Fishing report for week of Aug. 12-18: New Melones kokanee, Wishon trout among 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 bite good, Alan Fong reported. New Melones kokanee continue feasting, Kyle Wise said. Shaver producing mixed limits, Dick Nichols reported. Wishon pumping out trout, Kelly Brewer said. Southern portion of California Aqueduct has a solid striper bite, Pete Cormier reported. San Francisco salmon hitting, Jerad Davis said.
Key
1-Try dynamite
2-Have to work hard
3-Limits possible
4-Fish jumpin’ in boat
Valley
West-side waterways
Striper 3 Catfish 3
The water releases out of San Luis Reservoir have been slower, but the hot temperatures are causing aqueduct anglers to be out in the early morning or late afternoon hours. Soaking anchovies, sardines or mackerel around the headgates when the water is moving has been the best bet.
In the southern portion in Kern County, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “The aqueduct has been solid for those who know how to deal with the moss, and there are striped bass and catfish to be had. Blood worms and live minnows along with cut baits are working for the striped bass while catfish are biting chicken livers, mackerel or nightcrawlers.”
Call: Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis 292-3474; Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657
Eastman Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 3 Crappie 2
The lake is rapidly releasing water, and it dropped from 23% to 19% this week. Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun said, “Catfish to 13 pounds have been reported this week with the best action on chicken livers at night.” Bass fishing is best in the deepest parts of the lake over the rockpiles with large jigs, Zoom lizards or creature baits.
Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255
Hensley Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2
Hensley is also very low at 15%, and bass fishermen are reluctant to take their expensive vessels out on the lake with the possibility of striking some unmarked structure. Those on the lake are running slowly, either with their trolling motors or barely moving with their big motors. Similar to Eastman, Gilbert said, “Catfishing is improving with chicken livers or cut baits from the banks at night.” Bass action is best with big plastic worms, jigs or creature baits over the submerged rock in the deeper sections of the shallow lake.
Call: Valley Rod Gun, Clovis 292-3474; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hensley Lake Hidden Dam 673-5151
Lake Don Pedro
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1 King salmon 2 Crappie 2
Bass action remains tough here as the majority of participants during Sunday’s Wild West Bass Trail Kayak event either submitted one or two bass or blanked. The top anglers did submit some impressive limits with Jiongbo Zhang of San Francisco in first at 83 inches and perennial top finisher Damian Thao of Fresno in second at 81.75 inches. Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported a tough bite overall with the best action with plastics at night. The lake dropped from 77% to 76%.
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/Bakersfield area
Bass 3 Trout 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2
At Lake Isabella, Cormier said, “Catfish and bass are the top species as we haven’t heard anything about crappie this week. Bass are taken on deep-diving crankbaits, big worms or large-profile jigs while catfishing is best with Triple S Dip bait, nightcrawlers or cut baits.” The lake dropped from 24% to 23%.
The upper Kern River is a hot spot, but the interest in recreating is high with swimming taking place in every pool, limiting fishing access. Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company was fly fishing in the Kern Flat area on the upper Kern River this week, and he said, “We guided a couple of anglers, scoring rainbow trout from 14 to 18 inches on hoppers, caddis, stimulators and Woolly Buggers. The fishing was excellent out of the Golden Trout Wilderness Pack Station.”
Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657; North Fork Marina 760-376-1812; Golden Trout Pack Station 542-2816
Lake Kaweah
Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2
The water releases have ceased for the time being, and the bass are holding in the deepest portions of the remaining lake over rockpiles. The bite is improving with jigs or plastics on the drop shot. The lake held at 10%.
Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212
Lake Success/Tule River
Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 3 Catfish 2
Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said that at Lake Success, “The bass are holding deep as the low is very low so it’s easier to find them. The bite is slow to fair during the day, and the early morning or late afternoons are still the best time to be out. Plastics, jigs or Senkos remain the top offerings.” The lake dropped from 22% to 17%.
In the Tule River, Stokke said, “The river is still fishing excellent on dry flies of stimulators, caddis and ant patterns.”
Call: Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626, sequoiafishingcompany.com
McClure Reservoir
Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 1 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 3
The bass fishing is better for numbers than at nearby Don Pedro, with the best action on the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot or jigs. Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported a small window for topwater action around 9 a.m. with the River2Sea Rover or wake baits, but after 11 a.m. “forget about it.” Jigs are working as the bass are loading up on crawdads. Catfish remain a solid option with chicken livers or nightcrawlers along muddy, sloping banks. The lake dropped from 56% to 54%.
