Fishing report for week of July 29-Aug. 4: Eastman bass, Wishon trout plant in best bets

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

Delta bass and stripers hitting, Alan Fong reported. New Melones bass, crappie and kokanee active, Glory Hole Sports said. Eastman bass getting bigger, Jake Figgs reported. Monterey bluefin tuna show up, Chris Arcoleo said. San Francisco salmon going, Steve Mitchell reported. Shaver kokanee biting, Dick Nichols said. Wishon trout plant spurs on bite, Kelly Brewer reported. San Luis stripers eating, Mickey Clements said.

Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

The water releases out of San Luis Reservoir slowed down this week, and Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported largemouth bass are taken on Senkos or plastics on a drop-shot rig while striped bass are found on ripbaits or jerkbaits. There are a number of anglers soaking anchovies, sardines or blood worms.

In the southern portion in Kern County, catfish are taken on a variety of baits including Triple S dipbait, anchovies, sardines or mackerel while striped bass are taken on anchovies, sardines, blood worms or minnows. Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield’s July Catfish Derby is open to anyone for a $1 entry fee with the winner on July 31 taking the total entries.

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

Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis reported the largemouth bass bite has improved with big plastic worms from 7 to 10 inches over the rockpiles or submerged island tops. Power Worms in black/red flake or blue/red flake have been effective along with big jigs for numbers of largemouth bass in the 2-pound range. The lake dropped from 29% to 26%.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Figgs reported, “The lake has dropped to only 20%, and the low water levels are a deterrent for those with larger bass boats. Kayak fishermen have been scoring with reaction lures such as the Strike King XD10 or Mega Bass 7.5 deep-diving crankbaits in craw patterns at depths from 25 to 30 feet over rockpiles. The dam area has not been productive.”

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

Few trollers have been targeting kokanee here, but Kenny and Tina McDonald of Manteca scored limits of quality kokanee on an early-week trip working open water over the river channel at depths to 60 feet. For largemouth bass, Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported a tough bite with the best action between 9:30 and 10:45 at night with Z-Man plastics on a Texas-rig at depths to 25 feet. Earlier in the evening, the Berserk Purple Hornet jig was effective at depths to 55 feet. Big fish are scarce as they are reluctant to bite while suspended due to the dropping water levels. The lake dropped from 80% to 78%.

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

At Lake Isabella, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported minimal change over the past week with crappie still located in the South Fork around Camp 9 with live minnows or minijigs in the submerged structure. The slabs are plentiful, but they are small. Bass fishing is best with reaction baits such as jerkbaits, crankbaits or spinnerbaits near submerged structure. Catfishing remains solid Triple S Dip bait, nightcrawlers, or cut baits. The lake dropped from 29% to 27%.

The upper Kern River is warming up, but fly fishermen continue to find good action with dry flies on the surface. In the lower Kern, largemouth and smallmouth bass along with catfish, and the occasional rainbow trout are possibilities.

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

Kaweah continues to drop steadily from its apex of only a few months ago, and the dropping water levels have the bass suspending with the lake receding from 19% to 15%. Local bass fishing expert Gary Wasson of Visalia reported s slow bite with the best action with jigs at depths from 15 to 20 feet.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said, “Bass fishing has been a bit tough due to the heat and water levels dropping. The bass are moving around so you need to find them. Plastics remain the top offering.” Wasson reported a steady bite in deep water with Senkos or jigs. The lake dropped from 45% to 33%.

In the Tule River, Stokke said, “The river is at a lower flow up higher in the Middle Fork, but this section is fishing excellent with flies such as Woolley Buggers or dry flies. The lower section is where the big pools are located, and anglers are catching big rainbows or browns with Panther Martins.”

