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Sportsman

California Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 8 • Issue 9 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Brittany Boddington LEAD WRITER Tim E. Hovey CONTRIBUTORS Bill Adelman, Steve Carson, Mark Fong, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Bill Schaefer, Mike Stevens SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Grifﬁn, Steve Joseph, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells DESIGNERS Sam Rockwell, Liz Weickum PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Kelly Baker

DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines DIGITAL ASSISTANT Samantha Morstan OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTING Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@calsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email ccocoles@media-inc.com Twitter @CalSportsMan Facebook.com/californiasportsmanmagazine

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ON THE COVER After seeing the world as an up-and-coming pro surfer, San Clemente’s resident Todd Kline has carved a niche as a successful co-angler on the FLW Tour. He’s also guiding bass trips for his new service at toddklineﬁshing.com. (TODD KLINE) 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

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 9

FEATURES 16

HIS BIG BREAKS Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. before moving to Southern California, Todd Kline had two major passions: surfing and bass fishing. He saw the world through surfing qualifying tournaments as far away as Japan – he’s now a commentator for the World Surf League – but also found a way to make fishing a huge part of his life as a successful co-angler on the FLW Tour.

TAKE IT FOR A TEST SPIN Phooey about all those expensive, high-tech lures. Tie on an old-school Rooster Tail and let it do what it’s done for anglers for many moons: catch fish. Our Field to Fire columnist Scott Haugen has utilized myriad fishing presentations, but he’s never without one of these iconic spinners in his tackle box. Tiffany Haugen shares a flaky phyllo dough fish dish.

A purple plastic worm landed then college student Tim Hovey a fat bass ﬁshing with one of his professors at a topsecret private pond. Years later, Hovey’s wife, Cheryl, and their daughters Alyssa and Jessica relied on the color purple again with a similar worm. Would it result in a day’s worth of largemouth ﬁshing again at another secluded body of water?

HALIBUT HEAVEN San Francisco Bay isn’t quite Alaska, famous for massive barndoor halibut. But California halibut are feisty ﬁghters – your catch could go anywhere from the 22inch minimum keeper to a 40-pounder – and provide tasty table fare. Take a cruise on the bay with Bill Adelman and then hit the water yourself this summer. (ARGO SPORTFISHING)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE / DEPARTMENTS 31 41 71 103 113 115 119

Book preview: Dad, daughters and hunting Topwater bass techniques Collins Lake summer preview Surface irons to slam salty targets Tuna biting already Southland largemouth on the prowl Big Sky State’s bigger trout

13 35 35 37 101 129

The Editor’s Note Protecting Wild California: A lifeline for some salmon Outdoor calendar Daiwa/Browning photo contest winners Rig of the month: Catch more bottomﬁsh Urban Huntress: Call Texas turkeys

PURPLE WITH PURPOSE

THE TROUT TRAIL Mike Stevens loves road trips, especially when the clicks on the odometer lead to pristine trout creeks and lakes in the spectacular Eastern Sierras. Ride along as Stevens stops for thick milkshakes and mouthwatering barbecue with a side of historical sites and, ultimately, a trout angler’s paradise at the destination.

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 JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE

Providing the highest quality LED lighting prices. g g for the most affordable p

Todd Kline (left) never got any fancy coaching or had a big support staff growing up, but he’s managed to not only ﬁsh but also surf on a professional level. (COLIN MOORE/FLW TOUR)

poiler alert: I’m not the best public speaker and I admit to stuttering at times since I was a kid. But I’m proud of myself most of all for the 25-plus years I’ve been a reporter or editor of some kind that I’ve made it through hundreds of interviews, some with mainstream pro athletes and coaches or celebrities, others with hometown high school football players and local fishing guides. I talked for about an hour with our cover story subject, Southern California bass angler Todd Kline. And one of the moments that stood out to me was how he evolved, not just these days as a successful co-angler on the FLW Tour, but in his earlier years when he traveled the world as a professional surfer. And it was the way he eventually excelled as a surfer that struck a chord with me. “I pretty much was self-taught. Nowadays people have coaches for surfing and their parents are always pushing them,” Kline said. “My parents separated pretty early and I raised myself in a lot of ways. I created that passion. No one drove me; I wanted to make it happen. And I kind of learned on the fly.” I’ve still had my issues when it comes to conducting interviews, but I’ve figured it out in a sense and gotten by with I can and haven’t been able to control. I’ll probably always have moments where I’ll stammer getting a question out, and maybe I should thank all of you who I’ve chatted with for being patient with me. But let’s give the last word to Kline when he talked about surfers or anglers who never seem to be able to put it together when it matters. “We see in mainstream sports or others, people who have talent on a whole another level than others, but for whatever reason they can’t crack it,” he told me. “A lot of us come from challenging upbringings, and you can either blame it on that or rise above it, learn and make yourself better. And if you don’t have that drive, no matter what you’re doing, you’re not going to be as successful as you could.”– Chris Cocoles

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SURFING AND BASS FISHING USA TODD KLINE ON HANGING LOOSE AND CATCHING WALL HANGERS

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Growing up in Florida, Todd Kline’s two biggest passions included surﬁng and bass ﬁshing. After giving the former a try on the professional level, he’s doing the latter as a co-angler on the FLW Tour. (KIRSTIN SCHOLTZ/COLIN MOORE/FLW)

MIXED BAG By Chris Cocoles

odd Kline came west to become a champion surfer, and bass fishing never seemed to be in the cards. At least until he decided to play cards. “I’d see bass boats going up to reservoirs when I was actually going to the casino on the Indian reservation, probably Barona (near San Diego),” says Kline, who has been both a surfer and an angler at the professional level. Perhaps next he’ll play in the main event at the World Series of Poker, but he’s made a living doing what drove him in his younger days in Florida before eventually relocating to Southern California. “I had (bass anglers) tell me, ‘I’m going here or there,’ and I’m almost laughing about it and saying, ‘OK, cool; have fun,” the now successful FLW co-angler based out of San Clemente – located along the Orange County coast – says with a laugh. “But then when I did some research I realized that the bass fishing was actually great out here.” After seeing the world as a surfing pro – he still racks up the frequent-flier miles as a commentator for the World Surf League – Kline is a four-time bass tournament winner on the FLW’s Costa Series Western tour, where he’s earned about $125,000 in prize money fishing tournaments with the established professionals, though co-anglers who win tournaments can make a large purse. So, yeah – one week he might be interviewing some of the world’s elite surfers in Perth, Australia, and fishing a big tournament at Clear Lake the next – it’s good to be Todd Kline, who shared a little bit about hanging 10 and landing 10-pound largies.

Chris Cocoles You have done a little of everything you’re passionate about. Are you kind of living the dream? Todd Kline I think about it all the time, how fortunate I am. I don’t think anyone’s getting rich doing it. But I see a lot of guys who might be wealthy ﬁnancially but they’re not happy. And I’d rather have the happiness.

CC Let’s go back to your younger days in Florida and how you evolved into who you are now.

TK I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and where I spent the most time in my childhood and my teenage years was a little bit inland in Davie-Plantation. And I did a lot of bass ﬁshing out there on the golf courses and canals and ponds. But I also did a lot of snook and tarpon ﬁshing because where I actually lived on the water in Plantation was brackish and there was a pumphouse and dam where the freshwater met the brackish. And when those pumps would open up due to rain, the snook would just go ballistic.

CC I know that some of Florida’s bass ﬁshing can be epic. Did you have convenient access to it? TK Where I grew up we mainly ﬁshed at a lake called Sawgrass and Holiday Park, which is part of the Everglades. We went out on boats a lot out there, but as I started getting older we started doing more trips out to (Lake) Okeechobee. But when calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

MIXED BAG I lived back there I just fished, and I think that’s what most people do; they grab their tackle box and grab a rod and if they catch fish, they catch fish; if they don’t, they don’t. But when I moved out here (to California) it was for surfing. And I didn’t know you could bass fish because freshwater’s not prevalent. But once I had some friends out here take me under their wings that I really started learning about fishing and understanding why that fish bit and why are they eating shad versus crawdads and those types of things.

Kline cut his bass teeth back home near Fort Lauderdale and throughout Florida’s famous ﬁsheries, but after he moved to California he never expected he’d have the opportunity to catch big bass in the Golden State. (TODD KLINE)

CC As a kid in Florida, you were in an area where fishing opportunities are endless, but what or who influenced you to love it so much? TK For me, my father started it initially, but I’d say 90 percent of the time that I fished in Florida I didn’t care if I went by myself or if a friend wanted to go. Sometimes I’d even go fish mullet and give them to some of the (locals). I just wanted to fish and I loved being on the water and getting outdoors. As a kid I wanted to be a park ranger.

Kline (left) lands a bass during an FLW tournament, where he’s won four events and was co-angler of the year in both 2013 and 2014. (COLIN MOORE/FLW)

CC What are some of your favorite early ﬁshing memories?

TK I’ve got a ton of them. Some of the things that really stand out at a young age, I was probably 8 years old and I would walk to the dam near my house. There was an old man ﬁshing live bluegill and just smashing big snook. Another time I was at Lake Okeechobee with my mom staying at a friend’s house. I was walking the bank and I’d caught a wild shiner on bread and it had died. I was almost trolling it from the bank and remember this big wake coming up behind it and I ended up catching about a 6-pound bass. I was with my dad at Okeechobee and ended up hooking a big one that got hung up on the tules and I started crying [laughs].

CC I’m curious about the surﬁng culture in Florida. The East

the cities of Palm Bay and Melbourne). I used to surf up there all the time and stay at friends’ houses. I used to spend a lot of time staying with Kelly Slater, the 11-time world champ. It’s very challenging to be a surfer there and what I think was positive was that you grew up on extremely small surf. When you surfed waves that small it made you a very good small-wave surfer. And it also makes you really read a wave where you have to calculate your turn properly. But once you were ready for a bigger wave, it was much easier. A lot of times when we would go to compete, whether it be anyone in the world, a lot of guys would already mentally lose. At the end of the day it’s just like a ﬁshing tournament where the conditions are the same for everybody. If you mentally have your head in the game, you have a great chance of winning it. But if you want to sit back and complain and look at all the things that aren’t perfect, you’re probably not going to do so well.

Coast isn’t known for having big waves like here and in places like Hawaii. TK Florida as a whole is very inconsistent for surf. From Palm Beach south it gets blocked by the Bahamas, so you miss a lot of it. The epicenter for surﬁng is Brevard County and that’s Sebastian (Inlet State Park) north (toward the Indian River and

CC On the subject of surfing, is there a connection of any kind between a surfer reading a wave and a bass angler reading water that looks like it might hold bass? TK I think for me, the parallels that I’ve really seen between fishing and surfing: From the competition side, to me it’s the

CC When did you discover surfing among all this fishing? TK Surfing came into my life a little later when I was about 13. And I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I gained a pretty quick success at it so it drove me to be better and better. It made me want to pursue it. And fishing and surfing did get similar in the sense that you don’t need anybody else; it’s just you, the environment and leaving the chaotic world behind. That’s what you do when you go surfing or fishing. That’s what I think the majority of people intend to do.

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MIXED BAG mental side. I see so many guys in tournaments – similar to what I’ve seen in surfing – we’re out there practicing in a presurf leading up to a competition and there’s somebody who’s just on another level. Their equipment looks great, they seem to really be in-tune with the waves that are on at that time, and as soon as they put their jerseys on, something changes mentally. Now they look like a completely different person. And you see that in a lot of sports. And at the end of the day, it’s between the ears. For whatever reason, we see guys in competitive fishing who got their photos on Facebook and

background in surfing and he said, “If you really want to try and make a living at this, you need to move out of South Florida because there’s only so far you can go down here.” He said, “Why don’t you come out and live with me in Southern California? You’ll be traveling anyway so I’ll charge you next to nothing for a room. Leave your stuff and you’ll have a hub to come and go from.” California is the epicenter for media for surfing and it’s a good base to come and go. He said I should come and give it a shot. Sure enough, I loaded up my little Toyota Tercel and he was driving his Forerunner out. So we loaded up Celebrating after a successful FLW tournament. (CURTIS NIEDERMIER/FLW)

other social media and they’re catching 6-pounders, 8-pounders. But as soon as that tournament starts, you look through the list expecting to see them at the top and see that they only caught three fish. What happened? If you see this from these individuals time after time, you think, “Hey, this guy’s a great fisherman but as soon as they call for boat 32, and the guy takes off, all of a sudden his mind starts racing; “I need to go to this spot; no, I need to go to that spot. Throw the crankbait; no, throw the topwater.” And they’re done. So the point I want to make: The mental side of things when it comes to competitive fishing is very similar to fishing or any other sport or even work, for that matter. If you don’t have confidence and didn’t prepare properly, and you don’t believe in yourself up until the final cast, you’re probably not going to be very successful.

both cars and carpooled across (the country). Fast forward 23 years now and I’ve never looked back.

