocoles
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s e r u t n e v d A
I have a tournament coming up at Lake Havasu, so last month I headed over to get in a little research. Here’s a nice smallie I caught there. (TODD KLINE)
W
e’re not ashamed to admit it: Todd Kline has the kind of life we wish we could experience. Kline’s a former professional surfer, a successful co-angler on the FLW Tour and a Southern California bass guide, plus he gets to travel the world as a commentator for the World Surf League’s telecasts. Todd has agreed to give us a peek on what he’s up to each month. For more on Todd or to book a guided fishing trip with him, check out toddklinefishing.com, and you can follow him on Instagram at @ toddokrine. –The Editor
Hard to beat sunrise over the lower Colorado River reservoir while making a morning scouting run. (TODD KLINE) calsportsmanmag.com| FEBRUARY | FEBRUARY2020 2020 California Sportsman calsportsmanmag.com
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The smallmouth at Havasu can be beautiful. (TODD KLINE)
In January I also had the opportunity to call the surfing action for the Toyota USA Surfing Prime at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz. The weather and surf were fantastic. (TODD KLINE)
20 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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CALIFORNIA OPEN ZONE DEER TAG AT AUCTION Ma r c h 7 , 2020
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the 2020 Safari Club International Greater Bay Area Fundraiser. The Open Zone tag allows you to hunt the zone and method of hunting you like during the authorized season dates and meeting any special conditions of the tag for that hunt. You can finally hunt that special X-zone! You do not need to be a California resident to purchase this tag. All tag and license fees are included in the high bid price. Proceeds from your bid will be used for conservation by California Department of Fish and Game and SCI Chapter local activities.
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PHOTO
CONTEST
WINNERS!
Kyla Hinds is the winner of our monthly Fishing Photo Contest, thanks to this shot she sent of herself with a pair of Chinook. It wins Kyla gear from various fishing tackle manufacturers!
Ken Witt wins our monthly Coast Hunting Photo Contest, thanks to the pic he sent of son Logan and his huge western Washington blacktail, taken last fall. It wins Ken a knife and a light from Coast!
For your shot at winning hunting and fishing products, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details to ccocoles@media-inc.com or California Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124-0365. By sending us photos, you affirm you have the right to distribute them for our print or Internet publications. calsportsmanmag.com | FEBRUARY 2020 California Sportsman
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR FEBRUARY
7 Whitefronted goose opens in Northeastern Zone 8 NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge, San Pablo Reservoir; anglerspress.com 8 Late-season Imperial Valley white goose opener 8-9 Youth waterfowl hunts in most zones 8-9 Second falconry waterfowl season in most zones 8-12 Late-season whitefront and white goose season in Balance of State Zone 21-23 The Fly Fishing Show, Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton; flyfishingshow.com/pleasanton-ca 27 Opener of falconry rabbit and varying hare season 22 North Coast Canada goose late season opens
MARCH
San Pablo Reservoir in the Bay Area hosts the NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge on Feb. 8. (CHARLENE KING)
4-8 Fred Hall Show, Long Beach Convention Center; fredhall.com 13-15 Fred Hall Central Valley Sports Show, Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield; fredhall.com 14 Blake Jones Trout Derby, Pleasant Valley Reservoir and the Owens River; bishopvisitor.com/blake-jones trout-derby 14 NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge, Lake Pardee; anglerspress.com 21-22 First spring junior turkey hunt 26-29 Fred Hall Show, Del Mar Fairgrounds; fredhall.com 28 Spring turkey hunting opener
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FISHING
KLINE’S OUTLINE: SPRING BASS TIPS
WARMING WEATHER, WATERS PUT SPAWNING LARGEMOUTH BACK ON GUIDE’S, ANGLERS’ RADAR
By Todd Kline
W
inter means short days, as the sun rises late and then sets early, so the water is cold and the fishing slow. Don’t worry, though, as spring is just around the corner. When it comes to bass fishing, spring is the best season to catch your personal best largemouth and here’s why. Author and guide Todd Kline shows off a spring bass. He is excited about increasing water temperatures that will create some excellent fishing opportunities for largemouth. (TODD KLINE)
DIALING IN THE PRESPAWN Bass prefer to begin the spawning process once the
calsportsmanmag.com | FEBRUARY 2020 California Sportsman
29
FISHING SL-O-O-O-O-O-W PRESENTATIONS KEY One method is throwing a drop shot or a Texas-rigged 7-inch Roboworm. When it comes to the drop shot, I usually will fish it very slowly, with a shake every once in a while. I like the 6-inch Fat and 7-inch Roboworm in M.M.III. For a dropshot rig I pair up my Okuma Serrano rod and my Okuma Helios SX spinning reel. As for line, I use 10-pound braid and then range my flouro leader from 5 to 10 pounds, depending on water color. The biggest thing I want to hammer home here with both techniques is slow, slow, slow. You can not fish too slowly. When I am fishing the Texas rig, I will throw a 7-inch Roboworm on my Okuma Helios Rod, Okuma Helios SX reel and – depending on water clarity – 12- to 16-pound test. I like to cast it out on the point or the hump and let the worm fall to the bottom. I will then shake it in place, let it sit, drag it about 6 inches slowly, and then do it again. This is similar to how I run the drop shot, but when shaking the worm I am much more aggressive. But I’ll still fish the cast all the way back to the boat at a very, very slow pace.
