Fishing report, Sept. 8-14: Kings River plants spur on trout bite; Shaver kokanee derby

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 stripers and bass bites attracting anglers, Alan Fong said. Shaver Lake kokanee bite good, retiring guide Dick Nichols reported. Lower Kings River plants spur on trout bite, Dave Hurley said. Aqueduct pumping out striper numbers, Bill Sterling reported.

Roger’s remarks: Let’s make fishing trips less stressful

It may be more important than ever for anglers to strive to be good sportsmen and try to do the right thing for those around them. Why? Because It sure seems that folks’ stress levels are at all-time highs.

I had a guided trip this last year with two guests w ho wanted to catch some fish and have a good time. OK, but the minute they got in the boat, both of them were on their cellphones. The calls ranged from business problems, family and kid issues, exes, friends wanting to connect and even the dreaded truck warranty call. If there was a pause, their attention immediately shifted to Facebook or Instagram for the latest post.

At one point we had a fish hit, ripping line out, and the guest who was supposed to be up wouldn’t take the pole because there was a sudden issue that had popped up. The tyranny of urgency was clearly dominating any reason for a fishing trip. After the call, I watched him lay down on the floor, hyperventilating over the drama that had just played out. Yet, he never turned his phone off, and the barrage continued. The trip was designed to get away from stress, but they had brought their ringing nemesis along and given it top priority. They were both yelling at times. I had fun fishing alone.

On the water these days, you may encounter folks like that, too. Don’t get in their way! They haven’t decompressed yet, and may never, but we need to be the ones who don’t react negatively or become easily offended. It’s tough to do sometimes when someone is going out of their way to create a war.

It’s common to be solely concerned, offended and touchy about individual rights and privileges. Shouldn’t we be thinking about our obligations and responsibilities, instead? Serving others and consciously helping them may be the way we keep our sport as pure as possible. Keeping it the kind of sport that reflects doing the right thing, one that produces sportsmen we can be proud to associate with every time we fish, is a creed that many of our parents and grandparents embodied — a legacy we could all aspire to and one we need to rekindle to bring some peace back into our contacts.

I’ve failed many times to be the kind of sportsman I need to be to lift up needy people and anglers who are struggling to “right their ship” — but I’m trying. It’s amazing how just a smile, some kindness and a few uplifting words can change someone’s stressed-out day.

Be the hose, not the sponge! Never give up!

Valley

West-side waterways

Striper 3 Catfish 2

Bill Sterling of the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Fresno runs the Facebook group Striperz Gone Wild and they will be hosting their second annual Fall Classic Striped Bass Derby on the California Aqueduct on Oct. 9. Sterling said, “We had 166 anglers for our first tournament last year, and we expect over 200 fishermen this year with an increased emphasis on children. We have a division for adults and children, and we will be giving out plaques along with giveaways from the group as well as local sponsors.” Fishermen need to register at the Volta Bridge southwest of Los Banos between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. to be eligible for the prizes. Sterling said, “There are a number of bridges you can fish off of in the area, and the topwater bite has taken off as the linesides are boiling. In the main reservoir, the striper bite is strong for schoolies to 23 inches with anchovies or grass shrimp. The largest fish have been coming on the grass shrimp with the best action in the afternoons. I use a high-low rig with two baits as opposed to a single bait.”

In the south aqueduct in Kern County, there haven’ been many big striped bass coming in, and the average size has been around 3 pounds. The best action is in the early mornings or late afternoons with the high temperatures, and flukes or small swimbaits are the best option. Catfish are taken on cut baits such as anchovies, sardines, or mackerel. Blood worms have been hard to obtain with the storms on the East Coast.

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

Eastman Lake

Bass 1 Trout 1 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 1

Not much change here, and there won’t be any change until there is some rain to freshen up the increasingly stagnant water. Both Eastman and Hensley are primarily fed by rainfall. The lake is at 6% with dead fish starting to accumulate along the shorelines with the lack of oxygen in the low, warm lake. An algae bloom continues to form. Catfishing is the only game in town with chicken livers, cut baits, or nightcrawlers from the banks near the launch ramps.

Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255

Hensley Lake

Bass 1 Trout 1 Catfish 2 Bluegill 2 Crappie 1

Similar to Eastman, very little change here with Hensley being plagued by low, stagnant water and forming algae blooms. The lake is at 8%. Catfishing with cut baits or chicken livers at night from the banks near the launch ramps or under lights at night in the murky water is the only reason to make the trip.

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

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “Bass fishing is decent with jigs or flutter spoons at depths from 20 to 40 feet in the main lake or along points with big rock along with random 45-degree banks.” A night tournament on Saturday produced a winning limit at only 13 pounds with a big fish at 7 pounds. The next largest fish was 2.5 pounds. Kokanee fishing has been slower with the fish holding on the bottom. Rainbow trout are found near the shad schools with heavy spoons. The lake held at 53%, and a buoy line has been installed outside of Fleming Meadows towards Schoolhouse Point. The Blue Oaks launch ramp remained open over the Labor Day weekend, but it is expected to close soon. The Fleming Meadows and Moccasin will remain open throughout the summer. Anglers are requested to complete the kokanee survey at bit.ly/kokesandkings upon the completion of every trip to provide accurate information to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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

Bass fishing is fair with a topwater bite in the mornings or evenings around submerged wood with frogs, buzzbaits, or walking-style topwater lures. Plastics on the drop-shot at depths to 20 feet are another option. Catfish provide the most consistent action with Triple S Dip Bait, scented nightcrawlers, or frozen shad. Crappie are found on occasion around structure with minijigs. The smoke from the French Fire has been thick at times. The lake is very low at 10%, and The French Gulch Marina is only launch ramp with the low lake level. In the Kern River, the best action remains in the lower river for smallmouth and largemouth bass on plastics or live minnows. Fishing on the upper river is challenging, due not only to the low flows, but also the warm water which limits anglers to early morning ‘Hoot Owl’ hours to protect the fish from dying from release in the warm water. The French Fire has brought smoke into the area, but Kernville is currently out of danger.

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 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

Gary Wasson, president of the Xtreme Bass Club, reported a decent bite for smaller bass with plastics on the drop-shot, Senkos, jigs, or lipless crankbaits at depths from 5 to 25 feet. The lake held at 14%, and parts of the lake formerly under several feet of water are now exposed. The bass are holding on the available structure such as rockpiles. There are unmarked hazards throughout the shallow lake. The Kaweah River is running at only 8 cfs at Three Rivers.

Lake Success/Tule River

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2

At Success, Wasson said, “The bass bite is hit or miss with the best action on plastics on the drop-shot, jigs, or crankbaits.” The lake dropped to 11%, and the high daytime temperatures have affected the bite after the early mornings. In the Tule River, the river is low, and the trout are very spooky.

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

McClure Reservoir

Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 0 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “Little change on the bass front with a decent fluke or spinnerbait bite up the river arm along with a finesse bite with plastics, but the bass are a small grade with a big fish only reaching 2.5 pounds.” Despite the recent trout plant, low and warm water have driven the planters to the bottom or up the river arm in search of the coolest remaining water. Bagby, Horseshoe Bend, and McClure Point North launch ramps are closed due to water levels. The lake dropped from 25 to 24%.

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

McSwain Reservoir

Trout 2

Camping and the Splash and Dash were the highlights of the Labor Day weekend as fishing has slowed considerably with the lack of recent plants. The best trout action is occurring from the banks in the evenings with Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or Kastmasters from the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks, or peninsula near the Marina. The annual fall Merced Irrigation Trout Derby is scheduled for Oct. 2-3. Information and registration lakemcclure.com/annual-fall-trout-derby-returns-to-lake-mcswain.

Call: McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534

Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River

Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 1

The lake rose to 46% with water releases from upstream Shaver and Huntington, and the recreational boat traffic was intense over the holiday weekend. Michael Crayne of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis reported decent spotted bass action with crawdad patterns around rock or under the docks in Winchell Cove. The bass are found on the sand bars or rocky structure where the stained water meets clear water, and the rockwall at Winchell’s is a good location with Z-Man’s plastics in Molten Craw as the bass are loading up on the freshwater crustaceans.” The San Joaquin River is running 262 cfs below Friant.

