Well, the public has voted and Ron Milam’s stinky pinkie won this year’s Smoker of the Year Contest by a landslide!
As the “lucky” angler who bested this year’s nastiest fish, Ron has of course won the Harrison Ibach perpetual crown, along with a lifetime supply of Cooter’s Chawspit Doughbait for carp, a subscription to Squawfish Enthusiast Magazine and a free guided sucker fishing trip. Way to go, Ron!
For those of you who missed it, here’s the story behind Ron’s trophy catch: [click to continue…]
If you’re like me, you probably have spent a considerable amount of time wondering what goes on under the surface. What’s it look like down there? What are the fish doing? What do my lures look like? Well, I’ll be doing a seminar at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Expo today Friday, Jan. 20 (at 3 PM) and again on Saturday Jan. 21 (6 PM) in the California Sportsmen’s Theatre…the topic: Underwater video.
I’ll be showing some interesting footage of all the bites you miss but never know you had, an underwater view of the controversial Alabama Rig in action, what some of our favorite salmon lure look like underwater, what it looks like 100 feet down on the bottom of Lake Tahoe…and more. Here’s a sneak peek:
The castable umbrella known as the “Alabama Rig,” which turned the bass fishing world on its ear just a few months back, has officially been banned in B.A.S.S. Elite Series tournaments and the Bassmaster Classic.
Elite Series Rules Committee members believe the rig eliminates some of the skill that should be required in tournament competition at the highest level. “It doesn’t matter how you work it,” said one of the anglers. “The fish can’t help themselves.”
Our resident bassin’ expert and professional angler, Big Fred Contaoi, is excited about the ruling.
“The rig can be hard on the fish…you may get one of the lures in the mouth but others can snag fish in vital areas like the belly,” he says. “Outlawing it levels the playing field again I wish other tournament series would follow suit.”
Welcome to the 20-pound club! Guide Tony Sepulveda (L) and John Sellers
It’s time to welcome the 20-Pound Steelhead Club’s newest member, John Sellers of Fortuna, CA, who fished on Tuesday with guide Tony Sepulveda of Greenwater Guide Service on a very low and clear Chetco River in Orgeon for this bruiser buck.
Let’s let Tony tell the rest of the story…
“John hooked the fish drifting roe and a Fish Pill along a shallow break,” he says. “When he swung on the bite, it erupted in 18″ of water and went burning off the flat with it’s back out of the water like a spooked bonefish!”
Congratulations are in order for John…fish like that don’t come every day. And to that end, he thoughtfully opted to release it, despite the ridiculous regulation in Oregon that allows for the retention of wild steelhead.
“John’s a relative newcomer to steelhead fishing, catching his first on the Eel with me last winter,” says Tony. “With his big fish resting in the net, we talked about the importance of keeping those genetics in the gene pool. John was immediately on board. We took a few pictures and sent him on his way. We ended the day by 1:00 pm with 6 landed out of 10 hooked, a 20 pounder and a double hookup. Not a bad day!”
It has been one loooooong, cold and dry winter in Northern California and Southern Oregon so far. It would be awesome to have at least a “decent” winter to follow up last year’s epic wet season to ensure another year of good water quality for fish, folks and farms.
So, at this point I figured it that it couldn’t hurt to ask for a little rain…
It’s been a while since our last round of the Name that Fish Game…luckily Big Fred Contaoi got out there with the trusty iPhone again and snapped this shot. So, what is it??