Drop shot and Texas rigs are both effective for scoring prespawn bass. (TODD KLINE)
water temperatures reaches that magic 60 degrees. Once the water starts to get near that mark, bass will start to feed heavily as they prepare for the spawn. This brings us to the prespawn phase. Prespawn is the period when bass start to move out of their inactive winter mode – when they have been living out deep – and start to relocate. Where do they go? They move outside of areas such as flats, coves and protected areas that are conducive for spawning. If you have seen fish spawn in the past on your lake, look outside those areas to waters in the 15- to 30-foot range. This is where many fish will be before they move up to bedding areas. When targeting them, I like to employ a few techniques that have been very successful for me.
Depending on the water clarity, Kline likes to fish with a thin Senko on a light fluorocarbon leader and spinning reel, but if conditions are dirtier, 10- to 12-pound test on a baitcaster. (TODD KLINE)
30 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
CRANKBAITS HAVE VALUE When I can find fish staging in that 10- to 15-foot range, I really like to cast an IMA Beast Hunter crankbait, which dives well with its big bill, plus the IMA Pinjack 200. This is a chance to catch aggressive fish before slowing down with the above tactics. I prefer to try this during low light in the early morning or late afternoon.
TACTICS CHANGE FOR THE SPAWN When fish are ready to spawn, they’ll move into the shallows. First and foremost, make sure you have a pair of premium polarized sunglasses to spot fish. I prefer to use the Electric Tech One XL with the bronze Polarized-Plus lenses. These are great year-round to see not only bass but also the structure as well to
FISHING If that does not work, I’ll pitch my drop-shot rig in there with a Roboworm Zipper Grub or Worm in white. Again, once in the bed, make sure to shake, pop and let the lure sit. I like to go back and forth between these two baits with these techniques and usually they will get a go. But not always. You can tell if a fish is gonna go by the way they react. Watch the fins. Are they very active? Is she flaring her mouth? Is she nosing down on the bait? All of these tendencies are signs that she will eat. Be ready, because you might only get one shot and if you sting her and she comes off, that might be it. Make it count and have a great spawning season! CS Whether it’s an IMA Glide Fluke or jig (above) or jerkbaits (below), spring offers multiple ways to coax a spawning bass to bite. (TODD KLINE)
make that perfect cast. Usually you’ll see the males first, as the females are a bit more boatshy and skittish. Male bass are going to be crusing around the shallows either looking for a female or locked on a nearby bed that they are protecting. For the most part they are very aggressive and easy to catch. The females will be much harder to locate and catch. I like to throw an IMA Glide Fluke around these spawning flats to either get the big fish to show themselves or to get them to bite. If I can’t get them to eat the Glide Fluke but I’m able to get some followers and/or locate a big female, I will set up for that fish. Once I locate the bed, I figure out the best place to position the boat and ideally PowerPole down and start flipping. I like to flip a white Revenge Jig with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog trailer. You slowly drag it into the bed and shake it like crazy. Don’t move it out of the bed; instead, just shake it. Once in a while I’ll give it a hard pop, which fires up the fish. 32 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
Editor’s note: If you have any further questions or want to book a guide trip with author Todd Kline, contact him at his website, ToddKlineFishing.com.
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34 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
FISHING
Author Art Isberg’s son Craig uses a deep-water drift fishing technique to target large rainbows on the northern Sacramento River. The water from just below Shasta Dam downstream to Keswick Dam offers some outstanding trout fishing. (ART ISBERG)
HOW TO ATTACK THE SAC TROUT FISHING TIPS FOR THE DEEP WATERS JUST BELOW SHASTA DAM
By Art Isberg
T
he mighty Sacramento River begins its long journey toward the south in the high mountains of far Northern California.
The river is first fed by small creeks that can be literally jumped across. As it gains size and strength, rushing through heavily forested canyons, it turns into a big, brawling super river, the longest and largest in
the entire state. Deep in those same waters grow huge rainbow trout that most anglers can only dream of hooking. But they can be caught if you learn how to reach them in their dark churning pools and deep runs,
calsportsmanmag.com | FEBRUARY 2020 California Sportsman
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Isberg’s go-to setup for “deep touch drift fishing” is not unlike what you would use to drift fish for steelhead, albeit with lighter gear. The leader includes 16 inches of dark green monofilament line, a No. 6 hook and some sort of drift bobber. Pencil lead in surgical tubing or slinkies are used to keep the rig down in the depths the trout hold and drift it at current speed. It’s simple, effective and takes big fish. (ART ISBERG)
where I have been lucky enough to score fish on the river.
TECHNIQUES FOR TROUT A river of this size naturally sees many different types of anglers – fly fishermen, lure anglers, guides in river boats with day customers, shore waders, and those who use their own boats, as I do. I have fished the Sacramento steadily for over 20 years, developing an approach that is much different from those used by the aforementioned anglers. It’s a most unusual technique that I call “deep touch drift fishing.” I quickly learned that the biggest 36 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
trout in a river of this size and depth are right down on the bottom of the deepest pools and runs, taking only natural food baits as the current washes it by. That meant I had to get my baits right down on those same bottom sections and move them along at natural current speed. The “touch” part of this tactic means you must be able to actually feel bottom as your bait tumbles and bounces across rocks, cracks and through mossy growth, not to mention know the difference between strikes and natural flow. If you do not feel the bottom as your bait moves along, then your rig
FISHING Craig Isberg gets ready to net a rainbow trout the author took while deep drifting a large nightcrawler, the only realistic live bait that catches fish on this stretch of water. (ART ISBERG)
is swimming higher up in the water column, and you will miss these big fish. It’s imperative to stay in the strike zone – right on the bottom. Hits, even by fish of this size, can be nothing more than a slight pause in the bait’s movement downstream, a single, light hit. But they can also sometimes be a rod-bending strike that leaves no doubt. Experience is really the only way to figure out this fishery. Drifting bait in these deep waters meant I had to come up with the proper setup for this unusual approach, one that would not alarm wary fish.
