Central California lake river,ocean fishing report Nov. 13-19

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.

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Best bets

Wishon and Courtright trout bites great, Kelly Brewer said. Aqueduct stripers active, Pete Cormier reported. Lake Kaweah bass on the prowl, Gary Wasson said. McClure bass and trout action good, Ryan Cook reported. McSwain trout plants spur bite, Steve Marquette said. New Melones trout bite improves, Gary Burns reported. San Luis stripers begin fall feeding, Steve Newman said. Half Moon Bay crabbing fantastic, Dave Hurley reported.

Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

In the northern section of the aqueduct, Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “The water is moving and clearing, and bait is congregating around the headgates. Fishermen are looking for the bait and tossing jerkbaits such as Duo Realis 120s in white pearl or topwater lures.

In the southern section of the aqueduct in Kern County, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “Those in the know are still scoring striped bass with tube baits, flukes, Gitzits, jerkbaits and topwater lures, but some are struggling. Bait fishing is best weightless to avoid the grass, and blood worms, anchovies or sardines are possibilities. Catfishing has been decent with anchovies, sardines, mackerel, minnows and chicken livers.”

Call: Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis 292-3474; Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657

Newman “The Sierra Bass Club is holding an event this coming Saturday, and anglers prefishing are finding a slow bite with the best action coming on Senkos, Zoom Trick Worms, Creature baits or jigs over saddles and submerged island tops at depths from 20 to 30 feet, The bite is soft, and anglers have to work hard for largemouth to 2 pounds as the typical trophy largemouth bass have been absent recently.”

The lake held at 46%.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Similar to Eastman, the largemouth bass bite is slow overall, but there are anglers working big plastic worms or large-profile bits on a shaky rig or Texas rig at depths from 20 to 30 feet. The bass have to stare at the bait on a very slow presentation in order to trigger the bite. As the day progresses, the bass will move into shallower water around the mudlines.

The lake held at 23%.

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

Mike Gomez of Berserk Baits said, “The bass bite continues to be tough with the best action found at depths from 55 to 65 feet with jigs or plastics on the drop-shot or shaky head at depths from 30 to 60 feet. Interestingly enough, there is a topwater bite in the afternoons as the bass are coming into the coves chasing bait. The shad are scattered, and you have to be willing to try a variety of techniques to get bite. Finding the shad schools is essential as both the bass and the rainbows are holding near the shad.”

The lake dropped held at 79%.

Call: Monte Smith 209-581-4734; Kyle Wise – Head Hunter Guide Service 209-531-3966; Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing 691-7008

Bass 3 Trout 2 Crappie 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2

Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “They are still catching crappie at Lake Isabella along with catfish, largemouth bass, and even the occasional rainbow trout. I don’t know where the trout are coming from, but they are still there. Bass fishing is best with deep-diving crankbaits, jigs, or large plastics on the drop-shot. Crappie are holding around structure in deep water, and either live minnows or minijigs are working best. Catfish continue to be a highly targeted species with Sonny’s Triple S Dip Bait in Blood Formula, frozen shad, or clams Trout plants at Hart Park, River Walk, and Ming have brought out fishermen to the small lakes, and even though the temperatures are warm, trout fishing has been decent thanks to the plants with trout dough bait, salmon eggs, or nightcrawlers for the planted rainbows.” Isabella has dropped from 30% to 29%. The upper Kern River continues to be planted, and most fishermen are targeting the planters from the Kernville Park section of the river. Salmon eggs, Power Bait, or nightcrawlers are the best bets for the planters.

Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657; North Fork Marina 760-376-1812; Golden Trout Pack Station 542-2816

Not much change in the past week with the lake holding at near minimum pool at 8%, and it is difficult to launch a large boat. Local bass expert Gary Wasson of Visalia reported good bass action with deep-diving crankbaits or large-profile jigs. The cooling water temperatures should improve the action as the shad ball up near the submerged rockpiles, and the vertical spoon bite should also be coming on. There are some crappie taken from the banks with minijigs around submerged trees or rockpiles in the lowered lake.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said, “This week had a lot of anglers on the water with the great weather that we are experiencing. One angler landed some huge largemouth bass using a chatterbait in lumberjack/white patterns. The lake dropped to 9%.

In the Tule River, Stokke said, “The river is still fishing awesome with dry flies, in particular red stimulators in size 8.”

