Sacramento River - Lower - CA

Mike Bogue watches his rod while waiting for a strike.

The salmon I caught weighed just under 30 pounds and measured 37 inches. Photos courtesy of John Higley.

After landing the big salmon that grabbed Higley’s lure, Bogue takes a photo for posterity.

T-55 Flatfish were the lures we used on our Monday morning fishing expedition. Sardine fillets were attached to the underside of the lures with thread. It’s thought that the added scent triggers bites even though the salmon do not eat when they enter fresh water to spawn and complete their life cycle.

The trick, when running the river at full speed on a chilly morning, is to keep from freezing vital parts of your anatomy.

The Sacramento River is a wild and wonderful place to be on a chilly fall day. Mount Shasta rises in the background.

Even if your eggs come off or was out during your drift, the Pautzke Fire Balls will keep you in the game! They will keep the scent, shape, and the color of your bait in front of steelhead and trout drift after drift, giving you that extra edge sometimes needed while on the water.

Pautzke BorX o Fire Natural egg cure and the new Pautzke Fire Balls are a deadly combination for catching Sacramento River steelhead.

Pautzke Fire Balls are a new product and have yet to hit the shelves of our local tackle shops, but rest assured, they will be available soon and will be selling like wild fire when they do arrive early next year.

Early morning egg biter on the Sacramento River in Redding, Ca.