Fishing report for week of May 13-19: New Melones launch ramps reopen; Bass Lake dock in

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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Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

With San Luis Reservoir and the O’Neill Forebay closed to vehicle traffic, the California Aqueduct remains one location for local striped bass anglers to find action. In the southern section of the aqueduct, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “The full moon over the past week slowed down the bite, but I think the action will pick up once again this week. The Buena Vista Golf Course remains the top local spot, and sales of blood worms, anchovies and sardines remain strong with anglers coming from Southern and Central California to the Bakersfield area. Jerkbaits, tubes, flukes, Rat-L-Traps and topwater lures are working along with soaking bait for the linesides.”

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

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District has closed all recreation facilities, including campgrounds, visitor centers, boat launches and day-use areas, at the 10 lakes and parks it runs to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.

Any questions about the status of a USACE park can be directed to that individual park staff. Contact information can be found at the Sacramento District Parks website spk.usace.army.mil/Locations/Sacramento-District-Parks or by web searching USACE and the name of the park.

Additional information and updates on modifications, closures and other restrictions related to the USACE district’s response can be found at spk.usace.army.mil/coronavirus and on its Facebook (@SacramentoDistrict) and Twitter (@USACESacramento) pages.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Another Corps-run lake that’s closed.

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

Bass 3 Trout 3

All three launch ramps at Don Pedro are open without any residency restrictions, and the lake was packed on Saturday. It was reported to take up to 2 hours to launch and another 2.5 hours to get a boat off of the lake.

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “There is a good topwater bite, but we are getting toward the tail end of the shad spawn. If the topwater and reaction bite is slow, you can head to any mid-lake points or cuts with plastics or tubes for unlimited numbers of bass in 5 to 15 feet of water. The action is wide-open.”

With the emergence of kokanee at New Melones, Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service didn’t head to Pedro, but he said, “Trout fishing is excellent for those willing to look for the schools and run Speedy Shiners at depths from 60 feet and beyond.”

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

Lake Isabella remains the only lake open for fishing in the southern Central Valley, and the lake continues to receive visitors from far and wide. Fresno-area anglers have been beating a path down to the lake to fish for crappie, trout or bass. Cormier said, “The crappie bite remains very good for boaters with either live minnows or minijigs. The lake has been crowded on the weekends with hundreds of people, and the bass bite has improved considerably with topwater action in low-light conditions while Senkos are also effective. The largemouth bass have been as large as 8 pounds, and there are plenty of 3s and 4s out there. The best action has been in the shallows. Catfishing is also solid with Triple S Dip Bait, frozen shad, jumbo or extra-large minnows or clams. Trout fishing remains good with Power Bait, nightcrawlers or spoons as a release of rainbows occurred despite the annual Kern County Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby being canceled.”

Trout fishing in the upper Kern River is good despite few recent plants, and the flows are excellent at 1,800 cubic feet per second. The river may not go above 2,000 cfs this year due to the limited snowpack. Salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, crickets or spinners are most effective in the upper river while the lower river is kicking out smallmouth bass.

The local lakes are open, and fishing has been fair for bass, bluegill and carp. Bass are taken on plastics or nightcrawlers while bluegill are biting waxworms.

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

Another Corps-run lake that’s closed.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Another Corps-run lake that’s closed, but the Tule River is an option. Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said of the Middle Fork, “The flow is perfect higher up while the lower section is running higher. The natives are hitting dry flies, black caddis, stimulators, black ants and grasshopper patterns. Fly fishing in the upper section is excellent on flies. In the lower river, the larger trout are chasing quarter-ounce Panther Martins.”

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

Bass 3 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2

In addition to residents of Mariposa County and the eastern Merced County ommunities of Merced, Livingston, Cressey, Winton, Atwater, LeGrand, Snelling and Planada and the Tuolumne County communities of Coulterville and Le Grange, the lake is now open to residents of the southeastern Stanislaus County communities of Turlock, Denair, Hughson, Hickman, Waterford and Oakdale.

