Fishing report, July 13-19: Big fish! 20-inch kokanee at Shaver, 44-inch striper at San Luis

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, who guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake.

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Best bets

Aqueduct stripers and catfish biting, Pete Cormier said. Don Pedro kokanee on tap, Monte Smith reported. Shaver Lake kokanee getting bigger, Dick Nichols said. Isabella catfish on the prowl, Dave Hurley reported. New Melones kokanee bite holding up, Kyle Wise said. Wishon and Courtright trout staying cool, on a hot bite, Michael Crayne reported. Bass Lake trout bite solid, Mike Beighey said. Delta bass action heating up, Alan Fong reported.

Roger’s Remarks

Roger George’s column will return.

Proposed new bag limit

The Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed eliminating the two-fish 15-inch size limit at Eastman, Hensley, Kaweah and Success since efforts to create a trophy fishery have been unsuccessful. The recommendation is to return to the state standard of a bag limit of 5 fish with a 12-inch size limit.

Valley

Westside waterways

Striper 3 Catfish 3

In the California Aqueduct, Striperz Gone Wild is holding a Meet and Greet on July 30 at South Creek Road in Los Banos for fishing and a BBQ. Omega Nguyen of Mega Bait and Tackle in Lathrop said the Delta/Mendota Canal by Patterson is the best location on the water conveyance systems for catfish or striped bass. Anchovies, sardines, or mudsuckers are working for the linesides with various cut baits for catfish.

In the south aqueduct in Kern County, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported continued excellent striped bass, catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass action in the California Aqueduct, and they are selling out of Triple S Dip Bait for catfish within a day of its arrival in the shop. The best action occurs where moving water stops to a crawl.

Call: Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis 292-3474; Bob’s Bait Bucket in Bakersfield (661) 833-8657

Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

Michael Crayne at Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Eastman remains more productive than Hensley with holdover rainbow trout near the water pipe near the dam with Power Bait or nightcrawlers. Topwater lures, 10-inch plastic worms or Senkos are working for bass around humps, saddles, or rocky structure. Catfish are taken at both lakes at night on chicken livers, cut baits, or nightcrawlers. Hensley continues to produce carp in the shallows or bluegill in the brush in the back of the lake.” Eastman dropped to 9% with Hensley dropped from 18% to 16%.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255; Valley Rod Gun, Clovis 292-3474; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hensley Lake Hidden Dam 673-5151

Lake Don Pedro

Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3 King salmon 2 Crappie 2

Monte Smith has been finding limits of kokanee along with a bonus king salmon or two for their efforts. He said, “It took me a while to locate the kokanee, but once we found them, the bite was good with three limits by 10 a.m. We are scoring with Paulina Peak’s Flutter Bugs, Pro-Troll’s Kokanee Killers, or Apex lures at depths from 35 to 80 feet with 50 to 65 feet the most consistent range. There is a ton of bait in the lake, and a small king salmon that hit the deck this week spit out five shad. Nine-year-old Henry Sirkis of Alameda landed a 17-inch kokanee at Pedro this week, and this young man was really on it, watching his rod and adjusting his depth on the downriggers. Chris Merritt topped this with a 17.75-inch kokanee on Monday morning.”

The best bass action has been with ⅜-ounce G-Money jigs in brown/purple with a brown/green twin tailed trailer with the skirt cut down at depths from 5 to 30 feet on main lake points. When the wind is blowing, the Berkley Choppo or Strike King’s Sexy Dog topwater baits are working. The lake dropped slightly to 63%. The Fleming Meadows, Blue Oaks, and Moccasin launch ramps remain open, but the Fleming launch requires a long walk to the parking lot.

Call: Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing (209) 581-4734; Kyle Wise – Head Hunter Guide Service – (209) 531- 3966; Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing – 691-7008

Lake Isabella/Bakersfield area

Bass 2 Trout 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2

The Golden Empire Bass Club held a two-day tournament over the weekend, and the winning limits averaged 17-plus pounds per day for a total weight of over 34 pounds. The big fish of the tournament was over 6 pounds. The bass are filling up on shad, and shad-imitation lures or plastics are working best. Crappie are holding near deep structure, and anglers are generally able to pick up a slab or two before moving onto the next submerged tree, bush, or rockpile. Catfishing remains outstanding with Triple S Dip Bait, anchovies, frozen shad, or shrimp. The trout bite has slowed as the holdovers have headed up the river arm in search of cooler water temperatures. The lake dropped to 11%. The river at Kernville dropped from 179 to 136 cfs, but water releases out of the dam have pushed the flows at First Point relatively high at 584 cfs. The trout in the upper river are holding in the deep pools.

Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket in Bakersfield (661) 833-8657; North Fork Marina (760) 376-1812; Golden Trout Pack Station (559) 542-2816

Lake Kaweah

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Not much change with the exception of heavy recreational boating pressure. Crappie are found near Horse Creek around the submerged wood, brush, or rockpiles with minijigs or small swimbaits. Small to medium minnows have been more difficult to obtain. The bass bite is challenging in the dropping water conditions, but there is a reaction bite in the early mornings before dropping to the bottom with ice jigs, spoons, or jigs. The lake is starting to release water, and it dropped from 47% to 39%. The flows in the Kaweah River dropped from 71 cfs to 54 cfs at Three Rivers.

Lake Success/Tule River

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company reported the bass are holding in the submerged trees and hitting plastic worms at dusk. With the heat, there is only a small window of opportunity, but it is a great bite during the short period. The lake dropped slightly to 36%. Stokke said, “The Tule River is fishing excellent with dry flies, Woolly Buggers, ants, or stimulators while spin casters are finding solid action with Panther Martin spinners.”

Call: Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626, sequoiafishingcompany.com

McClure Reservoir

Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 0 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2

Not much change as the bass bite has been tough with the best action ¼-ounce Kastmasters, 2.8-inch Keitech swimbaits on a ⅛-ounce G-Money Ned-rig head or a ⅛-ounce G-Money underspin along with topwater lures or jigs in a light sculpin pattern. The trout have gone deep, and the best action is for trollers pulling shad-patterned spoons near the dam. The lake dropped slightly to 38%, and the best ramp continues to be at Barrett Cove South.

Call: Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Guide Service – 691-7008

McSwain Reservoir

Trout 2

A trout plant is scheduled next week. Holdover rainbow trout are found in the deepest and coolest waters in the river arm with blade/’crawler combinations or ruby red Wedding Rings tipped with a piece of nightcrawler behind a dodger. Shore fishing will improve after the plant in the early mornings with Power Bait, Panther Martin spinners, or ¼- to ⅜-ounce Kastmasters at the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks, and the peninsula around the marina. As the summer progresses, the rainbows will work their way up the river arm in search of cooler water. The lake rose from 89% to 92%.

Call: Angler’s Edge Market – (209) 226-4416; McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534

Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River

Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2

Michael Crayne of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “With the heavy recreational boat traffic, fishing interest has been slow, but there are spotted bass to be found with the best grade in the main lake at depths from 20 to 30 feet with plastics on the drop-shot or 3-inch MegaBass Hazedong on a small jig head over the rocks. Small bass are found in the river arm.” The lake dropped from 66% to 64%, and the San Joaquin River dropped from 644 cfs to 248 cfs at Friant.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3

There was great anticipation for a very competitive tournament at New Melones this past Saturday as the lake has been one of California’s many kokanee hotspots for the past few months. The lake didn’t disappoint with 53 teams consisting of 123 anglers invaded the lake to weigh in three-kokanee limits. Although the overall weights of the kokanee were less than anticipated, 42 teams scored limits. The team of James, Jim, and Denise Franco took first in the Adult Division at 4.80 pounds including the big kokanee at 1.68 while Richard, Allison, and Kaitlyn Contreras teamed with Chris Miller for second at 4.56 pounds. Rounding out in third was the team of Rene Villanueva and Brian Hough at 4.52. Lucas Johnson took the Youth Division single-fish weigh-in at 1.51 with Logan Noble in second at 1.36 and Kaitlyn Contreras third at 1.33.

Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing avoided New Melones most of the week with all of the boat pre-fishing for the tournament, but he was out early in the week for three limits of kokanee by 10 a.m. running Paulina Peak’s Flutter Bugs behind a Peak Performer dodger at depths from 45 to 65 feet.

Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service came in seventh with partner Mike Tripp during the Kokanee Power derby, and he has been loading up on Melones kokanee with the Paulina Peak pink Spinner Hoochie, J-Pex, or Apex lures at depths from 20 to 80 feet. He said, “In the morning, the fish are down deep between 70 and 80 feet, but they are coming up by mid-morning to feed on the plankton, and we have been scoring at 20 to 30 feet. Limits have been the rule on every trip, and we have been consistently scoring on our twilight kokanee trips, as well.”

The lake dropped three feet this week to 907.22 feet in elevation and 32% of capacity. Glory Hole is on the low water ramp, and it will be accessible until the lake drops below 900 feet in elevation. The Tuttletown launch ramp and camping area was closed on Monday due to low water levels.

Call: Glory Hole Sports (209) 736-4333; Monte Smith (209) 581-4734; John Liechty Xperience Fishing Guide Service (209) 743-9932

Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River

Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0 King salmon 0 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

Bass 101 held a night tournament over the weekend with 17 teams, but less than half stuck around for the second half of the event. The top three weights of two limits were impressive, but the overall bite was characterized as “brutal.” Michael Crayne of Valley Rod and Gun said, “The best action has been with 5-inch Yamamoto single grubs in clear/blue flake. Dragging the bottom with plastics only produced spotted bass in the 10- to 12-inch range. The trout have dropped in the water column, and trollers are having to find the shad schools around Sycamore or Big creeks to stay on top of the holdover rainbows with shad-patterned spoons.” The lake dropped from 48% to 41%.

