Fishing Report For Aug. 22: Catfish, trout among top targets at Valley lakes

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State and striper record-holder at Millerton Lake and who now guides in the greater Fresno area. Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted. Have a photo of a recent catch to share? Email it to sports@fresnobee.com with “fish photo” in the subject line.

Best bets

Catfish lead the way at Eastman and Hensley. New Melones “is the place to be” for trout, Gary Burns said. Striped bass action heating up at San Luis Reservoir. Shaver trout action rebounds, Dick Nichols confirms. Rockfish roaring off the coast San Joaquin River largemouth bass bite “off the hook,” Randy Pringle reported.

Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

Not much change at either end of the aqueduct system, with momentum yet to build for striper fishing in the northern section. Duo Realis jerkbaits have been the top baits for striped bass as Lucky Craft Pointers have been hard to obtain. Once the weather cools in the evenings, striper action will improve. Bass fishermen are still punching the weeds in Mendota Slough for largemouth bass. In the south aqueduct in Kern and Kings Counties, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported fishermen are still out there going through a number of striped bass to locate a limit of keepers over 18 inches; sardines and anchovies are still the top baits in mossy waters. Catfishing is best with minnows, shad, anchovies, mackerel or prepared dough bait. Bob’s Bait August Carp Derby, up to 96 participants, is still being led by a 14-pounder from the aqueduct.

Catfishing is the top species, with whiskerfish to 4 pounds landed on chicken livers or cut baits. The bite isn’t hot or heavy, but there are a few to be found including an 8.01-pound largemouth landed by Ray Grammer during this past weekend’s New Jen Bass tournament. The river arm is now open. The lake dropped more than a foot to 560.82 in elevation and to 72 percent capacity.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Catfish are the top species here as well with cut baits, as the bass bite has been hit or miss. The weights at last weekend’s Sierra Bass Club tournament dropped precipitously after the winning limit of 16 pounds to less than 4 pounds. The lake is releasing water, dropping 3 feet to 495.65 in elevation and 38 percent capacity. Miniscule crappie and bluegill are still abundant on crappie jigs or red worms.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun, Clovis 292-3474; Six Star Tackle Box 673-5688; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hensley Lake Hidden Dam 673-5151

Bass fishing has been on the slow side, with the best bite on the surface in the early mornings with topwater lures before working the suspended fish with ripbaits or deep-diving crankbaits. Trout action is good once you locate the bait balls, and the fish are dropping in the water column given the hot weather. The lake dropped 4 feet to 817.90 in elevation and 93 percent capacity because of controlled water releases down the Tuolumne River.

Call: Monte Smith 209-581-4734; Danny Layne-Fish’n Dan 209-586-2383; Gary Vella 209-652-7550

At Isabella, catfish remain the top species with frozen shad, live minnows, anchovies or prepared dough baits in the South Fork, but the trout bite has slowed considerably. There have been a few bass tournaments within the past month, and one had a winning weight of 20 pounds for five fish. Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “I would be targeting the bass with big plastics on the drop-shot or Senkos, but there should be an early topwater bite as well as working rocks with deep-diving crankbaits.” The lake dropped 1 foot to 2,573.52 in elevation and 46 percent capacity with water releases. In the upper Kern River above Kernville to the Johnsondale Bridge, trout fishing has been outstanding with live crickets, Power Bait, salmon eggs or nightcrawlers. The upper river is flowing nicely and very fishable. In the local lakes, Buena Vista continues to kick out a few crappie and largemouth bass, but few fishermen are heading to the local lakes for other than carp with Wussy’s Dough Bait since there is a buzz with Bob’s Bait August Carp Derby.

Call: Bob’s Bait 661-833-8657; North Fork Marina 760-376-1812

The lake is dropping rapidly, receding another 22 feet this week to 620.12 in elevation and 19 percent capacity. Sierra Sporting Goods in Exeter reported extremely slow bass fishing because of the water releases. Once the lake stabilizes, bass fishing should be outstanding with the huge amount of bait available in the reduced pool of water.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Chuck Stokke of Sequoia Fishing Co. in Springville reported a slower bass bite because of the hot weather, heavy recreational boat traffic and reduced interest, but there are still fish to be had on topwater lures in the early mornings and evenings before working suspended fish with crankbaits or on the bottom with finesse techniques. Tule fishing is excellent, with the campground being stocked with trout; native rainbows and browns can be found on dry flies. Success has receded 5 feet to 636.33 in elevation and 61 percent capacity.

