Fishing report compiled by California Outdoors Hall of Fame member Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, who guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake.
Rankings key below: 4: Fish are jumping in the boat. 3: Good fishing. 2: Decent fishing. 1: Poor fishing. 0: Don’t bother
Unless noted, area code is 559
Bee’s Top 5 Picks
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Bass 3 Trout 2 Kokanee 3
New Melones remains the top Mother Lode lake for kokanee, and Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service continues to score limits with a few hours running Head Hunter Spoons behind a 5.5- to 8-inch Paulina Peak gold hammered dodger at depths from 90 to 120 feet. He said, “Right now, with the kokanee holding tight to structure, stick weights on the downrigger are necessary to work the bottom. The tip of the stick weights contacts the bottom, pushing up silt, resulting in a strike of aggression. Trout fishing is starting to pick up, but nearly all trollers are focusing on kokanee. For bass, Aaron Jones reported an excellent night bite with jigs, topwater lures, black crankbaits, or underspins as the bass are focusing the lake’s shad schools. He said, “There is a tremendous amount of bait in the lake, and the key is to find the bait. Melones is fishing better than Pedro right now.” Both Glory Hole and Tuttletown open from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Glory Hole will be the only ramp open starting at 8:00 am Monday through Thursday. All boats must be quarantined for 30 days or decontaminated at the New Melones Marina. Water releases continue as the lake dropped to 1018.45 feet in elevation and 69%.
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 2 Trout 3 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Trout trolling remains a solid option as Brian Klassen, Dan Weaver, Justin Kimura, and Gage Oliver had lines in by 5:20 am in the Zebe Creek area on Saturday, and they found immediate action at depths from 55 to 60 feet with blade/’crawler combinations on a setback of 50 feet at 2.0 mph. Staying in the area, they ended up with 12 rainbows, a spotted bass, and a 9-inch king salmon which was released using either blade/crawler combinations or Moose Creek Wobbler Spoons in silver/blue or pink/chartreuse. The surface temperature has risen to 82 degrees, and they trolled until 10:40 am when recreational boaters took over the lake. For bass, Tas Moau reported most anglers are struggling with the dropping water levels. He said, “The best action has been in the backs of either Big or Sycamore Creek, but there are baitfish moving into the main lake. Bass are chasing pike minnows around the docks.” The lower Kings River has slowed down with the lack of planting this week, but it is possible to pick up a few planted rainbows with Power Bait, live crickets, nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, or various spinners. The Fresno Bass Club has a tournament this coming Sunday, July 26, but there are 4 additional tournaments scheduled in August.
Bass Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0
Mike Beighey of ‘Bass Lake Fishing Tours with Mike’ reported trout trolling has slowed, but it is starting to pick up again after the full moon phase. He said, “It generally does this just before the 4th, but about a week or so afterwards, they start coming back.” Beighey found action at depths from 18 to 25 feet from the Forks to Miller’s Landing Resort with Dicks Mountain Hoochies in orange tipped with corn or night crawlers. He said, “Radical Glow Tubes, Mountain Tubes, or Trout Busters in red or green, along with orange, pink, or green Mini Squids behind Dick’s Mountain dodgers are also solid options. There are still trophy trout to be caught. I am even starting to see some rainbows in the dam area, but I haven’t seen any kokanee. Traffic on the lake is still heavy, but it doesn’t seem to bother the fishing as long as you start fishing at 6:00 am and get two hours of fishing before 8 am when the skiers take off.
The best place to start is across from Miller’s Landing and work your way down through the channel towards in front of the Forks, but it gets shallow towards the Forks, so don’t go too far or the weeds will get you.” For bass, Tas Moau reported the docks or the dam area have been the top locations with underspins, Keitech swimbaits, or urchin-style baits at 10 to 15 feet. He said, “It gets snaggy around the dam.” A webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. No future bass tournaments are schedule through the end of August.
