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Sportsman
California Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 8 • Issue 7 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott
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EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Brittany Boddington LEAD WRITER Tim E. Hovey CONTRIBUTORS Bill Adelman, Jon Baiocchi, Art Carlow, Steve Carson, Jeremiah Doughty, Brad Hall, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Bill Schaefer, Mike Stevens SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Larry Hinze, Steve Joseph, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells DESIGNERS Ciara Pickering, Sam Rockwell, Liz Weickum PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
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ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@calsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email ccocoles@media-inc.com Twitter @CalSportsMan Facebook.com/californiasportsmanmagazine ON THE COVER April 30 is considered “Fishmas Day” around many lakes and rivers of the Eastern Sierra that will officially open for the 2016 season. (SIERRA DRIFTERS GUIDE SERVICE) Inset: Cal quarterback Jared Goff harvested a pig on his first-ever hunt and should be a top pick in this month’s NFL Draft. (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ATHLETICS) MEDIA INC PUBLISHING GROUP CALIFORNIA OFFICE 4517 District Blvd. • Bakersfield, CA 93313 (661) 381-7533 WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 7
101
MAKE THE ‘MOKE’ OF IT! Our annual spring trout opener issue features top-notch fisheries, including Brad Hall’s look at one of California’s unique trophy rivers, the Central Valley’s Mokelumne. Located at a far lower elevation than celebrated Eastern Sierra lakes and rivers that open for business April 30, the “Moke” means quality and 20-inch rainbows are common. Join Brad and local guide Bill Ferrero on it as well as the Calaveras! (MOKELUMNE RIVER OUTFITTERS)
FEATURES 17
PIGSKIN POWER Blessed with a golden throwing arm that led to high school football stardom and then a three-year major college career with the Cal Golden Bears, Jared Goff didn’t have a lot of time to head out into the field to hunt with his outdoors-loving dad, Jerry. But as he prepares for this month’s National Football League Draft and expected early call as a first-round pick, the younger Goff, his former Major League Baseball-playing dad and Gridiron Outdoors host (and another ex-Cal quarterback) Mike Pawlawski reminisced about a special pig hunt.
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127
CALL OF THE GOBBLERS As spring turkey season amps up this month, Scott and Tiffany Haugen’s Field to Fire column prepares you for scoring that tasty tom. Scott provides four tips to properly call in a plump tom, and Tiffany shares her recipe for a plankcooked bird that should alleviate any fears about carving a tough turkey.
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TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE Want to be a better hunter when this fall’s deer, upland bird and waterfowl seasons are in full swing? Take lead writer Tim Hovey’s advice – the
YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT Southern California saltwater anglers have been slamming it the last couple seasons, as El Niño-like conditions have turned the Pacific into a haven for exotic catches of giant yellowfin, yellowtail, wahoo, bonito and other species. With long-range trips more popular than ever now, Steve Carson has some key advice for making sure you
more time you spend honing your shooting skills during the offseason, the more likely you are to hit what you’re hunting. Here’s how he and his daughters keep their shooting eyes sharp.
get your spot on the rail, as well as shares tips on what to expect when out anywhere from four to 23 days.
TROUT OPENER 2016 39 Eastern Sierra super slam: Catch five 47 55 69 74 91
species of trout your next trip! Mono County expert’s top options for Fishmas Day High-country fishing trip memories Expert Craig Adkinson’s tips for tricking big brown trout Wild rainbows of the North Fork of the Yuba River Lower Sacramento River trout prospects look good this season
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE / DEPARTMENTS 13 35 37 111
The Editor’s Note Protecting Wild California: the Klamath River’s dreary Chinook forecast Daiwa, Browning Photo Contests monthly winners Catch your biggest bass now
115 117 151 153
Fishing SoCal’s bays like lakes Kayaker creates new paddle The Wild Chef: Ham hock split pea soup Urban Huntress, with Brittany Boddington: Favorite new gear of 2016
California Sportsman goes digital! Read California Sportsman on your desktop or mobile device. Only $1.89 an issue. 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) 3829220 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 © 2016 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. 10 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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THEEDITOR’SNOTE When Quality & Service Matter... Visit So Cal Gun!
The trout opener at the end of this month will bring together anglers in search of nice rainbows like this one caught at Saddlebag Lake outside Lee Vining in Mono County. (MIKE STEVENS)
I
want to say the first time I went trout fishing was with my elementary school class. To put it mildly, it sucked. We went to Lake Merced in San Francisco, which eventually became a go-to spot for my buddies and I. But this maiden voyage might as well have been sponsored by the White Star Line, because I hit an iceberg and sank. My low-budget spincast reel kept malfunctioning when I would attempt a cast. When it would work, my marshmallow-andsalmon-egg combination kept falling off the hook upon hitting the water. And in the ultimate moment of humiliation, my friend John caught a respectable rainbow, then ran down the bank to brag to his grandpa who fished there every day. I would have better days on the trout circuit, usually fishing Merced and other Bay Area lakes that had planted rainbows. Sometimes I caught a few fish – maybe the occasional limit – and on others I would get skunked. But what I loved about fishing for trout is the simplicity of breaking out a lawn chair, throwing some PowerBait or inflated nightcrawler on a hook with a sliding sinker or under a bobber, and waiting for that trout to bite. Since then I’ve done more technical fishing – trolling with downriggers for landlocked coho in Lake Oroville, flinging Rapalas for bass at Pardee Lake, getting out in a charter boat and dropping pricey jigs or bait to the bottom and pulling in a bunch of rockfish. All those outings caught fish, and that’s the name of the game. But I really enjoy how easy it can be to set up a simple trout rig. We celebrate the April 30 opener this month, and thousands of of us will invade Crowley Lake, the June Lake Loop, Rock Creek and countless other trout fisheries. Some guys will cast fancy flies or artificial lures, but I’m rooting for the kids with the coffee can of worms to limit out. Have a great opening day, everyone! –Chris Cocoles
Correction: On page 39 of the March issue of California Sportsman, a photo credit was misidentified. That image was taken by senior writer Tim E. Hovey. We apologize for this error.
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PIGSKIN PROWESS PERSONIFIED CAL GOLDEN BEARS QB AND NFL HOPEFUL JARED GOFF BONDS WITH DAD ON NORCAL HOG HUNT
Jared Goff (left) enjoyed a record-setting three-year starting career as the University of California Golden Bears quarterback, but last summer was his first chance to hunt with his dad Jerry (right) when they appeared on the Outdoor Channel show Gridiron Outdoors with fellow Cal alum Mike Pawlawski. (GRIDIRON OUTDOORS/UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ATHLETICS)
By Chris Cocoles
H
e scanned the playing field with game face on – a stern look of determination befitting an elite athlete. It was there that Jared Goff, standout college quarterback and soon-tobe first-round pick in this month’s NFL Draft, locked in on his target, which was as usual tucked in between the obstacles standing in his way. Moments like that made him understand that the margin of error between the elation of success and dismay of failure was slight. A miscalculation here, a tiny missed adjustment there, and your status would freefall from hero to scapegoat. It’s what Goff signed up for when he accepted his place as his sport’s next best thing. Except in this setting, Goff wasn’t surrounded by 70,000 critics in the stands, but the pressure to succeed
hovering nonetheless. He wore not the blue-and-gold helmet and No. 16 jersey of his University of California Golden Bears, but a Go Wild Camo uniform. In his hands wasn’t a football but a Ruger American rifle. He wasn’t throwing to a wide receiver covered by a cornerback but taking a shot at wild pigs darting in and out of bushes and shrubbery in the foothills of Colusa County. These were the shots that were going to define this father-son hunt with dad and former Major League Baseball player Jerry Goff. Mike Pawlawski, like Jared another Cal Bear quarterback and passionate sportsman (California Sportsman, June 2014), was also on hand to film an episode of his football-themed TV show, Gridiron Outdoors. The stage belonged to Jared Goff, the kind of spot his sport’s best thrive in. But his pigs were spooked by a previous shot and vacated the main trail.
“My heart rate’s going, the adrenaline’s flowing right now, and I’m ready to go down there and chase them, stalk them and take a shot,” Goff said on the show, which will air this month on the Outdoor Channel. “The only shot left for the kid is a small lane that these pigs will have to cross to get back on the trail,” Pawlawski narrated. This was a whole new end zone for the kid to cross.
FATHERS AND THEIR SONS having an athletic connection has always been part of our fascination with pro and college sports. From football’s Mannings to auto racing’s Earnhardts, basketball’s Currys and baseball’s Bonds, genera-
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tions of fans both young and old are linked by these strong family ties. The Goffs have now joined that fraternity, both with a connection to the Berkeley campus of the University of California. Jerry Goff was a baseball catcher for the Golden Bears (he also spent a year on the football team as a punter) in the mid-1980s and was a third-round selection by the Seattle Mariners in the 1986 draft. Goff was a grinder in his pro career, reaching the majors and playing 90 games for three teams (Montreal, Pittsburgh and Houston). He retired in 1996, a couple years after he and wife Nancy gave birth to their second child, a son they named Jared Thomas Goff. Jerry’s dad grew up north of San Francisco near rural Point Reyes and
and the Pacific) and go after sturgeon, stripers, halibut, flounder; I grew up doing that,” Jerry says. “But my favorite is stream fishing in the Sierras. Fortunately, we had an abundance of lakes around us, and that’s what Jared and I did a lot of. And I also got my daughter involved.” But living in Marin County (Novato) was, like for most Bay Area residents, a futile challenge to find much open land to hunt. Back in Jerry’s childhood in nearby San Rafael, he and his dad had it easier to find open spaces. But these days, most of those opportunities have gone away. And even as Jerry embarked on a life in baseball and then raised a family with a new career – he’s now a firefighter with the Millbrae Fire Department – finding time to hunt and the logistics of it “became, unfortunately, “It was intense since it was my first time, something I had never done before,” says Goff, who also got in some archery training. “I was very focused and wanted to get it right.” (GRIDIRON OUTDOORS)
was a devoted hunter, and some of Jerry’s best adolescent memories were spent with his father – not just the hunts themselves but the process of taking shooting lessons and learning hunter education. Jerry always loved to hunt deer, so taking young Jared out and stalking a buck was a goal. “Unfortunately we were never able to do that. Times have changed a little bit too,” he says of kids of this technology-crazed era appreciating the outdoors less and less. That’s not to suggest the Goffs didn’t experience some of Dad’s passions. Family fishing trips (Jared also has an older sister, Lauren) became regular parts of their lives. “We’d go out in (San Francisco Bay 18 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
more of a hassle than anything,” he says. Pawlawski, whose show chronicles hunting and fishing trips with current or former football players and coaches, had grown close to Goff since they share a bond as Bears quarterbacks. So it was natural for everyone to put a trip together if everyone’s schedules would allow. “Jared knew about the show and we talked about it and he expressed some interest to me at one point. And I told him I wanted to get him on the show and talked to Jerry about it and he was all for it,” says Pawlawski, Cal’s starter in the early 1990s and currently the analyst on the team’s radio broadcasts. “So we worked it out to where we could get them out there in the summer before
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they went to (fall) camp. And it was very intriguing to Jared.” So Pawlawski set them up in July to
because he’s never really done it,” Jerry Goff says of executing the plan for Jared. “But I think it was a time for him to just decompress for three days and not have to do any football stuff. He would be able to learn kind of a new craft he’d never done, and he loves to learn new stuff (Jared did learn how to fire a shotgun previously, so he did have some experience, though this was his first hunt). He’d Goff set 26 school passing records at Cal when he started all 37 games always talk about wantduring his career with the Golden Bears. After the team struggled to a 1-11 record his freshman year in 2013, Cal went 8-5 and won the Armed ing to do it.” Forces Bowl last December. (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ATHLETICS) And now it was all hunt around the Northern California happening at game speed. community of Maxwell, off Interstate 5 SOME OF THE BEST moments dads and halfway between the cities of Williams their kids experience together are and Willows. trying to beat each other in “friendly It was good timing for Jared to get competition.” away. “I would never let the kids beat me “I think there was some uncertainty
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800-776-2873 www.pro-cure.com in anything,” Jerry recalls, “even though there were times when I’d think, ‘Crap; should I let him win?’ He’d get so mad and cry. But I’d tell him, ‘You know what? There will be a day when you’ll end up being better and stronger in whatever we do.’ If it was ping pong or pool or card games, we have competed for a long time.” That became evident as the Goffs chirped at each other on the firing range. “No competition here,” Pawlawski insisted. “He’s going down,” Papa Goff said. “He’s not going to even hit the target,” cracked the younger Goff. The standout quarterback, who was about to be thrown back into the slow cooker of pressure he’d face that fall, had his mind not on beating (Washington State) Cougars or (Oregon State) Beavers but hunting Northern California pigs and engaging in good-natured trash talk. He was focused on success. “If you know Jared, you know he’s
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a pretty low-key guy. And so I think he was, if not pretty excited, interested. Like any first-time thing you do, there’s a little trepidation in that you don’t know what you don’t know,” Pawlawski says. “He was competitive, which was awesome. That’s us as quarterbacks – we’re always competitive. But I think he was pretty pumped up to give it a shot.” In the episode, Jared’s facial expressions were the epitome of concentration as he soaked up every nugget of advice from his more experienced hunting partners. Pawlawski got to play the role of Goff’s “coach” for this adventure, and their host, Mike Gardner of locally based Hoss Hog Hunting Adventures (530-9685340; hosshoghunting.com), helped them find pigs in the hilly terrain. “It was intense since it was my first time, something I had never done before. You’re talking about a pretty big adrenaline rush,” Jared Goff said in a phone interview. “I was very focused and wanted to get it right.”