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

Bass fishing is fair at best; a 12-pound limit was tops at the recent River Rats Tournament. There is a bite with wakebaits in the early mornings before switching to brown/purple jigs or plastics on the drop-shot at depths to 50 feet. The lake has dropped 3 feet to 849.77 in elevation and 89 percent capacity. Launch ramps at Barrett Cove and McClure Point are open.

No trout plants are scheduled until late September until just before the Oct. 7th Merced Irrigation District’s annual fall trout derby. As a result, trout action has been limited to an occasional rainbow in the early morning or late afternoons from the banks at the normal locations of the brush pile or handicapped docks.

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

At Millerton, bass fishing is fair as the spotted bass have moved off the shorelines because of the dropping water levels. There is a small window for topwater lures, but it is limited to less than 45 minutes in the early mornings or late afternoons. Spy baits by Duo Realis have been popular as the lure slowly drops, attracting the suspended fish. Senkos have been effective for fish holding off vertical walls. The dropping lake levels have, in effect, left the upper river arm high and dry where the American shad were a few weeks back. Recreational boating should slow during the week with the opening of local schools, but still remain relatively high through Labor Day weekend. Millerton dropped 4 feet to 562.70 in elevation and 86 percent capacity. Regulations on the lower San Joaquin, and from Friant Dam downstream to the Highway 140 Bridge, allow only two hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead with a total of four in possession. Hatchery fish have a healed adipose fin clip. All wild steelhead or trout with an adipose fin present must be released immediately. The San Joaquin River is closed to the take of salmon; they may not be targeted and must be released immediately if inadvertently caught.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

Rainbow trout to 6 pounds are coming over the rails at New Melones as the fish are keying on the ball of shad. Bass fishing remains tough with numbers best on finesse techniques after a brief window for topwater lures. Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing had three solid days of rainbow trout action this week after a client called and wanted to go fishing. He said, “My client wanted to fish New Melones since it was closer to his home, but I encouraged him to try Don Pedro instead. He insisted on New Melones so I took my father, Don, out for an exploratory trip on Wednesday, and we put the rods out with my custom shad-patterned spoons at all different depths. We saw the bait and the rainbows at 35 feet out in open water, and we landed rainbows to 4 pounds on this first trip. It is not a ‘hot or heavy’ bite, but these fish are in excellent shape, gorging themselves on the 3- to 4-inch shad. Once you find the bait at the 40-foot range, you will locate the rainbows as the bait balls in the 20-foot range are attracting hordes of spotted bass. You can see the bass breaking the surface, pushing up the shad from the shallows, but you have to work the deeper bait balls. On Thursday, I took out Dan and Sam Magnasco of Galt, and we landed 10 fish with a total weight of 39 pounds with the smaller fish being 2 pounds and the largest at 6 pounds. Also in these two limits were rainbows at 5.5, 4.20, and 4.14 pounds. On Saturday, my client Mike Davis landed a big German brown trout that had its dorsal fin chewed off by an even larger fish along with nine other quality rainbows. I will be staying on New Melones at the present time due to the size and quality of these fish. There have been hardly any boats out there for trout, and most anglers are fishing much deeper in an attempt for kokanee.” Bill Llewellen of Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp confirmed the solid trout bite for big fish starting at first light to 11 a.m. near the Highway 49 Bridge, Carson Cove, the dam or the main lake over the river channel. Gary Burns of Take It To The Limit Guide Service said, “New Melones is the place to be if you want to put some beautiful trout in your boat. The bows are going deeper with the hotter weather and we have been pulling Rocky Mountain Tackle’s pink Moonshine Dodgers behind pink and blue hoochies, spinners or Apexs. We have been working deep waters near the bank, and when you find the shad you find the bows. No kokanee so far this month.” Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole said, “Few kokanee are around, but Jimmy Velasaquez landed the lake-record kokanee at 2 pounds, 11 ounces earlier this summer while pulling a double-bladed spinner in front of a Sep’s pink and teal flasher. To validate the species, Jimmy brought the fish to FISH BIO in Oakland, where no less than eight biologists examined and confirmed that this was indeed a kokanee. From the records that we keep here at Glory Hole Sports, this is the largest Kokanee that has been brought in to be weighed, breaking the old record of 2 pounds, 7 ounces.” Crappie to 1.6 pounds have been landed in the Angels Creek arm with crappie jigs in red and white at depths of 15-20 feet. The lake dropped 2 feet to 1,058.59 in elevation and 86 percent capacity.