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

The Gold Country Junior Bass Club has held youth tournaments in the Delta, Don Pedro and McClure within the past few weeks. The organization is guided by Andrew and Cait Schmigdall of Lake Camanche Village along with their daughter, Michaela, who directed the Autism Speaks fundraising tournament on Lake Don Pedro the previous week.

The format is for a youth angler to fish with an adult, and Mason Ferrulli of Ripon has been one of the leading anglers in the circuit. Mason is well-known for his struggle with a brain tumor, but he has been receiving tremendous support from the Mother Lode and Delta fishing community. Mason was the winner of the tournament at McClure this past weekend with his partner, Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing, at 7.84 pounds. Brayden Merrill took second place with his adult partner, Cliff King, at 7.65 pounds.

Mike Gomez of Berserk Baits said, “When you get involved with children, you become somebody, and Ryan Cook and the others have really stepped up for the young bass fishermen.”

Cook said, “The bite was very good at McClure with the best action in the afternoon. Everything that we found came on the bottom on a drop-shot at depths from 60 to 80 feet. We were using a custom purple shad pattern by David Coy of Dead Stick baits, and when we marked bass on the meter, they were hugging the bottom. When they are holding so deep, I will shorten up my leader on the drop-shot to 4 inches, and Mason landed everything with this technique. He was not feeling well from the flu, but after a two-hour nap on our friend’s houseboat to recover, he came back out and culled every fish in the live well to end up at 7.84 pounds. It took quite an effort for him to get back and finish the day. We are planning a huge event this coming spring for Childhood Cancer Awareness with some major partners, and more information about this event will be coming up as our plans become solid.”

Walt Lee of the Kerman Bass Club said, “There were four limits weighed in by our 17 anglers during Saturday’s tournament, and the average size of the bass at the scales was 1.99 pounds.”

For trout, Steve Marquette of the Lake McClure/McSwain Recreation Company said, “The trout are coming up in the water column, and we scored limits with more effort necessary than in the past with Needlefish in multi-colored blue along with Kastmasters in silver or gold at 35 feet.”

McClure dropped to 61%.

Call: Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing 691-7008

Marquette said, “3,000 pounds of rainbow trout were released into the lake this past week by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and trout action has been outstanding from the Brush Pile, the Handicapped Docks and the peninsula points near the marina with Kastmasters in green/yellow, trout dough bait in rainbow, or salmon eggs. Trollers are scoring limits with blade/’crawler combinations. The recent trout plant has brought numerous fishermen to the lake. Lake levels remain high.”

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

The bass bite remains throughout the low-elevation Central California reservoirs, but none as difficult as Pine Flat and Millerton outside of Fresno.

Newman said, “Millerton is slightly better for numbers than at Pine Flat, but you are sacrificing quality. The bass are just picking the bait up and dropping it, and the best action has been with 4-inch plastics on the drop-shot, dart head or shaky head, The main lake has been the best area since there is an equal mix of largemouth and spotted bass, but you have to be aware of the short strikes and be willing to run and gun. The bass up the river arm are primarily feeding on shad; bass are eating either shad or crawdads in the main lake. There is a dead zone in the afternoons from 12:30 to 4 p.m. before the bite picks up once again. Dragging a large worm or a creature bait at 6 to 7 inches on a Texas- or Tokyo-rig is another possibility for the larger grade of bass, and largemouths to 3 pounds and spots to 2 pounds are exceptional catches right now.”

Millerton dropped from 52% to 50%.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones is just starting to perk up for rainbow trout as the waters continue to cool, but the reaction bite for both largemouth and spotted bass leaves much to be desired.

The new California Swimbait Trail held a tournament on the lake this past Saturday, and these events draw Northern California’s elite swimbait anglers for the opportunity to prove their ability with like-minded anglers. Alex Niapas of Angels Camp, who absolutely obliterated the field by 30 pounds during last January’s Wild West Bass Tournament at Lake Shasta with big swimbaits, participated in the tournament, and he said, “The winners took their big fish at 8.72 pounds on a Dep’s 250 glidebait, and the River2 Sea Swaver was also effective as well as the Hawg Hunter Mag Trout. The Hawg Hunter is my lure of choice. The water temperature ranged from 59 degrees in the morning to 62 degrees.”

John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service took second-place with his partner, Robert Betsch of Mokelumne Hill, and he said, “The bite was brutal, and we made a move early in the day to lead up to our two fish weighing over 7 pounds total. It was a three-fish weigh in, and we just needed one more bass for first. These tournaments draw some of the best swimbait fishermen in the west, and there were 30 teams participating.”

Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp said, “Anglers are reporting the beginning of a good trout bite with the cooler water temps: however, the rainbows remain deep, and trolling has been best with either Speedy Shiners or Needlefish. Our Glory Hole Sports annual catfish contest was taken by Tony Chavez with 20.54 pounds, second place was Tyler Touchstone at 15.39 pounds, and third place by Mike Noldin 15.08 pounds. with Chavez taking the Big Cat Pot at 13.39 pounds.

Gary Burns of Take it to the Limit Guide Service said, “We are starting to see some nice rainbows at New Melones Lake this week. The ’bows are still deep from 55 to 65 feet with the Countdown Rapala CD9 in German Brown at 2.5 mph has been scoring the largest fish along with Speedy Shiners in chrome or Needlefish in blue/black dots. There are a lot of shad schools in the main lake, and the rainbows are holding near the bait fish schools.”

New Melones held at 83%.

Call: Glory Hole Sports 209-736-4333; Monte Smith 209-581-4734; John Liechty Xperience Fishing Guide Service 209-743-9932

The annual Clovis Police Department Fundraising Tournament is in a slightly different format, and this year’s event has been taken over by Mark Corrente’s Bass 101 whose open tournament is now being held as a fundraiser for the police department. In addition to this coming tournament, the Kerman Bass Club will be on Millerton this Saturday, The bass bite at both lakes remains tough as the water levels continue to drop, particularly at Millerton.

Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “The best location at Pine Flat has been around Windy Gap where Jake Figgs of our shop found a finesse bite with plastics on the drop-shot or shaky head. The key is to letting the bait sit on the bottom and moving it slightly. The trick is enticing the bass to bite. The shad are most congregated in the river arm, and it is very scattered in the main lake. If you can find bait, there is an A-rig or spoon bite at 30 to 40 feet as the bass are feeding on shad in the 1.5- to 2-inch range. It is a matter of quality over quantity right now; however, if you can find the bait, you can drag underspins or crankbait. A trout plant is scheduled for this coming week, and it will take a few plants to bring out the swimbait bite. Trout trolling remains very slow, but a plant is expected this coming week. More plants are necessary for the troll bite to get established.”

The lake held at 41%.

Trout plants continue in the lower Kings River, and the best action is from Winton Park to Alta Weir for planted rainbow trout with Power Eggs, salmon eggs, nightcrawlers or trout dough bait in the slower water. Fly fishermen are finding success with nymphs and other dry flies. Kastmasters or Roostertails are also effective in the slow water. The flows remain fast, but it slows down some below Winton Park.

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

The boat and shore fishermen are lining up to head to San Luis Reservoir for striped bass, and the live bait bite seems to be the best while the lake continues to release water.

Anthony Flores of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “Most success has been with drifting jumbo minnows near the Trash Racks or Portuguese Point. We have been selling a ton of jumbo minnows with around half of the fishermen heading to the O’Neill Forebay and the remainder in the big lake. Trollers are focusing around the same areas with Lucky Craft Pointers. In the forebay, there is action galore for a small grade of striped bass with most of the linesides being undersized. Topwater lures, jerkbaits or ripbaits are all working for numerous striped bass. A legal 18-inch limit is possible, but it takes culling through numbers of stripers. Check 13 and the old launch ramp have been the top locations as most fishermen are throwing lures instead of soaking bait.”

Newman of Valley Rod and Gun added, “Smaller stripers are taken on the troll in the main lake, while shore fishermen continue to soak bait while looking out for the boils with jerkbaits or topwater lures. However, most lure tossers have headed to either the California Aqueduct or the O’Neill Forebay.”

The forebay has been better than the big lake, and shore anglers are soaking anchovies along with tossing jerkbaits or flukes. Numbers, but not size, are found in the forebay, but the size in the main lake has also been diminishing.”

Roger George of Roger’s Guide Service said, “The water levels keep dropping, and it is now over 100 feet from the top. The fishing has been sporadic with jumbo minnows seeming to be the best bait. The trolling bite has also been sporadic, and I was out on Sunday for slow action on the troll. The stripers are suspended, and the best bet is to work between 45 and 65 feet. The water temp is around 66 degrees now, and the clarity of the water is about 3 to 4 feet. The Portuguese Cove area and Dinosaur Point are the top two spots, and most anglers are getting a couple of school fish for their efforts. I’m not seeing very many large fish, and I think it’s going to take the lake coming back up again before we start to get patterns that will be normal. The full moon on Tuesday seems to have also been a factor in slowing the overall bite down.”