Sycamore Island will be open Fridays through Sundays and State holidays through November 11. Seasonal hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. January, February, March, October, and November; 6:00 am to 7:00 pm April and September, and 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. May through August. Entry fees are $9.00 per vehicle and $5.00 per trailer. Annual passes are available for $85.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 3 Trout 2 Kokanee 2

The lake dropped to 37%. John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service said, “The big variety of the largemouth and spotted bass have been absent. The best action is for numbers of smaller spotted bass with plastics on the drop-shot or Ned-rig for spots in the 1.5-pound range to the occasional 2.5 pounds.” Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said, “Rainbow trout are found at depths from 45 to 70 feet in the main lake with heavy spoons as the trout are focusing on the shad schools. There is a tremendous amount of bait in the lake, and kokanee are found below 70 feet, but these are 2nd-year fish schooling.” Catfishing is good at night with chicken livers, cut baits with scent, or nightcrawlers from the banks. There are numerous unmarked hazards throughout the lake. Boaters have to be extremely cautious.

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 0 Catfish 2 Crappie 2

The lake is balancing inflow with outflow, and it held at 20%. The bass bite remains very challenging with few anglers trying over the holiday weekend dominated by recreational boat traffic. The few bass fishermen are working the bottom with plastics on the drop-shot in the coolest water near Trimmer or Sycamore in the river arm near the submerged trees or rock. A trout plant occurred in the lower Kings last week, and with the lower flows, the action remains strong with spinners, Power Bait, salmon eggs, or nightcrawlers in the transition from fast to slow water. Fly fishermen are scoring in the catch-and-release zone at Cobbles Weir. The flows dropped from 132 to 122 cfs at Trimmer.

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

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay

Striper 3 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2

San Luis Reservoir continues to drop toward an all-time low as it receded again this week from 15% to 13%, but bank fisherman are finding limits of school-sized striped bass on anchovies or similar cut baits. Pile worms have been difficult to come by with the hurricanes on the East Coast, but once the worms are available again, they will provide another option. The O’Neill Forebay is solid for numbers of undersized stripers while the California Aqueduct is improving for both striped bass and catfish.

Josh Mesa of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill confirmed the solid shoreline action for striped bass with anchovies on a Carolina-rig or sliding sinker for schoolies. He said, “Fishermen are parking along Highway 152 and making the long walk down to the shoreline or driving to the parking lots at the Basalt Recreation Area or Dinosaur Point. A 4WD tow vehicle is needed to launch at either the Dinosaur Point or Basalt with the dropping water levels.”

Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that recent high winds and a cool front last week reduced the reaction bite for trollers down to a tough category.” I guided two guests last Friday and the troll bite was slightly improved with 12 released schoolfish. The fish have been mostly inactive for reaction fishing, but I expect that bite to improve with high pressure this week.“

State park rangers are closing the lake at dusk now due to shore fishermen driving off of the road area around the lake.

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

High Sierra

Bass Lake

Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2

The Labor Day weekend was dominated by heavy recreational boating, and with the closure of Northern California national forests until at least Sept. 17, the past weekend was a bust for fishermen as the lake was swarmed by recreational boaters and campers. The lake dropped to 65%.

Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool

Closures in the Sierra National Forest until Sept. 17 will limit access to the High Sierra lakes. Edison is very low at 9% with Florence at 32%. Mammoth Pool dropped to 47%.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake

Kokanee 3 Trout 2

It will take a few days after the weekend for the lake to settle down from the intense boat traffic, but anglers will come from all over California, Oregon, and Nevada to pre-fish the water before the final Kokanee Power Derby of the season this Saturday, Sept. 11.

Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters, who will be taking his last scheduled guided trip of his 16-year career on the lake Friday, said, “It was another great week of pre-spawn kokanee. Many are turning red, but still the meat is still good. We are fishing the Point with quick limits every trip, and this week produced 2 to 4 limits per trip as needed. Friday’s trip was with former Fresno Bee desk editor Mike Reddin of Fresno and his wife, Claudia, and the Reddins limited quickly with kokanee to 18 inches by 8:30 a.m. Orange remains the go-to color, and in our case, we are using Dick’s Orange Tubes or hoochies behind 5.7-inch Dick’s Mountain Dodgers tipped with corn scented by Tom Oliveira formula at depths from 80 to 82 feet near the Point. His formula has been a great attractant for these hunkered-down kokanee. As my 16-year career is winding down, I want to thank all of the folks who have fished with me all of the years along with the writers from Western Outdoor News who have helped us show the rest of California what a special place we have at Shaver Lake. I will miss this wonderful profession of serving folks who look for an enjoyable day on the water. I will still continue to supply Dick’s brand tackle for our local Fresno-area shops.”