Call: Glory Hole Sports 209-736-4333; Monte Smith 209-581-4734; Danny Layne-Fish’n Dan 209-586-2383

Dropping water levels have slowed the bass bite as the fish are suspending along vertical walls in the 15- to 30-foot range. There is a brief window for topwater lures in the mornings with River2Sea’s Whopper Ploppers or Zara Spooks. A few fishermen are throwing buzzbaits with limited success in the mornings or evenings. After the window closes, fishermen are tossing ripbaits along the walls for suspending spotted bass. Ned- or spy-rigs also are popular. Trout fishing has been fair up the river arm with Needlefish, Apex lures, or blade/’crawler combinations on leadcore for rainbows to 17.5 inches. Recreational boating remains very heavy. The The lake dropped 7 feet to 910.50 in elevation and 77 percent capacity. There are some locations on the lower Kings that are accessible for fishing, but caution is necessary with the high water flows. Regulations in the Kings River above and below Pine Flat Dam set the season as running from the last Saturday in April to Nov. 15 from Pine Flat Dam downstream to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bridge on Pine Flat Road with a five-fish limit. The bridge is the first one west of the dam. The area from Cobbles (Alta) Weir downstream to the Highway 180 crossing is open all year with only artificial lures with barbless hooks and a zero limit. The Thorburn Spawning Channel (the 2,200-foot long channel 5 miles downstream from Pine Flat Dam) and the reach of river within a 200-foot radius of the channel exit is closed to all fishing all year.

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

Striped bass action is starting to heat up at San Luis Reservoir as the traditionally solid fall bite is just around the corner. After weeks of big fish being taken from the banks at Dinosaur Point or the Basalt Recreational Area, trollers are starting to get in on the action. Jesus Reyes Silva of Hollister and “How to Fish” said, “I went out for four hours before sunset this week, and I stayed in the back of Portuguese Cove because the water in the main lake was too rough. One hour before closing, I moved to the coves around Dinosaur Point and found some small boils with stripers chasing shad. I was pulling my JKings lures 130mm jerkbait in green chartreuse for schoolie stripers. A number of trollers were out on the lake over the weekend around Portuguese Cove for stripers to 25 inches using jerkbaits. Some fishermen are reporting double-hookups on the lures as the fish are thick in the cove. Bank fishing has also been good with ripbaits along main lake points or soaking bait inside of the coves. Travis Porter of Hollister was trolling my ripbaits for 16 stripers to 24 inches, losing another three at the boat, and Felipe Espino of Gilroy has been finding great success for linesides to 36 inches. He reported slower action on Saturday, but he still ended up with two limits of striped bass in the mid-20-inch range.” Lucky Craft Pointers have been hard to find in area tackle shops, and anglers are opting for P-Line Predator Minnows or similar plugs. “How to Fish” is hosting their second annual striped bass target-length striped bass derby Oct. 28 at Basalt Recreational area launch ramp from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the O’Neill Forebay, striped bass fishing has been limited to numbers of small linesides on pile worms, grass shrimp, anchovies or blood worms from Check 12. The main San Luis Reservoir is at 91 percent capacity.

Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle 408-463-0711, Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com 905-2954; San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay Wind Conditions 800-805-4805

Trout fishing remains very slow, with the occasional rainbow taken near the docks and along Indian Head for trollers pulling blade/’crawler combinations. Bass fishermen will not be back in force until mid-September after the Sheriff’s Motor Fee ends following the Labor Day weekend. Webcams are available at http://basslakeca.com/. The lake remains at 100 percent capacity; water releases will start after Labor Day.

