The Rooster Tails Fishing Club of
Northern California, Inc.
"There are obviously
people who like to fish
Educate ~ Entertain ~ Enhance
Rooster Tails Fishing Club of
Northern California, Inc.
PO Box 7441
Auburn, CA 95604
530-887-0479
www.roostertailsfishingclub.org

Land locked
fresh water
salmon

2014 23’ Rouge
Chinook Guide
Boat

Kokanee at
Pardee

Mini Swap Meet
Inside this issue:
Springtime Kokanee
Fishing
2
Fishing Reel Problems
3
RT Annual Spring Family 3
BBQ Picnic
Jackpot Entries
4
June 12 4
RT Spring Picnic
BBQ Party
Auburn Rec Park
Volume 5, Issue 5 — May 2015
Great Breakfast, Free Seminar, and Fishing Gear Sale!
On Friday, May 15th, Captain Fishin’ James
Netzel, owner of Tightlines Guide Service, will
have a detailed seminar for pursuing salmon
found in many of our north central California
waters. Captain James specializes in King
salmon, Kokanee, Landlocked Salmon, Trout,
Stripers, and Mackinaw Trout. Home waters
include the Sacramento River, Folsom Lake,
Oroville Lake, Stampede Reservoir, Donner
Lake, Lake Tahoe, and the Sacramento Delta
Oroville Lake, Stampede Reservoir, Donner
The Club has found one of the best reLake, Lake Tahoe, and the Sacramento Delta.
sources for expert advice is from various
Clients enjoy fishing from state-of-art 2014 23'
full-time pro fishing guides that fish for a
Rouge Chinook guide boat with 225hp tiller
living. Unlike the recreational angler, state model sled for rivers and delta. Find out more
licensed pro fishing guides are independabout Captain Fishin’ James by visiting
ent entrepreneurs that have invested thou- www.fishtightlines.com
sands of dollars in their guide-boats, fishing electronics, tackle, and have virtually
Continued on page 4
hundreds of hours perfecting their fishing
expertise.
The Rooster Tails Fishing Club’s goal is to
educate, entertain, and enhance the fishing experience of men and women interested in fish related subjects. Unlike other
fishing organizations that concentrate on
specific species such as bass or fly fishing
for trout, the Rooster Tails provide expert
advice from breakfast guest speakers on a
variety of fish and fishing techniques.
Due to their proliferation, a primary target
for certain pro guides
are landlocked freshwater salmon including
Coho, Chinook, and
Kokanee salmon each
of which require separate fishing tactics to
be successful.
May 2015
Calendar of Events
May 15
Breakfast Meeting
Speaker—Capt. Fishin James Netzel
Tight Lines Guide Service
June 19
Breakfast Meeting
Speaker—Dale Daneman
Dale’s Foothill Fishing Guide Service
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Page 2
Springtime Kokanee Fishing
It’s that time of year again to dust off your downriggers, crack
open cans of corn, and pull those boxes of hot pink lures out of
their hiding places. Spring is here, and that means that kokanee fever is just kicking off.
Some folks prefer to wait until mid-summer to target kokanee
when the plankton eaters have started to put on some decent
weight. For kokanee enthusiasts like me, it’s hard to hold off,
knowing that dancing rod tips are only a boat launch away. And
besides, small ground up kokanee fillets make for the best tasting fish burgers or patties you have ever tasted!
A big mistake I see lots of early-season kokanee anglers make
is fishing too deep. For some reason, people have it in their
heads that you have to fish for kokanee using downriggers. On
the contrary, I like to top line my rods early in the spring when
the fish are holding in shallow water. Depending on the cloud
cover, wind chop, and water temperature, I will slowly move
deeper using my downriggers or sinkers only as needed.
When fish are holding in the top ten feet of water, run your
dodger/lure setup 100 to 160 feet behind the boat with no
weight. To go deeper, just add a trolling sinker about two feet
above your dodger. The space between the dodger and the
sinker gives the dodger enough wiggle room to swing freely as
designed.
I have a series of trolling sinkers between 3/8 ounces all the
way up to 3 ounces in my tackle bag. With a range of light to
heavy sinkers, I can cycle through different weights until I find
the right depth.
