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6 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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California
Sportsman Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 12 • Issue 7 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTORS John Gierach, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Todd Kline, Lance Sawa, Bill Schaefer SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith DESIGNER 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 Some of California’s best high-country trout fishing takes places in smaller rivers, creeks and streams. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 7
FEATURES 39
STREAMING LIVE FOR FISH Some of the most pleasant fishing outings that trout anglers will seek out this season will be in smaller, high-elevation rivers, streams and creeks. Scott Haugen shows you how to approach these tiny waters that have big-time action for many wild rainbows and browns just waiting to bite your offering. And Scott’s wife Tiffany Haugen offers up a great salmon/trout fillet recipe to round out their latest From Field to Fire entry.
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BASS ON THE BEDS Bill Schaefer loves this time of year, when male bass roam the shallows – sometimes a little deeper when lake levels rise – in search of spawning beds for their partners. The fish will all readily eat a variety of baits and our San Diego-based scribe shares his top tips for enjoying outstanding catchand-release fishing for spawning largemouth.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
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TROUT TIME: EAST AND WEST
Some of native Southern Californian Lance Sawa’s fondest memories are filling stringers with his dad Mark (pictured) during the April trout opener in the Eastern Sierra. Sawa has since become an expat and lives in Japan, from where he shares some of his adventures on the water. This issue he details how over three days last month he and his son Niko experienced his new country’s trout opener.
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The Editor’s Note: Coronavirus has affected us all 18 Book excerpt: John Gierach on fishing for Pyramid Lake’s iconic cutthroat trout, from Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers 31 Outdoor calendar 33 The Adventures of Todd Kline 37 Photo contest winners 59 More offseason training tips for hunting dogs
(LANCE SAWA)
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 APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE
The trout opener is scheduled for April 25, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a lot of upcoming events in doubt. (CHRIS COCOLES)
I
don’t think the gravity of the coronavirus outbreak really hit me until I watched the Streets of San Francisco. No, not the 1970s Karl Malden/Michael Douglas crime TV show (though I do have great memories of watching reruns of that version of The Streets of San Francisco with my mom). But when CNN and various internet photos/videos depicted the emptiness of my birth city after California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “stay-at-home” order in hopes of slowing down the pandemic, I was floored. I talked to one of my closest friends, John, who sells wine to local stores and is on the San Francisco route. He said it was eerie to see such deserted scenes in the usually bustling Financial District and along traditionally tourist-filled Fisherman’s Wharf. “It’s sure been a lot easier to park around the City lately,” John told me. This is a moment in history I don’t think anyone envisioned. It’s affecting everyone and everything, including the state’s outdoor recreation opportunities. Newsom also announced parking lot closures at several state parks as residents have been told to properly socially distance but many weren’t. Several popular fishing lakes were shut down and who knows how long such orders will stretch into this month. Our April issue is usually my favorite of the year for our extensive preview coverage of the statewide trout opener, given my memories of fishing at Bay Area and Sierra fisheries for rainbows. Though it’s a bit condensed, we still have a couple of great trout stories from Scott Haugen and Lance Sawa, plus an excerpt from author John Gierach’s new book that includes fishing for the legendary cutthroat trout of Nevada’s Pyramid Lake. Until then, stay safe and I hope to bring you plenty more trout content later this spring. –Chris Cocoles calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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CROSBY’S AND CUTTHROATS NEVADA’S PYRAMID LAKE TROUT AMONG ADVENTURES IN NEW FISHING BOOK
Pyramid Lake, once part of the last Ice Age’s massive Lahontan Lake, a veritable “inland sea,” offers spring anglers some fantastic Lahontan cutthroat trout fishing, as longtime angler and author John Gierach discovered in his latest book. (CINDY SANDOVAL/USFWS) 18 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
Editor’s note: Celebrated fishing author John Gierach’s latest book takes readers on a journey to legendary waters throughout the American West and beyond. Gierach, a Coloradoan, has published countless books about his experiences as a fly angler, and his latest work took him to massive Pyramid Lake in Nevada – just northeast of Reno – in search of the lake’s iconic Lahontan cutthroat trout. The following is an excerpt from Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers, published by Simon and Schuster and available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets. The book is set to publish in early June.
By John Gierach
W
e’re at an establishment called Crosby’s getting deep-fried burritos for breakfast. It’s early morning and the place is full of fishermen. Many exhibit the easy familiarity of locals, greeting everyone by name, while others are just as evidently tourists, including some who seem to have settled for gas station coffee when they really wanted a half-caff caramel macchiato. I’m a tourist myself, but maybe less obvious than some. For one thing, I’ve always been one of those guys who could put on a coat and tie and still be mistaken for the janitor. For another, I’m with Rob Hagerty, the kind of boisterous local guide who knows everyone and whose company bestows some credibility.
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Gierach has had more than 20 books and anthologies published since 1977, including in recent years Still Life With Brook Trout (2005), No Shortage of Good Days (2011) and All Fishermen Are Liars (2014). (JOHN GIERACH)
Crosby’s constitutes the entire business district of the reservation town of Sutcliffe, Nevada, population 253. Short of driving to Reno, this is where you go to buy gas, groceries, fishing licenses, tackle, beer, coffee, and food, and it’s conveniently attached to the kind of country/western bar where the impact tremors from the jukebox register in the gravy on your chicken fried steak. You can also play a slot machine here, take a shower, do a load of laundry, store your boat or RV behind a chain link fence, and rent either a small cabin or a trailer with a hookup. (“That’s a ‘hookup,’ not a ‘hooker,’” they’ll say with a straight face.) I was staying on the beach out at Pyramid Lake in a borrowed fifth wheel with a working heater and lights and gallon jugs of water for brewing coffee and judiciously flushing the toilet – usually
in that order. The view out my front door was stunning in the monotone way of a desert landscape in late winter and the heater came in handy, since in March the days can be chilly and the nights downright cold. This thing was parked at a place called Windless Bay, where the wind howled every night, rocking the trailer on its springs like a big cradle.