Call: Mike Beighey 642-3748; Bass Lake Watersports 642-3200

Florence Lake dropped rapidly to 6 percent capacity for dam maintenance, but Edison remains high at 90 percent. There have been few reports from Edison. The archery deer season opened in Zone D7 this past Saturday, with few reports of success. Mammoth Pool is decent for rainbows from the banks, and fishermen also are bringing their crawdad traps to this high country lake.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

After a slow week for trout fishing, the action has rebounded with a vengeance with guides putting together two to three mixed limits of kokanee and rainbows per day. Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “We have limited with the exception of one day all week long as the yearling trout are showing up. The best thing I have done is to drop the focus on kokanee and work exclusively for rainbows. Changing locations and gear in order to find the right combination has been the key to success as the recently planted rainbows are biting now that the lake level has created and the food source of insects on the surface has dried up. Trout Busters tipped with a nightcrawler behind a Mountain Flasher at depths to 29 feet from the island to Eagle Point to the mouth of Boy Scout Cove has been the top set up. I plan on using this combination for the remainder of the season until I close up shop on Sept. 9. Ten year-old Kathryn De Shields was out with her father, Dr. Scott DeShields, and she landed a limit of trout including a trophy rainbows. This has been a week of extremes in the ages of my clients with 94 year-old Ed Adams of Port Townsend, Washington, landing a limit of rainbows with his son, Scott, of Prather alongside. Adams is a veteran of World War II, and he wanted to celebrate what would have been his 67th anniversary with a fishing trip as his wife passed away six months ago.” Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service reported generally overall slow trolling, but if you stick with it, you can pick up a couple of limits composed of a few 14-inch kokanee and planted rainbows. He said, “There are a few kokanee in the early morning near the Sierra Marina with rainbows found near the Boy Scout Cove, but most boats start wandering around looking for fish after the first hour in the mornings. I have been using a little bit of everything with the pink Radical Glow tubes behind a pink RMT Tsunami dodger, the RMT Assassin Spinner in pink/blue or chartreuse/blue, or the green Signature Squid behind the green Moonshine dodger at depths to 55 feet. I tried for kokanee at this depth, but we only landed rainbows.” Kokanee Power will be holding their final derby of the season at Shaver Lake on Sept. 9 with a three-fish weigh-in for teams, and one fish for juniors. Registration is $45 for members and $55 for non-members; the event is open to everyone. Information and registration is available through Frank Bernard 871-3270. Shaver continues to rise and currently is at 96 percent capacity. At Huntington in the San Joaquin River watershed, trout fishing is limited to a few planters off Dam 2 with trout dough bait. Trolling has been slow, and it has been very windy on the lake during the afternoons. The lake is still nearly filled at 97 percent.

Call: Dick’s Fishing Charters 841-2740; Dinkey Creek Inn 841-3435; Rancheria Marina 893-3234; Shaver Lake Sports Inc. 841-2740; Todd Wittwer 288-8100; Fish Box Charters 871-3937

Courtright is the consistent high country reservoir for rainbow trout while Wishon and Huntington remain “hit or miss.” With the continued pattern of hot weather plaguing the Central Valley, the high country reservoirs have been popular during the week and particularly on weekends. Chuck Crane of Wishon Village RV Park and Store said, “Courtright has been good all over for both trollers and bank fishermen, and the best set up for trollers has been blade/’crawler combinations at 3-4 colors of leadcore. Anglers are picking up limits of quality rainbows to 14 inches. Shore fishing has also been good with the best action at the upper end of the lake with inflated nightcrawlers or trout dough bait for rainbows in the 12- to 14-inch range. The bite varies from day-to-day with quick limits one day followed by having to work for limits the following day.” At Wishon, the trout bite has been very slow for trollers and bank fishermen. Crane said, “Tom and Susan Sheets of Redding were able to land limits of rainbows from 14-16 inches using blade/’crawler combinations, but this was the exception as a number of trollers are struggling. Three to four colors of leadcore is the best depth for the few rainbows. Shore fishing is also slow, but fly fishermen are catching and releasing brown and rainbow trout at the top of the lake near the inlets with dry flies.” Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Most of our fishermen are indicating that they will wait until the weather gets cold in the high country before heading back up to Wishon due to the slow trout bite.” Wishon is releasing water for power generation and steadily dropping in elevation while Courtright remains nearly filled.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

