Fishing report for week of Sept. 23-29: Spots biting at Millerton; rockfish action at SLO

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 striper bites going, Alan Fong reported. McClure bass action good, Ryan Cook said. Millerton spots eating, Jake Figgs reported. Kaweah bass hitting, Chuck Stokke said.

Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

Valley

Delta Mendota Canal and Sloughs

Stripers 3 Catfish 3

Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Catfish have been the top species in the northern section of the aqueduct, and we are selling anchovies and sardines for the whiskerfish as frozen shad has been scarce.”

In the southern portion in Kern County, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported continued good action for both striped bass and catfish with blood worms, sardines, or anchovies. With the closure of Lake Isabella and the upper Kern River due to the temporary closure of the national forests, more anglers are heading to the aqueduct.

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

Eastman Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 3 Crappie 2

Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun said, “The bass bite remains tough here, and catfishing is best near the dam at night with chicken livers or cut baits for whiskerfish to 3 pounds.” The final River Rats Shootout on Saturday night might have brought at solid 4-fish limit to the scale, but the results were not posted as of press time. Several boaters were concerned about the low lake level and possible damage to their lower units. Gary Wasson and Joe Baeza, regulars on the south valley bass scene, found slow action on Saturday before heading over to nearby Hensley for a few quality largemouths. The lake dropped from 8 to 7 percent.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Hensley Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2

The lake actually rose this week from 15 to 18 percent, and Jake Figs said, “There is a ‘sneaky’ bass bite with crankbaits such as Strike King’s 6XD’s or 10XD’s near rocky structure. The deepest part of the lake is only 34 feet, and there are hidden hazards under the surface.” Catfishing at night remains the top draw with chicken liver, anchovies, nightcrawlers, or King Cat Dip Bait.

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 2 King salmon 2 Crappie 2

The bass bite remains challenging as the winning weight for Saturday’s Manteca Bassin’ Buddies tournament came in at just over 9 pounds. Most bass anglers are focusing at nearby McClure for much better action. Trout fishing will improve as the water continues to cool and the shad schools start to form. The lake dropped slightly to 71 percent.

Call: Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing 209-581-4734; Kyle Wise – Head Hunter Guide Service – 209-531- 3966; Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing - 559-691-7008

Lake Isabella/Bakersfield area

Bass 2 Trout 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2

Lake Isabella is in the Sequoia National Forest, and it remains closed until further notice. Sections of both the upper and lower Kern River were planted during the week, but as the upper river above the dam is in the national forest, it is also temporarily closed. Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield reported the lower river below the day is accessible, and smallmouth bass and catfish are possibilities.

Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket in Bakersfield 661-833-8657; North Fork Marina 760-376-1812; Golden Trout Pack Station 559-542-2816

Lake Kaweah

Bass 3 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company was on the lake over the weekend, and he said, “The lake is very low, but I caught quite a few bass on shad-patterned deep-diving crankbaits in 10 to 25 feet of water. You have to find them, but once you find them, the bite is excellent as they are holding on rocky structure along with rocky points. There were also bass in the early morning chasing bait, and they were hitting top water lures.” Gary Wasson of Visalia, local bass fishing expert, said, “Bass action is good in the mornings with jigs or plastics on the drop-shot.” Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis reported anglers have been heading down from the Fresno area to Kaweah for a good bite on wacky-rigged Senkos or jigs. He said, “These anglers normally fish Eastman, but they have been heading south to Kaweah for solid action.” The lake dropped to 6 percent.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Lake Success

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Gary Wasson of Visalia, said, “The bass action has slowed, but there have been some bass taken in the mornings with either jigs or crankbaits.” The lake dropped to 9 percent. The Tule River continues to be closed due to the SQR Complex Fire and the temporary closure of the national forests.

