WEBVTT 00:00:01.620 --> 00:00:05.480 It's the Terrible at Fishing radio show on Gold 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.679 Country Radio. Here's your fishing expert and 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:17.359 host, Michael Ruffino. Welcome back everybody 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:21.399 to Terrible at Fishing. I know, Terrible at Fishing. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.519 That's a funny name for a show. Especially for 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:31.440 you to tune in. and find out about fishing. I 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:38.299 am the expert at being terrible. So this week, 00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:43.560 beautiful week, starting to get the bug. I went 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:49.140 to the five fishing clubs meeting on Tuesday 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:55.439 and we had a biologist there for ODFW. His name 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.740 was Bill Tenniswood. And he had a wonderful presentation 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:03.780 on all the rivers and not all the lakes, but 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:05.379 we're going to talk about because I did ask about 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.340 them. Um, and the creeks and stuff like that. 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:15.640 His, his, um, suggestions and where to fish and 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:19.859 some of the fish accounts, you know, probably 00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:24.359 wondering about salmon and steelhead. So we're 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:26.870 going to be covering. all of that in today's 00:01:26.870 --> 00:01:32.390 show. And I am doing this before I forget everything. 00:01:32.430 --> 00:01:35.769 I did take a picture of all of his slides. So 00:01:35.769 --> 00:01:38.790 I'm looking on my little phone here, although 00:01:38.790 --> 00:01:43.989 phones are not little anymore, and I'm going 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:46.870 to try to refresh my memory of all the things 00:01:46.870 --> 00:01:52.290 that he mentioned. So let's talk a little bit 00:01:52.290 --> 00:01:56.810 about some of the simple leaks around here. Before 00:01:56.810 --> 00:02:00.370 we get into other areas like Lake County, so 00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:04.549 I mean that's I'm not even sure Lake County is 00:02:04.549 --> 00:02:12.330 not like Far East from us. I do believe and And 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:14.610 he said he made it sound like everything was 00:02:14.610 --> 00:02:20.750 really really really really far away Yeah, okay, 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:26.849 it's east of Klamath so it's pretty far But we're 00:02:26.849 --> 00:02:28.810 going to talk a little bit about Lake County, 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:32.830 as well as Klamath County. But let's talk about 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:38.849 Lake of the Woods. Around the perimeter, it has 00:02:38.849 --> 00:02:41.889 perimeter thaw, you know, so from right along 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:45.669 the banks and then you've got sort of an open 00:02:45.669 --> 00:02:50.629 area to the ice. So, but it still has, you know, 00:02:50.789 --> 00:02:54.629 ice out on the majority of the lake. Fish Lake. 00:02:54.650 --> 00:02:59.210 has more open water but still a lot of ice on 00:02:59.210 --> 00:03:01.930 Fish Lake. So if you want to do some bank fishing 00:03:01.930 --> 00:03:05.169 you probably can get some fish off the banks 00:03:05.169 --> 00:03:12.949 at both of those lakes right now. He gave me 00:03:12.949 --> 00:03:15.949 some wonderful information about Gerber Lake 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:20.870 and Thompson Reservoir. Thompson Reservoir is 00:03:20.870 --> 00:03:23.490 one of those that they've been stocking really 00:03:23.490 --> 00:03:28.469 really heavy. They expect a lot of great fishing 00:03:28.469 --> 00:03:33.509 at Thompson Reservoir. Also, over at Gerber Lake 00:03:33.509 --> 00:03:38.189 too. Gerber Lake is another great lake that will 00:03:38.189 --> 00:03:43.189 spill over this year. The crappie are really, 00:03:43.189 --> 00:03:45.270 really good there. It's a great crappie lake. 00:03:45.990 --> 00:03:49.240 To be honest... I mean, there are two lakes I 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.800 like to go crappie fishing at, which is Emigrant 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:56.340 Lake in Ashland and Gerber Lake over here. If 00:03:56.340 --> 00:03:59.419 you go south of Gerber Lake, there's Willow Valley. 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:08.120 Willow Valley will spill over too. I happen to 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.900 like Willow Valley, but if you go there, you 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:13.099 really need to understand that lake a little 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:17.250 bit in order to catch some really big bass. and 00:04:17.250 --> 00:04:20.470 it's a great big bass lake. But there are certain 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:22.949 areas of that lake that are fantastic for big 00:04:22.949 --> 00:04:26.810 bass. So we do have some really good fishing 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:31.310 just around here. Now they're actually spawning. 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:35.649 The bass are actually in spawn right now over 00:04:35.649 --> 00:04:41.410 in Bonanza on Lost Creek. Lost River. Lost River. 