Fishing report, Nov. 18-24: Striper bite best in Aqueduct, Delta; High Sierra update

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State and striper record-holder at Millerton Lake who now guides in the greater Fresno area. Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted.

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Best bets

California Aqueduct stripers biting, Merritt Gilbert said. Isabella bass, crappie and catfish keeping anglers busy, Pete Cormier reported. New Melones bass on tap, Kyle Wise said. Delta stripers and bass action good, Randy Pringle reported. San Francisco crabs, rockfish and stripers available, Jerad Davis said.

Valley

West-side waterways

Striper 3 Catfish 3

Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “The northern section of the aqueduct from Manning and Fairfax avenues to Kettleman City remain outstanding for striped bass with ripbaits, jerkbaits, flukes and small swimbaits. Lucky Craft Pointer 110s or Duo Realis in white or bone patterns are working best along with Neo Pearl if you can find them. Anglers are reporting up to 25 stripers to 7 pounds per outing.”

In the southern section of the aqueduct in Kern County, Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait in Bakersfield said, “There have been some huge stripers landed in the aqueduct in the past two weeks at 32 and 28 pounds, and it seems that everything is producing. We continue to sell lots of flukes along with Lucky Craft Pointers or Diawa SP Minnows. Sardines, anchovies, blood worms, and jumbo minnows are also producing.” Catfishing is good with chicken livers, live minnows, cut baits, and Triple S Dip Bait.

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

Bass fishing remains exceedingly slow, and it took around 10 pounds for four fish to take the recent River Rats tournament. A few quality largemouth bass are taken over isolated rockpiles on spoons at 30 feet in depth. Catfish are a solid option with chicken livers or nightcrawlers from the banks. The lake level remains at 7% with the green tinge of an algae bloom.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Hensley Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2

Similar to Eastman, bass fishing continues to be extremely slow with few anglers heading to the lake. Catfish are the top option with chicken livers or nightcrawlers near the dam area. The lake held at 15% with some areas of algae.

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 1

The shad schools have scattered, but once the schools are located, bass anglers are scoring with flutter spoons over the bait. Spotted bass are feeding heavily on the shad. Woods Creek has been loaded with shad, but the shad are scattered throughout the main lake. Trout trolling was slower this week, perhaps due to the full moon, and the best action remains in open water as the water temperature was at 66 degrees. Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing anticipates the recent cold front and winds will drop the temperature further, moving the rainbows toward the surface. He plans on breaking out his leadcore this week. The lake held at 68%.

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 – 691-7008

Lake Isabella/Bakersfield area

Bass 3 Trout 2 Crappie 3 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2

Cormier said, “Local fishermen are gearing up for the planting of trout at Ming and the River Walk next week by the Department of Fish and Wildlife along with the private plants at Buena Vista. Power Bait has been very popular, and it is important to come and get it as it has been hard to obtain from the suppliers. Lake Isabella continues to draw crappie fishermen to the South Fork with minnow, and bass action is also good with deep-diving crankbaits, plastics on the drop-shot, or jigs over the isolated rockpiles near the Flume, Boulder Gulch, and Engineer’s Point. The bass are holding around the boulders.”. Catfishing remains solid with nightcrawlers, live minnows, mackerel, or Triple S Dip Bait.

The Kern River from Tulare County to Lake Isabella is open,and plants above the dam in the upper Kern are scheduled for the week of Nov. 22. Salmon eggs, live crickets, nightcrawlers, or Panther Martins are all working for the holdovers and plants. Lake Ming and the River Walk are scheduled to planted the week of Nov. 22 along with Brite Valley in the Tehachapis.

Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket in Bakersfield (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 lake remains extremely low at 5%, and the best bass action is over the isolated rockpiles with plastics on the drop-shot along with spoons over the shad schools near the bottom of the shallow lake.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Lake Success

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company said, “There have been a number of bank and boat fishermen on the lake, and anglers are scoring with crankbaits and plastics on the split-shot along with spoons in deeper water over the shad schools.” The Porterville Bass Club held a tournament at the lake on Saturday. The lake remains very low at 7%.