In the spring, it’s tough to use your sonar unit to pinpoint how
deep kokanee are holding. Spring kokanee are usually shallow
in the water column, so you may not mark much of anything on
your fish finder. On overcast or windy days, the fish may be
within the top ten feet of water all day long. On calm sunny
days, the fish will move a little deeper as the sun moves high in
the sky. If you aren’t getting any action, try staggering your rods
at different depths until you figure out where the fish are holding. It’s a game of trial and error until you get the correct depth
dialed in.
by Jack Naves, Fish Sniffer-May 2015
One shift to make in the springtime is to downsize your lure
and dodger sizes for lakes featuring smaller kokanee. For
dodgers, I like Sep’s Sidekicks and Crystal Basin Wild Things
in nickel or gold variations. Behind the dodgers, I’ve had
good spring success with small spinners with gold blades.
With spinners, clear or purple beads seem to produce well in
the springtime. Mini squids with or without spinner blades
also seem to be good springtime kokanee producers. I’ve
retied some of my smaller lures with 8 pound test and size 8
hooks just for springtime kokanee fishing. I usually keep my
Apexes packed away until mid-summer when the fish start to
develop hooked jaws.
Behind your lure of choice, tip each hook with a small piece
of white shoepeg corn. Don’t think of this as bait, but more
of a target for aggressive kokanee to strike at. These fish are
plankton eaters, but they want to send a message to anything that comes their way. It’s a good idea to soak your corn
in Smelly Jelly or Pro-Cure oil for a few days before each trip.
Scents that have produced the best for me are anise, herring,
and tuna.
Everybody has their own favorite scent concoction. I’m not a
big believer that variations in scent make much of a difference in kokanee fishing. I think that any scent will work, as
long as it masks the human scent that we rub onto our gear
when handling it. I’ve joked that I use a ‘secret’ scent, but
my real secret is that I don’t think it makes much of a difference as long as there is some kind of scent on the lures.
Be prepared to lose at least one-third of the fish you hook
early in the season. Kokanee have really soft mouths until
late in the summer when they transform for spawning. Keep
your drags loose, use limber rods, and try to keep the fish
from jumping (easier said than done). I’ve developed a
method of dipping the rod tip into the water when I get fish
close to the boat. I don’t raise the rod until the last moment
as I pull them into the net.
Lake Pardee is always a great spring time kokanee producer.
Early in the season, I like to target the Mokelumme River arm
of the lake from Deer Island all the way up to the Log Boom.
The spring kokanee setup is similar to what you would use in
Expect pan-sized fish in the 9 to 12 inch range. Other lakes
summer. Run some 10 pound test monofilament line from your
that feature decent spring kokanee action are New Melones
rod and reel to a dodger. From the dodger run a 6 to 18 inch
Lake and New Bullards Bar Reservoir.
long 10 pound test monofilament leader to your lure of choice.
If you want to catch lots of kokanee, shorten up those four foot Where the location, springtime kokanee fishing can be a
great way to get your kokanee gear out of lock-down. For
long leaders that come tied to lures out of the package.
lakes featuring smaller fish, just down size your lures and
As a general rule of thumb, I run leaders from my dodgers to
dodgers to tip the scales in your favor. Once you get into the
squids between 6 to 8 inches in length. With spinners, I run 10 fish, bouncing rod tips will signal the official opening of koto 12 inch leaders. And finally with wiggling or Apex style lures, kanee season. It’s a blast, and the blood orange fillets will
I like a space between 16 and 18 inches between the dodger
keep you coming back for more.
and the lure.
Page 3
Have you encountered these and other fishing reel problems?
Don’t store rods and reels in your boat, shed, or garage where
moisture or other contaminates will cause corrosion ultimately
The bail suddenly closing and breaking-off your lure
working its way into gears. Also avoid storing reels in exUnstable drag performance, tightens or loosens while fishing tremely hot locations to prevent warping of susceptible nonmetal components.
Un-intended short or errant way-ward casts
Always loosen reel drags, set the ‘clicker’ to minimize unLine suddenly breaking for no apparent reason
wanted line playing-out. Commercially available reel covers
Back-lashes or line entwined in reel-bail or spool mechanism
are readily available to protect stored reels. An inexpensive
‘Reel’ Maintenance Advice & Tips:
real-cover alternative is to use a clean cotton sock to keep
Gently wash all reels after use with warm running tap water,
dust off the reel during storage.
including fresh and especially salt water reels. Do not use a
Quality reel maintenance products are pricy, but since minimal
powerful spray nozzle or submerge reels, because this may
applications are used, they are good insurance for maintaining
force debris and salt deeper into the reel's inner workings as
an expensive reel (see internet for ordering the following):
well as creating standing water. Reels may look clean, however the line on them may be contaminated from boat motor
XPS Reel Saver is a light grease and oil formulations are perexhaust, floating pollen, dust, and other natural occurring de- formance engineered to match the efficacy of our TW25B and
bris that come in contact with reel components. Allow reels to MC2500 firearms formulas, combining parts-smoothing perdry overnight before storing them in a cool dry area.
formance with true saltwater corrosion protection.