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

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing and Guide Service said, “The lake is dropping precipitously, affecting the bass bite, but the good news is that it may be stabilizing in the next week. The jig bite is improving, but the daytime topwater bite has died off. If you want to catch big fish, you have to fish at night from 10 p.m. through 3 a.m. with big baits such as jigs, spinnerbaits, topwater lures or worms.” The Merced Bass Club held a night event on Saturday with the winning limit just over 11 pounds with less than 8 pounds cashing a check. Catfishing remains a good option with chicken livers or nightcrawlers along muddy, sloping banks. The lake dropped from 62% to 58%.

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

The focus here has transitioned to primarily a recreational water park as trout plants have been limited. Intermittent holdover rainbow trout are possible in the early mornings or late evenings off of the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks or the peninsula near the marina with trout dough bait or inflated nightcrawlers.

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

Figgs reported finesse techniques remain the best option, particularly in the river arm as the main lake has been very slow. The river arm around Finegold Creek has been the top area at depths to 15 feet for those dragging wacky-rigged Senkos or Strike King’s Fat Finesse worms on the bottom. The reaction bite remains slow as the fish are suspended with the dropping water levels, from 61% to 58%. Park hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; boats can remain on the water after sunset but navigation lights and a 5 mph speed limit are required. Twenty-three boats participated in Sunday’s bass tournament at Millerton with an impressive winning weight of over 13 pounds.

Sycamore Island is 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.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

Kokanee remains either feast or famine, but experienced trollers working near the bottom with Apex or J-Pex lures behind a big gold dodger are scoring solid numbers of kokanee to 18 inches. Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp reported some impressive largemouth bass in the 4- to 9-pound range using small swimbaits, underspins and diving crankbaits in the early morning and late evening. With the lake water temperature at 82 degrees, the bass are going deeper mid-morning through the afternoon, and plastic baits are the go-to in the heat of the day on a shaky head, wacky-rigs or drop-shot over the vertical vertical rock faces up river, near rising hilltops or the rocky shoreline. Quality crappie have been reported in different areas of the lake using live minnows, crappie jigs and Gulp Crappie Nibbles in the Angels Cove area with submerged lights. The lake dropped from 70% to 69%.

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

Figgs reported a finesse bite in the main lake near the day with plastics on a Neko-rig in watermelon/red or watermelon/greenpumpkin. He said, “Anglers are observing the suspended bass as dropping down on them with light weights, and they are biting on the drop. There is also a topwater bit in the early mornings or late afternoons with the River2Sea Whopper Plopper in Powder White. In the river, the bass are oriented into the submerged willow tries, and similar finesse techniques are effective in the shallows around structure.” The lake dropped from 47% to 40%.

The lower Kings is running high with the water releases and may be unfishable.

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

Roger George of Roger George Guide Service, the only authorized licensed guide on the lake, said, “Striper fishing at San Luis is finally picking up due in part to the recent stable water levels at about 48% of capacity. The water levels had fallen for the last couple months so having some stability is turning things around with the fish moving back into areas like Portuguese Cove as well as putting the fish up shallower where shore anglers are scoring limits on bait and shrimp from the lake points. Trollers are scoring limits of school fish to 24 inches working the Portuguese Cove channel at the 40-foot level with Lucky Craft Pointers or P-Line Predator Minnows all the way back into Lone Oak. I took out Aaron Sims of Walnut Creek on Monday and we caught 10 nice school fish; the day got exciting when Aaron landed a personal-best 25.4-pounder out of the blue –it was built like a truck. We released the fish using the Seaqualizer. The water temperature is between 72 and 74 degrees depending on the weather and wind, and the wind has pretty much mixed up the algae into the water leaving visibility somewhere in the couple of feet range. There have been several reports of over limits and undersized stripers being removed from the lake. Shore anglers are circling the lake, and regulars are worried about over harvesting right now.” The lake held at 48%.

In the O’Neill Forebay, Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported good action with cut baits such as anchovies along with pile worms for undersized striped bass. A few linesides are taken on Zoom Magnum Flukes or topwater lures. The moving water near the Highway 152 Bridge or Check 12 remain the top locations.