TACKLE CHOICES First, I needed a kind of weight that could stay deep on the bottom, but still move along while washed at current speed. My fishing partners – adult sons Craig and Mark – and I came up with using lead. We cut pencil sinkers in 2-, 3- and 4-inch lengths for use in different current strengths, depths and water speeds. We changed size, if necessary, to stay down where we wanted to be. We slid these sinkers into two types of sleeves to hide their dull color, so as not to make the more cautious big fish shy away. The first type was black surgical tubing, the second a tightly woven cloth sleeve that served the same purpose. And they worked equally well. Both styles match the dark, shadowed bottoms. We wanted fish to concentrate only on the bait, not what it was attached to. This idea carried over into swivels and hooks too. We only used them in black and never bright brass that is commonly the choice. We believed that we’d get more hook-ups doing so. Our line choice echoes this same cautious approach. We used dark green monofilament line that matched the water color down deep. Clear monofilament line can reflect surface light even in deep water. We stayed away from that and used relatively lightweight line – which I’ll get into next – to further mask the bait. 38 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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FISHING
Art Isberg says that it’s best to fish below Shasta Dam when flows are between 3,500 and 4,500 feet per second. (ART ISBERG)
RODS AND LINE The right size and weight rod is important for positive hook-ups, especially on fish down deep, where some slack is always in the line. We prefer rods in the 6- to 6½-foot class, featuring light tips but mediumstrong backbones that can apply quick pressure when setting the hook and also strong enough for major battles with heavy fish. Rods of this caliber are generally rated as “medium weight.” They are capable of handling line between 6and 12-pound test. We prefer 6- or 8-pound test wound on a spinning reel that will hold 185 yards of the
6-pound monofilament. You’ll get about 150 yards using 8-pound test. I still use an old fiberglass rod in the length just suggested, even though its action is softer and not as light as the popular graphite rods most use today. Either one will do the job because they have enough backbone to tire big fish. It’s wise to tie up several outfits so you can quickly knot on a new one if you lose one to snags, which are part of this kind of bottom-dredging game. The terminal rig is simple but effective. Here’s how it works: First, take a black snap swivel and hook it through the top 1/8 inch of your sinker sleeve. On hard snags, you can
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sometimes pull the rest of your line free, losing just the sinker and not the entire outfit. The mainline runs through the eye of that snap swivel, is followed by two red glass beads, and then is tied off to one end of a barrel swivel. On the other end is a 16-inch-long leader tied to a number 6 hook. We’ll sometimes add a plastic salmon egg right at the knot hooking line to hook. It looks like the head of whatever bait we are presenting. Once in the water, this plastic egg floats the bait just inches off the bottom, where fish can get at it easier. In total, you have the camouflaged
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FISHING Craig Isberg with a silver-sided Sac River rainbow. (ART ISBERG)
It can be tricky to get your setup to the deep pools where these trout reside, but the reward is worth the trouble. (ART ISBERG)
weight to get down deep, and the hook and bait well away from the weight, twisting and turning naturally to wary fish. This is the combination that takes on the big rainbows that other anglers never reach with their methods.
BAITS The California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets rules for all allowable baits on different sections of the Sacramento River. The regs can differ from area to area. I fish the section from just below Shasta Dam down to Keswick Dam, a stretch of water about 9 miles long. Here, no live fish baits such as shiners or minnows are legal. Fishbodied plugs and gold and silver spoons trolled deep are allowed. So is fly fishing. But I prefer one live bait that is legal, and that’s large nightcrawlers, threaded on a No. 6 hook. 42 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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These worms are natural food that trout see tumbling by in the current down in the deep holes where I fish them. I sometimes also pump up the ’crawlers with a small air tube to float them just inches up off the bottom. That makes them more easily seen and easier for fish to spot and gobble. This simple rig starts by inserting the hook into the head end, then carefully threading the worm all the way up the hook shank to the eye. This keeps the bait from washing off in the strong currents. Hooking nightcrawlers through the middle of their body is not recommended. Fish can bite off the ends without ever getting the hook in the middle. Threaded on as just suggested, trout will swallow the entire worm on strike, tail first.