Wishon/Courtright
Trout 3
Kelly Brewer of the Wishon Village RV Park and Store said, “The water temperatures are rising, and trolling has slowed a bit although there have been plenty of limits taken at depths from 3 to 5 colors of lead core with Wedding Rings tipped with a piece of nightcrawler or blade/’crawler combinations. Bank fishing has slowed, and the most productive times are in the early mornings or afternoons into the evening at locations with deep water access.” Steven Jones of Fresno, brown trout record holder at Shaver Lake, reported incredible trout trolling at Wishon, running spoons at depths from 15 to 45 feet for over 30 trout caught and released. Road conditions – Sierra National Forest 297-0706 ext. 4961 or 392-0423.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 3 Striper 2 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
It remains very windy throughout the California Delta, but largemouth fishing has been excellent for numbers of smaller bass. There have been some larger bass caught and released, but these are the exception as fish in the 1- to 3.5-pound range are common around moving water near tules or rocks. Plastics, or jigs in crawdad colors are the top producers for numbers, but larger fish can be found by punching the weeks with creature baits, frogs, or topwater lures. Small topwater lures such as a Rico have been productive for overall numbers. The key is finding moving water, and the best action clearly takes place in the early morning. Spraying continues throughout the Delta, and it has left many weed mats dead and floating on the surface. The first of the two major frog tournaments arrives this coming weekend with the Ultimate Frog Challenge on July 25/26, followed by the original frog tournament, the Snag Proof Open, on August 1 and 2. Both tournaments will be held out of Big Break Marina. Small resident striped bass are holding in the north or western portion of the Delta, but these are mostly undersized. River salmon fishing on the Sacramento and Mokelumne rivers started on July 16, and a few salmon have been landed in the lower river with by far the best action much further upriver near Chico on the Sacramento and at the Outlet Hole on the Feather River.
Others:
Valley/Westside waterways
Striper 2 Catfish 3
Tas Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle reported the striped bass are scattered with the best action near bends, structure, or bridge pilings around Nees and Manning Roads with the best action toward Kettleman City. Flutter spoons, flukes, or Duo Realis 120 or 130 jerkbaits are working along with anchovies. Night fishing for catfish remains solid with a variety of baits.
Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Moau reported the bass are most active from 1:00 pm until after sunset before slowing down during the night around 11:00 pm. He said, “It is mostly a reaction bite at depths from 10 to 15 feet with lipless crankbaits along with jigs, urchin-style baits, or plastics on a Carolina-rig. Damian Thao continues to find limits pushing 40 pounds, and he has been using a huge custom Hinkle Trout glide bait. The bass are coming up from the depths to predate on crappie.” Moua added, “There is a bass bite at Hensley, but it is not as good as Eastman. There have been limits to 25 pounds taken working jigs or crankbaits over structure along with flipping near the trees. Palm-sized crappie can be taken from the banks.”
Lake Don Pedro
Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Crappie 2
Don Pedro continues to be tough for trollers as Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said, “We had one day that the rainbows bit exceptionally well this past week, but we followed this up with a tougher trip on Saturday. There is a ton of bait in the lake, and it is not big shad at around an inch. We can see the rainbows on the Live Scope, and they are looking at our spoons at 50 to 55 feet, but they have been reluctant to bite. The trout are still relatively high in the water column, and we are using a combination of custom shad-patterned spoons or ExCel’s.” For bass, Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle in Modesto said, “It has been ‘hit or miss’ depending on where and how you’re fishing as the fish are either deep or suspended. The suspended fish can be anywhere in the lake from 15 to 50 feet, mostly roaming around the shad schools. The shallow bite is sparse except at low light, in the early mornings or evenings. Shad are starting to stack up in the backs of creek arms, but the schools are spaced out. The topwater and jerkbait bite is best when there is shad around. Walking baits, Berkley’s Choppo, jigs, underspins, crankbaits, jigs, and plastics are all working at depths in the 40-foot range. Night fishing has been very good.” Launch updates are posted at www.donpedrolake.com. A self-inspection is required for launching. The lake dropped 5.5 feet to 810.08 feet in elevation and 88%. With the limited restrictions for launching, recreational boating is high, particularly on the weekends. There are 3 bass tournaments remaining in July with 2 scheduled in August.
Isabella/Kaweah/Success/southern California Aqueduct reports available at https://www.tackleandrod.com/weekly-fishing-report.
McClure Reservoir
Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Kokanee 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2
The lake continues to drop, and it is currently at 825.22 and 74%, receding 9 feet in the past two weeks. The remaining kokanee are holding on structure, leaving rainbow trout as the best option for trollers. Finding the shad schools is the key in the main lake. For bass, Aaron Jones the fish have moved out into deeper water, and they are either holding deep or suspending around structure. Deep-diving crankbaits, jigs, or plastics are your best option at depths to 40 feet. The 2027 camping reservation window opened on July 15 for reservations after July 1, 2027. The Reel Deal Market is now open daily from 10am – 5 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 6:30 pm on weekends. The Barrett Cove Café is open weekends through September 7. There are no bass tournaments scheduled through the end of August.