CC How tough was it for you to get into the pro surﬁng circuit? TK I had a handful of sponsors at the time, and one of them

TK I think I was about 20 or 21 when I got out here. I had a good

was Matt Kechele’s Surfboards, which was based in Brevard County. He was a good friend of mine and I used to stay in his house often. He had a distributor in Japan for his surfboards and I started going to Japan and promoting his surfboards. Back then (Japan) only had a domestic tour. You only could compete over there if you were Japanese. By the time I moved to California, they had stops there for not the world tour but the qualifying series. It opened up to anybody, so I immediately started competing in those. I think the ﬁrst year I won three contests. I went from a guy who was just getting some editorial (coverage) to “this guy is the next Kelly Slater.” It wasn’t true, but that’s the picture that they painted. So it was great timing and I was able to get to a whole new level with sponsors. Things fell into place for me.

friend who I grew up with in Fort Lauderdale and moved out to San Diego for college at San Diego State. He came home one Christmas and we were catching up. He knew about my

CC Did you surf most of the time in Japan? TK They would hold the competitions as close as they could to

CC Tell me about moving to California to chase the waves as a surfer at such a young age.

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MIXED BAG major cities. One of the areas was a beach called Chiba, which is straight out from Tokyo. I’ve been to Japan I think 20 times and I’d stay up to ﬁve weeks in length. I’ve surfed everywhere from Okinawa, which is the furthest south, all the way to the very north, which is their Alaska, on Hokkaido (Island) in Hakodate. When I ﬁrst started going over, people would ask me the same questions because you don’t know of Japan having good surf. August and September they get a lot of rain and

“I’m living the dream life,” says Kline, with his mom and son after a day of ﬁshing at El Capitan Reservoir near San Diego. (TODD KLINE)

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when it does, it blows out the river mouths and they get these perfect cobblestone points in front of these river mouths. And right on the tail end of it is the peak of typhoon season. You get these typhoons going past Japan and they send in these swells. It gets literally world-class. But the contests were held in smaller surf, and again, going back to my background in Florida, I was able to capitalize on those conditions because for a lot of the guys who come in from overseas who would say, “Why are we competing in this?” And I would say, “Cool, there’s an opportunity for me to take this.”

CC With all that you’ve done at an advanced level, have the competitive juices always flown for you, whether it’s been on a board or a bass boat? TK At the end of the day, I’ve always done it for fun, but if I’m entering a contest or a tournament, I’m entering because I want to win and compete against the best guys. Obviously the money’s awesome and helps pay the bills. But when you know you’ve beaten a field of 150 anglers or beat 125 of some of the world’s best surfers, that’s why you do it. That was one thing that was tough (eventually giving up surfing at around 25). You get to a certain age and with your body you know what you still want to do, but you just can’t physically do it at the level you want. It’s a bummer when you have to slowly step away from that. You always want to compete. When I transitioned from surfing I used to play a lot of cards. Let’s face it, it

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MIXED BAG was gambling – but what I found in the tournament world I was still competing.

CC How did your post-surfing career evolve? TK One of my first sponsors as a kid was Quiksilver, and I stayed with them until I was about 21 and I had moved out here so I went with a different company. And when that ended, I went back knocking on the door at Quiksilver. And they said, “We’re not going to bring you on as a 100-percent surfer, but we’ll bring you on as a surfer part-time and work you into a marketing position and build a future here.” I said, “Sign me up.” At the time, they were the Nike of the surf world and I wasn’t going to miss that opportunity. Over a 16-year run I worked my way up to one of the marketing directors. Eventually I got caught up in the corporate downsizing but they gave me a great package, which gave me time to sit back and realize what I wanted to do. And then I did my first FLW tournament and in the first year I was able to win angler of the year (in 2013). And this was something that I really wanted to do. I thought, “I can’t make a living at it necessarily right now, but I how do I do this, pay the bills and feed the family? But the timing couldn’t be any better because at the time, the Association of Surfing Professionals changed hands to a new group and renamed it the World Surf League. They brought in a unified broadcast team for the world tour events. And I was able to join that team and that has been the nucleus of my income, traveling the world

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to the tour events as well as some of the qualifying series. And I’ve been able to work with them on a schedule to give me the opportunity to ﬁsh the FLW events. And it’s come full circle. I’m living the dream life.

CC How much do you enjoy talking about surfing now? TK I love it. I still get to travel to some amazing places. I just got to go to Western Australia near Perth, and (this month) I get to go to Fiji and that’s one of, if not my favorite place, to go in the world. There’s a small island called Tavarua, where the people are amazing. I’ve been going there for years, and I won’t see those people for a year and as I get off the boat with 50 other people, they’ll say, “Hi, Todd!” It’s so cool that they’re on the other side of the world and they still know my name. I love the job; I’m still passionate about surfing and how it’s continuing to evolve.

CC Were you always thinking about fishing while surfing consumed you? TK In Florida I fished a lot more than I surfed, partly because it was so accessible there. Here, it wasn’t as accessible. When I traveled around the world, I brought along a fishing pole. I used to bass fish in Japan. When I got back here, I didn’t really get into (bass fishing) until 10 years after I moved to California when I stumbled across a little pond called Laguna Niguel with a buddy. We crushed the bass, and six months later I

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MIXED BAG bought a bass boat, and in another six months I started doing team tournaments. And I haven’t looked back since.

CC And you can thank the trips to the casino for that. TK (El Capitan Reservoir) is right around the corner from Barona (in Lakeside), and I’d see a beautiful bass boat and I would ask, “Where are you going bass fishing?” I was almost shocked to see a boat. But I bought a lot of books and researched online – it was about the time the Internet was just kicking in – that highlighted all the different fisheries in California. You read about the bass in the teens and all the opportunities to catch giant fish. I was like, “Whoa, this is right here? This is a great place to fish.” And it’s not Florida but at times it can even be better than Florida. So that’s when I started to dive into it.

CC What’s the biggest bass you’ve ever caught in California and how about in tournaments?

TK I actually caught two that were exactly the same – they were both (12 pounds, 6 ounces). The first one I caught early after the process started. I was fishing Lake Mission Viejo out of a rental boat and I had my wife with me. I was dropshotting a Roboworm in probably 25 feet of water. I got bit and set the hook and couldn’t move it. My wife was sitting back in the sun and I said, “Honey, I think I got a giant one.” As it was coming up you could see this huge fish. I had never seen a bass that

A FAVORITE IN HIS TACKLE BOX One of Todd Kline’s favorite bass weapons is a topwater lure, jerkbait or crankbait from Ima, a Japanese-inspired company based in Temecula. Kline’s experiences fishing at Temecula’s Vail Lake with his friend Art Hill, who regularly threw Ima products at hungry bass, introduced him to the brand. “A lot of times, if I was using a particular bait and wasn’t getting bit, he was using an Ima bait and I’d say, ‘Let me get one of those.’ It got to the point where they were baits that, for me, were sought after,” Kline says. “And once I got into the FLW Tour, I was going to reach out and see if I could partner up with them.” “We were able to set something up that worked for both parties, and this is my third year now. It’s been a good relationship.” Kline thinks his time in Japan surfing and bass fishing also makes this a good fit for him to represent among his sponsors. “I think they pay a lot of attention to detail and I think that translates to the baits that they make,” he says. “Everything from the paint jobs, the hooks, weighting for casting or the bills that they put on and make them run, all of that goes into the making of a perfect bait. Sure, they don’t work every day. But they do seem to rise to the occasion more than the other manufacturers that make a crankbait or jerkbait. (Ima) has something more that make those fish react to them.” CC

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MIXED BAG big. Once it broke the surface I said, “Oh my gosh.” Probably four years later I was fishing Vail Lake (Temecula) with a friend, Art Hill, and we were throwing jigs. I got bit and swung and caught a fish just under 10; we were high-fiving and put it in the livewell and we were going to take pictures. I retied to make sure my knot was still good and fired right back on the spot. I felt the same bite and set the hook. I told Art, “I think this one was bigger,” and it was also 12-6. I had one fish over 8 pounds at, of all places, Lake Havasu on the final day of an FLW (event). And last year I got one almost 8 in the Delta. Those are my two biggest in tournaments.

“You read about the bass in the teens and all the opportunities to catch giant fish. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is right here? This is a great place to fish,’” Kline says of California’s bass fishing like Clear Lake, where he pried these beauties out of. (TODD KLINE)

CC If that wasn’t enough, you’re guiding now (toddklineﬁshing.com). Where do you take your clients out now that you’re the one who’s the California bass ﬁshing guru? TK I just started doing it this year, but it’s mainly Lake Perris and El Cap. For me, the lake I know most – and unfortunately it’s closed – is Diamond Valley. That’s going to be reopening and I’m super excited for that opportunity. I can’t wait for (San Diego’s San Vicente) to reopen.

CC What’s the FLW experience been like? TK This is my fourth year and it’s been fun on a lot of levels. I’m learning a ton, I’ve had success and I’ve met great people. One of the cool things is I’ve literally had pros either call me or pull me aside and ask me questions about how I’ve had that

28 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

success in such a small span. They’ve (asked about) the mental capacity in competing. They want to pick your brain. To me, that’s rewarding. CS Editor’s note: For more on Todd Kline and his guide service, go to his website (toddklinefishing.com) and follow at instagram.com/ toddokrine.

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

30 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

MIXED BAG Alyssa Hovey (left) was “born a hunter,” her dad Tim says. It took younger sister Jessica a little longer to take up the sport, but she now enjoys it too. (TIM E. HOVEY)

GETTING OUT WITH DAD SHARING THE LOVE OF THE OUTDOORS WITH DAUGHTERS Editor’s note: Our senior writer Tim Hovey, a fisheries biologist by trade, loves all things outdoors. He and his wife, Cheryl, raised their daughters Alyssa and Jessica to also embrace what nature has to offer. Through hunting and fishing, the Hovey girls have become accomplished sportswomen. Tim Hovey shares stories of he and his daughters’ passion for the outdoors regularly in California Sportsman, and he’s compiled many of those stories in his new book, Raised Behind The Trigger. It’s a perfect Father’s Day gift for the outdoors patriarch in your life. The following is a preview: By Tim E. Hovey

eginning in 2007, I started teaching my daughters Alyssa and Jessica how to target shoot. We started simple and kept each outing fun and interactive. Having taught myself the ins and outs of shooting and ultimately hunting, I figured I could guide them through the specifics

of the shooting sports. During this journey, we encountered all sorts of issues that tested our dedication. Fear, apprehension and reluctance were all common emotions experienced during that first shooting season, but we persevered as a family and moved forward. We celebrated small victories, focusing on the successes and using the failures to motivate us. As the training calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

MIXED BAG The author and his daughters have bonded through their hunting and ﬁshing trips, which he chronicles in his new book, Raised Behind The Trigger. (TIM E. HOVEY)

progressed and the girls got better, they began to show an interest in hunting. Each daughter came through this process in entirely different ways. Alyssa was ready to hunt from day one, and much like me, I believe she was born a hunter. Jessica’s approach was cautious and apprehensive. She didn’t become fully interested in the outdoors until about the age of 10. Despite their unique approaches to this process, once they both passed their hunter’s safety course and acquired their hunting licenses, there was no stopping them. Putting all they’ve learned to use, they began bringing home wild game of their own. Along the way I taught them the importance of resource management, hunter ethics and to respect all forms of wildlife. As our family shooting tradition continued, we built memories that will last a lifetime and developed an understanding of the importance of our 32 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

hunting heritage. This book documents the eight-year journey we took to get Alyssa and Jessica from toddlers to hunters. Along with exciting stories of their first hunts, the guiding text covers topics like safety gear, starter rifles, stepping up in caliber, shotguns for youngsters, eye dominance issues, muzzle management, handgun safety, hunter ethics, offhand shooting and much more. Raised Behind the Trigger describes our journey as I lead my daughters down the hunter’s path. Somewhere along the way, Alyssa and Jessica transformed from curious little girls into strong, compassionate young women who shoot straight and understand the value of a hunter’s role. CS Editor’s note: To purchase Tim’s book, visit raisedbehindthetrigger .com or contact the author at timhovey4197@sbcglobal.net.