A FEW MONTHS EARLIER Rob had invited me to Nevada to fish for Lahontan cutthroats, which would be a new one for me. I’d caught seven of the 14 surviving subspecies of cutthroat trout and was intrigued by the idea of adding another one to my life list, but that’s not to say this was part of a quest to bag them all. I don’t have the patience or the emotional stamina for quests, and anyway that had been done before by at least two writers
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I know of who’d published well-written books about their exploits. In Cutthroat: A Journey Through the American West, Michael Graybrook talked about the high elevation sucking the air from his lungs “like a straw at the bottom of an empty glass” and hail falling on his tent “like gravel poured from the sky.” In Many Rivers to Cross, M.R. Montgomery simply said, “Any time the trout are hard to catch, you are not in the real West.” The cutthroats in Pyramid Lake now are the original strain once removed. The native fish were lost early in the 20th century for the usual thoughtless reasons: overfishing – both sport and commercial – plus dewatering and dams on the Truckee River that prevented spawning. In retrospect, it’s as if people were trying to wipe out the fish, although I’m sure they were as surprised as anyone when it
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An angler walks down to the shore of Lake Pyramid at the Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge with a stepladder, how fishermen have adapted to casting for cruising cutts. “The first time I climbed up on one of these things the whole operation felt a little too vertiginous for my taste, but I quickly got used to it and eventually began to feel mildly regal,” writes Gierach. (CINDY SANDOVAL/USFWS)
actually happened. But although Pyramid Lake is still a large body of water at 125,000 acres, it’s just a remnant of Lahontan Lake, an inland sea that was once bigger than Lake Ontario. When those prehistoric waters receded at the end of the Pleistocene they stranded isolated populations of Lahontan cutthroats around the region that were later collected, raised in hatcheries, and replanted in Pyramid Lake. Those fish – known as the Pilot Peak strain – had been segregated for so long that their genetics may have no longer been a precise match to the original Pyramid Lake fish, but they were the best available version and are good enough for all but the pickiest connoisseurs. In an imperfect world where two subspecies of cutthroat have already gone extinct and others may soon follow, they constitute an environmental victory.
THE LAKE WAS CROWDED in the third week of March. Six weeks earlier flash flooding had washed out roads and bridges, and the Paiute Tribe had closed the lake in the middle of fishing season. Pyramid Lake sits in the Nevada desert and it’s in a bowl formed by four mountain ranges that concentrate the heat like a Dutch oven, so there’s no fishing during the hot months when shallow-water temperatures reach or exceed the trout’s upper avoidance level and the fish retreat to the depths where they’d be out of range of anything short of downriggers anyway. I’d given up on the trip when Rob called to say that a small part of the lake had reopened – about 30 percent of what you can normally fish – so I booked a flight and hurried out. I didn’t foresee that everyone else who’d been champing at the bit would do the same and that we’d all be squeezed together into a relatively short stretch of shoreline. It wasn’t the first time eagerness has clouded my judgment. A crowd of fishermen looks different here than it does in most other places because of the local custom of fishing from atop ladders. The inherent problem is that the fish will often cruise the dropoff shelf that, depending on the water level, can be a long reach for a wading fisherman with limited back-cast room. 22 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
While Pyramid’s original cutts are extinct due to habitat and overfishing pressures, the lake has been restocked with Lahontans that were released decades ago into waters near Pilot Peak on the Nevada-Utah border. (REBECCA FABBRI/USFWS) The original solution was to wade out as deep as possible, sink a milk crate, and then step up on it to cast. It was better than nothing and did keep your back cast up a little, but there wasn’t much room to stand; it only gave you an extra 11 inches, and the crates would sometimes settle so deeply into the soft bottom that they couldn’t be retrieved. But it wasn’t long before some anonymous local genius realized the obvious and began fishing from a stepladder. This was close to perfect: climbing to the next-to-last rung of a 6-foot ladder would nearly double your elevation and you could lean into the step above like the casting brace in a drift boat. Now, of course, there are actual fishing ladders: Utility stepladders that are tricked out with a handle and wheels for dragging, rod and net holders, a fold-out casting platform, and a boat seat. Some fishermen cast from the sitting position, others stand, and still others cast from their feet and then take a seat to watch the dead drift of their Thingamabobbers. The first time I climbed up on one of these things the whole operation felt a little too vertiginous for my taste, but I quickly got used to it and eventually began
to feel mildly regal, like a 19th-century English sahib hunting tigers from the back of an elephant.
