FROM ALL ANGLERS

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a central San Joaquin Valley native and local fishing expert

Ratings
1=Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Good, 4=Excellent

ROGER’S COMMENTS: Water levels are dropping at many lower lakes, creating poorer fishing conditions overall. This trend should continue and accelerate as the ag releases hit this month. Best bet is to hit the high country lakes with good Kokanee and trout bites holding steady.

New Melones Reservoir
Bass-3 Crappie-2 Catfish-2 Trout-3 Kokanee-4   . 
Triple-digit heat didn’t slow down the number of kokanee anglers on the lake over the weekend with 219 entrants in the Kokanee Power Two-Day Derby. Jeff Boyle of Bass Pro Shops in Manteca said, despite the heat, the fish were willing to bite, particularly on Saturday. He said things slowed down a bit on Sunday, but they still brought in 35 fish to the boat. The kokanee have dropped to 70 feet in depth in the afternoon in response to the intense heat. Danny Layne of Fishn’ Dan’s Guide Service reported a continued red-hot bite has made the lake the “Talk of the Mother Lode”. He recommended picking any area in the main lake for limits with the fish at 40 feet at first light before dropping down to 70 feet. He has been scoring with Sockeye Slammers, Shasta Tackle Humdingers, chartreuse ink Marni bugs or Uncle Larry’s spinners behind a Vance’s dodger or Sling Blade tipped with unscented corn or scented with anise, vanilla, or garlic. Rainbow trout to five pounds are holding in the 30 to 40 foot depth, and they are hitting rolled shad, ExCel’s and blade/crawler combinations. Robert and Chelsea Muhlbeier landed a 4.07-pound rainbow during the Kokanee Power Tournament.  An occasional brown trout can be landed on Countdown Rapalas or Trophy Sticks close to structure in 50 to 60 feet in depth. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, reported an excellent spotted bass bite with the IMA Skimmer crankbait or with the Berkley Gulp Minnow in smelt on a 1/8th oz. dart-head on 6-pound fluorocarbon test. They were working deeper water from 15 to 45 feet as the water has warmed up to the mid-70’s with the hot temperatures. Catfishing is improving with anchovies, sardines or mackerel along sloping banks. Crappie can be found around submerged trees at depths from 10 to 30 feet in Bear, Mormon or Carson Creeks with small minnows or red/white minijigs. Melvin Allen pulled in 8 large crappie on minnows in Angels Cove. The lake dropped nearly two vertical feet to 981.09 feet in elevation and 54% of capacity.

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay 
Stripers-2 Catfish -2 Bass-2 Crappie-2
Ly Tu of Ly’s Fishing Goods in San Jose said the intense heat made the big lake comparable to an oven, so most anglers are heading to the Forebay at night under the bridge. There are several anglers lined up under the bridge at night with a few small catfish or stripers taken on pile or blood worms. Fresh shad has been difficult to obtain. A few stripers have been taken on white flukes. Merritt Gilbert reported a few stripers to 8-pounds have been landed from the Dam at first light on jumbo minnows. The majority of area striper fishermen continue to San Francisco Bay or the beaches to take advantage of much better bite for larger fish. The lake dropped another twelve vertical feet to 380.68 feet in elevation due to 13,989 acre-feet of water releases down the aqueduct and canals for irrigation and municipal uses. Wind conditions: 800-805-4805.

Eastman Lake 
Bass-2 Trout-2 Bluegill -1 Catfish-2 Crappie-2
Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said there is a “halfway decent” bite for bass in the 2 to 2.5-pound range with good limits to 14-pounds. The anglers are being very quiet about their techniques with an upcoming tournament, but the fish have been found at depths from 15 to 20 feet during the day. Patrick Movey at the Fisherman’s Warehouse in Manteca said there is a top water bite early or late with PopR’s or Zara Spooks. A few catfish are found up the river arm on the anchor or near the main launch ramp with anchovies or chicken livers. Trout fishing is pretty much over with the warm lake temperatures. The lake is holding at 20% of capacity and 495.54 feet in elevation.

Hensley Lake 
Bass-3 Trout-2 Catfish-2 Crappie-2
Bob Scharton of Herb Bauer’s Sporting Goods in Fresno reported landing 20 decent bass to 15-inches on Sunday with the fish busting fry on the surface. He used a Berkley Gulp! Minnow in smelt to match the small bait fish which resemble baby panfish. His wife was successful with a Keeper 1048 worm. The fish were located in 15 to 20 feet of water. One angler caught and released two nice bass on minnows while fishing unsuccessfully for crappie. Merritt Gilbert said a few catfish are biting anchovies or chicken livers at night up in the Headwaters of the lake. The lake dropped two vertical feet to 32% of capacity and 490.29 feet in elevation.