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

34 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

PROTECTING

WILD CALIFORNIA A LIFELINE FOR SALMON IS WELCOMED By Chris Cocoles

inally, some good news for salmon – at least some of them. California’s drought, which began making steps toward a full recovery in a wet rainy season, critically damaged salmon runs, including last year’s dreadful 3-percent survival rate for 2015 juveniles making the journey from the Sacramento River out to sea. In turn, projections for this season’s run are for barely 300,000 fish, half of the previous year, prompting probable restrictions for sport anglers this summer and fall. Amidst the doom-and-gloom, here are two stories providing some hope: In May, 160,000 fingerling kings were transported from the Mokelumne Fish Hatchery near Camanche Reservoir and desposited into Half Moon Bay’s Pillar Point, part of a release of a half-million salmon in May. This is the fifth year that the local Coastside Fishing Club has taken part in releasing baby salmon into the Pacific, but with the state’s salmon fisheries taking such a beating, the program is even more vital to this crisis.

“These fish survive at much greater rates than other release methods,” said Coastside chairman Marc Gorelnik told the San Francisco Chronicle. “More of them survive because they don’t have to navigate the Delta and San Francisco Bay. Also it takes them a bit longer to home in on fresh water, so they spend more time in the ocean. We started this project to make up for the tremendous loss of salmon as they try unsuccessfully to migrate from hatcheries down to the ocean.” For some fish, there is also an opportunity for survival. Ironically, the heavy rain trapped about 200 juvenile and adult springer and winter-run kings, plus steelhead and sturgeon – among other species – in Sacramento River flood-control structures at Fremont (near Knights Landing) and Tisdale Weirs (Sutter County). A force of 17 California Department of Fish and Wildlife staff members used a variety of nets and other devices to collect the fish and release them into the main channel of the Sac. “We know these areas are prime stranding sites, so we keep them on our

JUNE 3-5 4 5 10-11 11 14-16 16 18-19

Hangman’s Bonus Derby, Convict Lake (800-992-2260) Whiskeytown Lake Team Kokanee Derby (kokaneepower.org) Mike Kise Memorial Fishing Derby, Lake Tahoe (jakestahoe.com/calendar) Trout Invitational Tournament, Crowley Lake (760-935-4301; CrowleyLakeFishCamp.com) Big Bear Lake Fishing for $50,000 Trout Tournament (bigbear.com/ things-to-do/special-events/ﬁshingfor-50k-trout-tournament) Friends of Rollo Tuna Wars, San Diego (858-350-5870 Ext. 103; rollokids.org/tuna-wars) Reopening of ocean king salmon ﬁshing north of Horse Mountain Modoc Sportsman’s and Outdoor Expo, Veteran’s Memorial Park, Alturas (modocoutdoorrecreationandtourism.org)

radar each year,” CDFW senior environmental scientist Colin Purdy said in a press release. “Rescuing state and federally listed species is a priority – particularly the adult ﬁsh, because they contribute to future generations. But all of the ﬁsh we pull out of the weir are transported back to the river for release.”

California Department of Fish and Wildlife staff netted about 200 king salmon and other species from ﬂood-control structures off the Sacramento River. (CDFW)

(Check out a photo gallery of the release at cdfgnews.wordpress. com/2016/05/04/cdfw-rescue-effortssave-listed-salmon-steelhead-and-sturgeon.) It’s a long road back to healthy numbers for salmon, but to have a few sprinkles of spring optimism after a winter downpour can be embraced. CS

20-21

Fred Hall Father’s Day Fishing Tournament, Mammoth Lakes Basin (760-934-3416) 25 Bridgeport Trout Tournament, Bridgeport Reservoir and East Walker River (760-932-7525; BridgeportFishEnhancement.com) 25 Don Pedro Reservoir Team Kokanee Tournament (kokaneepower.org) 28-7/5 Mono Village Fourth of July Fishing Derby, Upper Twin Lakes (760-932-7071; MonoVillage.com)

JULY 1-31 2 16 25 29

How Big is Big Fishing Derby, West Walker River (NorthernMonoChamber.com) Statewide free ﬁshing day Sacramento River king salmon season projected opener Kids Fishing Festival, Snowcreek Resort at Mammoth Lakes (KidsFishFest.com) Bridgeport Fish Fest, Twin Lakes (MonoVillage.com)

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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36 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

PHOTO CONTEST

WINNERS!

Rusty Fenrich’s great shot of son Kelton and his ﬁrst gobbler is our monthly Browning hunting photo contest winner. It scores the hunter a Browning hat!

David Embertson is this issue’s monthly Daiwa Photo Contest winner, thanks to the photo he sent of Danielle Helliar and her very nice Chinook, caught last fall on eggs under a bobber. It wins him 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 | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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NORCAL A popper ﬁshed along the surface brought in this nice Northern California bass. Many of the region’s lake levels have steadily improved after a wet winter, and now is the time to have a blast casting for large- and smallmouths. (MARK FONG)

CHOOSE YOUR TOPPINGS

AT TOP FISHERIES LIKE SHASTA, OROVILLE, FOLSOM AND CLEAR LAKES, BASS CAN BE SLAMMED WITH TOPWATER OFFERINGS By Mark Fong

opwater time is here. If you love bass ﬁshing, it is hard to imagine anything more exciting than the experience of a giant bass smashing your topwater.

With many of our lakes at or near full pool for the first time since the start of the drought, the upcoming months are shaping up to be an excellent season for catching bass on top. Once the fish have finished with their annual spawning duties, they will be shifting their calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL Points on lakes are prime ambush structure that you can ﬁnd bass in. (MARK FONG)

Here’s a quartet or proven topwater baits bass anglers swear by: (from top) a walking bait, popper, frog and buzz bait. (MARK FONG) 42 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

attention to recovery and replenishing their reserves. Coupled with rising water temperatures, the fish will be hungry and aggressive. Bass enthusiasts in and around the Sacramento Valley are blessed to have so many outstanding bass fisheries within driving distance, and all of them offer great topwater action. To the north, Shasta and Oroville are loaded with aggressive spotted bass. In the metropolitan Sacramento area, Folsom Lake offers the unique opportunity to catch a spot, a smallmouth or a largemouth on any given cast. And, of course, the Delta and Clear Lake are two of the finest fisheries in the entire country. For those of you who prefer to do your fishing from the bank, float tube or kay-

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL ak, don’t despair. The ponds, creeks, rivers and smaller lakes that dot the valley offer excellent opportunities – many of them underutilized, underrated and overﬂowing with bass. Keeping in mind a few key points can set the stage for a long season of topwater success.

BIG, BAD BASS As highly skilled predators, bass utilize every advantage when hunting their prey. Low light clearly favors the hunter, making dawn and dusk prime times for ﬁshing topwater. Overcast or rain days can be good as well. Throw in a breeze to ripple the surface and break up the lure’s silhouette and you have the makings for a good day. On some occasions, bass will bite surface baits all day long. Bass are unpredictable; just when you think you have them pegged, they will surprise you like when they seemingly appear from out of nowhere, churning the surface to a froth as they corral and feast upon a school of shad. Such a frenzy can signal an epic topwater smackfest. But be prepared and at the ready both mentally and with tackle in hand, as schooling ﬁsh can vanish as quickly as they appeared.

HAVE A STRUCTURED APPROACH When searching for ﬁsh, remember that bass have an inherent proclivity to relate to structural objects. Whether it’s aquatic vegetation, timber or man-made structural elements, bass not only ﬁnd security in being within their proximity but also utilizing them to ambush their forage. There are a boatload of different topwater baits on the

A smallmouth gobbled this walking bait. Its side-to-side, back-andforth action can pull ﬁsh from long distances. (MARK FONG)

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL

Throwing out a popper bait on the surface might just reward you with a nice bass gobbling it up. Now is the time to break out your topwater baits. (MARK FONG)

market, but you don’t need a tackle box full of different lures to be successful. With a handful of key bait styles, you can efﬁciently cover all of your basic topwater needs. A true must-have offering is a walk-the-dog-style stick

46 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

bait. Its side-to-side, back-and-forth action can pull fish from long distances. It is the perfect search bait for fishing open water and for covering large expanses of water. And best of all, it is just plain fun to fish.

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL If the fish are unresponsive to a walking bait, the more subtle action of a popper can be the right choice. A popper is a versatile topwater bait and works especially well around isolated cover when worked in a stop-and-go fashion. Most strikes will occur on the pause while the bait is at rest. For covering water when bass are in and around heavy cover like flooded bushes and grass beds, a buzzbait is hard to beat. Easy to fish, the buzzbait does not require any rod manipulation; just crank and wind. Reminiscent of an eggbeater, the noisy sputtering action and bubble trail created by the buzzbait’s rotating blade is known for its ability to generate big bites. When bass frequent heavy weed mats the primary topwater option is a hollow-body frog. Frogs are weedless, which allows them to be utilized in areas that would be otherwise unfishable. “Froggin’ the cheese” is one of the most addictive forms of fishing. Not only are the strikes visual and heart pounding, the battle to extract your prize from the mat can add to the experience. Topwater time is here. The action will last all the way until the chill of late fall takes hold. CS

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Northern California angler Ian Rigler shows off a hefty bass. Larger lakes like Shasta, Oroville and Clear support top-notch bass ﬁsheries among the best in California, if not nationally. (MARK FONG)

Reputations Speaks For Itself

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

50 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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NORCAL

FROM FIELD ...

NEW SPIN ON CLASSIC LURE

FIELD TESTING SHOWS ROOSTER TAIL MINNOW CATCHES MULTIPLE SPECIES

By Scott Haugen

dropped my rod tip toward the river and stripped out some line. I watched as my spinner quickly sank, sunlight bouncing off its bright, chrome body. Then I pulled the rod from side to side, eager to see the action of the blade. It took little speed to set the blade in motion, and soon an impressive swath of light reflected to the sides of the spinner. As I prepared to pull the spinner from the water and make my first cast with it, a smallmouth bass shot out from behind a rock and followed the lure. I kept the spinner in the water, now drawing figure eights with it, like I’d done before to entice pike and coho salmon to bite. Soon more smallmouth followed it – then one hit. The spinner I was using for the first time was the new Rooster Tail Minnow. By day’s end, I’d catch and release over 50 smallmouth, most having fallen to the Rooster Tail. The biggest smallie of the day was caught on this spinner, and just like that, I was eager to try this presentation elsewhere.

A GENERATIONAL LURE The original Rooster Tail was crafted in the late 1940s and has established itself as one of the best all-around fish-catching spinners ever. I’ve caught a lot of fish in a lot of places over the years on that lure, and so after a summer and fall of fishing the Rooster Tail Minnow, I was even more impressed with the new product . On my first smallmouth fishing experience with this spinner, river conditions were crystal clear. The same was true during summer fishing trips for rainbow trout in rivers, creeks, lakes and ponds. During these clear-water fishing trips, I was impressed by the interest fish showed in the highly reflective spinner. What impressed me more was how long the fish would follow the spinner and then attack it. The details of the molded body – combined with the large eye – make for a very realistic, enticing simulation of a baitfish. Most of the time, when fish follow a spinner for any great distance, they pull away; it’s not so with the Rooster Tail Minnow. After following the lure and studying its details, fish hit this spinner more often than others I fished, including the original Rooster Tail.

