HELLO, KITTY

THE CAT’S MEOW

PLUNKING BAIT FOR WHISKERFISH IS ONE OF SUMMER’S REAL PLEASURES

By Chris Cocoles

As someone whose fishing passion has always been of the fairly simple, straightforward variety, some of my best memories as an angler include lazy – albeit hot – summer days and nights dunking stinky baits, dead little fish and worms.

From a young age, I was always fascinated by catfish – from the obvious facial characteristics of these whiskered beasts, to the tales of fishermen getting stung by cats’ poisonous barbs, and those who swore that these ugly bottom dwellers offered some of the best table fare fillets around.

As I was thinking about heading out for another catfish recon assignment sometime in the next couple months, the nostalgic sap in me recalled some of my favorite cat moments of past years.

CLEARLY THE BEST

For all the storied accolades Clear Lake gets for its bass fishery, the state’s largest freshwater body (at least among ones completely located within California’s border) will always be treasured for its catfish population. My best catfishing stories have always taken place in Lake County. My first ever fish was a fat channel cat I caught at a family friend’s lakefront home near Lakeport, where we visited every year. During those days all I did was fish – from the moment I got up until my dad dragged me to bed while the adults enjoyed their cocktails in the house and I kept checking my bait in the dark. I caught a few more cats

Summer means catfishing on California’s waters. Anglers looking for a relatively simple fishery and easy-going days and nights can enjoy some great outings and memories.

Northern California’s Clear Lake will always have a special place in the author’s heart. It’s where he caught his first fish, a channel cat, at a family friend’s lakefront home. (MARK FONG)

and loved using a cane pole to pull up an occasional bluegill.

Years later I returned to Clear Lake with my childhood friend John, whose family also visited annually. John and I rented a boat on a hot summer morning, rented a boat and caught a couple nice channel cats from a cove in the south end of the lake.

CAMP CAMANCHE

Another favorite childhood destination for me was the Gold Country’s Mother Lode Lakes – Pardee, Amador, New Hogan and Camanche. One summer when I was in college, my sister, brother-in-law and I joined a couple more friends for a weekend camping trip to Lake Camanche.

The stifling heat during the day gave way to similarly stifling but more manageable heat at night. So three of us grabbed an ice chest full of beers and walked down to the shoreline for some late-night fishing. Sadly, the fish weren’t biting that night, but the camaraderie ensured a good time.

I also love to playfully remind my sister that she got out of her tent in the middle of the night for a restroom break without her contact lenses or glasses, and she had to be verbally guided back to our campsite by her husband. It was embarrassing for her. I loved it!

QUAIL’S QUAINTNESS

When I lived in Southern California, I didn’t get to fish very often, but some friends and I did find an off-thebeaten-path place to try our luck in the summer heat.

Quail Lake is located north of Los Angeles, not far from Magic Mountain amusement park and closer to the Interstate 5 Grapevine. It’s hardly a sexy fishery. It’s an artificial lake located in a dusty area off Highway 138 on the way to the Antelope Valley and contains no real facilities. But when we went on a warm Friday night, we were surprised how many nighttime anglers were trying their luck.

We were able to catch a few decent catfish and a bass, and I remember trying to get back to the truck via a shortcut. I’m a rather large man, and fortunately I somehow squeezed through an opening under a chain link fence – to big laughs by my buddies.

There are so many other California lakes known for their catfishing I want to try going forward, including the Delta in the north and some of the renowned fisheries in Southern California. But I do have some memories to last a lifetime. CS

OREGON

EUGENE

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FROM FIELD...

Whether fishing close to home or hitting the road this summer, fishing floating bait for trout is very effective – even more so when you use a lil’ helper in the weeds. Here, author Scott Haugen admires a nice morning’s catch of rainbows. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

FIRST THE FLOATING, THEN THE GLOATING

GIVE DOUGH BAIT A BUOYANCY BOOST TO ATTRACT TROUT IN SUMMER'S WEEDIER WATERS

By Scott Haugen

Iknow. It’s August. It’s hot. The water is warm and fish aren’t biting like they did in the spring. Still, trout have to eat, and giving them something different to look at may be the key to catching a fresh dinner.

Perhaps you’re on the road fishing a remote lake high in the Rocky Mountains. Or hiking a coastal trail along the Pacific Ocean and hitting lakes wherever your journey leads. Perhaps you want to fish a lake that’s full of midday swimmers, water skiers and more, which means hitting the water early in the morning and right before dark. The point is, you can still catch fish in the dog days.

... TO FIRE

Tiffany Haugen says using Middle Eastinspired ingredients, including falafel, can really spice up a trout dish. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

FISH AND FALAFEL MEAN FLAVOR

By Tiffany Haugen

When a fresh trout meets a popular Middle Eastern fritter made from chickpeas, crunchy, flavorful goodness is created!

Trout can be a bit bland, so dressing it up with a crunchy coating is always a hit.