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

McClure Reservoir

Bass 3 Trout 2 King salmon 1 Kokanee 1 Crappie 2 Catfish 2

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook Fishing reported the best bass action in the Mother Lode with the spotted and largemouth bass loading up on shad and chasing shad on the surface. There is a solid topwater bite along with deep-diving crankbaits such as Strike King’s 8XD’s or 10XD’s in shad pattern. The main lake has been the focus with the dropping water levels, and Cook thought the bass would be feeding heavily on shad through November. Trout fishing has been slow, but it will improve as the water continues to cool and the shad schools form. The lake dropped slightly to 45 percent. The Bagby Launch Ramp is out of the water and inaccessible.

Call: Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Guide Service- 559-691-7008

McSwain Reservoir

Trout 2

The first trout plant in months occurred last week from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and catchable rainbows have been taken from the normal locations of the Handicapped Docks, the Brush Pile and the peninsula by the Marina with trout dough bait or nightcrawlers. The lake levels remain high. The annual radio-controlled plane jamboree dominated the lake over the past weekend.

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River

Bass 3 Striped Bass 1 Shad 2 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2+

Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun said, “The lake remains the top bass fishery in the area with numerous spotted bass in the 12-inch range possible as 40-fish days are possible. Larger fish are hard to locate, but there have been some spotted bass in the 2.5 to 4-pound range taken on occasion. The best action is in the river arm as far as possible in the receding lake, and plastics on the drop-shot, Ned Rig, or wacky-rig. Jake The 6-inch Hologram Shad on a light Neko Rig along with spy baits in natural shad patterns has also been effective. The bass are suspending around 15 to 20 feet in 40 feet of water.” Park hours are 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and boats can remain on the water after 8:00 p.m., but navigation lights and the 5MPH speed limit are required after dark. The

Sycamore Island is open Friday through Sunday, and state holidays from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2

The first tournament since March was held on New Melones this past Saturday, and the Northern California bass community came in huge to raise funds for 13-year old Mason Ferrulli of Ripon. The conditions on the lake changed prior to the tournament, and despite many skilled anglers participating, the winning weight was far less than expected in the 11-pound range. Matt Frazier of Denair had less than two weeks to pull the tournament together, and the bass fishing and outdoor community proved their generosity by with incredible prizes for the raffle and live auction. Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors and Phenix Rods participated in the tournament with his wife, Kathryn, and he said, “The tournament fishing community always comes through for a cause, and despite the competitive nature of the sport, all competition is put aside when it all really matters.” Frazier said, “A total of $60,099 was raised through the tournament, raffle, and the gofundme page for Team Mason, and we had so much support that it is difficult to start to give credit. People generously gave to the cause, and we were humbled by the support we received despite the short notice. There were over $50,000 in raffle prizes alone. We had 350 pounds of meat donated by Meat District and Dave’s Meat, and famous grillmaster Jason Buffalow came out to put together the BBQ of pulled pork , Angus hamburgers, and Polish sausage.”

John Liechty of Xperience Bass Fishing works primarily out of New Melones, and he said, “It was a tough bite as we ended up in 7th place with 9.5 pounds as it only took 11 pounds to win. I was anticipating 15 or 16 pounds to be the top weight, but it was a grind out there. The conditions were not what we had been seeing as instead of low pressure and cloud cover, Saturday arrived with high overhead skies, and I believe this affected the action. We started off throwing topwater off of a bank before deciding to put together a limit with finesse techniques of jigs or plastics on the drop-shot. After scoring a limit, we started tossing topwater once again on certain banks along with spinnerbaits and chatterbaits in the attempt to upgrade. We did cull out three bass and out of our five fish at the weigh in, one came on a drop-shot, two on a jig, and two on topwater. It was a hodge-podge of techniques.”

Liechty added, “The bite was tough, but the 51 boats weren’t really there for the fishing. It was the most amazing raffle and auction as there were so many rods and reels along with big prizes such as a Glock pistol from Stage Stop in Atwater, a Savage 270 rifle from the Merrill Family, several Yeti coolers, a Traeger BBQ, two Green Mountain grills, and too many valuable items to count or recognize as the raffle went on for hours. Matt Frazier and his crew did an incredible job as the community stepped up big time. This raffle was three times what you would expect at a large circuit’s Tournament of Champions.”