Tyler Powell at the Shaver Lake Marina reported, “Southern California Edison is beginning to draw down the lake level, and the lake has dropped 6 feet in the past few weeks. It will stay level until Sept. 10, and it is expected to rise at least a foot as the release of Huntington is under way. After Sept. 10, the lake will drop quickly, and there will be a small window to disconnect the main dock from the Shaver Lake Marina building and the anchor in the middle of the cove or outside of the cove. Dock B will hopefully be connected to the building for as long as possible, but once the main dock is anchored in the middle of the cove, access will be very limited. The launch ramp is also nearing the end with trailers starting to go off of the end into the rocks. Boaters are advised to take out their boats from the Fresno County launch ramp near the dam. If you are not planning or using your boat in the coming weeks, we would recommend pulling it out sooner than later.”

Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service was on the lake on Sunday, and he said, “We were able to put together two limits in the morning despite the heavy boat traffic. There are some good-sized schools of kokanee forming, and we found them between 75 and 85 feet in front of the houses at the Point with pink or orange Radical Glow Tubes behind either a Rocky Mountain Tackle’s Moonshine or Crushed Glow 5.5-inch dodger. The orange Cotton Candy squid by RMT has also been effective. It was a light bite overall with a number of short hitters. I will be back out by the end of the week, and we plan to have a send-off for Dick Nichols on his final day of guiding on Friday.”

Anglers are requested to complete the kokanee survey at bit.ly/kokesandkings upon the completion of every trip to provide accurate information to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The lake is at 61%.

At Huntington, water releases have started, and the lake dropped significantly from 97% to 83%.

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 3

The temporary closure of the Sierra National Forest until at least Sept. 17 has limited access to the High Sierra reservoirs.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

Salmon 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 White sea bass 1 Sand dabs 2 Surf perch 3

The action hasn’t changed to any degree over the past week out of Half Moon Bay with rockfish and the possibility of halibut being the top options as the salmon have vacated the San Mateo coastline. Rockfish limits have been the rule for every trip out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, and this week was no exception as Captain Wallace Klughers of the Queen of Hearts said, “Just when you thought it can’t get any better, we had another day of full limits of jumbo rockfish to 7 pounds for our group of 7 anglers on Sunday. I might sound like a broken record, but the fishing right now is truly amazing.”

It was more of the same for the other party boats running out of the Pillar Point Harbor with the Riptide scoring 11 limits of rockfish and 4 lings while the Ankeny Street loaded up with 13 limits of rockfish, three ling cod to 14 pounds, and a bonus rocksole over the weekend.

The boats are working the reefs south of the harbor from Martin’s Beach in shallow water with deep water action over 200 feet at the Deep Reef. Sherry Ingles of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing said, “The extra 10 fathoms to 50 fathoms or 300 feet has been a major enhancement to our fishery.”

After operating California Collaborative Fishing Research Program’s trips out of Bodega Bay north to Stewart’s Point over the past week, Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat is back in the harbor for the remainder of the rockfish season. He will be running trips south of the harbor towards the Deep Reef in the coming weeks as the salmon bite has slowed. He said, “I have a regular charter for albacore this week, but there really hasn’t been any indication out there to make the long run to the warm water.”

The recreational crab season is scheduled for the first Saturday in November, and this is a big day out of this harbor. However, with the changes enacted by the Fish and Game Commission ceding power to the Director of Fish and Wildlife, the recreational crab season may be placed on hold depending upon the presence of endangered humpback whales in local waters.

Salmon fishing remains very slow as the Coastside Fishing Club net pen fish have yet to make their appearance known outside or inside of the harbor. The shorter acclimation period in the pens may be a factor in fewer numbers of the salmon showing up over the past two years.

