In my last article in the Roundup, I brought up the need for parents and grandparents to take the kids out and let them experience fishing. I have been fishing for weeks with families trying to get the kids on a fishing trip before school starts. I just love that.
Well, today was one of those wonderful days when two parents, both educators, brought their children out for a morning on Shaver. The Manley family, dad Mike, mom Heather and children, 7-year-old Amelia and 10-year-old Landon, made a very early drive from their home in Kingsburg to Shaver and met me at the boat at 5:45 a.m. Only the kids were fishing at mom and dad’s wishes. The result was an outstanding fishing trip with both kids catching their limit of big pre-spawn kokanee. The best part was, the kids are really hooked on fishing. Yahoo! We did it! There is no doubt in my mind that these two wonderful young folks will be fisherpersons for life. Kids need these trips with their loved ones to experience nature. In addition to catching their limits of all kokanee, they saw two eagles fishing and fed teenage ducks. We could not have had a better day together. So, it’s never too late to get the kids out and get them away from video games.
After a slow week of fishing, oh we got fish, just not the multi limits we have become used to. We are hitting them with consistency. The kokanee bite is very good in the early hours and then tapers off to one here and one there. I have been moving the last few weeks to Stevenson Bay for a good mid-morning trout bite. But the last few days the kokanee bite has been solid and we are hanging near The Point and fishing about 90 to 100 feet down for bruiser type kokanee. The kokes are in a pre-spawn mode, meaning the male have hooked jaws and both male and female are losing their scales. You can see the “crazies” (pre-spawn kokes) jumping out of the water. Sometimes they jump too much and become a nice meal for the eagles.
So, here is the report for this week: Kokanee very good, especially if you hit the water about 5:15 a.m. Trout are congregated in the Stevenson Bay area. The kokes are down 90 to 104 feet, the trout 20 to 27 feet deep. I would highly recommend my Mountain Hoochies in pink or white and orange Koke Buster Spinners. All tipped with scented corn and behind a Mountain Dodger. For the trout, Trout Busters, tipped with crawler and corn behind a weighted Mountain Flasher. They have worked all week. Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis carries my tackle and Shaver Lake Sports in Shaver offers all my tackle plus the hoochies.
The fishing outlook is kokanee will continue to be very active though September. By the end of September, they will have turned red and are very near spawn time. As you know, the kokes live three years, spawn and die about October or November. The trout forecast is fair to good, depends on where you’re at. Stevenson Bay is my choice for trout.
I enjoy reading texts to me about others’ experience and I am more than happy to share something I have learned. Feel free to text me at 559-281-6948 or email at dickchip@netptc.net.
Until the next issue of this wonderful newspaper, get out on Shaver and enjoy the beauty of this great fishing lake.