WE STARTED AT PELICAN Point, where Rob’s trailer was parked along with several other fifth wheels and dozens of pickups and SUVs. This was the most popular beach currently open and the long line of ladders stretching along the bank gave it the feel of a large construction site. We found a gap in the line, planted a ladder in waist-deep water, and I climbed aboard and started casting with the usual rig: A brace of large beadhead midge pupae suspended 4 or 5 feet below an orange bobber on an 8-pound tippet. I’m told that on days when the fish are more active the drop-off is sometimes marked by the backs of rolling trout and when the light is better you can see the color change in the water that marks the shelf. But the fish weren’t very active – for reasons we’d wonder about over the next week – and the day was cloudy and chilly with the kind of flat, gray light that left an unreadable sheen on the surface. Still, the drop-off was clearly delineated by a line of orange and chartreuse bobbers stretching 200 yards north and south – with a gap for the boat ramp – so it was
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easy enough to measure my cast, take a seat, and wait. I’m not a fan of what I think of as combat fishing, but this wasn’t combative. For one thing, instead of being pointedly ignored, as often happens in crowds, I got neighborly nods and waves from the fishermen closest to me as I mounted up. And in the course of things I learned that a flubbed cast or a missed strike might draw some good-natured hooting, while landing a fish would elicit a congratulatory whoop or a 1960s-style clenched fist salute – all from people who, like me, would much rather have had this beach to themselves. There’s an unstated but specific etiquette here that keeps things civilized. Cast only to your own personal space – an elongated, pie-shaped wedge of water right in front of you – and don’t squeeze your ladder in too close to your nearest neighbors. If you leave for any length of time, you’re expected to take your ladder with you to make room for someone else, but it’s permissible to leave it as a place holder during short errands the way you’d leave your jacket on the back of your chair for a trip to a restaurant bathroom. It’s not complicated and a local guide later told me the whole thing is governed by the single, all-encompassing rule: “no assholes allowed.” A few hours later I’d landed my first two Lahontan cutthroats – one a fat 18-incher – blown a strike while daydreaming, and come to terms with what I’d first considered a mob scene. I hadn’t changed my mind about fishing in a crowd, but I’d decided that if I have to do it, this is the kind of crowd I want. The draw here for most isn’t so much the rare subspecies of cutthroats as their occasional size. Most of the fish caught are on the high end of normal – a keeper is between 17 and 20 inches long or over 24 inches – but every now and then enormous fish weighing 20 pounds or more are landed. This doesn’t happen every day and when it does it’s likely to make the local newspaper, but it’s what the lake is known for. The first thing you notice when you walk into Crosby’s are all the mounts of large fish – including a replica of the official world-record Lahontan, a 41-pounder caught in 1925 – and the south wall is
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“Watching someone land a couple of large trout on what was beginning to look like a blank day makes you envious and hopeful,” Gierach writes, “and does wonders for your concentration, but none of that lasts forever.” (JOANNA GILKESON/USFWS)
papered with snapshots of big cutthroats, none smaller than about 15 pounds. These are big trout by anyone’s standards, but there are reliable albeit unofficial reports from the old days of cutthroats weighing as much as 60 pounds. That’s a number I had to stop and think about. We’re talking about cutthroat trout the size of a respectable tarpon or a world-class Atlantic salmon living in a landlocked desert lake in the American West. There was no mention of how those enormous trout were caught, but I can almost guarantee you it wasn’t on a size 12 midge pattern fished on a fly rod. Trophy fisheries naturally attract headhunters, but the whole size business can also get under the skin of otherwise normal fishermen enough to make the perfect enemy of the good and cause them to be mildly disappointed by what would normally be an impressive cutthroat. I
landed at least some fish every day except one and my biggest was a little over 22 inches long, a thick male with a prespawning flush of rosy pink on his broad flanks. He was handsome enough that I took a picture of him to show friends back home, but at the time Rob just said something like, “Let’s see if we can get you a big one.” I thought, where I come from, that is a big one, but I didn’t say anything. Rob was just fulfilling his mandate as a trophy guide whose clients expect him to produce on demand like a professional athlete, only at a lower pay grade; he wasn’t really trying to spoil it for me.
BUT I’M NOT HERE to tell anyone what their attitude about fishing should be. Way back in high school I was often told that my attitude was unacceptable and once I even blurted out what I was thinking: That they could tell me what to do, but
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my attitude was my own and none of their business. I still believe that, even after the stern lecture from the principal about the probable bleakness of my future “with an attitude like that.” And understand, too, that I’d have been delighted to catch a 20-pound cutthroat – or at least hook one and try my best to land it – and pose for one of those hero shots where you shove the fish’s face into a wide-angle lens to make it look even bigger than it actually is. It’s just that I was at peace with how unlikely that was and couldn’t bring myself to turn up my nose at “smaller” cutthroats between 18 and 22 inches when back home a 10-incher will make your day. I did see two good fish landed that week. One was around 10 pounds, the other more like 12; both impressive doubledigit cutthroats, though probably not quite big enough to make the wall at Crosby’s. By then we’d moved to a less crowded
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beach where only five or six other fishermen were spread out over 100 yards of shoreline. This was the coldest, windiest day of the week and my slowest day of fishing. Everyone had long since agreed that the fishing was off, but we still hadn’t figured out why and never would. The water was still slightly off color from the flood, but not enough to make a difference. The fish should have liked the heavy cloud cover; the chilly weather wasn’t unusual; and the waves caused by the onshore wind were the kind that stir small organisms off the bottom that attract bait fish that in turn attract big trout. Or so the theory goes. But the fishing was off anyway and I wasn’t surprised. Floods shake things up – even if it’s not always clear how – and I’ve always had the uncanny ability to show up for the worst week of fishing anyone has seen in five years. Like most savants with an instinctive skill, I have no idea how I do this; it just comes naturally. I’d been casting a streamer from my ladder, standing for the long punch into the headwind and then sitting to make my erratic retrieve. I was fishing a streamer I’d gotten from a local fisherman; I’d located the drop-off by feeling for the tick as the deeply sunken fly bumped the soft, sandy lip of the shallows, and with extra room around me I could cast to a wider wedge and cover more water. I felt like I had this wired except for the fact that I hadn’t had a touch all morning.