Lake McSwain
Trout 2
The last trout plant was prior to the July 4th weekend, and trout fishing has slowed considerably from the banks. Early mornings or late afternoons into the evenings are the best window for bank anglers soaking a variety of Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or spoons. Trolling for holdover rainbows I the best option in the cooler waters of the river arm below the Exchequer Dam with a variety of presentations. The Splash-N-Dash Water feature dominates interest on the lake. Information on the Splash N’Dash is available at: https://mysplashndash.com/. Reel Deal Market & Cafe is now open every day the Splash N’ Dash is operation, Mondays thru Fridays from 10 AM to park close; Saturdays from 8 AM to 7 PM; and Sundays from 9 AM to 7 PM. The 2027 camping reservation window opened on July 15 for reservations after July 1, 2027.
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2
Tas Moau reported undersized bass in the 10- to 12-inch range have been dominant, but there was a 2.5-pound spotted bass along with a 4-pound spotted bass landed halfway up the river arm. The best action remains from the banks to 15 feet with plastics on a shakey-head, 2.8- to 3.3-inch Keitech swimbaits, or other finesse presentations. Recreational boat remains very heavy, particularly on the weekends. The lake is rapidly releasing water, and it dropped to 535.91 feet in elevation and 65%. The San Joaquin River remains stable at 325 cfs at Friant. There are no bass tournaments scheduled through the end of August.
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2
Tas Moua reported the main lake continues to be the top location for local striped bass anglers, saying, “We have been selling dip nets for grass shrimp along with anchovies for bank anglers. There is a topwater bite along with jerkbaits such as Duo Realis 120’s or 130’s.”
Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that the bite had improved for trollers working the 70’ depths on the main lake flats with stick baits in Shad colors.” I was guiding Bob McGill of Selma last week and we hit the trolling bite about right- first picking up a nice 21 lber,later topping that fish with a new PB 42”, 27 lber for Bob, both released. It was one of those days you always hope to have someday!” George said.
The forebay continues to produce numbers of undersized striped bass, and the best action for keepers has been at night near the 152 Bridge. Moua added, “Carp fishing has been phenomenal, and there still is a solid largemouth bite in the forebay around Check 12.” Golden mussel watercraft inspections are no longer needed at San Luis and the O’Neill Forebay. The main lake continues to release water, and it dropped from 56%. Los Banos Creek Reservoir was scheduled to open this month, but the opening has been postponed to August 1.
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2
Dick Nichols of Mountain Tackle reported the big news was a 4-pound smallmouth bass at Shaver by Caanon Adams at 4-pounds, saying, “This must be a lake record as I have never heard of any smallmouth even approaching this size from Shaver.” Smallmouth bass are abundant, and they are found around rocky structure with plastics on a Ned-rig, finesse jigs, or similar lures. For kokanee, Nichols reported overall slow action with a limit or two possible as the fish have dropped deep in the water column as the surface temperature continues to rise to 77 degrees. Heavy boat traffic is creating challenging conditions for trollers with experienced anglers finding only a handful or two or kokanee. The kokanee have vacated Black Rock, and they have been stacked on the north end, between the Island and Road 2, and in front of the dam. Orange tubes, Jimbo spinners, or Dick’s Trout Busters in orange are the best options behind a D-Mac Mountain Dodger. Jarrett Watson of Shaver Sports said, “If you don’t have downriggers, you can jig, and the area around Sierra Marina has been a great place to vertically jig 1/2oz Kokanator spoons.” Huntington has also slowed down for both kokanee and rainbow trout at depths from 20 to 30 feet in the main stretch from the launch ramp to the dam as the surface temperature has risen to 67 degrees. The sailboat regattas are over to the season.
