Fishing report, Jan. 13-19: Mixed limits at Shaver; trout plants at several lakes

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State (he still holds the school record). George guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake. Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted.

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Best bets

Delta sturgeon stacked up, Steve Mitchell reported. Don Pedro bass hitting, Ryan Cook said. Shaver mixed limits possible, Dick Nichols reported.

Valley

West-side waterways

Striper 2 Catfish 2

In the northern section of the California Aqueduct, Bill Sinclair of Striperz Gone Wild said, “The aqueduct has been slow with only a few keepers and mostly shakers. I think this has to do with this week’s weather front and colder overall weather.”

In the southern section of the aqueduct, Magnum Flukes in pearl white on a jig head are working for striped bass while catfish are taken on dead bait with scent on a rig with enough weight to keep it on the bottom.

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 2 Crappie 2

The lake is extremely low at 7%, but two separate trout plants from the Department of Fish and Wildlife are scheduled this week. This might stir up the swimbait bite for the big largemouth bass which have been dormant for so long. Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun reported some crappie action for those working throughout the night with crappie jigs tipped with Crappie Nibbles. He said, “Bass fishing has been very tough, but everyone once in a while, there is a single good fish landed.”

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Hensley Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2

Minimal change with few anglers targeting the lake with tournaments at Don Pedro, McClure, and Pine Flat over the past weekend. The low water levels have created a disincentive to launch here. This lake also needs a flushing from precipitation in the watershed which has yet to occur this season. Similar to Eastman, a trout plant is scheduled for this week, and this should bring out the big bass to chase the planted rainbows. The lake held at 16%.

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

Lake Don Pedro

Bass 3 Trout 2 Kokanee 2 King salmon 2 Crappie 2

The Best Bass Tournaments held the first event of two consecutive weekends, and 70 teams competed with the winning weight over 13 pounds. Tournament director Kevin Cheek reported the best action came on the bottom with spoons since the shad are holding the bottom at depths from 40 to 70 feet. Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing has been on a solid jig bite with ½- to ¾-ounce G Money jigs with the best quality found at 5 to 15 feet over main lake points or rockpiles to 60 feet. The bass are feeding on crawdads.

Locating the bait schools is the key for trout trollers who are pulling shad-patterned spoons from the surface to 20 feet. The lake held at 67%.

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 2 Trout 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 3 Bluegill 2

Cold water has slowed the largemouth bass bite, but there is some action with deep-diving crankbaits in crawdad patterns at depths to 35 feet along main lake points. The crappie bite has slowed considerably, but there is a good catfish bite with Triple S Dip Bait, mackerel, sardines, chicken livers or nightcrawlers. French Gulch Marina hosts the only launch ramp with the low lake level. A trout plant at the lake is scheduled for the week of Jan. 17. The lake held at 17%.

Buena Vista was planted last week with rainbows to 11 pounds along with Lightning trout, and there have been some quality trout landed on trout dough bait in various colors.

The upper Kern River will be planted this week along with the weeks of Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, and a plant in the lower Kern below the dam will also occur this week. In the upper river, cold water flows have kept the planted trout holding in the deep holes with live crickets, salmon eggs or nightcrawlers drifted through the pools working best.

Trout plants are scheduled at Brite Valley, River Walk, and Ming during the week of Jan. 24.

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

A trout plant will occur this week, and the shorelines should be lined with anglers soaking Power Bait or nightcrawlers along with casting spoons. The planted rainbows should get the largemouth bass moving as the bass are still holding in the deepest parts of the lake, and spoons, jigs or plastics on the drop-shot at 30 feet are the best techniques. The lake held at 6%.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Lake Success/Tule River

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

A trout plant is scheduled for this week, and similar to Eastman, Hensley and Kaweah, the planted rainbows will be bringing shoreline anglers out to soak Power Bait or nightcrawlers. The bass remain in deep water, and jigs, plastics on the drop-shot or deep-diving crankbaits on a slow presentation remain the best techniques. The lake held at 9%.

A trout plant is scheduled for Murry Park Pond in Porterville this week.