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

Recreational boating remains very high, but Mike Beighey of Bass Lake Fishing has been finding good action for the occasional large kokanee over 18 inches along with quality rainbow trout running the pink or blue Radical Glow Tube behind a purple Moonshine dodger at depths to 35 feet. Rainbow trout in the 15- to 17-inch range are possible, and the Mag spinner hoochie has been an effective option. With the boat traffic and the Sheriff’s Motor Fee enforced, few bass fishermen are launching boats. With the warmer water, the weed growth is forming. The lake is at 95%. Lake webcams and conditions: basslakeca.com/index.php.

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

Edison held at 50%, Florence dropped to 79%, and Mammoth Pool dropped to 86%.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver Lake continues to produce limits of kokanee. The boat pressure remains high particularly on the weekends when jet skis, wakeboards and water skis dominate action after the early morning hours. The kokanee at Shaver are starting to turn into spawning mode which will bring about a change in tactics and techniques.

Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “July has slowed down some from June, but it’s still good action at Shaver as we boated 70 kokanee/trout from Wednesday through Saturday. However, the change in the bite means you must be patient, stay in your hot spot, and be willing to change colors and/or depths as needed. The best action has been over bare structure in 60 feet of depth in the triangle from the Shaver Marina, the Point and the island, but the bite can be sporadic. The Manley family from Kingsburg was out on Thursday, and they didn’t have a bite until 6:40 a.m., but they had nine in the box within the next 25 minutes before going back to one ‘here or there’ until we scratched out limits. Friday’s trip was similar with Drs. Ross and Nishijima along with Mike Hayashi and Midori Nishijima scoring four limits of primarily kokanee. The big fish of the week was a 17-inch kokanee landed by Beau Stoval of Sanger along with a 22-inch rainbow trout caught by Madalyn Lane of Lemoore. We continue to find the most success with pink/white or pink/purple Dick’s Mountain Hoochies beind a larger 5.5-inch Mountain Dodger at 49 to 59 feet. I have been loading up the side poles with Dick’s Trout Busters tipped with a piece of nightcrawler on the first hook and corn on the back hook in front of a weighted Mountain Flasher at a setback of 100 feet or around 22 feet in depth.”

Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service said, “The bite was fairly decent early in the week, and although it was tougher towards the end of the week, we scratched out limits on every trip. The pink or purple Radical Glow Tube behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle’s Moonshine Dodger or a pink Apex lure behind a Father Murphy’s dodger at depths from 60 to 70 feet down the middle of the channel, but there are also kokanee at 40 to 60 feet on the humps or structure. I expect them to drop down in the next two weeks along with orienting more to structure. The kokanee are all in good shape with all of their scales with only slight glimpses of spawning mode.” The lake is at 88%.

At Huntington, a smaller grade of trout and kokanee remains available for trollers working from the north shore with orange/green or pink/green spinners along with hoochies in pink/white with a purple stripe or pink/green at depths to 40 feet. The lake is at 98%.

Call: Dick Nichols, Dick’s Fishing Charters 281-6948; Todd Wittwer, Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Dinkey Creek Inn 841-3435; Tom Oliveira Fishing 802-8072

At Wishon, Kelly Brewer of the Wishon Village RV Park and Store reported a trout plant spurred on the action for both trollers and banks fishermen, and the quality of the plant was exceptional with large rainbows landed this week. Trollers are working from the surface to 30 feet with blade/’crawler combinations, Rapalas or Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger. The lake rose 10 feet this week as power generation is occurring with the water run back and forth from Courtright to Wishon through the Helms Tunnel. Shore fishing has improved at the mouth of Short Hair Creek, the boat launch, the dam and across the lake at the inlet. The boat launch is back on the concrete with the lake rising.