Bass fishing remains tremendous, and Cook (who’s from Atwater) said, “We hammered the bass all week long. The topwater bite is slowing down as the shad spawn is on its last legs, but the bite should stay good for the next couple of weeks. The bass are suspended in 5 to 15 feet of water, and the fish are schooled up tight. If you pick up one, there are several more around. In addition to reaction lures and topwater, there is a great bite anywhere on the lake with plastics 6 inches or smaller. I was out with two youngsters at 5 and 7 years old, and they worked 3.5-inch Dry Creek tubes on a quarter-ounce dart head for over 60 bass in the river arm in less than a half-day. The bite is wide-open to say the least.”

For complete information about access, go to lakemcclure.com.

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

The lake is now open for limited shore fishing with the same restrictions as McClure. For complete information about access, go to lakemcclure.com.

A recent trout plant of 500 pounds started up action, but it has slowed with a few fish per rod from the shorelines by those soaking Power Eggs, Power Bait or nightcrawlers along with tossing Kastmasters from the shorelines at the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks or the peninsula near the marina.

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

As a California State Park, Millerton State Recreational Area temporarily closed its parking lots and launch ramps. The lake is inaccessible for power boats, and all parking lots at the recreational areas are closed. Sycamore Island Park on the San Joaquin River also temporarily closed.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

All three launch ramps – Glory Hole, Angels Cove and Tuttletown – opened with no residency restriction on Saturday and were packed.

The bass bite on the reopening weekend was tremendous with Cook reporting, “My cousin was out there on Sunday, and he found a wide-open bite with walking topwater baits like a Super Spook, but tubes or jigs will also be very effective for numbers. They found great numbers of smaller, legal bass with a few larger ones in the mix.”

John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service confirmed the excellent bass bite at New Melones with a variety of reaction baits along with plastics.

However, despite the great bass fishing at New Melones, the real story is the appearance of kokanee to 18 inches. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service scouted the lake over the weekend to see if the kokanee were there, and he found them with a pair of limits from 15.5 to 18 inches running Mag Tackle’s pink hoochies tipped with garlic corn behind a Mag Tackle Stealth dodger at 32 feet on the downrigger. He said, “These are monster kokanee, and these must be from a self-spawn up the river arm. I am looking forward to this season; we should see some truly huge kokanee by late summer. There are huge balls of plankton on the lake, and we are in good shape with the lake full of water. The launch ramps were crowded, and it took me one hour and 10 minutes to get off of the lake on Saturday afternoon.”

Lake Tulloch remains open for those with gate access.

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

Pine Flat is another Corps-run lake that’s closed. No reports from the river.

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

As a California State Park, San Luis Reservoir temporarily closed its parking lots and launch ramps. The lake is inaccessible for power boats, and all parking lots at the recreational areas are closed. Anglers can walk into the lake from access points to fish from the banks, but they’re reminded to practice social distancing.

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

Jared and Manny Romero of Clovis have been heading to the lake every weekend to troll for trout, but they reported that the bite is starting to slow down. They put in a pair of limits, but they had to change gear throughout the day to fill the box. The dock is in, but the restrooms are closed.

The clearing of Kaiser Pass is expected to begin May 17.

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

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver remains closed to boating with all launch ramps closed, but this hasn’t stopped anglers from accessing the lake from the shorelines. Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “Jeff Harris of Tollhouse was at the lake on Sunday morning, and there were 50 cars parked near Fresno Beach close to the Point with another 20 cars at the Sierra Marina north. There were at least 20 kayaks on the lake. Bank fishing has slowed down within the past few weeks, but a limit is possible although most of the trout, including the recent plant of trophies, have scattered.

“The reports from Huntington have been slow for shore anglers, but I am sure that there are still planted rainbows around Deer Creek. With Shaver and Huntington remaining closed for boats, most boaters are heading to either Wishon or Bass Lake.”

Bob Bernier, planting chairman for the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project said, “We had a successful plant of 4,000 pounds of trophy rainbows, but it wasn’t easy as the new truck from the fish farm broke down near Prather, requiring it to be towed up the mountain to drop the load at the lake. The trophy plant is a result of monies raised by donors and supporters of our project, and this could not happen without their support.”