Mason has been battling brain cancer since he was 10 years old beginning in 2017, and after numerous operations and hospital stays over the past three years, the cancer has returned, and it has spread into his spine. After his second major brain surgery, Mason was cancer-free for the first couple of scans, but his most recent scans have made the family’s worst fears come true as he has a large tumor on his spine along with a couple of smaller masses. 100% of the proceeds from the tournament and raffle will go to the Ferrulli family to assist with the upcoming surgery along with ongoing expenses.

Once again, the bass community demonstrated their caring for each other during critical times.

The lake dropped to 64 percent.

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 3 Kokanee 0 King salmon 1 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

Jake Figgs of Valley Rod and Gun said, “The water releases have halted, and the bass bite has been improving with the stable water levels. Most anglers are heading to Millerton, but shallow diving crankbaits such as Norman’s Little N or the ima Squarebill in shad patterns are working in 5 to 9 feet of water. The smoke in the region is still a concern, and many fishermen have been waiting for clearer skies. In the lower Kings, the flows are stable, and regular trout plants have contributed to good action for bank fishermen tossing Panther Martins or similar spinners into the slower water.” The lake held at 21 percent.

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

San Luis Reservoir continues to be challenging for trollers, but it has been big risk, big reward for those seeking trophy striped bass. Numbers of school-sized and undersized striped bass are numerous at the forebay of the big lake for those throwing jerkbaits or flukes along with trolling various minnow-imitation plugs. With the temporary closure of the national forests, many of those planning deer hunting trips have transitioned over to fishing at San Luis, and there have been as many as 60 boats on the lake on the weekends. Full limits of small school-sized striped bass has been the rule.

Roger George of Roger’s Guide Service in Fresno, fresh off his personal-best 40.88-pound striped bass at San Luis the previous week, took Marco Vuicich of Fresno out on Thursday in the attempt to put him onto another trophy. He said, “The fish were pretty inactive most of the day so we covered a lot of water to find biting schools. We fished hard for 10 hours in the hope of finding a follow up to last week’s big fish. Incredibly, Marco got a big hit, and when it came up thrashing on the surface 40 yards away, I knew it was a big one. After a quick measure and picture, we released the 40-inch/24-pound striped bass at 60 feet on the Seaquilizer Release Tool attached to my downrigger ball. With the warm water conditions, it is really important to get these fish back down quickly. In addition to the big fish released, we caught and released over 25 stripers to 24 inches using Lucky Craft Pointers. Finding active fish is the key most days, even more than lure selection it seems. The overall bite has been sporadic with a good bite one day, followed by a poor one the next day. The low pressure front appears to have slowed down the topwater action, and the stripers have been moving up and down in the water column. Visibility is still around 2 feet in some parts of the lake with the water temperature in the 74/75-degree range.”

Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill confirmed the slow topwater bite, but he said, “Boaters have been searching out the big schools of bait and dropping shad-patterned spoons in the 3/4th to 1.25-ounce size along with jumbo minnows or even anchovies for linesides to 21 inches. The stripers are schooling up on the baits. The O’Neill Forebay has also been kicking out numbers with cut baits, but the grass is now thick in the typical summer pattern. Check 12 is getting choked up with grass, and the only areas to fish without the inconvenience of grass have been the rockwall, the beach, and the deeper water on the Highway 33 side.”

Jerkbaits are also working in the forebay as Travis and KC Porter of Hollister went through 20 schoolies tossing JKingslures shad-patterned jerkbaits on Saturday morning.

Pumping from the south Delta continues, and the main lake rose slightly to 48 percent despite water releases.

Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle 408-463-0711, Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com, 559-905-2954

High Sierra

The Creek Fire has cut off access to the eastern Fresno County lakes.