At Courtright, Brewer reported a trout plant occurred this week, and trollers are finding quality rainbows and brown trout at depths to 30 feet with Wedding Rings tipped with a piece of nightcrawler behind a dodger, blade/’crawler combinations or Rapalas. With the plant, bank fishing is solid with trout dough bait or inflated nightcrawlers along both sides of the dam. The lake is 10 feet from spilling, and boats are easily launched.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Scheduled by California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Week of July 26

Fresno County: Courtright Reservoir, Dinkey Creek, Kings River below Pine Flat Dam, Mono Creek, Portal Forebay, San Joaquin River (South Fork), Ward Lake, Wishon Reservoir

Inyo County: Bishop Creek (Lower), Lone Pine Creek, Owens River (below Tinnemaha and Section 2)

Kern County: Kern River (Sections 4 and 5)

Madera County: Chiquito Creek (Lower), Granite Creek (West Fork)

Week of Aug. 2

none in region as of July 28

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Surf Perch 3

Good news on the salmon front as the Huli Cat got into the act on Sunday with 4 limits of salmon to 10 pounds fishing south of the harbor. Previously, they had been rockfishing off of Pescadero in shallow water for 26 limits of rockfish and ling cod to 12 pounds on two combined trips.

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat called in on Monday morning to say, “You won’t believe what we are seeing right now at the Deep Reef as there are bluefin jumping all over the place. We went out on a rockfish trip, but I have never seen so many bluefin so close off shore. The tuna range from over 150 pounds to a smaller grade. We threw in a few tuna clones to see if we could hook one.”

The Pacifica Municipal Pier is open from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, but city officials warned that the two facilities could be closed again if residents don’t follow health and safety requirements like wearing face coverings and maintaining at least six feet of distance.

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

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 White sea bass 1 Surf Perch 3 Bluefin Tuna 2

The big news was the arrival of bluefin tuna outside of Point Pinos on Thursday as the big fish were breezing on the surface chasing mackerel. As anticipated, private boats showed up in force over the weekend, and there were several bluefin to 130 pounds landed with one boat bringing in two huge fish out of a triple hook up. Bluefin are very wary, and the heavy boat traffic may have contributed to a slower bite on Monday.

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing said, “Salmon was so slow on Friday and Saturday that I switched everything over to rockfish on Sunday. We have been heading out to Point Sur and just loading up with big rockfish. There just hasn’t been any northwest wind here to stir up the salmon. I have heard that some bluefin have been caught, and although we have 60-degree water here right now, we will see the bluefin in water that is colder at 56 degrees.” They have some room this Wednesday and Thursday, but the weekends are sold out.

Stefan Grobecker, tuna aficionado, went to Monterey on Monday in search of the elusive bluefin, but he said, “We pushed north from the point and saw a few fish jump, but we couldn’t get to them in time. We did find some great sign with a huge school of birds diving on bait and whales all around, but we didn’t see any jumpers or foamers that we were looking for. In the end, we landed some ling cod to 25 pounds for the table, but we weren’t able to land what we actually came for.”

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

San Francisco Bay

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

The salmon bite is back on, and the Berkeley boats scored 30 limits of salmon on Monday with the boats heading out to the Channel Markers.

Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was at the Channel Markers on Monday, and they came through with 8 big fish for a full boat, leaving a few salmon with a very sore mouth as some of the fish were lost when the passengers mistook salmon for sturgeon and set the hook viciously. Mitchell said, “They were biting from the start, and I told them to get ready and put down their drinks since it was going to be on, but it took them a little while to realize that I wasn’t kidding.” Mitchell is trolling for salmon, and he is running a combination trip for salmon/halibut on Tuesday. He might try for halibut along the coastal beaches. He added that there was a good bite at Duxbury Buoy in the early morning.

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters is ready to start drifting again after a very successful day of trolling on Sunday. He said, “We started out at Duxbury for two small salmon, but we made a move (to the Channel Markers) and it was on. We ended up with 14 big fish to go with the two earlier in the day, and I know that it is time to resume drifting since when I would slow the boat down and the baits came up, the salmon started climbing on. I could see them on the meter, and I would say, ‘Get ready,’ and the reels started to sing.”

Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady returned with two fish shy of 14 limits on Monday with 26 salmon to 27 pounds with all of the fish being big. He said, “These are big fish, and they are hard to bring in so losing them is not unusual.”

The California Dawn took advantage of the weather and ran to the islands on Monday for 34 ling cod to 20 pounds and 102 rockfish before making some drifts on the way to the harbor for 10 halibut and 9 striped bass. You don’t find 34 ling cod on the coast these days.

In the bay, it’s all about location, location, location, as the California Dawn posted near limits of halibut at 41 to 21 pounds on Sunday along with 5 striped bass for 18 anglers.

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 -3 Salmon -1 Surf Perch – 2

The rockfish scores are remarkably similar to last week as the party boats are scoring near limits to limits of rockfish. Out of Morro Bay Landing, the Endeavor, Starfire, and Avenger were out on Sunday with the Avenger taking both a morning and afternoon trip, and the 89 anglers returned with 425 vermilion, 26 copper, 15 Boccaccio, 399 assorted rockfish, 9 ling cod to 11 pounds along with 3 ocean whitefish. Jim Silva of Hanford landed the big ling on the Endeavor’s 12-hour day trip to South Cape Martin. Also out of Morro Bay at Virg’s Landing, the Fiesta and Black Pearl were out on Monday with 41 anglers for 124 vermilion, 17 copper, 250 assorted rockfish, 19 Boccaccio, 3 ling cod and an ocean whitefish for limits of rockfish. Aiden Crab of Madera took the jackpot with a 10-pound ling while Lester Long of Bakersfield took another jackpot with 6-pound Boccaccio. Out of Port San Luis, the Flying Fish took two half-day trips on Sunday along with trips on the Phenix and Patriot with 70 anglers for 66 vermilion, 17 copper, 5 Boccaccio, 522 assorted rockfish, 3 cabezon, 70 Bolina, 16 treefish, a tiger rockfish, and 8 ling cod to 15 pounds. All ports are running a variety of trips from ½- day to long range ventures far from the harbor.

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 Salmon 2

It’s very early in the river salmon season, but the north Delta area below the Freeport Bridge is kicking out a few chrome salmon for those throwing Mepp’s Flying C spinners from the shoreline or trolling a variety of spinners. Striped bass are abundant, but the majority are undersized while largemouth and smallmouth bass remain plentiful near the rocky areas. The salmon situation is similar in Suisun Bay with no salmon reported from the Benicia shorelines. Few fishermen are targeting sturgeon, but the occasional diamondback is taken in Suisun Bay near the Mothball Fleet. The big minus tides this past week limited trolling for striped bass, but more favorable tides arrive this week.

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “Diehard fishermen have picked up a few chrome salmon either trolling with Slammer or Silvertron spinners or casting Flying C’s from the banks. Only the most dedicated salmon fishermen are out there now. There are a lot of striped bass in the system, but most of them are undersized. Cut baits such as anchovies along with pile worms and blood worms are working best. Smallmouth bass are all along the rocky banks in the sloughs and the Old Sacramento River with RoboWorms on the drop-shot, live crawdads, or deep-diving crankbaits. Catfishing is best near the Sacramento Airport, but there are also whiskerfish in the Deep Water Channel and in any back sloughs with nightcrawlers, chicken livers, or mackerel. Bluegill are on a summertime bite with wax worms or jumbo red worms on a floater.”

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, found a good punch bite for largemoth bass with the Missile Craw Father on a 1.5-ounce tungsten weight. He said, “There are plenty of mats of grass in the north Delta.”