Call: Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing 691-7008
McSwain Reservoir
Trout 2
Minimal change here as the focus has transitioned at this lake 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
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2
Small spotted bass remain the rule as solid fishermen familiar with the lake are struggling for four to five legal fish over 13 inches. All action is on the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot, Ned-rig or Neko-rig as the water is dropping precipitously from 50% to 46% this week. The parking lots at the launch ramps are full of boat trailers on the weekends as recreational boating has taken over the lake. A few catfish to 2 pounds are taken on live crawdads from the banks at night. Park hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and boats can remain on the water after dark with navigation lights and a 5 mph speed limit.
Sycamore Island is open Friday through Sunday and state holidays from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sarah Parkes, development director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust said, “Bass fishing is best with soft plastics, chatterbaits and topwater lures with largemouth bass from 5 to 7 pounds. Our lead park host, Bill Tuell, caught and released a largemouth bass at 10.25 pounds. Catfishing is also good with fair action for crappie or bluegill.”
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
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Bass 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3
The Mother Lode kokanee scene remains intact with New Melones still the place to be for big kokanee while Lake Pardee is a safe bet for numbers. As expected toward the end of the hot summer in the foothills lakes, the kokanee are dropping deeper in the water column, but it is a matter of locating the schools and working them with a variety of darker-colored offerings.
Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service continues to find limits of quality kokanee at New Melones, and he said, “I had the pleasure of taking local resident Joe Oliveira out for a learning trip which turned out to be a ‘catching big kokanee real fast’ trip, and after making a few adjustments, Oliveira put together a limit of big ones using Paulina Peak’s P-Lite and Top Gun spinners along with Kevorkian Apex lures in front of either a Mag Tackle’s new Gold Series or Trinidad’s 24K dodger. Melones is consistently kicking out some of the largest kokanee in California. I was out with Kevin Ogg on a morning trip on Saturday before running an afternoon trip, and we scored limits with the same lures along with the addition of a J-Pex which is made from a willow-leaf blade. The kokanee were scattered, and we had to move around for them on the evening trip at depths from 65 to 110 feet over island tops for a mixed grade along with a few jumbos.” Wise has been focusing on evening trips at New Melones.
Bass fishing is also a quality thing at Melones with John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service putting his clients onto largemouth bass between 4 and 7 pounds, although the number of bites has been limited. He said, “My client, Dr. Daniel of Nashville, Tennessee, was out with me for three days, and he landed a total limit that weighed 32.60 pounds with big fish at 7.20 on a glide bait along with two more over 7 pounds, two 6-ounders on an underspin and a Whopper Plopper, and a 5.90-pound spotted bass on a Spook. The big bass are feeding on baby bass or bluegill, and our best action has been on larger lures shaped like either one of these food sources.”
The lake dropped from 68% to 67%.
Call: Glory Hole Sports 209-736-4333; Monte Smith 209-581-4734; John Liechty Xperience Fishing Guide Service 209-743-9932
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
The bass bite is so-so as the lake is rapidly receding, dropping from 33% to 29% this week. The best bass action has been with jigs or plastics on a wacky-rig. Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun was on the lake at night this week, and he landed nothing over 2 pounds working the shallows with jigs in greenpumpkin/chartreuse. Catfish to 11.5 pounds have been taken on chicken livers, but the river arm is getting shallow. As a result, the king salmon bite has slowed.
Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474; Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2
Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said, “The water levels are still slowly receding around 1/3-foot per day, and the wind has closed the lake some days. Fishermen are picking up limits of school-sized striped bass soaking bait in Portuguese Cove, but lake regulars are telling me that they are concerned about the large numbers of anglers targeting and removing the schoolies. The trolling bite has been sporadic between the end of the full moon phase and the cooling morning temperatures. The schools seem to be moving out deeper to depths to 60 feet but finding an active feeding school is an issue. I scouted the lake on Sunday and the number of boaters was well over 40 by noon. The wind was a factor that kept a lot of guys in Portuguese Cove fishing bait. For some reason the bite for trolling and reaction baits completely turned off. I tried everything I could and wound up with just two released fish, one at 8 pounds. I talked to several other regulars and they told me the same thing. It was a real grind.”
Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “There was quite a bit of wind this past week, and the rangers are more apt to close the lake when the winds are in the 15 mph range. Shore fishing is best around Dinosaur Point with blood worms, pile worms or anchovies while more and more trollers are starting to use the big umbrella rigs. There continues to be a window for boils, and anglers are tossing the large Duo Realis jerkbaits into the boils.”
The lake dropped slightly to 46%. Boating is available from 6 a.m. until sunset, and the park closes at 10 p.m.
In the O’Neill Forebay, Clements reported the grass is getting thicker, and the best fishing remains on the Highway 33 side of the impoundment where the channel is deepest and the grass has yet to infill. Small striped bass remain the rule, and most anglers will have to cull through numerous undersized linesides before landing one or two legal stripers to 19 inches. Blood worms, pile worms or cut baits are working along with Duo Realis ripbaits in saltwater patterns such as sardine.
Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle 408-463-0711, Roger George, 905-2954, rogergeorgeguideservice.com
High Sierra
Bass Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2
Recreational boating remains very high during the week, and particularly on the weekends. Mike Beighey of Bass Lake Fishing continues to find a few kokanee to 13 inches in the early mornings before the boat traffic starts in earnest, and there have been some larger rainbows in the mix on occasion. Beighey continues to run pink or blue Radical Glow Tubes or Mag Tackle hoochie spinners behind a Rocky Mountain purple Moonshine dodger at depths to 35 feet. Few bass fishermen are bothering the species right now between the boat traffic and the enforcement of the Sheriff’s Motor Fee. The lake dropped slightly to 94%. Lake webcams and conditions: basslakeca.com/index.php.
Call: Todd Wittwer 288-8100; Mike Beighey 642-3748
Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool
Edison dropped to 43%, Florence dropped to 57%, and Mammoth Pool dropped to 68%. At Florence Lake, Jody and Payton Allen of Visalia trolled leadcore at four colors with chartreuse/green spinners behind Mountain Flashers for limits of small brown trout.
Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Kokanee 3 Trout 3
Shaver Lake continues to kick out quality kokanee, but the overall action has been up and down. There are fewer of the third-year kokanee remaining in the lake, and they are already hugging the bottom in the deepest portions of the lake.
Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “It was another roller-coaster week for us as we averaged around a dozen mixed trout including rainbows, goldens and browns along with kokanee. Our best day came on Thursday with the Giubbini family from Paso Robles as Mike, Rick, Bob and Kris kept 17 of the 23 mixed species that they boated highlighted by Mike’s 17-inch kokanee. We have been focusing around Dorabella Cove since the lake opened up for boat traffic on June 6, and we have been landing hundreds of fish. However, the boat traffic has contributed to a slower bite. Pink/white or pink/purple Mountain spinner hoochies tipped with corn behind Mountain Dodger at depths from 37 to 44 feet has been the ticket over the past two months. Our side poles have also been successful for both kokanee and trout with Trout Busters in green/orange, ruby red/chartreuse or pink/chartreuse tipped with a nightcrawler on the front hook and corn on the rear hook in front of weighted Mountain Flashers at a setback of 110 feet. The golden trout that were planted in January 2018 are now between 12 and 13 inches while the browns planted at the same time have reached 13 inches, growing 8 inches within the past two-plus years.”
Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service has been targeting the largest kokanee in the lake, and he has found success for several kokanee to 18 inches working the deep water down the main river channel with pink or orange Radical Glow Tubes or Rocky Mountain Tackle’s Double Glow Squids in pink or orange behind a Moonshine or Tsunami dodger. “We have even picked up doubles of the big fish within the past week,” he said.
Richard and Marilyn Emerson of Triangle Fishing landed two quick limits of kokanee from 13 to 15 inches trolling Paulina Peak’s Micro Hoochies in pink, white glow and purple/pink in front of either a Paulina Peak pink and purple teardrop dodger, orange crush teardrop dodger or pink cosmic teardrop dodger. Emerson said, “We also used the Kevorkian Apex with the pink cosmic teardrop dodger. All lures were tipped with home-made hot pink shoepeg corn with tuna oil, krill oil and lots of garlic.”