The Shaver Lake stores are totally equipped with tackle and bait and fishing license. Due to the City of Fresno expanding the stay at home order to May 31, Nichols’s annual Shaver Lake fishing seminar at Turner’s Outdoorsman has been canceled for the first time in 12 years. Nichols is scheduled to open with his first charter trip June 4 if the lake opens, and the state allow fishing guides to resume charter trips. Shaver Lake is expected to maintain a near-maximum water level by July.

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

The road to Wishon has opened, and with Shaver and Huntington closed to boats, trout trollers are heading up the hill to launch at Wishon. Trolling and shore fishing remains decent for holdover rainbow and brown trout.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Go to fresnobee.com/fishing for Ocean, Delta and Central Coast lakes and trout plants.

All events through May 31 postponed.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it has removed the fish plant schedule from its website in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 by preventing public crowding at water bodies. CDFW said it will continue stocking trout at locations where social distancing by anglers and physical distancing of hatchery staff can be maintained.

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Salmon 2

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat has been working on the boat, upgrading matters, while the shelter in place is in order, but he has been heading out on occasion to pull his crab pots. He said, “The number of crab have been impressive, and it only takes a pull or two to put in two limits of sport-grade crab. Almost all of the crab are males. The commercial crabbers have pretty much packed up their operations. Private boaters have been out every day for salmon, and there have been a few salmon landed off of the shelf between Davenport and Ano Nuevo in an area known as the Fingers.”

Captain Dennis Baxter was commercial salmon fishing near Pigeon Point on Sunday with his son, Braden, and they came back with over 200 pounds of salmon. He said, “The salmon are feeding on squid, krill, and anchovies, and it was really like a krill bite for us. There are small groupings of bait, and it is a matter of finding the salmon. The fish are all in the 8- to 12-pound range, and the boats out there are working together once someone finds the fish. There were several commercial boats running from Pigeon on down to Davenport, and there were also some private boats that found limits of salmon 8 miles above us at the Deep Reef. There is a southerly coming in over the next few days, and I think we will wait this out and be back on Wednesday to make another run. The reports from Pedro Point were not as encouraging.”

There is a web cam for the Pacifica Pier here.

Call: Captain Dennis Baxter – New Captain Pete (650) 576-3844; Captain Tom Mattusch – Huli Cat (650) 619-0459.

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Salmon 2 Striper 3 Halibut 2 Surf perch 2

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing Trips in Monterey said, “The Monterey side of the bay has been slow for salmon after there was a shot of fish off of the Soldier’s Club on opening day. The majority of salmon action is occurring on the Santa Cruz side, and the commercial boats have been focusing from Santa Cruz north to Davenport. The launch ramps in Monterey County remain closed, but shore anglers are loading up on school-sized striped bass along all of the beaches. There is a tremendous amount of bait on the Monterey side, but the salmon have been absent so far.”

Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “The results were generally positive for Monterey Bay anglers on the salmon opener, although most had to fish until noon or later for limits. Of course, not everyone caught two fish each on opening day, but most boats got at least one fish, and the recreational fleet averaged about a fish per rod. Concentrations of salmon were located near Mulligan’s Hill, Soldier’s Club, Moss Landing and the Pajaro and Soquel Holes closer to Santa Cruz. Fish were caught from 180 to over 300 feet of water, mostly by anglers working the edge of the submarine canyons, trolling from 60 to 220 feet down. The sudden pressure, especially from the big commercial trollers had the effect of scattering the schools of salmon. It was reported that over 100 commercial salmon boats were working on the Monterey Bay last weekend. These numbers have decreased as the commercial season opened in areas to the north during the middle of last week. Fishing understandingly got tougher over the weekend and remained tough in the following weekdays. There are plenty of salmon in the bay. Anglers just need to be in the right place at the right time, using the correct gear in the correct manner. According to Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine. ‘The salmon bite was good on the west side of Santa Cruz near Three Trees in 200-280 feet of water. The anglers on the east edge of the Soquel Hole did decent on the salmon.’ Halibut fishing remains steady in all the usual spots. Monterey halibut hunters found flatties near the mooring buoys off Municipal Wharf #2, by the “Hotel,” and off the beaches near Sand City. The Pajaro Pipeline area still has decent concentrations of halibut. Capitola, Pleasure Point and the Mile Buoy area in Santa Cruz all produced legal halibut this week for anglers trolling bounce-ball rigs or drifting live and dead bait. The halibut are moving closer to the beach now with hookups reported in as shallow as 28 feet of water on Wednesday.”