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Crab 2 Sand Dabs 2 Surf Perch 3

The Coastside Net Pen salmon have arrived in the harbor, and anglers are climbing ladders and lining up near the restroom building inside of the harbor for up to 20 salmon per evening. The anglers are shoulder-to-shoulder on top of ladders casting beads or pink worms on a long leader for the salmon. Outside of the harbor at the entrance buoys, Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete said, “There is a trickle of salmon for those trolling outside of the harbor as the bite has picked up a notch. I went north to Duxbury on Friday for three big salmon, and all six anglers on board had a fish on with some up to three opportunities. I have been focusing on local rockfishing over the weekends, and we had 10 limits of rockfish and five lings to 8 pounds on Sunday along the coast. The lings really haven’t started biting yet. The halibut bite from Poplar Street to the Ritz-Carleton Hotel along the beaches has also picked up a notch this week.”

Second Captain Michael Cabanas of the Huli Cat put in seven limits of rockfish along with a handful of ling cod to 10 pounds in 100 feet of water south of the harbor off of San Gregorio.

The New Captain Pete, Huli Cat, and Queen of Hearts will all be running the crab combination trips, and the New Captain Pete will also run a crab-only the day prior to Thanksgiving as well as Thanksgiving morning. Crab-only charters are available as well.

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 halibut 2 Striper 2 Surf Perch 3

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing said, “We have been going to Point Sur nearly every day, and Captain Nick on the Star of Monterey was there on Monday for 23 limits of quality rockfish along with 10 ling cod to 20 pounds. The Check Mate stayed local for seven limits of rockfish. The weather has been good, and the smoke is gone. We have room during the weekdays and the weekends are starting to open up as well.”

Allen Bushnell of the Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “Now is the time of year that the big rockfish will begin to move out to deeper reefs. Working the spots from 80-120 feet of water will likely get the best results for those chasing cod. Halibut will be moving deeper also though plenty of small to medium sized flatties were hooked this week from flat sandy areas both in Santa Cruz and Monterey. Conversely, big lingcod are now moving in, towards their shallow winter spawning grounds. Stagnaro’s Sportfishing is working the deeper reefs just above Santa Cruz on their half day trips, and traveling further north on the full day sojourns. Launching from Moss Landing the Kahuna usually goes as far south as weather and time will permit. The fishing is always so much better at Big Sur. Surfcasting is heating up for the perch-chasers, as well as the night-time striped bass guys. We haven’t seen many striped bass caught in the daytime lately, but Glenn Sales from Marina managed to catch a few while fishing the dark of night on the beaches near Monterey. Sales keys in on the high tides, and is finding success using Joe Baggs Swarters as well as topwater poppers. A few anglers that fish the pocket beaches of Santa Cruz report good, if not great fishing for barred surf perch. Numbers of perch caught (and released) are high, and occasionally a jumbo bites the hook.”

The Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project suffered major damage to their hatchery near Davenport due to the CZU Lightning Fire Complex, and they will need assistance to rebuild this essential program for Coho salmon and steelhead in the watersheds of the Central Coast. Donations are accepted at the website - https://mbstp.org/ or through https://www.gofundme.com/f/coho-salmon-in-crisis-after-santa-cruz-fire.

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

San Francisco Bay

Salmon 2 Halibut 3 Striper 2 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 3 White sea bass 3 Sturgeon 1

Rockfishing remains the most sought species out of the Golden Gate, but there is a cornucopia of species to be had with halibut, salmon, striped bass, and white sea bass all possibilities. The salmon bite has been up and down as it has been for the past several weeks, but the New Easy Rider out of Berkeley posted 10 limits of salmon to 23 pounds on Monday while the six pack, Chasing Crustacean, captained by Christian Cavanaugh posted six limits. A fish per rod has been the norm for the salmon boats over the past week working from the North Bar north to Double Point.

Rockfishing has been outstanding with the Happy Hooker out of Berkeley loading up with 180 rockfish along with 46 halibut to 18 pounds and 2 striped bass to 8 pounds on Sunday. The party boats have been catching their rockfish before making a few drifts inside of the San Francisco Bay.

Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley Marina said, “There has been a solid showing of white sea bass in the bay, and more than a handful of boats have been hooking up with the sea bass outside of the Berkeley Pier. It seems that the action is more consistent this year. We are rockfishing at the Farallons on Thursday as the ling cod bite has been much better at the islands. We have potluck trips scheduled over the weekend, and there is plenty of room on Sunday’s trip.”

Ed Liu of Bay Tackle in El Cerrito reported a consistent white sea bass under the Bay Bridge by the barges along with the end of the Berkeley Pier, and anglers are dragging either whole squid or big anchovies for the sea bass. He said, “Pete from our shop and I have landed sea bass on swimbaits off of the Marin coast, and this has been a very strange year to say the least as it seems that the fish are biting at the wrong time and at the wrong tide. The biggest halibut have come on the big tides this year, and that is very unusual. I have also noticed that the striped bass in the bay are getting smaller and smaller at this time of year. I have noticed this trend during the last five years as normally we would landed nothing less than 23 inches. Anglers targeting surf perch along the Marin and Sonoma coastline from Tomales Bay through Stinson Beach have been surprised by hooking large striped bass to 20 pounds.”

Lingcod have taken center stage as the best ling cod counts in the state are found from the Marin coast and the Farallon Islands and up the north coast towards Bodega Bay and beyond. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing out of Berkeley went out on his last Golden Gate trip of the season, and he said, “We stopped on the way out to the Farallons on Sunday to load up on sand dabs, and we used the live bait to load up on limits of ling cod to 15 pounds along with limits of quality rockfish.”

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 story out of the San Luis Obispo County ports, but similar to ports from Avila Beach to Half Moon Bay, the ling cod counts remain down. The Avenger and Endeavor out of Morro Bay Landing were out on Monday with 37 anglers for limits consisting of 195 vermilion, 43 copper, nine Boccaccio, 123 assorted and five ling cod. Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay had the Fiesta and Rita G out on Monday with 36 anglers for 126 vermilion, 128 assorted rockfish, 36 copper, 18 canary, 2 Boccaccio, 50 Johnny bass, and one rocksole along with three ling cod. Jesse Rojas and Nicole Ouvique of Hanford took the jackpots with vermilions at 5 and 6 pounds. Out of Port San Luis and Patriot Sport Fishing, the Patriot and Phenix were out on Monday with 51 passengers for rockfish limits consisting of 30 vermilion, 9 copper, 6 Boccaccio, 37 Bolina, 385 assorted rockfish, 1ocean whitefish, 10 treefish, 1 canary, and 2 ling cod to 7 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

Others

Delta/Stockton

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

There are hints of the arrival of fall in the Sacramento-Delta, and more and more salmon are starting to hold a bit long on their journey from the Golden Gate into the upper Sacramento River and tributaries. The shorelines in Suisun Bay along with below the Freeport Bridge in the north Delta are starting to produce multiple big salmon on a daily basis. Striped bass action is picking up, both for those soaking big baits in Suisun Bay and for those shallow trolling in Broad Slough. After months of inactivity in the Delta, sturgeon fishermen are returning to upper and lower Suisun Bay to target diamondbacks as interest in salmon and halibut fishing in the bay is starting to wane.

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “There has been a good number of salmon coming through the Sacramento River, and trollers are scoring with Brad’s Cut Plugs, Flatfish, or Silvertron or similar spinners while those jigging are finding improved action with Slammer Minnows or P-Line Laser Minnows. Jose Nunez of Sacramento landed a limit weighing 20 and 24 pounds jigging with a Slammer Minnow below the bridge. The majority of salmon have been in the 20- to 30-pound range with an occasional smaller one around 15 pounds. Most fishermen are either launching out of Clarksburg or Stan’s Marina above Garcia Bend as the Garcia Bend Launch Ramp is closed until 2021. Striped bass have also been moving in, and live mudsuckers or jumbo minnows are working near the Rio Vista Bridge and in Liberty Island. The Sacramento Deep Water Channel is another good option for striped bass. Catfish are also in the Deep Water Channel along with Lisbon Slough with chicken livers or nightcrawlers. Smallmouth bass fishing has slowed down as the water temperatures are cooling, but there are bluegill available in every slough with waxworms, red worms, or jumbo red worms.”

