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

Fishing for
Kokanee

Specialized Lures

Unique Fishing
Methods

Reading Sonar

Healthy Dose of
Patience
Inside this issue:
Life & Times of Kokanee 2
Salmon
Why I Don’t Catch Fish
2
Folsom Lake Trout
3
Chinese Auction
3
Jackpot Entries & photos 4
June 12
RT Spring Picnic
BBQ Party
Auburn Rec Park
Volume 5, Issue 4 — April 2015
An Insider’s Presentation to Kokanee Fishing with Vance Staplin
The Rooster Tails are pleased to host guest
speaker Vance Staplin, owner of Vance’s
Lures at our April 17th breakfast meeting
for a Kokanee fishing presentation. Unlike
many
tackle
manufacturers,
Vance
personally
designed
and
tested his
lures under real
fishing
conditions to
provide
Kokanee anglers with the best tackle to
catch these illusive and challenging fish.
Vance’s dodgers are longer and narrower
than the standard 4/0 dodger used by
most trout anglers.
The raw manufacturing stock used for
dodgers is typically thicker than that used
by other companies and sculptured for low
drag plus providing a lot of ‘kick’ to trailing
hutchies, grubs, or other offerings. In addition
to a great dodger design, he uses top-of-line
snaps and rings, holographic finishes, and UV
coatings for the rest of his product line.
Unlike the
many
freshwater fish
the
Rooster
Tails
target,
successful Kokanee
fishing
literally is
an art
form
requiring specialized lures, unique fishing
methods, sonar electronics, and a healthy dose
of patience. Understanding Kokanee habits,
their preference for specific water temperatures and life cycle is also necessary to catch
them versus arbitrarily trolling and catching
them by chance.
Continued on page 4
Calendar of Events
April 17
Breakfast Meeting
Speaker—Vance Staplin
May 15
Breakfast Meeting
Speaker—Capt. Fishin James Netzel
Tight Lines Guide Service
April 2015
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Sat
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Page 2
Life and Times of Kokanee Salmon
The name kokanee [ kō kánni ] is believed to originate with the
Shuswap people of the native Secwépmec Indian tribe that still
live today in a large region in East central British Columbia. The
scientific name for kokanee salmon is Oncorhynchus nerka.
Their identifying characteristics are very similar to their oceangoing brethren, sockeye salmon. Prior to spawn, kokanee are a
silvery sided fish with a green or blue back and white tips on
the ventral and anal fins, and little or no spotting. Spawning
males develop a bright to olive green coloring on their heads,
bright red body coloration, often a hooked jaw and a small, but
obvious hump. Spawning females exhibit a less brilliant coloration than males, the jaw is “normal” and they retain their
prespawn shape.
pounds and considered delicious table fare, except when
they turn color preparing to spawn. The California State record kokanee is 5 lbs, 2 oz., with the world record at 9 lbs, 10
oz. Juvenile kokanee eat zooplankton, small drifting organisms, and algae almost exclusively. As they mature, in addition to plankton, kokanee eat larger aquatic organisms such
as copepods, shrimp, insects, and other small fish.
Where self-sustaining populations exist they migrate up
streams or rivers after 2-4 years in open waters. Where
stocked, they return to their release point. Females build
redds on gravel bars, with both sexes defending the nest.
Once the eggs are laid and fertilized, the eggs are buried beneath the gravel. Most female kokanee die within a week
Kokanee live their entire life in fresh water, not migrating to the after spawning. Fry emerge in April through June, then move
ocean. They can be found at their ideal water temperature of
downstream to mature in lakes or reservoirs. In many North48° to 58° and are seldom found in water warmer than 60°.
ern California water impoundments, kokanee stocks are
Kokanee frequently form schools located at their ideal temmaintained through stocking programs by Kokanee Power
perature zone which is key to fishing for them. Their size at
and the California Inland Fisheries Foundation.
maturity is typically 12 to 18 inches and weigh one to two
The following lakes are purported to have kokanee populations:
Bass Lake
Englebright Lake
Berryessa Lake
Fallen Leaf Lake
Bucks Lake
New Melones Lake
Bullards Bar Reservoir
Pardee Reservoir
Camanche Lake
Pine Flat Lake
Donner Lake
Stampede Reservoir
Lake Tahoe
Trinity Lake
Tulloch Lake
Twin Lakes (Bridgeport)
Why I Don’t Catch Fish!
Fishing, or rather ‘catching fish’, is like any other sport endeavor where knowledge and practice is necessary to be good
at it. Few golfers, baseball players, tennis players, or other sport oriented activities don’t rely on luck to attain success.
Here are some reasons why I don’t catch fish:
 I don’t introduce myself and speak with experienced an





glers at RT breakfast meetings
I don’t ask successful RT fishermen to go fishing with me
or to ask for advice
I don’t read fishing magazines or find internet sites with
fishing YouTube videos for instructional fishing information
I don’t hire a pro fishing guide to teach me hands-on fishing techniques or strategies to catch specific fish species
I don’t take notes from guest speaker presentations at RT
breakfast meetings and when I do, I don’t apply the information when actually fishing
I don’t experiment with fishing advice I been given at RT
breakfast meetings
I don’t take time to fish on a regular basis and ‘wing-it’
when asked to go fishing
 I don’t get invited to fish with experienced RTs by not