George said his next Downrigging 101 for Stripers class is Dec. 5, tentatively at 6 p.m. at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Fresno. The two-hour class will cover the basics of downrigging, sonar, lures and how to get up and running for stripers using the technique. The cost is $50. Limited space for the class so pre-registration is required. Call George at 559-905-2954 for info and registration.

The lake dropped from 46% to 43%.

Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle 408-463-0711, Roger George, 905-2954, rogergeorgeguideservice.com

Newman said, “The bass bite was brutal this past week with experienced anglers marking bass throughout the lake but finding willing biters was a challenge with the dropping water levels. There are still green weeds in the lake, and the bass are still holding near the weed growth. The bass are feeding on bluegill, and they are holding anywhere from the surface to 60 feet. Senkos in green pumpkin are working best as this mimics the bluegill.”

Trout trolling remains slow, but it will improve with upcoming plants by the end of the month.

The lake dropped from 65% to 61%, but the public launch ramp remains viable.

The Sheriff’s Motor Fee is enforced on a year-round basis now. Lake webcams and conditions: basslakeca.com/index.php.

Call: Todd Wittwer 288-8100; Mike Beighey 642-3748

Still few reports from the high-elevation lakes, and the Kaiser Pass lakes are now dropping with Edison receding from 46% to 40% and Florence at 51% with Mammoth Pool from 75% to 67%. Mammoth Pool is a still an option for both rainbow trout and crawdads.

For the latest Sierra National Forest road conditions: bit.ly/2rfH8BB

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver is still kicking out kokanee, and amazingly, there are still some edible landlocked salmon in the lake. The weather remains tremendous, and trollers are showing up to work the lake for the opportunity at a kokanee along with improving trout fishing.

Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “I go down to the lake on the weekends to see what is going on for Western Outdoor News, and I spoke with two anglers who found two limits of rainbows from 12 to 15 inches within three hours trolling in Stevenson Bay and near the Tunnel with Cop Car Needlefish or Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler at 3 colors of leadcore. Timothy Tompsett found good action for edible kokanee, and another fisherman landed seven kokanee near Rock Heaven Cove, but only one of the kokanee was edible while the others were red. It seems that from what I am hearing, trollers were picking up a couple of limits of rainbows or less, and Stevenson Bay is where the trout hold during the early fall/winter months. Jay and Delinda Irvine of Visalia picked up a couple of limits, and the fish were caught on orange Koke buster with a purple Mountain Flasher at 15 to 20 feet in Stevenson Bay in front of the Fish Camp. They also got into a bright kokanee. There have also been some second-year kokanee found, and we released at least 25 of the juvenile kokanee this year. We advise that the smaller second-year kokanee are released as it appears that the kokanee spawned successfully two years ago when the lake was not planted with fingerling kokanee. An exceptional trout planting season is expected during the spring of 2020 by the Department of Fish and Wildlife along with our Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project plants.”

Shaver dropped slightly to 66%.

At upstream Huntington, there hasn’t been much change as the lake continues to heavily release water, and it has receded to 36%, and the launch ramp is problematic for anything but small aluminum boats. There are few reports now, but the secretive brown trout baggers are waiting to drag their aluminums down to the waterline as soon as it starts to snow.

Sierra Marina launch ramp webcam: sierramarina.com/camera.html.

Call: Dick Nichols, Dick’s Fishing Charters 281-6948; Todd Wittwer, Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Dinkey Creek Inn 841-3435

Kelly Brewer of the Wishon RV Park and Store said, “The Wishon RV Park and Store is now closed for the season, but the trout bite remains outstanding for both bank fishermen and trollers with the rainbows running from 13 to 14 inches to the occasional 17-inch trout. Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger, Needlefish, or similar spoons are all working for trollers in front of the dam, near the river inlet, along the east side, and at depths from 20 to 30 feet. Shore fishermen are scoring at the mouth of Short Hair Creek, the dam and the boat launch with inflated nightcrawlers or trout dough bait. The lake remains high enough for launching a boat, but it is not on the second turnaround.”

Anglers have to bring all supplies as bait and tackle are not be available at the lake.

