Caught On Camera! American River Steelhead Film Session Video Bombed By Pikeminnows
The following appears in the November issue of California Sportsman:
By Mark Fong
It had been a minute since I last shared a boat with fellow outdoor journalist and California Sportsman contributor Cal Kellogg, a man who wears many hats. In addition to being a freelance outdoor writer, he is a videographer, producer and fishing guide.
When Kellogg told me that he was shooting a steelhead video for lure company Catch America with guide Brett Brady and asked if I wanted to join them, I was all in.
Filming a fishing show can be challenging, to say the least, and there are days when things just don’t go to script. Perhaps the first indication of the day to come was Kellogg’s comical attempt to find the launch ramp.
I had met up with Brady at the entrance to the Feather River’s Gridley Ramp at 6:30 a.m. on a crisp, early-fall morning, and as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive, Brady’s phone rang. It was Kellogg and he was lost. Brady did his best to set Kellogg straight, but it was evident that he was having none of it. From our vantage point just off the main road, we watched and laughed as Kellogg drove past the turnoff multiple times.
After finally arriving, he was a good sport.
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN COMPANY
With Kellogg was Abdul Masri, an avid angler and the founding partner of Catch America (catchamerica.com), a multi-media fishing company.
“The mission of Catch America is to connect people with nature through fishing by making fishing more accessible, educational and community driven,” Masri says.
“It is a platform where guides can help regular joes and weekend anglers to take their kids and families fishing,” he adds. “To know where to go and what to use to catch fish and to have a grand time and to experience nature. Although we do sell products, we are not really a tackle company. A lot of the lures that we offer, the shapes and colors are designed by these guides. At heart we are a media company that is building a bridge between the industry experts and the regular fisherman.”
The primary medium by which Catch America interfaces with its audience is through its popular YouTube Channel. There, anglers can find fishing reports for Northern and Central California, tips and tactics, in-depth tutorials, product showcases and a host of other fishing-related content.
ROLL CAMERAS
At the ramp, Brady finished rigging our rods while Kellogg and Masri quickly set up all the video and audio gear. As Brady idled upriver, the three discussed the agenda for the day and then it was full speed ahead to our first spot of the morning.
I made my first cast, and as my gear settled and began to drift I was hyper-focused on putting a steelhead in the boat. After just a minute or so, I got bit. I waited a second for the rod to load up before lifting and reel-setting on the fish.
Once I felt the weight of the fish, something did not feel right. As it neared the boat I got a first glimpse that confirmed my suspicions this was not a steelhead. Instead, it was a pikeminnow, an unfortunate foreshadowing of things to come.
As much as steelhead love to eat salmon roe, so do a host of other fish, including pikeminnows and suckers. But while striped bass love to eat pikeminnows and suckers, these native minnows are largely considered undesirable by anglers.
As we moved from spot to spot, the pikeminnows continued their biting frenzy. It was one after another, with many double hookups. But where were those steelhead?
COLD STEEL
And then it happened: Brady positioned the boat at the top of a nice run, and before I knew it, he and I were both hooked up with nice steelies. There is no mistaking the fight of a steelhead, and after spirited battles we both had fish to the net. This created a sense of relief and smiles all around as Kellogg chronicled the events of the day.
This was the high point of the trip from a steelhead perspective. At the end of the day we ended up catching a half dozen or so steelhead. It was not what we had hoped, but that is how fishing goes. And on a day dominated by pikeminnow catches, Masri decided he wanted to harvest one for a catch-and-cook video (see sidebar below).
All in all it was a great day on the water with Brady, Kellogg and Masri. I am grateful that they allowed me to be part of their latest adventure. CS
Editor’s note: To book a trip with Brett Brady of Brett Brady’s Bare Bones Guide Service or to learn more, please visit his website at fishbarebones.com, follow him on Facebook (@ Bare Bones Guide Service) or contact him directly at (530) 263-4451. For the full library of Catch America videos, including this trip to the Feather River with Brady, and the steelhead catch-and-cook and the pikeminnow catch-and-cook episodes, please visit the Catch America YouTube Channel at youtube.com/@catchamerica. You can also visit catchamerica.com for its store and other features.
SIDEBAR: COOKING UP PIKEMINNOW?
Most fishermen would not consider eating a pikeminnow, but Catch America’s Abdul Masri is not your average fisherman. Masri is a hardcore angler who absolutely loves fishing. He has fished all across the country – from Alaska to Florida, New York to California. By his own admission, he is also quite adventuresome from a culinary standpoint, so a pikeminnow catch-and-cook video fit right in his wheelhouse.
“The pikeminnow is bony, so we filleted it. The meat is awesome; it’s white and flaky. The way I cooked it, I was gonna fry it, but frying sometimes takes away the taste of the actual fish, so I wanted to make it in a simpler way, and I could really taste the fish itself,” Masri said. “So I sauteed it with salt, pepper and garlic powder in a pan with olive oil. My son tasted it with me and he liked it.”
“The edges were really good, but the middle tasted a little like carp. I think if you were to soak it in milk, it would be perfect. The texture, the flakiness – it is so good minus the bones. I think if you spoon the meat out and make fish cakes, it will be perfect. No one would know what kind of fish it was.” MF