After weeks of excellent salmon fishing along the San Mateo coastline, the Half Moon Bay bite has relocated to the Marin coastline with a few scattered salmon from the Deep Reef to Pedro Point. Rockfish and ling cod are the current top species, and party boats are focusing on bottomfishing south of the harbor or heading north for a quality salmon near the shipping channels. Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete said, “I opted for rockfishing near Pescadero at the end of the week as the salmon bite has slowed considerably. The commercial fishermen are picking up a few fish near the bottom at the Deep Reef, and there are still a few salmon off of Pedro Point, but the best opportunity has been north near the Channel Buoys. There are halibut showing up on the slate flats off of Martin’s Beach or the Ritz, and a good option is to stop there for a few drifts after limiting out on rockfish. The water in the outside harbor has warmed up to 62 degrees, and the salmon have gone deep.” Second Captain Michael Cabanas of the Huli Cat came with a fish per rod earlier this week with some “missed opportunities where the fish cam unbuttoned at the boat,” north near the Channel Buoys. He said, “The salmon seem to be light biting with a lot of scratched baits during the day.” He switched to rockfishing on Saturday, Aug. 19, and they put in ling cod to 14 pounds using swimbaits with quality rockfish on shrimp flies south of the harbor. Sunday was a salmon trip, and the action was highlighted by a 19-pound salmon. Sherry Ingles of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing said, “Rockfishing remains good with experienced anglers coming back with limits and the possibility of a ling cod or two while less experienced anglers may or may not return with a limit. It has been the ‘Half Moon Bay smorgasbord’ out here with rockfish, lings, starry flounder, halibut, and sardines possible. Sardines have moved into the harbor, and fishermen are using Sabikis for the live bait.” Farther north in Pacifica, Rob Chaney of the Rusty Hook reported small legal salmon are being taken from the end of the Pacifica Pier with anchovies under a big bobber rig, and this is the first time in awhile that salmon have been consistently taken off the pier. Striped bass fishing remains good with linesides to 38 pounds from the shorelines with Diawa’s SP Minnows or live sand crabs..

Call: Happy Hooker 510-223-5388; Captain Roger Thomas, Salty Lady 415-760-9362; Emeryville Sport Fishing 510-654-6040

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing Trips in Monterey reported near limits of ling cod with 43 lings for 22 anglers fishing locally off of Cypress Point along with near limits of school fish. They have plenty of room for rockfish this week after the entire Monterey Peninsula was inundated with car enthusiasts this weekend for the annual Concours de’ Elegance.

Call: Chris’ Landing 831-375-5951; Bayside Marine 831-475-2173; usafishing.com

The salmon bite was good over the weekend with party and six packs seeing a solid fish per rod to limits of mostly quality fish. Some boats are finding bigger fish but the overall grade is a solid 8-15 pounds with a good showing of fish in the high teens and 20-pound class. On Sunday, out of Emeryville Sport Fishing, they had three boats chasing salmon and two after rockfish. The Sundance reported six limits of salmon as did the Dragon for their group of six anglers. The New Salmon Queen had 14 kings for 16 anglers. The Salty Lady out of Sausalito was chartered for whales again this weekend but Jared said from what he heard on the radio everyone was having a great day. Jared has room daily this week and with school back in loads are getting lighter. On the bottom fishing front the Sea Wolf report 28 limits of rockfish and 19 lings while the C Gull put their 15 anglers into limits of rockfish and three lings. The weather has been flat for the past several days. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing out of Berkeley put in work over the weekend with six limits of big salmon near the Channel Buoys on Saturday followed by seven salmon for five clients Sunday. He said, “We came in three shy of limits, and we didn’t lose any fish today with all big salmon to 22 pounds. We stayed southwest of the Channel Buoys outside of the fleet.” Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond Marina was also out salmon fishing Sunday for five salmon at 15-20 pounds with another five lost in their attempt for limits. He has been mooching, but they trolled Sunday near Duxbury before coming back into the bay for epic striped bass action. The three Sausalito salmon boats were scattered from Pedro Point in San Mateo County to above the Golden Gate off Double Point for nearly a fish per rod at 43 salmon to 25 pounds for 59 anglers Sunday. The Farallons or Fanny Shoals have been the place to be for rockfish and ling cod, and the California Dawn put in 30 limits of rockfish and ling cod with the rockfish taking two drifts after loading up on lings in a single drift. The Happy Hooker out of Berkeley had similar action with limits of big rockfish and lings on their last trips to the Farallons at the start of the weekend. Inside San Francisco Bay, after putting his clients onto five big salmon at Duxbury, Slate stopped at Red Rock to find stripers boiling on the surface. He said, “I saw the pelicans and sea gulls on the water, and said, ‘What are all these birds doing here,’ finding out when we got closer at the stripers were thick. We landed them left and right with jigs on the bottom along with hair raisers. The fish were small legal stripers to 6 pounds, but we ended up with five limits in short order to add to an already solid day.” Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael reported strpers are all over the bay, and there are still a lot of halibut, but most of the fish are short. Shore fishermen off Paradise Pier as well as boaters are going through a number of flatfish in order to pick up the occasional legal halibut. Shiners remain hard to locate so live anchovies will have to do. Striper bass have been cruising the surface inside the harbor so this is an indicator of the amount of stripers in the bay right now. The California Dawn will be taking a big shark charter from Phenix Rods on Monday, and their trip Friday was fast and furious with nine limits of seven-gillsharks releasing several others to 150 pounds along with a jumbo soupfin shark. Hopefully, these guys have lots of friends or adequate freezer space. The weather turned breezy over the weekend, and salmon scores dropped off. There are still salmon being caught over a wide area from the South side to the Channel Buoys and up to Duxbury. On Sunday, Davis said, “Many boats started south where they have been seeing some of the highest numbers. After the bite slowed south, some boats ran up to the Channel buoys and Middle Grounds where they found some bigger fish. Overall scores were in the plus minus fish per rod range.” Out of Emeryville the Dragon had eight salmon for six anglers. RJ on the Sundance reported nine salmon for six anglers. The New Salmon Queen had 12 salmon for 18 anglers while the Tigerfish reported 11 for 18. Overall it sounds like the weather was very sloppy and rolly and this put a damper on the scores. The good news is that the fog is rolling back in and better weather is in the forecast in the days ahead. On the rockfishing front. the New Huck Finn reported 265 rockfish and 33 lings for a group of 32 anglers. Emeryville has room daily for salmon and both Island and coastal rockfish trips.