At Courtright, Newman of Valley Rod and Gun said, “The highest-elevation lake in the area has attracted fewer anglers due to the colder weather along with the excellent action along the way at Wishon, but there is still good action for trollers with the increased opportunity for a quality brown trout with Apex lures, Needlefish, or Krocodile spoons from the surface to 20 feet. Shore fishing is best along both sides of the dam or near the boat launch with trout dough bait, nightcrawlers or salmon eggs.” The lake level remains relatively high for this time of year, but the levels have been fluctuating with the need for power generation. The windows for action will become shorter as the region gets colder at the 7,000-foot elevation level.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Crab 4 Surf Perch 2

The recreational Dungeness crab opener out of Half Moon Bay has been nothing less than with limits of commercial-grade crab along with rockfish limits. The Queen of Hearts and New Captain Pete out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing are providing the popular rockfish/crab combination trips, and the commercial pullers on the Huli Cat and the New Captain Pete make for a quick pull.

Limits of crab have been the rule since the opener, and Baxter was out in 200 feet of water for up to 20/crab per pot while also out of his shop, the Queen of Hearts dropped their smaller Danielson pots in 160 feet of water for 13/crab per pot. Baxter said, “This was a very good sign to have these numbers of crab only 5 to 6 miles out of the harbor as normally the crab are not in this close this early in the season.” He was out with the Coastside Fishing Club-sponsored Veteran’s Trip on Saturday, November 9th, on a crab-only trip, and they posted limits before he ran a second crab-only trip later in the afternoon.

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat was out on Thursday with for the Peninsula Fishing Club Ling Cod Tourney, and he said, “We had a good day on the lings with 13 ling cod along with 26 limits of rockfish and 27 limits of Dungeness crab including crew. We were down at the Deep Reef for the rockfish, and we have had an excellent week with limits of both rockfish and crab on every trip. The lings really jumped on today. The weather has been fantastic. The weather was a bit rougher on Saturday, November 9th, but they scratched out limits of rockfish along with limits of crab for 21 anglers. Mattusch is finding loaded pots from varying depths from 95 to 245 feet.

The private boat parade has been steady for Dungeness crab seekers, and as in further up the coast out of Bodega Bay, kayak fishermen are getting in on the action.

Call: Captain Dennis Baxter, New Captain Pete 650-576-3844; Captain Tom Mattusch, Huli Cat 650-619-0459

Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Crab 3

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing Trips is taking a trip to Point Sur on Tuesday, November 12, and the crab counts are improving with close to limits with 8 or 9 crab/angler when they have lighter loads. The Check Mate put in 170 Dungeness crab for 23 anglers on Saturday. They actually have some room on Thursday and Friday of this week.

Call: Chris’ Landing 831-375-5951; Allen Bushnell, Santa Cruz Kayak and Surf Casting 831-251-9732

Halibut 2 Striper 2 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2 Crab 3

Nothing has changed on the party boat scene with limits of Dungeness crab and rockfish on every boat heading out of all ports.

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond Marina pulled 5 pots for 80 crab before heading into the Marin coastline for three ling cod and limits of rockfish before his clients decided they had enough meat.

All of the boats are getting pretty full so it is a matter of making early reservations. The Pacific Dream, California Dawn, El Dorado III, and Happy Hooker out of Berkeley Marina, the Salty Lady out of Emeryville along with the remainder of the Emeryville Fleet are all filling up, particularly on the weekends.

Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream is also loading up with rockfish and ling cod on both the Happy Hooker and the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley. During the week, despite the incredible weather and fishing, they have only been running one boat. Captain Jonathan Smith is running a special trip on the Happy Hooker on Sunday, November 24th, and there are only a few spots left. The Pacific Dream is going for a crab-only on November 27th for $100/angler.

The California Dawn took their last Phenix Rod special trip to the Farallons on Monday, and Vince Borges of Phenix said, “We crushed it out there at the Farallons, and I was able to land five lings using the Optimum Double AA Bubba Shad swimbait. I was able to pass over some of my lings to some excellent swimbait fishermen for bass that weren’t successful at working for the lings in deep water. We also had some huge rockfish along with limits of crab, and the weather was fantastic.”

Inside the bay, the bait dock in San Francisco is closed for the season, and Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle is one of the only locations, and perhaps the only location in the Bay Area, for live bait for drifting with live smelt and a limited amount of live Loch Lomond shiners in the bait tanks. Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond said, “There are still halibut being caught in the bay, and one of our customers found around 1.5 fish per rod using the smelt. There are stripers in San Pablo Bay, and although I haven’t heard much about the Marin Island and the Brothers, there have been both halibut and bass at Red Rock and Paradise. Fishermen have been trolling for bass around the Pumphouse, but the action on the anchor hasn’t started yet. There are sturgeon putting on an aerial show around the Pumphouse, and there are good tides early next week so I expect fishermen to start targeting the diamondbacks.”

