Top 5 fishing spots in Central CA: Lake Don Pedro, McClure and New Melones reservoirs, Millerton
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
Top 5 Picks-
Lake Don Pedro
Bass 3 Trout 3 Kokanee 3 King salmon 3 Crappie 2
Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing has found good action for kokanee, kings, and rainbows working small spoons such as Hawken Simon Hot Tails at depths from 30 to 45 feet. Smith said, “These lures are 1.5 inches in length, and the smaller presentations seem to be working best. All three species are mixed together, but I marked fish deeper that much have been kings. The kings are burping up shad, and we ran into a huge bait ball for the first time this spring. The kokanee are loaded with plankton, and there are various size models, but we have landed them in the 15.5- to 16.5-inch range. This should be an excellent year for big fish.” Smith cautioned boaters to be aware of floating and submerged logs since the lake continues to rise at 811.28 feet in elevation and 89%. For bass, Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle reported a solid morning topwater bite, saying, “I would start off with a Popper before going to a walking bait. There are a lot of fish on the banks, and jigs in brown/purple or orange/brown are working along with jerkbaits.” The lake will experience intense fishing pressure with tournaments on the schedule nearly every weekend through the end of June.
Launch updates are posted at www.donpedrolake.com. A self-inspection is required for launching.
Isabella/Kaweah/Success/southern California Aqueduct reports available at https://www.tackleandrod.com/weekly-fishing-report.
McClure Reservoir
Bass 3 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2
61 boats participated in Saturday’s Best Bass Tournament event taken by a 22.91-pound limit including a big fish at 7.30 pounds by the team of Scott Burke and Garrett Maddex. This was the largest limit in some time at McClure. Aaron Jones reported a similar bite to Pedro with many fish holding on the banks with a variety of topwater lures or jigs in crawdad patterns. The Reel Deal Market & Cafe at Lake McClure is now open for weekends with Barrett Cove Cafe service returning on May 23. The lake rose 3 feet to 838.61 feet in elevation and 82%. There are five bass tournaments on the schedule in May.
Lake McSwain
Trout 3
The Merced Irrigation District’s Spring Classic Trout Derby took place this past Saturday, and two trucks from the Calaveras Trout Farm arrived on Friday night to plant for the derby. The start time for the derby was 7:00 am, but it was reported that anglers got an early start on the planters from the banks. With the double plant, there are plenty of fish remaining in the lake, and Berkley’s Mice Tails, garlic-scented Power Bait, inflated nightcrawlers, or Kastmasters are all working from the Handicapped Docks, the Brush Pile, and the peninsula near the marina. Holdovers have headed upriver above the Fence Line, and this is one of the best locations for trollers. The lake held at 88%. Another plant is scheduled in May with two in June along with single plants at Lake Yosemite in May and June. The Reel Deal Market & Cafe is now open for weekends.
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Trout 2 Kokanee 3 Bass 3
Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service reported four limits of kokanee by 12:30 pm working pink/gold Jpex lures behind a Paulina Peak’s gold hammered dodger at depths from 40 to 50 feet at 1.5 mph. For bass, Aaron Jones reported an excellent bite in the shallows with ‘Whatever you want to throw at them.’ Topwater Poppers or walking baits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, or underspins are all effective from the banks to 15 feet. He added, “Some anglers are working the bait balls with umbrellal rigs.” The New Melones Marina has been moved into deep water in anticipation of opening on May 1 for the season. Park hours will also change to 6:00 am to 8:30 pm starting May 1 at both Glory Hole and Tuttletown. All boats must be quarantined for 30 days or decontaminated at the New Melones Marina. The decontamination unit is only available on Fridays by appointment only until May 1.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 3 Striper 3 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
Avoiding areas of bottom and surface grass is the key to success in the California Delta, and sturgeon, striped bass, and largemouth bass action continue to please anglers.
Despite most six pack captains leaving for San Francisco Bay, white sturgeon remain ‘en masse’ in Suisun Bay with the only limiting factor being the ability to stay down without being grassed out. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing out of Pittsburg and Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing out of Benicia put their clients onto over 10 diamondbacks to the boat over the weekend. The key was finding a location with 200 yards or so without grass on the bottom.
For striped bass, Captain Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo Sport Fishing was on the San Joaquin River on Saturday, and he reported, “Stripers are going in boat directions with females moving in while others are heading back downstream after spawning. We went through 7 dozen minnows, and once we found them, as fast as we put them down, you were hooked up. The outgoing tide was large, but we worked the slower part of the tides as the grass has been horrible.
For largemouth bass, Alan Fong has been scoring fish to 8 pounds in the shallows of the north Delta using a Puzzle Bait, a combination of a spinnerbait and a chatterbait. 6-inch Senkos or flipping a Brush Hog have also been effective as the bass are feeding on crawdads. Fong added, “The water temperatures dropped 3 degrees, and many of the bass are still in pre-spawn.’ In the central Delta, topwater walking baits are effective in the wind, but with the fish staging on the flats around tule clumps, and 6-inch green pumpkin Senkos unweighted or on a wacky-rig are effective as the frog bite has yet to materialize. In the Freeport area in the north Delta, American shad have flooded into the north Delta on their way to the American and Feather Rivers. Sabiki rigs on the drop-shot are most effective.