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

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Salmon 2 Blue fin tuna - 2 Rockfish 3 Striper 2 White sea bass 2 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3

Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “This could be the start of something big. Bluefin tuna have been teasing Monterey Bay anglers for a few months now. Reports of bluefin schools, breezers, and boilers have cropped up a few times since June. The few reported caught since then lack documentation and may as well be rumors. These ephemeral reports mainly centered straight out from Monterey and the Carmel areas although bluefin were also reported seen near the “Fingers” area about 10 miles offshore from Davenport. This week, things are different.

On Saturday, Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz reported someone had “caught a bluefin” the day before. By Saturday afternoon the news was confirmed as tuna hunters converged on the area between Carmel and Monterey and witnessed big schools of tuna feeding along the canyon edges near Point Pinos. These fish are only five miles offshore. By Sunday, boats started hooking up. We received reports that the bluefin were biting for some experienced and lucky anglers. Fraser said, “There are anglers catching 80-pound bluefin near Monterey. The anglers are catching them with cedar plugs, Rapalas, Nomads, and live mackerel. The fish are close to shore near the Point of Monterey. The bluefin are in the 60-to 100-pound range.”

JT Thomas from Go Fish Santa Cruz followed the news and confirmed on Sunday that a few fishermen from Santa Cruz had hooked up on bluefin in that area off Point Pinos. For these particular guys, the boat average was two hookups, with one fish landed. These are pretty good odds for bluefin in the 40-pound class caught in Northern California. With any luck, these bluefin schools will stick around for a while giving Monterey Bay anglers a shot at battling the big ones in our own backyard.

Rare as a Nor-Cal bluefin bite might be, just because they are here at the moment is no guarantee they can be caught. It takes diligence and dedication to chase these big tuna and dismay is more often the result than triumph. Fast trolling tuna lures can be productive, but during the last big bluefin bite in our area, success came more often on very slow- trolled mackerel. Thomas informed us Sunday that the southern part of Monterey Bay is getting flooded with an influx of mackerel right now, so there you go. We can assume the bluefin are following that favorite food source right into our laps. Let’s hope the macks, and the tuna, stick around for a few weeks.”

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

Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay

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

There is hope for another wave of salmon heading down from north of Point Reyes, but the salmon bite off of the Marin coastline has been scratchy at best. The action has been ‘hit or miss’ throughout the season, but the quality has been some of the best in memory with a number of salmon over 30 pounds taken this summer. When the salmon from Bodega Bay head south, they will be on the move quickly since the waters along the Marin coastline are approaching 62 degrees, driving the fish to the bottom. Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady out of Sausalito was the highliner for a couple of days at the end of the week with 10 big fish to 27 pounds for 15 anglers on Thursday, and 12 more quality salmon for 18 anglers on Friday. He said, “There aren’t as many salmon, but these are big full-grown adult spawners that are just plastered on the bottom. The water temperature is the big factor as it has been keeping the salmon holding at the coldest water possible, and you literally have to scrape them off of the bottom. When the bonito show up, it is normally not a positive sign for salmon fishing, and you have to work hard for them. There are good reports coming out of Ten Mile Beach north of Point Reyes, and you know these fish are coming our way, but whether they are going to bite in the warm water is another question.”

Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Loch Lomond said, “When six-packs are trolling feathers for bonito, it tells you all you need to know about the salmon bite.”

Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excursions out of San Francisco found great salmon action on Friday with 9 big fish, but they went rockfishing north of Duxbury Buoy on two half-day trips on Saturday for limits of rockfish with some quality vermilions along with ling cod. He said, “The salmon bite really slowed down on Sunday with the high boat coming in with only 5 fish. The combination of warm water and jellyfish everywhere are not conducive to salmon action. We started out in the bay on Sunday looking for white seabass, and we saw a spot of ghosts, but there was no tide, and the fish weren’t willing to bite. After spending a few hours for a try at seabass, we ran up the coastline for limits of rockfish once again.”