ACROSS THE WATER TO the east the barren mountains of the Lake Range seemed to rise right up out of the lake itself looking like the arid Sierra de la Giganta on the Sea of Cortez except for the dusting of fresh snow on their peaks. A mile or so to the north a long point of land stuck out into the water with a plume of steam from a hot spring rising from between rock formations and leaning west with the prevailing wind. Rob had told me earlier that all that land was off-limits to anyone except tribal members because it was “sacred land.” I didn’t doubt it for a minute, but I did remember a First Nations man from Canada explaining that the idea of sacredness didn’t always translate well between our two cultures. That’s because 28 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
many native people think the whole world and everything in it is sacred, while we Anglos reserve the label for a few specific pieces of real estate and see everything else as a potential site for a strip mine. But they’ll use the term to get a point across and in part because, as the man said, “You white guys are suckers for any kind’a spooky Indian sh*t.” Late in the morning I noticed that a wading fisherman way down the beach to my left was backing out of the water with a bent rod – the first fish I’d seen hooked all day – and a few minutes later a man on a ladder 30 or 40 yards to my right also hooked one. It took him long enough to land it that I reeled in to watch the show and when his guide got it in the net it turned out to be the 10-pounder. He’d been fishing something suspended under a bobber, so I nipped off my streamer and was still rerigging with a brace of midge pupae and a strike indicator when the same guy hooked and landed the 12-pounder. I thought, OK, this is it; a pod of big fish has moved in to graze along the drop-off and it’s only a matter of time. Watching someone land a couple of large trout on what was beginning to look like a blank day makes you envious and hopeful and does wonders for your concentration, but none of that lasts forever.
AN HOUR LATER I was still perched on my ladder. The plume of steam from the hot spring was now almost horizontal as the cold wind picked up and I was wondering how close you’d have to get to the hot spring to feel the warmth. Meanwhile the surface of the lake kept changing from gray to opaque turquoise for no apparent reason. No more fish had been hooked and the guy who’d landed the two big trout had gone back to his car for lunch, which was starting to seem like a pretty good idea. I was cold, bored, hungry, and fishless, but there was still nowhere else I’d have rather been – something anyone who fishes will understand. CS Editor’s note: For more on the books of author John Gierach, go to simonandschuster.com/ authors/John-Gierach/1497721.
OUTDOOR CALENDAR Editor’s note: At press time, California was under a temporary “stay at home” order from Governor Newsom. Below are events that were scheduled in April and May, along with websites for you to check for updates on their current status. In tweeting out the hashtag #MonoPause, Mono County Tourism optimistically posted, “We can’t wait to welcome you back at some point Soon.”
APRIL
4 Recreational ocean salmon season opener from Pigeon Point south to the U.S./Mexico border 4-5 Sacramento Municipal Utility District Trout Derby, Rancho Seco Recreation Area; anglerspress.com/events/ smud-trout-derby 11 Recreational salmon season opener from Horse Mountain south to Pigeon Point 18 Pardee Lake M.A.D. Team Kokanee Derby; kokaneepower.org 25 Statewide trout opening day 25 NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge, Collins Lake; anglerspress.com 25 Fishmas Day Celebration, Tom’s Place Resort; tomsplaceresort.com 25 Monster Fish Contest, June Lake Loop; junelakeloop.org/index 25-26 Annett’s Mono Village Fishing Opener Derby, Upper Twin Lakes, Bridgeport; monovillage.com 25-Nov. 15 Annett’s Mono Village Fishing Opener Derby, Upper Twin Lakes, Bridgeport; monovillage.com 25-Nov. 15 Gull Lake Marina Fish of the Month Club Derby, June Lake Loop; gulllakemarina.com 25-Nov. 15 Bridgeport Locals Only Fishing Tournament, Bridgeport Reservoir; (760) 932-7707 26-June 16 Round-up at the Lake Spring Fishing Derby, Convict Lake; convictlake.com/resort-home
MAY
2-3 Shasta Lake Team Kokanee Derby; kokaneepower.org 2-3 Bass Lake Trout Derby; basslakechamber.com/ fishing-derby 4-17 Archery-only spring wild turkey season 4-17 Additional junior wild turkey season 22 Start of Crowley Lake Perch Derby; (760) 935-4301
RESCHEDULED
MAY 9-10 Redding Sportsmans Expo, Redding Civic Center; reddingsportsmansexpo.com MAY 21-24 Fred Hall Show Del Mar, Del Mar Fairgrounds; fredhall.com
Spectacular Convict Lake. (MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
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s e r u t n e v d A
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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 coangler 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
Last month I had a fantastic trip to Lake Havasu for the first FLW Toyota Series tournament. (TODD KLINE)
Third-place trophy. (TODD KLINE)
We had solid rain on day one of the tournament and I was able to catch almost 22 pounds for my best five fish. My big bass was a 6.80-pounder caught on a Senko. (TODD KLINE)
Sunrise and moonset on Lake Havasu are a sight to behold. The lower Colorado River impoundment is annually ranked among the top Western bass waters. (TODD KLINE)
On day two I was able to slide in at 10th place and make the top 10 cut to fish on championship Saturday. (TODD KLINE)
I had almost 20 pounds on day three and climbed up to third, falling 4 pounds short of the win. Still, it was an awesome event and I won $7,977. (FLW)
A pic from day three on the water. Like I told FLW’s Curtis Niedermier afterwards about my finish, “Sitting in 10th, it’s kind of like a basketball game. You can jack up three-pointers because you’re so far behind. If they go in, you’ll have a shot. I went and threw some big baits, some reaction, and was able to get a few fish.” (FLW) calsportsmanmag.com| |APRIL APRIL2020 2020 California Sportsman calsportsmanmag.com
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PHOTO
CONTEST
WINNERS!
