I have been exceptionally blessed fishing for salmon this season from the shore of the Sacramento River and on the Fish Seeker (PRO's drift boat) in the American River.
Although I have not netted or boated any salmon for the last 5 fishing trips, my stats is still very AMAZING!!! Last season I went on a 12-trip dry spell before landing a salmon. So, I am braced for a long haul....
Bottom line (no pun intended :-)):
1. Fishing with PRO, $8.11/lb of salmon
2. JU's fishing from the shore of Sacramento River, $16.72/lb of salmon
3. ALL anglers fishing at the same time as I, $316.60/lb of salmon
1. Three salmon steaks ~ 1-inch thick
2. Pat dry with paper towel, then place on aluminum foil on a metal cooking sheet
3. Rub with olive oil
4. Sprinkle both side generously with McCormick's Garlic/Herb salt free seasoning
5. Sprinkle both sides sparingly with seasoned salt
6. Turn oven to 300 degrees
7. Bake 15 minutes - then turn steaks over
8. Bake another 12 minutes and check; bake a little more if needed - DO NOT OVER COOK!!!
YUMMY!!!
American River salmon compliments of PRO-Fisherman
Very little grease or fat!
Before
After - Need I say more?
I recently got an opportunity to experience the meaning of "tight lines!"
In my opinion, one of the most elusive and prized fish to catch in California is a steelhead. So this morning while out fishing at my usual spot, I was pleasantly surprised to be blessed with a beautiful 18-inch, 3-pound, hatchery stealhead.
My brother, the Captain, was with me and he caught a...
Hey, JU has never caught a crawdad with a lure before :-)
Epic Monday pulling plugs for salmon in the American River with the PRO. Those plugs were running smoothly.
Several Mondays ago, PRO pulled plugs and lost 3 fish and an anchor. That's why this Monday is epic! We boated 3 fish and got the anchor back!!! First fish on at 7:20 AM; second, 7:35 AM; and, third at 11:00 AM. Epic, epic, epic!!!
Left plug got the first two fish and right plug got the third.
Fisherman, George, pulled plugs, hooked into our lost anchor and gave it back to us. George, you are a gentleman!
First fish, wild jack: 30-inch, 12 pounds; second fish, hatchery jack: 28-inch, 10 pounds; and, third fish, hatchery jack: 28-inch, 10 pounds.
Lebron James of Plug Pulling - I kid you not!!!
GoPro ran out of battery for the last fish landed, but the first two were captured on video. Enjoy!
Fishing for salmon, I have never been limited out, ever! Today is the first!!!
The plan was to fish for two hours: The first hour use my "go-to" salmon spinner, the Flying C, and the second hour use a home made spinner given to me by my brother-in-law. I swapped out the treble hook that came with the Flying C and replaced it with double split rings and a bigger size 2/0 Eagle Claw treble hook. I learned to use the double rings while fishing steelhead with PRO because the double rings enable the fish to turn 360 degrees without spitting out the hook. It works! For the homemade lure, I had to use a 3/4 oz. sliding sinker to cast the lure out. Note that the reel used only cost $10.99 at Walmart, at least as of this writing. I highly recommend it. Check it out at this link: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Angler-Spinning-Reel-30/30655482
"Go to" salmon spinner 7/8 oz. Flying C.
Outdoor Angler Spinning Reel $10.99!!!
I know the day was going to be good when I arrived at 7:30 AM and saw all my regular fishing brothers already there: brother Dave, brother Lucky One, and brother RainbowTroutMan. I secured my fishing spot by placing my fishing poles by the location where I wanted to fish. Then I went to say hello to RainbowTroutMan since this was the first time I had seen him this season. I proceeded to fish with my GoPro attached to my head mount. I was joined by Dan to my left.
I was seriously focusing on letting my lure go to the bottom before slowly reeling it back in. This continued for only twenty minutes when I felt the bite. I set the hook twice just to make sure :-) After a short fight, I landed a smoker 32-inch, 14 pounds wild jack!
In da kisser is my favorite Flying C.
Before 8 AM: 32-inch, 14 pounds smoker.
Then at 8:30 AM, I switched over to the homemade lure. I figured, if my brother-in-law is kind enough to make it for me, then I should try my best to catch a salmon with it. Around 9:25 AM, I felt the lure stop, I set the hook: "Oh, no!!! The infamous crawdad traps." I have already lost 4 lures this season to the crawdad traps, so I was expecting to loose the homemade lure. I wrapped the fishing lines around my arm to break it. But.... I was super blessed today. Instead of breaking the line, the lure broke loose and came back to me in one piece. So I started fishing again. I was supposed to leave at 9:30 AM, so I had one more cast left.... Way out in the river.... I felt that familiar tug. Set the hook baby! A short fight later, I landed a silver 8-pound wild hen. Unfortunately, my GoPro battery went dead and I was not able to capture the "fish on" for you.
Last cast of the day: 8-pound wild hen
First time limited out on salmon for JU:
Then, it was back home to be JU, the Ultimate Professor. With awesome students, the teacher always look good!
I gave the 14-pound smoker to the Captain. Guest what we had for dinner? Yes, my awesome son cooked a part of the 8-pound salmon for dinner.
I know the title for today's Post would get your attention.
There are many salmon fishing holes in the Sacramento River. Just go where fishermen line up along the banks and your success rate of catching a salmon will go up tremendously. But, this is known as "Combat fishing." It can be fun or stressful depending on your personality. Personally, I prefer elbow room while fishing, even if the success rate of landing a salmon is not as great.
This morning I went out to one of the salmon fishing holes along the Sacramento River to fish for 2 hours. Two other anglers were with me. I was the only one that caught a fish during that time :-)
On a salmon lure????!!!
Really? :-)
Following is the stats for the fishing hole that I fish at, except for trip #3 when PRO and I fished the American River:
My personal stats:
Trips:
7
Miles:
277
Travel
Time (Hrs):
7
Fishing
Time (Hrs):
22
Lures
Lost:
4
Salmon:
1
Hey, I should sell my info to Department of Fish and Wildlife :-)
