Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by local fishing expert Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State and striper record-holder at Millerton Lake.

Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted.

BEST BETS

Shaver trout fishing is picking up, Patrick Movey said. Southern Aqueduct striper bite is steady, Pete Cormier reported. Don Pedro and McClure rainbows are hitting, Manny Basi said. McSwain trout are on good bite, Stephanie Powell reported.

FLYFISHING REPORT

Jimi Morales said that the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers opened Jan. 1. No sea-run fish as of yet, but plenty of wild trout being caught. Little surface activity even with a very strong BWO Mayfly (Nos. 18-29) hatch. Some midday success high-sticking the riffles with small dark nymphs. A few salmon still around, so using a two-fly setup with a Glo-bug will bring some strikes. Sierra Fly Fisher Guide Service (559) 683-7664. Yosemite Rivers Fly Shop (559) 641-7788.

ROGER'S REMARKS

A big deal when I was growing up was the The Bee's weekly fishing report, which I'd use to plan my next trip. I'd pore over every sentence and wonder how reporter Bruce Farris could know so much about all the different types of fishing and how he got his experience. Nowadays, folks ask me about my background, and since most anglers know me as a striper fanatic, the question always arises: What do you really know about bass, trout, crappie, catfish, etc., and do you have any experience with those fish? No one can ever do it all, or know it all, but I thought I might fill in the gap and give you what I think my so-called "expert" rating on a scale of 10 might be for each species. Don't forget, however -- I rely on guys I think are close to 10s!

Bass: My first fish was a largemouth and I was born in Florida -- how much more fishy can you get? Growing up, I chased bass all over the Valley with friends and family at Pine Flat, Millerton, Hensley, McClure, Don Pedro, Skaggs Bridge, the San Joaquin River gravel pits and the Burrell slough. When Hensley first opened, we took aircraft cable and secured a pulley to a rock in the parking area to lower the fully loaded aluminum boat filled with batteries (electric motors only then) 100 yards to the water. We had amazing 100-fish days on top water for bass to almost 5 pounds. And since we had a pretty large network of great anglers, it led us all over the Valley to some of the best bass fishing of the 1960s and on to the 1980s. I love bass fishing (especially largemouth) and that's all I did for years, with a personal record of 12 pounds, which I released, out of Eastman on a top-water plug. I feel at home catching them using splitshotting, spinnerblades, topwater, cranks and jigs. Self-rating: 6/7.

Trout: I grew up angling for multispecies since my family believed taking a trip for one species could be good for another, too. Bass Lake, McClure, Don Pedro and New Melones can produce some great trout action, and we'd take advantage of it after the bass bite slowed. We would put out the floating lights as the sun went down then catch trout and crappie all night before watching the sun come up as we went back to the early bass bite. Got a lot of giant crappie and trout to 20+ inches that way. I have fished the higher-altitude streams and lakes for trout, used flies, and hit Mammoth Pool, Shaver, Bridgeport, Twin Lakes and Wishon over the years, too. We also fished the Kings River for some huge trout. One of my goals is to get a big brown. My personal record trout was a 23-inch trout in Oregon. Self-rating: 6.