McSwain Reservoir 
Trout-3
McSwain Marina reported trout fishing remains good for trollers working the regular pattern from the 2nd Fence Line to the Dam with blade/crawler combinations, red or chartreuse Wedding Rings tipped with a crawler behind a dodger or small spoons trolled to 35 feet in depth. The lake temperatures are rising, and the fish have dropped deeper. Bank action is steady at the Handicapped Docks or the Brush Pile with Power Bait in corn yellow, purple nymph or chartreuse. A DFG plant is scheduled for this week. They are anticipating a large turnout this week, and the lake has a 5 MPH speed limit, so fishermen have the lake to themselves.  

Delta Mendota Canal and Sloughs 
Stripers-3 Catfish-2
Merritt Gilbert said the sales of Lucky Craft 128’s in American Shad has started again for the aqueduct. Patrick Movey added that white flukes or cut bait thrown in the moving water at the headgates is producing schoolie stripers. once again after several weeks with slow sales. A few catfish have been taken on chicken livers or anchovies in Mendota Slough. Pete Cormier of Bob’s Bait Bucket in Bakersfield reported fishermen who know what they are doing are picking up stripers with sand worms or cut anchovies despite the moss buildup on the concrete walls.

Millerton Lake / San Joaquin River
Bass-2 Stripers-2 Shad-2 Trout-2
Merritt Gilbert reported small spotted bass dominate catches with a 6-pound limit being a top weight. Most of the fish have come on the bottom with jigs or plastics, as the reaction bite has slowed with a few fish landed on spinnerbaits or top water lures early in the morning. A few stripers to 12-pounds have been found up the river arm. Floating logs all along the shoreline and a moving logjam have made shore fishing at Kerkoff difficult. Heavy recreational boat pressure affects the lake after 9:00 a.m., and the lake will be extremely crowded this weekend. The lake is at 100% of capacity and 578.02 feet in elevation. The area below Friant Dam on the San Joaquin is not scheduled to be planted with trout this week.  

Pine Flat Reservoir 
Bass-2 Trout-2 King Salmon-1 Crappie-2 Catfish-2
Merritt Gilbert reported an improved bass bite with a few fish in the 2.5 to 3-pound range located on jigs. Patrick Movey said there is an early morning top water bite with small surface lures. Trout fishing remains sporadic, but an occasional quality fish is taken on blade/crawler combinations at 30 feet in depth near the Deer Creek Marina. The trout remain scattered, but they are moving into the main lake with the water dropping in the river arm. Most regular trout fishermen are heading up the hill in search of cooler temperatures and larger concentrations of fish. Catfish to 2.5-pounds are biting chicken livers or cut anchovies near the Pine Flat Lake Marina. Recreational boating takes over the lake after 9:00 a.m. The lake dropped another eight vertical feet to 62% of capacity and 877.79 feet in elevation. The lower Kings below the Dam is not scheduled to receive a trout plant this week.

McClure Reservoir 
Bass-3 Trout-3 King Salmon-2 Kokanee-2 Crappie-2 Catfish-3
Diana Mello of A-1 Bait in Snelling reported there is a top water bite in the morning in Cottonwood Creek with PopR’s or Zara Spooks before switching to drop shotting Pro Gold worms to 20 feet. Jigs have been slow, but some fish have been taken dragging a watermelon/red Brush Hog. Live minnows or crawdads are continually effective. Catfish to 6-pounds are biting live minnows near the launch ramp at Barrett’s Cove South. Bluegill are found in Horseshoe Bend at depths from 10 to 20 feet on red worms. The regular anglers are still targeting trout up the river narrows with Wedding Rings tipped with a crawler under a dodger or blade/crawler combinations at depths to 40 feet. No king salmon or kokanee reports. The lake is dropped two vertical feet to 807.90 feet in elevation and 65% of capacity.

Lake Don Pedro 
Bass-3 Trout-2 Kokanee-2 King Salmon-2      
Manny Basi of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported heavy recreational boating has made fishing difficult, but anglers working early or in the evenings are finding quality bass at depths from 20 feet to the banks with the ProWorm Pro Gold plastics, brown/purple jigs with a Chigger Craw trailer in cinnamon/purple, Senkos in watermelon/red (208), greenpumpkin (330) or watermelon (194) on a 1/8th or 1/16th Revenge Flipping Wacker head. There is a top water bite early or late with Zara Spooks or PopR’s. Most trout and kokanee fishermen are heading to the red-hot bite at New Melones, but trout to 3-pounds can be found to 40 feet with shad-patterned lures or blade/crawler combinations with kokanee to 14-inches hitting Sockeye Slammers, Humdingers or Wedding Rings tipped with shoepeg corn scented with anise or garlic at depths to 50 feet off of Jenkins Hill, Copper Mountain and Graveyard Bay. King salmon are in Fleming Bay at depths from 70 to 120 feet on rolled shad or anchovies.

