Team United 2015 Fish Summary

There is still a few more days left for legal salmon fishing in the Sacramento River in 2015, December 16th being the last day.  I have pretty much called it quits the past Monday, December 7th.  I feel extremely blessed to have landed three from the banks for starting the season so late.  I'll be more prepared next season :-)

I have met some fabulous new fishermen while salmon fishing.  I really admire the RainbowTroutMan.  For starters, we fished pretty much the same waters in the Sierras.  We exchanged lots of memorable fishing stories.  Second, the man is 76 years old and a Vietnam Vet!  The way that I see him fish out there every time and the joy that he exhibits while fishing is something very special to behold.  If I am blessed, we shall cross paths again in the near future.

Now, on to the fishing summary for the year.  We did not catch any sturgeon this year.  The golden trout is still only in my dreams.  However, we caught all the other fish that we targeted.  This year I decided to feature my second eldest daughter (Ms. Mystic) in the middle because she caught the first trophy worthy trout during our annual camping trip (ACT 2015).  This is no accident or beginner's luck.  She also caught the first trophy worthy trout the previous year, ACT 2014.

The picture to the left of RainbowTroutMan, is the fisherman (73 years old) landing his only salmon of the season, a 20 pounder.  I netted it up for him and the hook fell off while the fish was in my net!  I ran into him a few weeks later in the fishing section at Walmart, Elk Grove.  Of course our wives were at different sections of the store.  We all met up before the shopping was done and I just had to reminisce about how I netted the fish for him :-)

Until next time, have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Stats Thus Far

I fished this morning from  7 AM until Noon without a bite.  Around 9 AM, I was joined by KingFisherman and RainbowTroutMan.  The salmon escaped us today.  Here's the spreadsheet I put together for your enjoyment:

In summary:  Since late October, I have put in 19 attempts at catching a salmon from the banks; traveled more than 1,100 miles in 19 hours; fished for 36 hours; and caught 3 salmon.  I averaged around 60 casts per hour; therefore, I have cast 2,160 times!

Life is good!

Same Lure - Same Result!

The thing about fishermen is that they all can get up super early, especially when it's the salmon run!  When I got the fishing hole this morning at 7:30 AM, there were already three fishermen there.  It's a good thing there was one more available spot for me to fish.  It's an added bonus when I know all the fishermen there.

"Hey JU, you better hurry up because all three of us just got bites in succession!"  Said the RainbowTroutMan.

Using my same setup that landed the 5 and 10 pounder, I used the same technique of casting, waiting for the lure to hit bottom, snap the line, then slowly retrieve.  I kept this up for 30 minutes when it happened!  Again, a slight tug.  Bam.  Set the hook!  The fight was on!

Same lure, same result.

17 pounder!

The Salmon Hunter!

Friday the 13th I wrote about a fisherman that I ran into at the Sac. River that taught me how to use the Flying C.  Like a good student that I am, I tweaked my setup to match up with his.  Since then, I went from zero salmon in 12 tries to two salmon in 4 tries.  Not bad.

I ran into him again on the river and now he's up to 24 salmon for the season.  Also, he corrected me that his biggest salmon this season was caught on November 12th weighing a whopping 36 pounds.

Without further ado, my teacher from the banks:  The Salmon Hunter!

36 pounds!!!

It's a Ten Pounder!

I got to the fishing hole at around 7:30 AM this morning.  Kingfisherman and RainbowTroutman were already there.

"I just missed one," said Kingfisherman.  "After a few minutes of fighting, the fish got off.  It looked to be a six pounder."

I moved to the left and started practicing my cast with a casting reel.  This is a big accomplishment for me.  This pole has the same setup as the spinning reel pole.  After about ten minutes of casting, I switched to the pole that caught the salmon on Monday.  By the way, brother "Pro," this is the same pole that I landed the first salmon from the American River with you from the Fish Seeker.

Anyway, about another ten minutes of casting and I felt a slight tug.  Bam!  I set the hook and it was, "Fish on!"  After a few minutes of fighting, I was able to beach her.  It turned out, she got all three of the prongs from the treble hook in her mouth.  She was not going anywhere except to our oven for dinner tonight.

Thanks be to God.  It only took me two trips or 120 miles for this salmon :-)

This lure has caught two salmon

No. 2 for the season

Still swimming around after half an hour on the stringer!

Finally!!! JU's First Salmon From the Banks.

This morning was my 13th time out to the Sac River trying to land a salmon using the Flying C.  In my last blog posting, I shared with you how I got the low-down scoop on how to get one.

I got to the fishing hole around 8 AM and there was already one fish on the stringer from the RainbowTroutMan.  It looked to be around 20 pounds.  Also, KingFisherman was there (the guy that gave me the salmon from Tuesday, Nov. 3rd).

Introducing: RainbowTroutMan!

Now, I'm thinking, "Did I miss my opportunity again?"  But being the forever opportunistic fisherman that I am, I believe every cast is a potential.  So I used the setup that I learned on Friday and started casting.  It was cold and windy this morning.  The water was choppy too!

Around 8:50 AM, after many casts, I felt a tug and immediately set the hook!  I felt the hook set into some meat and it was:  "Fish on, baby!"

She fought hard for a small salmon and I was very pleasantly surprised and blessed.  I drove 760 miles, and spent more than 14 hours for this salmon :-)

JU's 1st salmon from the banks!

22-inch, 5 lbs, hen

The Flying C

For the past three weeks, I have fished for salmon in the Sacramento River for an hour or so from the banks using Flying C.  Today is my twelfth trip!  Unfortunately, I have not hooked a salmon yet.  I  managed to hook a 5-inch bass :-(

Since the season is winding down, I am sharing what I have learned from talking with successful fishermen:

Ultimately, you need to be there while the salmon are swimming through.  This could mean anytime during the day.  The guys with the most success spent 6 to 8 hours per day fishing!  Wow, that's hard work.

Cast your Flying C out as far as you can and wait until it hits the bottom.  Typically, it is between 8 and 14 seconds at the location that I have been fishing.  I have recognized how the line slacks off when the lure hits the bottom.  Finally, until today, I realized what it feels like when the blade of the lure is spinning.  When the lure hits the bottom, I snap my fishing pole to get a tight line and feel the blade spinning before retrieving.  I have learned to retrieve as slow as possible as long as the blade is spinning.  However, when it is near the banks, you must reel in quickly or risk loosing your lure due to snag.  It can be an expensive lesson since each lure costs around $7.00 each, unless you get it on sale.  I believe I have contributed three spinners to the river thus far.

Finally, every fisherman has his favorite Flying C.  I do not believe the color matters very much.  I have seen salmon caught with all different types of Flying Cs.  However, all the ones that were used have 7/8 oz weight, so the size does matter.

This morning, I met a fisherman that has landed 23 salmon this season from the banks.  The one he caught this morning, half an hour before I met him, is around 15 pounds.  He said the one he caught yesterday weighed in at 34 pounds!!!  He showed me a picture of it, and it is huge!

Here's the lure that he was using that has landed 11 salmon!

Check out the teeth marks on the lure!