In the Old Sacramento River, Sylvia Vieira of Vieira’s Riverside Bait near Isleton said, “Our parking lot was filled by 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, and I keep telling boaters to get here early to get a spot. We started to see a few more salmon this week with the majority of action taking place upriver near KoKet’s Marina and Walnut Grove. The water temperature has dropped, and the action will continue to improve as the water cools further.”

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, was also in the north Delta this week, and he was filming a promotion for the upcoming Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge. Fong said, “We caught the heck out of them using the Yamamoto Cowboy along with chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. Warren Trumbly hooked a 5-pound northern largemouth on a Senko, but there is so much grass up north that in some locations 9 out of 10 casts would come back with grass. We ended up with over 50 bass, and I plan on heading back down again this week.”

Clyde Wands, shallow trolling expert, finally got the opportunity to fish for stripers his favorite way as he found a shallow Rat-L-Trap bite in Broad Slough. He started out on the San Joaquin and found the conditions less to his liking so he thought he could find the stripers on the shallow troll. They picked up linesides to 8 pounds, but the stripers are scattered. He said, “The grass was bad in certain areas.”

Dave Houston, striper trolling enthusiast, said, “Things picked up a little bit for us today as there was no grass, light wind and comfortable temperature for fishing. We start off in the San Joaquin for no fish, then moved over to the Sacramento River. Our first troll was outside Decker for no fish, but we did lose a lure and it seems like I donate one there way too often. We weren’t a lot of fish on the Sacramento and in Broad Slough and getting them to go was another story. Every time we caught a fish and went back to work that area the fish scattered and they were gone which made it very difficult to log numbers. I found some fish shallow, but they wouldn’t go for us and Clyde Wands came over and put on a clinic, catching fish right in front of us. We ended up with eight keepers and they came on a variety of deep diver colors.”

Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors went north towards Liberty Island for a combination striped bass/northern largemouth bass trip, and he said, “There were a lot of small fish out there, and we must have landed 40 largemouths in the 2-pound range using white swim jigs with a Reaction Innovation’s Skinny Dipper trailer. There was a young man on my boat, and we put him onto a white fluke, and he probably had 20 fish on the fluke. For striped bass, we threw the Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil for the most success as they weren’t interested in the Wood Bombers. There were some larger fish in the 10-pound range swirling behind the lures, but they weren’t committing to eating. There is a lot of debris in the water with wood and trees for some reason.”

In Suisun Bay, Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait and Tackle said, “I went down to 1st Street on Sunday morning, and it was crowded with fishermen throwing Vee-Zee or Flying C spinners. People told me that they were only catching striped bass, but then I would look down and see a salmon on a stringer. Striped bass has been improving with numerous smaller fish, and sturgeon fishermen are starting to show up. Ron Reisinger of Chico went into the shallows on Saturday, and he caught and released two legal sturgeon to 56 inches, and the big fish ran him around the boat three times. When you hook a sturgeon in shallow water, they will make you work since they have nowhere to go.”

Dave Sharp of Marina Bait and Tackle in Suisun City confirmed the good shallow trolling bite in Broad Slough. He said, “A number of trollers have been starting out in the San Joaquin and then working their way through Broad Slough into the Sacramento River to the West Bank. Shallow trolling has been far more productive than running deep-divers, but the stripers scatter once you hook up and you have to go find them once again. Striped bass fishing has been on and off, but there have been more and more sturgeon fishermen out there. We sold 6 buckets of ghost shrimp over the weekend, and sturgeon to 59.5 inches were reported. The salmon bite is picking up as when I drive over the Sacramento River Bridge in Rio Vista on my way to work, I am seeing 30 to 40 boats out there trolling for salmon. All of a sudden, the boats are showing up.”