Surfcasting for striped bass remains excellent throughout Monterey Bay, but the section of beach north and south of Manressa State Beach has been closed for 5 days after Saturday’s fatal shark attack involving a well-known local surfer.” Jesus Reyes Silva of JKings Lures continues to find limits of school-sized striped bass from the Monterey County beaches on his custom topwater lures.”

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

San Francisco Bay

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

There are salmon out there if you are fortunate to find an area without jelly fish, and the few boats out there are working together to locate the fish. Annie Nagel of Ocean Kayaks was out over the weekend, and she was able to put in a limit, but they came up one shy of two limits outside of the Gate. She is on a roll with the 27-pound ling cod last week and now this quality limit of salmon.

Chris Semler of San Francisco reported that there were massive areas of jelly fish west of S Buoy off of Mussel Rock, and they spent most of the day clearing their lines from the jelly fish. The channel area was too rough, and there were no reports of success from Duxbury. He said, “So, there are a few fish out there, but you have to work for them and work hard clearing the jellyfish. I was up at Duxbury on Saturday, and since we couldn’t find any salmon, we tried for rockfish, but they weren’t biting. We heard about a hot bite between the Channel and Weather Buoys, and we released 4 shakers and had two massive takedowns between the jelly fish. I saw about 8 fish landed and heard that some boats had between 2 to 5 fish. The salmon that were landed were an excellent grade at 12 to 25 pounds with a report of a trophy at 37 pounds near Duxbury later in the day. The limiting factor is getting located.”

Inside the bay, the halibut bite slowed down due to the huge minus tides affecting the bay. Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters has been averaging double-digit halibut counts, but he struggled for three halibut on at the end of the week. He said, “The huge tides and the big full moon have made for very difficult conditions as the bay is stained, but it isn’t too muddy. I was at Crissy Field, Alcatraz, Angel Island, the Chevron Pier, South Hampton Shoals, and the Richmond Pier so I made the circuit only to find few willing biters.”

Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael said, “Our launch ramp remains closed, but most of our fishermen are either launching out of Richmond or Berkeley. I received reported of 114 launches out of Richmond and 248 out of Berkeley on Saturday, but Loch Lomond remained at 0. This set of tides, the first minus tides in May, is when I found terrific sturgeon fishing last year, and I went out with my good friend Rico and another partner for spectacular action in 8 to 9 feet of water between the Pumphouse and the Shellbanks on the incoming tide. Since Rico was on the phone to his wife, I hooked his sturgeon at 59 inches, and then I set the hook on another sturgeon that came in at 7 feet, and both sturgeon jumped completely out of the water four times. By the time Rico was off of the phone and fighting the fish, he ended up on the deck with the sturgeon next to him as they were both spent. I would anchor on the morning’s big tide with Loch Lomond grass shrimp or ghost shrimp before drifting in the afternoon with Loch Lomond smelt or shiners. We will have some live anchovies in the shop this weekend along with pile worms, the afore mentioned grass and ghost shrimp, smelt, and a few shiners.”

Since they are restricted from chartering passengers, some of the party boat captains are commercial halibut fishing, but the market is limited due to the restaurants being closed. Commercial halibut fishermen must wait a few days in between fishing in order for the market to sell off what they have. There definitely is a glut of California halibut due to the current state of the markets.

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

San Luis Obispo

Rockfish 2 Surf perch 2

The public launch ramp at Morro Bay is open on a trial basis in order to provide recreational fishing opportunities, and the restriction for county residents only has been lifted. Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported a local angler launched and found excellent rockfish on the local reefs. The parking lot is closed from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. as the ramp will be open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The fish cleaning and rinse stations are closed. Social distancing is required and enforced, and face masks must be worn at all times when outside of your vehicle. Parking fees will be collected for the yellow stalls at $6/day or annual pass at the harbor office.