00:04:41.689 --> 00:04:44.310 Lost Creek. I always get them confused. But anyway, 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:49.459 in the hot springs there. So, there's some really 00:04:49.459 --> 00:04:50.839 good fishing that's going to be hitting there 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:56.740 pretty good as soon as they spawn. So, it's really 00:04:56.740 --> 00:04:59.680 a fantastic time. Like I said, we're starting 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.100 to get the itch, aren't we? So, let's go over 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:09.420 some of the things that I learned this week at 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:13.480 the Fly Fishing Club's presentation. So, at Lake 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:17.579 County, which is east of us. come to find out. 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:23.120 It's pretty, pretty, pretty far away. But, you 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.120 know, when we had our droughts from 20 to 22, 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:30.959 it pretty much dried up everything. So, in 23 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:35.319 and through this year, last few years, we've 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:40.300 had really good water, above average water years, 00:05:40.939 --> 00:05:46.259 from 23 to 25. So, some of the eastern reservoirs 00:05:47.219 --> 00:05:49.439 I don't even know what a rain shadow is, but 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.040 he mentions they're in the rain shadow. Some 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:57.199 of you probably know what that is. So Warner 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.720 Pond is one of those ponds that is doing really, 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:04.620 really well right now for trout. And it is a 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:11.259 very good pond. And also the Duncan Reservoir. 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:15.560 The good news is the bullhead, because of the 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:18.379 drought, it had dried it up all the bullhead 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:21.740 that people have planted in there are gone so 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:25.839 you don't have to worry about them it was spilling 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:30.139 over in 2023 and it's spilling right now and 00:06:30.139 --> 00:06:33.560 they were stocked with fingerling and 10 inch 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:37.660 trout in 23 and 24 so the fishing there should 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:41.199 be hitting pretty good then there's heart lake 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:46.519 heart lake in 2022 was treated with rhodonin 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:52.879 and To remove all those brown bullhead catfishes 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:56.560 and rhodonone is Something that is common. It 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:59.899 removes the oxygen out of the water But it comes 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:03.759 back. I mean after the rhodonone does its work 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:06.980 really comes back and becomes a very good eco 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:12.579 environment for food for the fish and In 1955 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:14.540 Lake of the Woods was treated with it because 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:18.560 of the sucker fish and it killed everything in 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.720 Lake of the Woods in 1955. And look at Lake of 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:23.600 the Woods now. It's my favorite and probably 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.560 one of the best fishing holes you could go to. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:29.600 It's been stocked with fingerlings, eagles, and 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:34.560 trophies of rainbow trout and to jump start that 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:39.859 fishery. So and then there's Hart Lake. Heart 00:07:39.859 --> 00:07:46.139 Lake is fishing very good right now. And boy, 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:48.480 you showed me a picture of something like, I 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:54.839 think it's a saddest, biggest, fattest rainbow 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:58.579 trout over at Big Rock Reservoir. Now, Withers 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:00.860 Lake looks like a really cute lake. I got to 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:04.360 check this lake out. It's probably too far for 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:07.529 me to go, but Withers Lake, it looks... durable 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:10.730 and it is a uh you can't you know with withers 00:08:10.730 --> 00:08:16.569 lake you can't take um a gas engine on that so 00:08:16.569 --> 00:08:19.910 it's got to be an electric or a float tube or 00:08:19.910 --> 00:08:25.870 something like that um blue lake uh is doing 00:08:25.870 --> 00:08:28.709 really really well and you want to use those 00:08:28.709 --> 00:08:33.110 blue lake damsels um they showed the inside of 00:08:33.110 --> 00:08:36.190 one fish evident they like these little boogers 00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:40.509 Cottonwood Meadows is hitting really big trout 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:44.690 right now. The Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout 00:08:44.690 --> 00:08:49.669 over at Cottonwood Meadows. But April and May 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:53.009 is the best time to be fishing them. And then 00:08:53.009 --> 00:08:57.450 October and November. Electric motors only if 00:08:57.450 --> 00:09:01.210 you have a motor at all. So if you're flying, 00:09:01.370 --> 00:09:04.950 fishing, use minnow patterns, midges, and damsels. 