The Endeavor and Avenger out of Morro Bay Landing found spectacular action Monday with 113 big ling cod to 21 pounds in addition to 530 vermilion, 38 copper and 60 Boccaccio for 71 anglers, focusing on the largest rockfish and ling cod. Out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay, the Fiesta went out Monday with a private charter of 14 anglers for limits of rockfish including 100 vermilion, 26 coppers, and 14 canaries to go with three ling cod to 7 pounds. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing at Port San Luis, three boats were out on Monday taking various length trips for near-limits of rockfish with 83 vermilion, 95 copper, 21 Boccaccio, 105 Bolina, 437 assorted rockfish and six canary rockfish to go with seven cabezon and 20 ling cod to 13 pounds for 82 fishermen. Both harbors have a variety of trips running from half day through two-day trips in the upcoming weeks.

Call: Virg’s Landing, 805-772-1222; 800-762-5263; Patriot Sports Fishing 805-595-4100; Port Side Marine Sports Launch 805-595-7214

Salmon fishing remains slow throughout the Delta from Suisun Bay north to Freeport, but there is a showing of striped bass and now sturgeon in the Sacramento River-Delta for the first time since the spring. A few sturgeon anglers are starting to work lower Suisun Bay for success, but most fishermen remain seeking other options. Stripers are on the move, with Clyde Wands, shallow trolling expert, finding good action along the West Bank toward Collinsville with two linesides to 12 pounds released along with other keepers. He said, “Most of the fish came on shallow P-Line Angry Eye Predator Minnows or Yozuri Crystal Minnows, but we did catch a few fish on the deep-divers.” Mark Wilson, striper trolling expert, confirmed the good action, saying, “There are a lot of stripers in the 20- to 22-inch range along with linesides in the 6- to 10-pound category, and every once in awhile you will get a huge fish like the 35-pounder that I released. The wind has been the limiting factor, but there are periods on the incoming tide when the wind and tide are going in the same direction, flattening out the water, that makes for more comfortable trolling. However, the best bite has been on the outgoing tide so you have to bring some rain gear since you will get some spray over the bow. The best action has been on the Sacramento River from the Rio Vista Bridge to Broad Slough with deep-diving P-Line Predator Minnows or Yozuri Crystal Minnows in greens or reds. The water is relatively clear, but this week’s bigger tides will muddy up the river. To a lesser extent, there is a bite with shallow lures, including Rat-L-Traps on light gear. I suspect that this group of fish will be moving upriver to the Liberty Island area in the next few weeks, and we will have to go searching around again. The stripers are mostly fat and healthy with a few skinny ones in the mix. I haven’t hooked a salmon yet while trolling for stripers as the water is still warm at 71-74 degrees.” Steffan Masters of Lost Anchor Bait and Tackle at McAvoy’s Boat Harbor in Bay Point reported striped bass fishing has been solid on boats anchoring in front of the harbor with live grass shrimp. He said, “We are seeing more fish in the 30-inch range by fishermen this week. We have been getting a steady supply of grass shrimp, and our boat is going through a major renovation, and we expect to be shrimping once again within 10 days.” Tony Lopez Benicia Bait and Tackle reported a 24-pound salmon was landed off First Street on Thursday on a Zee-Vee Spinner, and there have been a few fish per day from the combination of the Dillon Point State Park or First Street in Benicia. Striped bass are gobbling live grass shrimp off of the shorelines with 3rd Street being a good location. Grass shrimp has been plentiful, and the shrimp is in excellent shape with no pile shrimp coming in the nets. Even more important is the arrival of bullheads in their shop, but the sculpins are sold as soon as they arrive in the tanks. Lopez said, “The bullheads are mostly small, but there are