In the lower Kings, a trout plant is scheduled for next week, and the trout action has slowed down due to the lack of recent plants and most anglers heading for the high country. Fly fishermen continue to score in the catch-and-release section. The flows have dropped from 697 cfs to 536 cfs at Trimmer.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474; Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay

Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 1

Joe Juane of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “Bank fishing is predominant on the Dinosaur Point side of the lake with blood worms or pile worms for a smaller grade of striped bass. There is a topwater bite before the sun comes up, but after this, it is all about bait. Check 12 at the O’Neill Forebay continues to be the most popular destination with blood worms or pile worms, but there have been a number of undersized stripers to 15 inches in the forebay.” Trolling in the main lake has been slow, but Roger George of Roger’s Guide Service put Sonny Johansen of Clovis onto his personal-best striped bass at 44 inches and 30.3 pounds on Sunday after guiding him to a 19-pound lineside earlier in the week. “The big female was totally spawned out but still broke 30 pounds. It had a huge head and frame but probably would have gotten into the high 30s pretty easily in prespawn,” George said. The main lake dropped slightly to 37% with the forebay also dropping to 81%.

There are warning and lake closure lights on the main reservoir near the Basalt Entrance Station, Quien Sabe Point, and the Romero Visitor Center. In the O’Neill Forebay. Warning lights are located near the old Medeiros boat ramp and above South Beach. Amber lights signify caution conditions for winds or other concerns while red lights mean the lake is closed for boating and all vessels must immediately vacate the lake when the red lake closure lights are on.

Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle (408) 463-0711, Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com 905-2954

High Sierra

Bass Lake

Bass 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 1

Mike Beighey of Bass Lake Guide Service said, “Trout trolling remains solid at depths to 28 feet with pink or orange Dick’s Mountain Hoochies or Rocky Mountain Tackle’s Wiggle Hoochies tipped with maggots and/or a little piece of nightcrawler behind a Dick’s Mountain Dodger in front of Miller’s Landing and also in front of the Forks Resort. The kokanee have yet to show, but there is hope for the coming weeks.” Bass fishing is best with plastics on a shaky head or dart head along with reaction lures such as jerkbaits. A webcam of the launch ramp is available at basslakeca.com. The lake held at 82%.

Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool

Portal Forebay and Ward Lake are scheduled for trout plants this week. Edison received a trout plant over the Fourth of July weekendd. There haven’t been many reports from either lake, but the trout plants at the smaller lakes will help draw up a few more fishermen. Edison held at 34%, Florence dropped slightly to 77% with Mammoth Pool also dropping slightly to 83%.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake

Kokanee 3 Trout 2

The Kokanee Power Team Tournament at Shaver Lake is Sept. 11 but there are many anglers who wished it was yesterday as kokanee over 20 inches have been landed. Trollers getting on the water early are being rewarded with quality trout and kokanee. Dick Nichols, Shaver’s retired guide emeritus, said, “Earl Taniguchi of Fowler and his fishing buddy, Roger Keir of Fresno, have been trolling Shaver in the past two weeks with decent success. On Friday, they found quality kokanee at several locations on the lake at depths from 45 to 57 feet deep with Terry Walton’s Sierra Gold Spinners and Rocky Mountain Tackle’s Radical Glow Tubes tipped with scented corn behind a dodger. They had no problems in boating two limits of large kokes. Taniguchi said, “Kokanee fishing picked up this week. The fish are large and in very good shape. Other regular trollers also reported a couple limits per boat. With the warmer weather, it’s time the kokanee take a dive to get into their comfy zone. Kokanee thrive in 52-degree water and that’s about where they are. On my last trip out, we marked kokanee as deep as 80 feet, but some like it cooler. Trout fishing has tampered down, but easy multiple limits can be found. The four trophies we caught the past few weeks have been located from 28 to 35 feet in depth.”

Shaver guide Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service put in the largest kokanee recorded this season at 20 inches.

At Huntington, Michael Crayne of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis reported continued limits of kokanee are taken on various small hoochies or spinners at depths from 25 to 35 feet on the wire or with a setback of 125 feet with a half-ounce weight. Shaver’s launch ramp conditions can be checked via webcam at sierramarina.com/camera.html. Huntington and Shaver both dropped slightly to 97% and 61%, respectively.