“I think that’s what makes him great; just never worked out with Jared’s love he’s a learner who has his eyes and ears of playing (and excelling in) sports. open. That’s what you saw and he was Now it was happening, and though trying to absorb it all,” Jerry adds. he and Nancy never missed one of As they prepared to shoot at the range, Pawlawski compared it to the techniques and steps needed to take a snap, drop back, plant your foot and release the football. “The same thing with the gun,” he advised Jared. “As you’re shooting, it’s going to be alignment, sight picture and Gridiron Outdoors host Mike Pawlawski (right) has a common bond then breathe and control.” with Goff. He too played quarterback for the Cal Bears. “As good as he is as a quarterback, he’s a better person,” Pawlawski says. (GRIDIRON Jerry turned back the OUTDOORS) clock to his youth, when it was himself on the receiving end of shooting lessons from Jared’s Jared’s three seasons’ worth of college grandpa. Many parents would admit games – in Berkeley or on the road – that raising children happens so quickthis was something of a family reunion ly, the diaper stage becomes senior that bridged three generations of tradiprom before they can blink. The timing tional outdoor lifestyle passions.
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“It was a lot of fun to experience that hunt or not. When we used to go fishing with him,” Jared Goff says. I would tell him if you don’t catch anySome of the best times the Goffs thing, it’s no big deal,” Jerry Goff says. had on this trip were the stories every“When you’re young you want to get a one swapped at the lodge. Jerry, no bite every time and every second you stranger to being on teams of his own, have the line out. Now he understands compared the atmosphere – complete with the Gridiron Goff, guide Mike Gardner Outdoors camera crew – to a (center) and Pawlawski locker room. analyze the ground as A few weeks later, Goff was they hoped for the star quarterback to harvest about to report for Cal’s fall his first pig. (GRIDIRON camp and embark on the most OUTDOORS) important football season of his life. This was so far away from campus, his head coach Sonny Dykes and teammates, and the throng of NFL scouts who would watch every snap of his season when it became mostly a foregone conclusion that he’d that’s not the objective; if it doesn’t hapbe ready to declare for the draft. pen that’s OK.” “I hope he took away from that just These three days had nothing to do how great it is to be outdoors, regardwith football; it was Jared and his dad less of whether you’re successful on a fulfilling a bucket list item that sports,
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800-776-2873 www.pro-cure.com work and circumstances never allowed. “He really loved it,” Jerry says. “I was so happy to be able to spend those days with him. I’ll always remember that.” “It brought back a lot of memories from when I was a kid – hunting with my dad – so it had come full circle.”
ONCE HE RETURNED TO his comfort zone, Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium, Jared Goff’s status swelled from firstround hopeful to bonafide top 10 talent. It had been a long twisting road to get here. Goff was a standout at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, and though he rated a four-star recruit (out of five) and had options, Cal was an easy choice as the alma mater of both his parents; plus they were football season-ticket holders. But it wasn’t an easy beginning. Cal’s
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JARED GOFF BY THE NUMBERS The following are some of Jared Goff’s records and standards established during three years as Cal’s quarterback • 12,220 career passing yards (schoool record) • 96 career touchdowns (school record) • 977 career completions (school record) • 143.95 career pass efficiency rating, which ranks second in school history behind current Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers • 4.719 2015 passing yards (Pac-12 Conference single-season record) • 43 2015 touchdown passes (Pac-12 Conference single-season record) • 2004 The last time a Cal quarterback made first-team All-Pac-12 (Rodgers) before Goff accomplished it in 2015 • 6 Besides Goff, the only Pac-12 quarterbacks to ever throw for 3,000 or more yards in three separate years - CC program began to struggle after a great run of success, and when Dykes took
over as head coach the same fall as Goff’s arrival in 2013, he named his freshman the starting quarterback. Such a drastic decision is a rarity at that level of college football to be the No. 1 quarterback without the benefit of sitting out as a redshirt freshman. And that first season was a disaster; the Bears went 1-11, including a winless Pac-12 Conference mark and a 63-13 wipeout by hated rival Stanford. It was statistically the worst season the football program ever had dating back to its 1886 debut. In four years of high school football, Goff’s teams lost four games total. Still, Goff performed admirably when Cal’s defense was one of the worst in the national rankings. He established single-season school records for yards thrown (3,508) and several other categories. He did his part, but the mental scars
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800-776-2873 www.pro-cure.com could have been devastating. “It’s all about (Goff) being the stabilizing force, right?” Pawlawski says. “If your quarterback believes, then the guys around you will believe and then he started doing things that enhanced that belief.” As Goff’s stock soared, so too did his team’s street cred after it bottomed out his freshman year. The Bears just missed a bowl berth in 2014 and finished 5-7. And last season, Cal returned to the postseason. In the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 29 in Fort Worth, Texas, Goff torched Air Force for 467 passing yards and six touchdowns in a 55-36 win. “It was a fun three years. It was so good to be with the same guys for those three years,” Goff says. “We went out on a high note that day in Fort Worth.” In two years that 1-11 mark became an 8-5 finale and some personal redemption. Goff’s 43 touchdown passes and 4,719 yards in 2015 established
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new Pac-12 season records, and he shattered 26 various school records. “He went from a really young man to a grown man in three years,” Jerry Goff says. “That took a lot of gumption to do. He continued to get better each year. That 1-11 season was just terrible, and a lot of that fell on him. I was proud of him the way the program got better as he got better. And I think that’s going to serve him well going forward.” Forward means the NFL, which salivates over a quarterback of Goff’s size – 6-foot-4, 215 pounds (the size of his hands, measured at 9 inches, became a subplot as he worked out for team execs at the NFL Scouting Combine in February). But Goff’s productive stats and intangibles also make him an attractive candidate. “I think with the hand thing, they have to find something to criticize Jared about,” Dykes told KNBR radio. “It’s certainly not going to be his character or his play. I got to see him day in and
out. Having been around some good quarterbacks in the past, Jared’s a unique player, and I truly believe his best football is ahead of him. He’s a young guy (who’s) still developing.” Mock draft projections have Goff going as high as second overall to the consistently quarterback-lacking Cleveland Browns. His favorite home team, the San Francisco 49ers, draft seventh and are another rumored landing spot. Surely someone will pick him in the first 10 to 15 selections. He won’t be unprepared for the next chapter of his life considering the family’s lineage and his dad’s
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Goff’s size (6-foot4, 215 pounds) and intangibles make him an attractive prospect for NFL teams. He is projected to be one of the top draft picks when the first round takes place on April 28. (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ATHLETICS)
baseball background. “I know about the ins and outs of how the professional world of sports work,” Jared says. His life is about to change again. Whatever team drafts him will likely pin the infamous term “face of the franchise” on a player who won’t turn 22 until Oct. 14. There was pressure to win in college, but Berkeley doesn’t have the
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MIXED BAG Mike Pawlawski (center) and the Goffs, Jared (right) and dad Jerry, himself a former Major League Baseball catcher, donated the meat from their pig harvest for a Cal football team barbecue on campus. (GRIDIRON OUTDOORS)
football-insane mentality that other campuses do. But for the NFL market that chooses him, he’ll instantly become one of the most recognized personalities in town. Those closest to him are confident he can handle the expectations. “I think he’s going to be a franchise guy,” Dykes said in his radio interview with KNBR. “I think he’s going to be like a lot of young quarterbacks. There
are going to be some bumpy roads and ups and downs. All of them go through that.” Pawlawski, who spent a decade as a professional after his college career ended, says Goff is a better person than a quarterback. That’s the ultimate compliment to one’s character and integrity considering how much he’s been poked, prodded and picked apart by pro teams.
“He’s always had pretty phenomenal physical tools. But as a leader he evolved with time. He dealt with some (on-the-field) adversity, which made him mentally tougher,” Pawlawski says. His workout at the combine was only stunted by the somewhat comical overreaction to the measurement of his hands. A few weeks later at Cal’s pro day on campus, he was impressive enough that new Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson told the local paper, the Plain-Dealer, that Goff “threw the ball tremendously.” It’s possible Jackson was raving about his city’s new hope at quarterback. “I think I’m just excited for it,” Goff says of the draft. “But I’m also ready to get it over with. It’s been a long process and I just want a team to fall in love with me and for me to fall in love with them. And just go from there.”
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH – four words the most successful quarterbacks em-
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brace, grab and clutch as they live for the challenge of performing when it matters most. His hunt was the moment of truth for one Jared Goff, especially after his dad put down a pig with a clean shot. Then it was up to the quarterback to connect. “I felt pretty confident because I’ve shot guns before and I did pretty well when we were practicing before,” Jared recalls. “Take one, Jared,” Pawlawski told him, but his first shot missed and several pigs scattered into the hilly brush – an incomplete pass, if you will. “It was crazy,” Jared says. “It was early in the morning and it was just starting to get hot before they were to go bed down. We had tracked them down the hill.” For quarterbacks, winning or losing can literally be in their hands, or at least it starts from them. “Now or never,” he said onair, so he sensed this was his time to score another six points as a pig wandered into his sights. “Being able to know that I did a good job was similar to throwing a touchdown pass,” he says. The first successful harvest of Jared Goff’s hunting career means he only needs 95 more to match his career touchdown throws. The high taking that first pig earned a fist bump from Jerry. “I hope he was proud of me and pretty happy about it,” Jared says with a laugh. When the Bears reported for fall camp, they were in for a tasty surprise. “We donated (the meat) to a barbecue that they had for the team,” Pawlawski adds. “(Coach Dykes) said to the guys, ‘The quarterback got the pig.’” “They were happy being able to eat some fresh pork, I guess. It sure tasted good,” Jared adds. “It was cool to know what they were eating for dinner.” It was the culmination of a hunt the Goffs waited almost 21 years to pull together. Jerry expects he’ll have grandchildren down the line and wants his son to teach them to cherish the outdoors and be a part of their own hunts and fishing excursions. “I hope we can do as many as we can,” Jared says. “I know I had a lot of fun that day and look forward to more great days really soon.” CS Editor’s note: You can follow Jared Goff on Twitter @JaredGoff16. Check your local listings for viewing times for Go Wild Camo-sponsored Gridiron Outdoors at outdoorchannel.com/gridiron-outdoors. Follow on Twitter @Pawlawski and like at facebook.com/GridironOutdoors.
32 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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PROTECTING
WILD CALIFORNIA WHAT’S IN STORE FOR KLAMATH KING FISHING?
ony Sepulveda is not a big fan of predictions, whether they promise a spectacular king salmon run or fire a doomsday scenario salvo that calls for an abysmal season. The consensus for the Klamath River, one of Eureka-based guide Sepulveda’s home fisheries, seems to lean towards the latter during a time when, if you believe the calculations, king salmon fishing in California is looking bleak for this year. But Sepulveda, who operates Green Water Fishing Adventures (707-8459588; greenwaterguides.com), prefers a wait-and-see approach to taking the forecasts as gospel. “In all honesty, I’ve learned not to put a whole lot of stock in forecasts. The pattern we normally see is really good fishing on the low-return years because the tribal netting is minimal,” Sepulveda said in an email. After federal biologists reported a dismal winter Chinook smolt survival rate on the upper Sacramento River in 2015 (California Sportsman, March 2016), the California and Oregon fish and wildlife offices determined that 142,200 fall-run Klamath kings are in the Pacific now. It’s a dramatically lower projection than last year’s 423,800 ocean count and the smallest anticipated congregation of fish since 2006. Last year’s run turned out to be not a very good one given those numbers, leading to speculation about another expected poor number of spawning salmon in the Klamath. “In the last year or two, ocean productivity in our area was still
good,” Stillwater Sciences senior fish biologist Joshua Strange told the Eureka Times-Standard. “It was essentially compensating for the drought and the poor river conditions and the fish diseases. Now that the ocean has shifted into a cycle of poor productivity for our coast, it has now exacerbated the effects of the drought and increased fish disease.” “It’s also a clear warning sign that we need to do more to protect salmon and restore our rivers.” As the drought that ravaged the state for several years played a factor in less and warmer water for salmon to spawn in, the possible removal of multiple hydroelectric dams on the Klamath is being debated and could provide the fish with a lifeline. “The salmon really need that to happen as soon as possible to help compensate for some of the negative impacts of global warming, which includes impacts to the marine environment as well as freshwater,” Strange told the Eureka paper. The Pacific Fishery Management Council recently released its options for governing the sportfishing season for salmon, and the California Fish and Game Commission should have a final report for catch restrictions and quotas this month. Sepulveda, playing the role of eternal optimist, thinks it won’t be as doom and gloom as the prognosticators say how it will unfold. “It’ll probably be a small sport quota, so most likely opportunities to kill adult kings will be limited, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we have great catch-and-release action, plus jacks to keep and steelhead mixed in,” he said. “One way or another, there’s almost always some good fishing to be had on the Klamath.” CS
OUTDOOR CALENDAR
30
By Chris Cocoles
T
APRIL 2
2-3 9 17 30 30 30 30 30 30
Aaron’s Bass Tournament, Big Bear Lake (bigbearfishing.com) Redding Sportsman’s Expo (reddingsportsmansexpo.com) NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge, Collins Lake (anglerspress.com) Last day of Topaz Lake Fishing Derby NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge, Collins Lake (anglerspress.com) General trout opener Start of Gull Lake Marina Fish of the Month Club Derby, June Lake Loop (gulllakemarina.com) Monster Fish Contest, June Lake Loop (junelakeloop.com) Fred J. Hall Memorial Big Fish Contest, Crowley Lake (crowleylakefishcamp.com) Fishmas Day Celebration, Tom’s Place Resort, Crowley Lake (tomsplaceresort.com)
30 30 30
Start of Bridgeport Locals Only Derby, Bridgeport Reservoir (bridgeportreservoir.com) Opening Weekend Cash Derby, Convict Lake (convictlake.com) Start of two-day Mono Village Fishing Opener Derby, Upper Twin Lakes (monovillage.com) Start of two-day Shasta Lake Team Derby (kokaneepower.org)
MAY 1
1 1 14-15 22-24 27
Start of Round-up at the Lake trout derby, Convict Lake (convictlake.com) Camanche Lake trout derby (centralvalleyanglers.com) End of general spring turkey season Hall Family Trout Classic, Big Bear Lake (bbmwd.com/maytrout-classic/) Size Doesn’t Matter Fishing Derby, West Walker River (yosemitearealodging.com/derbys) Start of Crowley Lake Perch Derby (crowleylakefishcamp.com) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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36 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
PHOTO CONTEST
WINNERS!