The commercial fleet has started selling fish off of the docks as the City of Morro Bay has already approved the direct sale of fish from commercial boats to consumers as long as the social distancing standards are maintained. Anyone will be able to buy whole salmon, rock fish and crab from the commercial fishing boats docked in Morro Bay Harbor. The fish will be sold whole, not filleted. Signs will be present in the harbor and along the Embarcadero directing consumers to the boats selling fish, but those intending to purchase are to being an ice chest and a supply of ice.

Similar to all ports, party boat operations are on hold until further notice due to the shelter in place order is lifted. All of the party boat landings are currently taking reservations for the summer months in the event the shelter in place is lifted.

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

Others

Delta/Stockton

Bass 3 Striper 3 Sturgeon 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2 American shad 3

The Highway 12 Bridge at the Mokelumne River will be closed again this weekend from May 15-18. An alternative route from Interstate 5 to Rio Vista is needed over the weekend.

American shad are always a mysterious fish as they arrive in the Sacramento River annually during the months of April/May, make their run up into the upper Sacramento, American, Feather, and Yuba River to spawn before disappearing once again to parts unknown.

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “The shad have arrived, and anglers are either drop-shotting shad darts or grubs from an anchored boat or tossing them from the shorelines below the Freeport Bridge. The striped bass and sturgeon are coming and going, but right now, they are mostly coming back downstream from the upper rivers. The flows are low with minimal precipitation this year, and you only need from ¾ - to 1-ounce to stay down while drop-shotting for American shad. We are open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., and we really encourage everyone coming into the shop to wear a protective mask. Interest in fishing remains high, and the launch ramps at Stan’s, Clarksburg, Arrowhead, and Hogback are open in the north Delta.”

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento was out on the river twice this week, and he said, “I was below Freeport for shad for a few hours in the late morning this week, and we only picked up 7 small males drop-shotting grubs on a ½-ounce weight. However, my brother was in the American River, and he landed 30 shad. I think it is still early as we only found small males, and normally, the larger females come up after the males. I’m done with striper fishing, but a friend was throwing topwater lures in the Liberty Island area for 11 linesides to 8 pounds. Warren Trombley from San Jose and I went bass fishing into Snodgrass Slough, and we came up with an 18-pound limit, but Warren dumped two largemouths in the 5/6-pound range on consecutive casts with a spinnerbait. We saw both fish come out of the water and toss the hook so he must not be setting the hook hard enough. There was a smolt dump at the mouth of the American River near the Brickyard, and striped bass have been observed boiling on the surface.”

The smolt plants will occur throughout the month of May outside of Eddo’s on the San Joaquin: May 19 – 4:20 p.m.; May 26 – 7:15 a.m.; and May 27 – 8:10 a.m. The plants are scheduled at the maximum current on the outgoing tide to limit predation. There were smolt dumps on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo’s Sport Fishing said, “The wind over the past several days has made trolling impossible so I have been drifting live minnows with at least one double-digit striped bass landed every day. The best action has been at either end of the tide when there is less grass as the big tides have brought out the grass and debris. With the price of minnows, I will leave a school of shakers quickly as well as avoiding the fleet in order to find my own water. There have been several guides from upriver showing up in the Delta, and this tells me that the action has slowed down considerably around Yuba City and Colusa. We have been releasing the larger females, and very few males have been squirting recently so the spawn is nearly over. The stripers aren’t grouped up, and you have to pick away at smaller groupings. During the last smolt dump, the stripers were basically absent on the San Joaquin.”

The big tides haven’t only made bay fishing difficult, but the trolling in the Delta for striped bass has also slowed with the minus tides. Dave Houston of Livermore said, “Wednesday was very tough for trollers as I was out with four other boats both on the San Joaquin and Sacramento sides all the way to the Deep Water Channel, and for the most part, all we found was grass on the outgoing tide. I did find a few keepers behind Decker Island and four more on the San Joaquin side near Antioch. I didn’t wait for the incoming tide, but there was a fairly good bite on the Sacramento above Collinsville. The good news is that every striper we landed was not spawned out as of yet.”

Rick Tietz of Blade Runner Spoons was out with a partner on Tuesday while Clara Ricabal was out in her Nitro vessel with Alex Niapas, and both boats scored limits of striped bass using Blade Runner Spoons after launching at Eddo’s Marina. The bite was far more difficult than it was the previous week when Clara scored quick limits with Tietz, but they were releasing keepers while other boats struggled mightily.