Francis Abernathey is the winner of our monthly Fishing Photo Contest, thanks to this shot he sent of kiddos Lucy and Noah and their north Idaho fall rainbows. It wins him gear from various fishing tackle manufacturers!
Kyle Edwards wins our monthly Coast Hunting Photo Contest, thanks to this pic of his daughter Allie and her first buck, taken last season. It wins him 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 | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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FISHING
FROM FIELD...
Developing a game plan before hitting California’s trout streams is a good idea. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
I SCREAM FOR TROUT STREAMS!
BONE UP ON FLOWING-WATER TACTICS, SUMMER SCOUTING TIPS FROM OUR EXPERT By Scott Haugen
B
y expanding your trout fishing repertoire, not only will you spend quality time on the river; you’ll also catch more fish. Catching trout in rivers and small streams isn’t rocket science, but there are things to be aware of that will boost success rates.
Knowing a trout’s behavior tops the list of tricks to know when fishing this time of year.
CONDITIONS WILL CHANGE As warm weather progresses, incessant heat will force trout to move – usually into deeper holes. Here, water temperatures are cooler at the benthic zone and the currents move slower.
Holding in such water is less taxing on trout and the cooler temperatures allow them to conserve energy. But as these predatory fish grow hungry, they’ll move into food funnels in the evening and remain there until early morning. Direct sunlight will also force trout to relocate, even if water temperatures in a stream are cool.
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FISHING By adding zesty flavors, you can really enhance the taste of freshly caught salmon or trout for those who don’t care for fish, says author Tiffany Haugen, holding (inset) a nice big king. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
... TO FIRE
TAME STRONG SALMON FLAVORS By Tiffany Haugen
I
t may be hard to believe, but there are actually anglers out there who don’t particularly enjoy eating salmon. Like other wild-caught game, the flavor of salmon can vary from place to
place, season to season and can also be dependent upon where a salmon is in their life cycle. Taming wild game is a fun challenge, with the same holding true when it comes to figuring out how to flavor salmon to make it most palatable for the person who may not think they like fish. In this recipe, the tanginess of ginger, sweetness of apple and savory flavor of sesame oil come together and neutralize stronger fish flavors, resulting in a dish we couldn’t get enough of. One filleted salmon ¼ cup julienned apple 2 heaping tablespoons julienned ginger 2 tablespoons sesame oil 2 tablespoons ponzu or soy sauce 1 tablespoon black or white sesame seeds 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 tablespoon butter Remove skin from salmon to lessen the stronger fish flavors. Keep in mind that this will cause the fish to cook faster and
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dry out quicker. Rinse fish in cold water and pat dry. Spread butter on the bottom of a foil pouch or oven-proof dish; butter should be spread out the size of the fish fillet. Place fillet on top of the butter layer. In a small bowl, combine apple, ginger – both julienned, or cut into thin, small strips – sesame oil, ponzu or soy sauce, sesame seeds, lemon juice and zest. Pack apple ginger topping on the salmon fillet. If using foil, bend foil up against the edges of the fish to keep the topping in place. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven or on a mediumhot grill 15 to 25 minutes, or until internal temperature of the fish reaches 135 degrees.
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood and other titles, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.
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FISHING
The Mag Lip, the hottest plug going right now in the trout world, can be fished multiple ways, in multiple places. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Broken water, riffles, rapids and cut banks all offer safe haven for trout that seek camouflage to hide from predators of the sky – namely ospreys and eagles.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT DEPTH It doesn’t take much water to hide a trout in riffles. As long as there’s a chop on the surface, trout can confidently hold there. Trout are masters of disguise, which makes it hard for any prey to spot them from above, including anglers with high-tech fishing glasses.
STEALTH MODE Fishing pressure will also cause trout to relocate throughout the day. Whether from shore, boats or recreational traffic, if trout sense constant intrusion, they will move. This is where being stealthy and exploring new waters can pay off for anglers.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS For bank anglers, wearing drab clothing and approaching with a low profile can increase your chance of getting spooked fish to bite. From a boat, you will want to anchor well above or to the side of the target water and get your terminal gear into the strike zone with precise placement and zero disturbance.
SCOUT FOR TROUT With the dry spells that the West has experienced in recent years, scouting is more critical than ever for trout anglers. To begin planning for a family vacation or a hike into a remote stream, do your scouting from home. Now would be a great time to do that. Some simple internet research, along with contacting regional fish and game offices or biologists will reveal a lot of information on rivers and
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streams you intend to fish. Wildfires have shut down hikein access to many streams over the past few summers, so contacting local sources with the Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov/california) as well as the U.S. Forest Service (fs.usda.gov/ r5) can greatly help in planning your fishing adventure. Late last summer, multiple streams experienced closures due to extremely low water levels. Most fish and game agencies post such shutdowns on their websites (California’s has two sources: wildlife.ca.gov and cdfgnews. wordpress.com), so check these prior to heading out. There’s no worse feeling than showing up at your highly anticipated fishing destination, only to find it closed.