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:12.179 Excuse me to walk in river is doing very well, 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:18.159 too And he was really stressing site four and 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:24.299 I think it was site eight Let me look Yeah, site 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:27.659 four and site eight were really the game changers 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:33.299 on the Chihuahua River so he is a He gave us 00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:36.809 a lot of really good pointers there Places to 00:09:36.809 --> 00:09:42.070 fish in 2025 in Lake County is the Warner Pond, 00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:48.250 Cottonwood Meadows, Heart Lake, Duncan Reservoir, 00:09:49.429 --> 00:09:53.090 and Rivers End Reservoir, although there was 00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:54.690 a trick to get in there because that's private 00:09:54.690 --> 00:09:58.169 property, but you got to go upriver off of 33. 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:02.110 And there's, he says a largemouth bass is hitting 00:10:02.110 --> 00:10:04.070 really good there. I'm going to have to check 00:10:04.070 --> 00:10:06.220 this place out. I think we're going to get a 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:09.700 little adventurous this season. And, you know, 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:12.600 I want to do more river fishing. So the boat 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.080 won't be used every time I go out. Although, 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:18.600 you know, it is an inflatable. So, you know, 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:20.639 maybe I'll throw a kayak in there or something 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.399 like that, you know, and maybe we hit some of 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:28.700 these places. So now Black Drake hatches. That's 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:32.529 what you want to use. on, you know, the the Williamson's 00:10:32.529 --> 00:10:38.210 River. The Williamson's is one of those spots 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:40.730 and that you want to be using black tree catches. 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:44.529 Also the Sprague. Sprague is doing really well 00:10:44.529 --> 00:10:47.230 and the Wood River has gotten some really big 00:10:47.230 --> 00:10:50.789 old giant beasts out of it. Now he did show, 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:55.830 it's a strange picture, you got to see it, Sun 00:10:55.830 --> 00:11:02.830 Creek Burk Trout. He shows this giant brook trout 00:11:02.830 --> 00:11:08.610 with a rat in it, or a vole. Yeah, he ate it. 00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:16.190 Dude, I did not know trout ate rats. I know my 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:22.090 boys the largemouth bass do, but this beast… 00:11:22.090 --> 00:11:25.110 I got a picture of it right here. He ate a rat. 00:11:28.859 --> 00:11:32.559 They got little mouths. They eat a whole wool. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:36.379 Anyway, you can catch those babies on those. 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:40.299 So if you want to throw out a rat, you know, 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:42.240 or something that looks like it, you could do 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:48.519 that. All right. So he had this big chart and 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:51.240 this is the spawning. They've got spawning here 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:59.210 and then fish counts. So The only area that was 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:03.350 really in the positive was Crystal Creek and 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:10.230 its peak count was 357 at Crystal Creek. So it 00:12:10.230 --> 00:12:13.889 was the only area that was actually up in their 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:16.909 fish count. Now there are some honorable mentions. 00:12:17.429 --> 00:12:21.590 You know Crooked Creek and its tributaries. The 00:12:21.590 --> 00:12:26.149 total red count there is 445. It's about normal. 00:12:26.590 --> 00:12:31.450 And then we had the Wood River, peak count was 00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:37.009 242, as well as the Sprague River and Comic Con 00:12:37.009 --> 00:12:42.110 Springs peak count was about 251. So again, not 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:49.710 up, but not bad for those rivers. The Williamson's 00:12:49.710 --> 00:12:56.210 had a peak count at the moment 98. So Um, I, 00:12:56.350 --> 00:12:58.190 you know, the lower Williamson is one of my favorite 00:12:58.190 --> 00:13:01.230 places for red banded. Um, you could catch some 00:13:01.230 --> 00:13:03.629 big, I mean, I have a video on terrible fishing 00:13:03.629 --> 00:13:07.190 of me catching a 21 and a half inch, um, red 00:13:07.190 --> 00:13:11.230 band in the Williamson's as a fantastic, beautiful, 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:16.370 beautiful, beautiful, um, beautiful fish. So, 00:13:16.750 --> 00:13:24.059 um, but the Williamson's I think. It opens up 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:28.879 on Memorial Day, so Indy 500 hits, so does that. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.240 But if you're an indigenishing fisher, whenever 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:36.779 you want. Remember too, Williamson's only allows 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:40.899 a single prong hook. They changed that a couple 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:44.330 years ago. and treble hooks are outlawed there. 