Perseverance paid off for Taylor Kenyon, who killed her buck by herself on the last day of season, and her father Mark’s picture of her and her trophy is our monthly Browning hunting photo contest winner. It scores the Oregon hunters a Browning hat!
Vern Marsonette is this issue’s monthly Daiwa Photo Contest winner, thanks to this photo of son Carl and his winter-run, his first steelhead. It wins the Northwest angler a Daiwa hat, T-shirt and scissors for cutting braided line, and puts him in the running for the grand prize of a Daiwa rod-and-reel combo!
For your shot at winning Daiwa and Browning products, send your photos and pertinent (who, what, when, where) details to ccocoles@ media-inc.com, or to 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 2016 California Sportsman
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38 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
FISHING
THE SIERRA FIVE HEADING EAST TO FISH? TRY TO CATCH THIS QUINTET OF DISTINCT TROUT SPECIES
By Mike Stevens
F
or most intents and purposes, the Eastern Sierra is all about trout, but that doesn’t mean that the region stands as a fishing one-trick pony. There are a wide variety of trout species to choose from – and that is before you even get into subspecies and hybrids – and each one can be targeted in myriad ways depending on the characteristics of the watershed an angler is working and the time of year he is doing so. Knowing some Sierra-specific traits and facts about each species will make you a better angler who gets the most out of his or her Eastern Sierra fishing trips.
RAINBOW TROUT: EVERYWHERE AND AGGRESSIVE When it comes to any lake in the Eastern Sierra that you can drive to and fish, rainbows are going to dominate what ends up on your stringer, thanks to heavy stocking funded by the counties, along with supplemental California Department of Fish and Wildlife plants. Between frequent stocks and holdover fish, that whole “When did they last
stock again?” situation isn’t really a thing, as other factors like water temperature affect how good the fishing is a lot more than the last trout delivery. Hatchery rainbows tend to be most active between 55 and 65 degrees, and there is no secret to targeting them specifically, as they will devour just about everything: classic metal spoons and spinners, minnow baits (Rapalas, etc.), plastic jigs, artificial worms and eggs, real worms and eggs, floating baits and flies. They like clean, well-oxygenated water, and even the hatchery versions are strong fighters, especially when caught on flies or smaller lures on light tackle. At heavily pressured drive-up lakes like Convict and those in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, a great time to target them is between 6 and 9 p.m. when the daytime anglers head home for dinner. They will patrol the shore, boil on bugs, and chase jigs and flies as late as you want to fish them, and that includes pitch-black darkness. The Eastern Sierra also has wild rainbows scattered throughout the backcountry, and you will know the second you tie into one – while you’re lucky to get a jump or two out of a hatchery fish, you could get a half-dozen
Not surprisingly, rainbow trout are the marquee target for most Eastern Sierra trout anglers. You can catch these colorful beauties at just about any body of water. (MIKE STEVENS) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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FISHING jumps, some 3 feet above the water, out of a wild rainbow. The color on these fish is also spectacular, with way more black dots all over its body and a more distinct red band to go along with a full set of perfect fins. A little Googlin’ will let you know which backcountry lakes have wild rainbows, but for starters, Arrowhead Lake, which is about a ¾-mile trek up the Duk Pass Trail (trailhead in Coldwater Campground at Lake Mary), has a decent population of Kamloops. Catching these fish on anything other than artificial lures and flies is sacrilegious.
the least picky fish in the Eastern Sierra. Smaller jigs like Sierra Slammers, and/16-ounce Kastmasters and spinners will whack them. Many times, you will see three or more brook trout chasing the same lure. Backcountry brookies are also ideal for beginning fly If you want to add some exercise and spectacular scenery into your fishing trip to the mountains, hike to a pristine lake or stream and catch a bunch of brookies. (MIKE STEVENS)
BROOK TROUT: OL’ RELIABLE AND ALL OVER If your Eastern Sierra trout fishing includes a hike of any distance, you’ve caught brook trout. Essentially every backcountry lake has them – too many of them in many cases. Brookies don’t compare with any other trout up there when it comes to fighting, and you will never get a jump out of one, but they make up for it in aggression, availability and looks. A lot of backcountry lakes are overpopulated with brookies, and that causes them to compete for the same limited food supply. Pair that with the fact that backcountry fish have a shorter feeding window (first lakes to freeze and last to thaw) and that makes brook trout
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anglers working through the learning curve and looking to gain confidence because they will also smack just about any standard trout fly flung their way. Find the inlet (or outlet) to a backcountry lake and throw a size 16 or 18 dry fly like a Parachute Black Ant, Stimulator, Elk Hair Caddis or Sierra Bright Dot and be ready to swing. Brook trout can be found in smaller numbers but also
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FISHING in better quality in some of the drive-up lakes. The biggest brook I have ever seen caught in the Eastern Sierra came from the outlet of Twin Lakes in Mammoth, and I have caught plenty from a float tube in the middle lake. They aren’t in the lower lakes by design; they just have a way of ending up all over the place. Backcountry brooks are brilliantly colored with olive backs, orange bodies and white-tipped fins, and newbies often confuse them with golden trout. The dead giveaway are the worm-like markings that brookies have on their backs rather than dots; no other Sierra trout has them. In the lower lakes around Mammoth and June Lake, the brook trout are bigger and the colors are more of a muted predominantly gray look.
BROWN TROUT: DA THUG You know when you tie into a German brown trout when it gets to that point in the battle where a rainbow might have started to yield a bit, and it doesn’t. At least, that is the case with ones that are, say, 14 inches and up that like to hang under the undercut banks of the Owens River, other tributaries of Crowley Lake, Rush Creek and so on. On meadow creeks, brownies will eat flies, spinners and minnow baits like Rapalas, all fished as close to the Continued on page 113...
42 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
Fall is the best time to catch a fat German brown, but you can find these fighters around opening day as well. (MIKE STEVENS)
Mike Stevens with a bright golden trout, caught on a Sierra Slammer lure. You’ll have to head extra high to add them to your tally. (MIKE STEVENS)
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FISHING You can find some solitude at Convict Lake, but expect the April 30 trout opener here to be heavily fished. (ALICIA VENNOS/MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
FISHMAS DAY
EASTERN SIERRAS TROUT OPENER PRIMER
APPROACHING! By Chris Cocoles
A
pril 30 is an unofficial holiday in Mono County. After a much-needed winter of rain and snowfall, the Eastern Sierra trout fisheries seem primed for a productive spring and summer for the statewide general trout opener and beyond. We got a local expert’s opinion – longtime angler and Mono County economic development manager Jeff Simpson – on what to expect for what the locals refer to as “Fishmas Day.” calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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FISHING Chris Cocoles What is the expectation for the trout opener this year? Jeff Simpson Water levels will be the highest they’ve been in over four years, and with the addition of our increased stocking efforts, this year’s Mono County fishing opener on April 30 will be better than ever. CC You never know about the weather at that time of year, as it could be snowing or sunny and warm. But will that really affect the trout bite one way or the other, besides the possibility of wind? JS I’ve been fishing the Mono County opener on Bridgeport Reservoir my entire life. I’ve fished in a blizzard; I’ve fished in a tank top Some Mono County hotspots to fish at this spring and summer include (clockwise from top) Virginia Lakes, Silver Lake and Rock Creek. (ALICIA VENNOS/MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
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on a 70-degree day. The weather is definitely unpredictable, but I’ve always walked away having caught fish. It’s really the only thing that is predictable on opening day.
CC This winter’s rain and snow has been a big boost for the entire state. How healthy are the fisheries in Mono County now and has the drought had a big impact on them? JS We’ve already seen a real boost in water levels from the weather patterns this winter, as most of the storms have directly hit Mono County. Jeffrey Wenger from Bridgeport Reservoir RV Park and Marina has already reported water being back at his marina as of (late February). You can expect all of your favorite lakes and marinas to be at normal levels for the opener, although depending on late winter/early spring storms, a couple of the reservoirs may still be lower than predrought levels. We will be posting live updates of water levels for all front-country fishing destinations on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/ VisitMonoCounty.
CC What are some of your favorite fishing spots in Mono County? JS Too many for me to list, but Crowley Lake, Owens River, Convict Lake, the June Lake Loop, Lundy Lake, the West Walker River, Bridgeport Reservoir and Twin Lakes, just to name a few.
CC Give us a couple of sleeper lakes or creeks that might not be known but can be productive for anglers who find them. JS I always turn to one of my favorite hike-in locations: Kirman Lake off Sonora Pass. You will have to park your car and walk the dirt road to the lake, but it has some of the biggest brook trout anywhere in California.
CC Are there any new fly patterns that might be good producers this spring and summer? JS It’s hard to say at this point, but you can’t go wrong with a Simi Seal leech pattern in any of the front-country lakes. CC Your area is known for so many great fishing derbies. Can you share some details on these events? JS All derbies are listed on our website at MonoCounty. org/events, but here are few classics: April 30-June 16: Round-up at the Lake, Convict Lake Resort; April 30: Monster Fish Contest, June Lake Loop; July 1-31: How Big Is Big Fishing Derby, West Walker River; August 13: Crowley Lake Stillwater Classic Fly Fishing Tournament. CS Editor’s note: For more information on Mono County, check out mono.ca.gov or call (866) 745-9719. 50 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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CASTING DOWN MEMORY LANE
FISHING
AN OLD, YELLOWED POLAROID ... A PASSION BORN ... A LIFETIME SPENT CHASING CALIFORNIA’S MOST COLORFUL FISH By Tim E. Hovey
I
was going through some old photos last year, and to my amazement, I found a photograph I took of the very first trout I ever caught when I was 11. Using a nightcrawler and my grandfather’s fishing rod, I convinced the stocker trout to bite and pulled him from a camp creek in Central California. I can remember being amazed at the vibrant rainbow colors. Comparing the trout to other freshwater species I had caught at the time, I thought it was the prettiest fish I had ever seen. With some help from my grandmother, I prepped the trout, wrapped it in tinfoil and cooked it over our campfire for dinner. Since that first catch, I’ve added brook, brown, resident steelhead and a few hybrids to my trout fishing species list. I’ve tossed lures in coastal streams, backcountry creeks and reservoirs both large and small. With every trout landed, I still marvel at the colors and patterns of each fish. In California, anglers are lucky enough to find trout in several different types of habitat, each offering their own set of challenges. Whether you target stocked trout or wild trout, use spinning tackle or fly fishing gear, bait or artificials, trout have something to offer every level of angler.
The author is now a seasoned Sierras trout fisherman, but he’ll never forget the first trout he ever landed when he was 11 years old. (TIM E. HOVEY) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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FISHING The siren song of trout has taken the author, his family and friends to nearly all corners of California. (TIM E. HOVEY)
I picked up the old Polaroid photo and looked at it closely. My lime-green tennis shoes were visible below the bench the fish was resting on. At the time, my angling career had spanned an impressive five years; even at that age I knew a fisherman’s success was measured by the size of the fish he caught. This was likely the reason I placed a match stick next to the trout to demonstrate scale. While I do love all types of fishing, there’s just something about the wilderness component that adds so much more to the experience. Holding the photo some 40 years later, I started to think about all the places I’ve fished for trout since then.