CAUGHT ON FILM Underwater video camera work helped me study the reaction of ﬁsh when they see this lure. With the Rooster Tail Minnow’s intricate body details,

there’s no doubt The first time the author it was specifiused the new Rooster cally designed Tail Minnow, he landed and released over 30 to fish best in smallmouth bass on it clear water. But in less than two hours. as summer con(SCOTT HAUGEN) ditions led to algae blooms and moss growth, I was eager to try the new spinner in murkier environments. The very first cast I made into an algae-infested pond resulted in a fat crappie. The next two casts also produced fine-sized crappie. In the course of an hour, I’d land bluegill and largemouth bass on the chartreuse-colored Rooster Tail Minnow. As fall river conditions shifted from clear to turbid, I hit the water in search of rainbows and the spinner produced. Perhaps the most impressive display of effectiveness came calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL

Brought to you by:

... TO FIRE

Tiffany Haugen says using phyllo doughbased dishes is simple and perfect to use ﬁsh as the main ingredient. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

FILE THIS ONE AWAY FOR FISH By Tiffany Haugen

pring is here, and with it brings plenty of fishing opportunities. If you’re one who enjoys catching and eating panfish as much as we do, here’s a delicious recipe you’re sure to love. This recipe also works wonderfully with trout, salmon and bottomfish. Phyllo dough dates back to 11th century Middle Asia. Very difficult to make from scratch, it was not commonly used in the world until machines began producing it in the 1970s. Now phyllo – which is Greek for “leaf”– is widely available in the frozen section of most supermarkets, and this culinary gem makes even the most novice cook look like a genius. Virtually anything can be wrapped in phyllo and it’s so simple to use; the hardest part is putting the box of dough on your shopping list. Believe me, once you have baked something with phyllo, you will be hooked. PHYLLO FISH 1 pound panfish or trout fillets 1 to 2 tablespoons herb medley rub ¼ cup butter, melted Six to 10 sheets prepared phyllo dough Salt and black pepper Fillet and remove skin from fish. On a large baking sheet (fish must fit on this sheet; if it is too large, cut in half and make two phyllo “packets”), lay out one sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush spread a layer of butter over the entire surface of the sheet. Add another sheet and repeat. Use at least

54 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

five sheets; the more layers used, the thicker and flakier the “crust.” Place fish on phyllo and season with dry herb medley rub or a favorite fish seasoning. Wrap phyllo completely around the fish, tucking any edges under the fillet. Brush the top with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated, 375-degree oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until fish reaches an internal temperature of at least 135 degrees. Serve immediately. HERB MEDLEY RUB ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried oregano ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon lemon pepper ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary In a small bowl, mix all rub ingredients until crushed and combined. Or using a mortar and pestle, grind until combined. aEditor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood,, 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.

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

NORCAL last November. I fished a small lake that was shallow and muddy due to recent rains. In 18 inches of visibility, I hooked and landed a limit of five trout while standing on the bank – three on the silver/red Rooster Tail minnow, and two on the chartreuse one. Even with the low visibility, the dime-bright body and spinner blade cast a halo of light that caught the attention of fish. Not only did this light-casting property impress me, the number of species that hit the lure did, too.

NEW LURE, NEW FISH

excited about this new lure, not only for my future fishing adventures but to see how it performs for fellow anglers around the country on multiple species. As is the case with all fishing, when it comes to trying something new, give it a chance. Take your favorite standby lures but give the new stuff a chance to work before resorting to what you have confidence in. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the importance of trying new gear and thinking outside the box is key to becoming a better angler. CS Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, 300 Tips To More Salmon & Steelhead, send a check for $29.95 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit scotthaugen.com.

Even in turbid, dark waters, the author was impressed with how rainbow trout struck the new spinner in both river and lake settings. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

Having been an avid angler for 45 years, it never ceases to amaze me, the new innovations continually created to catch ﬁsh. The Rooster Tail Minnow is a ﬁne example of ingenuity. I’m

56 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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58 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

BAY AREA

THE ’BUTS ARE BITING SAN FRANCISCO BAY CONTAINS A HEALTHY POPULATION OF FEISTY HALIBUT

By Bill Adelman

ou can make quite a meal out of a good piece of California fish. There’s the flaky white meat of a striper, the allure of crappie and eggs for breakfast, mountain trout fried over an open fire, and even catfish, every once in a blue moon. Then there’s San Francisco Bay’s California halibut, with its firmer meat and a flavor all of its own and

which ranks high on the culinary scale. And they’re right in the Bay Area’s own backyard. Battling one of Alaska’s coveted 400-plus-pound barndoors won’t occur in these parts, as most ﬁsh will run from the 22-inch minimum size to 40 pounds, a whopper in our waters. But the limit is currently three ﬁsh, which includes the ever-popular number “in possession,” and they’re available year-round. The most productive time is spring through sum-

mer. When the anchovy herds enter the bay in about April, they become the primary food source. Halibut tie on the feed bag and enjoy this newfound plethora of riches.

GET ON THE WATER Most marinas on both sides of San Francisco Bay offer party boats and/ or six-packs for the unattached angler. Hundreds of private boaters join the fray on a daily basis. The marinas offering launch ramps will of-

While not the massive size of Paciﬁc halibut that are found to the north, California halibut can reach 40 pounds. (ED BIERMAN/FLICKR)

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

BAY AREA

ten dump in excess of 300 boats on a weekend. With an average depth of about 18 feet, the bay offers many shallow-water arenas for locating halibut. Hooking ﬁsh in less than 10 feet of water is a giant blast. Look towards the Berkeley and Alcatraz ﬂats, Southampton Shoal, Paradise

Some areas around San Francisco Bay where halibut anglers either ﬁsh or launch from include the “Birdcage” adjacent to San Francisco Airport in San Bruno and the 3rd Street boat launch just south of AT&T Park. (ARGO SPORTFISHING)

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BAY AREA Cay, Crissy Field, Treasure Island and the Alameda Rock Wall. When the bite is slow, private boaters seem to enjoy a better opportunity to utilize the bible system: “seek and ye shall find.” Halibut seek transition zones, shallow-to-deep drop-offs, hard-to-soft bottoms, edges to deeper water and isolated pockets. They are ambush feeders – lying in wait while allowing their meal to come to them. Food is moved by tides, currents, eddies, rocky points, bridge abutments, piers and jetties. As a primary source of information, fishfinders don’t serve well for halibut, as the fish just don’t show up that well onscreen. Due to the horrible decline in the salmon runs, along with the depletion of areas to fish for rockfish and lings, this year the halibut are being hammered. Numbers are off the charts, prompting many to suggest a switch to a two-fish limit with a 24-inch minimum. Those of us who are old enough to remember vividly recall the years of drastic reductions in halibut counts. A substantial number of fish being caught are in that 22- to 24-inch range. Even though gaffing is legal, one might consider using

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The waters off Alcatraz, the fabled fort and federal penitentiary, are ﬁshy too.(ARGO SPORTFISHING)

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

BAY AREA a net on the questionably sized ﬁsh to make sure.

TIPS FOR CATCHING A ’BUT Drifting and trolling are the best options for taking home a couple of these tasty ﬁsh. Being anchored up almost never works and puts you right in line of those 300 boats wanting to ﬁsh through your spot, which can attract some rather colorful language from those vessels. Either end of the tide or generally small tides produce best. Line up your boat to free-drift while you’re pulling a rig of choice. Have sinkers from 2 to 16 ounces available and be sure that as the depths adjust, so do you; the sinker must be just ticking the bottom. I don’t know if many still use this technique, but we’d wrap our dollar or pencil weights with silver, green or red aluminum foil, set them off of a three-way swivel at about a foot and add a 4-foot, 20-pound leader. Drop

Most halibut anglers pursue their quarry from boats, but piers, both public and private –this is the Richmond Rod and Gun Club’s – are another option. (ARGO SPORTFISHING)

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

BAY AREA it, run back about 30 feet and set the rod in a holder. When the sinker bopped a halibut, we believed it raised its nose to see what hit ’em, saw the live bait sneak by and grabbed it. At least that’s what we pictured. Hook sizes run from 2 to 2/0, depending on the size of the dead or live bait. When a halibut decides to chomp, they hardly ever grab the entire bait. When you set the hook too quickly, note the rip marks on what’s left of your bait. Allow your medium rod with a bit softer tip to load up and it will. The drag should be set ﬁrmly but not overly tight. In shallow water at around less than 10 feet, halibut put up a vicious battle, especially when close to the boat. Unless you prefer hook-and-release

Whether it’s drifting or trolling, live bait or lures, if you hook up with a California halibut, especially in shallow water, expect a vicious ﬁght. (ARGO SPORTFISHING)

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

in the water, don’t lift their head above the surface. If necessary, be prepared to slightly back off on the drag. When hooked in the deeper reaches of the bay, they’ll feel more like a bag of wet sand until they get close to the surface. Be prepared for the predictable dash for freedom and don’t try to stop it. One rigging method with dead bait is placing one hook through the lip – bottom to top – and then adding a treble stinger about two-thirds of the way back. Herring are an excellent choice because they are the ﬁrmest of baits and hold up very nicely. It’s not a good plan with live bait.

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You can also score halibut by trolling. This technique should work on slack tides or areas where the water movement is less than desirable. Heavier gear is necessary, as often the sinker size can reach well over a pound. A solid choice is braided line. Again, go with the three-way swivel with about a 2-foot dropper. Use a snap as the sinker will need adjustments according to water depth and speed. Lengthen the 40-pound leader out to 5 or 6 feet. Here you can stick with dead bait, lures or hoochies. Some anglers use an inline flasher as an added attractor. If you’re doing this but are missing the strike, check the flasher for tooth marks. It does happen. Again, leave the rod in a holder and allow the fish to catch up to the entire offering. As just a general rule, troll at 1 to 2 knots. Don’t be surprised when your ’but magically turns into a striper, as they will react to the same presentation. And they eat pretty well too. “Patience is the key; when fishing as a private boater, do what you know best and it will produce,” says Craig Hanson of Argo Sportfishing (415-361-7757; argosportfishing. com) at Fisherman’s Wharf. Is it barbecue time yet? Catch some halibut and fire up that grill. CS

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70 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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CENTRAL VALLEY

TROUT GOING DEEPER, BASS IN THE SHALLOWS A STRONG SUMMER OF FISHING IS AHEAD AT COLLINS LAKE

By Chris Cocoles

ocated just northeast of Yuba City, Collins Lake is a popular destination for anglers, given the lake’s diverse population of trout, bass and catﬁsh. We chatted with Lincoln Young of Collins Lake resort (800-286-0576; collinslake.com) to get the scoop on the summer ﬁshing prospects of this Valley gem.

Ben Wells caught these two Collins Lake trout – weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 4 pounds, 12 ounces, respectively, while trolling Rapalas. Trout will be in deeper water this June, but ﬁshing should remain strong for most of the month. (COLLINS LAKE)

Chris Cocoles How’s the water level and water temperature at the lake? Given we’ve finally had a wet winter, is Collins in pretty good shape right now? Lincoln Young Collins Lake was 100 percent full and spilling over the spillway by March 14. We are fully recovered from the four-year drought. At 1,200 feet of elevation, the lake is 100-percent rain-fed runoff, so the lake warms up quicker than the snow-fed lakes. The surface temperatures are about 70 degrees (as of late May). CC The trout fishing seems to have been pretty good in the spring. Does that usually continue into the early summer, or does the heat begin to affect the trout bite? LY The trout bite is still in full swing. The trout are beginning to go into the deeper water and will be below the 30-foot mark by early June. Although the peak of the trout season is April and May while they are in shallower waters, the trout fishing continues to be quite strong through June, just in the deeper water. Since the main channel is 120 to 140 feet deep, there is plenty of fishable water for the trout below 30 feet. Warmwater species – spot-

With lake levels back at near capacity, many of the structure and cover is back underwater and should make for some great bass ﬁshing as ﬁsh head to spawning beds. (COLLINS LAKE)

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

Vic Coutright caught this 6-pound, 4-ounce rainbow. Plenty of big ﬁsh that were planted throughout the spring can be caught this month. (COLLINS LAKE)

ted bass, crappie, sunﬁsh, catﬁsh – continue to stay strong into June and July in the more shallow and warmer waters.

CC Some big trout have been caught too. Are there still a lot of trophy ﬁsh that you’ve stocked that anglers can get into? LY Yes, we have a huge private trout-planting program. We plant the lake two to four times a week starting in February and into March, April and May each spring, and returning with fall plants from mid-October through Thanksgiving. Each week has a mixture of catchable trout 1 pound to 1½ pounds to larger trophy-sized trout (3 to 8 pounds). 74 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

This extensive trout-planting program is Northern California’s largest private stocking program for trout north of Sacramento. We stop planting in June when the surface temperatures are too warm to plant but resume it in the fall when the water cools back down. Here is a link to this year’s planting schedule: download. collinslake.com/Fish_Planting_log. pdf).

CC How much added fishing pressure will you have once the kids are all out of school? LY Not too much. We have heavy fishing pressure all spring long from anglers looking for an unusually good fishing experience. Once summer hits, some of those anglers move

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

up to the higher-elevation alpine lakes once the snow melts since it is cooler ﬁshing up there. But the families with kids replace those anglers during the summer.

CC What about the bass, catfish and other species this summer? What are the prospects for the rest of the lake? LY They look excellent. Now that the lake is at 100 percent, we now have the traditional spawning beds back underwater and there is a good growth of bushes that have been out of the water for the past three years. This brush cover will make excellent habitat for bass and crappie fry after the spawn, which will make for solid fishing for years to come. We have had spotted bass caught over 9 pounds and crappie caught over 3 pounds in recent years. Catfish stay solid all summer long into late September, mostly fishing at night.