HIGH SIERRA 
Bass Lake 
Bass-2 Trout-2 Kokanee-2
Todd Wittwer of Kokanee.net Guide Service said kokanee fishing continues to be very slow with only one of the quality fish to 17-inches landed per 8 boats. He has been taking trips in the evening trying to raise the fish off of the bottom, but he has been unsuccessful. The reason for the severe drop-off is unknown, but Wittwer has postponed guiding until he is able to assure clients of a reasonable opportunity to land fish. Even the rainbow trout fishing has slowed down. Heavy boat traffic is expected throughout the weekend, so anglers must get in and off the lake early.. Bass fishing has been best for spots to 2-pounds on Senkos around docks in the early evenings. The lake is still holding at 76% of capacity.

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake 
Kokanee-4 Trout-3 Smallmouth-4
Huntington is the spotlight high country lake with kokanee limits to 17-inches taken at depths to 30 feet from the first Dam west in the deepest water in the lake. Merritt Gilbert said one 82-year old angler came in for pictures of a limit of kokanee ranging from 15.5 to 17-inches taken on Father Murphy’s bugs behind a dodger at 30 feet. Another boat put in 2 limits of mixed kokanee and rainbows on the Super Fat Bug in pink within 4 hours. The biggest news was the 33.5-inch/19.5-pound brown trout landed on a Shasta Tackle white glow hootchie behind SBUV Sling Blade at 35 feet by an angler targeting kokanee. The fish came to the boat after a one hour and forty-five minute fight. Anglers are advised to get on the lake early on weekends, as the sailboat regattas are taking over in mid-morning, particularly during this coming weekend. At Shaver Lake, Captain Jack Yandell said kokanee fishing has been very slow in the past week, perhaps due to the small number of fish released in 2007. New guide Dick Nichols has been averaging from 3 to 4 fish per trip. Trout fishing is limited to the abundant small fish that were planted in the lake earlier this year. Smallmouth bass fishing is outstanding with unlimited numbers of the bass taken on crickets or plastic grubs. Over 1300 smallies were removed by the Kerman, Sierra and Fresno Bass Club members and the DFG over the weekend for transfer to Pine Flat. Shaver is holding at 97% of capacity with Huntington at 98% of capacity. The majority of the high country creeks are scheduled for trout plants this week.

Wishon/Courtright 
Trout-3
Bob Scharton said bank fishing at Wishon has produced limits of planters with salmon egg/night crawler combinations, as Power Bait wasn’t as productive over the weekend. Short Hair Creek and the Dam are still the best area. Overall, reports have varied from fair to excellent, depending upon the day with no consistent pattern. Successful anglers are targeting the planted rainbows with blade/crawler combinations 24-inches behind a Sling blade or dodger at 3 to 5 colors of lead core at Wishon. Speedy Shiners, Thomas Buoyants or #2 Needlefish in copper or black dot frog or drifting night crawlers under a bubble are also working. Action at Courtright is good for trollers pulling Rapalas or blade/crawlers on the surface. Power Bait in chartreuse, yellow or rainbow is working from the banks at the west end of the lake. Dinkey Creek Inn reported the creek level has dropped to normal for this time of year with wading across the creek possible in several areas. Limits of planted trout are possible with crickets, salmon eggs or small spinners.

Edison/Florence Mammoth Pool 
Trout-4
Jim Clements of Vermilion Valley Resort at Lake Edison reported excellent rainbow action, particularly with the best lake levels in recent years. There hasn’t been much angling pressure, but this may change with the arrival of hot weather in the valley. Edison has risen to 60 %, Florence is at 96% with Mammoth Pool at 95%.