LAST YEAR, I HIKED a high mountain creek that was home to a wild trout population. In California, wild trout are designated as a population of trout that are offspring
56 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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FISHING of stocked fish and usually self-sustaining. This means that the trout population in the creek is sustained through natural reproduction and stocking is no longer provided. I hiked over a mile up the creek, passing several good pools holding fish, then slowly worked my way back downstream to the trailhead. Using artificial bait imitations and a spinning rod, I concentrated on deeper pools. Using no weight, I’d toss the bait into the dark water and let it sink. Watching the line, I’d set the hook at the slightest twitch. I caught some absolutely beautiful wild trout in two hours of fishing. After a few photos, I carefully released everything I caught. Content to just check out the fish, I stopped fishing and walked the last few pools to watch the trout. Sometimes, great fishing all depends on where you park. When I was in college, my good friend Rich
Rosen and I took a summer camping trip to the Mammoth area. After a few days of fishing the high-mountain lakes, we headed back home. On the way back we stopped off at popular Crowley Lake. We didn’t have a lot of time to fish, so we pulled into one of the parking areas and walked to the closest inlet. We hit the shore and started testing the waters with silver Kastmasters. Four casts in I felt something strike the lure hard. I set the hook and played the fish for several minutes before I started seeing flashes of silver in the dark green water. Seeing the struggle, Rich came down to assist. After another minute, nursing the 4-pound-test line, Rich netted a beautiful 22-inch silver Eagle Lake rainbow trout. Back then, we were meat fishing and I put the fish on the stringer to be filleted later. Even now, looking at a photo of the beautiful fish, I wish I had released it. The trout looked like a bar of silver in
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the lake shallows.
HIGH-ELEVATION LAKES STOCKED with trout are perfect places to teach kids the basics of fishing. When my daughters were old enough, we’d head out for weekend camping trips. Waking early, we’d stake out a section of the lake and try to catch dinner. My daughters learned techniques like casting, setting the hook and fighting trout at the shores of the Sierra lakes. A few years ago we took a fishing trip to Rock Creek Lake. Using floating salmon eggs on a Carolina rig, we’d cast into the deep end of the lake and wait. With a regular stocking schedule, we didn’t have to sit long. Both Jessica and Alyssa caught their first trout in the cold waters of the lake. Watching their excitement as they played their first rainbow trout brought me back to when I was their age catching fish. For the most part, we practice
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FISHING catch-and-release fishing, but when we go to stocked lakes we like to save a few fish for a big dinner. In fact, during this trip all my daughters could talk about was catching trout to eat. After spending the morning casting the deeper section of Rock Creek Lake, we each strung up a few nicer fish and enjoyed an amazing campfire meal back at camp.
LIKE MOST, I VALUE my free time. It doesn’t matter what activity I have planned, I always make sure I load up gear for any occasion. A twopiece fishing rod and tackle are always packed in the back of the truck. During a combo hunting and fishing trip to the Sierras a few years ago, I spent an afternoon with my good friend, Rito Escamilla, on a tributary that dumped into a high-elevation lake. We stumbled on the creek while looking for places to hunt. The stream was rushing and filled with large trout migrating up from the lake. We stored the hunting gear and broke out the fishing rods. Staying low and stalking within range, we tossed white jigs laced with imitation worms near the staging trout. Bouncing the lures close usually resulted in a strike, and after a short fight in the narrow stream, we’d land the trout, take a few photos and release them. Down closer to the lake, I spotted a large female in a shallow pool at the side of the creek. Staying in the shadows of a pine tree near the shore, I tossed the white jig upstream of the trout and let the current carry it down. The lure stopped a foot in front of the fish. I jigged it once, the trout glided up and inhaled it. After a short fight, I landed the trout. Its brilliant colors and patterns were amazing, and after a few snapshots the fish was gently released back into the stream. I sat 60 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
Rito Escamilla loves to head to the mountains and land trout in productive fisheries like the Owens River. More often than not, he comes home with a sagging stringer. (TIM E. HOVEY)
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FISHING there and watched the fish slide back into the same exact position in the creek. After that, I put my fishing rod away and just hiked the stream and watched the trout.
The author’s now teenage daughter, Alyssa Hovey, will always have this Rock Creek Lake rainbow to look back on from one of many trips with her dad. (TIM E. HOVEY)
IN OVER A DECADE of traveling the Owens Valley, I’ve discovered quite a few quick spots near the river where I like to stop off and make a few casts. I usually stop at these locations while I’m just passing through. I really enjoy the convenience of these areas. If I’m even remotely close to any of them, I’ll definitely make time to check them out. Over the years, I’ve accumulated a handful of spots I consider my favorites. Last month, Rito visited a couple of these spots to try his luck. Using small spinners and trout flies, he spent a few days fishing the Owens. He caught several respectable trout and sent me photos of his success. Nothing beats the smile of a successful angler, especially a friend. During my job as a fisheries biologist, I see a lot of fish. Most of the native species are small and cryptically colored. The oth-
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FISHING er species I encounter are routinely the same greenish color. While most of them are nicely patterned and beautiful in their own right, to me nothing will ever compare to the amazing patterns and colors I’ve seen on the trout I’ve caught. While I will always consider trout some of the most beautiful fish an angler can catch, there are times when I get more pleasure just watching them. In fact, on just about every trip I’ll stop fishing and just observe. It really doesn’t matter your angling experience level, catching trout can appeal to all anglers. Whether you’re looking to hike high mountain creeks, cast lures at a reservoir or soak bait at a stocked lake, some of the most beautiful fish are out there waiting for you. CS
This rainbow was plucked from Crowley Lake, which Tim Hovey has included in his Eastern Sierras trout tour he’ll continue this season. (TIM E. HOVEY)
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FISHING
While fellow anglers will be targeting plentiful rainbows come the opener, veteran Eastern Sierra angler Craig Adkinson will be after cagier fish – large wild German brown trout. (CRAIG ADKINSON)
DON’T FORGET THE BROWNS
RAINBOWS MIGHT BE THE STAR ATTRACTION ON OPENING DAY FOR TROUT SEASON, BUT SOME BIG BROWN TROUT ARE CATCHABLE IN EASTERN SIERRA CREEKS AND RIVERS By Chris Cocoles
W
ith anglers flocking to the Eastern Sierra for the April 30 trout opener, many will be targeting rainbow trout in popular lakes like Crowley and Convict. But Southern California trouthead Craig Adkinson is hoping to score some big early brown trout in some of his favorite rivers and streams as the spring season opens in several fisheries. Generally it’s late in the season – fall – when most of the so-called “brown baggers” show up to land trophy browns. But Adkinson can catch big fish throughout the early part of the season. One technique Adkinson and his buddies have adopted is to afix a rattle bobber atop a long leader – 5 to 8 feet in length, depending on the depth of the water they’re fishing – with a small leadhead to get the bait down into the current. “I’ve been getting them that like that throwing it into the buckets of the creeks, or any areas where there’s a ledge and a drop-off; or behind big boulders. I’ll throw nymphs and (artificial) minnows around, and that’s how I’ve been getting a lot of big browns,” Adkinson says, adding that the rattle
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FISHING bobber’s vibrations help entice strikes when jigging the lures in the water. “Others may fish in the same area and overlook it; they think it looks fishy but can’t figure out why they’re not getting bit when their jigs are bouncing around the bottom. But I’ll throw the rattle bobber in the same spot. I think with the way the rattle bobber works and keeping the jig above bottom, my jig will be right in the strike zone.” Adkinson isn’t a big fly fisherman but collects as much information about water conditions as he can from mostly secretive fly anglers who know the high country so well. Surely they are better informed than the big-city folks who flock from Los Angeles up Highway 395 once the waters are open for business again. “A lot of what they’re interested in is what they call a break or an underwater current break; they look for an old creek channel inside of a river,” Adkinson says. “So if you’re looking at the seams of an old river, you can see where old rivers used to be and where it will cut under the bank. You can find an area where there used to be a tree or bush close to the river.” After a winter of heavy snowfall but not much melt, water flows will remain a little slower than they should be after the runoff. With rivers and creeks not quite washed out, most fish have been holding in what’s known as a
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A good selection of baits to run under a rattle bobber for browns would include minnow imitations like these. (CRAIG ADKINSON)
“fast-water slick” that flows into deeper pools where water either becomes slower or faster. Trout will also sometimes hide behind submerged boulders or fallen trees.
OUTFOXING A BROWN “The browns are actually a lot smarter than the rainbows,” Adkinson says. “They don’t want to eat (typical rainbow staples like) PowerBait or salmon eggs. You have to use baits that resemble what they’re used to eating.” Lures resembling minnows or nymph-like jigs are good
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FISHING choices. Browns will gorge on smaller fish like Sacramento perch and small stocked rainbows. But don’t overlook crawdads (crayfish), a key part of their diet, so lures resembling the crustaceans can be a perfect offering too. “These techniques will work all year-round; they only vary around – depending on the water clarity – which colors you choose,” Adkinson says. “You just want realistic colors of the things that they’re used to eating. So like the
Crawfish and rainbow-imitating baits should be run behind very light line; Adkinson recommends 4-pound fluorocarbon. (CRAIG ADKINSON)
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fly fishermen say, match the hatch.” Very light line – about 4-pound fluorocarbon – is also recommended. “These fish are very vigilant – very smart and well-adapted. The bigger browns were probably caught before when they were smaller,” Adkinson says. “Or some of these fish are so smart and they’ve been hooked never get landed. You have to be smart about when you set the hook and how you set it. Make sure your drag is already set; make sure all your knots are still good.” Adkinson says the East Walker River, Upper and Lower Owens River and Hot Creek are some of his favorites, with the reminder that some stretches call for artificial lures with barbless hooks only. CS
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WILD CO
Erin Berecky plies one of the biggest plunge pools found on the North Fork of the Yuba River, a gem of the northern Sierras for feisty trout. (JON BAIOCCHI) 74 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
TROUT T HIGH UNTRY
FISHING
he North Fork Yuba River is a classic freestone Sierra favorite among fly anglers. Its headwaters start on top of Yuba Pass by way of cold springs seeping out of the ground, and as the river descends down through the community of Bassets, it picks up even more cold water from Salmon Creek and numerous springs and feeder creeks in the area. This upper section from Bassets to the top of Yuba Pass contains brook trout in the 4- to 7-inch range. The river in this section is more of a creek, and its banks are choked with brush and can be very challenging to fish. But it’s the crystal-clear cold water that makes the trout fishery in the uppermost section so good, even with the heat and the dog days of summer. The North Fork of the Yuba provides fly anglers with highly coveted “pocket water” – pockets of water on the downstream sides of boulders sewn together in a section of river with a sharp descending grade. The other alluring feature for fly anglers is that there are deep pools where numerous wild rainbows with the most vivid colors can be found. These trout display dark olive backs with a gold color on their sides, purple parr marks and white-tipped orange fins that glimmer like jewels in the Sierra sun.
IN THE
FLY ANGLERS FLOCK TO THE NORTH FORK OF THE YUBA RIVER IN THE SIERRAS By Jon Baiocchi
BEFORE THE NORTH FORK Yuba River drops into the town of Sierra City, it enters a gorge of tight granite walls that has been carved out over thousands of years by huge volumes of water. This is where Loves Falls is located, and the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the river over a foot bridge. Fishing access is very limited here, but the short hike down from Highway 49 is well worth the eye candy it provides. It’s absolutely stunning, especially during spring runoff. As the river drops below Sierra City it heads towards the historic mining town of Downieville. This
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FISHING section of the river has deep plunge pools, longer runs and yet more pocket water. The trout are bigger down in this section, ranging from 9 to 14 inches. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife does plant hatchery rainbows in this section, but there are many wild rainbows to be had throughout the entire watershed. Anglers also have a chance to hook into larger brown trout that are in the system, as some of these fish can be in the 5-pound range. A few anglers are lucky enough to catch them where the Downie River meets the North Fork. The big browns migrate upstream from Bullards Bar Reservoir in the fall and move up the river to spawn, making a temporary home through spring. Highway 49 runs along the river from the top of Yuba Pass down to the last bridge, which is just below Carlton Campground, about 11 miles below Downieville. In fact, there are 12 campgrounds to choose from, making this area an ideal getaway vacation for the entire family. There is so much to do and see: hiking, swimming, gold panning, mountain biking, viewing wildlife, and, of course, the great fishing. There are also numerous creeks to explore in the area, and each one has wild rainbow trout that are so much fun to fish for. The sheer beauty of Haypress, Lavezzola and Pauley Creeks beg to be explored with their rich foliage and canyon water. And don’t forget about the Downie River; it also has a great fishery beneath its waters.
I SPEND MUCH OF my time guiding and fishing on the upper section of the Yuba’s northern prong during the summer season. When other rivers and lakes heat up, you can find my guests and I stalking wild trout wet-wading in the cool water near the Sierra City area. The water temperatures during this time will start at 58 degrees in the morning and reach the mid-60s by afternoon; because
Many of the North Fork’s deeper plunge pools can be accessed off a spectacular stretch of Highway 49. (JON BAIOCCHI)
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FISHING Golden stoneflies are prolific and a popular option for fly anglers, while the yellow Stimulator is the top-producing dry fly on the river. (JON BAIOCCHI)
of this, the population of wild trout is forever thriving. When it comes to the actual fishing, there are a few rigs that produce the best results.