Todd Wittwer – Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Tom Oliveira – Tom Oliveira Fishing – 802-8072

Wishon/Courtright

Trout 3

Trollers are finding solid action with Rapalas, Kastmasters, similar small spoons, Wedding Rings tipped with a piece of nightcrawler behind a dodger, or blade/’crawler combinations at depths from the surface in the early mornings to 40 feet later in the day. The larger holdover rainbows and browns are found deeper in the water column. Bank fishing is best with Power Bait or nightcrawlers, and the action is best the farther from the normal access points. Michael Crayne of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis advised moving as far away from the dam as possible in order to locate better action. The mouth of Short Hair Creek or the inlet on the far side of the lake at Wishon remain the best options for shoreline anglers. Courtright is scheduled for a trout plant the week of July 24 with Dinkey Creek receiving a plant this week.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 1 White seabass 2 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3

After several weeks of ‘Red Hot’ salmon fishing off of the San Mateo coastline, the huge school of salmon that stretched from Pigeon Point to close to Half Moon Bay decided to migrate north in a hurry as within a few days, the school swam north past the Farallon Islands, past Fanny Shoals, and finally off of the coast of Bodega Bay. This doesn’t mean that there still aren’t salmon off of the San Mateo coastline, it’s just that the 25 limits within 45-minute days are over for the time being. Needless to say, the Bay Area fleet that consistently had been heading down past Half Moon Bay have reversed direction and are not plying the waters north of the Golden Gate.

Sherry Ingles of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing said, “The Queen of Hearts found a spot near Pacifica, but he released a combined 84 shakers and silvers to put in nine keeper kings. Rockfishing remains outstanding with limits on every trip. The Queen of Hearts went after rock cod on Saturday for 26 limits of rockfish, 7 ling cod, and 60 sand dabs. There have been a number of vermilions and browns in the sacks along with a few ling cod and cabezon per trip. One commercial boat was able to pick up 50 salmon on Friday, but the bite slowed down to 15 salmon on Saturday.”

Captain Tom Mattusch, formerly of the Huli Cat, was out with Henry Sutter and San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos on a private boat this weekend, and he said, “We were trolling around Martin’s Beach, and went five for five on the salmon with Sheriff Bolanos picking up the big fish at 25 pounds at 24 feet on the wire. The others were small legal fish, but they still taste good. After the bite slowed, we went south to San Gregorio for between 30 to 40 rockfish. Martin’s Beach is a sleeper salmon spot right now, and you do have the opportunity to pick up a few quality salmon. It is typical that the smaller fish are found around Pacifica right now along with a few legal fish. There have also been reports of striped bass from the surf off of Pacifica.”

The 3rd Annual Cowboy Fishing Derby is this coming Friday/Saturday, July 15/16th, and this is a fundraiser for the American Legion Post 474 in Half Moon Bay. The organizer of this tournament is Tom McGurk, who runs the annual event for a local non-profit organization. Friday’s events start at 4:00 p.m. with a Happy Hour, Breakwater BBQ, and poker tournament to be followed by the fishing derby starting at dawn on Saturday with the fish weigh in and trophy ceremony at 3:30 p.m. A cornhole tournament and raffle starts at 4:30, followed by live music by SEGUE and a fish fry at 5:00 p.m. including clam chowder from Sam’s. Entry fees include all events and can be purchased at PayPal@cowboyfishing for $150.00/participant.

Call: Captain Michael Cabanas – New Captain Pete (510) 677-7054; Captain Chris Chang – Ankeny Street – (650) 279-8819; Captain Bill Smith – Riptide – (650) 728-8433; Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing – Queen of Hearts – (510) 581-2628.

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 White seabass 2 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3

Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “Anglers all around the Monterey Bay are enjoying decent fishing conditions as well as the availability of multiple species to target. The sea surface temperatures are rising, hovering near 60 degrees over most of the bay. This keeps the inshore species more active and triggers pre-spawn feeding and movement towards the shallows. The bread-and-butter species for the north and south ends of Monterey Bay are the various varieties of rockfish. They occupy the rocky reefs found near Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel in the south or Capitola and Santa Cruz at the northern end of the bay. The broad central areas of Monterey Bay are mostly sand or mud bottom that can hold big flatfish like halibut. A few miles offshore, these flats are cut by deep underwater canyons that foster an upwelling food chain, which is why migrating king salmon can be found in those areas. All of that activity and more is occurring right now in Monterey Bay, and anglers are reaping the rewards. We are seeing more of the school fish-type rockfish coming in recently. Catches of blacks, blues, and yellows were reported by a number of charter operators this week, along with a good peppering of big bottom- dwelling rock cod. The Check Mate and Caroline from Chris’s Fishing and Whale Watching Trips in Monterey posted full limits of rockfish up to 210 fish for their latest trips this week along with a bonus of up to four lingcod for the clients aboard. Rodney Armstrong from Santa Cruz Coastal Fishing Charters mirrored those results in the Santa Cruz area earlier in the week. Armstrong reported, “Today we ran our trifecta trip. We had our limits of rock fish. We landed three keeper lings and three short lings. Then we went and drifted for halibut and landed one nice keeper and released one short.” Stagnaro’s Sportfishing out of the Santa Cruz Wharf fished some deeper reefs this week and reported 3/4 to full limits of cod for their seven-hour trips including some chili pepper and Bocaccio. Halibut anglers are hitting the jackpot right now. The fish have moved solidly into the shallows. Keeper halibut are being caught from the Capitola Wharf as well as the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. Pier fishermen are jigging up live anchovies for bait or throwing white swimbaits. Many of these shallow water halibut are undersized, please remember to treat them gently and release them promptly. Same goes for surfcasters. On protected beaches with clear, calm water, the small halibut can be well within casting range. They will respond to white or anchovy swim baits, stickbaits such as Rapalas or Lucky Crafts along with plastic flukes on a drop-shot rig. An increasing number of white sea bass were hooked up this week by anglers working the shallows and kelp bed areas near Santa Cruz. Reports indicate the sea bass, including a few keepers, were hitting on swimbaits, though we imagine a fly-lined live anchovy would work just fine for these elusive fish. With luck and some more large, consistent squid spawns, we may see an influx of roving tanker white sea bass schools. Visiting schools of sea bass never hang around for long, but are terrific fighters in the 30- to 50-pound class and are the best eating fish in the ocean according to some (including me). Warm water and the abundance of anchovy bait can attract all sorts of exotics into our area. This week we received a fantastic report from Ivan O’Sullivan who hosted his nephews from North Carolina. In addition to surfcasting and a charter boat trip, O’Sullivan took the boys out in a rental skiff from Capitola Boat and Bait. 14-year-old nephew Cyrus Phillips found himself in the fight of his life when they hooked, landed, and released a seven-foot thresher shark who put on a stunning aerial show of acrobatics.”

Call: Chris’ Landing (831) 375-5951; Allen Bushnell – Santa Cruz Kayak and Surf Casting (831) 251-9732

Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay

Salmon 3 Halibut 3 Striper 2 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 3 Sturgeon 2

Salmon definitely have fins, and the huge school that has been sitting off of the San Mateo County coastline went on a major walkabout, migrating up to 15 miles within a day. They made a beeline north from Pigeon Point, traveling as far as Fanny Shoals by mid-week. The party boats were willing to run as far as Fanny Shoals which is 38 miles from Point Bonita on Wednesday to put in limits. They were past Point Reyes out on deep water on Thursday, and they are still up there. The party boats that are making the long, long run are coming back with limits.

Captain Jerad Davis was one of the boats that headed past the islands up to Fanny Shoals this week, and he was outside of Bodega Bay on Thursday in order to put in limits. He said, “We have scored limits on every trip since the reopener on June 23rd. On Friday, we had a full boat on the Golden State Salmon Association’s Lady’s Trip, and the ladies showed how it was done with another day of limits. After following the school to Bodega on Thursday, I was hoping to find them closer, and we did, stopping short of Point Reyes where all the stickboats were out during their first day of the shortened commercial season. There was a huge fleet of commercial boats below Point Reyes, and every boat in the harbor limited out. The Marin coast has yet to turn on, but if these fish keep coming south, it will be on much closer to home soon.”

The good news is the Marin coast did turn on at the end of the week, and Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters limited out on Saturday and Sunday by noon trolling just above the North Bar. There has been a tremendous amount of bait off of Muir Beach, and although the table was set during the week, the guest of honor took a few days to arrive. They arrived over the weekend, must to the pleasure of the captains who have been burning fuel to keep on the fish.

Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing has been willing to chase the fish, and his customers have been rewarded with quick limits. He went just shy of Point Reyes on Sunday for early limits, and he said, “It’s a matter of making the longer run to where the bulk of the fish are in order to find tremendous action or stay closer to home and pick at them.”

It’s not just salmon outside of the Gate as halibut and rockfish action continues to amaze. The California Dawn II went out on their annual Optimum Baits/Phenix Rods swimbait trip on Friday, and the deckhands were left with a mess of fish to clean as the group scored 22 limits of ling cod, 21 limits of halibut, 20 assorted rockfish, three cabezon, and a 15-pound striped bass. Matt Paino of Optimum Baits landed the big ling on a swimbait at 20 pounds, but he was knocked out of the jackpot when the boat made a few halibut drifts at the North and South Bars where a few flatfish over 20 pounds were landed. Vince Borges of Phenix Rods said, “I asked Captain James Smith to make a few drifts at the bars since I had landed three halibut on swimbaits on our trip on the Pacific Dream on Wednesday, and most of the big halibut came on the plastics.”