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

McClure remains extremely tough for bass fishing as the fish landed are thin with minimal girth. Eighty boats arrived on Saturday to fish a tournament, and the bass bite was extremely tough with the low water in the lake. The winning limit came in at just over 9 pounds with an average weight at 5.75 pounds and average bass weighed in at 1.36 pounds. Finesse techniques such as Z-Man’s Big TRD on a Ned rig or Zoom Trick Worm on a dart head were productive on a very slow presentation. The lake is full of planted rainbow trout, leading Clara Ricabal of Simms Outdoors to land a pair of trout along with 4/5th of her team’s limit during the tournament. Barrett’s Cove Marina is closed for the winter, and the Bagby, Horseshoe Bend and McClure Point North launch ramps are closed due to water levels. The lake held at 37%.

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

McSwain Reservoir

Trout 2

The campgrounds at both Lake McClure and McSwain are temporarily closed. There still hasn’t been much change on the trout front as the last plant took place at the end of October. Trout fishing remains very slow from banks at the Handicapped Docks, the Brush Pile and the peninsula by the Marina with various colors of trout dough bait, inflated nightcrawlers or silver/blue Kastmasters.

Call: McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534

Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River

Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 2 Crappie 2

Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun said, “Millerton is fishing a little better than Pine Flat, and the best action seems to be from Finegold on up as the main lake remains slow. Everything has been on the bottom with finesse techniques of plastics on the drop-shot or Neko-rig. One angler landed nine spotted bass to 3 pounds working from 25 to 35 feet with finesse presentations. A few big balls of American shad have been seen on the meter above Finegold, but there haven’t been any striped bass reported or observed.”

State park hours at Millerton are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A trout plant at Fresno Woodward Park is scheduled for the week of Jan. 24.

Sycamore Island reopened earlier than anticipated this past Friday, Jan. 8, and there are seven inland ponds and nearly 3 miles of riverbank for fishing opportunities. A trout plant in the Trout Pond occurred this past week. Sycamore Island will be open Fridays through Sundays and state holidays through Nov. 11. Seasonal hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. January, February, March, October and November; 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. April and September; and 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. May through August. Entry fees are $9 per vehicle and $5 per trailer. Annual passes are available for $85.

The River Parkway Trust is offering contactless payment for day-use passes at riverparkway.org. The organization asks that guests practice social distancing and wear a cloth face covering when entering the bait shop or when unable to maintain a 6-foot distance. For more information about Sycamore Island, visit riverparkway.org or Sycamore Island Park on Facebook.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1

Bass fishing has been up and down as the cold water has created a more reluctant bite. Ryan Cook said, “I have been scoring with 5- and 6-inch Yamamoto Kut Tails on a Neko-rig along secondary points or in creek channels at depths from 20 to 40 feet.” John Liechty of Xperience Bass Fishing Guide Service said, “The past few months were outstanding, and I thought the bite was going to continue, but you have to work to find the isolated schools of bass. They seem to be eating crawdads as even if you catch one on a shad-patterned lure, you might see crawdad whiskers sticking out of their mouths. I have been putting in numbers with plastics on a shaky head, but I have been able to land spotted bass to 6 pounds on swimbaits.” Kenji Nakagawa of Lodi has been finding good success with the Float N’Fly technique. The Sonora Bass Club held a small tournament on the lake over the weekend, and the average bass weight was 2.11 pounds with a winning limit over 13 pounds. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service has been looking for the holdover rainbows after weeks of finding only the recently planted rainbows, and he located where they have been hiding out for the past few weeks. However, they were gone again on Saturday, and his 3-pound rainbow was the only holdover weighed in during a two-day Costco tournament. He said, “I was back out on Sunday, and we limited out by 9:30 a.m. with planted rainbows using Optimizer Jr. or Popeye spoons.” The Glory Hole and Tuttletown boat launches are open at the middle ramp, but the Angels Cove launch ramp is closed. The New Melones Lake Marina store is closed for the season including boat rentals. The lake rose slightly to 65%.

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

Two club tournaments were held on the lake over the weekend, and the size of the winning limits were in the 7-pound range, dropping precipitously from this high point. The bass bite is very tough with the best action found with finesse presentations of plastics on the drop-shot or Ned-rig at depths to 40 feet. A few trout trollers are finding limited success at depths to 60 feet with Needlefish in shad patterns on the main lake. A few crappie are found on minijgs near Deer Creek. The lake held at 22%. A trout plant at Avocado Lake is scheduled for the week of Jan. 17.

The lower Kings will be planted this week along with the weeks of Jan. 17 and Jan. 24. Interest in trout fishing from the bank has been high with Panther Martin spinners, salmon eggs or nightcrawlers for the recently planted rainbows.