Call: Captain Trent Slate, Bite Me Charters 415-307-8582; Happy Hooker 510-223-5388; Captain Jerad Davis, Salty Lady 415-760-9362; Captain Steve Mitchell, Hook’d Up Sport Fishing 707-655-6736

Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3

Out of San Luis Obispo County, the rockfish limits were possible, and a bonus 36-pound halibut was landed on the Avenger out of Morro Bay Landing on Saturday. Sunday’s score from this landing was 335 vermilion, 65 copper, 30 Boccaccio, 5 Bolina, 440 assorted rockfish, 42 ocean whitefish, 3 rock sole, and 30 ling cod to 23 pounds on the Avenger, Endeavor, and Starfire. Out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay, the Black Pearl went on a 1.5-day trip with 21 anglers over the weekend, and they posted 365 vermilion and 45 assorted rockfish with 35 ling cod to 23 pounds. There are only three weeks left in Virg’s 2019 John Rowley’s Biggest Baddest Ling cod Contest for $10,000 in prizes. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing in Port San Luis, the Patriot and Flying Fish out of Patriot Sport Fishing were out with 30 fishermen on Sunday for 57 vermilion, 38 copper, 16 Boccaccio, 6 Bolina, 180 assorted rockfish to go with 6 lings to 9 pounds for limits of rockfish. Steve Picketto of Clovis and Alejandro Santiago of Delano landed a jackpot winning ling cod. All ports are running a variety of trips in the coming weeks for rockfish/ling cod including overnight trips until the bottom fish closure on Dec. 31.

Call: Virg’s Landing 800-762-5263; Patriot Sport Fishing 805-595-4100

Bass 2 Striper 3 Sturgeon 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2 Salmon 2

Sturgeon fishermen have arrived in force in the Sacramento-Delta, but the action has been up and down. The grass and debris from the Rio Vista Bridge to the Carquinez Bridge remains heavy, and the constant debris is clogging lines when the tide is moving.

Sturgeon fishing has been excellent in Suisun Bay on some days, but there have been more tough days that good days lately. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing is out with Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing on Thursday night on an evening trip until 1:00 a.m., and he said, “The bite was very tough, and we had grass clogging us up in every location with the exception of Chain Island. We only had a few bites all night long, and the wind was howling so we had to hide in the sloughs. The sturgeon seem to only want eel or ghost shrimp based on our experience and what others are telling me. We marked plenty of sturgeon at Chain Island, but it was hard to get them to go. Garnet Point was another location with plenty of sturgeon, but there was so much grass there that it was difficult to keep at bait in the water. It is going to take the grass to dissipate Mitchell has been fielding calls and setting up trips for Gamez, Mike Funtanilla of Bend Ur Rod, or Zach Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures until his boat, the ‘Top Gun’ is repowered with twin outboards. Mitchell will also be featured at the International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Sacramento with a sturgeon fishing seminar on the Saturday of the show. Medinas will also be featured at the ISE with his partner, co-captain Virginia Salvador.

Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait in Martinez reported sturgeon fishermen are out there in droves by the Mothball Fleet, the Big Cut, and the Middle Grounds, and it was boat to boat by the bridge on Sunday. We are selling plenty of grass shrimp, and it has been hard to keep it in the shop. There are still a few salmon around, and one angler picked up a limit at 18 and 23 pounds on a Vee-Zee Spinner at Ist Street. These fish are still bright. Striped bass has been decent from the shoreline, and they are still catching big stripers on splittail in the Sacramento River, but the live splitttail have been harder to find.”

Tim Boggs of Elkhorn Outdoor Sports in Rio Linda said “The area near the Mothball Fleet continues to produce stripers and has plenty of signs of sturgeon around. We had some guys at the mothball fleet who caught six really nice stripers, and the biggest was around 12 pounds and the average was 6 pounds. All on ghost shrimp. Yesterday the bite was really slow, but we got one around 9 pounds and lost two others. We had a nice sturgeon on that broke the line. If guys want stripers, they need to head to Suisun. There are a lot of really nice stripers out there and quite a few sturgeon.”

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, was up in the Liberty Island area this week, but he found tough striped bass action once again. Switching over to flipping, he loaded up with a heavy limit of largemouth bass while seeing crappie in 15 to 17 feet in depth around submerged trees. He brought out his crappie rod the following day, and he said, “We slaughtered the slabs with the Bass Magic tube bait.”