Using subsurface flies under an indicator in the deep pools will produce hook-ups all day long, but the real love of the North Fork is the quality
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dry fly fishing. Eager wild rainbows from 6 to 12 inches will take dries on top, providing that aggressive visual take that is so rewarding to the an-
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The colors of wild rainbow trout over these clear, cold mountain waters are amazing. (JON BAIOCCHI)
gler. The number one rig to use for a dry y set-up in summer is a No. 10 yellow Stimulator with 18 inches
of 5X tippet off the bend of the hook trailing a sunken ant pattern. The Stimulator can imitate a grasshop-
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per, or a golden stoney, and there is something about ants that trout love and are so crazy for them. Effective
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FISHING
dry flies to have in your box are small foam Grasshoppers No. 12, the Royal Humpy Nos. 14-18, yellow and orange Humpies Nos. 14-18, Adams parachute Nos. 12-18, and the Purple Haze parachute Nos. 14-16. These fish are very eager and will take just about anything you throw at them, though presenting your flies on the seams of fast and slow water is far more important. Finding the right type of holding water is also of importance; anywhere there is soft water in depths of 2 feet or more is key. Caddisflies are the dominant aquatic insects hatching in the evening, and the old standard Elk Hair Caddis, Nos. 12-16 in gray, green and tan, will work just fine. If you want 84 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
It’s still spring, but when the weather heats up at lower elevations, fly anglers will flock to the mountains to chase small but scrappy wild trout. (JON BAIOCCHI)
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FISHING even more success, try using the E/C caddis in the same colors mentioned above; this fly represents an emerging caddis that trout will take readily. There are special regulations on the North Fork from Sierra City to where Ladies Canyon Creek enters 4 miles downstream. The “Wild Trout” section requires barbless flies or lures only, and a two-fish daily bag limit 10 inches or greater. This section is open year-round. From Ladies Canyon Creek downstream to Bullards Bar Reservoir, the daily bag and limit is five fish 10 inches or greater, and bait is allowed. But from Nov. 16 to the last Saturday in April, special regulations apply and only barbless flies and lures may be used. This section is also open year-round.
HIGH FLOWS AND COLD water temperatures during the winter season result in poor fishing. The resident rainbow and brown trout will take flies once the water temps reach 56 degrees and above. The North Fork of the Yuba is a fascinating river, with a surprise around every corner. I absolutely love this water. It reminds me of learning to fly fish on the West Branch and North Fork of the Feather River when I was a young boy. It’s a rough-and-tumble kind of a river with a fast pace, and the roar of the whitewater echoes off the canyon walls. This is where robins stuff their bellies full of stoneflies and take retreat on a low branch of pine trees next to the river. They eat their meal, gaze about and take in the sights and sounds of this most impressive watershed. CS Editor’s note: Jon Baiocchi has been fly fishing and tying flies since 1972 and is a California-licensed fly fishing guide, published author, educator, innovative tier, and a highly acclaimed public speaker. Jon now owns and operates Baiocchi’s Troutfitters guide service in Northern California where he has been guiding for the last 19 years. Visit his website at Baiocchistroutfitters.com.
Erin Berecky couldn’t ask for a more scenic spot to cast flies from as the North Fork of the Yuba makes its way down toward its confluence with the Feather River. (JON BAIOCCHI)
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FISHING Fishing the lower Sacramento River in the heart of Redding – adjacent to the city’s famous Sundial Bridge – offers anglers a chance for trophy trout all season long, with April being one of the best months. (VAL ATKINSON)
ending at the Highway 44 bridge. At press time in mid-March the exact season dates had not been set, but the proposal is April 1 to July 31.
GET SOME HELP
Fly anglers working below a gravel bar on the lower Sac look forward to this time of year. Before the heat of summer arrives, anglers can catch lots of trout, with some measuring up to 20 inches. (GERRY MADRID)
THE LOWER SAC IS BACK SPIN AND FLY ANGLERS SHOULD SCORE BIG AND PLENTIFUL RAINBOW TROUT THIS SEASON By Bill Adelman
I
f you’ve only heard, read or thought about fishing for lower Sacramento River trout, this fishery is definitely an outing that should be checked off your Golden State
angling bucket list. We’re focusing on the creek from Redding south to Red Bluff. The greatest misconception today is that the entire lower river is closed to protect salmon, when in fact it’s only about a 4-mile stretch in Redding,
This river can be intimidating to the novice, whether you’re doing a walk/ wade trip or fishing from a drift or jet boat. As we all often hear, hire a guide for each different style (I was a freshwater guide for around 20 years and concur). Due to ever-changing conditions, trips are never the same. Techniques vary from day to day and season to season. Checking flows and water clarity are always good ideas prior to traveling. The Fly Shop in Redding (800-669-3474; theflyshop .com) is a great resource, as they’ll readily give out information as well as hook you up with one of their guides. Owner Kirk Portocarrero of Sac River Guide (800-670-4448; sacriverguide.com) is another good source for this stretch of the river. Nick Fasiano, who also organizes The Fly Shop’s private-water program, says April features some of the best fishing throughout this run. Should you have access to a boat, side-casting spinning gear while drifting is on fire right now. For many years, salmon roe or eggs were the hot ticket and will still produce, though these days don’t as consistently as they once did. Bead-and-yarn combos are also kicking during the early spring. Some of the pros feel that the salmon numbers have been so low the past few years that trout are into feeding on their own eggs. The bigger native trout in this stretch also gorged on salmon smolt, and those numbers are also way down, thus back-trolling plugs has tapered off as well. If you wish to use plugs, look towards late winter to be the best option (please debarb all hooks, both on lures and flies, keeping in mind that from 650 feet below Keswick Dam to the Deschutes Road bridge, only barbless hooks may be used).
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FISHING You’ll need a few different size beads in different natural colors, starting with a 6mm. The best way to pick the right one is if when you hook a trout and it spits up eggs, replicate that size of a bead. Use the short-shank egg-style hook, size 6 or 8, and peg the bead about 2 inches above the hook. Adding a strip of yarn that almost completely covers the hook is deadly, and the general feeling is that it will hang on the teeth for an additional split second, allowing for a better hookset.
launch ramp, then head northeast on Jellys Ferry until hitting the river and launching a drift boat off the gravel. This drift was about 10 miles and we’d run nymphs on fly rods or small spoons on ultralight spinning rods about 40 to 50 feet below
the boat and slowly track across the flow. Too many grabs to keep track of when it was on. The fly guys are in trout heaven, beginning above the Sundial Bridge near the posse grounds all the way downriver, except for that 4-mile clo-
Side-casting with beads is a hot technique for spring trout in the lower Sacramento. Salmon or roe eggs will still produce, though not as frequently as they once did. (CAL KELLOGG)
LOTS OF BIG FISH This presummer fishery will generally produce 30 to 40 fish per day, with many measuring more than 20 inches. Of course, you have to employ the correct technique. When I guided, one of my favorite early-summer trips was to take off to the east just above Red Bluff on Jellys Ferry Road and drop off a vehicle at the Bend
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FISHING They too are looking towards midspring, as the warming temps will generate bug activity and matching the hatch results in stretched leaders. This is caddis time, which again takes off in October. A size 14 indicator with a size 16 Birds Nest, or any of the other great caddis imitations, is the most prominent plan. However, as the water warms, ditch it and try the shallower areas and riffle tailouts using a larger bushy-style stimulator dry fly with a nymph dropper. And don’t overlook the caddis emerger, which can be fished below a dry and allowed to emerge at the end of the drift, then swung directly below your position. When swinging just the emerger such as a Poopah, imitate your steelhead drift with either a floating or 10foot sink-tip line. As summer moves in, the evening grab can be outstanding with swung emergers, as just mentioned, or go to dries as soon as
An angler releases a healthy lower Sac River rainbow to be caught another day. (CAL KELLOGG)
the hatch shows itself. Waders have a real advantage here, as they can slowly work the action along a gravel bar.
A SEASON OF TROUT Going into fall, the bite changes
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FISHING Once the salmon show, the same set-up with beads works for the fly guys, assuming you don’t mind catching fish and don’t hold the position that beads aren’t flies. If so, use Glo Bugs – again, in an assortment of colors and sizes are necessary. As salmon build spawning redds, they’ll dig up a bunch of bugs – mostly mayfly and caddis. Doubling up a Glo Bug with a caddis or mayfly nymph dropper is the best of both worlds; or you can use one of each and not a Glo Bug. If the closure proposal goes through, Fasiano thinks some good news should come of it down the line. “Another awesome byproduct of the closure is that the rainbow trout in the upper stretch of the river get a much needed break in fishing pressure,” he says. “Last year the August 1 reopening of the upper river provided some of the best trout fishing of the whole year.” CS
Whether you prefer spinning gear or casting flies when the weather gets warmer and hatches begin to come off later this spring, colorful rainbows are at your disposal on the Redding-to-Red Bluff stretch of Sacramento River. (CAL KELLOGG)
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FISHING
TRICKING VALLEY
TROUT
IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SIERRAS, THE LOWER MOKELUMNE AND CALAVERAS RIVERS’ TROUT FISHING REMAINS SOLID
Veteran guide Bill Ferrero fishes the Mokelumne River, which provides spring trout anglers with a lower-elevation option after the general season opens later this month. (MOKELUMNE RIVER OUTFITTERS)
By Brad Hall
W
ith opening day of California’s trout season looming gloriously close – some devoted anglers no doubt are counting the hours and checking their gear – numerous popular fishing destinations will soon be
grabbing headlines. Mountain lakes and streams up and down the state will be crawling with trout anglers beginning Saturday, April 30. Popular spots like the Eastern Sierra’s Crowley and Convict Lakes, the Central Sierra’s Walker and Carson Rivers, and Northern California rivers like the Yuba, Feather and Pit are just a few of my favorites. Lights-out fishing calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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FISHING “The quality is still there,” says guide Bill Ferrero, here with a Mokelumne rainbow. “We’re still seeing 20-inch fish this spring.” (MOKELUMNE RIVER OUTFITTERS)
is possible at any of them. Magnificent scenery is guaranteed and, depending on the weather – which has been unsettled, to say the least, this spring – crowds can be overwhelming. So finding your own rock on which to fish sometimes can be an issue. For those fishermen seeking a quieter, calmer, later-spring experience with plenty of rod-bending opportunities, the lower stretches of the Mokelumne and Calaveras Rivers might be worth a look-see; this is especially the case for the Moke. Season dates on these rivers are usually Jan. 1 to March 31 for winter steelhead and trout, and the fourth Saturday in May through Oct. 15 for steelhead, trout and salmon (the Calaveras season runs all the way to March 31 and requires artificial lures with barbless hooks only). Anglers can still hit their favorite early-season hotspots before trying these lower-altitude fisheries.
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HIT THE MOTHER LODE If you’re not familiar with these waters, the lower Mokelumne is a tailwater fishery with cold, clear water flowing out of Camanche Reservoir just a few miles east
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FISHING of Lodi. The lower Calaveras flows out of New Hogan Dam (from the lake of the same name) near Valley Springs, 30 miles east of Stockton. Lodi? Stockton? Aren’t those Valley towns, you ask, in a state where most anglers flock to high-mountain lakes and rivers? Yes, they are, but just a few miles drive from each lies some of the finest trout fishing anywhere in the state. Just ask Bill Ferrero. Ferrero has been fishing the Mokelumne for 50 years. A licensed fishing guide who operates Mokelumne River Outfitters (209-604-9004), Ferrero grew up across the street from a wilderness area that included the lower reaches of the Mokelumne. Like most anglers, Ferrero’s earliest days fishing included primitive rods and reels and doughballs as bait. He’s climbed the fishing ladder significantly since then, producing double-digit-fish days and frequent 20-inch-plus rainbows for his friends and clients. He’s also a cherished speaker for local fly fishing clubs and has authored magazine articles on the subject. “Back in 2005, I purchased a raft and began taking people fishing and showing them how,” says Ferrero. “I got a really big kick out of it. Friends started saying I should be a guide, but I didn’t really know where to start. I got some help from (a fishing guide in the Delta) who walked me through the process and the rest is history. I’m in my 11th year.”
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Ferrero is an an adamant catch-and-release advocate who claims the stretch of the Mokelumne between Camanche Dam and the town of Clements is first rate. Numbers seem to support his analysis. Ferrero’s best day fishing the Mokelumne as a guide there produced 87 fish among three anglers. The Mokelumne fishery has declined somewhat in recent years as far as quantity is concerned, but the river still holds its share of trophies, says Ferrero. Ferrero believes most of the decline can be attributed to lack of water coming out of Camanche. He credits East Bay Municipal Utility District, which controls the water flow, with being a “steward of the river,” however. It is East Bay MUD, after all, that has brought in tons of gravel at several locations below the dam to recreate spawning areas for salmon, steelhead and trout. Ferrero says his clients still average 12 to 20 fish per day using conventional fishing rigs with nightcrawlers as bait. Fly fishermen, who make up 90 percent of his customers, average between eight to 10 fish. “Flows make a huge difference,” says Ferrero. “Between 1998 and 2005, if you didn’t catch 30 or so fish a day, something was really off. But things change. The quantity is down a little but the quality is still there. We’re still seeing 20-inch fish this spring.” He says productive methods in the spring and early summer include dragging a nightcrawler or live crickets.
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FISHING Some anglers like to toss spinners such as Mepps, Panther Martins and Rooster Tails, and others will back-troll plugs. Ferrero says the Mokelumne also holds smallmouth bass.