The lake is starting to release water, and it dropped from 85% to 83%.
Sierra Marina launch ramp webcam: sierramarina.com/camera.html.
At Huntington, the lake rose to 98%, and a few trollers are finding a small grade of trout and kokanee trolling at depths to 40 feet with a variety of kokanee gear.
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
Wishon/Courtright
Trout 3
At Wishon, Kelly Brewer of the Wishon Village RV Park and Store reported continued solid trout action for both trollers and bank fishermen due to last week’s plant, and trollers are scoring at depths to 40 feet near the inlet and along the rockwall with Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger, blade/’crawler combinations or spoons such a Needlefish. The lake came up slightly, and launching from the concrete ramp is accessible. The best shore action is from the mouth at Short Hair Creek, along the dam and on the far side of the lake near the inlet.
At Courtright, Brewer reported continued solid trout action for both boat and bank anglers, and he caught and released a 22-inch rainbow on a Wedding Ring tipped with a nightcrawler behind a flasher this week. Bank anglers are scoring with trout bait in green chartreuse from the launch ramp and from both sides of the dam. The water level was stable this week, and launching a boat is no problem.
Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361
More online
Go to fresnobee.com/fishing for Ocean, Delta, Kern County and Central Coast lakes, event results and tournament schedules and trout plants.
Trout plants
Week of Aug. 9
Fresno County: Dinkey Creek, Huntington Lake, Kings River below Pine Flat Dam, Mono Creek, Mono Creek, Portal Forebay, San Joaquin River (South Fork), Ward Lake
Inyo County: Bishop Creek (Lower), Lone Pine Creek, Owens River (below Tinnemaha and Section 2)
Week of Aug. 16
Fresno County: Courtright Reservoir, 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)
Mono County: Owens River (Section 3)
Week of Aug. 23
Fresno County: Huntington Lake, Kings River below Pine Flat Dam
Inyo County: Lone Pinen Creek, Owens River (below Tinnemaha and Section 2)
Mono County: Owens River (Section 3)
Ocean
Half Moon Bay
Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Surf Perch 2
Rockfishing remains the best show in town with the Queen of Hearts putting in 10 limits of rockfish on Monday. The salmon action has been fair in the Pacifica area, and second captain Michael Cabanas of the Huli Cat scored 19 salmon 13 anglers on Saturday at Pedro Point. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was down with the fleet on Sunday, and the action was relatively slow with three salmon hooked and two landed. He said, “Most of the party boats were down here around Mussel Rock.”
The bluefin tuna mania that occurred last week has calmed down as the tuna have vacated the area for the time being.
The Pacifica Municipal Pier is open from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.
Call: Captain Dennis Baxter – New Captain Pete (650) 576-3844; Captain Tom Mattusch – Huli Cat (650) 619-0459.
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Salmon 1 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Surf Perch 2
Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing said, “We have been heading down to Point Sur every opportunity that we can, and we have been limiting out primarily on school fish of yellows, blues, and widows over the rocks. There were some bluefin showing up again, and the owner of J and M Sport Fishing went out again, and they landed another bluefin. The salmon action has been null and void with commercial boats receiving nary a bite. We are exclusively running rockfishing trips, and the majority of the weekends are sold out, but there is generally room during the weekdays in the middle of the week.”
Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net was out on Monday searching for bluefin, and the three boats working around Carmel to Point Pinos came up empty-handed with no tuna even marked.
Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait in Morgan Hill said, “The striped bass have been scattered along the coast, but there have been some linesides taken off of Manressa. Surf perch action is decent, and we are still selling a number of Lucky 13 lures.”
Call: Chris’ Landing (831) 375-5951; Allen Bushnell – Santa Cruz Kayak and Surf Casting (831) 251-9732.
San Francisco Bay
Salmon 3 Halibut 2 Striper 2 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2
Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream took his beautiful vessel up the Marin coast to Point Reyes for the Phenix Rods -sponsored trip, and they returned with 25 limits of rockfish and 25 limits of ling cod to 20 pounds. Fresno native, Vince Borges of Phenix Rods said, “There was a very fast uphill drift in the morning, and it was impossible to keep the 6-ounce jig head on my swimbait from scoping out so I had to switch to a trap rig. Once the tide slowed down, the lings came in heavy on the trap rigs, and I switched to a spoon that was deadly for both the rockfish and the lings. It was a solid trip, and the big ling was taken on a trap rig as the lings seemed to bite like hitchhikers all day long.”