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.649 So you don't want to be caught with treble hook 00:13:47.649 --> 00:13:52.350 on your line. I made special bucks just for the 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:55.250 Wood River or for the Williamson's River. I've 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.990 never done the Wood River. Again, I'm going to 00:13:58.990 --> 00:14:04.210 be exploring, you know, a lot of these areas 00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:09.330 and I want to see how these rivers and creeks 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:12.049 actually fish. And since I'm learning how to 00:14:12.049 --> 00:14:15.350 fly fish, it's just one of those things I'm going 00:14:15.350 --> 00:14:19.990 to have to figure out and go ahead and do that. 00:14:22.789 --> 00:14:25.549 All right, so we're going to take a break here 00:14:25.549 --> 00:14:29.830 and then we're going to go into what the biologist 00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:34.789 said about the dam removals and where to fish 00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:39.679 on the Klamath when it opens up. and what their 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:44.500 counts are thus far. You might not be surprised, 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:48.799 you might be surprised. So stay tuned and please 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:53.159 support Community Radio and the station and hey, 00:14:54.340 --> 00:14:56.700 how about terrible fishing? See you in a few 00:14:56.700 --> 00:15:01.820 minutes. Out in the backwoods under the stars, 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:07.220 I turned in the radio from my old car. Gold Country 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:11.620 Radio on Friday night. Terrible at fishing, but 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:15.519 it feels just right. Want to get your business 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.620 noticed? Sponsor a show on KKFO Gold Country 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:21.799 Radio on 103 .3 FM and create awareness through 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.919 on air announcements. Our online stream at goldcountryradio 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:28.480 .org and our podcasts that live on forever. Your 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:30.659 message reaches a broad local audience while 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:32.919 also targeting listeners who choose to tune in 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:35.419 to the shows they love. Plus, we promote your 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:37.899 sponsorship across our website and social media. 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:40.279 For more information, email goldcountryradio 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:46.500 at gmail .com. Call 541 -238 -6989 or visit goldcountryradio 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:49.600 .org. Gold Country Radio, your message heard 00:15:49.600 --> 00:16:03.179 locally. Welcome back everybody to Terrible at 00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:07.019 Fishing for the second portion of our show this 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:10.440 week. Well, we've been talking a lot about cold 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:14.059 water fishing in that first segment and I love 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:18.279 cold water fishing. I love warm water fishing. 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:23.200 I just love, I mean, later on in the summer, 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.720 we're going to be top water fishing. And that's 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.879 just fun. But, and it's fast, it's exciting. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:37.320 It's visual, visually pleasing. But this time 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:42.840 of year, and I use the word seducing, that this 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:46.559 time of year, it's slow. It's methodical. It's 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:50.100 got to be romantic. This is between you and that 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:53.240 fish in the water. And you've got to romance 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:57.700 them a little bit. You've got to entice them 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:04.119 a lot a bit. And yes, you can catch warm water 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:08.259 fish in cold water. But I will tell you something 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:11.940 about warm water fishing or warm water fish in 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:17.019 cold water. They're very, very lethargic. That 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:21.440 means and they're not real aggressive. But the 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.299 bass, they're gonna be coming up here pretty 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:29.099 soon in order to lay their eggs and spawn. And 00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.460 they're coming up and they're very, very hungry 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:35.140 because during the winter months, they were at 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:39.559 the bottom of the lakes, these deep bodies, without 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:42.759 feeding a lot. So they're coming up, they gotta 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:46.900 hit, they gotta feed really, they gotta feed 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:51.480 a lot. in order to make up for that winter. And 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:54.180 then they're going to be sitting on top of their 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:59.619 beds in order to hatch their eggs and guarding 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:04.539 their eggs. So this is an interesting thing. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.160 So in the first part, we talked about trout and 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:13.640 salmon and how we need to seduce them. Well, 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.509 this time of year, we're also going to be working 00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:24.329 the bass and The bass this time of year are going 00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:33.109 to be hitting not hard baits but soft baits and 00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:37.549 We're going to be working bigger baits now with 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:42.109 the cold water fish. We're working finesse all 00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:50.599 right, but with I'm pulling this jig out. And 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:55.420 with the bass, we're going to be working much, 00:18:55.460 --> 00:19:01.220 much bigger because, well, bass are hungry and 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:05.579 they need to gorge themselves in order to set 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:11.940 themselves up for their spawn. So usually I like 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:20.029 a shaky head Jig The one I've got in my hand 00:19:20.029 --> 00:19:25.109 is a black and blue Three -eighths of an ounce 00:19:25.109 --> 00:19:33.369 shaky head. It's a swiveling Jig and it's a five 00:19:33.369 --> 00:19:36.750 -aught hook Much bigger hook when we were talking 00:19:36.750 --> 00:19:40.789 earlier, which are you know 10s 12s 14s or even 00:19:40.789 --> 00:19:48.750 18s? Because that's for trout. Now, we're working 00:19:48.750 --> 00:19:58.390 a jig with a 5 -ot hook. And we're going to add 00:19:58.390 --> 00:20:01.890 a soft plastic onto it. There's lots of different 00:20:01.890 --> 00:20:07.490 soft plastics we can add to this. Claws, creature 00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:11.369 baits, things like that. Or even paddle tails. 00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:15.200 And we're going to go with a sort of a green 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:20.779 pumpkin with red flakes, blue flakes. And we're 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:25.539 going to put that onto this jig. And then we're 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.500 going to just toss it out there and we're working 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:32.440 the bottom. We want to attach this so it's weedless. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.779 We want to skin hook it. So we're putting this 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:39.660 on there and then we've got a skin hook on it. 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:42.720 we're just putting that we're tucking the tip 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:48.599 of that hook into the body of this bait and we're 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:51.220 going to drop it down and we're going now you 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:55.039 could use a paddle tail you could use a Senko 00:20:55.039 --> 00:21:00.559 um whatever you want you know i i do like paddle 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:06.440 tails also a really good bait to use is a ned 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:10.710 rig ned rigs we usually We'll skin hook that 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:17.430 too and we've got a mushroom headed jig and we'll 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:20.430 just drop that down. Now the nice thing too about 00:21:20.430 --> 00:21:23.750 that is that we could go very very very finesse 00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:29.079 and again it gives more life to that. I also 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.920 like the paddle tails in the heavier and bigger 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.960 hooks because it also has really good life to 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.440 it as we bounce it off the bottom. So now we've 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:42.839 thrown this thing out there and we're working 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:47.900 sort of a drop -off area and a point. So if there's 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:52.619 in your water body a point, this is as the fish 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:55.940 come up from the bottom, these warm water fish, 00:21:56.349 --> 00:22:01.609 They're going to be traveling up onto this drop 00:22:01.609 --> 00:22:05.049 off to a point. And they're going to feed and 00:22:05.049 --> 00:22:09.849 they're going to dive back down. So it's very 00:22:09.849 --> 00:22:15.309 transitional for a warm water fish to work for 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:18.730 you to work a cold water body. So they're going 00:22:18.730 --> 00:22:22.890 to come up. They usually come up to a point. 