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2
Tas Moua reported the bass are pushing at shad into the banks, and the bulk of the fish are found from the banks to 20 feet with finesse techniques. He said, “Crappie are starting to school up in front of the marina and around docks in groups from 20 to 100 fish.” The flows in the San Joaquin River at Friant rose slightly to 890 cfs as the lake rose nearly 2 feet to 560.20 feet in elevation and 84%. There are no bass tournaments scheduled in either April or May.
Valley/Westside waterways
Striper 2 Catfish 2
The big news on the California Aqueduct is the Striperz Gone Wild’s Spring Striper Tournament this coming Saturday, April 25 at Volta Road with an entry fee of 10 non-perishable food items to be delivered to Merced County food banks. Trophies for first through third will be presented in both the adult and youth divisions. Every participant receives a raffle ticket for prizes including a new kayak from Bass Pro Shops. Food trucks, vendors, and a bounce house will be on site at Volta Road. Tas Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle reported anglers are catching live sculpins and finding good action for stripers with the live bait in the evenings until 10:00 pm from Manning Ave. north to Nees.
Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Moau reported the bass are in post-spawn, and Fatisha Hernandez landed a 7.25-pound largemouth from the bank. He said, “With the water warming up, the bass are moving back into the shallows. Big swimbaits are still effective, but there are very specific windows when they work.” Hensley continues to be ‘hit or miss’ for bass with the best action for bluegill, catfish, crappie, or carp. There are no bass tournaments at either lake through the remainder of April with one at Eastman in May.
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Tas Moua reported a tough bite during Saturday’s fundraising tournament with the top weight at 7 pounds. Dragging worms deep along with plastics on the shakey head or finesse jigs was the top technique as carp have invaded the shallows. In the lower Kings River, a trout plant is scheduled below the dam this week, are the flows are backing off to 2164 cfs. The river remains high, creating dangerous wading conditions. The normal offerings of Berkeley Mice Tails, Pinched crawlers in floating or garlic, small spoons, or garlic Power Bait continue to do the job in the transition from slow to fast water.
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2
Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported a good troll bite with Lucky Craft 128’s or Duo Realis 120’s in shad patterns along with tossing smaller soft plastic glide baits.
Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that the current changing weather from windy to warmer and now a rain event this week with cooler temps has the fish off kilter. “ We saw evidence of spawning behavior this week – with schools of small stripers forming up in deeper water. The bite for us was slow, but we once again covered ground to find active fish on various silver lures- for over 20 fish up to 8 lbs. We had warm weather one minute and 20mph winds the next. The bite window totally shut off later for us.”George said.
The O’Neill Forebay has been most productive for largemouth bass with spinnerbaits while Rat-L-Traps, small flukes on a ball head, or topwater lures are working for numbers of small striped bass near the rockwall. Tas Moua confirmed the wake bait bite in the forebay, but he added, “The ratio of shakers to legal 18-inch stripers is around 15:1.” The main lake dropped slightly to 87% with the dropping to 79%. Los Banos Creek Reservoir is closed to public access until May 11.
High Sierra
Bass Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1
The Sierra Bass Club held an event on Saturday won by the team of Dave Smith and Tas Moua at 14.48 pounds. Moua said, “The overall bite was pretty tough with the best action in the morning before the sun came up along rocky main lake points with the Z-Man’s 7-inch Jerk Shad or lipless crankbaits such as the LV500. Once the sun came out, the bite slowed down, but I tied on a 10-inch Huddleston and was rewarded with the big fish of the tournament at 6.60 pounds.” The trout bite has been slow, but this week’s plant should help. The annual Bass Lake Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby is May 2/3 with over $55,000 in total cash prizes. Information and registration: https://www.basslakechamber.com/fishing-derby. A webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. Two bass tournaments are scheduled in May.
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2
Dick Nichols of Mountain Tackle reported, “The water level is rising daily with an expected 8-foot increase by months end. The lake should be at a level where Shaver Marina will be completely in place by May 1st. Currently, a row of docks is connected to shore, and some resident boats will move in. The Sierra Marina is readying for its upcoming opener. Kokanee can still be caught in the upper 30 feet of water and can be reached with weighted flashers. This past week showed ups and downs with kokanee. The trout bite, especially browns, improved. Rising water causes this inconsistency. Insects are washed into water, and the water can become murky due to debris from the shores. David Geil and his father, David Sr. of Clovis, picked up a couple of mixed limits of kokanee and trout to 16 inches trolling from the Point to Boy Scout Cove at depths from 20 to 25 feet down with Dick’s Mountain Candy in orange and pink or Mountain Hoochies in pink/ purple tipped with scented corn behind Dick’s Mountain Dodgers in Blue Moon and the new Orange Scale at speeds from 1.2 mph to 1.7 mph. Dave Loftin of Visalia was out solo with for 8 kokanee released along with a trophy trout running Dick’s orange hoochie tipped with a white Berkley grub behind a ‘Super Dave’ dodger at 35 to 38 feet while a shallower rod at 10 to 15 feet was loaded with a Huntington Trout Buster tipped with a white grub behind a Demon Mountain dodger produced 5 trout to 6.7 pounds. With the exception of some Thursday storms, the rest of the month looks good with warm temperatures.”