The real rockfish action has been on the long run to Fanny Shoals northwest of the Golden Gate, and with the flat-calm conditions over the weekend, the party boats and six-packs burned plenty of fuel in exchange for limits of huge rockfish and ling cod. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing made the run to Fanny Shoals on Sunday for 5 limits of big rockfish along with limits of lings to 12 pounds. He said, “We stopped and picked up sand dabs for the lings, and they really wanted the live bait. We found the salmon bite very tough on Saturday so we ended the day switching over to rockfish for limits, but Sunday’s action was phenomenal.” The Pacific Dream and Happy Hooker out of Berkeley Marina experienced two incredible days of rockfishing with the fleet congregated at Fanny Shoals with a combined 162 limits of rockfish and ling cod to 20 pounds over the weekend. Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream said, “We have been making the run to Fanny Shoals for the past few weeks, and the rockfish and ling cod action has just been fantastic.”

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 2 Surf perch 3

Near-limits of rockfish were the story of the weekend for San Luis Obispo County party boats, and the longer you travel from the harbor, the better the quality of rockfish. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing at Port San Luis at Avila Beach, the Patriot, Phenix, and Flying Fish were out on Sunday on trips of varying lengths with 59 fishermen for a cornucopia of species with 73 vermilion, 34 coppers, 17 Boccaccio, 96 Bolina, 154 assorted rockfish, 1 cabezon, 18 ling cod to 18 pounds, 5 ocean whitefish, and 5 treefish.

Out of Morro Bay, the Fiesta, Black Pearl, and Rita G out of Virg’s Landing took out a combined 76 passengers on Sunday for 218 vermilion, 50 copper, 447 assorted rockfish, 23 Boccaccio, 9 ling cod, and 2 rock sole. Also out of Morro Bay Landing, the Avenger took two half-day trips on Sunday with the Starfire and Endeavor on longer trips with a total of 96 anglers for 228 vermilion, 15 copper, 130 Boccaccio, 484 assorted rockfish, and 9 ling cod to 15 pounds. All ports are taking trips ranging from ½ day to long range. The new sub-limit is 5 vermilions as part of a 10-rockfish limit this season.

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 3 Bluegill 3 Salmon 2

River salmon fishing is showing more and more signs of life from the Benicia shorelines towards Freeport, but the warm water in the Sacramento River provide encouragement for the salmon to rush quickly north as fast as possible before starting to slow down near Knight’s Landing. The West Bank below Rio Vista remains a solid location for striped bass trollers or plug casters, but dredging operations starting at the end of the week should slow down the bite with the creation of muddy water. The striped bass have flooded back into the Delta, and they are just in time for the arrival of the 73rd Annual Rio Vista Bass Derby on October 8th through 10th. After a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the derby is back bigger and better with a $3000 first place prize for the target-length striped bass competition. Information on the derby is available at www:bassfestival.org.

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, reported salmon are starting to show up from the banks from Walnut Grove to Thornton on Flying C spinners in hot pink or chartreuse.

Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, was in Liberty Island this week, and he said, “It was very windy this week in the north Delta, and the wind created rough conditions inside of the island with the shallow water. I was throwing the 12-inch Megabait’s MegaDog topwater lure in bone on 30-pound Big Game monofilament, and the lure works much better on the mono. I hooked four big ones on the huge lure, but it was so rough that I think they were only hooked outside of the gill plate, and all of them came off while bringing them through the grass. The grass is thick in there. We only fished for 45 minutes before it became too rough, and with the wave troughs in the opening to the island, you have to get your boat on plane in order to get out. If you don’t know where the hazards off, you can get in real trouble with the shallow obstructions. The stripers are coming as two anglers hooked over 100 linesides to 7 pounds on Fish Traps in Broad Slough right up against the tules. The stripers are in tight to the shoreline in shallow water feeding heavily.”

Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo’s Sport Fishing said, “The striped bass bite has been insane in the shallows, and we are either plugging or drifting live bait at depths from 2- to 4-feet along the tules. The fish deeper between 8- and 10-feet are not as active, and it is a matter of finding small windows of opportunity when the tides are right. We are marking pods of stripers, and there is quite a bit of bait along the tules. The bait seems to be small shad, and swimbaits mimicking the small shad are working best. The wind has been howling, and the incoming tide has been the best time to fish. I am working on both the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and I will do whatever it takes to find fish as I will revisit locations on certain tides. There are a bunch of shakers that have moved into the system, while last week, we didn’t find any shakers.”

Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle in Auburn said, “My regular group of trollers have been finding great action on the river along the West Bank, Broad Slough, and into Montezuma Slough, and they have even landed two salmon to 26 pounds on the troll on their last few trips.”

Chris Ditter of HeadRush Guide Service will be returning to the Delta within a week after wrapping up his season at Lake Tahoe due to the smoke even before the evacuation of South Lake Tahoe last week. He said, “I was out this week on a friend’s boat, and we were running Rat-L-Traps along the shoreline, and once we got into the shallow water, we started getting bit.”

Sturgeon fishermen have been scarce, but the next few months will feature the return of anglers coming out of the bay as the salmon bite has slowed in the ocean along with the lack of activity inside of San Francisco Bay.

The striped bass action continues to improve in the San Joaquin-Delta as the linesides are coming in to feed in the shallows. Numbers of largemouth bass are abundant, but it has been difficult to find the larger grade of bass. The upcoming months of late September, October, and November are prime striped bass times in the San Joaquin, and the bait bite should take off with fresh shad before the water turns too cold in December.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “The striped bass bite has improved, and we are scoring in the mornings in the shallows from 2- to 8-feet with the Optimum Double AA Bad Bubba Shad swimbaits on a ½-ounce jig head on 100% Trilene fluorocarbon leader. The fluorocarbon sinks, and it disappears in the water. Once you find one striper, there will be others, and you don’t need a trolling motor to find the fish as you can drift with the current parallel to the shoreline. Once you hook up, you can move the boat with the big motor in a giant circle and drift over the same spot again. The stripers are feeding on crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, or small catfish as it is like Golden Corral out there with the stripers saying, ‘Get in the feed line.’ We are finding stripers on the flats near Eddo’s or along the eddies with current moving into the flats. These are better-than-average fish with some in the 15/20-pound category. I will be doing a seminar this Thursday night at the West Delta Chapter of the California Striped Bass Club meeting in Antioch, and I will be talking about a number of new techniques including the Pop N’ Cork or the slow jigging technique along with the well-known techniques of topwater lure and swimbaits. I have been targeting stripers in the mornings before chasing largemouth bass in the afternoons.”

Pringle is the director of the popular annual event known as Bass Fest, but he said, “After careful consideration, we have made the tough decision to cancel the event for this year. One of the things that has always made this event special was the vendor participation. The ability to show new products from various national companies as well as provide local businesses a change to display their products to a large group of anglers is a key part of the event. As everyone is well aware, national companies are having a hard time fulfilling obligations to local tackle stores for distribution to fishermen so it has been very difficult to obtain goods to pass out to our anglers as in the past. We have started planning on a bigger and better event in 2022.”

Dave Houston of Livermore took out Mario Castillo this week, and he said, “We trolled from the Antioch Bridge to Collinsville, and there are a lot of small stripers in the system. When you start catching shakers, it’s best to move to another spot since stripers seem to school up according to their size. The water temperature is still holding around 71 degrees, and I would like to see it drop below 65 degrees sine that is the number when the troll bite is best. Almost every day, someone trolling for stripers is picking up a salmon so the salmon are definitely moving upriver. We ended up with 13 keepers and six shakers on Yo-Zuri deep-diving Crystal Minnow as we couldn’t get anything to go on the shallow lures.”

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, was bass fishing on the main San Joaquin from Windmill Cove to the launch ramp at Rough and Ready Island, and he said, “I was out with Don Davis, and we landed 42 largemouth bass, but only 12 fish were over 12 inches with the largest at 2.5 pounds. We were flipping along the riprap in the main

Ladd’s Marina is hosting the 1st Annual ‘Kiss My Bass’ charity tournament for the Stockton Boy’s and Girl’s Club on September 18th with a $400 team entry fee. Signups are available through wonews.com/events. In addition to the charity tournament, three celebrity fishermen are holding a silent auction to be their partner. Kevin Gross, former major league pitcher, YouTube sensation Stacy Barawed, and Ken Mah, winner of the latest Apex event on the Thermolito Afterbay are the three anglers, and bids can be placed at (949)366-00248.

