Fishing report for week of May 20-26: Partial reopening at Pine Flat, Kaweah and Success

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.

The latest

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District announced a partial reopening at Pine Flat, Kaweah and Success. See below for details.

UPDATE: Read about more openings at Corps-run lakes announced late Thursday afternoon.

Photo gallery

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Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

The California Aqueduct remains popular with anglers soaking cut bait or tossing lures. In the southern section of the aqueduct, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “Blood worms are working very well for both striped bass and catfish. People who know what they are doing are catching fish. Anchovies, sardines, tubes, flukes and Rat-L-Traps are still effective.”

The gates at Maricopa are open.

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

While Pine Flat, Kaweah and Success are open for boating this week, Eastman remains closed. All of these lakes are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District which has closed most recreation facilities, including campgrounds, visitor centers, boat launches and day-use areas at its 10 parks and lakes to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

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 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 0 King salmon 3 Crappie 2

The king salmon bite has been exceptional as the kings are loading up on the abundant shad schools. Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said, “I have been out on the lake four or five times since it opened with great action for both king salmon and rainbow trout at 40 to 45 feet with the thermocline at around 30 feet. The kings are stuffed with shad with one king spitting out two shad along with the lure and then had three more shad coming out of its mouth. Once you find the bait, you will find the fish as the rainbows to 3.5 pounds are mixed in there along with spotted bass over the humps or close to shore. We have been fast-trolling Speedy Shiners, ExCel spoons, or my custom spoons at speeds to 3.5 mph. The number of boats on the weekends has been tremendous with a mile-long line of truck/trailer combinations waiting to put their boats in the water.”

For bass, Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “The bite is very similar to nearby Lake McClure with the fish scattered and suspended. Anglers have been focusing in the Woods and Moccasin arms of the lake. The shad spawn is wrapping up so the topwater bite is slowing down.”

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

Cormier said, “The crappie bite remains good with mostly small to medium minnows, but minijigs are also working, and most of the slabs are found around the Cages in the South Fork in Kissack, Joachim and Brown’s Cove. Bass fishing is good with the largemouths found in the shallows with plastics on the drop-shot or dart head along with jigs, lizards, or crankbaits. The trout plants intended for the annual Kern County Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby helped keep the planted rainbow bite happening with Power Bait, nightcrawlers or spoons from the shorelines. Catfish are taken on Triple S Dip Bait, frozen shad, jumbo or extra-large minnows or clams. The action has slowed during the storms bringing colder weather into the Valley, but the bite will improve as the water warms up.”

The flows in both the upper and lower Kern River remain excellent at 1,400 cubic feet per second in the upper and 700 in the lower, and there are still planted rainbows in the deeper pools above the dam with salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, crickets or spinners. Smallmouth bass are found in the lower Kern River.

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

A Corps-run lake that’s slowly reopening this week. The boat ramps, parking lots and restroom facilities associated with the privately-operated marinas at Lake Kaweah will be open for public use beginning Wednesday, May 20. The partial openings do not include all boat ramps, day-use areas, playgrounds or campgrounds at these facilities and all other Sacramento District recreation areas remain completely closed to visitors.

The opening of marinas and associated boat launch facilities are consistent with current state and local public health directives.

Signs have been posted to inform visitors of safe practices, cleaning services are in place and the staffs at the facilities have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment to be safe while working with the public.

The boat launch facilities could be shut down again if visitors do not adhere to social distancing guidelines or officials observe an unsafe number of large gatherings.

The Corps says it has coordinated with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office to provide boating safety and law enforcement at Lake Kaweah.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

A Corps-run lake where conditions beginning Wednesday, May 20 mirror those at Kaweah.

In the Tule River, Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said, “The bite has been a bit slower this week; however, quality rainbows and brown are still being landed on dry flies, especially in black caddis patterns. Anglers using spinners are doing well with lures such as Panther Martins. Balch Park opened this week, but the gate to Hidden Falls remains closed.”

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

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

The lake is open to shore fishing, boating and camping for residents of Mariposa County along with the eastern Merced County communities of Merced, Atwater, Winton, Cressey, Le Grand, Planada, Livingston and Snelling. Also included are residents within 10 miles of the lake, Coulterville and La Grange. Open recreation areas include McClure Point and Barrett Cove. A state-issued identification is necessary to verify residence.

