Twins Seperated at Birth: 2008 Smoker of the Year Contest Entry

Well kiddies, the 2008 Smoker of the Year Contest has just over a month left and James B. Hinton may just be in the driver’s seat with this photo of his pal Wes, pictured here with a long-lost relative, may have just propelled himself into first place with this darkie from the Sacramento River.
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Tahoe Tsunami!

During a fall storm last year, I took this picture of huge waves pounding the boat ramp at Obexer’s Pier on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Obviously, we weren’t going to get out on the water that day…with a boat anyway. However, had one been in possession of a surfboard…
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American River Steelie Question

Hi JD,

I’m getting my gear, boat and friends (shuttle drivers) ready for a few trips down the American River this winter and was wondering what your outlook for the winter steelhead run looks like. Also, do you plan on booking any drifting trips down the American?

Thanks…
Scott

Hey Scott,

Yep, I will do trips this winter on the American. As far as the outlook goes, that a tough one. Luckily, you can’t really base the steelie forecast on the salmon returns. Last season, the hatchery had a pretty good push of fish — around 3,000 steelhead — so, I’m not sure why we can’t expect to see something similar this year. Famous last words, of course…

While the drought is a bad deal, the low water we’re likely to find this winter will force the fish into some pretty well-defined spots.

Good luck!

Mystery Fish On in the Delta!

While throwing swimbaits for stripers on the Delta yesterday, we were paid a visit from something a little unusual…watch as trusty sidekick Reilly hooks and fights a mystery fish! Read the rest of the story to watch the video…
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Fish Counts at Coleman Hatchery??

JD, Do you happen to know how many Salmon made it to Coleman hatchery this year?

Just wondering before I take off for Sarajevo for my last adventure.

Thanks, Ricardo

Hi Ricardo,

I don’t know how many kings made it back to the Coleman Fish Hatchery, though the biologist told me the total run in Battle Creek was around 12,000…a number he called “pathetic,” so it does not sound good!

Be safe over there and thanks for your service!

–JD

Klamath Dams to be Torn Down!!!

In a move that will greatly benefit salmon and steelhead populations — and the people who depend on them — Pacificorp announced this week that it will remove 4 dams from the Klamath River, which will open up more than 300 miles of spawning habitat!
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More nice Delta stripers…

Striper fishing on the Delta is still going very nicely and the average size of the fish we’ve been getting for the past two weeks has been solid, including some bass over 20 pounds in the last several days. We have been getting most of the bites on topwater poppers, though the swimbait bite showed some signs of life yesterday, too.

The wind looks like it will hold off most of the week and then we have some cloudy days coming in over the weekend, which should really help the fishing!

I even got to catch one the other day…

RESERVATIONS

If you want to get in on the fun, we’ll have stripers around all winter! The best topwater poppin’ is from now through Christmas….

(916) 388-1956 or go to my guide site: www.thesportfisher.com

Mad River Mfg. Worm Jigs

It’s no secret that pink plastic worms are deadly on steelhead, but we’ve pretty much been flogged endlessly with every possible way to use them a hundered times over, right?

Well, not exactly…Take a look at the possibilities that Mad River Manufacturing’s new Worm Jigs offer and you may see pink worms in a totally new light.

Overview

Mad River Mfg., already the industry leader in pink worm technology, recently introduced it’s slick new Worm Jigs in 3- and 4-inch sizes. They come in several “anadramous” colors — Glo Pink, Pink Pearl, Methiolite, Bubble Gum and Pink/Chartreuse tail — and three different lead head sizes: 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4. In other words, there’s probably a worm in the lineup that will cover most situations you’ll encounter.

They also come stock with No. 1 or 1/0 Owner X-Strong hooks to ensure you keep a hold of any big bruisers you may happen to hook.

A New Twist

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve all heard and read about drifting pink worms and backtrolling them behind divers…yada, yada, yada…but with Worm Jigs, you have some new options. The obvious method involves suspending them under a float for steelhead, but I’ve also found them very effective when fished on the swing through tailouts.

Worm Jigs also can be just the ticket for moody coho when fished with a hopping motion just above the bottom. I’ve also done well on them dead drifted under floats for chum — and of course, trout and dollies will gobble them up.

In short, Mad River Mfg.’s really onto something wit these babies and I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to use them that have yet to be discovered…

Bows not Biting!

JD,

On Nov 6, two of us went to Bowman Lake for the first time with our boat…what a long bumpy road! We used the rock boat ramp down to the lake and launched. The weather was good, plenty of sunshine, but the wind came up and made it hard to troll. Plenty of fish on the fishfinder but could not get a bite. We tried everything in the tackle box, top water, downrigger, trolling close to the shore. Then my friend started throwing rip bait toward the bank and caught a brown. After that he caught three more browns to three pounds! He had just the right rig for the browns. It was late , so we left the lake. Why do you think the rainbows were not biting? Do you have any experience with Bowman Lake?

Thanks, Ken P.

Ken, it’s a good question…in the fall, all trout put on the feed bag as they prep for the lean winter months ahead, so it’s strange that the ‘bows weren’t biting. Perhaps Bowman simply has a better population of browns than it did in the old days. And if the brownies are eating rip baits, I’d be okay with that!

Great Topwater Bite in the AM!

We found some hot topwater fishing on the Delta this morning while throwing poppers and all the fish were got on top were 10+ pounds, including a 41-inch, 26 pounder! Here’s a video….

26-pound Delta Striper from Fish with JD on Vimeo.

And, a nice double header for Bobby and Bob Allsup…

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