MOONEY PLT HAS DIFFICULTY PICKING UP IFR CLRNC AFTER TKOF. HE ARRIVES IN APCH AREA TO FIND APCH THINKS HE IS VFR.

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OCT/XA/99; XA30. I HAD CALLED FSS AT RANCHO MURIETTA AND FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN FROM TRK TO SAC. I TOLD THE SPECIALIST THAT I WOULD DEPART VFR AND PICK UP MY CLRNC FROM ZOA IN THE AIR. I DEPARTED AND CALLED ZOA. HE WAS VERY BUSY ON THE FREQ GIVEN TO ME BY FSS. I THEN CALLED ON 127.95 AND WAS TOLD TO STAND BY. AFTER SEVERAL MINS; I CALLED AGAIN AND RECEIVED NO REPLY. I REMEMBERED THAT THE NEW FREQ FOR RENO RADIO WAS 125.25 SO I CALLED 'RENO RADIO; ACFT X ON 125.25.' I GOT SAC APCH. I EXPLAINED TO THEM I WAS OUT OF TRK TRYING TO PICK UP MY IFR CLRNC FOR SAC AND COULD NOT RAISE ZOA. THEY SUGGESTED I TRY THEM AGAIN AND IF I COULD NOT GET THEM TO TRY SAC APCH ON 119.1. I THANKED THEM AND DID SO. ZOA DID ANSWER THIS TIME. I TOLD HIM I WAS CALLING TO PICK UP AN IFR CLRNC AND THAT I WAS ON THE 270 DEG RADIAL OF THE SQUAW VALLEY VOR; 16.1 DME AT 12000 FT BOUND FOR SAC. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO CALL 119.1. I TOLD HIM I HAD JUST SPOKEN TO SAC APCH AND THEY SAID TO CALL HIM. HE TOLD ME TO STAND BY. WHEN HE CAME BACK ON HE GAVE ME A SQUAWK AND NO MORE. VERY SHORTLY HE GAVE ME OVER TO 119.1. I ASSUMED AT THAT TIME I WAS IFR. AFTER BEING HANDED OFF TO 127.4 I WAS TOLD THAT I HAD TFC. IT WAS VERY SMOKEY AND VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 4-5 MI. I WAS CLR OF CLOUDS. I MISSPOKE WHEN I TOLD THE WOMAN CTLR THAT I WAS IMC AND COULD NOT SEE THE TFC. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE SAID WAS THAT IT WAS SMOKEY AND THAT I COULD NOT SEE ANY TFC. SHE IMMEDIATELY SHOT BACK 'YOU ARE VFR!' I EXPLAINED THAT I WAS IFR. SHE ASKED HOW I HAD GOTTEN MY CLRNC. I SAID THAT I HAD FILED WITH RANCHO MURIETTA AND OPENED WITH ZOA. SHE CHKED AND CAME BACK AND SAID THAT SHE SPOKE TO ZOA AND I WAS VFR. I CALLED AFTER I LANDED. IT APPEARS THAT THE CONFUSION AROSE WHEN ZOA DID NOT 'CLR ME TO' BUT JUST GAVE ME A SQUAWK. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IF THEY HAD SAID; KNOWING THAT I HAD AN IFR CLRNC ON FILE; MAINTAIN VFR. MISCOM BTWN ATC AND MYSELF AT PEAK TFC TIME. POOR VISIBILITY DUE TO SMOKE; HVY IFR TFC. I STATED I WAS IMC (I WAS NOT) AND ATC INFORMED ME I WAS VFR.