In Suisun Bay, the salmon bite remains very slow from the shorelines, and Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait said, “The low tides and wind have muddied up the water, and there was only one fishermen out at 1st Street on Thursday morning. However, over the weekend, there were a couple of steelhead landed off of 1st Street, and a salmon was foul-hooked in the tail before breaking off at the State Park. This was the first report of a salmon being hooked. Fishing remains very popular, and we are having a hard time keeping tackle in the shop with Vee-Zee spinners flying out the door. Many of our customers are wanting the Vee-Zee’s with a single barbless hook so they must be salmon fishing on the Napa River as west of the Carquinez Bridge, the regulation is for a single, barbless hook. There are a lot of small striped bass from the shorelines with anchovies, grass shrimp, or pile worms.

Sturgeon reports have been very scarce, but Olivia Ortega of Martinez Bait and Tackle at the Martinez Marina reported young Hudson Leiser of Martinez landed a legal sturgeon on grass shrimp on a boat at the Mothball Fleet.

The first of the two topwater tournaments was held this past weekend out of Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island, and 68 teams found challenging conditions in the annual Ultimate Frog Challenge. Cold mornings and relatively cool daytime temperatures due to high winds limited the frog bite, and quality anglers struggled mightily to bring in three-fish limits.

The team of Billy Hume and Mike Kulhman followed up their Day was 18.48-pound three-fish limit including a big fish at 8.06 pounds with another solid bag for a first-place total of 30.16. Kris Huff of Stockton along with his partner Simpson came up with the best second day total to come from far out of the pack for 2nd place with a two-day limit of 22.61 using the Scum Frog that has become so popular in the heavy mats.

Dan Mathisen of Dan’s Delta Outdoors was of the participants in the frog tournament, and he said, “We would be better off with a punch tournament instead of a frog tournament as the cold mornings are not what is desired. I want temperatures over 60 degrees in the mornings, but it has been in the 55-degree range this week. We didn’t weigh in on the first day, but we had two fish for over 9 pounds on Sunday. To demonstrate how tough the frog bite was, Bobby Barrack of Bobby’s Perfect Snag Proof Frog and his partner only weighed in two bass to 6.83 pounds with a large fish at 5.25.”

The coming weekend, August 1st and 2nd, the Best Bass Tournaments will be hosting the first-annual Delta Blow Up in which any topwater bait from any manufacturer is allowed for a three-fish limit with a 13-inch minimum size. Toad-style baits will be allowed, but no weighted keel hooks or weights are allowed in front of the bait, and no plastic worms are allowed.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, the host of the two-day Delta Blow Up, said, “There is a topwater bite in the morning with the ima Finesse Popper and the Little Stick along with a subsurface bite with the Heli-P prop bait, but the key is to keep the lure in the strike zone. It is a pause-style bite right now, and you have to let it sit. We found great action this week for numbers of largemouths to 3.5 pounds, but there are no giants in the mix. We also scored with the Berkley General on a Zappu head, and when we found a school of small stripers, we had a blast tossing the Little Stick in shad patterns to watch them play volleyball with the lures. If one of the stripers missed it and knocked it into the air, another striper would leap out and strike it.”

Dave Houston went out with Clyde Wands and Chester Linton on Wednesday, and he said, “The wind and large negative tide was not the worst part, it was the grass. We caught two 9 pounders and another one a little smaller first thing in the morning above the Antioch Bridge. The grass came in, so we search for trollable water from Broad Slough to Frank’s Tract with no luck. The three keepers that we did catch we’re new fish and came on three different colored deep-diving Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows.”