In the Tule River, Stokke said, “The warmer weather has clearly helped, and trout fishing is excellent on either flies or spinners such as Panther Martins.” The Sequoia National Forest has partially reopened, and information on the current closure and open areas is available at fs.usda.gov/sequoia.

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

McClure Reservoir

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

The bass bite had been steadily improving up to the recent cold front. Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing reported the bass went to the bottom with the cold spell, and smaller plastics in the 2- to 3-inch range worked best while previously they had been biting the larger 5- to 7-inch worms. Quarter-ounce G-Money jigs with a small profile trailer are also working along with Neko-rigs. There is a medium-diving ripbait bite in the early mornings and late evenings in the upper lake. Mitch Mitcheltree of the Sierra Bass Club said, “It was a tough bite during our club tournament on Saturday, and the bass are hard to find as many are suspended and hard to catch. But, find the bait, and you will find the fish.” Trout fishing remains slow with few trollers trying. The lake dropped to 38%. The Bagby, Horseshoe Bend and McClure Point North launch ramps are closed due to water levels.

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

McSwain Reservoir

Trout 2

The last trout plant occurred at the end of October, and trout fishing remains fair from banks at the Handicapped Docks, the Brush Pile, and the peninsula by the Marina has with various colors of trout dough bait, inflated nightcrawlers, or silver/blue Kastmasters. The lake levels remain high.

Call: McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534

Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River

Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 2 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2

The bass bite remains extremely tough with Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun reporting experienced anglers are working up to five hours for three spotted bass less than 13 inches. Catfish to 2.5 pounds are taken on live crawdads. The lake rose slightly to 33%.

Park hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sycamore Island is closed until Feb. 5.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass 3 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1

The shad schools remain thick in the coves, and it has been difficult to keep the spotted bass off of the spoons intended for trout. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service said, “I have been working from 30 to 60 feet, and I landed a 6-pound largemouth at 65 feet in 280 feet of water on a Speedy Shiner. The trout and bass are loading up on the shad which are everywhere.” For bass, spoons, small swimbaits, plastics on the drop-shot, or spy baits are all working over the abundant shad schools. The Glory Hole and Tuttletown boat launches are open, but the Angels Cove launch ramp is closed. The lake held at 62%.

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 1 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun reported a very tough bass bite with anglers struggling for limits to 7 pounds. Everything is on the bottom with finesse techniques although spoons are working over the shad schools at 30 to 60 feet. The lake had been giving up larger limits to 14 pounds within the past month, but the bite has slowed considerably. Catfish are taken on cut baits, chicken livers, or nightcrawlers. The lake held at 21%.

In the lower Kings, the flows remain consistent with the lake stabilizing. No plants are scheduled in the coming weeks, but a few holdovers from previous plants are taken on a variety of offerings in the slower moving water with a faster edge.

Bass 101 is holding a fundraiser tournament for Valley Children’s Hospital at the lake on Nov. 21, and they are in search of both fishermen to participate and additional sponsors. All sponsors and/or raffle prizes are welcome. Information is available from Mark Corrente at 284-2768.

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

Joe Juane of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported jumbo minnows have been popular along with blood and pile worms, and the minnow fishermen are drifting the bait into the shad schools. He said, “Small swimbaits such as Keitechs along with jerkbaits such as Lucky Craft Pointers in the 100- or 110-size in shad patterns are also very popular. In the forebay, fishermen are using similar baits, but the catch ratio is 5 shakers to 1 striped bass over 18 inches. There are a lot of smaller fish in the forebay, but the action has been good.”