Ocean
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Rockfish 3 Salmon 2 Halibut 2 Striper 2 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch
Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, “There’s no excuse to not go fishing on Monterey Bay right now. Literally everything is here and active, starting with tons of bait in the bay. Commercial squid boats are finding pockets of market squid shallow in locations from Monterey to Capitola, and everything in the ocean eats squid. Sardines made a good appearance at the start of our fishing season while bait-sized anchovies are starting to flood in now at depths from 30 to 50 feet. Any of these small finfish make excellent live bait to be used for rockfish, lingcod, halibut, white sea bass or bonito. The Pacific Mackerel is a preferred bait in northern California for the giant bluefin tuna that continue to lurk off our coast. Santa Cruz Coastal Charters worked the inside reefs this week for a nice variety of rockfish including browns, blues, blacks and gophers. The Velocity out of Stagnaro’s Sportfishing in Santa Cruz produced rockfish limits on their five-hour deep sea cod trips with some quality vermilion and widow rockfish. Nearshore/shallow water cod trips are averaging around 3/4 limits. The New Horizon out of J&M Sportfishing in Monterey reported 20 limits of rockfish and 13 lingcod on recent trips. Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz noted some exceptional fishing near Santa Cruz with a variety of species from the inshore area. Salmon fishing has slowed somewhat, but there were some limits of salmon trolling near Three Trees in 150 feet of water. There was a solo limit of salmon caught near Capitola in 40 feet of water. Halibut and white seabass are caught from Capitola to Pajaro on Big Hammer swimbaits, Purple Haze Hoochies, squid, or mackerel.”
Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay/Half Moon Bay
Halibut 4 Salmon 2 Striper 3 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 3 Sturgeon 0 Crab 0
Ocean salmon fishing ends on Wednesday, July 22, but the season is expected to reopen on August 1 through the 31st or until the 34,900 fish harvest quota is reached. During the week, salmon fishing was much slower with party boats averaging around a fish per rod, but the action picked up over the weekend. One limiting factor has been the size of the fish, leading to a hookup/landing ratio close to 50%. Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Paradise Cove found the action at the edge of the Shipping Channel on Saturday for 7 limits to 24 pounds with a solid 14- to 16-pound average. He said, “We ran up to Duxbury, but when the bite was slow, we moved back down to the Shipping Channel, and I kept circling the area.” Slate followed this up with two fish shy of limits on Sunday with several fish lost. Captain James Smith of the California Dawn 2 found similar action with 23 salmon to 20 pound and a striped bass for 18 anglers on Sunday, and this was a typical big boat score over the weekend. Further north, Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing put his charter onto 13 salmon to 26 pounds with several fish lost as he said, “These fish are big, and we landed a 39-pounder this week.” Rockfishing remains outstanding, and the Sea Wolf out of Emeryville made the extremely long run to the newly reopened grounds at Cordell Banks for 22 limits of rockfish and lingcod. An area of Cordell Banks was reopened on June 23 after being closed for 22 years, and both the California Dawn 2 out of Berkeley and Power’s Surf Scoter out of Bodega Bay are planning trips to Cordell this week, weather permitting. As of July 3, 3927 salmon have been reported, leaving 30,973 salmon available below Point Arena during the first portion of the season open from June 27 through July 22 and from August 1 through 23 before an additional 20,000 salmon available below Point Reyes starting September 1. returned with 23 limits of rockfish and lings at the Farallons.
With rough weather outside during the week, party boats worked inside the bay for a handful of halibut and up to limits of striped bass.
Morro Bay
Rockfish 2 Surf perch 3
Rockfishing slowed a bit out of the San Luis Obispo County ports with three boats out of Morro Bay Landing with a combined 88 passengers returning with around half limits consisting of 402 assorted, 40 vermilion, 40 Boccaccio, 11 copper, 1 cabezon, and 6 ling cod on Sunday. Also on Sunday, two boats were out of Patriot Sport Fishing in Port San Luis with 24 passengers near rockfish limits of 180 assorted, 16 vermilion, 16 copper, one Boccaccio, one ocean whitefish, and 4 lingcod to 9 pounds.
Events:
Tournament Results:
Delta/Big Break Marina – The Bass Hole High Rollers Division – July 11: 1st – Logan and Jim Huntze – 28.99; 2nd – Jamond Andrews/Harvey Pulliam – 23.04; 3rd – Dan Fonte/John Clark – 21.36.
Delta/Big Break Marina – The Bass Hole Low Rollers Division – July 11: 1st – Andrew and Andy Kobayashi – 20.08; 2nd – Ivan Lazarin/Vern McCalla – 17.87; 3rd – Brandon Chaline/William Mericle – 16.52.
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The Fresno Bee
Christopher Kirkpatrick is senior editor of The Fresno Bee and Vida en el Valle.