SNORKEL THE STREAM Low-water scouting during the summer is fun to do from a raft or other
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HUNTING flotation device. With a swim mask or goggles, you can swim in the river to study its bottom structure. If the water is clear, you may not even need to get wet. When scouting low water, it reveals structure that you can’t see when levels are higher. Bedrock channels, large rocks, depressions, logs, log jams and more can all be seen in low water. As water levels rise, these are prime locations trout will gravitate to. Being aware of where such structure exists lets you know exactly where fishing efforts should begin when rivers reach ideal levels and temperatures.
MICRO PLUGS FOR TROUT While many trout anglers rely on flies, lures and various baits to catch fish, don’t overlook small plugs. Trout are aggressive predators and they commonly prey on small fish. As sunlight,
heat and fishing pressure push trout into hiding, the aggressive action of plugs can often elicit a vigorous strike when little else seems to work. One of the biggest trends in trout fishing throughout the West is utilizing downsized plugs to catch trout in rivers and smaller streams. These tiny plugs can be cast and retrieved from shore or from a boat. They can even be back-trolled from a boat. The hottest trout plug is perhaps the Mag Lip. The 2.0 and 2.5 series Mag Lip are miniature versions of their larger cousins, which are considered by some to be the most effective salmon and steelhead plugs ever invented. The Mag Lip features a skip-beat action. Their horizontal tracking results in high hookup ratios. The 2.0 Mag Lip dives to 5 feet deep and the 2.5 version to 8 feet. If fishing deeper water, the 3.0 Mag Lip will get
you there; it’s not too big for trout. While plugs can be fished on their own, you can also remove the hooks and add a trailing leader with bait. Using plugs as a diver is a great way to target a trout’s sense of sight and sound, as some plugs contain rattles. A 50 series Hot Shot – even a 30 series – tracks well as a diver, as do the 2.5 and 3.0 Mag Lip.
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This summer, research the rivers and streams you plan to fish and diversify your game plan before hitting the water. What you’ll discover is that by offering trout something different, catch rates will rise, even in the most challenging of situations. CS Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling books, please visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
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OPENING ACT ALWAYS MEMORABLE
FROM THE SIERRA TO JAPAN, THE START OF TROUT SEASON IS A FAMILY AFFAIR
Three generations of the Sawa family – patriarch Mark, his son and our author Lance, and Lance’s son Nico – have enjoyed trout opener success on multiple continents. (LANCE SAWA)
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The Susabana River, located near the author’s home in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, is a popular spot when trout fishing opens on the stream in March. (LANCE SAWA)
By Lance Sawa
T
he first time I remember going to the trout opener in the Sierra I was about 8 years old. We went as a family – my mom, dad, my two older sisters and I. There was a tournament running for the largest fish caught during the weekend. My dad knew one of the organizers and they ended up chatting for too long. My mom was busy taking care of her three children. I eventually snuck around back and got behind the weigh-in station.
Anglers brought fish after fish through to be weighed. Most looked like stockers, but once in a while a huge trout would hit the scales. After a while my dad and his friend finished talking and we left.
A FAMILY TRADITION Some people I know go to every single trout opener. I am talking about decades of returns. They book their hotel a year in advance. They make plans for where to go and what to use at each spot they plan to fish. Others just play it by ear.
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Whatever hotel has an opening is the one they go to and if they find an open fishing spot, that’s the one they fish. I am someone who wings it. The last time I went to a trout opener in California was with my girlfriend – now my wife – Yumiko. She and I had both just finished projects and that meant we didn’t have overtime during the weekend. I knew my dad, Mark, had gone the Wednesday before and was already there. After deciding Friday night to go, I packed the car, took a quick nap and we left early Saturday morning
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Father-and-son fun while fishing included a dog to hug, a stop at a roasted sweet potato stand and a riverside lunch. (LANCE SAWA)
before the sun came up. My dad was surprised to get a phone call from me asking where he was. He answered with a place I knew well, so I continued on to the lower Owens River to meet up. Just as we arrived he was pulling a fish from the water. Dad again was surprised that I was actually there out of the blue because on Wednesday I had told him I would not be coming. The three of us travelled around for the rest of the day. Yumiko didn’t fish much unless the fish was already hooked; she was there to relax and enjoy the wonderful mountains. Dad
and I caught a few fish, but we were mostly enjoying ourselves. The talks continued during dinner and at breakfast the next day. Yumiko and I had to leave for work on Monday, but Dad stayed another day.
TROUT OPENER, JAPAN-STYLE Where I now live in Japan each river has its own opening day, with no apparent rhyme or reason. My local one, about a five-minute walk away, is the Susabana River and it opened on a Sunday. As I was getting all my tackle and stuff ready, my son Nico asked what
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was going on. When he heard that in two days we could once again fish our local river he couldn’t contain himself. The first thing he asked was if we would catch any sharks. On March 8 I was up at 6 a.m. with a packed car ready to go. Nico was fast asleep in bed, though, which was not surprising. I gently woke him up and asked if he was going, but he decided to sleep in that morning. I headed out to a spot I like and got there just as the sun came over the mountaintops. It was perfect weather for fishing – not cold, even though it was still March. But the river was
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“Suddenly, the rod tip bent and the line went taut with pressure,” the proud father writes. “We finally had a fish on after three days of hard, rain-filled fishing.” (LANCE SAWA)
very low because we received little snow and rain this past winter.