Bass fishing remains excellent. Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “The bite has slowed a bit, but it is still close to wide-open. The bass are found from the river to the dam from the bank to 15 feet with 3.5-inch Dry Creek tubes on a quarter-ounce dart head or with G-Money jigs in brown/purple with a red trailer. Three-inch swimbaits have also been effective, but nearly all of the bass are suspended. We put in close to 50 fish on Sunday working the jigs, and I have found quality with a pair of limits over 18 pounds this past week.”

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 few planted rainbows have been taken for 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

The lake is still closed but Sycamore Island is now open Friday through Sunday and state holidays from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visitors should follow all social distancing guidelines while at the park, including wearing a mask if entering the bait shop. Annual and day-use passes are available for purchase through the River Parkway Trust’s website at riverparkway.org. Visitors are encouraged to purchase passes in advance for contactless payment and to help limit traffic in the bait shop.

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.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

Since the lake reopened to the general population last Saturday, the interest in boating and fishing has reached an all-time high. John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service is a local resident, and he said, “The parking lots were full on Saturday morning at 6 a.m., and people were parking everywhere as there were around 500 boats on the lake. The boat traffic over the weekend along with the pressure systems moving through have created a vastly fluctuating bass bite. The bite is completely changing as we found outstanding topwater action on Monday with from 60 to 70 bass on topwater alone. Wednesday brought out a swimbait bite with smaller swimbaits such as Kei Techs in 3.3 or 3.8 on a jig head for a ton of fish while Thursday was dedicated to plastics on a shaky head along with topwater in the morning. Friday was an all-day swimbait bite for largemouth bass to 7 pounds, but the heavy boat pressure on Saturday completely changed the bite. There was a mudline 50 yards off of a bank in an area that I have never seen a mudline of this length before, but there was a decent bite until 11 a.m. Everyday has been a different story, but the bass are very healthy.”

One big story is the emergence of huge German browns at the lake, and several of the browns in the 10-pound range have been caught and released within the past week. Scott Duncan of Stockton caught and released a 12-pound brown with Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service on a MAG Tackle orange spinner hoochie at 65 feet in the main lake while targeting kokanee. Wise said, “This big brown took a long time to get in since it was hooked on a light Reaper rod. I was able to find limits of kokanee on Sunday by 11 a.m. using Uncle Larry’s spinners and MAG Tackle spinner hoochies at 55 to 65 feet. The kokanee bite has been tough for many, but it is a matter of finding the fish.”

Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp has increased its hours from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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

Same rules apply here as at Kaweah and Success, the other Corps-run lakes seeing a partial reopening. Fresno County Sheriff’s Office will patrol Pine Flat.

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

Bass Lake is open, but visitors are advised to recreate responsibly, pack your trash, use the temporary facilities and practice water safety. The Sheriff’s Boat Patrol has been out three weeks early for safety. There are portable restrooms, hand-washing stations and dumpsters for use at the following locations: just west of Falls Beach, Mono Trailhead, The Forks Resort parking lot, just past Lakeside Amphitheater and the Bass Lake Dam.

Kaiser Pass was blanketed with snow over the weekend, but the process of clearing the road before this weekend has begun.

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

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “Shaver remains closed for boating for the time being, but there is a distinct possibility that the lake may be open for the upcoming holiday weekend, as early as this week. Since this is a possibility, I recommend that interested boaters contact Shaver Lake Sports at 559-841-2740. The campgrounds will not be opened.

“With Memorial Day weekend approaching, Shaver businesses will certainly welcome some revenue into the mountain community. The shoreline is open, and it has proved to be prosperous for many shore and float tube anglers. One of those who have hit the float tube more than once is Rick Schmidt of Clovis. Schmidt has been taking his nephew Gannon Schmidt and his buddy Cooper Anderson of Clovis with him. The threesome have caught and released many various fish over the past three weeks with the largest being a beautiful 3.5-pound rainbow, caught by Anderson, and several 1.5-pound rainbows that were recently planted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. They also got into some nice crappie. All three have been drifting night crawlers from their tubes. They reported others fishing from tubes and the shore have experienced on and off success over the past three weeks. After great fishing weather, rain moved into the lake Sunday night and lasted through Tuesday with up to 1.5 inches of rain. Up to a foot of snow fell above Shaver including Huntington.”

The Shaver Lake stores are totally equipped with tackle and bait and fishing license.

