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

Eastman bass bite is "best in the Valley," Merritt Gilbert said. Aqueduct stripers are active, Patrick Movey reported. McClure bass action is good, Randy Pringle said. Pine Flat trout are working shallow, Paul Kalpakoff said.

ROGER'S REMARKS

The entire process of fishing can be intimidating at times, with all kinds of frustrating mess-ups and just plain old bad luck at some time. Once in a while, however, something unexpectedly good happens out of the blue.

My situation started several weeks ago, when a friend called and said his buddy got a 21-pound striper while trolling at San Luis. Great, I thought, so off I went with high hopes of a bigger fish.

We fished really hard all day and got the usual little ones, but we just knew a bigger one had to be there. Around 4 p.m. we were frustrated when some flyfisher friends came over and asked how we were doing. Not too bad, I answered. Casually, they told me they had an 8, 17 and a 21. You mean inches, right? No, pounds! "Time to throw up, Roger!" I thought to myself as I gave them a half-hearted thumbs up and they raced off to another location.

The week after that, and after much thinking about it I was determined to fulfill my mission of a bigger fish, so off we went again. Another day of nice-sized small stripers, but the bigger ones weren't interested in the kitchen sink I was throwing at them. We managed to lose about $50 of lures for all kinds of stupid reasons, too. And then, on the way home, I called an old fishing buddy, who told me his friend had just killed 'em in a different part of the lake!

My greatest strength (and liability) may be my persistence, so off I went again last weekend with Martin Kuwamoto of Fresno to hit it one more time. It was freezing, but we trolled around for an hour when Martin noted something jerking on the pole. I was soon fighting in the fish and realized it was big -- probably around 20 pounds-plus. Finally, I thought, the end of my drought! But after working it in for a couple minutes, the line went slack -- and the fish was kaput. I reeled in the line and the end looked like it was cut (another strange anomaly) and the fish had taken the unique $20 lure with him.

An hour later, we were back trolling when I get a strike and it felt pretty good, maybe a player. "OK, another chance," I thought, just as the fish surged hard and the lure pulled free. Yikes, again! In the next couple hours, I lost or destroyed several of my best lures, ones I've fished for years. Everything from getting snagged to accidentally hitting the boat with one and having it split in two, to managing to rip the rear hook out of one with my pliers. It was beginning to feel like a bloodbath kind of day. To assuage the pain, I suggested we go fish for some of the regular small stripers and maybe I would get my mojo back. "Do you fold 'er up or not?" I asked myself in the middle of my pity party.

Deciding to give it one last try, off we went in the late afternoon. After trolling for about a half-mile, I turned to see my pole bending over gradually -- the usual sign that I was snagged again (for the 20th time). Chagrined, I lifted the pole to try to jerk it free when I felt a small tug and it took off! I first told Martin I thought it was around 10 pounds. Then 30 seconds later, maybe 20. After a 10-minute battle, the fish surfaced -- bigger than 20! Working the fish close, Martin scooped it into the net, but the striper turned and jumped out of it -- no! Martin recovered, though, reached out and netted the thrashing fish. Yes, we whooped and hollered! The striper was 411/2-inches long and 30 pounds, a beauty. Unfortunately, it had inhaled the lure down into its throat and gills; there was blood all over.