00:22:25.439 --> 00:22:30.779 on a lake and then dive back down. So we're going 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:33.660 to be working this thing up onto a drop -off, 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:39.500 up to the point, and then back down. By doing 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:42.140 this, the fish are going to come up. They're 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.779 trying to gorge themselves because they know 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:47.359 an inversion is going to happen in a month or 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.900 so. And they're trying to belly themselves up, 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:53.980 really fatten themselves up. in order that when 00:22:53.980 --> 00:22:56.740 they do come up, they're going to be nesting 00:22:56.740 --> 00:23:02.839 on hard surfaces in shallow water out of current. 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:09.000 So that's where they nest. And this time of year, 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:14.039 Shasta Lake is just awesome. Although I don't 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:17.019 fish California anymore, but Fat Shasta Lake 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:21.420 actually has a highway of warm water fish. And 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:26.059 when you look at the fishing chart, depth chart 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:30.819 on them, you can actually see a highway. And 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:32.960 they will come up and there's so many points 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:37.980 that they come up and those are just high quality 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:41.769 fishing. on all those points. And then what ends 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:44.529 up happening is that the warm water fish will 00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:49.190 retreat into coves in the shallow area with hard 00:23:49.190 --> 00:23:55.529 packs, usually rocks, pebbles, even wood. They'll 00:23:55.529 --> 00:23:59.190 put their eggs on and within about a three feet 00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:06.650 of water. I do not fish. I do not bed fish. I 00:24:06.650 --> 00:24:12.099 don't bed fish. A lot of guys do, and gals, bed 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:15.619 fish, but I usually let them have their time. 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.680 For a few weeks, they're going to be sitting 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:22.700 on their beds. And if you do bed fish, I mean, 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:26.460 it's hard to get them to hit, but by bed fishing, 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:32.740 you really gotta release them. Get them back 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:37.670 onto their beds. Please, catch and release. I 00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:42.150 catch and release anyway but with bed fishing 00:24:42.150 --> 00:24:45.289 you want to be able to get them back onto their 00:24:45.289 --> 00:24:49.190 beds rather quick and let them do their thing 00:24:49.190 --> 00:24:53.289 because we want more bass. Also the nice thing 00:24:53.289 --> 00:24:57.769 about hatching is that it creates food into the 00:24:57.769 --> 00:25:01.990 water and a lot of people will say well match 00:25:01.990 --> 00:25:05.089 the hatch. What does that mean? Match the hatch. 00:25:05.289 --> 00:25:08.349 Well, matching the hatch means that you're going 00:25:08.349 --> 00:25:12.190 to throw what the fish are feeding on. Well, 00:25:13.569 --> 00:25:20.769 I do do that, but I also go, I make baits. You 00:25:20.769 --> 00:25:24.069 know, this time of year I'm making baits and 00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:30.349 my best baits in cold water and or inverted water 00:25:30.589 --> 00:25:34.009 Because what ends up happening is that when lakes 00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:37.509 and water bodies invert, it clouds up the water. 00:25:38.349 --> 00:25:42.349 And it's a good time to see, obviously, where 00:25:42.349 --> 00:25:45.789 you lose clarity in the water. It gets cloudy. 00:25:45.950 --> 00:25:50.430 That's an inversion. That's what happens. Inversion 00:25:50.430 --> 00:25:56.829 is the best time to throw dark baits. It's the 00:25:56.829 --> 00:26:00.559 best time to throw a dark bait. And by throwing 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:04.819 a darker bait, the fish are able to see profiles. 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:10.279 Also, you can hear that knock. It's a low, deep 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:17.400 knock. That knock is an alarm system. It's the 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:22.980 siren. I'm just all over this analogy, right? 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:29.150 The knocking of a bait is sort of the siren's 00:26:29.150 --> 00:26:32.490 call to the fisherman, or to the fish in this 00:26:32.490 --> 00:26:38.730 case. And we want to draw them towards us in 00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:43.250 a very seductive way. And putting an ox, you 00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:48.910 know, bearings inside a bait for fish is a great 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:53.049 way to call them to the bait. And having a darker 00:26:53.049 --> 00:26:57.430 bait, it allows you to present they are able 00:26:57.430 --> 00:27:01.089 to see it in a profile. A light bait, you know, 00:27:01.250 --> 00:27:04.529 bright color baits in inverted water, they don't 00:27:04.529 --> 00:27:08.470 work very well because they don't see the profile. 00:27:09.230 --> 00:27:14.990 And in order to see color, okay, you need light, 00:27:15.589 --> 00:27:19.250 right? You and I, we can't see color unless there's 00:27:19.250 --> 00:27:22.910 light. In the dark, everything's black and white. 