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

Kelly Brewer at the Wishon RV Park and Store said, “We will be open starting this Thursday, May 21, in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Prior to this weekend’s snowstorm, Wishon has been the destination for Central Valley trout trollers as the lake is on the second turnaround and launching a boat is easy.”

Courtright remains inaccessible.

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 Striper 2 Surf perch 1

The salmon seem to be coming up the line from Monterey as Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat sent in this photo of half-limits of salmon taken on a private boat. There are whales, bait, and dark water at the Deep Reef, but the salmon action is limited so far. This group went out to the southbound Shipping Lane for their success.

Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete hasn’t been out since his successful commercial fishing venture last weekend, but he said, “Private boats are finding some action closer to home with no jellies, and it seems that the salmon are moving up the line, closer to the harbor. One boat found 3 limits in the 8- to 12-pound range 8 miles south of the harbor while another boat returned with two limits.”

With the price of salmon only $5.50/pound on the commercial market, local commercial salmon fishermen are selling out of their driveways or using an app to stay in touch with customers for their deliveries. The parking lot at the harbor remains blocked off so the commercial fishermen have had to be creative.

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 3 Striper 2 Surf perch 2

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing Trips said, “The public launch ramps in Monterey County will open up on Tuesday to the public regardless of county of residency. There were a lot of salmon taken today outside of the Soldier’s Club in deep water, and these are beautiful fish. The south wind really put the salmon off of the bite, but after a few days of high pressure, the salmon went back on the bite. We have a meeting with the county to see when and if we will be able to run fishing and whale watching trips.”

Allen Bushnell of the Santa Cruz Kayak and Surfcasting Guide Service said, Halibut are still being caught near the Mile Buoy and Capitola. Striped bass are still being caught near Manresa and New Brighton. The majority of surf cast stripers caught for the past few weeks have come from below Moss Landing. It seems the closer to the Salinas River, the better chance for a lineside hookup. Barred surf perch have been AWOL lately, though we did see a few “slab” BSP’s caught by Glen Sales from Marina while throwing a Joe Bagg’s Swarter lure from one of his local beaches.”

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 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2

The big news out of the Golden Gate is the party boats and six-packs operating out of Berkeley and now San Francisco are able to take out passengers with certain protocols in place. Party boats must maintain 6 feet between passengers, and 12 is the normal load at $200/anglers while six-packs have been cleared for 4 passengers with most charging $250/angler for bay trips with a slightly higher price for heading outside of the Golden Gate. The salmon bite has improved considerably outside the Gate with commercial fishermen reporting up to 31 commercial-grade salmon at Duxbury. This is very encouraging as the salmon generally congregate along the Marin coastline later in the season.

The party boats out of Emeryville Sport Fishing are still waiting clearance from Alameda County, but this may occur as quickly as this weekend.

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond Marina posted quick limits of salmon on Saturday morning trolling off of Duxbury with straight bait. New Easy Rider out of Berkeley posted 9 limits of salmon on Monday.

Chris Semler found the salmon at Duxbury this week as he said, “We started out between the Channel and the Weather Buoys, and we heard of some salmon being landed near S Buoy, but the jelly fish was terrible. We were doing nothing where we were, and we heard of some salmon being taken at Duxbury so we ran up the coast and found around 15 boats working a small area just southeast of the can buoy. I promptly released a shaker, and we ended up with two limits ranging from 20 inches to 15 pounds within 4 hours. The salmon were up high between 25 and 35 pulls, and the south wind came up just as we finished and ran back home a bit concerned for the smaller crafts having to get around the corner in the bumpy, confused seas. The combination of a south wind and an outgoing tide at the Gate along with swell coming around the corner by the bar into the Gate makes for dangerous conditions for smaller crafts.”

Inside the bay, first the Berkeley Marina released the party boats from restrictions, and the California Dawn made their first trip with 12 customers on Saturday for 13 limits of halibut along with a few bass in the south bay off of Oyster Point. The City of San Francisco released their party boats from restrictions on Monday so party boats and six-packs out of boat harbors are able to accept clients given specific requirements for social distancing and wearing facial coverings.

Captain Trent Slate of Loch Lomond Marina was out in the north bay commercial fishing this past week, and they landed 13 halibut along with catching and releasing 15 striped bass with many in the 8-pound range. He said, “We picked up our first fish at 6:15 a.m. with four in the box on our first drift along with a few on a second drift, but the bite slowed down when the tide changed, and it took a long time for the outgoing tide to get going. We scratched at them for the remainder of the day.” Slate is not chartering as of yet due to Shelter In Place orders.

Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael reported the Loch Lomond Marina launch ramp will be open to the public beginning on Monday, and both the Paradise Park and the McNear’s Pier are open for foot traffic and fishing. He said, “The halibut action has been good the past few days, and the weekend tides are perfect for drifting with good weather expected on Saturday.” Loch Lomond has live smelt, anchovies, and even bullheads along with live grass shrimp, ghost shrimp, and pile worms.

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

Surf perch 2

The public launch ramp at Morro Bay is open regardless of residency now, but in order for the launch ramp to remain open, the State and County Shelter at Home Orders which specific recreating in your own neighborhood and limiting discretionary travel must be observed. California ID and boat registrations will be checked to ensure San Luis Obispo County residents only. The ramp will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The fish cleaning and rinse down station 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 $6.00/day or annual pass at the harbor office.

Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay is still waiting for clearance to take passengers out for fishing trips, but the tackle store remains open from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily.

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

The Sacramento-Delta remains a solid location for striped bass, northern strain largemouth bass, and catfish, but the interest in sturgeon fishing has waned over the past month with most diamondback hunters migrating to bay for halibut and striped bass and ocean for halibut. American shad continue to move upriver from parts unknown, and Freeport remains the best location for the freshwater herring from both the bank and boat in the Delta.

In the north Delta, Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, was on the water twice seeking largemouth bass at the end of the past week, and he said, “We found phenomenal action on Thursday with spinnerbaits for a limit over 21 pounds. We put in over 20 pounds on Friday with my partner, Warren Trombley, throwing a small black El Choppo while I was working a buzzbait. The water is a little stained up north, and it is warm at 70 degrees. There are also a number of small striped bass to 4 pounds willing to hit our lures intended for largemouths.”

Dave Houston of Livermore was out on Thursday, and he said, “There are still a number of stripers in the system, but the fish are definitely getting smaller. We landed 33 stripers to 8 pounds, but the majority of linesides were between 16 and 20 inches. We weren’t able to find any takers in the San Joaquin, and we landed all of our stripers between Collinsville and the Rio Vista Bridge trolling both deep and shallow with plugs red head/white and chartreuse.”

Bill Crooks of Sacramento was out with Guy Brown and Ron Retzlaff, also of Sacramento on a recent trip, and he said, “I usually learn something from Ron, and today I learned that you can find good action only 25 to 28 feet behind the boat depending upon the current, running deep-diving Yozuri’s in 7 to 8 feet of water. We landed 19 keepers and 4 shakers trolling the West Bank from Sandy Beach west to Collinsville, keeping three limits from 4 to 7 pounds, releasing an 8-pound female. This is an exciting and productive way to troll.”

Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo’s Sport Fishing out of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley continues to find outstanding action during the final weekends of his Delta season with striped bass action on swimbaits, spoons, or trolling. He took a friend out on his new boat on Sunday, and they scored quality limits of linesides trolling and plugging.

In Suisun Bay, Pam Hayes of Benicia Bait reported interest in fishing remains high with a regular waiting line outside of the shop. Two customers are allowed in at a time, and face coverings are required to enter the shop. She said, “We have been crazy busy with nearly all of our customers today being bank anglers with the high winds on the Delta. Shore fishing is decent for striped bass, but there are a number of undersized linesides out there. Flounder are still being caught from the banks, and although it seems late for this species, they must be migrating down to the bay from up above. A few sturgeon have been reported from the banks near Glen Cove, but most of our sturgeon fishermen have left for the bay/ocean for halibut or salmon.”

The San Joaquin-Delta is rapidly transitioning to summer mode as striped bass are beginning to thin out from their spring run, but there are still fresh striped bass coming into the system. Largemouth bass are in post-spawn, but they are actively feeding in shallow water.

James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service out of Korth’s Pirates Lair will be wrapping up his Delta operation soon, but he said, “We have been finding striped bass in different locations now. The wind was rough on the outgoing tide on Saturday so I drifted live minnows on the San Joaquin near False River on the outgo before moving over to the Sacramento to troll the West Bank on the incoming tide. It is impossible to drift on the incoming tide since the combination of wind and tide will create too fast of a drift, but the river lays down enough to be able to troll. We landed a 6-pound male that was a fresh-run striper on the West Bank, but there are a number of smaller fish. On the San Joaquin, the action was hot and heavy earlier in the week after the smolt dumps outside of Eddo’s, but when I returned on Saturday, the screen was blank around the Antioch Bridge. I have never seen the meter so empty with no stripers around as they disappeared. Earlier in the week, I took out legendary troller Mark Wilson along with Mike Steer, and we spooned and drifted live bait for what must have been 50 stripers caught and released.”