Not to be outdone, brother Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley Marina loaded up with 44 halibut to 30 pounds, 21 ling cod to 18 pounds, 63 rockfish, and an 18-pound striped bass for 14 anglers on Friday. The Pacific Dream combined with its sister boat, the Happy Hooker, on Saturday for 39 limits of halibut to 26 pounds and a 12-pound striped bass. Needless to say, you really can’t go wrong outside the Golden Gate right now.

With the allure of salmon and big halibut just outside of the Golden Gate, few boats have been working inside of the bay, but there are still fish to be caught with the exception of the absence of a bay summertime staple – the striped bass.

Captain Steve Talmadge of Flash Fishing out of San Francisco said, “We have also been running outside the Gate to work the North Bar for halibut, but we have been staying inside of the bay on half-day trips for shark or for halibut. We took out Brian Shaw and his son on a half-day trip this week, and we came back with two halibut per rod. The fish weren’t big in the 23/24-inch range, but it made for a good day. We have been finding great action for sharks near Alameda with salmon roe or midshipmen, and in addition to the constant of leopard sharks, we have been picking up some seven-gill shark in the 5- to 6-foot range.

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond also had a half-day trip inside of the bay with a grandfather and his grandsons on Friday, and they found a few legal halibut off of the San Francisco shoreline after getting a scoop of live bait. After working the deep water off of Alcatraz Island for some more halibut, his customers were happy and wanted to head back to the harbor.

Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing continues to target the big seven-gill, six-gill, cow, and soupfin shark in the deep water, and he said, “Shark fishing has been excellent, and we have only had to kill one fish over 100 pounds this year. I really prefer to release these big fish, and I have gone to barbless hooks to make the release easier. We released 17 sharks on a single trip this week, and it is no small task to release the fish in the water as you have to get a vice grips down near the mouth to twist the hook out. They spin and fight, not realizing that you are trying to save them. You have to use a wire leader so just cutting them off is not an option. The fishery does seem to be very healthy as we have also found the big sharks on the beaches outside of the Golden Gate.”

The bay has been muddy, and it will only become muddier with the minus 1.7-foot tides arriving this week.

Call: Captain Trent Slate Bite Me Charters (415) 307-8582; Captain Jerad Davis, Salty Lady (415) 760-9362; Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing (707) 655-6736; Happy Hooker (510) 223-5388.

San Luis Obispo

Rockfish 2 Salmon 2 Surf perch 3

Rockfishing is up-and-down, and it is clear that the longer you are out on the water and the farther you are able to travel from the harbor, the better the grade and numbers of rockfish. Ling cod remain scarce, and it takes a long-range or overnight trip to put a hurt on the lings. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing in Port San Luis, the Patriot and Flying Fish were out on half-day trips on Sunday with 46 anglers for a total of 187 fish composed of, 12 vermilion, 168 assorted rockfish, 5 Bolina, and two ocean whitefish. Out of Morro Bay Landing, the Avenger, Endeavor, and Starfire were out on trips ranging from ½-day to full day on Sunday with 72 anglers for 58 vermilion, 10 Boccaccio, 494 assorted rockfish, and 4 lings to 14 pounds with Aaron Matts of Bakersfield finding the jackpot ling at the Lighthouse. Out of Virg’s Landing, the Black Pearl, Fiesta, and Rita G were out with 79 fishermen on Friday for 610 assorted rockfish, 52 vermilion, and 2 ling cod. The lings were taken on the longer 3/4th- day trip. Webcams of many of the coastal locations are available at https://805webcams.com/.

Call: Virg’s Landing (800) 762-5263; Patriot Sport Fishing (805) 595-4100; Morro Bay Landing

Others

Delta/Stockton

Bass 3 Striper 2 Sturgeon 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 3

This is a highly unusual year on the Sacramento-Delta as there are still striped bass holding in the north Delta despite the warm water conditions. The fall migration traditionally starts in August with the arrival of big females, and there are always some huge fish taken in the late summer off of Decker Island and below. Sturgeon fishing is null and void with the lack of anglers, but the diamondbacks are still lurking. Largemouth bass in the north Delta is another option.

The river salmon season opens on the Sacramento River throughout the Delta on Saturday, June 16th, and the two locations most popular to toss spinners from the banks are below the Freeport Bridge or off of the Benicia shorelines.

Alan Fong of Alan Fong’s Outdoors was in the north Delta early in the week, and he said, “We caught and released a dozen striped bass along with a half-dozen largemouth bass in the grass on the flats with Z-Man’s Jackhammer chatterbaits in Red Craw. It was slow for us, but the day before, anglers out there found better action. The water is 77 degrees, and the stripers should be gone, but the two eight-pound stripers we kept still had green eggs.”