CC Any hot trout or bass baits/lures that might be effective for anglers? LY It totally depends on the weather and time of year the anglers come up. Trolling any midsized shad minnow lures do consistently well for trout, or trolling a small flasher or Wedding Ring with a nightcrawler always does well. The bass are always on the move and bass anglers never tell the truth about their lures or fishing techniques. They have been in the shallow spawning beds (6 inches to 3 feet) on the eastside of the lake and the northern channel the past few weeks. But they will soon be moving into deeper water at 6 to 20 feet deep during the postspawn. CC Anything else of note that you want to mention about the coming weeks? LY Keep watching our weekly fishing report for the latest changes and updates on what’s working well (collinslake.com/fishing). CS Editor’s note: Like Collins Lake at facebook.com/collinslakefishing. 76 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

THE PURPLE WORM CATCHES THE BASS A FRIEND’S SECRET WEAPON SLAMS SMALL-POND LARGEMOUTH

By Tim E. Hovey

hen I was in college, my graduate advisor, Dr. Larry Allen, used to brag about the bass fishing at a private pond he had access to. He’d come into the fish lab with stories of 4- and 5-pounders and 20-fish evenings being the norm. At that time, I hadn’t done much bass fishing but did have the standard bass-catching crankbaits, spinners and spoons in my tackle box.

They hadn’t caught much, but just the mention of consistently catching larger bass had me digging them out in the hopes that I’d get an invite to the magic lake. It took several weeks of convincing, but Larry ﬁnally let me and another student tag along to his secret lake. Once there, I spent the better part of an hour casting everything I had in my tackle box without a bite. In the meantime, Larry had caught and released eight bass, the largest weighing 5 pounds. Feeling

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sorry for me, Larry walked over and showed me what he was using. The 5-inch purple worm was half the diameter of a regular bass worm. The rigged hook looked far larger than was needed, but I couldn’t argue with Larry’s success. Larry handed me two of the hooked worms and told me to cast the lure out, let it slowly sink and to watch the line. That day was my introduction to finesse fishing for bass. I ended up catching three fish that evening, one on my very first cast.

CENTRAL VALLEY

The small pond was full of bass, but it wasn’t until his “guide” for the day, a college advisor, shared a purple artificial worm with author Tim Hovey that he began catching fish. It became his go-to presentation and recently got the bite going again on a fishing trip to another small pond with his wife and daughters. (TIM E. HOVEY) calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

CENTRAL VALLEY

When the bite grew cold for the author’s ladies, wife Cheryl and daughters Alyssa (left) and Jessica, Tim rigged their rods with his old bass staple from the tackle box. (TIM E. HOVEY)

The technique was far different than any other type of freshwater fishing I had ever done, but it definitely worked. Relying on more of a freefall, the worm is tossed out and the slack line is allowed to float on the surface. Bites are detected by watching the floating line for movement. In the 20-plus years since that fishing lesson, I have fished dozens of bass lakes and caught quite a few largemouth. I still have the standard variety of bass lures in my tackle box, but my one go-to rig, and the one I always start with, is Larry’s purple sinking worm.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, I took my family out for a day of hunting and ﬁshing at a parcel of land I have access

to. The plan was to look for wild pigs in the morning and then fish a few farm ponds for bass in the afternoon. After lunch there was not much game moving, so we headed over to try our luck at fishing. My wife Cheryl and daughters Alyssa and Jessica have been fishing for years and are no strangers to throwing lures. We usually spend summers down at the beach casting for surf perch, and both Alyssa and Jessica have caught monster catfish and sizable trout in freshwater settings. At the pond, we grabbed our gear and spread out. Bass and panfish were visible in the shallows, and feeding fish occasionally broke the surface of the small body of water. I set up all the rigs with casting lures

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to test the action. Cheryl hooked up first and landed a scrappy bass. Manning the pliers and the camera, my fishing time was limited. Both Jessica and Alyssa hooked up with largemouth as well; it was pretty clear to me that the fish hadn’t seen much fishing pressure. After about an hour, the fish started getting wise and the casting lures were catching nothing but moss. I rigged up my rod with the magic purple worm and caught a nice bass on the second cast. For the next 30 minutes, the only Hovey catching fish was this guy. It didn’t take long for my family to catch on. I rerigged everyone’s rod and explained the subtle techniques of finesse fishing with the

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

CENTRAL VALLEY Alyssa sometimes now outﬁshes her dad, bringing her bragging rights and a little fun on the trash-talking scale. (TIM E. HOVEY)

purple worm. Within a few minutes everyone was casting the purple worm to the hungry bass and we all began catching fish again. Finesse fishing for bass is by far my favorite way to catch largemouth. It’s interactive and focused. Watching the line feed out as an unseen bass swims off with the worm is the reason we fish. It’s exciting and effective. The biggest bass I’ve ever caught, a bucketmouth a shade under 7 pounds, was caught using that darned purple worm.

A FEW WEEKS LATER, Alyssa and I were back on the property hunting, but I could tell she really wanted to head back to the farm pond and ﬁsh for bass. So,

Jessica with a nice largemouth caught on a worm using her dad’s slack-line technique: bites are detected by watching the ﬂoating line for movement. (TIM E. HOVEY)

82 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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CENTRAL VALLEY after a few halfhearted creek pushes without luck, we stowed the rifles, drove up to the pond and started casting. Alyssa hooked up on her first cast and she didn’t waste any time in letting me know she was first on the board. It doesn’t matter what type of fishing my family is involved in, the second we take up the rods and start casting, it turns into a competition. I feel mostly responsible for this mindset, mainly because in those early days when my daughters were just learning how to catch fish I easily outfished them. I’d let them know it in a good-natured way. Now that they have more experience and are becoming better anglers, they return the ribbing. As the afternoon unfolded, I found myself playing catch-up. Alyssa has become a pretty good angler and has inherited my fishing intensity and focus. Now that she was in the lead on this trip, she wasn’t going to let me forget it. Trailing seven bass to six, I had just made a cast when Alyssa hooked up again. Her smile was ear to ear as she landed the scrappy 2-pounder. She grabbed the bass firmly by the mouth and held it up. She then looked at it closely and started commenting on the markings on the side of the fish. She called me over to check it out and I left my lure in the water as I walked over. She held it up and pointed to the side of the bass. “Check it out, Dad, it looks like a number eight,” she said with a laugh. Ouch! I was baited, fooled and hooked by one of my own fishing jabs. To put an exclamation mark on the day, while Alyssa was ribbing me, I had unknowingly dragged my lure up on the moss near the bank. A sudden tug had me setting the hook. My excitement was short lived. The creature at the end of my line was wet and green, but it also had legs. The large bullfrog did its best to extract the worm from its face as it struggled in the shallows. After that, 84 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

It’s not the bass world’s highest-dollar lure, nor its most complex, but a simple thin purple worm rigged weedless has helped keep the fun going for decades. (TIM E. HOVEY)

Tim’s tug on the rod turned out not to be a ﬁsh but instead this hungry amphibian. (TIM E. HOVEY)

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

CENTRAL VALLEY Sometimes, all it takes for a day of enjoyment on a small pond is an old reliable presentation. (TIM E. HOVEY)

I waved the white ﬂag and declared Alyssa the winner for the day.

A WORM FINESSED IN any body of water containing bass is irresistible to a largemouth. When the standard proven techniques like crankbaits or spinnerbaits fail to produce, casting the purple worm and watching the line will almost always yield action. I also ﬁnd this technique more challenging than blindly casting and retrieving. It’s an easy technique for kids to pick up and the consis-

tent action will keep them engaged and interested. When I first started teaching my daughters how to fish, I never imagined they’d stick with it and enjoy it half as much as I do. In Alyssa, I’ve seriously created an outdoor monster. She’s outfished me before, but her ease at learning a new technique and putting those new skills to use really impresses me. It doesn’t matter what outdoor activity I’m involved in, I’m always looking for new techniques that will

86 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

give me an advantage. Over a lifetime of fishing, I like to think that I have gotten most of the basic catching methods down. However, I’m always willing to try something that may give me an edge. I can clearly say that for freshwater bass fishing, Dr. Larry’s 5-inch plastic worm has caught me more largemouth than any other fishing technique. To me, it reminds me that no matter how much you think you know, you can always learn something new. CS

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With a backdrop of the spectacular Eastern Sierras, the road north on Highway 395 takes you hundreds of miles from the urban sprawl of the Southland through the high desert and eventually into some fantastic trout ďŹ shing spots. (MIKE STEVENS) a 88 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

SIERRAS

RIDING THE TROUT TRAIL

A TRIP FROM SOCAL UP HIGHWAY 395 FINDS MILKSHAKES, BARBECUE, HISTORY AND A LOT OF FISHING By Mike Stevens

here is an arguably-overused saying along the lines of, “the journey is part of the destination,” and that holds a lot of water when it comes to ﬁshing. For Southern Californians especially, it holds true for making the pilgrimage up U.S. 395 to reach the Eastern Sierra. For Sierra anglers heading up from SoCal, Highway 395 is not a long, boring highway that needs to be endured before receiving the gold at the end of the rainbow, but rather a portal to a meaningful place that gradually takes on appearance of the destination, and less like the rat race in the rearview mirror.

While blasting northward on the holy highway toward conifers, peaks and trout, 395 itself has a lot to offer. Most travelers have been making the trek for years, if not decades, and have their own favorite places to stop, eat, explore, stretch their legs, maybe even ﬁsh before getting back on the road. Mine and yours may have a lot in common, or none at all. The point is, enjoying Highway 395 in your own way adds some cool elements to your trip and makes the drive seem shorter, even though, technically, it takes more time.

PLOTTING THE COURSE The way my longer Sierra trips work, it’s to my parents’ secure lodging at the Seasons 4 condos in Mammoth Lakes for a solid week, Saturday to Saturday. That meant that first Saturday was a travel day that had us (my brother and whoever else was riding with me, while my dad and stepmom head up out of L.A.) arriving in Mammoth between 2 and 3 p.m. – give or take based on whether or not we stopped at Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga – tired from the ride and gassed from hauling gear upstairs at altitude. We might head out for a light afternoon fishing the Upper Owens or the evening in the Lakes Basin, but it’s basically a travel day, with no “real” fishing until morning.

After about 10 years of that, I decided to do something about it, and I created “Day Zero.” Day Zero became the Friday before the trip, where rather than burn day 1 driving up, I’d make the drive on Friday, but not all the way to Mammoth. On each Day Zero, I would pick a different town on the highway, and a different motel, even those of the “blinking arrow” variety. I would take my time heading up, stop where I wanted to stop, and get there when I got there. This accomplished several things above and beyond making Saturday a full ﬁshing day: It shortened the drive up since I was only driving to Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine or Independence. It allowed me a chance to wander around and check out each of those towns, “people watch” over beers in a saloon, ﬁsh some low-maintenance local spots and otherwise soak up whatever is going on in the immediate area. All for the price of an extra day off work, and a cheap motel room split three ways.

DESERT PIT STOP From San Diego, the beginning of the line is where I-15 connects with 395 in the High Desert near Hesperia. Until a few years ago, when I downgraded to a more gas-sipping vehicle, I would stop at the Pilot gas station right there where 395 begins, grab an Arnold Palmer in the store and

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

SIERRAS

Independence Creek provides impatient anglers with a stop-and-cast spot to wet your line on the trip. You might score a bonus rainbow along the way. (MIKE STEVENS)

check out all the cool stuff they sell for truckers before topping off the gas tank. These days, with the ability to make it all the way to Bishop on a single tank, I shoot past it. The ﬁrst little town is Adelanto, which reminds me of pre-Starbucks Temecula, and there are some decent drivethrough food options if it’s snack time. From there, there is a bit of a featureless jog across the Mojave Desert before running into Kramer Junction, home of Astro Burger, which looks straight out of a campy 1980s movie and worth a quick photo, and it used to be a good place to eat. Now, that’s a roll of the dice as it swaps ownership often. An antique outﬁt next door is covered in Route 66-esque road signs and old ad signs that motorheads dream about having all over their garage.

fore snaking its way into the El Paso Mountains and into Kern County. As we pass through living ghost towns with names like Red Mountain and Johannesburg, my passengers and I like to play a game of, “find a living human being” – travelers don’t count, only residents – since, while parked cars in driveways indicate human existence, seeing one is rare. Coming out of the mountains, Ridgecrest will be the last bigger city with most comforts of home until Bishop, several hours north, but 20 minutes further brings you to the confluence of Highway 395 and Route 14, where the L.A. Sierra pilgrims join the party. It is also the location of my first every-trip stop: Brady’s Mini Mart, or as we like to call it, “Scary Gas Station.” Scary Gas Station is a Mobil Station, so it’s a worthy topoff-the-tank pit stop, but the sensory overload that either leaves you speechless for the next 25 miles, or unable to shut up about it, lies within the store itself. If you’ve been terrified by it at a carnival or had a weird uncle, you know the flavor of the merchandise found here: Various figurines depicting Jesus under a rainbow of blinking LED lights; Made in China knives and weaponry right out of Game of Thrones; peace pipes; books on cassette; various items featuring wolf or eagle imagery; Confederate memorabilia and enough marijuana-branded bric-a-brac to make Willie Nelson jealous. I can’t speak for the ladies’ room, but the men’s room is equipped with a chalkboard on which I like to leave messages like “help” or “save yourself!” It should also be noted, that Scary Gas Station is in a constant state of “For Sale,” so think about it.