BIG CHALLENGE Fishing for wild native trout is never easy. This morning was no different. After two hours I had had only one bite and no fish to show for my effort. Another angler upstream said he didn’t catch anything either. With this news I decided to try another spot I had scouted the day before. Before I even got to it I could see lines of cars. My sleepy little river, where I would only see three cars a
day while fishing, now had close to 30. Some anglers had parked and walked up trails in hopes of a big fish. Others were fishing on the road into the river below. I stopped and asked multiple people if they had caught anything, but everyone said no. Then the sky decided to open up and the rain started to pour down on us. With that the day was done and I went home to get a little bit of sleep.
FATHER AND SON DAY The next morning, after a bit more
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rain, Nico and I decided to go try to catch our first fish of the year. The rain had increased the amount of water in the river. As we were walking to the first spot we saw someone pull up a nice trout, though he said it was the only one for two days. We enjoyed ourselves. Nico was trying to catch anything but also playing in the water at the same time. I mostly tried catching a trout while keeping one eye on Nico. This went on for about an hour before we stopped for lunch. We ate right on the riverside and watched the
water flow gently past. But shortly after lunch, the rains returned once again, so we trekked back home.
PATIENCE WEARING THIN On day three I was on a mission to actually catch a fish. Nico once again came with me. This time we went to some out-of-the-way spots that don’t hold many fish but also don’t get as much fishing pressure. The first spot had little more than a friendly dog that Nico went straight over to hug. On the way to the next stop we happened upon a roadside roasted sweet potato seller, which you see all over Japan. They will sing out that they are selling and you can stop and buy a few. Everyone in our family loves them, so I bought a bag. Our next spot was a walk from the car, so our hopes were high for a fish. We had been using wax worms for bait all day and I was beginning to think it was a mistake. Nico was slowly learning rod control, though, and that was useful to know as a young angler. He was walking upstream slowly and putting the bait into all the pools, like I had showed him. Suddenly, the rod tip bent and the line went taut with pressure. At first I thought it was a snag but then the line started to dart here and there. We finally had a fish on after three days of hard, rain-filled fishing. I prayed the fish would stay on the hook as the thin line was yanked toward a tree snag. I gently pulled the rod a little to direct it away. One last pull and the fish was out of the water and into Nico’s hands. The picture was taken quickly with his bright face.
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AN EXPERIENCE TO CHERISH Another hour of woodland creek fishing produced no more fish, so with the sun getting lower and Nico getting tired we headed back to the car. I know I wanted more fish for three days’ worth of fishing, but then I saw my son’s smile. I was happy that of the one trout we did catch, he was the one to catch it. CS calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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FISHING
LARGIES CHARGE THE BANK SPRINGTIME FINDS BASS SEARCHING FOR SPAWNING BEDS; OUR PRO BREAKS DOWN FISHING THE STAGES By Bill Schaefer
S
pringtime is always a great time of year to fish bass in Southern California, but this year the COVID-19 outbreak was impacting opportunities to get on the water and how angling is practiced. At press time Governor Newsom’s stay-at-home and social distancing orders had led some reservoir managers to close their lakes to all access, including fishing, though others were still open. Best advice: check ahead. The reason this time of year is usually popular for bass fishing is that water temperatures at most lakes are up in the 60s, which gets male bass charging the banks. Big trophy females won’t be far behind. As the males roam the banks looking for a nesting area for themselves and their mate, they readily eat a lot of different baits. This can be because they’re hungry or guarding an area they’ve already picked out. Either way, if you want to have fun, now is the time to the beautiful waters of Southern Californias shine.
GET THE POINTS So where do you start? Almost anywhere, but I would concentrate on outside main lake points and then work back into the coves. As I mentioned, there are thousands of male bass cruising the banks right now and they will eat a large variety of
Bill Schaefer is a longtime Southland basser. He caught this largemouth throwing a Yamamoto Senko into shoreline brush. Soft plastic stickbaits can be a great lure for springtime bedding bass. (BILL SCHAEFER) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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FISHING Spinnerbaits run through freshly submerged brush can be a quick way to locate and catch bass in the springtime. (BILL SCHAEFER)
in a move, give them a little shake and then let them sit for as long as you can stand it. You will eventually drag them through a bed or past a protective mom that will eat your bait.
GEAR CHECK
baits. If the winter rains have put a lot of brush in the water at your favorite lake, then go in after them. Most bass in Southland lakes rush to the bank when the water comes up and creates cover for them. Run some reaction baits around shoreline cover to locate bass or get a few early morning bites. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and soft and hard jerkbaits can do well in this situation. When headed into the bass spawn, there are always some early spawners, as well as late ones. You may already see some bedding fish protecting their nests this time of year.