more decent sized ones coming in.” Virginia Salvador of Dixon, Accurate Reel field representative, reported sturgeon are showing up near the Horseshoe at the upper end of the Mothball Fleet. Jesus Reyes Silva of Hollister landed a 45-inch sturgeon on grass shrimp in Suisun Bay. Field reporter David Scatena of Stockton, an excellent river salmon troller, was out on the Old Sacramento River after launching at New Hope Landing on the Mokelumne River on Friday, but he said, “I trolled for seven hours for salmon on the Old Sacramento around Walnut Grove, but we had no hits, no runs, and no errors for our efforts. The water temperature is warm at 70-72 degrees, and I didn’t see any nets flying throughout the day.” Launch ramps at Brannan Island State Park remain open, but the restroom and parking lot area is under construction which may continue through November. The temporary fence around the parking lots is making for difficult conditions for transporting a large boat around the fence, but it is possible. Largemouth bass continue to take center stage on the San Joaquin River with multiple bass tournaments held every weekend out of the various marinas in San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, reported, “The largemouth bass bite is off the hook with moving baits, and the ima Flit 120 suspending over the weed beds on the high tide has been phenomenal. The ima Rock’N Vibe Suspend is another solid choice since you can rip it while throwing it parallel to the outside of the weedlines, and the fish are just crushing this year. The weed beds are always jagged at the edge, and if you throw along the outside, you will be going over the tops of some weeds. The moving baits are outstanding, and the ima Pinjack crankbait is another great lure for largemouths. With the cooler weather, there is a longer window for topwater lures and the Little Stick is doing well. The fish are feeding on bluegill and crawdads, and anything in these patterns is working. We must have released 40 bass on my last trip, and if we wanted to work the bottom with the Berkley Flat Dog on a Zappu head, we would have caught 70.” Dan Mathisen of Dan’s Delta Outdoors is preparing for his circuit’s tournament out of Big Break on Saturday, and he reported, “I was on the water for about three hours with Tom and Michelle Amberson of Elk Grove and we were chasing stripers with topwater lures and the Optimum AA Bubba Shad swimbait. We caught around 20 small fish, and perhaps one of the stripers was a ‘stretch keeper.’ I have never seen the river is such good shape, and there is bait everywhere. Swim jigs and vibrating jigs are working best for largemouth bass, and there is also a punch bite, but the bluegill pattern has been working best with less crawdad patterns.” Dan’s Delta Tournament was taken by the team of Mike Andrews and Phillip Dutra with a winning limit of 20.78 pounds while the second place team of Harvey Pulliam and Jamond Andrews came in the big fish at 7.93 pounds. Kris Huff of Stockton took a small local club tournament on Saturday with a 19-pound limit using Senkos. Alan Fong, manager of the Fisherman’s Warehouse in Sacramento, reported excellent bass fishing with limits in the 18- to 22-pound range with topwater lures or Senkos in the sloughs. Neil Simpson of Lodi landed his personal best largemouth at 9.01 pounds this last Saturday, but a mid-week trip on Wednesday evening proved less productive with Simpson stating, “We caught a bunch of small fish on chatterbaits or Rat-L-Traps, and we couldn’t find the big bite tonight with the largest fish only 3 pounds.” Optimistic salmon fishermen continue to throw Flying C or Vee-Zee spinners off of the Pittsburg jetty or Humphrey’s Pier in Antioch for the opportunity for a salmon. In the south Delta, H and R Bait in Stockton reported striped bass in the 3- to 5-pound range on fresh shad in Discovery Bay or the Old River while channel cats to 10 pounds are also found in the same parts of the south Delta. Bluegill are thick all over with red worms. Fresh shad is arriving in the shop on a daily basis.