Bill Crooks of Sacramento trolled the West Bank from Three Mile Slough to Chain Island with Ron Retzlaff of Orangevale and Mike Steer, and they landed 20 keeper striped bass to 10 pounds so this is more evidence of the striped bass hanging around in the Sacramento-Delta.

The Brannan Island State Recreation Area is open on weekends-only from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until September 1st. A new concessionaire is being recruited for fulltime duty. Only the launch ramp and nearby day-use area is open as the other parts of the park remain closed.

Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait said, “Striped bass fishing is fair from the shorelines, and I hooked up 11-year-old Rielly Favalora of Benicia with bait on Saturday, and he came back with a keeper striper and four jack smelt off of 9th Street. He was thrilled, and he landed the keeper on anchovies. There is great anticipation for the river salmon opener, and we are stocked with Vee-Zee spinners, but with the saltwater intrusion further east towards Pittsburg, I don’t anticipate that the salmon will be sticking around long near Benicia. Normally, the salmon will stage for a few days to get acclimated to the fresh water, but the water line is much further upstream during this third year of drought.”

Sturgeon must be enjoying the break after being pounded throughout the winter and spring.

Just in time for the two large frog tournaments in the California Delta, the frog bite is heating up right on cue. The original frog tournament, the Snag Proof Open, will take place out of Russo’s Marina on August 6/7th while the 8th annual Ultimate Frog Challenge will occur the previous weekend, also out of Russo’s Marina.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor and director of the Snag Proof Open, was out on the Delta this week filming with Optimum Baits, and he said, “We went looking for some larger-than-average fish with the Optimum Baits frog or crankbaits. We wanted the frog bite to match up with the crankbaits in the areas worked so we used the ima Pinjack crankbait at depths from 5 to 7 feet for up to 50 bass to 4 pounds. We had lots of action on the outside weed line due to the slow tide, rotating between the Pinjack or the squarebilled crankbaits in red/black, and this allowed us to work the outside edges. The key was puffing the silt, and I explained to the film crew what puff the silt means. Our weeds on the California Delta are the filtration system so when a crank bait goes and hits them you have to let up before cranking again, puffing the dust off of the weeds. This creates the allusion that a crank bait is a crawdad trying to get away, enticing the strike.”

Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors found similar action with red chatterbaits as the largemouth bass are loading up on crawdads. He said, “Nearly every bass we are landing have antennas sticking out of their craw. It was a similar pattern to last week, and Alex Sanchez went out and fished the same areas on Saturday to take first with nearly 24 pounds during the Nor Cal Bass event.”

Dave King of NorCal Bass said, “We drew 30 boats out of Ladd’s Marina on Saturday, and the team of Alex Sanchez and Vince Mina took first at 23.47 pounds with a big fish at 9.05 pounds. Out of the 30 boats, 28 weighed in, and it took 14 pounds to cash a check. I was out with my partner, and we culled fish all day long in the 1- to 2-pound range on topwater lures. We had to come in early for the 12 noon weigh in, and the tide was stagnant between 10 and 11:00 a.m. Just at the end, my partner had an estimated 7-pound largemouth blow up on his frog out of the thick weeds, and it was just one of those things that you couldn’t avoid. This fish would have pushed up close to the top. The winning team found the big fish by punching, and according to Sanchez, he came back three times to the same spot to finally score the big fish by punching while his partner, Mina, also landed a big fish on a topwater lure. The tide was the key, and they said, ‘We would have weighed in over 30 pounds if the weigh in was later in the day. Our next tournament out of Ladd’s is August 13th.”

Dan Mathisen of Dan Mathisen Outdoors said, “The frog bite is coming on just in time for the frog tournaments, and the punch bite remains solid.” Mathisen’s next tournament out of Holland Riverside Marina is July 23rd.

In the extreme south Delta, Omega Nguyen of Mega Bait and Tackle said, “Our shadder is still out there looking for fresh shad, and we get multiple calls every day about the shad. He thinks it will be a few weeks. One customer landed striped bass to 17.5 pounds drifting mudsuckers on the San Joaquin near the mouth of the Mokelumne near Korth’s Pirates Lair, but in our section of the river below the Mossdale Bridge, the action is limited to plenty of catfish along with undersized striped bass on sardines, anchovies, or pile worms. Bluegill on red worms is another option.”