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Loops on spooled-line that cut-short casts
Reel cleaning is especially important when the reel is used in
saltwater or in a sandy environment. After a wash-down and
drying, de-lubricate and re-lubricate all moving parts with a
quality oil and grease designed for use on reels. A thorough
reel cleaning should be done every two to three months, even
if the reel has not been used heavily. Regular reel maintenance will extend the useful life of the reel and minimize future mechanical problems.
www.basspro.com/XPS-Reel-Saver
ReelX is the new, hi-tech, extreme-pressure reel lubricant that
virtually eliminates wear, disrupts existing corrosion and prevents
new corrosion or rust from forming. ReelX is perfect choice for
all spinning and casting reels.
www.corrosionx.com/reelx
Penn 12 oz Spray Bottle X-1R Rod & Reel Cleaner Spray on all
type of rods, reels and lines then lightly wipe down after rePlastic, rubber, and other reel components exposed to UV light turning from your trip to help prevent moisture and salt builddegrade along with frequent use, contact with abrasive surup that can be a major cause of corrosion.
faces causing niches, scraps, which ultimately resulting in cor- www.pennfishingstore.com/penn-rod-reel-cleaner
rosion. Sharp un-noticed dings in the bail or line level-winder
may cause line unexpectedly to break. Always closely inspect
reels for defects before storage.
Rooster Tails Annual Spring Family BBQ Picnic June 12th
Members, spouses, family members, and guests are all invited
to attend the RT Club’s Annual Spring Barbeque Picnic luncheon held at Recreation Park, Auburn on June 12th. Pre-paid
reservations are necessary to accommodate the caterer’s need
to determine food inventory quantities. This quality caterer has
provided excellent $16.00 BBQed food for past club picnics
and has received raved reviews. Make your reservation at our
May 15th breakfast meeting. Barbequed tender beef and savory chicken entrées are prepared on-site from a huge barbe-
que-wagon and served hot on the site. Included are side
dishes of salad, ranch beans and freshly baked breads. A
variety of free beverages are included at an open bar offering
choices of sodas, beer, wine, and water. Children under
twelve are welcome to attend the luncheon for free.
As part of the picnic, we will have Kari Freidig, Director of
Wildlife Education - Gold Country Wildlife Rescue, for an informative presentation on birds of prey. Kari and her helpers
will have live raptors on display for picnic attendees to see up
close and personal. Volunteers
and attendees are welcome to
bring their favorite appetizer or
dessert to share. Attendees are
encouraged to arrive at 11:00
a.m. with lunch served at noon.
Page 4
Great Breakfast, Free Seminar,
and Fishing Gear Sale! Continued
2015 Jackpot Entries
In addition to a super buffet breakfast and guest speaker, the
Club meeting will also include a mini-swap meet for all attendees to sell and/or trade fishing related items. Rods, reels,
lures, tackle and other table-top (only) fishing items will be
allowed for display. The display fee to members is $5.00 and
$10.00 for non-members, sellers keep all proceeds from the
sale of their items and are responsible for making their own
change. Display space is limited and provided on a first-come,
first serve basis.
2015 Entries in red
LANDLOCKED SALMON, Rik Cox, 17 1/2”, Folsom Lake,
1/30/15
STRIPED BASS, Dan Lucas, 34 1/2”, Mokelumne River,
3/26/15
Capt. Fishin’ James
RAINBOW TROUT, Eric Liske, 25 1/4”, 7.5 lbs, Collins Lake,
3/14/15
STEEELHEAD, Jerry Lampkin, 30”, American River, 1/17/15
LARGE MOUTH BASS, Rik Cox, 16”, Collins Lake, 2/17/15
SMALL MOUTH BASS, Rik Cox, 15 1/2”, Folsom Lake,
2/28/15
$510 in Jackpot to date
Dan Lucas with a 34.5”, 15 lb. striper caught with JD Richey on
3/26 on the Mokelumne River.
Trout Challenge winners (L. to R.) Richard Tyler (2nd
place), Ray Gladen & John Brassfield, Jr., (tie for 3er and
4th place), Tom Hyde (1st place).