Rockfishing was a smart option as the halibut bite slowed down considerably. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing started with two quality halibut at the North Bar with the fleet, but the bite dried up and he went into the bay to various locations including Southhampton Shoals, Alcatraz, and Crissy Field for nothing but shakers. He said, “The tides were really small, and the best action is going to be from the top of the tide through the outgoing. Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley Marina was out at the North Bar on Sunday, and he said, “The halibut bite was a slowdown for many of us, and we only ended up with 25 halibut, but there were some big ones. The tides are getting smaller, and the interesting part is that the halibut bite has been slow on the small tides while we did very well during last week’s minus tides.” Go figure!
For salmon, Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady put together two solid days with big fish, taking 21 salmon to 28 pounds for 16 anglers on Sunday south off of Pacifica, and he followed this up with 17 salmon to 26 pounds for 14 anglers on Monday.
The salmon scores have been averaging over a fish per rod to a fish and a half, but the quality has been outstanding. Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters was up in the Duxbury area on Sunday, and he reported 10 big salmon for a group with 10-year old children tugging on the fish, and they went through 24 weights to land the five limits.
Vince Borges said, “When we came back down from Point Reyes on Monday, the area around Duxbury was loaded with whales, birds, and brown water. The conditions looked excellent for salmon fishing.”
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
Rockfishing remains the best game in town out of the San Luis Obispo ports with limits to near limits of rockfish the rule. The ling cod counts on the local waters remain low with boats averaging less than 5 ling cod per weekend trip. The ling counts climb on the 12-hour and long-range trips as they are able to travel farther from the local reefs. Out of Morro Bay Landing, the Endeavor, Starfire, and Avenger were out on Sunday with a combined 88 anglers for 493 vermilion, 128 copper, 20 Boccaccio, 169 assorted rockfish, 80 Bolina, 3 ling cod to 13 pounds along with 1 ocean whitefish. Javier Lopez of Farmerville landed the jackpot ling Also out of Morro Bay at Virg’s Landing, the Fiesta, Rita G, and Black Pearl were out on Monday with 58 anglers for 138 vermilion, 15 copper, 268 assorted rockfish, 3 Boccaccio, and 5 ling cod to 9 pounds. Daniel Nicholls of Visalia took the jackpot with the big ling while Alfred Avila Jr. of Tulare took another jackpot with a 7-pound Boccaccio. 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 2 Sturgeon 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2 Salmon 2
Despite warm water temperatures in the Sacramento-Delta, the first salmon of the season came off of the shoreline at Benicia, and combined with the trickle of salmon coming in the north Delta below Freeport, we have a glimpse of what is to come during September, October, and November in the lower Sacramento River. Striped bass traditionally arrive with the salmon, and August is the month for big stripers in the Sacramento River below Rio Vista. The City launch ramp at Rio Vista is closed until at least January 2021 due to reconstruction, and this has led boaters to surrounding launch ramps.
Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait said, “A beautiful chrome-bright 20-pound salmon was landed on Sunday morning at 1st Street on a Flying C, and there was a 12 pounder taken on Thursday at the same location. There are still a few steelhead landed off of 1st Street, and there was an additional salmon reported at the Dillon Point State Park. A few small striped bass are coming off of the shorelines, but this is the time when the big stripers make their run at Garnet Point and the Middle Grounds on live splittail. Grass shrimp remains in high demand, and the quality has been good.”
In the north Delta below Freeport, Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “Salmon fishing is picking up, and one of our customers jigging Slammer Minnow spoons near the bridge hooked four salmon, landing one on Saturday. Trollers are picking up the very occasional salmon running Brad’s Cut Plugs or Slammer Spinners, but the bite isn’t hot or heavy by any means as you really have to work for these fish. The months of September and October are expected to be outstanding with the number of big fish coming out of the ocean. For striped bass, there are a lot of shakers in the system, and you have to bring extra bait. Sardines coated with garlic spray, pile worms, or blood worms are working best. Smallmouth bass are all along the rocks in the sloughs and in the Old Sacramento River towards Walnut Grove, and deep-diving crankbaits, live minnows, or plastics on the drop-shot are all working for the smallies. Bluegill are in every slough with red worms or wax worms while catfish are in the Deep Water Channel or any slough with chicken livers or nightcrawlers.”