ANOTHER OPTION The Calaveras is a more difficult fishery to conquer, mostly due to limited access. Private land reigns supreme along the river. Many years ago, before the development of the
Rancho Calaveras and La Contenta subdivisions, which now line its banks, the Calaveras was phenomenal. Fly fishing expert Vic Bertocchini of Stockton recalls 50-fish days and steelhead weighing 6 to 7 pounds. I recall an opening day several years ago when six of us pulled limits of 14- to 16-inch rainbows from deep, boulder-lined pools in the Calaveras. My dad hooked and landed a 28-pound salmon that day. I remember it well since I toted the monster up the canyon to a remote parking lot Flows in the Mokelumne and Calaveras should be decent this year, thanks to the rains. (MOKELUMNE RIVER OUTFITTERS)
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FISHING gan relies solely on rainfall to fill, the Calaveras hasn’t had a decent flow of fresh water since 2011, says Bertocchini. Ample rainfall this year has improved the situation somewhat, so fishing can be good if you can obtain access. Similar to trout fishing most anywhere in the state, rods and reels and fish are Head to the pristine lakes of the Eastern only part of the experience. Sierra on April 30, but afterwards and not Peace, serenity and joining far outside the big cities of Stockton and Modesto, you can find nice big trout, like hands with nature are equally this 27-inch lower Mokelumne rainbow. important to many outdoors(MOKELUMNE RIVER OUTFITTERS) men and -women. Although the lower stretches of the Mokelumne and Calaveras lie mostly in the valley, wildlife sightings are common. Deer, wild turkeys, eagles, osprey and otters are frequent visitors. California’s state flower, the golden poppy, is abundant along steep canyons of the Calaveras and bordering gravel bars of the Mokelumne. You might even have these prolific sights and sounds all to yourself. CS
that no longer exists. Like the Mokelumne, the Calaveras also is subject to flow conditions, and water quality there has not been good in recent drought-stricken seasons. Since New Ho-
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BEST BASS EVER! FISHING
WITH SOCAL LAKES SPITTING OUT DOUBLE-DIGIT LARGEMOUTH, TIPS TO LAND THE BIGGEST OF YOUR LIFE
By Capt. Bill Schaefer
C
ould this be the year another bass record is broken? Lakes all over Southern California just keep on churning out giant largemouth. Bass in the 5- to 10-pound range have become everyday events, and the best news is that there are a lot of fish from 10 pounds up into the teens being caught! These big mama bass are lurking and looking for easy meals. Many of those have been served in the form of swimbaits. Big bass are keying on holdover trout from winter and are gobbling rainbow swimbaits like crazy. I spoke with big bass hunter Greg Springer and he has had an inspiring spring so far. “I set a goal this year – not to catch X number of double-digit fish but to catch my first ‘teener,’” says Springer, who started off his spring with a new personal best of 12.08 pounds from Lake Skinner, near Murrieta. A couple weeks later he broke that personal-best record with a giant 16.30-pound largemouth from Lake Wohlford in Escondido. The bass came on a 3:16 Lure Company’s Kokanee Glide, proving good things come to those who put in the time and effort it takes to catch giants. The bass all over Southern California are in spawn mode right now, and even the fast-moving storms that we’ve needed so badly don’t seem to be affecting the fish too much, lengthening the spawn-time bite. Smaller bass are visible, but as waters rise, they will fade off into a
In what could be a trend for SoCal anglers, Greg Springer’s personal-best bass record didn’t last long. A couple weeks after he caught a largemouth of over 12 pounds, he landed this 16.3-pound giant at Lake Wohlford in Escondido. (GREG SPRINGER)
little deeper water. The bass will not reset and only new spawners will move in. Larger bass often spawn out a little deeper to begin with and they too will be hard to pluck from beds. Keep in mind that if you do catch or take a bass off a nest, if you release it after a quick pic, it will return to it and reproduce more trophy bass for you to catch. But that’s where the swimbaits come into the equation. Anything big and a normal predator of large-
mouth eggs will draw a strike. Trout, of course, will work, but so will baby bass, shad and bluegill. Anything that may intrude on the nest will be gobbled up in a second if you swim it past the right zone. Those big bass will guard their nest from anything that thinks they are getting a free meal. You may spend hours throwing and throwing those swimbaits until your arms grow weary, but you may be rewarded with a giant like Springer bagged and set your new personal record this month. CS
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112 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
FISHING Continued from page 42...
banks as possible. Once hooked, under the bank is exactly where they will want to stay, so this is not a great time to mess around with 2-pound test. To just get on the scoreboard with browns, the smaller ones can be easily caught in stretches of creek without easy access, or maybe even creeks that most anglers don’t bother fishing. Convict Creek downstream of Highway 395 is a 10-inch brown trout factory (but there are bigger ones in there, and they will jump all over small spinners, or a dry/dropper fly-fishing set-up). The same goes for If you’re lucky, you can also catch a cutthroat trout and add another hit to an Eastern Sierra grand slam. (MIKE STEVENS)
the Owens River Gorge closer to Bishop, and the sticky stretches of Mammoth Creek downstream of the museum and in the meadow across the street from the driving range. If you just need a brown because you are shooting for a “Sierra Grand Slam” (rainbow, brown, brook and golden in the same spot, same day), they can easily be caught at those places or similar spots. Just about every creek and lake has them to some degree; they just live where access to them, well, sucks. In lakes, it’s more of a luck-of-the-draw thing when one takes your offering. They will eat trolled or cast Rapalas, Owner Cultivas and Tasmanian Devils, and while they don’t typically bite metal lures or floating bait, some big ones are occasionally caught on nightcrawlers. If catching quality brown trout in the Sierra is your
mission, it’s more of a timing thing. The later in the season, the better, so that means in the fall, ideally sometime between mid-October and the last day of the general season, Nov. 15. At this time, throwing big jerkbaits (actual bass-size lures) at the inlets and outlets of lakes like Silver or Grant on the June Lake Loop, or Rush Creek in between those two, or trolling or casting minnow baits from a boat on Crowley Lake or the big waters in Bridgeport are the ways to target wallhangers.
GOLDEN TROUT: CALIFORNIA ROYALTY There is a scene in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers: a pair of American soldiers notice a flower sticking out of the pocket of a dead German soldier. The higher-ranking officer says, “That’s edelweiss. It grows in the mountains, above the treeline, which means he climbed up there to get it. It’s supposed to be the mark of a true soldier.” The same could be said about golden trout. Native to California (specifically, the Kern River backcountry) and our official State Freshwater Fish, goldens are generally found above 10,000 feet and very rarely in a spot you can drive to. Trips deep into backcountry regions up the hill out of Lone Pine, Big Pine and Bishop will produce the best golden trout fishing imaginable, but there are easier ways to get into them than that. In the 20 Lakes Basin above Saddlebag Lake (Tioga Pass), goldens can be found in multiple lakes throughout the 8-mile loop. The best of the bunch could be Odell Lake, which is one of the closest to hike to, and it holds bigger specimens to around 16 inches. The upper and middle sections of the San Joaquin River have smaller ones, and are the best locations to score the Grand Slam. A little homework will indicate where goldens live in the backcountry of just about every area in the Eastern Sierra, and a great reference is the Fishin’ Trails twobook series by Jared Smith of Parchers Resort (760-8734177; parchersresort.com) in Bishop Creek Canyon. Goldens are aggressive and can be caught on just about any tactic, but they are regulated more than other Sierra trout. Areas that hold them almost always call for artificial (no bait) tactics only, and a lot of the time it’s only single, barbless (pinching them down with pliers works) hooks that are allowed. That being said, any classic trout pattern will get them on fly-fishing gear or a fly-and-bubble, Kastmasters, Panther Martins and Rooster Tails will work (again, know the regs on hooks) and they go nuts for minijigs, many times picking them off as they sink.
CUTTHROAT TROUT: AN ADDED BONUS Cutthroat have been planted in select Eastern Sierra watersheds, but establishing a self-sustaining population in Continued on page 158... calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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FISHING
TREAT IT LIKE A LAKE THE BAYS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFER MULTIPLE SPECIES TO TARGET
By Capt. Bill Schaefer
B
ay fishing in Southern California is heating up despite passing storms. Action on spotted bay bass, sand bass, calicos and halibut is going strong. Inshore fishermen who treat the bays like their private lake love this time of year. There are so many species to target, many of which I haven’t even listed. Many anglers just go fishing and enjoy the variety that they catch. Just about every fish that swim in the bays of the Southland will eat the same lures, and they’re fun for all to catch on light tackle. Got a friend or youngster you want to get into fishing? Then take him or her to your local bay and they will catch something. But is it really that easy? Well, one of the most important things to remember is that all the fish feed during tidal movements. Moving water gets the entire food chain active and that makes the fish more active, no matter the species. The good news is that tidal movements happen constantly; the tide comes in and then goes out twice a day. Tides can range from 1 foot to 8 feet of water movement. Usually, a midrange tidal movement is best – perhaps 3 to 5 feet of water exchange. I personally like that much coming into the bays. The incoming tide has the fish venturing into the shallows to feed on clams and crustaceans. As mentioned, tackle can be light to medium, which is just like fishing on your local lake. You don’t have to run out and buy anything spe-
cial – casting or spinning gear with 6- to 10-pound test line will do. I like to use a light braid, like Maxima 30-pound and a fluorocarbon leader of about 8 or 10 pounds. The braid helps you feel the bite better. The 30-pound line is only the diameter of about 6-pound test. Baits can vary from live bait to swimbaits or even regular bass baits like crankbaits and spinnerbaits; the bass and halibut eat them all. A lot of the other species that you will catch incidentally, including croaker, corvina, bonito, barracuda and even the rare bonefish, will bite those presen-
tations too. The bays of Southern California can be fun for all. Think of them as big lakes. Small aluminum boats are fine, and there are even some rental boat places at some of the marinas. The water is so calm that most don’t get seasick and instead have the time of their lives. The fishing can be nonstop at times too, with many fish schooling and attacking your lures as fast as you can cast them back into the water. So take advantage of this fishery in your backyard. It is still an open place to explore. CS
Ron and Erin Iacobucci show off the most common catch in Southern California’s bays: a spotted sand bass. This kind of fishing offers great action for kids learning to fish. (BILL SCHAEFER)
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FISHING Art Carlow, who suffered from shoulder and back issues, developed a new angled-blade paddle for kayakers. (GULLWING PADDLES)
COMPANY
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A NEW BREED OF PADDLE By Art Carlow
I
’ll start off by admitting that I have some rotator cuff issues and a sometimes-dicey disc in my back. But give in to these health inconveniences and stay home? That’s not my style! If I can’t handle the technology of my sport of choice, why, I’ll simply change the sport’s technology. But maybe I’m getting ahead of the story. I’m Art Carlow, the inventor and designer of the Gullwing kayak paddle (gullwingpaddles.com). During the four years that I watched my son row collegiately for Harvard, I noticed that the shape of the blade had undergone some unique changes. It went from oval and straight to rectangular and set at an angle.
This new shape improved the rower’s speed and power, and allowed the oar to get in and out of the water quicker and with less effort. This was when I thought of adapting this concept into a kayak paddle. By adding a newly designed blade to some ergonomic curves and angles, I came up with the Gullwing paddle. So beginning with the blade design, I built one benefit-laden feature onto another to develop the Gullwing kayak paddles. The list of features include angled blades that cut just below the water surface for glide rather than heavy dipping. There are also changeable blades, and a bowed handle contoured like a kayak’s prow and made of powder-coated aluminum for lightweight paddling and
improved grip. Above all, they have an ergonomic design for hours of fatigue-free paddling. The Gullwing has been warmly welcomed by would-be paddlers with a variety of physical challenges, but it is being enthusiastically received, as well, by young families and weekend kayakers, and by saltwater and freshwater kayak enthusiasts of all ages and physical abilities. And me? I’m out on the water for hours at a time with no pain. Count me as one who’d rather glide than dig. CS Editor’s note: You can contact Gullwing Paddles’ owner Art Carlow at art@gullwingpaddles.com.
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FISHING
LONG-RANGE TRIP PLANNING? BOOK NOW
DON’T WAIT TO RESERVE A SPOT FOR WHAT IS SHAPING UP TO BE ANOTHER HOT OCEAN SEASON By Steve Carson
T
he huge throngs of prospective long-range anglers at last month’s Fred Hall Shows tell me I should pass along some important advice about planning for a trip. The phenomenal long-range fishing results of 2015 have caused anglers intent of heading out aboard a San Diego-based fishing adventure to expand their reservation timeline from what has long been considered standard. In most years, the rule is that anglers need to make their date selections and get their deposits in approximately the same number of months in advance as the desired trip’s duration in days. That means putting down a deposit for a five-day trip at least five months in advance, although key holiday weekends push that timeline back a little more. Additionally, the limited reopening of Guadalupe Island presents a renewed opportunity, but also means that boats headed there will not be online for shorter or longer trips. Accordingly, anglers wishing to head for Guadalupe in 2016 should already have their reservations in place, and any thoughts about the island in 2017 should be rapidly solidifying. Throw all of the conventional timing out the window and make your 2016 reservations now. It’s also not too early to begin making reservations for 2017, as the El Niño action is giving some indications that it will be continuing on this year, which means anglers will again be jumping onboard everything that floats. Here
San Diego’s Dylan Palmer gets a gaffing assist from Capt. Mike Lackey during a recent five-day long-range trip. Fantastic Pacific Ocean fishing means plans should be made now for trips this season. (POINT LOMA SPORTFISHING)
are some options if long range is your trip of choice:
THREE TO FOUR DAYS This run is the perfect way for a long-
range first-timer to get their “sea legs” or if you simply can’t commit the time required for a longer excursion. Most common during the summer months – when migrating
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schools of tuna and yellowtail are closest to San Diego – late-winter and early-spring outings are sometimes billed as “freezer specials.” These combine possible early-season yellowtail with virtually guaranteed action on rockfish and lingcod. During the period when migratory schools included albacore, these were the prime trips to target them. In recent years, either bluefin or yellowfin tuna are supplemented by plenty of yellowtail, and later in the season good numbers of dorado are also available. The 2015 action on these shorter excursions included legitimate shots at 100-plus-pound bluefin for several extended periods in U.S. waters, but it’s hard to say if reality will return for 2016. Regulations will allow catching the tuna in Mexican waters this year, so even if larger fish make a southerly move, anglers could still have a chance at the big boys.