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The 602-foot-high Shasta Dam controls all water flows and river levels on the upper Sacramento. Shasta Lake is the largest reservoir in the entire state, with a shoreline of over 350 miles. Filled to capacity, it encompasses 4,500,000 acre-feet of water. Where I fish, from just below the dam to Keswick Dam, water releases from Shasta can change at any time of the day, depending on needs and demands downstream. For my special deep-water bottom-fishing approach, I found that water releases of between 3,500 and 4,500 cubic feet per second work best. During releases over 4,500 fps, it becomes dicier to keep the bait on the bottom. These water release numbers are posted daily on the dam’s web site, ShastaDam.com. Further information can also be found on the Bureau of Reclamation's website (usbr.com). As a follow-up to my suggested approach, should you still want to fish this area, you can do so – even in higher water releases – by moving downstream several miles where flows have evened out. Or you can also go to trolled fish body lures or the flashing spoons mentioned earlier. CS
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FISHING
Find deep drop-offs and rocky areas and you should find calico bass, which can make for some great fishing off the Southern California coastline. (BILL SCHAEFER)
WHERE TO CATCH SALTY WINTER BASS CALICOS, SANDIES ALREADY AN OPTION OFF SOCAL COAST By Capt. Bill Schaefer
I
n reality, you can fish for saltwater bass year-round, but as the winter swells subside you can track them from deep to shallow water. Now is the time to head out off the Southern California coast and score a lot of fish. Last year I started targeting bass in January in about 80 to 100 feet of
water and followed them up into the shallow kelp and continued fishing for them there with surface lures. Getting more in tune with these fish will make for a 365-day fishery you can tap into every time it’s safe to leave the bay and head toward the open ocean. Right now there are bass – both calico and sand – hanging out in deep water on everything from natural stone to breaks and drop-offs to both
natural and manmade reefs. Fish will be keying in on the available food chain; lately it has been anchovies, sardines and red crabs.
ELECTRONICS HELP To fish these types of structure you will need a sonar unit of some type. The more detailed the picture, the better. I run a Lowrance HDS 12 Live on my boat and it has features
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FISHING or whatever weight you need to get down to the “zone.” Having good electronics on your boat is important, as knowing how deep calico bass are allow you to adjust jig weights to reach the fish. (BILL SCHAEFER)
that make the bait and fish stand out better from their surroundings. Still, any sonar with the ability to show you the structure and fish will do well. You should catch fish as long as there is current to stir up the food chain. One hint is to fish the outer edge of a large concentration of bait. Sometimes your bait can get lost inside a giant school, so working the perimeter gives the bass a better chance to home in on your lure. Once you get on a local spot or discover a new one loaded with bait and bass, then look at the wind direction and how you will drift over the structure.
LURE OPTIONS To catch fish you can vertically jig or drop back and retrieve your lure. Swimbaits are a good bet, but you can also send iron jigs down on them too. Spoons and iron should do well, especially if the fish are up in the
FEEDING FRENZY When the bass are on these types of structure they will all be schooled up, with hundreds if not thousands of them on a spot. With no kelp – for the most part – to deal with, if you find feeding fish, the action can be nonstop. If the action’s slow, then move along the structure to find the feeding bass. If the current is not running, then it should only be a short time until it gets going enough to stir up the food chain. On sonar, actively feeding fish usually show up as streaks, as opposed to the classic hook we all know. Look for streaks around the bait balls and try to target that area of the structure. Sometimes bass are on the top of the drop-off and sometimes on the bottom, or even scattered. Strong current will push them to one side or the other of a reef, where they will try to hold in the calmer water and wait for baitfish to come to them. water column. Chrome spoons will match smaller anchovies, larger ones the sardines. There are heavy spoontype lures that look like crankbaits or jerkbaits, but they are heavy iron and will do well. Regular iron in light, medium and heavy size and weight will often attract larger bass. Best colors include scrambled egg, classic white, blue and white, green and gold – the list goes on forever. If the bass are up in the water column a bit, sometimes a jig will outfish a plastic swimbait. Jigheads for your swimbaits will vary from ¾ to 2 ounces, depending on drift speed, depth and how fast you want the swimbait to fall. For example, if the bass are feeding on red crab they may want a slower fall. We have all seen the red crabs just floating around the water, and being so light they just drift with the current. So you would go to the lightest head – say, about ¾ ounce –
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RODS, REELS AND LINE For tackle, your regular swimbait tackle you use in the kelp will work. If you are new to saltwater bass fishing or this deeper fishing, then a triggerstick with a baitcasting reel that has some decent line capacity is important. I use a Daiwa Lexa 300 with 15-pound Maxima Ultragreen. Some anglers like to go with braided line, such as from Daiwa or Maxima. I use a 30-pound line, which has about the diameter of 10-pound mono and doesn’t stretch. You may just need to purchase a few heavier jigheads. Swimbaits in colors of reds, browns and greens should do well. Or you can also experiment, which is half the fun. Big Hammer, LK Lures, MC Swimbaits, Big Pancho and Western Plastics are just a few of the companies out there. Keep track of the calico and sand bass year-round and you will be a better saltwater angler for it. CS
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T
he past few autumns along the Pacific Coast have been great for recreational Dungeness crabbers. I was fortunate to experience some epic crabbing in California’s Humboldt Bay and very good crabbing in multiple bays along the Oregon coast, off the northern shores of the Columbia River, and even in Southeast Alaska. It’s hard to believe 16 years have passed since I authored a book on Dungeness crabbing. Like any book, the amount of gear and what crabbers have learned over the years continues to grow over time. Because of that, more people are catching more crabs. In fact, crabbing in all three states along the West Coast continues to rise.