Out of Riverside Bait at Vieira’s Resort near Isleton on the Old Sacramento River, Sylvia Viera said, “We are still waiting for our first salmon, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying as our parking lot was filled at 7:30 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. With the launch ramp in Rio Vista closed, a number of new customers have been heading over to our ramp. You have to get here early on the weekends to get a spot.”
Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, found great action for largemouth bass working the heavy cover by punching the weeds. He said, “I broke off 4 fish using 65-pound braid this week as the mats are so thick. Around one out of five casts using a 1.5- to 2-ounce tungsten punch weight can actually pierce the mat, and once you get through the grass, you will get hit every time. I have been trying to pull the fish through the mats, and when I can’t get them through at first, I let them go back and swim around before trying again. Normally, I use 80-pound test braid, and I will have to go back to the heavier line. The Missile Craw Father or D-Bombs are both working under the weights.”
Virgil’s Bait and Ice House in Suisun City reported striped bass to 35 pounds have been landed in Montezuma Slough during the past week, and in addition to the big fish that was kept, several others ranging from 10 to 17 pounds were landed by the same group.
Jeff Boyle of Bass Pro Shops in Manteca was out with Tony Lopes of Turlock on Monday, and although they didn’t find many stripers working the West Bank from Sandy Beach towards Collinsville, Lopes was able to catch and release a beautiful 25-pound striped bass on a red/yellow deep-diving Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow near Collinsville. Boyle said, “This striper just doubled up his rod, and after a quick picture, we were able to revive the fish and it swam away.”
Several bass tournaments occurred in the San Joaquin-Delta over the past weekend with events out of Paradise Point northwest of Stockton, Ladd’s Marina in Stockton, and Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island. The consensus is that the bass bite is tough, but there have been a number of quality largemouth bass brought to the scales.
Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, hosted events at Ladd’s Marina in Stockton on both Saturday and Sunday, and the team of Mike Elceser and Steve Rojas took first place during Saturday’s Mother Lode circuit event on the Delta with a limit at 18.87 including a 10.12-pound kicker. The second-place team of Glenn Vargas and Bob McNabb also went over 10 pounds with the big fish of the tournament at 10.66 as part of their limit at 18.72 pounds. These were the largest bass reported in the Delta in some time, eclipsing any of the big fish landed during the 165-boat Wild West Bass Trails a few weeks ago. The annual Bass Fest held at Russo’s Marina in August for the past few years has been cancelled for this year due to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. This event features a number of vendors from national companies displaying new product along with a huge barbeque and social event on Saturday night, and according to Pringle, ‘The way things are with the going with the COVID situation, and the way that we would like to have run this event are just not in the spirit of what Bass Fest is all about so we will take a step back in 2020 and start planning a bigger and better event in 2021.” The Best Bass Tournaments will run their Tournament of Champions out of the Russo’s Marina on October 10/11.”
Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors said, “It has been an afternoon reaction bite for us, and I think that is why the weights are solid on the Wednesday night events out of Ladd’s Marina. The bite was a bit tougher this week with the full moon and the high winds during the middle of the week, and that’s why I think the weights on Wednesday night were down with only 15 pounds to cash a check with an 18-pound winning limits. Chatterbaits and buzzbaits have been working for us along with a topwater bite on Whopper Ploppers. I am still using the double-buzz bait manufactured in Arkansas with the floats near the blades, and this keeps it on top. There is a good topwater bite with Poppers as well, and this should get better as we move towards fall.”
Striped bass action remains best between the Antioch Bridge and Eddo’s Marina for trollers, but the wind during the middle of the week made for impossible conditions for either trolling or anchoring.
In the south Delta, there has been minimal change with local anglers lining the banks around Eight Mile Road west of Stockton, Whiskey Slough Road, or Bacon Island Road for bluegill and red ear perch on red worms, mini-crawlers, or meal worms. Catfish are starting to show up in the slough on clams, chicken livers, or nightcrawlers.