OCEAN 
San Francisco Bay 
Halibut-3 Stripers-3 Rockfish- 3 Leopard shark-3 Sturgeon-2
The seas settled down enough to allow the rockfish boats to make the trip west to the Farallons, although conditions were less than ideal earlier in the weekend. Emeryville Sport Fishing had three boats out at the Islands on Sunday for a total of 72 limits of rockfish and 25 lings to 14-pounds. The ling counts appear to be inching up there, as they boated 15 lings to 20-pounds on Saturday to go with a few fish shy of 112 rockfish limits. The tides were in the midpoint of being too much for the halibut and not enough for the stripers, but as the tides progressively slow down, halibut counts will continue to climb. Jim Smith of the Happy Hooker has been poking his nose outside the Golden Gate to search for some beach bass, and his clients were rewarded with 6 nice bass just outside the Gate on Saturday morning, as part of 38 stripers to 15-pounds to go with 6 halibut to 30-pounds. Chuck Carleton of Vacaville landed the large halibut on 12-pound test on the Suicide Drift off on the northwest corner of Alcatraz Island. On Sunday, Smith stayed inside the bay for 32 stripers to 13-pounds and 5 halibut to 12-pounds for 30 anglers. Emeryville Sport Fishing had 5 boats out on Sunday in the bay with 81 anglers for a total of 79 halibut to 20-pounds to go with 41 stripers to 14-pounds. Jay Lopes of Right Hook Sport Fishing reported great action throughout the weekend despite the large tides with 9 halibut to 32-pounds outside the Gate to go with a pair of stripers and 3 leopard shark inside the bay. John Akina at Oyster Point Bait, Tackle and Deli reported excellent fishing in the south bay today with a mixed bag of halibut and stripers taken from the Bird Cage and Candlestick Point. A couple of boats reported limits of halibut at the Alameda Rockwall. Live shiners have been tops, but trolling frozen anchovies is also workings. Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait in San Rafael said most of the skiffs in the harbor had from 1 to four fish per boat on Sunday despite heavy boat pressure. The top areas were Paradise, Southhampton Shoals and Red Rock.

Delta/Stockton 
Bass-2 Stripers-2 Sturgeon-3
Despite brutally hot inland temperatures to 110 degrees, people are still heading to the Delta to fish. A 14-pound striper was weighed in at Dockside Bait in Pittsburg today on fresh shad; the first striper of this size landed in the past several weeks. Sturgeon fishing remains very good with few anglers targeting the diamondbacks. The Glomar west of the Mothball Fleet, the Horseshoe, Grizzly Bay, Montezuma Slough, Chain Island and Sturgeon Alley have been the top areas. The hot weather brought an end to the wind that kept boaters from anchoring on the outgoing tide. Grass shrimp or eel have been the top baits with ghost shrimp difficult to obtain.
Shoreline striper fishing is just starting to pick up on grass shrimp or anchovies.
Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, reported water temperatures in the main San Joaquin River are approaching 80 degrees, and anglers must slow down their presentations in order to entice strikes from the sluggish fish. He has been working the outside weed lines on the ebb tide with the Berkley 6-inch Power Worm on a Zappu Head. When the tide moves in, he switches to the Berkley Heavy Weight worm or the IMA Shaker crank bait in bluegill or crawdad patterns. They have been punching through the weeds with the Chigger Craw or tossing the IMA Big Stick for a top water bite. He advised getting on the Delta early this week if you are interested in fishing, as there are large boats already positioning themselves for Saturday’s Fireworks show in the central Delta. Heavy boat traffic is anticipated throughout the weekend. He will be teaching Fishing 123 at the Kid’s College on Saturday, July 11th at San Joaquin Delta College. Information – fishinginstructor@aol.com for a registration form. This seminar is designed for beginning fishermen and children.

Tournament Results
Angler’s Choice Night Tourney (2 limit weighin)–Don Pedro– June 27th: 1st –Ben Hetrick/Bub Tosh – 19.37-pounds; 2nd –Louis Alexander/Larry Whitt– 18.29 –pounds (Big Fish – 4.38); 3rd –Wally Carpenter/Jimmie Harrell – 17.7.

Western Outdoor News Summer Special -Isabella– June 27th: 1st –Leo and Mark Abler– 23.17-pounds(Big Fish – 8.46); 2nd –Bret Smith/ Geordy Wise– 23.15 –pounds; 3rd –Mike Hill/Del Oliver– 18.12.

Kokanee Power –New Melones– June 27/28th: 1st –Mike Giovacchini/Travis Koll; 2nd –Mike/Kendra Tripp; 3rd –Jay/Cheryl and Tak Watanabe. – 18.12.

Upcoming

July 4th – 5th: Family Summer Camp Workshops at Bass Pro Shops in Manteca – Free Family Activities-Information (209) 825-8400.
July 10th: Kaweah – Visalia Bass Club
July 11th: New Melones – CIFFI Kokanee Open –information – kokanee.org.
Kaweah – Kern County Bass Masters
Nacimiento – Jim’s Pro Bass Tackle
Kid’s College – Fishing 123–San Joaquin Delta College – Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor
July 12th: Delta/Russo’s – Angler’s Choice
July 15th: Delta/Ladd’s – Bass Pro Shops
July 17th: Success – Success Bass Club
July 18th: Isabella – Western Outdoor News
Pine Flat – Kings River Bass Club

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