THREE PIECES OF CRABBING gear caught my attention over the past several months, and two of them were game-changers. One of the most impressive devices I used to catch crabs was the Crab Hawk (crabhawk .com). This ingenious trap attaches to your fishing line, is cast out and then eventually reeled in. First, slip a 4- to 6-ounce sinker onto the bait wire, then add your bait. The weight will help hold the contraption in place on the bottom. We used chicken legs, which we further secured in place using a reusable zip tie. Chicken was the best bait, as the seals didn’t bother it. The first time I used the Crab Hawk there were four of us in the
Author Scott Haugen has been crabbing since boyhood and is excited about the new products that keep coming out for West Coast crabbers. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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FISHING Tiffany Haugen reminds that combining crabmeat in your freezer with fresh veggies can make for a delicious quiche. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
... TO FIRE
CREATE A CHIC CRAB QUICHE By Tiffany Haugen
W
hile some folks may be able to start the new year out fishing, clamming or crabbing, others may be relying on what’s left in the freezer. For optimal results, seafood shouldn’t be stored in home freezers for longer than three to six months (even less than that if not properly vacuum-sealed). So forget heading to the supermarket; always shop in your freezer first and get creative with your ingredients. Many recipes like omelets, frittatas and quiches can be adapted to any fresh, frozen, smoked or leftover seafood, so feel free to use your imagination and loosely follow my recipe.
Keep in mind, if there isn’t a piecrust, it’s a frittata and if the filling ingredients are placed inside of eggs, it’s an omelet. Or, the really quick option is to sauté everything in a frying pan, crack the eggs in and scramble it. CRAB AND VEGGIE QUICHE 1 9-inch uncooked pie crust 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon diced shallot or minced onion 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper 1 cup finely sliced kale or spinach ½ teaspoon lemon zest Salt and black pepper to taste Four eggs 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 to 2 cups crab meat ½ cup grated cheddar cheese ½ cup grated jack cheese Roasted asparagus* and cherry tomato for garnish if desired Place crust in a tart or pie pan, pricking the bottom with a fork several times. Parbake in a preheated 375-degree oven five minutes. Let cool. In a medium skillet, sauté shallot or
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onion in butter on medium heat for one minute. Add bell pepper and kale or spinach and sauté an additional one to two minutes. Add lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with lemon juice. Sprinkle vegetables and crabmeat in the pie shell. Sprinkle cheddar and jack cheeses over the crabmeat. Pour egg mixture over everything in the pie pan. Press asparagus spears and cherry tomato into mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until set and golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. * To roast asparagus, drizzle with olive oil and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for three to four minutes. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Seafood, and for some great, free recipes, visit tiffanyhaugen.com. Follow Tiffany on Instagram and Facebook.
FISHING The Crack’n Crab Cleaner & Gauge is one of the most efficient tools the author has ever seen, and it’s so easy to use. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
boat. We tossed out some pots and let them soak. Then all of us got to fishing for crabs. On that day, 18 of the 48 keeper crabs we caught came in the Crab Hawk. We did a lot of experimenting, counting the seconds until reeling it in to see how quickly crabs were attracted to it, and more. Bringing in the Crab Hawk after only 30 seconds commonly resulted in crabs, though they were small. However, when letting the Crab Hawk soak three minutes or longer, bigger crabs were routinely caught. It seems the small crabs attacked the chicken first, and fast, followed by adult crabs that ran them off. Sometimes the Crab Hawk was crammed full of adult crabs. The Crab Hawk is great to use from a boat or off a dock. Being able to reach water that crabbers can’t access off a dock can bring great
results. If you know blue crabbers back east, I’d think the Crab Hawk would be incredible when fished right off the beach.
I ALSO CAUGHT CRABS in Beau Mac’s new line of crab pots. I picked up the lightweight square model, along with the midweight and heavier pots. I love the 100-foot-long lead rope that can be purchased with these pots, along with the buoys, bait clips and bait bags, plus the extra weights. All of this gear is well designed, fast and easy to rig. I only used the Beau Mac crab pots in bays, and the more I fished them the more they produced. I loved the collapsible, lightweight model, and when used in deeper water with big tide swings, I simply zip-tied weights to the bottom of it. The heavier pots consistently produced crabs as well. No weights are necessary in the
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heavier pot. I loved the bait-bag design for these pots, as it allows the bait to be suspended from the top, making crabs come in and work for their meal. I ran underwater cameras in the traps, to observe how crabs reacted. The doors all open very easily, smaller crabs can come and go, and the bigger crabs would pack in there and were fighting for food.