being a good fishing buddy offering to pay for some boat
and outing costs
I don’t prepare in advance tackle, bait, lures, and other
fishing gear to actually go fishing
I don’t maintain or update my tackle, fishing line, lures,
and other fishing gear
I don’t organize my fishing tackle to match the species
that I target, every lure I own lives in one tackle box
I don’t have ‘home lakes’ that I repeat fishing trips to
learn prime fishing locations and strategies
I don’t plan on catching fish and count on ‘luck’ to score
fish
I don’t take learning to fish seriously…
Page 3
March 25 Folsom Lake Trout Challenge
In the early morning hours on Wednesday March 25, 2015, thirtyfive (of the 41 sign ups) RT anglers converged on Folsom Lake at
the Granite Bay launch ramp…each hopeful of winning a piece of
the $833 prize money being offered for the 4 longest Rainbow
Trout caught. Each received a free lure up to a $10 value.
The event was blessed with fair weather. Cool morning temperatures but by mid-morning the temperatures were comfortable.
By check-in time at 2 PM the temperature was a comfortable
73 degrees. Surface water temperature was a consistent 60
degrees. Prior to the tournament fishing reports were not particularly favorable. The trout bite was good one day but sparse the
next day. The anglers knew they were up against tough odds if
they wanted to land a lunker and win the tournament. The fishermen who fished that day will tell you that the “Folsom Lake Trout
Challenge” lived up to its name.
River proved to be the most productive. Top lining in the top 30’
of water was the technique used to land all the fish caught. Most
anglers dropped downriggers in addition to top-lining. The downriggers proved to be non-productive. No one reported catching a
fish using their downrigger. This was another hit and miss day of
fishing Folsom Lake. Some anglers went home empty while others added fish to their freezer. Ed Sherer and Ray Gladen each
caught their limits fishing the South arm of the American.
The winners of the tournament were: Tom Hyde with an entry of
13 1/2 inches winning $333; second place was Ray Gladen with
a 13 inch fish for $250; John Brassfield, Jr and Richard Tyler tied
for third and forth place with each having an entry of 12 7/8 inch
trout for $125 each. Congratulations to our winners and a big
thank you to our club members who fished the tournament to
make this a memorable and fun event. The prize money will be
handed out at our April breakfast meeting on Friday April 17,
Immediately upon launch, most boats headed up either the North
2015
or South arm of the American River inlets. Some fished the main
body of water or in front of the dam. The arms of the American
Submitted by Art Stonebraker.
Photos by Jim Petruk
Trout Challenge winners (L. to R.) Tom Hyde, Richard Tyler,
John Brassfield, Jr., Ray Gladen
Ray Gladen (L.) and Ed Sherer (R.) both caught limits fishing in
the South arm of the American River.
Don’t Miss the Chinese Auction!
Our fishing club has very limited revenue
resources beyond annual membership
dues. The fee charged for our monthly
breakfasts goes entirely to the Elks Lodge
for use of their facilities. Tournament and
Jackpot contest entry fees are awarded to
winners. Group purchase merchandise is
not marked-up so members enjoy net discounted purchases. To this end, the
Rooster Tails depend on breakfast raffle
ticket sales to help cover some of the operating cost of the
club. Have you done your part to help our club by purchasing
raffle tickets? Have you won a raffle prize that you did not
really want or need?
As part of this April 17th breakfast meeting, we
will be offering something new for you. You will
have the opportunity to participate in a
‘Chinese Auction’. The concept combines a
raffle with an auction. It has been around for
many years with the words ‘chance auction’
evolving into it being called a ‘Chinese’ auction. Members and guests will have the opportunity to buy multiples of 10 raffle tickets for
$5.00 or 20 raffle tickets for $10.00. Participants would then deposit any quantity of their raffle tickets
into containers that match items they would like to win. At the
end of the meeting, winning tickets will be drawn from each
container. Many of the prizes will have a significant value!
Page 4
Kokanee Fishing with Vance Staplin-continued
2015 Jackpot Entries
Lake Berryessa is rapidly becoming known as one of the
Golden State’s top Kokanee producers and the water of
choice for the Rooster Tails June 24th Member’s Tournament.
Kokanee have been successfully perpetuated with the help of
Kokanee Power and Inland California Fisheries organizations
for providing these sporting, tasty, land-locked sockeye
salmon. Spring fishing for Kokanee salmon for quality spring
fish takes place in May and June. Attend this meeting to learn
how to catch them, what tackle to use, and the best strategy.
Contact Vance at vancestackle.com or 970-532-7090.
2015 Entries in red
LANDLOCKED SALMON, Rik Cox, 17 1/2”, Folsom Lake, 1/30/15
STRIPED BASS, Biff Brethour, 34 1/4”, Sacramento River/Colusa,
3/14/15
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
$490 in Jackpot to date
Biff Brethour caught this 34 1/4” striper while fishing on March
14, 2015 on the Sacramento River near Colusa, caught on a Fish
Trap, a 5” type swim bait during the late afternoon/evening bite.
Eric Liske with his 25 1/4” trout caught from shore at the
North end of Collins Lake on March 14, 2015, fishing with
chartreuse power bait dipped in trout scent