Roger George of Roger George Guide Service in Fresno said, “The fishing in the big lake has been tough overall with the rain, recent cold front, and falling water blamed for the sporadic bite. I’ve had a lot of experienced anglers who are fishing every way you can: minnows, bait, topwater, jigging or trolling telling me they’re having a tough time even finding fish some days. I scouted last Tuesday, and I’ve never had such a hard time finding fish in the last two years. Several other experienced fishermen that I talked to were perplexed as well. Although I was mostly scouting, it was the first blank for me in four years, and it was the same for the guys I talked to later. I fished again on Thursday with a guest and it was slow, but improved. We caught over 10 schoolies with one surprise, a fat 36-inch, 19.2-pound striper released on the Seaqualizer that hit at about 45 feet. We used Lucky Crafts just about all day in the Pearl Shad color. It is important for fishermen to use the Bends Mender hollow needle to deflate deep bloated fish. These fish float once they come up, and they can’t go down till their air bladder is carefully punctured. I’ve been told recently that some anglers have reported seeing boats surrounded by small floating dying stripers that were released without carefully piercing the air bladder. The Bends Mender hollow needle is available online at Tacklewarehouse. The water temperatures are in the low 60s with around 5 feet of water clarity.” George is a proponent of catch-and-release of the large striped bass.

At San Luis, there are three wind warning and lake closure lights near the Basalt Entrance Station, Quien Sabe Point and the Romero Visitor Center. At the O’Neill Forebay, the lights are located near the old Medeiros boat ramp and above the South Beach Area. Amber lights signify caution conditions for winds or other concerns while red lights indicate the lake is closed to boating and all vessels must immediately vacate the lake.

The main lake held at 45%.

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

High Sierra

Sierra National Forest-controlled areas remain closed until at least Nov. 24. Updated information on access is available at fs.usda.gov/sierra.

Bass Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1

The private areas of the lake are open. The Sheriff’s boat is still operational, and boaters must possess the motor permit. Gilbert said, “Bass fishing has been decent once the right spot is found for spotted bass to 3 pounds on plastics on the drop-shot. Anglers have to work through a number of locations before finding bass.” Trout trolling is decent with Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger or blade/’crawler combinations. The lake dropped to 68%.

Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool

Edison is at 25%, Florence is at 21% and Mammoth Pool is at 23%.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake

Kokanee 1 Trout 2

All access to Shaver Lake remains restricted per order of the Southern California Edison. Road access to Huntington Lake and Camp Sierra is available for residents only during specific times with a permit. Access is available for residents only during specific times with a permit.

Shaver rose slightly to 70% with Huntington dropping to 78%.

Call: Dick Nichols – Dick’s Fishing Charters at Shaver Lake Sports 841-2740; Todd Wittwer – Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Dinkey Creek Inn 841-3435

Wishon/Courtright

Trout 2

Road access on the McKinley Grove Road to Wishon and Courtright is available for residents only during specific times with a permit.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Rockfish 2 Striper 2 Crab 3 Sand dabs 2 Surf perch 2

Dungeness crab limits have been the rule out of Half Moon Bay with Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete returning with 22 limits of crab along with 180 rockfish for 19 anglers and 3 crew on Monday. The rockfish bite has been ‘up and down,’ and it has been a matter of staying on the reefs to get close to limits. Dennis Baxter said, “We are averaging between 15 and 20 crab per pot, but overall, it looks like the commercial crab season may be limited to a single pull before the boats depart for richer waters. There were 180 boats launching out of the Half Moon Bay harbor on a weekday due to the good weather, and all of the private boats are returning with crab limits. The rockfish were a slow pick, but once they decided to bite, we were able to load up with some quality coppers and Bolinas cod.” Baxter took crab-only trips on Sunday for limits of Dungeness on both trips.

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat has been focusing in the shallows from 90 to 150 feet near San Gregorio or Martin’s Beach, and they returned with 21 limits of both rockfish and crab on two trips over the weekend. He said, “Our pots have been stuffed with as many as 39 crab.”

The Ankeny Street focused on ling cod on Monday, and they were able to land 10 lings to 14 pounds along with 120 rockfish and only 96 crab for 16 anglers while the Queen of Hearts put in 14 limits of Dungeness crab along with 121 rockfish, also on Monday.