Call: Randy Pringle 209-543-6260; Intimidator Sport Fishing 916-806-3030; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing 707-655-6736

Lopez remains the top coastal lake for the best grade of largemouth bass with big plastic worms on the drop-shot along with Brush Hogs or lizards on a Texas-rig. Panfishing remains solid with minijigs for crappie and red worms for bluegill and red ear perch. Lopez Lake Marina is open under summer hours to 9 p.m. A webcam is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. At Nacimiento, water is being released at a pretty good clip and the lake has dropped to the 60 percent capacity range. There is a topwater bite for small spotted bass in the early morning with miniscule lures before working the bottom with plastics. Spinnerbaits and swimbaits on an underspin head are working when the wind is blowing. A webcam is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/ At San Antonio, the bass bite is very tough as evidenced by one fish at 3.78 pounds winning Saturday’s 101 Bass tournament despite several boats participating in the event. Reminder that consuming white bass, black bass, crappie, catfish or carp is subject to safe eating guidelines because of the risk of excessive mercury. Quagga mussel inspections are required before boat launching is allowed.

Call: Lake Nacimiento (805) 238-1056, ext. 3; Lake San Antonio Marina (805) 472-2818; CentralCoastBassFishing.com (805) 466-6557

• Dan’s Delta Outdoors on Aug. 19 at Delta/Big Break Marina: 1, Mike Andrews/Phillip Dutra 20.78; 2, Harvey Pulliam/Jamond Andrews 20.71 (big fish 7.93); 3, Vincent Bernal/Hunter Schandler 18.79
• River Rats Bass Club on Aug. 12 at Lake McClure: 1, Raul Barajas/Ricky Flores 12.07 pounds; 2, Jim Oliver/Jaime Caratechea 11.34 (big fish 3.51); 3, Mike Goodman/Tom Gomez 11.34
• 101 Bass on Aug. 19 at San Antonio: 1, Del and Darrin Bishop 3.78 pounds (big fish 3.78); 2, Byron Hallet/George Stamper 3.61; 3, Mark Scribner/Lori Hollister 3.35
• Bakersfield Bass Club (10-fish weigh-in): 1, Jason Newby/Mike Blackwood 31.45 pounds; 2, Steve and Kurtis Dent 30.46; 3, Jeremy Barela/Jessie Aguilar 28.21 (big fish 7.02)

• Aug. 26: Delta/Russo’s Marina, Best Bass Tournaments; Delta/Ladd’s Marina, Oro Madre Bass Club;
• Sept. 2: Delta/Tracy Oasis, Tracy Bass Club
• Sept. 3: Delta/B and W Resort, Valley Hawg Hunters; Nacimiento, Good Old Boys
• Oct. 1: Lake Kaweah, Success Bass Club’s Fishing for a Cause, 50/50 bass tournament benefiting Valley Children’s Hospital, $140, David Coy 280- 8884

• Fresno County: Dinkey Creek; Kings River, below Pine Flat Dam; San Joaquin River, below Friant Dam; San Joaquin River, South Fork; Ward Lake
• Madera County: San Joaquin River, below Friant Dam; San Joaquin River, Middle Fork; Starkweather Lake
• Tulare County: Peppermint Creek, Upper; Tule River North Fork, Middle Fork 1; Tule River South Fork, Middle Fork 2
• Tuolumne County: Lyons Canal (Columbia Ditch); Moccasin Creek; Powerhouse Stream; Stanislaus River Middle Fork; Tuolumne River Middle, South forks

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Fishing Report For Aug. 22: Catfish, trout among top targets at Valley lakes."