GHOSTS OF KERN COUNTY

MOUNTAINS AND MILKSHAKES

The next stretch shoots straight across a lot more dirt be-

As you zip by tempting but unﬁshable Little Lake toward

Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the Lower 48, beckons from this view off 395 near Bishop. (F. KEARNEY/WIKIMEDIA)

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

SIERRAS

Author Mike Stevens, who drives this highway regularly on pilgrimages to his favorite ﬁshing holes, recommends hitting iconic rest stops like (from left) Lee’s Frontier market in Lone Pine, Copper Top BBQ in Big Pine and Mahogany Smoked Meats in Bishop. (MIKE STEVENS)

395

Walker Bridgeport

Lee Vining

Mono Lake June Lake

Mammoth Lakes

Mono County Crowley Lake Bishop Big Pine

Inyo County Independence

Mt. Whitney

Manzanar National Historic Site D Lone Pine ea

Va lle

Olancha US

395

Ridgecrest

the oasis-like town of Olancha, you find yourself cruising parallel to the Sierra Nevada and can see it evolving from the hilly southern end to more of an imposing, rocky-peak situation. Soon you’ll close in on Lone Pine, which serves as the gateway to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Lower 48 (14,505 feet, depending on who’s counting). Lone Pine also is home to the only Highway 395 business that I stop at every time – coming and going without hesitation – Lee’s Frontier Liquor and Chevron Station. The routine at Lee’s Frontier is fill up the tank, have Efrain in the deli whip me up a sandwich and milkshake while I wander the store taking in the awesomeness of the mountain man essentials available for purchase: beer, bait, bullets, area maps, pork ‘n’ beans, local olives and chileno peppers. Then I park my rig near a mini-farm (no joke) complete with chickens, goats and horses, and slam that sandwich while staring down Mount Whitney from the best highway-level viewpoint in the state. As a testament to the importance of this place to my soul, the business card for the joint is the best on Earth, and it never leaves my wallet. It shows a cartoon version of Lee himself, one hand clutching a gas pump, the other around Mount Whitney. The Whitney Portal Hostel and Motel (I spring for the motel part) is a lodging locale in the regular Day Zero rotation. It’s also the first opportunity to catch some trout in easy-to-get-to drive-up spots like Lone Pine Creek and Tuttle Creek coming out of the mountains, and the Owens River that now for the most part runs parallel to 395 to the east of the highway. While the Owens always has fish, a quick check to the CDFW stock schedule for the region dictates which creeks we target, because while you are taking your time going up, trying all of them isn’t realistic.

ARRIVING IN THE HIGH COUNTRY Kramer Juction

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At this point, I feel I have reached the Eastern Sierra. Signs in businesses saying “Welcome Anglers” are pep-

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SIERRAS pered all over the place for the rest of the way. Neon trout point out the tackle shops, and those signs with the ﬁsh and hook marking turn offs leading to ﬁsh show up with increasing frequency.

utilized during World War II. Probably the most historically signiﬁcant point on the highway, I ﬁnally checked it out up close and it was a powerful experience. Not the proudest moment in U.S. history, but an important one nonetheless.

Though fishing is your primary destination, don’t miss a chance to detour to Manzanar National Historic Site, where Americans of Japanese descent were interred at during the outbreak of World War II on the heels of the Pearl Harbor attack. It’s a place to stop and reflect about a rather forgettable footnote amid the fighting with the Japanese Empire. (MIKE STEVENS)

Heading north, just past Lone Pine rests Manzanar National Historic Site, which was a Japanese relocation center

Independence is the next town and it’s one step above the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it level. Independence Creek, Shepherd Creek and Georges Creek are all worthy targets for hit-andrun casting, and like in Lone Pine and any other of these Inyo County Creeks, having a printout or checking the stocking schedule on your phone is the way to go. Heading up the roads along these creeks can now involve serious elevation gain and air temps way cooler than down on the highway. The mighty Owens still lies due east of the highway, and down here, you can catch anything from planted rainbows to big browns to bass and carp.

INDEPENDENCE DAYS On the main drag through Independence, one cool landmark is the Inyo County Courthouse that looks straight out of the Deep South, with its well-kept front lawn and four white pillars that dominate its entrance. (If you’re into truecrime history, Charles Manson was formally charged here with the infamous mass murders he masterminded in 1969 and was arrested 94 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW BBQ Mountain View BBQ has been family owned and operated for 21 years. They ﬁrst opened their doors at Mountain Gate Lodge in the mouth of Walker Canyon, but were forced to move to their current location in the heart of Walker after the ﬂood of ‘97 washed away Mountain Gate. Mountain View BBQ has been serving up true Texas-style barbeque and fresh-made sides using family recipes for two decades, and with the continuing support of the traveling public will continue to do so as the next generation takes over. “It has been a privilege to have spent the last 20 years serving y’all! I look forward to many more as I hand over the reins to my daughter, Amanda, and she continues our family’s traditions,” stated owner Jeff Fresh strawberry shortcake, Hinds with tears of while berries last!! pride in his eyes. Open Wednesday–Monday Lunch & Dinner

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calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

SIERRAS with his “family” at nearby Barker Ranch.) It’s not necessarily stop-and-get-out-worthy, but it’s worth slowing down for a good look. Next up is Big Pine, which, according to statistics on Yelp.com, holds the highest-rated restaurant in the United States – that’s right, in the entire country. Copper Top BBQ is an unassuming little place with a tiny footprint, and it doesn’t even have a dining room unless you count the seasonal walled tent that’s sometimes up or the picnic tables on the front lawn. Its namesake barbecue is strategically placed right next to the highway, so if you don’t stop this time, you will smell it and hit it on the way back. That’s the owner on the grill with the white cowboy hat on waving to the constant honking travelers zipping by that are familiar with the joint. While we always stop at Lee’s Frontier in Lone Pine, we won’t eat there if we are hungry enough for Copper Top. Bristlecone Motel in Big Pine is huge on the bang-foryour-buck scale with clean, comfy rooms with vaulted ceilings and a “Beer Cave” in the attached full-service market (and hardware store) that comes in quite handy after ﬁve-plus hours of driving. This is another motel receiving the Day Zero stamp of approval, and it is well within a quick drive to ply Taboose Creek, Goodale Creek, or Baker Creek for easy-access trout.

395 STORE

The 395 Store, also known as Alpine Signs in Bishop, California, has been an Eastern Sierra landmark for 11 years. Owners Joe and Caryn Todd moved to Bishop from Southern California in 2005. Alpine Signs has created storefront signs, wood signs, metal signs, vehicle graphics, banners, stickers and more for the Owens Valley area. The Official 395 Store provides souvenirs for tourists relating to Highway 395 and the Eastern Sierra. Souvenirs for every outdoor sport are available including ﬁshing, skiing, snow boarding, hiking, camping and rock climbing. Souvenirs include signs, stickers, magnets, shirts, coffee mugs, key chains and more. If you would like to take a piece of the 395 home with you, stop by the Official 395 Store on your next trip through Bishop, as it is truly a one of a kind store. If you don’t have a Highway 395 trip planned, you can buy online at 395store.com.

(760) 873-5078 • www.395store.com 96 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

While you can stop at various creeks and lakes just a short drive off 395, once you get into Bishop, Mammoth Lakes and the June Lake Loop, you can ﬁnd waters in most directions and ﬁnally make that long trip north a memorable one by casting in spots like this one on the Upper Owens River. (MIKE STEVENS)

CITY SIGHTS AND BIG BROWNS While it’s a bigger city and only a half-hour from my ﬁnal destination, some Day Zero drives have made it all the way to Bishop. If we are staying in town, every level of hotel is in town and a stroll up either side of Main Street (which is just 395 as it runs through the middle of town) can land you in several tackle shops, a couple very cool book stores, the Mountain Light Gallery and Rusty’s Saloon, Bishop’s premier people-watching watering hole. There is also a new brewery in town, and a little-known secret is some

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of the best food in Bishop is served at the bowling alley. If I am not staying a night in Bishop, I can’t skip Schat’s Bakery or Mahogany Smoked Meats to pick up some fancy provisions for the week that follows. Fishing opportunities are best via various access points to the Owens River, including a fly-fishing-only stretch below Pleasant Valley Reservoir, and PVR itself is a solid fishery in itself for stocked rainbows and the occasional wall-hanger brown trout. After that, for me and mine, it’s time to roll into Mammoth, fill up the growlers at Mammoth Brewing and start hitting the water for real. However, a lot of people still have a way to go, and they too need some road trip diversions. Let me rattle off some in quick fashion. If for some reason you are that far north and it’s breakfast time, The Stove in Mammoth is the place to go. The June Lake Loop has the Double Eagle Resort; a friend of mine who is a frequent guest says nonguests can use the spa, pool and gym facilities for a moderate fee. June Lake also has a new brewery worth a stop, and if you aren’t looking to get out of the car but want to mix it up, jumping into the Loop off 395 and reacquiring the highway further north is a nice, short, scenic side trip. Another can’t-miss place to get grub is the Whoa Nelli Deli in the store connected to the Mobil Station in Lee Vining. I hit it on the way back from every trip up Tioga Pass to Saddlebag Lake, but hungry travelers continuing on to Bridgeport need to stop and eat what has to be the best “gas station food” on the planet. That’s a long list. Much of it is my list. You owe it to yourself to make your own list consisting of proven winners and a couple wild cards just so it constantly evolves, and you are always exposing yourself to new features of Highway 395 with each trip north. CS

calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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SOCAL

FISHING ON TOP USING SURFACE IRON LURES STILL A STAPLE OF SALTWATER ANGLERS

Yellowtail like this nice specimen held by Shogun crewman Charlie Morito out of San Diego are easily the most coveted species for surface iron aﬁcionados. (STEVE CARSON)

By Steve Carson

ver since mid-2014, Southern California saltwater anglers have been repeating the mantra, “These are the good old days.” One of the area’s most traditional methods has been casting and retrieving with surface jigs – or “iron” – which have been very popular with elite local anglers since at least the mid-1950s.

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SOCAL JIGS Almost always made of aluminum, surface jigs are sometimes referred to as “lights,” since the same mold may also be used to make heavies out of zinc or even lead. Manu-

fishing history include Tady, Salas and Candy Bar. Newer modern names like Sumo, JRI and Z-Bar also produce fish. Some now defunct names are sought eagerly at garage sales like Schnabel, Putter and Apache. Most brands have notoriously favorite models within their selection, and this writer usually has a legendary Tady 45 tied on, but I will readily go to a slightly heavier Sumo 7X when windy conditions or bigger fish dictate. Color is nowhere near as important as getting one that swims properly, a process that may take some time. However, it’s hard to go wrong with blue/white, sardine and mint colors, although this year’s tuna crab invasion has made crustacean-replicating colors like pink or red more attractive – at least to anglers.

PRESENTATION Despite the name, these jigs are not fished right on the surface, but are generally retrieved from 6 inches to a couple of feet below the surface. In practice the angler may spot hovering and working birds, or ideally breaking fish. The jigs is cast as far as possible towards the target, and the jig retrieved at a steady, medium speed through the fish. The exact speed of the retrieve varies widely, with most jigs having a sweet spot where they swim best.