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

Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Crab 3 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing in Monterey reported improved crab counts on their popular combination trips, and they found quality widow rockfish on Sunday in addition to around 5/crab per angler. He said, “We are happy with the crab counts, and the people keep coming out. On our crab combination trips, we fish the local reefs for a mixed grade of rockfish. Our shallow pots have been outfishing the deep strings, and the crab counts have been climbing to between 4 and 5 crab per angler. We spent some time targeting bonita this past week, and we were able to land 10 Bonita with another 3 on Thursday, but they moved out to deep water over the weekend. We are close to being full next week, and our price of $110/angler is creating quite an interest. There is some room on the weekends toward the end of the month of November, but the weekdays still have limited room.”

Allen Bushnell of the Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “Joe Baxter from Santa Cruz took his crew up to Half Moon Bay this week, where the crab are more numerous and you don’t have to fish so deep. Many shore anglers even cast crab snares from the jetty at Princeton Harbor for legal Dungeness crab. Baxter reported, “We got them in 180 feet of water southwest of the harbor. We had a 10-crab per pot average, using fish carcasses for bait. Lots of boats and people. The parking lot was full by 6:00 a.m. on a weekday.” Always good for an accurate overview, Bayside Marine’s Todd Fraser reported, “Fishing for rockfish and lingcod has been good up the coast near Davenport. Crab anglers are catching well in 180-240 feet of water here in Santa Cruz. There were a few nice halibut caught near Four-Mile Beach. The winds have been down and there is no swell.” The recent big swell had a bonus effect of drastically altering the sand distribution along the shores of Monterey Bay. All our beaches show increased structure with many good holes and rip currents to attract and hold barred surf perch. Perchmeister Craig Pappas fished a local spot in Santa Cruz Wednesday and caught not one, but two giant BSP’s in the two-pound class. Other surfcaster reports indicate 10 to 15 perch of small or medium size being caught on a given outing was not unusual this week.”

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

San Francisco Bay

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

It’s been limits, limits, and more limits out of the San Francisco Bay party boats as the Dungeness crab are climbing into the pots on the deep strings. The commercial crab season has been delayed until at least December 1st, and the delay allows the recreational boats to load up. Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady out of Emeryville has been scoring limits on every trip, and he returned with 20 limits of rockfish and crab on Monday. The Happy Hooker out of Berkeley also scored 20 limits of rockfish and crab along with 4 ling cod to 9 pounds while the Lovely Martha out of San Francisco loaded up with 21 limits of rockfish and crab. Most party boats are taking advantage of the good weather to head to the Farallon Islands, and the two boats out of California Dawn Sport Fishing combined for an amazing 50 ling cod to 26 pounds along with 48 limits of rockfish and crab. The commercial season has been delayed from the scheduled November 15th opener until at least December 1st due to the presence of humpback whales off of the California coast as the commercial fishery has been responsible for the vast majority of whale entanglements. The majority of humpbacks have been out in the deeper water where the crab counts are the highest.

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael has been taking crab-only trips for limits with the best producing pots on the deep string.

Inside the bay, after a few slow days on the white sea bass front, the ghosts seemed to return on Monday with Captain John Badger of Barbarian Sport Fishing finding a few in addition to crab limits. The big tides pushed the white sea bass to parts unknown, but Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excursions, aka ‘The Ghost Whisperer’ out of San Francisco Pier 45 will find them if they are in the bay.

Ed Liu of Bay Tackle in El Cerrito reported continued good action for striped bass from the East Bay shorelines from Emeryville east to the Carquinez Bridge with the Z-Man or KVD swimbaits in white or chartreuse. He said, “The problem over the past few days is that the temperature dropped to the 42 to 45-degree range, and the stripers are short-striking. Many of my paddletails have come back empty as the linesides aren’t really committing to the bite. Prior to the colder temperatures, we were averaging around 25 to 35 stripers in the mornings before work in the 17 to 28-inch range with most in the 20’s’, but the fish the past few days have been smaller. They are identical short, stubby stripers with a big belly. If your drag is too tight, you won’t hook them as most of the hooks have been coming up on the outside lips. If the temperature warms up slightly, the bite should come back on where it was before. The Marin side remains slow, and this is very surprising as this is the time for big stripers to come out of the Petaluma River, Sonoma Creek, the Napa River, and in San Pablo Bay at the Hamilton Air Field and McGinnis Park in San Rafael. White sea bass have been found along the Alameda Rockwall in addition to the central bay between Alcatraz and Angel Island.”