ONE OF THE MOST ingenious crabbing tools I’ve ever used is the Crack’n Crab Cleaner & Gauge (tealcrab .com). I used it a couple times, then actually got to go crabbing with the inventors, Tony Thiessen and Eugene Calkins. Tony and Eugene are retired engineers and they personally craft these units in their Oregon homes. It’s more than just a crab gauge; it
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now comes with a floating handle, which not only keeps it afloat should you drop it into the water but is also a great handle. But where the Crack’n Crab Cleaner really shines is in the cleaning process. I once cleaned a limit of crabs in less than four minutes; that’s under 20 seconds per crab, shucked, cleaned and ready to cook. Simply center the belly of a live crab on the top of the food grade stainless steel gauge – it is held in place on a food-grade cutting board base – smack the back of the crab a couple times until it’s impaled on the gauge, grab all the legs on one side of the crab and pull toward you to remove them, and then repeat on the other side. Give each section a quick shake and pluck any gills that may have stayed attached. Just like that the crab is ready to cook. All the visceral mass stays inside the carapace, making for a quick, clean alternative for processing your crab. This technique is great if you’ve got a long drive home and don’t have a way to keep the crabs alive to cook them, or if wanting to make certain no visceral mass, which may contain potential toxins, remain in the crab. It’s much cleaner than shucking a crab on the edge of a bucket, shovel or dumpster, and it retains every precious ounce of meat. If you attend sport shows, be sure to check out the Crack’n Crab Cleaner & Gauge (they have videos on their website too), The Crab Hawk and Beau Mac’s complete line of crab pots and accessories. As crabbing continues to be productive, take advantage of the opportunity to attain some of the best seafood out there, and do it with some of the most efficient tools ever invented for this fun sport. CS
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WINTER BLUES MELTED WITH SMELT WITH FEW OTHER ANGLING OPTIONS DURING JAPAN’S COLDER MONTHS, A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXPAT DISCOVERS THAT CATCHING TINY FISH CAN BE FUN
Anglers fish for tiny delicious wakasagi smelt aboard a specialized charter boat on Japan’s Lake Nojiri, northwest of Tokyo. (LANCE SAWA)
By Lance Sawa
I
reach over the side of the dock and pluck a handful of mussels. They are not for me to eat but represent today’s bait. After gathering a few handfuls it is time to start fishing; I can always come back to get more if I run out. The easiest way to get to the mussels’ insides is to use a knife and
shuck them open. As I’ve forgotten a knife, I just stomp on them and pluck out some flesh from the mess I make. The hook goes through the hard flesh and the soft parts are wrapped around the point to hide it. Fly-lining the bait is best for what I am fishing for today. Holding the rod and waiting for a bite, I take in the scene around me. The sun is starting to set and the
colors this day are a wonderful mix of red, blue and then green. A storm the day before has blown all the overcast away. The waves and water are calm and offer brief soothing sounds. Even the cursed seagulls are quiet today. This is a great way to relax and decompress from the school week. Just as I am settling in and fully relaxed the line moves – a little bit,
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Heated “dome boats” are used in fall and winter to fish Japanese lakes that don’t freeze over. (LANCE SAWA)
then a little more, and then at once line is flying off the spool. I set the hook and the fish pulls back and starts the fight. The rod is spooled with light line and I have to be careful, even though the fish isn’t large. But it makes for a great fight. A minute later I pull a large smelt from the water. (For a smelt about 1 pound is considered large.) Quickly, I pull the hook out and toss it back into the water. By now I’m relaxing amid the sights, smells and sounds of the sea here in Japan. Sometimes I pull out a smelt or a mackerel and, if I get lucky, a calico bass or barracuda. This continues for about another hour or so before I have to stop. But for me, fishing never stops. Even when there isn’t a lot to fish for.
HERE IN NAGANO PREFECTURE, west and northwest of Tokyo, trout fishing ends in September, so I decided to try something a little bit different. I knew about nearby Omachi Lake, which has smallmouth bass and offers boat rentals. I had only caught a handful of smallmouth, so I thought it would be good to try to get better at catching them. If I didn’t catch any bass, then maybe I could tease a lake trout out of the water. After the two-hour drive though the mountains I reached Omachi Lake. As I secured the boat rental I asked about the bass and trout fishing. The short answer was, “Don’t even bother.” I felt defeated. But they did tell me the wakasagi smelt were biting very well. Since I was already wanting to try
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something different, I bought bait – colored maggots – and navigated the boat to what looked like a good spot. The fish finder suggested I was at the correct depth to increase my odds, so I put the anchors down. The shop owner had told me to use a Sabiki-type rig with half-cut maggots as bait. While that was all the advice she gave me, it sounded easy. The only problem was I had brought mostly gear for bass and trout. Still, one lonely Sabiki rig was at the bottom of my bucket. I rigged up and realized the only tool I could use to cut the maggots was my line cutter. Oh, well. The bait went on and I sent down my setup. It took less than 10 seconds to get my first fish. I couldn’t believe it was pulled up that fast. Quickly,
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I dumped everything out of my bucket and filled it with water as a holding tank for my 4-inch fish – a small prize but a coveted one. But after a couple of minutes the biting stopped and I didn’t know why. I checked the bait and it was fine, but I changed it anyway. And the biting instantly returned again. I discovered that these greedy little fish would only eat fresh bait, but that was OK because bait was plentiful and my time was short on this day. My rig had six hooks, but with every line drop, half the hooks would get fresh bait even if I wasn’t catching fish. By the end of my time on the water there were about 30 fish in the bucket. Once again I was thankful for local advice to alter my plan. If I had tried bass or trout fishing, I would have gone home with nothing. This type of fishing can be very addicting because the nonstop bites make for easy fun. As I left I thought to myself that I had to try this again. That night I cooked my smelt the way Japanese traditionally cook them – with the heads and guts intact. You wash them under cold water to remove loose scales, coat them in flour, then deep-fry them. I added salt, pepper, paprika and mayo on the side. You eat them whole and warm, and the bones are small and soft. The head is not bitter and is soft.
FAST FORWARD TO NOVEMBER, when
Shrines are a commonplace sight in Japan, including at Lake Nojiri. (LANCE SAWA) 64 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
almost all fishing in Nagano is closed for the winter. The only option left is wakasagi smelt, which worked out so well for me the last time. November 1 is opening day and everyone rushes to be a part of the first wave. On a cold Monday I finally got the chance to go. The counts the days before were great, with some people getting 200 or 300 fish. The location I chose on this day was Lake Nojiri, and I was going to be on a charter boat fishing with other anglers. It felt like I was ice fishing because the covered boat had two channels on either side of it, both of
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Fishing lines are dropped through built-in channels or openings in the hull of the boat. With a roof overhead and a heat source turned on, it’s not unlike fishing in an ice hut in the U.S. or Canada, though for much smaller quarry. (LANCE SAWA)
which were open to the lake. You sit in a numbered spot by either channel and fish through the opening. I was surprised that it was warmer than usual inside the boat and I had to take off my jacket as soon as I entered. Indeed, it actually didn’t matter what the weather was outside, because inside the boat was toasty and protected by the roof. There were restrooms and a separate area for smoking. Cushions and seats were available for use too. On this boat you even take your shoes off like you are entering someone’s house (I guess in some ways it was a house, but a house on the water). When I first started looking into wakasagi smelt fishing I learned that women love it, though the day I went there was one just woman on board. Still, in larger lakes they even have women-only boats. Another easy part of this style of fishing is the rods. The basic rods are no more fancy than those for ice
fishing that I’ve seen in the U.S. They are like normal rods but smaller. Wakasagi rods are like miniature computers. They remember what depth you are fishing and will automatically unspool the line to that mark every time. When you hook a fish the wondrous rods reel the fish in for you to within an inch of the guides, as not to damage them.