Check with both the Sierra and Shaver marinas for rental boat availability.
A Department of Fish and Wildlife plant is scheduled this week. Check the launch ramp at http://www.sierramarina.com/webcam-weather-page.html for conditions. Shaver rose to 73 with Huntington also rising to 97% as what remains of the snowpack is rapidly melting. Online registration begins on May 1 for the June 13 Greg Marks Youth Fishing Derby. This event fills up quickly. The next meeting of the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project is May 9 at 10:00 am in Room 44 of Sierra High School.
Wishon/Courtright:
Access to both Wishon and Courtright is closed as of December 1, but access should be open soon with the rapid snowmelt. Road conditions –297-0706. Several CDFW plants are scheduled in the local creeks, and a plant is set for Dinkey Creek this week.
Ocean
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Halibut 2 Striper 2 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3
Mickey Clements reported continued excellent surf perch fishing around Manresa, Sunset, and Rio Del Mar beaches with motor oil/red flake grubs from Lucky 13, Honey Badger, or Mekini Baitz. Striped bass have been sporadic as they are moving from Monterey to Moss Landing and back. Clements said, “Every day is different, and Duo Realis Tide Minnows continue to be the best bet.” Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, “Salmon trolling remains slow, and part of the problem is the extended ocean conditions in our area. All winter we’ve seen slightly higher water temperatures on the bay. This indicates a lack of upwelling, where cold, nutrient rich water rises to the surface because of stiff northwest winds blowing across the open ocean and shifting surface waters. Upwelling carries plankton up that supports the diet of baitfish as well as salmon. That’s why anglers call the cloudy brownish green water of springtime “good salmon water.” We’ve been running about three to four degrees Fahrenheit warmer than usual all year. A good northwest blow for a week or so could turn things around completely. The salmon are definitely here. You just gotta fish deep and be patient.
Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay/Half Moon Bay
Halibut 2 Salmon 2 Striper 3 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 3 Sturgeon 2
Salmon season is open below Pigeon Point, and party boats from Half Moon Bay have been traveling 20 miles south below the point for overall slow action. Captain Jared Davis of the Salty Lady was one of the Bay Area boats that travel south for the salmon season, and he said, “It’s really good to have the opportunity to fish for salmon at all, especially in April, but the overall bite hasn’t been very good. It’s been very tough fishing as the salmon are extremely deep, and the rods are outfitted with either 3- or 4-pound weights to get deep enough and keep from tangling. We put in 5 salmon on Friday, staying away from the Bonito that have been unexpected bycatch due to the warm water. The good news is the water temperature dropped from 58 to 55 degrees with the northwest wind, but the salmon are still very deep in the water column.”
Out of the Gate, when boats can get out in the ocean, rockfish and ling cod action remains tremendous with the Sea Wolf out of Emeryville loading up with 20 limits of rockfish and lings at the Farallons on Sunday. Further north, Captain Rick Powers out of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing took a combined 30 anglers on his luxury vessel, the Surf Scoter, north of the harbor over the weekend for limits of lings to 16 pounds along with limits of quality rockfish. He said, “The ocean was flat calm, and we were fishing all by ourselves.”
Inside the bay, striped bass continue to do the heavy lifting inside the bay, but there is hope for an improved halibut future. There are some encouraging signs on the halibut front as the numbers are just now starting to rise from the occasional fish to a handful of flatties. Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sport Fishing said, “The bite was as good as it’s been since the start of the season on Friday as striped bass were lights out and a few more halibut showed up, ending up with 22 limits of bass and 6 halibut to 14 pounds. Saturday’s score was even better with 12 halibut to 20 pounds and 20 limits of striped bass to 8 pounds. Bait is pouring into the bay, and the halibut are following it in.”
San Luis Obispo
Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3
The ability to fish deep water has been a boon for party boats out of Morro Bay and Port San Luis as impressive ling cod counts along the increased numbers of hard head rockfish are making into passenger’s sacks. On Sunday, two boats from Morro Bay Landing went out with a combined 65 anglers for 411 assorted, 100 vermilions to 9 pounds, 109 ocean whitefish, 34 copper, and 33 ling cod to 16 pounds. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing at Port San Luis, two boats with a combined 47 passengers returned with 200 assorted, 60 vermilion, 19 Boccaccio, 13 cabezon, 8 copper, 130 Bolina, and and a whopping 56 ling cod to 25 pounds.
Events:
April 24/26th – Coyote Bait in Morgan Hill – Annual Spring Sale with everything on sale with no tax for three days
Tournament Results
:Bass Lake – Sierra Bass Club – April 18th: 1st – Dave Smith/Tas Moua – 14.48 (Big Fish – 6.62); 2nd – Chris and Richard Jones – 12.89; 3rd – Danny Lopez – 12.66.
.jpg)