FIVE TO SIX DAYS This length excursion will offer the highest possibility of heading for Guadalupe Island, assuming the vessel has the special permits required to fish there. Other possible destinations include Cedros Island, San Benitos Islands and any number of spots along the Baja coastline or offshore. Guadalupe is famous for oversize yellowfin tuna and yellowtail. Most yellowtail here range 25 to 40 pounds, with 50-pounders far from rare. The two largest yellowtail ever caught on the West Coast were both taken at Guadalupe, separated by only a few ounces at 92 pounds each. Yellowfin tuna there will typically range from 40 to 90 pounds, with plenty of 100- to 125-pounders in the mix, and a few to as much as 150 are hooked but not necessarily landed on most trips. General offshore and island action is also very good on these most-popular trips, with plenty of school-size 15- to 50-pound tuna and lots of yellowtail between 10 and 30. Bigger specimens of both species are possible, and bonus species include dorado and lots of inshore bottom-grabbers. Last season’s trips even saw a decent number of wahoo catches. Best opportunities for general offshore fishing or coastal islands like Cedros is June through October, but Guadalupe Island is often productive all the way through to December.
SEVEN TO 11 DAYS The very popular seven- and eight-day trips are usually referred to as “variety” trips, because anglers have the opportunity to sample a number of different species in both northern and central Baja and using a wide variety of different techniques. In normal years, these are also the shortest trips where wahoo can reasonably be expected. Boats will fish the same coastal islands as the short120 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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FISHING er trips that cover five or six days, with the added choices of Alijos Rocks and The Ridge as primary destinations. Both bluefin and yellowfin tuna are common, with school-size fish (15 to 50 pounds) still the most abundant, although bigger-grade yellowfin to over 125 pounds are often seen at Alijos. Lots of yellowtail are also on the menu, the biggest ones also coming from Alijos, where 50-pounders are far from rare. Dorado are abundant under floating kelp paddies that offer a variety of other choices – calico bass, grouper, halibut, white seabass, and dozens more, including marlin that are almost always released. In most years, the “cow” yellowfin tuna move far enough north in November and December to be reachable by 10-day trips. The area known as “Cowtown” off Magdalena Bay can be very productive on these bigger-grade fish. When that happens,
the normal focus on “variety” fishing is sometimes changed to concentrate on the giants. Generally, the season for weeklong or eight-day trips starts in late May, and 10-day trips may appear on the schedule in early September.
12 TO 16 DAYS For serious lunker hunters only, the primary target of these trips is for yellowfin tuna that exceed 100 pounds, with “cow” yellowfin over 200 pounds and “super cow” tuna over 300 the most hoped-for quarry. The ultimate prize is a “mega cow” that tips the scale at 400 pounds, but fewer than a half-dozen that size have ever been caught. During midday or other periods where the yellowfin tuna may be uncooperative, wahoo become the alternate species. Various abundant tropical species, including jacks, rainbow runners and many more, are avoided, as are smaller tuna that
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would be jackpot winners on trips of shorter duration. Destination is almost always either Hurricane Bank (Shimada Seamount), or the “Buffer Zone” around any one of the Revillagigedo Islands. These are primarily scheduled as winter-early spring trips due to the possibility of hurricanes.
18 TO 23 DAYS Only a handful of trips this long take place annually, with the primary destination usually being distant Clipperton Island. This remote French-owned atoll only issues three or four permits for recreational fishing each year. Also, even Clipperton can experience periods of slow fishing, and moving back up the line to Hurricane Bank or the Revillagigedo Buffer Zone eats up a lot of fishing time. CS Editor’s note: Contact the author at scarson@sunset.net.
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HUNTING
FROM FIELD ... Some of the most basic turkey sounds bring in strutting toms each spring, but when boss toms hang up, call diversiďŹ cation can be the key to success. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
WHAT IS YOUR CALLING? TIPS TO BRING IN THAT SPRING TOM TURKEY By Scott Haugen calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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W
ith spring turkey season in full swing this month in California, don’t feel like you have to be a championship caller to bring in birds. While turkeys have an extensive vocabulary, early season success often comes down to keeping your calls simple. Here are some tips to get you started.
TREE YELPS
Slate calls are some of the easiest friction calls to master, and their quality sounds make them a favorite among even the best of turkey hunters. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
When birds are on the roost early in the morning, they create a series of soft yelps and clucks that serve as a wake-up call for the rest of the flock. Yelps, clucks, purrs and gobbles are all part of tree communication, and when birds start talking amongst themselves is a good time for hunters to slip in and start doing the same. By offering soft yelps, muffled clucks and purrs, you’re sending the message that you’re a bird on the edge of the flock and are acknowledging that it’s time to wake up.
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HUNTING
TOUGH TURKEY? NO PROBLEM
... TO FIRE
By Tiffany Haugen
Y
ou like those tough old things?” It’s a common question I get when talking about cooking one of my favorite game birds. So far, I haven’t met a wild turkey I didn’t like. When cleaned, quickly cooled and cooked with the method most favorable to a specific cut of meat, wild turkey – every single part – is delicious game meat. Although gobblers can be cooked up whole, Thanksgiving style (I recommend using an oven bag, cooking in liquid, slow cooking or smoking), cooking the breast meat separate from the leg and thigh meat is the best way to ensure you get the most out of your bird. Leg and thigh meat is best slowly cooked until it falls from the bone and can then be cooled and picked from the bones. Plank-cooking turkey breast provides a barrier between the meat and the heat source, while simultaneously impart-
ing steam into the meat. The smoky flavors derived from plank cooking pair well with game birds. 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons rum 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon coriander ½ teaspoon meat tenderizer (optional) 1 boneless wild turkey breast Eight to 10 strips of raw bacon 1 prepared plank In a small bowl, mix all marinade ingredients until thoroughly combined. Place turkey breast in a sealable bag or casserole dish and cover with marinade. Marinate six to 24 hours, refrigerated. Place turkey breast on a prepared plank. Cover with sliced bacon. Grill or bake in a preheated, 375-degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 150 to 160 degrees. Do not overcook.
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WORDS OF CAUTION Never leave planks unattended on the grill or campfire. Avoid repeatedly opening the grill cover since this can cause flare-ups and lost heat. Be careful not to inhale smoke or allow it to billow into the eyes. Use a large metal spatula to move planks around and off the grill. Do not to bring a burning or smoldering plank inside the house. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Plank Cooking, send a check for $20 (free S&H), to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489. This and other cookbooks can also be ordered at tiffanyhaugen.com.
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HUNTING You’re also sending a feeling that the woods are calm and safe. With a slate, box or diaphragm call, start by making soft yuuuup, yuuuup, yuuuup sounds. Aim for these three bursts to last two to three seconds at a time. The sounds are more drawnout than regular hen yelps, so don’t be in a hurry and don’t be too loud. Listen to what the birds are doing and copy them; it’s that simple.
FLY-DOWN CACKLE A call that sounds like the cutt is a fly-down cackle. Fly-down cackles can be made with box, mouth and pot calls. These should contain 10 to 12 notes, the start of which are soft clucks. From there, transition into making cackle sounds, containing nothing more than five or six sharp, quick cutts that slow down and soften toward the end of the sequence. After the cutts, you can offer a few yelps and clucks to send the message
ALL ABOUT PLANK COOKING Wooden planks can be purchased “readyto-use,” or you can pick up untreated wood at a lumberyard and cut sections to your desired size. You can use any nonresinous wood, but cedar, alder, oak, maple, cherry, apple, pecan and hickory are some of the more common ones. Here are some steps to follow:
that all is calm on the ground. The fly-down cackle sounds something like tuck, tuck, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, tuck, yup, yup. How you choose to finish it depends on the mood of the day. On warm, promising mornings when the birds are vocal, put more feeling into it, rounding it out with some clucks, yelps and even purrs. If things are quiet and cold, string out the sounds.
HEN YELP The hen makes the most commonly
STEP 1: Soak plank in water or other liquid – minimum one hour but a maximum 24 hours.
STEP 2: Preheat plank on grill at medium heat for two to three minutes, or in a 350-degree oven for five minutes. STEP 3: Brush a light coating of olive oil onto cooking side of plank if desired to prevent food sticking. –TH heard sound in the turkey woods, and it’s called a yelp. Toms also yelp, but it’s louder, raspier and usually more drawn-out. The yelp is a basic call and the easiest sound to mimic. It’s also the one that will bring in the most birds. I’d say about 80 percent of the toms I’ve called in over the past 25 years have come to a simple hen yelp. These sounds are easy to make with any friction or diaphragm call. The yelp is usually delivered in a series of one-note tunes. The plain yelp usually occurs when turkeys
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are within sight of one another and ranges from three to seven notes – or more. On each note, the pitch and volume remain constant, with three to four notes being made per second, and each burst lasting up to one-tenth of a second. The sequence is quick, simple and resembles a chirp, chirp, chirp or a yup, yup, yup sound.
After box and diaphragm calls failed to bring in this big tom, the author’s wife, Tiffany Haugen, dropped it when it finally succumbed to yelps made on a slate call. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
CLUCK The cluck is one of the most basic sounds in the turkey woods, but it still carries strong meaning. The one to three notes sound like tuck, tuck, tuck. Its purpose is to get the attention of another bird or to reassure an approaching tom that a hen is waiting for him. It’s an alluring, attention-grabbing sound that’s simple yet powerful when it comes to bringing in a tom. Clucks can be delivered on friction and mouth calls and consist of one to three single staccato notes that are usually separated by two to three seconds. The sharp, crisp sounds of a cluck are mainly used in close-rangecalling situations or when an approaching tom hangs up in sight of your set-up. Oftentimes, hens are called in with clucks, with toms following. Though the sound is short and sharp, don’t confuse it with a putt or cutts, which are more aggressive. This spring, hone your calling skills and hit the woods with confidence. It takes only a few basic sounds to bring in a tom. As with anything related to the outdoors, the more you do it the more proficient you’ll become. CS Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies For All Levels, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit scotthaugen.com. The 208-page book contains over 270 photos and is the most comprehensive title of its kind.
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Author Tim Hoveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughters and fellow bird hunters Alyssa (shooting) and Jessica team up for some shooting clays practice, which they hope will come in handy this fall when they hunt upland birds like quail and doves. (TIM HOVEY) 138 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
HONE YOUR SHOOTING CRAFT HUNTING
WE’RE SEVERAL MONTHS AWAY FROM THE START OF MOST OF 2016’S HUNTING SEASONS, SO HOW YOU PRACTICE NOW WILL PAY OFF LATER WITH A SUCCESSFUL HARVEST
Tim E. Hovey
I
’ve been shooting and hunting for close to 40 years and I’m a firm believer that practice makes perfect. The more you repeat any action, the better you’ll get. This becomes painfully obvious when I head out to hunt with some of my buddies – they shall remain nameless – who don’t spend as much time behind the trigger as I do. I believe anyone can set his or her rifle up on a rock-steady shooting bench, stay calm and put the bullet in the center of the target. At the range is where we hone our skills,
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perfect our techniques and dial in the specifics of the shooting sports. Unfortunately, during the heat of the hunt these exercises don’t translate to the field as well as some shooters may think. There are no solid benches out in the wild. Calm is not a common emotion as you peer through the scope and see the animal you’ve been chasing. Adrenaline also has a funny way of absolutely soaking your shooting-range skills into a pile of raw, uncontrollable nerves. Fess up: You weren’t shaking like a leaf back at the range, were you? I strongly believe that shooting well consistently is all about spending time behind the trigger. I also believe that it is a skill that can be practiced and perfected. My point is that perfecting your shooting techniques at the range is great, but if you’re only used to shooting from the sturdiness of a bench, you may find your range skills won’t seamlessly transfer to the field unless you practice how you hunt.