For largemouth bass, Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, had the game plan of heading out on Friday to work the high tide with topwater lures such as Berkeley’s El Choppo or the ima Finesse Proper. He said, “There should be spawned out bass, and if there are fry balls around, the ima Finesse is a great lure because it will sit in the strike zone. I will toss it towards the shoreline, and pop it before letting it sit. The bass will be protecting the fry, and they usually will attack the lure. One you land a bass in these conditions, it is very important to get it back in the water immediately so it can go back to the bed. I have never targeted spawning bed fish, even when I was competing in tournaments. The Finesse Popper works very well in flat calm conditions as it stays in the strike zone for a long time. Another technique is to make long casts with light line such as 15-pound fluorocarbon with the Berkeley General in earth tones on Zappu head, and just sit back and work the lure slowly. If you believe that there are bass in the area, you should make multiple casts to the same spot.”

Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors has been heading out solo on the Delta, and he said, “The spawn is still going on, but the majority of bass are in post-spawn. I have been scoring mostly with reaction bait, and the topwater bite has come on with lures such as the Reaction Innovation’s Vixen early in the morning before switching over to frogs throughout the day. The post spawn fish are also taken by punching the weed mats.”

Dan Mathisen of Dan Mathisen Outdoors on Bethel Island confirmed the punch bite, and he said, “Russo’s Marina launch ramp has reopened, and this has taken off some of the pressure off of Sugar Barge.”

The Delta has a number of launch ramps open as of press time, but this could change at any time.

B and W Resort on the Mokelumne River store open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hogback on Steamboat Slough

Suisun City

Benicia 9th Street

Arrowhead – envelope, exact change: below 18 feet, $10; more than 18 feet, $12

Sugar Barge on Bethel Island – two lanes, self-serve, $15 cash

Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island

Pittsburg Marina

Holland Riverside Marina

Paradise Point – open 24 hours, $15 self-pay

Turner Cut – $10, pay in envelope

Eddo’s Marina – if there before open, launch and pay when you return

Sherman Island

Closed launch ramps

Rio Vista City

Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley

Brannan Island

Big Break in Oakley

Vieira’s Resort on the Old Sacramento

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

Lake Nacimiento/San Antonio/Santa Margarita/Lopez

Lake Nacimiento Resort is once again open to the public with limited operations and park entry with the following guidelines: 120 truck/trailers maximum at a time – not including annual slip holders; maximum 4 adults on boat, must reside in the same household and arrive in the same vehicle; no congregating at the marina dock or on the grounds except to board vessel and leave the marina; 30 single vehicles maximum at a time for trail use and shore line fishing; maximum 4 adults in vehicle, must reside in the same household and arrive in the same vehicle; guests should adhere to the social distancing guidelines while in the park; no kayaks or paddleboards; no beach use, picnic tables, BBQs or day use allowed; guests must adhere to social distancing guidelines while inside the park; no tying vessels together to congregate on the water; marina will be open for limited retail sales and fuel; and park hours 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., all guests must vacate park by 8 p.m. A webcam of the lake is available at lakenacimientolive.com.

Lopez Lake Marina store has changed hours to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Due to overcrowding issues and patrons not observing physical distancing directions, both Lopez and Santa Margarita have established a safe carrying capacity for vehicles at both parks which will remain in place until the shelter in place order is lifted. Lopez capacity is 320 vehicles, 50 of which may be boats with trailers. Santa Margarita Lake capacity is 86 vehicles, 26 of which may be boats with trailers. Any vehicles arriving after this carrying capacity has been reached will be turned away. The marina store is open along with the rental boats and the docks .A webcam of the lake is available at 805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam.

Lake San Antonio South Shore is open for trail use and fishing, but developed areas are closed. Emergency restrooms only. Maximum 50 boats with up to four persons from the same household per boat, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only. North Shore: Open for trail use and shoreline fishing. Developed areas closed. Emergency restrooms only.

This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Fishing report for week of May 13-19: New Melones launch ramps reopen; Bass Lake dock in."