I RENTED MY ROD and bought bait and a new Sabiki rig for the day. On the fast ride out to our fishing spot I rigged up and finally saw how tiny the hooks were and how thin the line was. Everyone else was doing the same, though most others had two rods. They all had a special device that made releasing the fish from the hooks easier. It looked like metal fingers and I didn’t know what they did until my neighbor on the boat caught his first fish. The bait was ready – I brought scissors on this day and didn’t have
66 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
to use the line cutters – and it was time to start fishing. I got my rig down quickly and once again hooked a smelt within a few seconds. Everyone around me even admitted it was a large one. Again I sent my rig to the bottom and after a minute or so I hooked another fish. I was ecstatic because I did not get skunked, but the action slowed down for me after that. I remembered that the little fish were only interested in fresh bait. So once again I found myself changing half the bait every minute even if I didn’t catch anything. After that I started getting a few more bites, but unlike most others I only had one rod, so it was slow going. The fishing picked up in the last two hours, when I caught most of my fish. Everyone was friendly but quietly fishing in their own little worlds. The only ruckus was when one of us got tangled, which was called a festival. But even then everyone was
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Author Lance Sawa didn’t catch as many smelt as some of his fellow boat mates, but he had enough to create a tasty dinner back home. Smelt are traditionally coated in flour and deep fried. (LANCE SAWA)
friendly. A few groups were there together, so there was chatter but nothing too loud. I loved looking out the window onto the water and relaxing even as I was not catching that many fish.
AT THE END OF the day one adjacent angler had 117 fish, his friend had 215, and the guy on the other side had caught 137. The woman aboard had about 150, but the winner on our boat was a lucky angler with 317 in the bucket. Embarrassingly, I had far fewer. But we all cleaned up around us and put the bait into an area with others’ extra bait. I will have to go once again this season because this fishing is so addicting. CS 68 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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DAY IN THE
MARSH A PHOTOGRAPHER TAGS ALONG WITH WATERFOWL HUNTERS AT SOCAL’S SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA
by Abraham Navarro
T
he wild birds of North America, both migratory and resident, are an important part of their respective ecosystems. Some act to provide food for predatory animals, while others help control populations of insects that otherwise would run wild. Some plant species are also heavily dependent birds to help disperse their
seeds or for pollination. The Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 is a federal act that collects an 11 percent excise tax on long guns and ammunition and a 10 percent tax on handguns as well as archery equipment, and apportions it to state wildlife agencies for conservation efforts. Since its inception, the act has raised over $12 billion, with those
70 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
funds used to make massive strides in conservation efforts. “All the money from permits and wildlife stamps that we buy pays for buying land and the upkeep for that land,” says California hunter James Clendenen. “The land where San Jacinto sat was bought with that (stamp) money. It was made into a place where migratory birds can land and rest and move on.” I joined longtime hunter Robert
HUNTING
Robert Hartman hunts for ducks near the edge of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Riverside County. Student photographer Abraham Navarro followed Hartman and other hunters around on a winter day. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO) calsportsmanmag.com | FEBRUARY 2020 California Sportsman
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HUNTING
Hartman scans the reeds for ducks on his grocery list – gadwall for him, redhead for his daughter. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
Marching through the thick reeds and their roots like a stealthy steam engine, Hartman sneaks up on his prey: two spoonbill ducks, a hen and a drake, just around the corner of the dark green corridor. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
In a flurry of motion that lasts mere seconds, the pair of spoonbills takes to the air in a bid to escape the hail of shotgun pellets headed their way. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO) 72 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
With the eyes of an eagle, Hartman is able to see and identify ducks from hundreds of yards away with startling accuracy – almost as good as his shot. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
Hartman levels his shotgun for a shot. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
In the silence following his three shots,Hartman retrieves the hen he has just taken and shows off its telltale spoonshaped bill. He says the species isn’t the best tasting duck, but each bird does provide a decent amount of meat. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
HUNTING
Hartman reloads his shotgun after a wet shell fails to go off, scaring away what might have been his second duck of the day. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO) Their bag limits in hand, a pair of happy hunters leave the wildlife area as some of the heaviest rains of the day fall. The hunter on the left wore a necklace bearing his duck calls and some leg bands, the latter the hallmarks of conservation efforts to monitor and increase waterfowl populations. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
To prevent wastage, hunters do as much as possible to retrieve birds they’ve shot, but some wounded ones prove too elusive. Hartman holds up the wing of a mud hen, which had become a meal for a hawk that flew away just seconds before. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO) James Clendenen holds open a gadwall drake’s wing to show its telltale wing pattern used to identify the species. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
74 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
HUNTING Hartman, 42, in search of gadwall ducks in the deep green corridors of tall reeds near his blind at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, located about 8 miles east of Riverside in Southern California’s Inland Empire. With the ever-growing human population and expansion of cities, towns and highways, it is important that these birds’ habitats are protected. The duck hunters at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area play an important role in observing and reporting on the population and health of local waterfowl. It’s safe to say that without hunters, conservation efforts might be all for naught. CS
As the day’s hunt nears its end, Hartman scans the water one last time looking for birds. He’ll return for another opportunity on another day, hopefully with better luck. (ABRAHAM NAVARRO)
76 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Substance Media. Author Abraham Navarro is a photojournalist and a student at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut and works for the school’s award-winning student-run publications. Follow him on Instagram (@abrahamnavarrophotography).