Captain Zach Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures will be taking an exploratory sturgeon trip this week as the transition is in its infancy from the bay, and he will operate his catch-and-release trips out of Pittsburg within the next month. He will be joined by Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing in Pittsburg as mid-October is the target date for the six-packs to start operating.

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.

The conditions are changing quickly on the San Joaquin-Delta as the water temperature has dropped at least five degrees in the past week due to constant overcast conditions from the heavy smoke along with cool evening temperatures. This has represented a major change from triple-digit temperatures just a few weeks prior. The largemouth bass are getting active, and the one major key has been the tide. Tournaments are returning to the Delta out of various marinas, and the next big events are the Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge out of Russo’s Marina on October 3rd/4th and the Best Bass Tournaments Tournament of Champions out of Russo’s on October 10th/11th.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, was pleased with the tremendous turnout for last weekend’s tournaments out of Russo’s Marina, and he said, “I was out on the Delta on Thursday, and we found a good bite with the Boom Boom swimbait with an underspin along with the ima Pinjack and Squarebill crankbaits in Hot Craw. When the tide is high, we throw the Squarebill to the bank as the fish are moving up, and the Squarebill is a shallow runner, but the real key is finding the bass on the low tide. When the tide is out, the structure is not present, and it is a matter of ‘puffing the weeds.” In other words, you use the deeper diving Pinjack to tick the weeds, sending off a cloud of sediment just like a crawdad moving through the weeds. The bass sense the movement with their lateral lines, and they can’t resist striking.” There was a better grade of largemouth bass landed during Sunday’s tournament despite having 60 plus boats instead of the 92 on Saturday due to a longer period of the high tide. There were bass over 7 pounds weighed in along with the big fish at 9.96 pounds.”

Dan Mathisen of Dan Mathisen Outdoors said, “There are a few stripers around, and fishermen are scoring by drifting bluegill around Eddo’s Marina, in Broad Slough, and around Brown’s Island. The schools are scattered, and there was a large school of small stripers that came out of Dutch Slough this past week.”

In the south Delta, H and R Bait in Stockton continues to receive a steady supply of fresh shad, and the months of October and November is prime time for soaking shad in the Delta. Bluegill and redear perch remain thick along the south Delta sloughs with solid action off of Eight Mile Road, Bacon Island Road, or Whiskey Slough Road with meal worms, red worms, jumbo red worms, or mini-crawlers on a drop-shot rig.

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

Trout plants

By California Department of Fish and Wildlife as conditions allow.

Fresno County: Kings River below Pine Flat Dam

Inyo County: Bishop Creek Lower, Lone Pine Creek, Owens River section 2 and Pleasant Valley Reservoir

Events

Results

Don Pedro – Manteca Bassin’ Buddies - September 19th: 1st – Jeff Cissel/Clayton Lauchland – 9.09; 2nd: Bill Martin/Marshall Horseley – 7.81; 3rd – Wes Marks/Frank Contreras – 6.53.

McClure – Sierra Bass Club – September 19th: 1st: Dan Rippertela -9.96 (Big Fish – 5.53); 2nd: Chris Jones – 7.52; 3rd – Darrell Barnett – 6.65.

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Hook, Line, and Sinker – September 20th: 1st: A. Sanchez/D. Sanchez – 21.76; 2nd: N. Sterud/J. Rodgers – 21.02 (Big Fish – 7.50); 3rd – R.Brinser/R. Brinser – 18.59.

Upcoming (subject to change)

Sept. 26/27: Delta/New Holland Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors

Sept. 26: Delta/Ladd’s Marina – 17-90 Bass Club

Sept. 27: Pardee – Gold Country Bass Club

Oct.r 3/4: Delta/Russo’s Marina – Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge; McClure – Kings River Bass Club

Oct. 3: Nacimiento – American Bass Association

Oct. 4: Delta/Wimpy’s Marina – Central Valley Anglers Salmon Derby

This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 10:52 AM.