Pocket Life
By Corky Mau
October 2024
Fishing Magician
This expert angler shows how to catch your limit
I left home at 3:45 a.m. to go fishing with Alan Fong. The Pocket resident is a fishing guru. If it swims, Fong knows how to catch it.
We headed to New Bullards Bar Reservoir, where Fong said conditions were right for kokanee salmon. On the water by 6 a.m., I sat back for a relaxing morning of fishing. I was wrong about relaxing.
Lessons started right away. Fong promised by the end of our “catching trip,” he would know if I had a future with rod and reel or should try another sport.
The days of sticking a worm on a hook and aimlessly casting are over. Fishing boats are high tech, with electronic systems such as fish finders, depth sounders, VHF radios, engine monitors and GPS charts.
Fong has fished the Delta for more than 60 years. As a youngster, he accompanied his father. Over the decades, Fong caught every type of fish in the U.S. and competed in 100-plus tournaments, often placing in the top 10.
He recently retired after 30 years of managing Fisherman’s Warehouse. Fong gave seminars about gear essentials, tackle, weights and lures. He designed rods and swimbaits and provided catch and cook demonstrations.
Fong’s YouTube channel, Alan Fong Outdoors, features more than 300 fishing videos, with 12,000 subscribers and a million views. He says, “I know what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t. I love the sport and sharing my knowledge with others.”
His knowledge evolved into a business, where Fong takes clients out on the water and teaches how to finetune equipment based on the type of water.
Clients want to learn different techniques and strategies. Fong says it’s important to know everything about your target species—where they live, what they eat, where their food choice lives, how they bite.
He’ll take bass lovers out on his 20-foot Ranger boat. Clients learn to identify where bass hide and how to read contour maps. Fong explains tidal waters, boat positioning and weather. “These can make or break one’s fishing trip,” he says.
Expertise matters but fishing still involves superstition. It’s bad luck to bring bananas on Fong’s boats. And please, no sunscreen on the hands.
Despite my novice status, we each caught our limit of 10 kokanee. Fong said we would have been home earlier if I hadn’t lost four fish (must have been the sunscreen).
I got an upper-body workout reeling in the catch. When I asked for an overall grade, Fong said I should stick to pickleball.
Find information at alanfongoutdoors.com.
HALLOWEEN DANCE
A Halloween dinner-dance comes to Elks Lodge No. 6 Friday, Oct. 25. Activities run 5–9:30 p.m. Dr. Rock & The Stuff provide entertainment. Tickets are $40 per person, available at the lodge or (916) 422-6666, ext. 2.
TRUNK OR TREAT
Bring the kids to the season’s final classic car show at Device Brewing Company on Friday, Oct. 25. Car owners hand out treats at 4 p.m. Check with Ben Valencia at (916) 698-7507 for details.
HOLIDAY SHOPPING
It’s never too soon to start holiday shopping. An Arts & Crafts Fair takes place Saturday, Oct. 19, at Elks Lodge No. 6. Vendors offer handmade arts and crafts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Corky Mau can be reached at corky.sue50@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