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HUNTING
DOG FOOD PART II: ADULTS
Adult hunting dogs deserve quality food to keep them healthy, fit, and performing in the most demanding of conditions. Here, author Scott Haugen’s pudelpointers enjoy a training session in fresh snow. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
By Scott Haugen
I
n last month’s column we looked at the benefits of feeding your puppy quality food. In the second installment we’re going to look at doing the same for adult dogs. Not until I started feeding my adult gun dogs NutriSource did I realize there could be such immediate, positive performance in them. Nor did I dream of there being such a difference in dog foods. I used to buy our dogs high-quality food, or so I thought, from a bigbox store. Then I went to the local feed store and talked with owner Chris Wright. Wright gave me more valuable information about dog food in the first 10 minutes than I’d heard in my whole life. It was then that I realized I had also learned my first lesson: Make sure to go to someone
like Wright who lives and breathes dogs, not a vet, chain store or even a big name-brand pet company. In other words, go to an expert who deals with multiple, quality brands, names you won’t find at a grocery store.
OVER THE COURSE of the next several months I routinely visited with Wright, and he taught me a lot about true, high-quality dog foods. “A rotational diet is key for adult dogs,” he explains. “Understanding their life stages is important, and doing what’s needed to keep their weight down is of utmost importance. If your dog can’t cut weight and keep it off, the first step is to try a senior food that’s a lower calorie diet specifically designed to manage weight.” Wright says the number one thing he observes coming into his store is people whose dogs are overweight.
He also emphasizes that dog food nutrition is a tough concept for some people to grasp. “If your dog’s not losing weight and keeping it off, cut down on the amount of food you’re giving it, and make sure it’s not getting any junk food and that it’s regularly exercising,” he says. Be sure to check the labels of dog foods so you know exactly what you’re getting, specifically the daily feeding guidelines. I recently looked at a brand X bag of dog food and saw I would need to feed my dog six cups of it a day versus just two cups of NutriSource. The former cost $20 for a 30-pound bag, while the latter was $58 for 30 pounds. It seems spendy, but by using NutriSource I’m actually feeding less at 3:1, thus actually paying less per meal for a much healthier food. Indeed, not all ingredients are
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HUNTING the same, so look closely. “As they age, take care of the dog and don’t look for foods to be a shortcut,” emphasizes Wright. “For example, don’t buy a food that’s created to battle tooth decay. It’s not necessary to spend $100 on a bag of this food that has only one minor ingredient that helps teeth, but is loaded with others that are actually bad for the dog, when really, feeding it proper food, occasional bones, and brushing teeth is better for them.”
When it comes to choosing dog food, quality should be top priority. The author has been amazed with his pudelpointers’ performance and health since switching their diet to NutriSource, which offers a lot of nutrient-rich variety. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
82 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
ONE THING WRIGHT, along with some folks I’ve talked with at NutriSource (nutrisourcepetfoods.com), got me doing was switching up dog foods. My dogs love this, and it keeps them eating well and under control. “Mixed food diets are great,” Wright continues. “Switching foods can be a real stigma among dog owners, but it shouldn’t be. If a dog has a sensitive stomach, then mix foods as you transition to new foods. But if a
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dog is raised on a rotational diet, they can have different food all the time, even different food for breakfast and dinner. If you get a dog accustomed to changes in their food, you won’t need to mix foods to trick or entice them into eating different flavors.” I consider my dogs, which are both adult pudelpointers, to be very good eaters, so I rarely give them wet canned food. But if you have a dog that’s picky, or gets anxious when traveling or being around other hunting dogs, then giving them wet food, or using a bit of wet food as a topper on their dry food, will encourage them to eat the kibble. One thing Wright does advocate is giving your dog joint supplements if they are stiff and slow after a day afield. “Supplements like Majesty’s Buddy Bits, Hip + Joint (majestys.com) offer a great balance between glucosamine and chondroitin,” he says. A good guide is three parts glucosamine to one part chondroitin, Wright advises. One thing I’ve been doing the past few months is feeding my dogs a partially raw diet. I get meat scraps from a local butcher and add it in with their dry food. I use a ratio of about three parts dry food to one part raw meat. I’ll also supplement their diet with raw vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes. The dogs love this and it’s a very healthy, natural diet that they easily digest and efficiently metabolize; it keeps their weight down too. In a future column we’ll look at dog treats – what I give my dogs at home and when training and hunting with them. Until then, read the labels, talk with the right experts, commit to providing a quality diet for your dog and make sure they get daily exercise in order to keep their weight down. CS Editor’s note: To watch Scott Haugen’s series of puppy training videos, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
84 California Sportsman FEBRUARY 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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