DEEPER WATER A FACTOR One thing to remember now is that with rising water from winter and spring storms, bass may also bed deeper. Once locked onto a bed they will not move, even if the water comes up. If fishing in shallow water is slow or it’s a blue sky day, don’t hesitate to fish a little deeper. The bass may just be in 20 feet of water instead of 10. Texas-rigged worms, or drop-shot or split-shot rigs will score this time of year. The trick is to fish them a little slower than normal. And I mean really slow. Creep them along an inch or two
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For spring tackle, the first thing you need to do if you haven’t been out – or even if you have – is to get your rods and reels in order. This is the time to catch that trophy wall hanger – and you don’t want to break it off. Lube up your reels, wipe down your rods and check guides, replace line and, most importantly, make sure you have a smooth drag. The one time you need it, you want it to work flawlessly. This time of year will let you break out different rods that you may not have used for a while. For example, your spinnerbait rods may be leaning in the corner covered in dust. Fix them all up. If you only have a few rods and use them for a lot of applications, then you have it a tad easier. Since the bass are charging the bank, you might want to go with braided line. One with 25-pound test, which has the diameter of 4- to 6-pound monofilament, will pull those bass out of the brush easily. I like casting and spinning gear year-round, but I go with spinning more now. I use Daiwa Tatula rods and reels loaded with the appropriate Maxima line in braid and mono. It all depends on where you’re casting and the structure the fish might be in. Go a little heavier for a lot of structure and lighter for less. With reaction baits I often go heavier since the bass are charging for the kill.
CONSIDER CATCH AND RELEASE I will not debate bed fishing with you, but I do strongly encourage you to take a photo and release a giant back to her bed. Taxidermists can make an exact replica with just pictures, and releasing the bass will lessen the stress on the fish. She will then finish her spawn and hopefully continue to populate your lake with more potential trophy bass. CS
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HUNTING
OFF-SEASON TUNE UPS, PART II: COMMUNICATION, CONDITIONING AND BREAKING By Scott Haugen
I
n last month’s Gun Dog column we looked at how to train your dog to push back on blind retrieves. This month we’re going to look at more offseason training tips, and once again we’re turning to noted professional trainer Jesse Spradley. “This is a great time of year to do a refresher on everything,” begins the owner of Cabin Creek Gun Dogs (541219-2526, cabincreekgundogs.com) in Lakeview, Oregon. “An important part of dog training is communication; that is, making sure the dog understands what’s being expected by you, and that you’re clearly and consistently communicating that.” One thing I do that helps strengthen communication with my dogs when training is to never wear sunglasses. You’ve already developed a strong bond with your dog, so you’ve likely noticed they will do anything to please you. In fact, their drive to please you is so strong, I’m a firm believer they try to read minds. One way dogs feed their need to please you is through eye contact. They can often tell by the look in your eyes what you’re thinking, how you feel and what you’re going to do or say next. To enhance communication skills, try concentrating on eye contact and what messages you’re sending to your dog while training.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIP from Spradley is to not let your dog become a couch
Eye contact and clear communication are essential when training in order for your dog to learn what’s expected. Here, professional trainer Jess Spradley works with Captain, his prized male pudelpointer. (SCOTT HAUGEN) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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HUNTING
Spring is the time to correct any bad habits your dog may have picked up during hunting season, as they’re in good shape and eager to be afield. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
potato in the offseason. “This time of year your dog should be in great condition, so maintain that. Be sure and get out every day with your dog, working on both training and conditioning,” he says. As temperatures begin to warm up, Spradley suggests running your dogs early in the day. “Once daytime temperatures start getting into the 80s, I’ll run my dogs in the morning for at least an hour, three times a week. Not only will this keep them in shape, it’ll keep their pads tough too,” he says. “If early morning and evening training sessions don’t fit into your schedule, condition your dog in the water,” continues Spradley. “Hop in a canoe or kayak and have your dog swim beside you, or head out on a paddle board. Water training is a great, low-impact workout for all
dogs, especially aging, arthritic dogs.” My wife loves swimming in the summer, and our dogs swim with her a lot. They’ll often swim in lakes, covering surprising distances and getting far from shore. This is fun for the dogs and is a great workout.
“THIS IS ALSO a good time to work out any kinks you encountered during hunting season,” encourages Spradley. “One of the biggest reasons people bring their dogs back to me to train this time of year is to keep them from breaking on the shot. This is something you can fix, on your own, and the process further strengthens the bond between you and your dog.” “A dog often breaks when multiple shots are fired from the blind or when multiple birds fall,” notes Spradley. “They’re simply confused with all
60 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
that’s happening, so to fix this, take a step-by-step approach. “First, head to a duck blind you can train and shoot from with a dead bird in hand, like a training pigeon or starling, or maybe a duck skin you saved from the season that’s secured to a bumper. With your dog watching, and sitting, toss it out, commanding the dog to stay. Don’t let the dog fetch until you release it. Repeat this a couple times, then toss it out and fire a shot from your shotgun, keeping the dog by your side until released. Make sure the dog retrieves the bird to hand. “I’ll spend 15 to 20 minutes on each step – watching the bird fall, the retrieve, and the fetch to hand – and will do this a couple times a night, three times a week.” I struggled to polish the first step of this training process with one of my
HUNTING The next hunting season is still months and months away and to enjoy it to its fullest, now is the time to brush up on your dog’s training and correct any behavioral glitches that may have popped up this past season. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
dogs that started breaking too quickly, so I had my son help me. He tossed out the dummy and fired a shot from 30 yards away while I managed the dog. In a few training sessions the problem was fixed. “Even professional trainers need the help of a friend now and then, so don’t be afraid to call someone,” encourages Spradley. “When I do this, I dedicate time on a weekend so the training process isn’t rushed. Sometimes a friend picks up on something you’re missing too.” If you’re unsure of what to do in any training process, see a trainer, as you don’t want to engrain bad habits into your dog. Whatever training you’re doing this offseason, be sure to make it positive for the dog, and keep it fun for both of you. CS Editor’s note: To watch Scott Haugen’s series of puppy training videos, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
62 California Sportsman APRIL 2020 | calsportsmanmag.com