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “Salmon fishermen are scarce, but they are still picking up bright fish on occasion from the shorelines. Diehard fishermen are finding salmon to 30 pounds form the banks with Flying C’s or other heavy spoons. Striper fishing has been best with mudsuckers around Liberty Island, the Sacramento Deep-Water Channel, and near the Rio Vista Bridge. Sturgeon still haven’t made a showing up here in numbers yet, and the best action remains around Chain Island. Bluegill and crappie are in all of the back sloughs with live minnows or minijigs for the slabs and red worms or meal worms for the bluegill.”

Captain Dave Sharp was back again on Sunday near Chain Island, and they were soaking butterflied shad for five legal stripers by early afternoon. He said, “The grass remains bad, but it was OK on the incoming tide for two hours before a pile of grass came in. You have to avoid the areas with grass as you can’t fish for long when the water is moving.” Sharp has joined the staff at Marina Bait and Tackle in Suisun City, and he reported high sales of grass shrimp, pile worms, and blood worms for both sturgeon and striped bass.

Clyde Wands, shallow trolling expert, has become a live bait expert within the past two weeks as he said, “I was out with Mark Wilson earlier in the week, and all of our stripers were taken on live mudsuckers as you couldn’t troll. We were able to troll for a while on Friday and landed three legal stripers around Chain Island before the grass became too much and we switched over to drifting live minnows. We were able to pick up another 5 keepers on the minnows to 7 pounds, and there are new fish coming in as these were from a fresh school.”

The San Joaquin Delta striped bass bite broke out over the past week for experienced fishermen tossing large wooden plugs or swimbaits as the larger fish are loading up for the coming winter, chasing big baits in the shallows. This is a good sign for the upcoming Rat-L-Trap Open out of Russo’s Marina this Saturday.

The striped bass has been outstanding for those in the know, and Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors was out with Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing in the San Joaquin Delta, and on Wednesday, they took out Kyle Goldberg of Donkey Sticks for great topwater action for striped bass followed by the next day working the Yozuri Pencil for the shallow water linesides. Borges said, “I have several trips for stripers in the coming weeks, and since most of my clients will be throwing spinning reels, I downsized to the 5-inch Pencils due to their ease in throwing the smaller profile lure. When we were out with Kyle, we were using his custom 5-inch Donkey Sticks. The larger stripers are seeking a big meal of other largemouth bass, bluegill, or crappie, and in one location, we witnessed a number of largemouth bass jumping completely out of the water to get away from the stripers. The big fish are in the shallows, and you can see them swirling before we toss out the lures. The larger fish do not attract the birds are they are not chasing the smaller bait on the surface. It was a blast to get these fish to react to the lures.”

The Rat-L-Trap Open is a team event will be primarily targeting limits of largemouth bass, there is a side pool for striped bass. The five bass have to be over 13 inches as measured on a flat board. The fee is $125.00/team by November 8th with a $15.00 late fee after this date along with an add-on of $50.00 for the striped bass pool for the target-length striper. Information: www.bestbasstournaments.com.

Dan Mathisen of Dan Mathisen Outdoors said, “The best striped bass fishing has been east as there are resident linesides in there. I cancelled our tournament on Saturday, but we had a five-boat Turkey Shoot with 28.39 pounds taking first with 23 pounds in second. Everyone is flipping Creature Baits in the current right now. There are smaller stripers out west, but the bigger linesides have moved further east.”

In the Stockton area, H and R Bait in Stockton reported continued high interest in local fishermen heading to either Whiskey Slough or Eight Mile Road for striped bass or panfish. Fresh shad remains readily available.

Boaters must use caution in the region around Mildred Island and Empire Cut as several hundred feet of a partially exposed pile line has been blocking the entrance to Mildred Island. The pipe is approximately 24 inches in diameter, and it is hard to see. The gas pipe belongs to PG&E, and it is out of service, but at least one boat accident has occurred in this area. The US Coast Guard is working with PG&E to mitigate this hazard, and boaters in the area are advised to use extreme caution.