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 Surf perch 2

Rockfishing remains the story out of the San Luis Obispo ports, and near-limits of rockfish with extremely limited ling cod counts were the story over the weekend. Out of Morro Bay Landing, the Avenger, Starfire, and Endeavor were out on Sunday with 63 anglers for near-limits of rockfish consisting of 302 vermilion to 7 pounds, 102 copper, 10 Boccaccio to 9 pounds, and 171 assorted rockfish. Also out of Morro Bay, Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay, two boats were out on Sunday with 42 fishermen for 67 vermilion rockfish to 6 pounds, 268 assorted rockfish, 12 copper, 10 Boccaccio, and 5 ocean whitefish. Out of Port San Luis and Patriot Sport Fishing, the Flying Fish and Patriot were out on Sunday with 36 passengers for limits of rockfish consisting of 18 vermilion, 5 copper rockfish, 194 assorted rockfish, 1 Boccaccio, and 3 ling cod to 7 pounds. Both ports are running a variety of trips from ½- day to long range ventures far from the harbor. Rockfish season ends Dec. 31.

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

King tides brought heavy current to the Sacramento-Delta over the past week, and the resulting conditions made some changes in the action. Striped bass has been best on bait while trollers have been struggling during the period of minus tides while sturgeon are being pushed out of the deep water into the calmer shallows. Salmon are still trickling through the system although most anglers have given up and are targeting alternate species. The big tides draw debris off of the surface and break out the hyacinths from the sloughs into the main river channels.

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “Stripers are running right now, particularly around Liberty Island and the Sacramento Deep Water Channel. Blood worms, pile worms, sardines coated with garlic spray, mudsuckers, and jumbo minnows are all working for the linesides. A few sturgeon have been taken in Cache or Prospect Sloughs with eel/pile worm combinations or ghost shrimp while a few diehards are still out there targeting salmon, either from the banks with heavy spinners or trolling Brad’s Cut Plugs behind an 11-inch Pro Troll E-Chip dodger. Crappie are found around structure in the northern Delta and back sloughs with medium minnows or Bobby Garland’s crappie jigs. Bluegill and red ear perch are also in the sloughs with red worms, meal worms, or jumbo red worms.”

There are some salmon moving into the Delta, and Tony Lopez of Benicia Bay reported 5 salmon came off of 1st Street at the end of the week, and they are ‘catching fish’ down there. Striped bass have also been common on the Benicia shoreline. Sturgeon fishing has been decent with Ron Reisinger releasing a 54-inch diamondback on Wednesday on lamprey eel strips cut like a French fry.

The sturgeon have moved out of the deep water near Pittsburg, and Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing went into Montezuma Slough on Sunday for a slot-limit sturgeon along with a huge oversized estimated at 400 pounds along with 3 shakers. Gamez said, “There are still a lot of sturgeon in Pittsburg along with the Big Cut, but the only place I could get them to go was in the slough on salmon roe. Ghost shrimp was the bait on Saturday, but they didn’t bite the shrimp on Sunday. Lamprey eel had been good as well, but they wanted roe today. The huge oversized took us around 40 minutes to get to the boat to release, and there were a number of other great opportunities that were missed. You can’t hesitate on the reel-down technique of hooking a sturgeon.”

Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was out in the Big Cut on Monday, and they had 9 hook ups with 8 fish to the boat including two slot-limit sturgeon along with 7 undersized diamondbacks. They also had a big oversized come unbuttoned. Mitchell said, “The sturgeon were biting today, and there are a lot of fish in the area as the other six-packs are out here with me.”

Dave Houston was out with Clyde Wands this week for sturgeon as the striped bass action has been slow on the troll, and they released a 63-inch oversized on the Sacramento River.

Vince Borges of Vince Borges Outdoors was up in the north Delta near Liberty Island this week, and he said, “There is the opportunity for a big fish up in the shallows, and we caught and released around 15 stripers in the 5- to 10-pound range, mostly on swimjigs. I am looking forward to the weather changing as this will bring more and more striped bass into both the Sacramento and the San Joaquin systems. It seems that many of the stripers have left the bay with the colder water temperatures, and they are moving this way.”