YELLOWTAIL This fish is the major main motivator for the majority of surface iron effort. If yellowtail are anywhere near the surface, they are very prone to biting surface jigs. Although they can be finicky, when actively feeding they are also SoCal angler Craig Adkinson very forgiving of angler error. shows off one of the many saltwater fish the Pacific is For beginners, watch for boils or producing these days via a bird looking down at the water and surface-iron presentations. hovering with slight forward motion. (CRAIG ADKINSON) Chances are the bird is looking at a yellowtail and hoping it will chase a baitfacturing methods may be old-style sand casting, die-castfish to the surface. Sometimes people will be yelling, and ing or even precision machining. The traditional sand in the excitement, you may crank the jig back too fast. A casting method produces jigs that are notoriously variable calm, steady hand and knowledge of your jig’s best speed in action. are essential. Do not “set the hook” when you get a bite, Normally, only the so-called light aluminum jigs are just keep grinding the reel hard until the rod loads up and used for this technique, while the heavy jigs made of is fully bent. zinc or lead are used for deep presentations like the yoBLUEFIN TUNA yo technique. Before 2015, discussions about surface iron fishing rarely Some of the brand names are steeped in California 104 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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SOCAL included bluefin tuna. However, sliding up on acre-wide spots of boiling bluefin was a natural for the technique. So far in 2016, surface iron has emerged as possibly the top producer of two-fish daily bluefin limits, with outstanding-grade fish of 40 to 60 pounds or even larger being a common occurrence.

INSHORE SPECIES Traditionally, barracuda were the secondary target for surface iron anglers after yellowtail. Barracuda will bite pretty much the same jigs and colors as yellowtail, although barracuda tend to be much less finicky. Default choices when targeting barracuda specifically would be blue/white Tady C or Tady A1 jig, although using the relatively small A1 may result in getting jigs bitten off now and then. In contrast to barracuda, calico bass can be very finicky and will often respond only to the very best swimming jigs. Dark colors like greens and browns are often effective for calico bass, and an old standby color known as “wounded soldier” is dark green with a splash of red by the tail. Throwing larger jigs definitely results in larger-than-average-sized bass. Good casting skills that allow the lure to work parallel to kelp stringers after a long cast will get the cautious old bass that won’t come too close to the boat.

CROSSROADS MINI MART AT LAKE ISABELLA Heading into June, there is lots of fishing being done on Lake Isabella. The water has warmed up to the low 60s and brought on the bass bite, plus the crappie have restarted after cooling off with the weather. Crappie is best fished on live minnows if they’re available. Last but not least, trout is still being stocked on a regular basis with a 10-pounder recently weighed in at Isabella Supermarket. Lake levels are closing in on 100,000 acre-feet, which is up 300 percent from a low of 30,000, and Paradise Cove and Kissack Cove are both seeing water for the first time in two years. Fourth of July weekend is always a great time to plan a trip to the lake. The highlight of the weekend is the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commercesponsored fireworks display, held this year on Saturday, July 2, for the enjoyment of over 10,000 visitors and locals alike. Produced by Zambelli, one of the most renowned names in the pyrotechnic industry, this year’s show consists of almost 1,000 individual shells in a spectacular 20-minute fireworks display.

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106 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

As a general rule, surface iron tossers don’t target bonito, although the big 10- to 14-pounders can be mixed in with yellowtail and will bite the same lures.

OFFSHORE SPECIES Although yellowfin tuna will bite surface iron just fine, they are not often specifically targeted with it. Dorado too will readily go after surface jigs despite their wild jumping behavior, which can be very dangerous if a jig should come loose and go flying back toward the angler. Wahoo are the exception among offshore species and love a good swimming jig. The same colors and sizes as used for yellowtail are excellent, but sometimes flashy chrome, dark black/purple, or gaudy orange/red combinations are best. Some anglers like to change the hooks to Owner Open-Eye Siwash models, but if this alters the jigs’ swimming action, it is better to leave the stock treble hooks alone.

HOOKS Almost all surface jigs are used with treble hooks. It is less a matter of hooking power as the fact that the majority of lures swim best with relatively light treble hooks; adding a larger or heavier wire hook may adversely affect the swimming action. In some instances, anglers chasing wahoo may opt for free-swinging single hooks.

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Offers expire June 30, 2016. For complete details, talk to your participating Suzuki Marine dealer or visit www.suzukimarine.com Cash Rebates apply to qualifying purchases of select Suzuki outboards made between 04/01/16 and 06/30/16. For list of designated models, see participating Dealer or visit www.suzukimarine.com. Customer and participating Dealer must fill out the appropriate rebate form at time of sale. Customer will have the choice to either apply the cash rebate against the original dealer invoice (Suzuki will credit Dealer parts account) or have a check sent directly to the customer. Gimme Six Extended Protection promo is applicable to new Suzuki outboard motors from 25 to 300 HP in inventory which are sold and delivered to buyer between 04/01/16 and 06/30/16 in accordance with the promotion by a Participating Authorized Suzuki Marine dealer in the continental US and Alaska to a purchasing customer who resides in the continental US or Alaska. Customer should expect to receive an acknowledgement letter and full copy of contract including terms, conditions and wallet card from Suzuki Extended Protection within 90 days of purchase. If an acknowledgement letter is not received in time period stated, contact Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. – Marine Marketing via email: marinepromo@suz.com. The Gimme Six Promotion is available for pleasure use only, and is not redeemable for cash. There are no model substitutions, benefit substitutions, rain checks, or extensions. Suzuki reserves the right to change or cancel these promotions at any time without notice or obligation. * Financing offers available through Synchrony Retail Finance. As low as 5.99% APR financing for 60 months on new and unregistered Suzuki marine engines. Subject to credit approval. Not all buyers will qualify. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. $19.99/month per $1,000 financed for 60 months is based on 5.99% APR. Hypothetical figures used in calculation; your actual monthly payment may differ based on financing terms, credit tier qualification, accessories or other factors such as down payment and fees. Offer effective on new, unregistered Suzuki marine engines purchased from a participating authorized Suzuki dealer between 04/01/16 and 06/30/16.“Gimme Six”, the Suzuki “S” and model names are Suzuki trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2016 Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.

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SOCAL RODS

LINE

There is a reason one of the slang terms for surface iron aﬁcionados is “long rodders.” In general, the absolute minimum rod length is 8 feet to get the needed casting distance, with the majority of experienced iron tossers going with 9 feet. Plenty of serious folks go with 10 feet, and these are always one-piece models. Handles are traditionally deckhand style with cork tape and no reel seat, allowing precise positioning for best castability. In recent years, reel seats in conjunction with X-Grip material is becoming popular. Flex patterns are usually moderately parabolic, again giving maximum casting range.

The majority of anglers go with a long topshot line system. The monofilament topshot length is just a little longer than the angler’s best cast – in most cases 50 to 100 yards. For smaller jigs and local-grade fish, 30-pound mono may be sufficient, but by far the most common topshot test is 40-pound, which still casts pretty well. For larger jigs or very large fish like bluefin tuna, 50-pound topshots may be employed, but anything heavier will adversely affect casting distance. Some anglers may opt for a reel fill-up of all braid – normally 65- or 80-pound test – and then add a short 3or 4-foot section of fluorocarbon. This allows an instantaneous hook set, but a bad backlash can put you out of business for the day, and you may be unpopular in tangles.

REELS Castability is the most important factor. Reel choice is overwhelmingly conventional, but a growing number of anglers are opting for high-quality spinning gear. Star drags usually get the nod, with slightly narrow models like the Penn Fathom FTN25N being exceptionally popular for both 30- and 40-pound topshots and typical school-size fish from 15 to 40 pounds. Throwing jigs at bigger fish like bluefin tuna may require going with a 2-speed lever drag, and going with a Penn Torque TRQ40NLD2 is a perfect selection for 50-pound line and fish pushing 100 pounds.

108 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

CULT Surface iron fishing is often practiced by the most experienced anglers, and it is the rare SoCal party boat where the crew does not have one or more personal rigs ready to go at a moment’s notice. Hardcore practitioners love to discuss the finer points of casting, jig styles, line, and more, pretty much ad infinitum. CS Editor’s note: Email the author at scarson@sunset.net.

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SOCAL This should be a great year for as it has for blueﬁn and yellowﬁn tuna. Conditions look right for a banner exotics season again. (BILL SCHAEFER)

IT’S ALREADY TUNA TIME THE BLUEFIN AND YELLOWFIN BITE IS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE AND BUZZING

By Capt. Bill Schaefer

or the last several months – and it’s way ahead of schedule – the bluefin tuna have been filling the bags of everyone from the weekend warriors to sport boats. Only a little rough weather and tossed seas slowed the bite down, but the second the ocean laid flat again the bite continued. These bluefin are some nice-class fish weighing in the 25- to 50-pound range wth many larger fish being caught; even larger fish are spooling unsuspecting and unprepared anglers. Some yellowfin have been caught to the south in Mexican waters, but when will they make it to Southern California? They could be here as you read this; it is only a matter of time. Water temperatures are warmer than usual; as they warm up even more the tuna should pour into the area. The fishing the last few years has been amazing for tuna, so you really need to make an effort to get out. Also, if your tackle has sat around as long as you have, then make sure it is ready. These are serious fish and they will certainly test your tackle and take it to the limits. One of the defining headlines this year has been an amazing yellowtail bite. It hardly skipped a beat from last

season and just seems to keep growing stronger. Schools of breezing fish have been seen and taken advantage of by anglers all up and down the Southern California coast. Have your jig stick along, as many of the yellows are being taken on surface iron, which is definitely a favorite of mine. This is some great action, especially watching a giant yellow eat your jig on top. All the classic colors are working, but the Bait Wraps jigs seem to have a slight edge on the rest of them. Watch for the bird schools to point out the fish. You have to really be prepared when you chase tuna, yellowtail and even dorado as things heat up. Being unprepared will have you coming back from a trip with an empty sack. Before you go is the time to replace line, drags and oil and grease on that reel of yours that has been sitting forever. For most of the tuna and yellows, a medium-heavy ocean rod with 20- to 30-pound test will do for bait. You can always try and go a little heavier for the bluefin. I will spool up my Daiwa LD40 2-speed reel with 40-pound Maxima braid with a top shot of fluorocarbon and throw it on the first spot. Sometimes the school will eat the heavier line right off the bat. Shift to low speed and grind that big tuna in. CS calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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SOCAL Lake Dixon in Escondido produced this monster bass that weighed between 14½ and 15 pounds, and was caught by Ryan Kyle. Big bass are popping up all over social media this spring. (RYAN KYLE)

TROPHY BASS SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPS OF HUGE LARGEMOUTH SHOULD ENCOURAGE SOUTHLAND ANGLERS TO FISH By Bill Schaefer

outhern California’s largemouth bass are one of the top fish to chase in the West, and this season our region’s lakes have been producing trophy-size fish over and over again. Big bass hunters are posting grip-and-grin giants all over the Internet, but there are many who just keep these trophies to themselves. They are in it for the hunt, the enticing of that giant to bite, the fight, the catch, maybe a quick snapshot and the release. One of the hot sticks in Southern California is Ryan Kyle. His latest big fish went 14½ to 15 pounds on an old Zebco scale. Kyle cared more about releasing the big girl than taking her to the dock for an official weight. This is true sportsmanship. He did show her off to his GoPro, as you can see, and this fish is a real giant. This bass was chasing trout when Kyle stumbled across her and he laid back in wait until the right moment, when he threw his 3:16 Lure Company Rising Son swimbait into the mix. After a short fight, a big reward! The bass came from Escondido’s Lake Dixon, home to may other giant largemouth catches, such as Dottie, a true

giant that was unofficially weighed in at 25 pounds and released, only to be found floating later. But many of the lakes are putting out 8- to 12-pound bass, with a few in the teens. Lake Otay has been having a banner season and probably tops the list. Lake Wohlford, a smaller impoundment, has produced some nice bass this year as well. No matter the pattern of the paint job, swimbaits can produce big fish year-round, and Southern California is the place to do it. Remember that tackle is important when chasing the big girls. I like the new Daiwa DXSB swimbait rods; the one I use is 8 feet long and rated for 3to 10-ounce swimbaits. Match it with a Daiwa Tatula reel with 40-pound Maxima Braid and a fluorocarbon leader and you will be able to land any giant. In June, some lakes are done with their spawn and some are just ending, but some mountain lakes are still in it. Bass are guarding fry, so a bluegill or baby bass swimbait like the Matt Lure Swimbait models will draw strikes. Some of those mountain lakes plant trout almost year-round, so the bass are keyed on trout all the time. Swimbaits can be used to emulate a large easy meal for bass, and, if you are lucky, you’ll score your next personal-best fish! CS calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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PICTURE THIS: HUGE BIG SKY TROUT A FRIEND’S PHOTO ALBUM CONJURES VISIONS OF MONTANA ADVENTURE

Troy Adams would prefer to keep his Montana honey holes to himself, but he likes to send snapshots of his Big Sky trout – including this monster rainbow that he had mounted – to friends like Tim Hovey, who longs to join Adams and catch big ﬁsh on marabou jigs. (TROY ADAMS)

By Tim E. Hovey

few years ago I was fortunate enough to draw a mule deer tag in Montana. My good friend Troy Adams lives in the Big Sky State and had access to several private ranches. As the season approached, Troy suggested I put in for a tag in one of the hunting zones near his home. Six weeks after entering the draw, I received word that there was a mule deer in Montana with my name on it. With Troy’s preseason scouting and private land access, I was lucky enough to drop a nice buck the morning of the opener. After we took care of the meat, Troy drove me around the area and pointed out the sights. Montana is an amazing state. Even though I only saw a calsportsmanmag.com | JUNE 2016 California Sportsman

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FISHING small piece of it on that trip, I found it one of the most beautiful places I had ever visited. During our scenic drive, Troy pointed out several creeks and rivers where he said he liked to ﬁsh for brook trout, rainbows and browns that grow to exceptional sizes. Since it was winter and there was

3 feet of snow on the ground, ﬁshing anywhere safely was not an option for us. Besides, I was still basking in the glow of mule deer success, and while I am an avid angler, I have to confess I was mostly in hunting mode on that trip. Another day, perhaps.