An easy but unique coating is made by using dried falafel mix, which can be found in the bulk food section or international section of most supermarkets. The mix is already seasoned, so it’s quick to put together at home or when camping. Just a few ingredients and you’re on the way to a delicious fish fry.

Serve with complementary favorites like tzatziki sauce, hummus, baba ghanoush, tomato-cucumber salad and fresh pita for flavors you won’t soon forget. Double or triple this recipe as needed for the quantity of fish you’re cooking.

Two large fillets of trout 2 tablespoons panko (breadcrumbs) 2 tablespoons dry falafel mix One egg, beaten Olive oil for pan-frying

Skin and remove bones from trout fillets. In a shallow dish, mix panko and falafel until combined. In another shallow dish, beat egg. Heat a quarter of an inch of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Dredge fillets in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Place in a hot skillet and cook two to four minutes per side until trout reaches desired doneness. Serve with tzatziki if desired.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

½ cup Greek yogurt ½ cup grated cucumber 1 teaspoon finely chopped dill or mint ½ teaspoon granulated garlic

In a small bowl, mix ingredients until thoroughly combined. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood, and other bestselling titles of hers, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.

Adding a drift bobber to your floating bait offers multiple advantages. Here, a sliding sinker setup (left) and fixed sinker rig are being baited, to which scent will be

applied. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

tures may lead, try using floating bait. Fished from shore or a boat, floating baits are very effective.

While many anglers fish floating bait, cheese, even worms injected with air for trout, try adding a drift bobber to your bait. I’ve had the best success pairing a Lil’ Corky drift bobber with PowerBait.

Pairing a Lil’ Corky with PowerBait offers three specific benefits. First, it increases visibility of the presentation, making it easier for fish to locate from a distance and in the murky conditions that are common this time of year. Second, it adds buoyancy which lessens the bait’s chances of getting tangled in grass and weeds. Third, because a drift bobber adds lift, larger bait can be applied and scent can be added to both the drift bobber and the bait.

TROUT HAVE A POWERFUL sense of smell,

and adding scent that can be dispersed throughout the water will allow fish to more easily locate the offering.

When it comes to matching a drift bobber to a treble hook that holds floating bait, my best success has come by pairing a size 12 Lil’ Corky with a size 12 treble hook. This bigger than normal setup proves trout won’t shy away from a larger presentation. In fact, a larger bait has played a big part in helping me catch fish in waters laden with algae and silt; waters I may not have fished otherwise.

If fishing in clear water where weeds and grass are not a concern, maybe you’ll want to drop to a smaller size 14 Lil’ Corky. Combined with a size 14 treble hook covered in PowerBait, this setup has also been a consistent fish-catching combination for me over the years.

There are two ways I like rigging my floating bait setups for trout. My preferred setup includes using a sliding egg sinker. A sliding sinker ensures that when a trout picks up the bait, the line slides through the sinker, boosting hookup rates due to low or no resistance. If a trout feels line resistance it will often drop the bait.

To rig a sliding sinker setup, simply thread your sliding egg sinker up the mainline, then tie on a size 10 barrel swivel. A 2-foot-long leader can be tied to the other eye of the barrel swivel. Should you find yourself fishing in waters with, say, 6-foot-tall grass or weeds, simply let out line once the sinker hits bottom, then the buoyancy of the Corky and floating bait will rise to the desired strike zone.

The second rigging option is a fixed sinker setup where split shots can be attached directly to your mainline. Start by sliding a Lil’ Corky drift bobber on to your mainline, then tie the treble hook to the end.

Place a split shot or two a few feet from the hook, and you’re set. Reusable split shots are easy to reposition on the line, allowing for quick depth regulation should you find yourself in weeds or wanting to change locations with different depths or bottom structure.

Because leader length is easy to adjust with this setup – and the fact the Lil’ Corky and PowerBait optimize the ability of the presentation to float – this setup can be fished in many places. Drop it amongst jumbled logs, downed trees, tall grass, weeds and moss, and you’re fishing a

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OREGON

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Both of these setups are identical, but the one without the Lil’ Corky didn’t have enough lift to get through the grass. A drift bobber adds buoyancy and increases visibility of the whole

presentation. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

stationary bait in places that are hard to fish any other way.

This buoyant floating bait setup can also be fished in sloughs found in rivers and small streams. Even if there’s a slight current, the bait will stay suspended due to the buoyant combination of the floating bait and Lil’ Corky. This not only makes it more visible for fish to see as they swim by, it also helps establish a scent line in the water.

IF YOU WANT TO catch more trout when fishing floating bait, try adding a drift bobber and increasing the amount of bait being used. As you’ll discover, these little drift bobbers aren’t just great bait imitations, they’re ideal for floating PowerBait precisely where it needs to be in order to catch more trout. CS

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s line of popular fishing and cookbooks, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.