The Simms Fishing Products 9th Annual Delta Pro Day was held at Sugar Barge on Saturday, November 9th, and top professionals from around the western United States arrived to enjoy a tournament and the festivities. The event is organized by John Sherman of Simms Fishing Products; and prior to the tournament weigh in. a welcome lunch was provided by Traeger Grills. Billy Hines and Mike Birch of defended their title during the tournament with a 7-pound kicker with the teams of Hines/Birch, Will Duncan/Jason Borafka, and Cody Meyer/Ken Cassetari participating in the event. The same fishermen also held an Bass Pro Panel Question and Answer session later in the day. The Pro Day featured a variety of activities with a presentation by James Stone, president of the Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association on the upcoming California Fish and Game Commission meeting on December 11th in Sacramento regarding the deregulation of non-native species focusing on the striped bass, a new product review, a fly-tying forum by Al Q, Morgan Thailken, Hogan Brown, Chuck Regan, and Dan Blanton featuring their favorite Delta patterns, spey casting techniques from Eric Neufield, and a presentation on electronics from Simms Pro John Hoyer.

One highlight of the day was the presentation by Heather Hodson on attracting more women into the sport of fishing, and the day ended with a huge raffle from a number of sponsors including Simms, Yeti, Costa Sunglasses, Water Works Lamson Outfits, Traeger Grills, and Scientific Fly Lines.

Call: Randy Pringle 209-543-6260; Captain Steve Mitchell 707-655-6736; Vince Borges Outdoors 209-918-0828; J.D. Richey, Richey’s Sport Fishing 916-952-1554

Bass 2 White bass 2 Striper 1 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

At Nacimiento, finding white bass has been a challenge as the schools are moving around in deeper water. If you can find them on the meter, white Kastmasters or Roostertails are doing the trick. The spotted bass are dropping in the water column to 30 feet, and it is quality over quantity as the reaction bite has slowed. The best fishing has been taking place with plastics or jigs on a slower presentation. Crappie are holding in submerged brush with small shad-patterned swimbaits or minijigs. Catfish are taken on cut baits, but the quality has been lacking. The fuel dock is now selling fuel again from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The lake held at 46% this week.

At Lopez, bass fishing continues to be tough with creature baits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures, jigs, or plastics on the drop-shot finding the occasional largemouth bass to 6 pounds. The bluegill and red ear perch have dropped in the water column, and they are taken on meal worms, wax worms, or red worms, and catfishing is fair with cut baits.

At Santa Margarita, the largemouth bass action remains a challenge, but it is quality over quantity with a reaction bite with spinnerbaits early before working the bottom with jigs or plastics. Crappie have gone into deeper water, and minijigs in dark-patterns are finding success for the slabs around submerged structure. Catfish are taken on cut baits, and there is the possibility of a large whiskerfish.

At San Antonio, angler interest has clearly waned, and catfish remain the top species with cut baits such as anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and Sonny’s SSS dip bait in Blood Formula. The bass bite is slow at best with plastics on the drop-shot in deep water working best. The lake is now on the winter schedule, and the launch ramp is closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The lake is at 34%.

Webcams: 805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam, lakenacimientolive.com, 805webcams.com/santa-margarita-lake-webcam-california.

Call: Lake Nacimiento 805-238-1056, ext. 3; Lake San Antonio Marina 805-472-2818; Central Coast Bass Fishing.com 805-466-6557

Go to fresnobee.com/fishing for Ocean, Delta, Kern County and Central Coast lakes and for event results and the tournament schedule.

McClure – Gold Country Junior Bass Club – Nov. 9: 1st – Mason Ferrulli – 7.84 pounds; 2nd –Brayden Merrill – 7.63; 3rd –Hailee Friss– 6.56.

McClure – Kerman Bass Club – Nov. 9: 1st – Dale Ashcroft– 12.40 pounds (Big Fish- 5.15); 2nd – Mitch Melikan – 10.62; 3rd – Darren Greaf – 8.15.

Nov. 16-

New Melones – Christian Bass League

Don Pedro – Merced Bass Club

Eastman – Sierra Bass Club

Nov. 17 –

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Hook, Line, and Sinker

Nov. 23 –

McClure – American Bass Association

Pine Flat – Bass 101

Nov. 24 –

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Delta Teen Teams

Lake Camanche – Lodi High School Bass Club

Eastman – Central Valley Kayak Fishing

Millerton – Roosevelt High School Bass Fishing Club

Scheduled for week of Nov. 17 by California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Fresno County: Kings River below Pine Flat Dam, Pine Flat Reservoir

Inyo County: Owens River below Tinnemaha and section 2, Pleasant Valley Reservoir

Kern County: Kern River sections 2-3, Ming Lake

Tulare County: Kaweah Reservoir, Success Reservoir

This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Central California lake river,ocean fishing report Nov. 13-19."