The Hovey sisters use a sitting pad and shooting sticks for both practice (as Jessica does here) and while hunting (when Alyssa went out for a hunt) after they learned to shoot from folding chairs. (TIM HOVEY)
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Carly and Tanner Mattila practice trap in the desert. When starting a new shooter out, toss the pigeons straight away and let them become proficient at busting those targets before introducing concepts like leading. (TIM HOVEY)
DEVELOP A ROUTINE When I first started shooting, I made sure that when I practiced I used the same gear and techniques that I would when I hunted. I discovered very early that getting comfortable with my field gear, even during target practice, was a huge advantage to hunting success. When it comes to offseason practice, setting up shooting scenarios I will encounter during the hunting season is where I start. This mindset didn’t change when it came time to train my kids how to hunt. Beginning in 2007, I started taking my daughters shooting. The early trips were all about teaching Jessica and Alyssa proper firearm handling. We built off a solid foundation of safety, then began with rimfire rifles, using shooting sticks and small folding chairs. I’d set up targets at varied distances and let Alyssa and Jessica shoot their .22 rifles as much as they wanted. After a few trips, I replaced their folding chairs with the same sitting pads I use when I hunt. Once they were comfortable with the shooting techniques, I wanted them to start practicing exactly like their dad hunted. It doesn’t matter what type of rifle hunting it is, I shoot off a set of sticks and use a pad and wanted my daughters to get used to these pieces of gear as well. Essentially, I wanted them to know that there were no folding chairs in the wild. As the training years piled up, my daughters eventually became comfortable shooting every caliber I had in the safe. They enjoyed the outdoors, target shooting and hunting. With their blossoming interest, I decided to make sure their skills didn’t become dull during the offseason. 142 California Sportsman APRIL 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com
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HUNTING MOVING TARGETS When spring hits and hunting seasons come to a close, we don’t put away all the firearms. I often tune up my wing-shooting skills by throwing clays with my daughters. Hitting flying targets with a shotgun simulates upland bird hunting and definitely sharpens your hand-eye coordination. Whether you’re a rifle or shotgun hunter, being able to consistently hit a moving target with any firearm during target practice will translate to better hunting success. We spend afternoons using plastic hand throwers and a box of clay targets in the desert shooting trap. When we first started, I’d toss the clay pigeons straight away from them so they could get used to shooting flying targets. I consider this an easy shot; within a few trips they began to consistently break the bright orange discs.
PLENTY OF ACTION AT SANTA CLARITA RANGE Southern California hunters who want to get in on some practice in preparation for deer and bird seasons late this summer and fall should check out A Place To Shoot in Saugus, located near Interstate 5 northeast of Los Angeles. A Place To Shoot (661-296-5552; aplacetoshoot.net) offers seven different shooting ranges, including a member’s-only range, toss your own sporting clays for shotguns and automated sporting clay tosses, among other small gun and rifle ranges. An annual membership costs $175 and
you can add friends and family members for $75. Daily range fees are $15 for adults and $10 for kids ages 11 to 17. You can also purchase ammo and supplies on site. Check the website for information and prices. The range is open five days a week from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Tuesday and Wednesday). It also hosts monthly events, including 4H Youth Shooting events scheduled for April 10 this month and again on May 14. A Place To Shoot is located at 33951 San Francisquito Canyon Road. –CS
Once they were used to the easier throws, I started testing them with targets that required them to work out shot lead and follow through – techniques that aren’t routinely used during rifle practice. As expected, these harder shots proved frustrating for my daughters in the beginning.
When I tossed clays at sharper angles, they’d draw on the flying target, track it and almost always shoot behind it. It’s a very common issue for new wingshooters. With plenty of practice and some instruction, they finally began to work out the lead and follow
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HUNTING through, gradually getting the hang of shooting clays thrown at any angle. Within a year of starting our trap practice, both my daughters were not only proficient at shooting flying targets but it quickly became their favorite type of shooting. Another exercise we do while the shotguns are out is shoot static targets. At varied distances, I place clay targets on the ground, standing them up in the desert sand. Usually after busting a thrown target, we draw down on a static ground target and shoot it. This type of practice simulates small game hunting with a shotgun. With flying targets and swinging barrels, having everyone stay safe is my top priority. At our shooting spot, I designate our shooting area
Practice, practice, practice makes perfect! Alyssa shows off a pair of mourning doves she downed a couple seasons back. (TIM HOVEY)
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for the day. In this shooting area I identify a safe zone and a shooter’s area. If I toss a clay target and it flies into an unsafe area, I yell, “No shot!” and the girls disengage. The one who isn’t shooting stays in the safe zone, well behind the shooter’s area.
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Following our first offseason trap practice, I took both my daughters out for the opener of mourning dove season in early fall. I understood that tossing clay targets away from our shooting position is more geared towards hunting quail rather than the rocket-like movement of doves. However, just getting them comfortable shooting at and hitting flying targets was a huge advantage to their hunting success during the dove opener. I’m convinced that training Alyssa and Jessica on gear they used in a hunting scenario early translated to their immediate hunting success when they began hunting with me. Having them practice tracking and shooting clay flying targets prepared them for dove season and translated into more birds in their game bags. Knowing what to expect in the field and feeling confident with your gear is probably the most important part of putting your practice to good use. If you’re interested in hunting and would like to give yourself more of an edge during the season, try creating more of a hunting scenario during your offseason target practice. Use the gear you hunt with and try to think about the conditions you’ll encounter while you’re out in the wild – away from the steadiness of the shooting bench. Get accustomed to field conditions and your gear, and I guarantee more hunting success will come your way. CS
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HUNTING
DON’T HOCK FORGOTTEN PIG PARTS By Jeremiah Doughty
A
s hunters and providers we find ourselves trying to use every part of our harvested animals. Here is a simple split-pea soup recipe that my family has been using for generations. It takes leftover ham hock, which most of us throw away after smoking or baking, and it creates some amazing soup. I know that many of us don’t have the time or energy that goes into making soup from scratch; this is why I’ve rewritten this recipe to be created in your slow cooker. Enjoy.
utes, and then stir again. You will see the soup has begun to think for itself by the peas dissolving. This means it’s ready to be served and enjoyed. 6. Fill your bowl and top with your favorite toppings like crackers, cheddar cheese or fresh bacon. Be creative and have fun. CS For more on the Wild Chef, Jeremiah Doughty, check out his website (fromfieldtoplate.com), like him on Facebook (facebook.com/ Fromfieldtoplate) and follow on Instagram (fromfieldtoplate) and Twitter (fromfield2plate).
INGREDIENTS 1 smoked ham hock (even better if there is still meat on the bone) 2 pounds split peas, rinsed Two large carrots, peeled and chopped Two celery stalks, chopped One yellow onion, diced 8 cups homemade or chicken stock 2 tablespoons garlic, minced One bay leaf ½ tablespoon cracked pepper 1 teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried rosemary (If your ham hock does not have enough meat, add 1 to 2 cups of chopped smoked ham) 1. In slow cooker, add 1 pound of peas, carrots, onions, garlic and celery. On top of veggies add ham bone and ham chucks (if needed). 2. Add stock, bay leaf and spices; turn slow cooker to high and walk away for four hours. 3. Remove bone from soup and pull off all meat and add back to slow cooker; stir soup to start mashing the peas. Add second pound of split peas at this time. People ask me why I add a second bag, and the reason is that I like to still have whole pieces of peas in my soup. So by adding more, you will still have those delicious chucks of peas. Plus a pound of split peas is under a buck, so why not? 4. Cook additional three to four hours on high. 5. Turn off heat, stir soup and let sit uncovered for 15 min-
When you’ve harvested that wild pig, there are some parts that you might want to think about saving instead of discarding. Ham hock makes delectable split-pea soup. (JEREMIAH DOUGHTY)
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Brittany warms up with a Fire Cone, a mini camp stove which can use Purell as fuel. (AUGUST PETERS)
NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR
OUR INTERNATIONAL HUNTER DETAILS FAVE NEW LUGGAGE, GADGETS, GUNS FOR HER OUTINGS By Brittany Boddington
I
t’s that time of year again! Time to update your gear and check out what is new. Convention season is wrapping up and there have been some amazing new products launched this year. These are some of my top picks:
BAG CHECK First, I have to tell you about my new luggage. I have struggled to find a bag that would stand up to my hectic travel schedule. I tried Samsonite, Olympia, Heys and several others, but baggage handlers across the world must have taken that as a challenge. I like hard-sided cases because I used to travel with a duffle, but after it got caught in the rain a few times I learned the stinky way that I needed something rainproof. I tried fiberglass cascalsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2016 California Sportsman
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Glow Smoke is a powder that glows so you can see which way the wind is blowing in low light, important for staying upwind of game. (CARBON SKIN)
es that got cracked and broken. I tried plastic, but they got bent and dented. I was thinking of switching to metal when I put a post on Facebook asking for suggestions on bags that would survive my travel. Several people responded with one word: Pelican. I had no idea that Pelican (pelican.com)had started making luggage, so I reached out to them and got a set to try out. They sent me their big Elite Traveler bag and a smaller carry-on. They are actually waterproof with a seal, and the pieces also have a lifetime warranty, which was the selling point for me. Although the price point is high, if I don’t have to buy a new one every year, it’s worth it to me! I’ve never been complimented so much on any piece With its seal, Pelican luggage is waterproof, the products come with a lifetime of luggage – every- and warranty to handle the rigors of travel. where I go people ask (PELICAN LUGGAGE)
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me about my bags and I happily tell them that they are the best I’ve ever owned. And no, Pelican did not pay me to say that.
LET THERE BE LIGHT The next new cool thing I came across at a trade show is probably one of neatest ideas I’ve heard of in a long time. Carbon Skin (carbonskinproducts. com) has a product called Glow Smoke. It is a wind checker that glows so you can see the powder in low light. It doesn’t glow in the dark in the traditional sense, but rather, it is charged by a flashlight and then glows for a while. I can’t tell you how excited I am to add this to my pack.
WHAT’S COOKING?
The next item on my list is a really cool concept. It is a miniature camp stove they call a Fire Cone (axelsontactical.com). It is like a small-sized fire pit with a base and a top. The base has a ring in it where the accelerant goes. This is where the whole thing gets crazy; the Fire Cone is fueled best by using Purell hand sanitizer. Who doesn’t have that in their hunting kit? Choose a well built Alaskan-made The Fire Cone comes in brass, NOMAR bag to carry the gear on stainless steel, titanium and cast iron. your next adventure! Any flammable liquid works but the sanitizer works best. The cone is designed with special vents to channel See our full line at oxygen to create a vortex and help control the flame. It’s heavy but toUs Toll Free 1-800-478-8364 tally worth packing for those chilly mountain nights! It is still new, so keep an eye out for it later this year!
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HOME ON THE RANGE The next one is pretty interesting. Leupold (leupold.com) has taken their new range finder to a new level. There is now a setting to automatically calculate a wind hold value. It will then display that hold in MOA, mils or inches/centimeters. This little gadget can do all the calculations you need, so there is no need to carry around a bunch of other equipment. Rifle hunters like me can even get the info in holdover or -under in inches or centimeters, which is a pretty sim-
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ple way to beat that pesky wind problem.
RIFLE TALK The last goodie on my list is actually launching next month at the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Louisville, Ky. Legendary Arms Works (legendaryarmsworks.com) is welcoming a new member to their family: the Bobcat. You may have read about LAW rifles in past columns because I really like them, but this one kind of rounds out the group of guns they offer. The Bobcat is smaller, lighter and perfect for tight ar-
eas or suited well for juniors. It has a 12½-inch length of pull and a 20-inch fluted, stainless-steel barrel with a fitted thread protector installed. This gun would be a great learner or even a perfect hunting rifle for some of the more petite female hunters out there. It comes in a nice range of very handy calibers like .308, 7mm-08 (one of my personal favorites), .260 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor, .243 and .338 Federal. I hope you can check it out at next month’s big show. Happy hunting! CS Editor’s note: Brittany Boddington is a Los Angeles-based hunter, journalist and adventurer. For more, go to brittanyboddington. com or facebook.com/brittanyboddington. Legendary Arm Works is developing a new rifle, the lightweight Bobcat that’s perfect for tight areas and is an easier gun for kids and smallerframed hunters to handle. (LEGENDARY ARM WORKS)
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most of those places has been difďŹ cult, so cutts are the least prevalent trout on the East Side, but there are enough of them to have them on the radar. Crowley Lake has a solid population of Lahontan cutthroat that grow to respectable sizes, and naturally, they can also be caught in tributaries of the lake like McGee Creek and the Owens River. Doug Rodricks guides for Sierra Drifters Guide Service (760-9354250; sierradrifters.com) and says July through September are the best months to target them on Crowley with indicator/nymph rigs with midges, Pheasant Tails or Bird Nests. Standard trout lures will get them, too, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a matter of being in the right spot at the right time. Whether they are caught in Crowley or one of the tribs, these are awesome-looking ďŹ sh that can be predominantly red and look like something out of some ďŹ&#x201A;y-ďŹ shing show in Montana. Lake McLeod, which is a small backcountry lake reached via an easy half-mile hike out of Horseshoe Lake in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, also holds cutts. It actually holds nothing but cutts, and while they are much smaller â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 14-incher should make you feel pretty good â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are pretty easy to catch. Barbless artiďŹ cials are required in this 100-percent catchand-release environment that is very popular with ďŹ&#x201A;oat tubers since itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a relatively easy backcountry lake to schlep a tube over. Whether you are chucking lures or ďŹ&#x201A;ies, working the shelf that orbits most of the lake (easy to ďŹ nd because you can see where the water changes from green to a darker blue) is the way to go. Most of these ďŹ sh are going to be in the 8- to 10-inch range. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something different and you can add a bonus ďŹ sh for the even rarer ďŹ ve-ďŹ sh Sierra Grand Slam. McLeod (pronounced â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;McLoudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) cutts are lighter in color, kind of a silver to a white belly with far fewer spots than a rainbow, making them very unique. CS
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