IN THE YEARS SINCE my ﬁrst visit to Montana, Troy would occasional-

Troy Adams’ daughter Elyse is also enjoying the fantastic trout ﬁshing that’s available in Montana. (TROY ADAMS)

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ly ask me ﬁshery questions, always centering on the behavior and habits of trout. He’d send me texts inquiring about feeding habits and the areas certain species preferred at different times of the year. It wasn’t long before the texts were accompanied with photos of Troy holding big, beautiful trout. These were ﬁsh far larger than any I’ve ever

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FISHING Troy and Elyse pose with another whopper, caught at a Treasure State lake somewhere near ... (TROY ADAMS)

caught here in California. To say I was jealous was a serious understatement. This season, Troy has ramped up his fishing efforts and the photos have been arriving almost weekly. They were diverse in both scenery and species; huge rainbows with marabou jigs hanging out of their mouths, always held by a smiling Troy; the occasional brook trout, so vibrantly colored the pictured fish almost look freshly painted; and the angry look and spotted bronze body that can only be the distinctive and aggressive brown trout. With each photo, I became absolutely convinced that Troy lived very close to some of the best trout fishing in the country. Recently, Troy has gotten his daughter in on the action and the photos of a smiling Elyse holding

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FISHING trout bigger than any I’ve caught in my entire fishing career only added to my pangs of jealousy. While the quality of the fish had me shaking my head, the scenery in the background of each photo looked like paradise for any angler. Large trout absolutely dripping with color and framed against a background of some of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen. The size and quality of the trout aside, Troy and his daughter were fishing in absolute angler heaven. In true fisherman fashion, Troy refused to give the names of the areas he fishes for the benefit of this article. To be perfectly honest, I would’ve done the same. An angler’s favorite spots are as sacred and protected as wealth, and equally as valuable. He did confess that he fishes both rivers and lakes, and almost exclusively uses hand-tied and uniquely designed marabou jigs from Kit’s Tackle (kitstackle.com) in Helena. The specialized tackle shop produces one-of-a-kind, handcrafted jigging products that Troy swears by. All the fish Troy caught this year were released once he took his trophy photos. That is, all but one. This season, Troy set a goal for himself. He wanted to catch a trout big enough to mount. In all seriousness, any of the fish pictured in the photos Troy sent me would’ve provided any angler with true bragging rights for the wall. However, Troy was holding out for a real Montana monster. Earlier this year, Troy hooked and landed a true giant trout using his tried-and-true marabou jig. The monster – a male rainbow pulled from one of Troy’s favorite lakes – measured an amazing 26½ inches in length. As soon as it was netted, Troy knew that he had his trophy. It’s completely understand-

Some guys have all the luck. In addition to huge rainbows, Montana boasts big brookies. (TROY ADAMS)

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FISHING Keep those photos coming, says the author, but save a ﬁsh or two for him, Troy and Elyse! (TROY ADAMS)

able for anglers to be envious of fishing opportunities in other states. There are places filled with larger-than-normal fish that we’d love to tangle with. I really enjoy seeing the photos of Troy and the monster trout he lands on a regular basis. Getting the regular photos texted my way and glimpses of the fishing available in Montana brings back some awesome memories of my time there. I’m hoping to visit Troy again in Montana soon. This time, instead of a rifle, I think I’ll pack a fishing rod. I think about walking the banks of a crystal-clear lake, casting a custom-made marabou jig waiting for the strike. Watching a cast float over the picturesque background and hoping to one day hoist a true monster Montana trout in front of those Big Sky mountain peaks. One day. Keep those photos coming, Troy, and save a few for me. CS

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A YELP FOR HELP NOVICE TURKEY CALLERS TRY TO BRING IN TEXAS GOBBLERS

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By Brittany Boddington

’ve decided to focus more of my time on hunting in North America. While I’ve done lots of exotic hunts around the world, I’ve been missing out on some of the amazing hunting that we have right here at home. One domestic hunt I’ve never managed to go on was for wild turkey. I shot a fancy occelated gobbler in Mexico’s Yucatan last year (California Sportsman, June 2015), but that’s a completely different kind of hunt than the traditional American turkey hunt. So when the chance came to go to Texas for my ﬁrst real This jake represented one of the few interested turkeys that responded to the calls of author Brittany Boddington and her friend Shannon Landsdowne, both of whom will readily admit to being newbies on turkey hunt, I was thrilled. the call but who gave it a go on their hunt in the Lone Star State. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON/SHANNON LANDSDOWNE) First, I went to my local Walmart in Los Angeles to get some turkey ing in there but camo, and no turkey calls. calls and a vest, but I was shocked to ﬁnd out that they So after some online shopping I had a box call, a dihad eliminated their hunting section. There was nothaphragm call and a slate call on their way to me, along

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Sunset in north Texas made for a beautiful scene, one that later changed when a storm blew through and dropped dime-sized hail. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)

with a turkey vest. I only had a couple weeks of practice time before the hunt and I planned to practice my calling every day. When the calls arrived I pulled them out, read the directions and tried a few times, then set them down. The plan to practice every day was unrealistic; life got in the way. A trip came up and then I had some long work days. When the day came to ďŹ‚y to Texas I was still not a great turkey caller, though I could make some serious noise. 134 California Sportsman JUNE 2016 | calsportsmanmag.com

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Brittany (right) and Shannon looked the part as turkey chasers. But it wasn’t going to be an easy task to call in longbeards. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)

My friend Shannon Landsdowne met me in Dallas and we had a hotel room for the ﬁrst night so that we could get an early start driving into camp the next day. Shannon is also new to turkey hunting and had bought all the same calls at the same time that I had. She wasn’t much better with them than I was. We spent the evening making terrible turkey-like noises in our hotel room, which surely impressed the neighbors. We downloaded some turkey-calling apps and tried to imitate the sounds but with little success. Shannon was told that it can take a lifetime to become a truly skilled turkey caller, so we were a little concerned about our hunt.

THE NEXT DAY WE got into camp just in time to catch the evening hunt. The guys in camp gave us a crash course in calling and we decided the slate was the best sounding with our limited skill set. Shannon figured out how to do a pretty good purr and I was doing well on my yelp. We ﬁgured we could stick to what we were good at and work together. A few hours before dark we snuck into our spot and got comfy. We were in a blind that was set up right on the edge of a tree line overlooking a ﬁeld. We did a few of our best calls and waited. There were no immediate answers to our calls. For

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some reason, every time I made a yelp sound on my slate call I would look up expecting a turkey to jump out, but that was just wishful thinking. We did have a jake walk through and a few deer popped out, but nothing even close to the big, old longbeard we were hoping for. We gave up at dark and made our way back to camp, but we had high hopes for the next morning. Long before daylight we were up and at it again in the same spot. We called a little and then sat in silence for a while before we heard a faint gobble off in the distance. We got so excited – we’d called and a turkey had answered! We went back and forth but the gobbles never got closer. The day started to heat up and the turkeys stopped making noise altogether. We decided to go in for lunch and then try again in the evening. At lunch we heard that there were

Our Urban Huntress got rained on, hailed on and couldn’t call in the turkey she hoped to harvest in Texas, but she expects the hunting to be better next time. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)

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snack while the clothes dried, and like magic the storm cleared. We had one last chance! weather warnings in the area. It was supposed to start raining shortly before dark. This would be our last opportunity to hunt and we were about to get rained out. The guys in camp came up with a new plan. Shannon and I were splitting up in order to maximize our chances. She was going into a forested valley and I was headed into an area with some hills and thick brush with open grassy patches. Our plan was to try to squeeze some hunting time in before the storm caught up to us. We got into our spots and after only about an hour the rain started. At ﬁrst it was mild, but then it got harder. I tried calling Shannon but I couldn’t reach her; the cellphones wouldn’t connect. I was in a covered spot but she was not and I started to get worried. Then the rain turned to hail; it was a fast-moving storm with dime-size hail clattering down around us. It was headed straight to where Shannon was sitting with only a couple trees as cover. I tried texting, calling and sending messages in apps, but she was unreachable. Just when I was about to start calling for reinforcements, a very wet – more like drenched – Shannon appeared driving the buggy. We packed up and headed back to camp to throw her stuff in the dryer. We had a

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WE PACKED UP AND headed out to try our new spots again, this time sans hail. Unfortunately, our off-road vehicle died on us on the way out. It went out right before we reached my spot, so we pushed it out of the way and let the camp know as Shannon headed off on foot to her spot. I had an eventful evening. I saw a skunk, heard a gobble and spotted some hens. Nothing else came in, despite my desperate calling. Shannon was calling back and forth with a turkey for most of the evening. She was sure it was about to come in when someone from camp pulled up to pick her up. They had tried calling her, but with no service she wasn’t able to tell them she needed more time. Unfortunately, that was the end of our quest – no turkey but lots of lessons learned. We realized that Texas has really crazy weather and that turkeys are a lot harder to hunt than we anticipated. I vowed to practice my calls religiously until my next turkey quest, which fortunately was only a few weeks away. CS Editor’s note: Brittany Boddington is a Los Angeles-based hunter, journalist and adventurer. Like her at facebook.com/ brittanyboddington and follow at instagram.com/brittanyboddington.

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QUINLAN RANCH New Mexico has some of the Southwestern United States’ most diverse big game hunting opportunities, and Urban Huntress columnist Brittany Boddington had a memorable elk hunt (California Sportsman, March 2016) at Quinlan Ranch (575-209-1618; quinlanranch.com) in northern New Mexico, about two hours north of Santa Fe. We caught up with Quinlan’s Soren Peters for more about this 100-plusyear-old ranch in the Land of Enchantment. California Sportsman How long has the Quinlan Ranch been around? Soren Peters Since 1912. CS How big is the property? SP Nestled in the spectacular Chama Valley of northern New Mexico, the Quinlan Ranch sits on 17,000 acres on the Elk Highway in the southern San Juan Mountains. The western boundary of the ranch is the Continental Divide, and the eastern side is bordered by the 20,000-acre Edward Sargent Wildlife Area. The northern boundary is the Colorado state line, and the southern boundary is Highway 64/84, winding from Chama to Pagosa Springs, Colo. CS Tell us about the terrain and elevation. SP With the elevation ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, the terrain ranges from scrub oak to high-mountain timber, including ponderosa pines and aspen groves. CS What kind of hunts do you provide? SP We offer wild big game archery and rifle hunts, and a Rimrock trophy elk park. Hunts on the Quinlan Ranch are five days and six nights with all meals included. The huntable species include elk, mule deer, mountain lion, black bear and spring turkey, along with fishing at trout lakes. CS How big is the lodge? SP The Garcia Cabin is the hospitality headquarters for the Quinlan Ranch. The lodge has 11 rooms, each with their own bathroom. The lodge is located 5 miles west of Chama, N.M., on a ridge overlooking the Chama Valley, the Continental Divide and the sunsets beyond. The lodge has gracious and comfortable accommodations. The Garcia Lodge has a gourmet kitchen and a dedicated chef who will make sure each guest receives great food and personalized attention while hunting, fishing or spending a weekend with the grandkids. Like Quinlan Ranch at facebook.com/The-QuinlanRanch-1474478329486894.

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