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, was also up in Liberty Island this week, and he said, “I’m going to be concentrating on the San Joaquin now as there were more boats than I have ever seen up at Liberty. You have to know what you are doing up there since there are some treacherous high spots that you have to be aware of. We really haven’t had the weather to hold the stripers in the shallow water.”

Dave Sharp of Marina Bait and Tackle in Suisun City said, “The stripers are biting with these good tides, and they haven’t been picky on what they are eating. Mark Simpson landed a 36-inch striper in Suisun Slough on an eel/nightcrawler combination, and another pair of anglers caught and kept stripers over 20 pounds on mudsuckers in Montezuma Slough. The mouth of Suisun Slough and the Big Cut have been the best locations for sturgeon, and we are selling up to 8 buckets of ghost shrimp in a couple of days along with 20 pounds of grass shrimp. We are selling tons of pile worms, mudsuckers, and jumbo minnows as interest has been high. The sturgeon bite hasn’t been as hot as it was as the numbers of slot-limit fish seem to be diminishing, but there are a number of under- and oversized sturgeon released.”

The waters of the San Joaquin River are chilling, and the striped bass are migrating further and further into the system. In the tributary of the Mokelumne River, salmon continue to migrate towards the hatchery in response to pulse flows out of Lodi Lake with water from upstream reservoirs.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “For now, I will be targeting the deeper water locations in the San Joaquin. The water cooling down will draw the stripers up into the river systems, and they will have to make a determination at the split of the Sacramento and San Joaquin near Sherman Lake – do I head up the Sacramento or the San Joaquin? As the cooler water starts coming out of the south tributaries of the Stanislaus and the Tuolumne Rivers, there will be more striped bass moving into the San Joaquin and migrating to deep into the system. When they reach the mouth of the Mokelumne, they will continue on in the San Joaquin towards the Stockton Turning Basin. This happens every year as the shad migrates further into the system. For largemouth bass, shad patterns are the key, and with this weather change, you will catch unlimited numbers of 1- to 2-pound largemouths, but the bigger fish will be harder to find. The temperature cooling will slow down their metabolism, and it takes longer for the larger fish to acclimate to the temperature change. Everything in shad pattern is the key right now, and the ima Flit in Olive Herring or crankbaits with a stop- and go- motion are effective. Anything with a chartreuse line is a good choice.”

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, said, “The big tides have been good for the striped bass bite in the lower San Joaquin around Bullfrog Marina, Bacon Island, and Mildred Island with live bluegill if they can get them along with topwater lures, ripbaits, and jerkbaits in between the floating hyacinths. The big minus tides have drawn the hyacinth out of the dead-end sloughs, and Telegraph Slough near the Lodi waste water plant had been plugged with hyacinth which is now in the main channel. Drifting live bluegill or jumbo minnows on the smaller of the two outgoing tides in Washington Cut above Frank’s Tract is also a good option along with similar techniques in Potato Slough. The Mokelumne River is kicking out salmon higher in the system near the Interstate 5 Bridge and the mouth of the Consumnes, and those jigging spoons have been picking up salmon in the deep hole one-third mile upstream of the bridge. The pulse flows have been occurring over the past few weeks with a few weeks remaining, and the pulse flows are drawing the salmon up into the Mokelumne.”

Robbie Nash of Stockton, found his first salmon of the season on the Mokelumne River near the Interstate 5 Bridge. He said, “We jigged P-Line’s Laser Minnows from early light to 10:00 a.m. The low tide was around 9:30 a.m., and we started seeing some big splashed back down river around 100 yards below us about a ½-hour later. We decided to troll back on the incoming tide towards Wimpy’s Marina. Once we started, around 10 minutes into the troll, my fluorescent green/chrome Kwikfish went off, and this hen ripped off at least 100 years of line up river. I looked at the disappearing line in my spool and began to get nervous. My friend, Captain Dan Mitchell, got the boat in reverse, and I found vigorously to play catch-up. She went on a few more good runs before I was able to wear her out, and she was the only one caught during the day. The water temperature was 50 degrees, and it was clear and pretty much free of debris. I think there is a good opportunity to get them before the season ends. This was my first this season, and it made it all worth it.”