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 3
The largemouth bass bite is picking up at both Lopez and Santa Margarita the largemouths becoming active in the late afternoons. Lake Nacimiento remains the top location for spotted bass with the emergence of a topwater bite and reaction baits in the early mornings and afternoons. Recreational boating remains heavy, particularly on the weekends. There is still action with finesse techniques on the bottom, but the largest grade is coming on reaction baits of spinnerbaits, topwater lures, jerkbaits, or underspins. Crappie are taken on minijigs inside of structure at depths to 20 feet. Catfish are becoming active, and they are striking bass gear along with the normal whiskerfish baits of cut baits soaked in garlic scent. The lake dropped from 36 to 35%. A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. At Lopez, quality largemouth bass are found on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or topwater lures in the mornings and evening while there is a finesse bite on the bottom at depths to 30 feet with plastics on the drop-shot, Ned-rig, Texas-rig, and wacky-rigged Senkos. Bluegill and red ear perch are taken on red worms, minicrawlers, or jumbo red worms at depths to 20 feet while a few holdover rainbow trout are still 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 have improved for quality with the best action in the evenings with crankbaits or topwater lures. There is a punch bite in the mats along with frogs over the mats, but these are producing a smaller grade of largemouth. Senkos or plastics on the drop-shot are effective during the daytime at depths to 20 feet. 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 bass bite remains very spotty, but 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 24 to 23%.
Events
Tournament results
Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Best Bass Tournaments/Mother Lode Circuit– August 8th: 1st – Mike Elceser/Steve Rojas – 18.87 pounds (2nd Big Fish – 10.12); 2nd: Glenn Vargas/Bob McNabb – 18.72 (1st Big Fish – 10.66); 3rd –Chris and Darryl Peters – 16.51.
Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Best Bass Tournaments– August 9th: 1st – Bobby Herrin/Nathan Ghilotti– 23.39 pounds (Big Fish – 6.27); 2nd: Duke Kanaya/Brandon Gee – 21.42; 3rd – Zach Richard/Chad Bross – 20.91.
Delta/Paradise Point Marina – River Rats– August 8th: 1st – Jim Oliver/Lenny Espinoza – 20.21 pounds; 2nd: Ron and Nick Sanches – 16.75; 3rd – Kris Huff/Sonny Mancuso – 16.17. Big Fish – Jeff Steward – 9.21
Delta– New Jen Bass Tournaments – August 8th: 1st – Mike Andrews/Philip Dutra – 22.68 pounds; 2nd: Paul Polhemus/Tim Woltkamp – 21.65; 3rd – Joey Skym/Nick Cloutier – 20.29 (Big Fish – 6.44).
Delta– New Jen Bass Tournaments – August 9th: 1st – Andy Doudna/Andrew Kobayashi – 21.10 pounds (Big Fish – 8.96); 2nd: Nathan Smith/Christian Ostrander – 20.57; 3rd –Jackie and John Martin– 19.67.
Don Pedro – Wild West Bass Trails Kayak Tournament – August 9th: 1st –Jiongbo Zhang – 83.00 inches; 2nd: Damian Thao – 81.75 inches; 3rd –Scott Sevko – 76.50 inches.
Upcoming tournaments (subject to change)
Aug. 12
Pine Flat – Bass 101
Aug. 14
Kaweah – Visalia Bass Club
Aug. 15
Delta/Russo’s Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors
Aug. 19-21
Delta/Russo’s – FLW, LLC
Aug. 22
Delta/Russo’s Marina – Best Bass Tournament
Aug. 23
Delta/Russo’s Marina – New Jen Bass Tournaments
Aug. 29
Nacimiento – Best Bass Tournament
Aug. 29-30
Don Pedro – Modesto Ambassadors
Millerton – Bass 101
Solunar table
AM | PM | |||
Minor | Major | Minor | Major | |
Wednesday | – | 6:09 | 12:21 | 6:33 |
Thursday | 12:42 | 6:54 | 1:06 | 7:19 |
Friday | 1:27 | 7:40 | 1:53 | 8:07 |
Saturday | 2:15 | 8:29 | 2:42 | 8:56 |
Sunday | 3:05 | 9:19 | 3:33 | 9:48 |
>Monday | 3:57 | 10:11 | 4:26 | 10:40 |
n-Tuesday | 4:51 | 11:06 | 5:20 | 11:34 |
n = new moon > = peak activity
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Fishing report for week of Aug. 12-18: New Melones kokanee, Wishon trout among best bets."