Call: Randy Pringle (209) 543-6260; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing – (707) 655-6736; Vince Borges – Vince Borges Outdoors (209) 918-0828

Lake Nacimiento/San Antonio/Santa Margarita/Lopez

Bass 3 White bass 3 Catfish 3 Crappie 2 Bluegill 2 Trout 2

At Nacimiento, there is a solid reaction bite with topwater lures such as Whopper Ploppers along with squarebilled and lipless crankbaits in the early mornings and just before dusk. As the shad schools are dropping to the bottom in deep water, ice jigs or flutter spoons are working for the spots. White bass are chasing shad, particularly as the water is warming up, and when the boils are located, small white spoons, spinners, swimbaits, or topwater lures are working. Trollers continue to work the subsurface schools of whites with similar lures. Bluegill and red ear perch continue to be taken on red worms, jumbo red worms, or meal worms. The lake held at 23%. Recreational boating is taking over on the weekends. A webcam of the lake is available at https://805webcams.com/lake-nacimiento-live-webcam/. At Lopez, bass action remain solid despite having to rent a boat with the launch ramp out of the water. The best bite has been with plastics on a drop-shot or Carolina-rig from the banks while kayakers and rental boats are finding similar action on plastics. A Ned-rig or swimbait is also effective. Jumbo red worms or red worms are working for bluegill or red ear perch. The launch ramp remains closed, but anglers can rent a boat at the marina. The lake is at 26.3% of capacity. Anglers can view a live webcam of the lake at https://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. At Santa Margarita, the bass bite is picking up with a few quality largemouth taken on topwater lures in the early mornings or late afternoons along with crankbaits or jerkbaits. After the initial early morning bite, its back to the bottom with plastics or jigs. Bluegill and red ear perch are taken on jumbo red worms or red worms around structure, and catfishing continues to improve with the warm water conditions with cut baits scented with garlic. The planted rainbows have gone deep, and they are reluctant to bite. The lake is at 57.0% of capacity. A webcam of the lake is available at https://805webcams.com/santa-margarita-lake-webcam-california/. At San Antonio, it’s still all about whiskerfish with a variety of baits including mackerel scented with garlic, Triple S Dip Bait, frozen shad, or chicken livers. The crappie bite is slow overall, but there are still a few slabs to be had. Bass fishing is slow overall, and it has been for some time. Carp are throughout the shallows and easy to catch on doughbaits. The launch ramp is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekends and from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Fridays. The lake held at 11%.

Call: Lake Nacimiento Marina (805) 238-3256; Lopez Lake Marina (805) 489-1006; Santa Margarita Marina Store (805) 438-1522; Lake San Antonio Marina (805) 472-2313

Reminder: consuming white bass, black bass, crappie, catfish, or carp are subject to safe eating guidelines due to excessive mercury.

Events

Tournament results

Pine Flat – Bass 101 Team Night Tournament (Two limits) (No last names provided)– July 9th/10th: 1st –– Dave/Jeremy - 25.27 pounds; 2nd – Tom/Rusty – 19.67 (Big Fish 5.20); 3rd –Mark/John - 16.32.

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – NorCal Bass – July 10th: 1st – Alex Sanchez/Vince Mina – 23.47 pounds (Big Fish – 9.05); 2nd – John Avilar – 17.88; 3rd – Brett Scarlett/Tim Rickett - 16.80.

Isabella – Golden Empire Bass Club – July 9/10th (Two limits) : 1st – Randy and Grandpa McAbee – 34.95 pounds; 2nd – Mike Merlo/Duwayne Daulke – 32.10 ; 3rd – Nathan Towes/David Childress - 32.05 (Big Fish – 6.90)

New Melones – Kokanee Power Team Tournament Adult Division (Three fish weigh in)– July 10th: 1st – Team Franco – James, Jim, and Denise Franco – 4.80 pounds (Big Kokanee – 1.68); 2nd – Team Contreras – Richard, Kaitlyn, and Allison Contreras and Chris Miller – 4.56; 3rd – Team Villanueva – Renee Villanueva and Brian Hough – 4.52.

New Melones – Kokanee Power Team Tournament Youth Division (One fish weigh in)– July 10th: 1st –Lucas Johnson – 1.51 pounds; 2nd –Logan Noble – 1.36 pounds; 3rd – Kaitlyn Contreras – 1.33 pounds.

New Melones – Kokanee Power Team Tournament Big Trout Division (One fish weigh in)– July 10th: 1st – Nathan Lenard – 2.75 pounds; 2nd – Kirk Emge – 2.34 pounds; 3rd – Jay Winchester – 2.20 pounds.

Upcoming Tournaments (subject to change)

July 13th –

Nacimiento – San Luis Obispo Bass Ambushers

July 16th/17th –

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Kern County Bass Masters

Don Pedro – Fresno Bass Club

July 16th –

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Gold County Bass Tour

Pine Flat – Bakersfield Bass Club

Kaweah – Sierra Bass Club/Kings VIII Bass Club

Santa Margarita – Best Bass Tournaments

July 17th –

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Nor Cal High School Bass

July 23rd –

Delta/Holland Riverside Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors

Delta/Big Break Marina – Bass N’ Tubes

July 24th –

Delta/Big Break – Bass N’ Tubes

July 30th/31st –

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Anglers Press

July 30th –

New Melones – Oro Madre Bass Angler