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’s Guide Service reported a slow bite for trollers as the stripers continue to suspend and remain inactive for most of the day. He said, “I tried just about every lure and color pattern this past week, and it was one of the worst days I have experienced in a while. Overall, the bite has been tough for the last few weeks with some spurts by topwater anglers for school-sized linesides. The bait and live minnow action has not been very good, either. I’m hoping that the rising water levels and a stable warming trend will bring the bite back in line with what we normally expect at this time of year.” The lake rose to 48%.

In the O’Neill Forebay, Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle reported interest has been very high along the Highway 33 side of the impoundment with parked cars spread out from the bridge to the entrance on the opposite side of the lake. Most anglers are fishing bait with pile worms being the bait of choice for the small 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.

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

High Sierra

Access to the region is limited by the order of the U.S. Forest Service which has limited vehicle traffic on all roads within the Sierra National Forest. The closure has been extended for certain areas until Feb. 3. Updated information is available at fs.usda.gov/sierra.

Bass Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 1

A trout plant is scheduled this week, and bank fishing should improve around the Sheriff’s Tower with nightcrawlers or trout dough bait. Trolling is best with blade/’crawler combinations or Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a gold dodger at depths to 20 feet. Few bass fishermen are working the lake with the best action on plastics on a Neko-rig at 25 feet. The Sheriff’s boat is still operational, and boaters must possess the Motor Permit. The lake rose slightly to 48%.

Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool

Edison is at 22%, Florence at 8% and Mammoth Pool at 33%.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake

Kokanee 3 Trout 3

A dozen or so boats have been out on the lake on a daily basis, taking advantage of the clear weather. Terry Walton of Piedra and Chris Hansen of Tollhouse found great action catching and releasing brown trout to 18 inches and both rainbow trout and kokanee to 14 inches using Walton’s Bottom Line Tackle’s Sierra Gold spinners in orange/gold behind Bottom Line flashers or dodgers. Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “Other reports varied from a few trout/kokanee to a couple of limits depending upon the location, depth and tackle pattern. The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s plant of brown and golden trout are now of catchable size, and most of these have migrated to the south side of the lake.” Bank fishing has been slow as the planted trout are on the opposite side of the lake from the main shore access areas. Launch conditions can be seen via webcam at sierramarina.com/camera.html.

The lake held at 73%.

Road access to Huntington Lake and Camp Sierra is available for residents only during specific times with a permit. The lake dropped to 53%.

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

Striper 2 White sea bass 1 Crab 3 Sand dabs 2 Surf perch 2

A huge swell has been plaguing the California coast for the past week, creating dangerous surf conditions.

The commercial crab fishermen have dropped their pots with boats coming from Alaska, Washington and Oregon along with the local commercial fishermen, and it will be only a few days before the biomass is mopped up.

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat has found limits of Dungeness crab along with a healthy sand dab count on his crab/sand dab combination trips. He will continue to offer sand dab/petrale sole/Dungeness crab combination trips until the rockfish and salmon season starts in April.

Dungeness crab season lasts until June 30.

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

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Striper 2 Crab 2 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 2

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’s Fishing in Monterey said, “The swell has made for difficult conditions, but we have as many as two boats out on our crab/sand dab trips for decent action with around 40 sand dabs per angler along with a couple of crab. We will continue run these trips until April, weather and interest permitting.”

The annual Sand Crab Classic Surf Perch Derby will be held online this year with no entry fee. Participants can join on Facebook at Sand Crab Classic by entering a photo of any perch caught between Jan. 1 and March 13. Photos will document the length of the perch in inches for the longest fish. There are two divisions: adults and youth under 16, and the prizes include a large trophy, framed perch art by artist Amadeo Bachar and a Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project hooded sweatshirt. For information email scruzfishing@yahoo.com.