The smolt plants will occur throughout the month of May outside of Eddo’s on the San Joaquin with the following tentative schedule: 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.

For largemouth and striped bass, Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors found good action for both species in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. He said, “We started out by Eddo’s Marina, but the water was stained so we ran towards Broad Slough only to find more muddy water. Using Duh! Spoons in Morning Dawn and the Optimum AA Bubba Shad, we worked up 30 stripers with around half being legal size, and the highlight was a 50-inch sturgeon that took the spoon in its mouth, leading to a long fish fight on 15-pound test. In 12 feet of water, this made for a very interesting fight, and I kept moving the boat to keep the sturgeon on one side to avoid having to run around the boat. We targeted largemouth bass after the spooning session and caught and released 15 largemouth bass to 5 pounds using Reaction Innovation’s Skinny Dippers weightless. You could see the bass swirl on the surface on the bait. The bass are in post-spawn, and we didn’t see many fish guarding fry. There has been a good punch bite as well as the water temperature has dropped around 3 degrees.”

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, was out on Thursday in the overcast conditions, and he found phenomenal largemouth bass action with only topwater lures. He said, “We caught and released over 50 bass to 5 pounds throwing the ima Little Stick, ima Helly P, and the ima Finesse Popper, all in bluegill patterns. The bass were all chunky and holding near current throughout many locations in the central and east Delta. We also had a couple of much larger bass just slap at the topwater lures. The bite was wide open due to the overcast conditions, and we even got misted on a few occasions. You have to find weeds that are moving as the bass are oriented to the current. There were also some large schools of stripers in the 15- to 22-inch range, but after landing a few of these, we moved on to target the largemouths.”

Dan Mathisen of Dan’s Delta Outdoors planned on fishing on Friday, and he said, “The bass have gone straight to current in the middle of Frank’s Tract, off of the banks, and under the berms in Sandmound Slough. Some anglers are looking for bass on beds under the docks on Bethel Island while some are punching. I plan on having a frog tied on, either a Fred’s Frog or a Snag Proof with a yellow head as the bass are feeding on baby birds. I also plan to have a punch rig, a chatterbait, and a golden shiner spinnerbait when the bass are in the current. Everything is in post-spawn right now.”

One relatively new bass circuit that had an announced tournament shut down in April abandoned plans for a scheduled May 22/23 tournament out of Bethel Island. Tournaments are at the discretion the health departments of the county of origin.

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 9:00 to 3:00

Hogback on Steamboat Slough

Suisun City

Benicia 9th Street

Arrowhead – envelope – exact change – below 18 feet - $10.00 – more than 18 feet - $12.00 – put in envelope

Sugar Barge on Bethel Island – two lanes – self serve - $15.00 cash

Pittsburg Marina

Holland Riverside Marina

Paradise Point – open 24 hours - $15.00 self-pay

Turner Cut - $10.00 – pay in envelope

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

Sherman Island

Ladd’s at Buckley Cove in Stockton

Morelli Launch Ramp in downtown Stockton

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

Bass 3 White bass 3 Striper 0 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

San Luis Obispo County has made the decision to close all campgrounds throughout the Count while the Shelter In Place order is in place. Lake Nacimiento campgrounds are closed to the public until further notice. At this time the launch ramps and day use will remain open. Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported outstanding spotted and white bass action at Nacimiento as the white bass are getting active with the spots in post-spawn mode and feeding. Interested fishermen are advised to regularly check back on the Lake Nacimiento Resort Facebook page, website, or call the reservations office at (805)237-4924 Option 1 before driving to the lake. The resort is currently closed.

A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. Lopez Lake Marina store has changed hours to 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but the bar, dining room, and game room are closed until the shelter in place order is lifted. The marina store is open along with the rental boats and the docks .A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/ Santa Margarita is also open for boating, but this may change at any time at all San Luis Obispo County lakes. The marina is not open to rent boats or buy anything.

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Fishing report for week of May 20-26: Partial reopening at Pine Flat, Kaweah and Success."