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 2 Striper 0 Catfish 2 Crappie 2 Bluegill 2

Lake Nacimiento spotted bass fishing remains solid with a reaction bite on spinnerbaits, topwater lures, jerkbaits, or underspins in the mornings, but the heavy recreational boat traffic after 9:00 a.m. limits locations accessible to fishing. After the initial reaction bite, working the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot or small jigs at depths to 20 feet are the ticket. Crappie are found with minijigs around submerged structure at 20 feet while catfish are biting cut baits soaked in garlic scent. The lake dropped from 39 to 38 percent. A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. At Lopez, there has been little change as the bass bite remains hit or miss, but there are quality largemouth bass for the taking with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or crankbaits in the mornings or evenings. The most consistent bite remains s hit or miss with the possibility of a reaction bite in the early mornings or evenings with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or crankbaits, but the most consistent action remains on the bottom at depths to 20 feet with plastics on a drop-shot, Ned-rig, Texas-rig, and Senkos on a wacky-rig to 20 feet. Bluegill and red ear perch are taken on red worms or jumbo red worms while a few holdover rainbow trout are found in the deepest portions of the lake by trollers running small spoons. A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. The bass bite at Santa Margarita is decent for a larger variety of largemouths to 6 pounds with topwater action early or late before working deep-diving crankbaits. Plastics on the drop-shot, Texas-rig, or Ned-rig are also working over the steep vertical walls and main lake points with shallow water access. Catfish are found on mackerel or anchovies soaked in garlic with panfish taken on mealworms or jumbo red worms near structure. The operating hours at San Antonio are from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekends only. The panfish bite continues to improve for both bluegill and crappie with mealworms, red worms, or minijigs at depths to 15 feet. Catfishing is best with anchovies, sardines, or mackerel coated with garlic scent. Bass fishing remains challenging with the best action on finesse techniques. The lake dropped from 26 to 25 percent.

Events

Tournament Results:

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Ultimate Frog Challenge 5 Pro Division– July 25th/26th (Six-fish weigh in): 1st – Billy Hume/Mike Kuhlmnan – 30.16 pounds (Big Fish – 8.06); 2nd: Kris Huff/Simpson – 22.61; 3rd – Meek/Pichard– 21.67.

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Ultimate Frog Challenge 5 Amateur Division– July 25th/26th (Six-fish weigh in): 1st – Rick and Tyler Rush – 19.66 pounds; 2nd: Swain/Brown – 17.72; 3rd – Manning/Chaney – 15.70.

McClure – Merced Bass Club Night Tournament – July 25th: 1st – Albert and John Azevedo– 11.70 pounds; 2nd: Steve and Derrick Stanhope – 9.21; 3rd – Tim Wilson/Wesley Jones – 9.14.

Millerton – New Jen Bass Tournaments – July 26th: 1st – Josh Moree/David Prado – 13.38 pounds (Big Fish – 4.56); 2nd: Cliff Woods/Danny Wood – 11.18; 3rd – Jason Horn/Dusty Mart – 10.72.

Upcoming Tournaments: (Subject to Change)

August 1st/2nd:

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Delta Blow Up – Best Bass Tournaments

Pine Flat – Bass 101 – Open Team Night Tournament

August 2nd –

Pine Flat – Central Valley Kayak Fishing

August 3rd –

Nacimiento – San Luis Obispo Bass Ambushers

August 7th –

New Melones – Wild West Bass Trails

August 8th/9th:

Pine Flat – Fresno Bass Club/Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments

August 8th:

Delta/Russo’s Marina – New Jen Bass Tournaments

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – River Rats

New Melones – Manteca Bassin’ Buddies

San Antonio – Good Old Boys

August 8th/9th:

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Best Bass Tournament

August 9th:

New Melones – Wild West Bass Trails

Don Pedro – Slay Nation Tournaments/Wild West Bass Trails

August 12th:

Pine Flat – Bass 101

August 14th:

Kaweah – Visalia Bass Club

August 15th:

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors

August 19th – 21st:

Delta/Russo’s – FLW, LLC

August 22nd –

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Best Bass Tournament

August 23rd:

Delta/Russo’s Marina – New Jen Bass Tournaments

August 29th:

Nacimiento – Best Bass Tournament

August 29th/30th:

Don Pedro – Modesto Ambassadors

Millerton – Bass 101

This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Fishing report for week of July 29-Aug. 4: Eastman bass, Wishon trout plant in best bets."