In the south Delta, H and R Bait in Stockton reported most fishermen have been heading to Whiskey Slough and Bacon Island Road with frozen shad as fresh shad has still been unavailable for the past several weeks.

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 3 Crappie 2 Bluegill 3

At Nacimiento, the reaction bite remains slow with the colder weather, but there is action on the bottom with small profile jigs, plastics on a Neko-rig or drop-shot in mid-range waters from 10 to 25 feet. Spooning over the suspended bait balls has also been a solid option. White bass remain scarce with the best action for those trolling small shad-patterned spoons. The lake rose slightly to 25%. A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. At Lopez, the largemouth bite remains challenging with the best action on finesse techniques such as plastics on a drop-shot or Texas-rig along with jigs. The reaction bite has dried up. Bluegill and red ear perch are found on mealworms, red worms, or minicrawlers around structure. A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. At Santa Margarita, the cold fronts have slowed down the reaction bite for largemouth bass, and the best action is on the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot or Texas-rig. Catfishing has been best with cut baits coated with garlic or nightcrawlers fished weightless. Panfish are taken on red worms, meal worms, or small ‘crawlers. Crappie are near submerged structure with minijigs or small swimbaits. At San Antonio, the Harris Creek ramp has new launching hours on Fridays from noon to 5 and from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There still hasn’t been much change over the several weeks as angler interest remains minimal. Catfish remain the best option with cut baits soaked in garlic, but the bluegill and red ear perch bite has been slow along with the smallmouth and largemouth bass. The lake held at 16%.

Events

The International Sportsmen’s Exposition scheduled for January 2021 at Cal Expo in Sacramento has been canceled due to the global pandemic, but it will return in 2022.

Tournament results

Don Pedro – Sierra Bass Club - November 14th: 1st- Chris Flamming – 10.42 (Big Fish – 2.90); 2nd – Ryan Reynolds – 10.32; 3rd – Chris Jones– 10.22.

Don Pedro –Valley Children’s Hospital Benefits Tournament – November 14th: 1st- Kevin Davidson/Cody Meyer – 13.69; 2nd – Larry and Kong Vang – 12.08 (Big Fish – 3.51); 3rd – Kevin Lee/Shadowns Vangyi – 11.85.

McClure – Christian Bass League – November 14th: 1st- Jim and Chad Oliver – 7.76 (Big Fish – 2.50); 2nd – Jim Welch and Mark Andrews – 7.26; 3rd – Jonathan Whitesitt/Chuck Fuller – 7.12.

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Hook, Line, and Sinker – November 15th: 1st- G. Skym/J. Skym – 16.59 (Big Fish – 6.16); 2nd – L. Fraser/N. Fraser – 16.02; 3rd –J. Trahn/A.Baumbach – 15.90.

Mark Corrente (Angler) and Jeff Green (Co-Angler) won the CA side at the TBF Southwest National Semi-finals at Shasta.

Upcoming tournaments (subject to change)

Nov. 21

Eastman- Kerman Bass Club

Pine Flat – Bass 101

Dec. 5

New Melones – Sonora Bass Anglers

Don Pedro – American Bass Association

McClure – Angler’s Press/Manteca Bassin’ Buddies

Pine Flat – Kerman Bass Club

Dec. 6

McClure – Fresno Bass Club

Success – Porterville Bass Club

Dec. 8

Pine Flat – Kings VIII Bass Club

Dec. 12

Don Pedro – Santa Clara Bass Busters/Contra Contra Bass Club

Pine Flat – Sierra Bass Club

Dec. 13

Delta/ Russo’s Marina – Hook, Line, and Sinker

McClure – Modesto Ambassadors

Pine Flat – Sierra Bass Club

Nacimiento – Good Ole Boys

Dec. 19

Nacimiento – American Bass Association