In the south Delta, Omega Nguyen of MegaBait and Tackle in Lathrop said, “Things are starting to happen south of the Mossdale Bridge with stripers starting to boil on the surface. More and more local anglers are starting to throw topwater lures, and the shad are busting on the surface from French Camp to Sturgeon Bend. Fresh shad is working as well, but it has been hard to get blood or pile worms in the shop with the inclement weather on the East Coast. We are getting in at least 100 pounds of fresh shad on a daily basis, and we will be selling tickets for the Rio Vista Bass Derby starting this week.”

A temporary emergency drought barrier has been placed in False River to slow the movement of saltwater into the central Delta and prevent the contamination of water supplies. The work began in early June, and the temporary barrier will be removed by November 30, 2021.

Call: Randy Pringle (209) 543-6260; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing – (707) 655-6736; Chris Ditter – HeadRush Sport Fishing – (916) 284-9236; Vince Borges – Vince Borges Outdoors (209) 918-0828

Lake Nacimiento/San Antonio/Santa Margarita/Lopez

Bass 2 White bass 2 Striper 0 Catfish 3 Crappie 2 Bluegill 3 Trout 02

At Nacimiento, the spotted bass action hasn’t changed much with the hot temperatures and the low water levels as the spots are found at depths to 20 feet with plastics on the drop-shot. It is clearly an early bite before the sun gets on the water. White bass can be found boiling intermittently in various locations within the lake, and white Kastmasters or Roostertails are effective either trolled or cast into the boils. The lake has stabilized at 13%, but there are unmarked hazards throughout the lake. Boaters have to be extremely cautious to avoid striking a sandbar or submerged hump. A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. At Lopez, bass action is good for largemouths to 3 pounds with a small window for topwater before working subsurface lures such as crankbaits or spinnerbaits when there is a slight breeze. Numbers are taken on plastics on the drop-shot or Texas-rig along with jigs. Panfish are biting wax worms or meal worms at depths to 15 feet. The launch ramp remains open, but it is challenging to launch. Boaters are advised to call the marina at (805) 489-1006 for the latest launch ramp status. A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. At Santa Margarita, the bass bite is far at best for numbers, but it has been challenging to land a largemouth over 2 pounds. There is a reaction bite first thing in the morning and later in the day near dusk, but with the grass surrounding the shoreline, plastics, Senkos, or jigs on a weedless presentation are working best for numbers. Catfishing is solid for some double-digit whiskerfish from the shorelines at night with chunk mackerel scented with garlic. Bluegill are taken from the shorelines with waxworms or red worms. At San Antonio, the lake is holding at 7%, and there is a decent opportunity for crappie with minijigs. Catfishing is fair, but there are some taken on Triple S Dip Baits in Bloody Formula or chuck mackerel. Carp are omnipresent in the shallows, and they are more than willing to bite dough baits such as Wussy Bait. The ramp opens at 1:00 p.m. on Fridays, but it is open at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

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

Events

Tournament results

none

Upcoming tournaments (subject to change)

September 11/12

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Best Bass Tournaments

September 11

Tulloch – Gold Country Bass Tour

Shaver – Kokanee Power Team Derby

Pine Flat – Orange County Bass Club

September 12

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Kings River Bass Club

Pine Flat – Cen Cal Elite Bass Club

September 18/19

Delta/Contra Costa County – Sierra Bass Club

Tulloch – California Bass Nation

September 18

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Western Outdoor News/Manteca Bassin’ Buddies/Nor Cal Bass

Camanche – Slay Nation Tournament

New Hogan – Tri Valley Bassmasters

New Melones – Santa Clara Bass Busters

Don Pedro – Christian Bass League/Contra Costa Bass Club

McClure – 17/90 Bass Club

Isabella – American Bass Association

Nacimiento – San Luis Obispo Bass Ambushers

September 19

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

New Melones – Nor Cal High School Bass

Millerton – Fresno Bass Club

September 24/25

Delta/B and W Resort – California Bass Federation

September 25/26

Delta/Holland Riverside Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors Tournament of Champions

Clear Lake – Modesto Ambassadors

September 25

Camanche – Bass Anglers of Northern California

Success – Xtreme Bass Club

Santa Margarita – Bakersfield Bass Club

September 26

Delta/Ladd’s Marina – Riverbank Bass Anglers