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

San Francisco Bay

Halibut 2 Striper 2 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2 Crab 2

A few party boats in the Bay Area fleet will be running crab-only or crab/sand dab combination trips this winter, and these include the Pacific Pearl out of Emeryville. Herring spawns are starting to make an appearance, and the next major spawn should take place around Jan. 28 full moon. The bay has slowed down considerably for both striped bass and sturgeon as Ed Liu of Bay Tackle in El Cerrito said, “The striped bass have vacated the East Bay after Monday’s rain, and we were just starting to pick up some larger striped bass in the 30-inch range before it rained. We have been getting some reports of 30-inch striped bass from shore near Hamilton Fields, but I would like to see pictures before I am all in on this report. Sturgeon are still holding in Suisun Bay with few fish in San Pablo Bay, and most of our anglers are heading to the east of the Carquinez Bridge to fish at the Ozol Pier, 5th Street in Benicia, Montezuma Slough, Pittsburg, and Antioch. There were a few herring spawns at Sausalito this week, and I expect some huge spawns on the next big tide with the full moon. We have sold around 30 cast nets in the past few days, and this is just at the beginning of the spawns. For the past eight months, there hasn’t been a pattern for striped bass although the past 7 to 8 years the bite has been very predictable. The bass seem to be far more aggressive on the smaller tides, and we aren’t catching anything when there is more than 5 feet of tide movement.”

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond was out on this past weekend, and he said, “We were all over San Pablo Bay from Buoy 7 to the Petaluma River Channel to two miles east of the Pumphouse, and we only had three keeper striped bass. There were no jumpers, and we observed only one sturgeon break the surface all day long.”

Reminder: White sturgeon may not be taken in the following described area between Jan. 1 and March 15: That portion of San Francisco Bay included within the following boundaries: A direct line between Pt. Chauncy (National Marine Fisheries Laboratory) and Pt. Richmond, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and a direct line between Pt. Lobos and Pt. Bonita.

Call: Captain Trent Slate Bite Me Charters (415) 307-8582; Captain Jerad Davis, Salty Lady (415) 760-9362; Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing (707) 655-6736; Happy Hooker (510) 223-5388

San Luis Obispo

Surf perch 2

The ports of Port San Luis and Morro Bay will be running nature trips and whale watching until the April 1 rockfish opener. The other action is surf perch from the piers and the beaches.

Call: Virg’s Landing (800) 762-5263; Patriot Sport Fishing (805) 595-4100; Morro Bay Landing 805-771-5500

Others

Delta/Stockton

Bass 2 Striper 2 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2

The sturgeon remain kegged up in the deep holes in the Pittsburg area, drawing anglers from throughout northern California to crowd over small areas of water in search of diamondbacks. Striped bass fishing is fair at best with live bait in the clear water, but the majority of linesides remain on the small side. The occasional limit of huge bass is caught and kept on live splittail in the area around Bay Point.

Sturgeon Report Cards for 2020 are due to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and they can be filled in online at ca.wildlifelicense.com/internetsales/LicenseNeedsHarvestReporting.

In the north Delta, Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport said, “We are still waiting for rain as the Sacramento River is low and clear. A few striped bass are found on live jumbo minnows, pile worms, sardines coated with garlic spray in the Deep Water Channel, but the best action has been around Rio Vista with jumbo minnows. It has been difficult to obtain mudsuckers, but this time of year it is always hit or miss with the mudsuckers. Red ear perch, crappie, or bluegill are in all of the sloughs with the clear water, and small minnows or crappie jigs are working for the slabs while the bluegill and perch are found on jumbo red worms, meal worms, or red worms. Sturgeon remains very spotty in the north Delta as we need more fresh water inflow to get them to move upstream in numbers.”

A group of fishermen helped by a hauling company removed a massive amount of trash from the banks around Liberty Island on Saturday.

The sturgeon holding around Pittsburg has led to a huge number of boat trailers filling the Pittsburg Marina parking lot as well as spreading out into the streets. The numbers of boats out there in a small concentrated area has made it difficult to land a big fish since it can get easily tangled up in someone else’s anchor line. Giving space to the side is important as opposed to anchoring on top of or below someone.

The sturgeon bite has been up and down, and after a slower day on Sunday, the diamondbacks decided to bite again on Monday with Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing posting limits out of Pittsburg Marina.

Captain Zach Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures will be focusing upon night trips in the near future as he is installing additional lights on his boat. Night trips are one way to avoid the heavy boat traffic. Medinas put 18-year old Kili Kaho’ohanohano of Forest Knolls onto three sturgeon caught and released on a recent trip. Gatecrasher is holding a special trip on Jan. 24 with mixed martial arts champions Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida and Uriah Faber on board.

Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was out both days over the weekend, and he said, “We lost two quality sturgeon on Sunday, but they didn’t bite as good on Sunday as they did on Saturday morning. The sturgeon are stacked up right outside of Pittsburg, and we anchored up in 50 feet of water right outside of the harbor. Saturday produced several bites in the early morning, and we allow our clients to attempt to set the hook if they prefer instead of setting the hook for them. As a result, our scores may be lower than other operations as the learning curve on timing the hook set is one of the most difficult parts of sturgeon fishing. We missed a number of opportunities on Saturday, but Sunday brought far more line rubs than bites. We switched over from roe to eel/pile worm or eel/nightcrawler combinations, and the fish we hooked on Sunday were on the nightcrawler combination. We had two on, and one came off after jumping right outside of the boat.”

Captain Steve Talmadge of Flash Sport Fishing said, “Captain Charles Kimberly ran the Flash II over the weekend, and he anchored up near the Pumphouse just north of the Pittsburg Power Plant on both days. They had landed three sturgeon on Sunday working eel/pile worm combinations. The bait of choice has changed from roe, and eel/pile worm combinations are the ticket right now. This transition normally happens after the first month, and I think it is due to the number of salmon spawning early in the season leave a scent trail from the upper river into the Delta, and the sturgeon key on roe. Now that water is colder and the scent trail has dissipated, the roe bite has petered out. There are so many sturgeon right outside of Pittsburg, and Kimberly said, ‘There are more fish than I have ever seen in the region right now.’”

Omega Nguyen of Mega Bait and Tackle in Manteca reported eel/nightcrawler combinations have been effective for sturgeon near Sherman Island, and striped bass are also eating the combinations with one boat landing a striper limit at 18 and 8 pounds. He said, “A number of big stripers have been taken near Rio Vista.”

Due to the continued presence of the pandemic, the very popular Diamond Classic Catch and Release Sturgeon Derby scheduled for the end of January has been postponed, but the Foundation Sportsmen’s Club Original Sturgeon Derby aka ‘Super Bowl Derby’ is still scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 6-7.

Tony Lopez of Benicia Bay said, “Small stripers have been the rule in our area from the banks, and we are selling 2021 license after license after license this past week.”

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, was out along the West Bank on Sunday afternoon, and they had three stripers to 24 inches in the box and looking for a fourth while drifting live jumbo minnows along the West Bank. He said, “We came out of Brannan Island at Three Mile Slough and just headed for the Tin Barn to drift with the outgoing tide in the shallows from 15 to 20 feet in depth. Live mudsuckers have been hard to find so we opted for minnows.”

Cold and clear waters dominate the San Joaquin-Delta as the first rainstorm of the winter didn’t bring perceptible change to the color of the water. The warmest waters of the San Joaquin remain in the far south, and Discovery Bay has been the best location for crappie along with the migration of the shad schools.

For striped bass, Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo’s Sport Fishing out of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley reported a number of small keeper striped bass on mudsuckers, but it has been hard to find mudsuckers in the bait shops recently. He said, “We are marking a lot of stripers, but they are not biting, and they are marking like they are just passing through. We have spooned a lot, but this is the time of year when live bait works best in conjunction with good electronics.”

Mudsuckers have been in short supply in area bait shops which is normally the case at this time of year, and some shops are charging as much as $3.00/mudsucker if they have them in stock.

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, has been spooning small striped bass on the San Joaquin with 2-ounce Blade Runner spoons. He said, “There are a lot of small fish, but my assistant manager, Michael Kidwell, has been finding some larger stripers, but he is fishing from dark to dark.”

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, will be on the Delta this week, and he plans on working the shallows with the ima Big or Little Stick topwater bite for striped bass in the afternoons after targeting largemouth bass in the mornings.

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, said, “Our crappie fishermen have been focusing in Discovery Bay with minjigs, but we are also hearing reports of a good spot of crappie near the old launch ramp along Whiskey Slough Road. Largemouth bass are also a possibility in the slightly-warmer waters of Discovery Bay.”

Omega Nguyen of Mega Bait and Tackle in Manteca said, “The colder weather this week has limited our action on the San Joaquin near the mouth of the Stanislaus River, and the low tides have also affected the San Joaquin. We are still getting a limited supply of fresh shad, and most of these have been larger in the 6- to 7-inch range. I separate and vacuum seal the medium shad in the 3- to 5-inch range and keep the larger shad for those wanting fresh shad.”

The first Dan Mathisen Open tournament for largemouth bass is Jan. 23 at New Holland Riverside Marina in the south Delta.