00:27:22.930 --> 00:27:25.490 In fact, Really hard to see anything in the dark, 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:30.789 right? But in dim lighting situations It's you 00:27:30.789 --> 00:27:35.089 lose color, but you still have contrast and that's 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:38.829 what you have to put in the water when it when 00:27:38.829 --> 00:27:43.970 lakes are inverting and I Love black and blue. 00:27:44.170 --> 00:27:48.970 I mean ask any fisherman black and blue baits 00:27:48.970 --> 00:27:53.900 in the spring work really really really well. 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:59.339 And as I'm creating baits, I'm focusing a lot 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:03.700 this time of year in those darker contrasting 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:07.740 baits. So I've got color shifting, you know, 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:11.779 dark green baits. I've got blue on black and 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:15.259 black on blue baits. And these are the baits 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:20.900 I'm creating right now. If you throw jigs with 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:26.849 worms, on it, or even whether it be a Senko, 00:28:27.089 --> 00:28:31.470 a creature bait, or a Ned rig, you're going darker 00:28:31.470 --> 00:28:35.130 baits. You're going black and blues. This is 00:28:35.130 --> 00:28:37.789 the time of year to go with that. Black and blue, 00:28:37.789 --> 00:28:41.529 purple and black, things like that. That's what 00:28:41.529 --> 00:28:44.369 you want, because we're about to see an inversion, 00:28:45.150 --> 00:28:49.170 but we also want to catch as much as we can this 00:28:49.170 --> 00:28:53.660 time of year. remember no matter what you're 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:58.480 throwing you're going to work it slow really 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:03.319 really slow slow and purposeful this is a slow 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:07.799 dance all right this is Lionel Richie you know 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:11.359 and you're just working the slow dance but as 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.960 soon as they hit you've got to get ready for 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:16.940 Johnny B Good You know Chuck Berry is gonna, 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:19.700 you know, the DJ is going to switch records and 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:23.759 you're going to boom go into You know a rockin 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:29.059 time That's the fun part of fishing this time 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:33.039 of year it just is so you know in the first segment 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:37.079 we talked about You know cold water fish. Well, 00:29:37.099 --> 00:29:40.460 warm water fish can be caught this time of year 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:46.069 and but you still have to go slow and methodical. 00:29:46.349 --> 00:29:49.609 You just gotta, because those fish are going 00:29:49.609 --> 00:29:52.589 to go after bigger baits, warm water fish are 00:29:52.589 --> 00:29:55.130 going after bigger baits, but you have to present 00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:59.210 them in a very slow, methodical way and get ready 00:29:59.210 --> 00:30:02.029 to set the hook. This is another reason why you 00:30:02.029 --> 00:30:05.369 have to have really good hooks. You gotta have 00:30:05.369 --> 00:30:09.089 sharp, sticky hooks. Alright, sticky, you can 00:30:09.089 --> 00:30:11.430 tell a sticky hook by just putting your finger 00:30:11.430 --> 00:30:13.900 on it. You know, if it sticks to your finger, 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:17.380 you got yourself a good hook. And that's what 00:30:17.380 --> 00:30:21.160 you need. A lot of times you will buy a bait 00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:25.339 and it doesn't have a very good hook. So you're 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:27.980 going to swap the hook out for a really good 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:32.579 hook. I use fluorocarbon leaders or fluorocarbon 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:38.660 this time of year and I use Gamakatsu hooks or 00:30:38.660 --> 00:30:43.500 even beast hooks. but the Sixth Sense also makes 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:46.559 a really really good hook. I don't know what 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:50.299 brand hook they use but they use a really good 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:54.079 hook and you want it to be really sticky so when 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.740 they hit it you can set the hook easily. I hope 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:01.279 these pointers help you this week but go to the 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:03.559 lakes you can launch your boats and you can have 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.740 a really good time out on the water for cold 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.660 water fishing. You guys take care tight lines 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:13.559 to all of you and we'll see you guys out on the 00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:18.680 water I hope. That was Terrible at Fishing, the 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:22.359 radio show with fishing expert Michael Raffino. 00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:25.920 Check out Terrible at Fishing on YouTube and 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:28.839 tune in next week for the next episode and more 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:32.400 great fishing tips. Terrible at Fishing, Fridays 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.740 at 7pm on Gold Country Radio.