Call: Randy Pringle (209) 543-6260; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing – (707) 655-6736; J.D. Richey – Richey’s Sport Fishing – (916) 952-1554; Vince Borges – Vince Borges Outdoors (209) 918-0828

Lake Nacimiento/San Antonio/Santa Margarita/Lopez

Bass 3 White bass 2 Striper 0 Catfish 2 Crappie 2 Bluegill 2

The Best Bass Tournaments held a tournament at Nacimiento on Saturday, and this coastal lake produced the largest winning limit of the weekend – heavier than any at the Mother Lode or Fresno-area reservoirs. There have been some quality largemouth bass taken along with spotted bass to 3 pounds with the best action on the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot or Ned-rig, jigs, grubs, or Senkos on a Neko-rig. The shad are holding on the bottom, and vertically-jigged spoons are another solid option. The larger fish have been taken on swimbaits. The lake held at 22%. A webcam of the lake is available at lakenacimientolive.com.

At Lopez, bass fishing remains slow with the best action over rockpiles or structure with deep-diving crankbaits in crawdad patterns. Jigs on a football head along with spider jigs are also producing some of the larger grade of bass, but the greatest numbers remain with finesse techniques of plastics on a drop-shot or Ned-rig in crawdad patterns. A webcam of the lake is available at 805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam.

At Santa Margarita, the bass bite improved considerably this week with some quality largemouths in excess of 4 pounds taken on finesse presentations at depths to 30 feet. The reaction bite is slow, but there is the occasional largemouth taken on an underspin, swimbait, crankbait or jerkbait on a slow presentation. Chunk mackerel or sardines soaked in garlic are producing whiskerfish to 5 pounds.

At San Antonio, there is no change from the past weeks as few anglers are targeting the lake. Catfish remain the best opportunity for success with cut baits soaked in garlic in deep water. The Harris Creek ramp has new launching hours on Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The lake held at 16%.

Reminder: consuming white bass, black bass, crappie, catfish, or carp are subject to safe eating guidelines due to excessive mercury.

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

New Melones – Sonora Bass Club – Jan. 9: 1st – Jim and Courtney Junette – 13.44 pounds (Big Fish – 3.33); 2nd – F. Brazelton/J. Owsley – 13.29; 3rd – G.Broekema/P. Griswold – 11.95.

Don Pedro – Best Bass Tournaments – Jan. 9: 1st – Danny Riportella/Tony Hunt – 13.19 pounds (Big Fish – 3.54); 2nd – John Myers/Brian Rabith – 12.94; 3rd – Cory Kerber/Jeremy Pitts – 12.68.

McClure – NJBT – Jan. 9: 1st – Randy and Glenn Pierson – 9.14 pounds; 2nd – Keith Rakoncza/Kyle Rasmussen – 8.99; 3rd – Darrin and Evan Bishop- 8.70.

Pine Flat – Kerman Bass Club – Jan. 9: 1st – Jeff and Butch Farmer – 6.70 pounds; 2nd – Tony Lopez/Mark Witrado – 6.38 (Big Fish – 3.19); 3rd – Mitch Melikian/Darren Graef – 4.85.

Nacimiento – Best Bass Tournaments – Jan. 9: 1st – Damon Meeks/Jay Short – 13.66 pounds; 2nd – Graham Grove/Brandon Colombo – 11.01 (Big Fish – 3.70); 3rd – Dustin Selck/Suzanne Musson – 10.42.

Pine Flat – Fresno Bass Club – Jan. 10: 1st – Tim Turner – 7.23 pounds (Big Fish – 2.05); 2nd – Bill Kunz – 7.04; 3rd – Corey Squires – 6.49.

Upcoming tournaments (subject to change)

Jan. 16

Delta/Russo’s Marina – American Bass Association

Don Pedro – Best Bass Tournaments

McClure – Sierra Bass Club/Tri Valley Bassmasters/Contra Costa Bass Club

Nacimiento – California Bass Federation/Santa Clara Bass Busters

Jan. 17

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

Millerton – Bass 101

Pine Flat – Kings River Bass Club

Jan. 23

Delta/New Holland Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors

Don Pedro – Christian Bass League

Pine Flat – Xtreme Bass Club

Nacimiento – Kern County Bassmasters

Jan. 24

Don Pedro – Riverbank Bass Anglers

Jan. 30

Nacimiento – Golden Empire Bass Club

Jan. 31

Tulloch – Gold Country Jr. Bass Club

McClure – California Bass Federation