Our experts reveal top 5 fishing in Central CA? Fresno-area lakes, Don Pedro, High Sierra
Fresno Bee May 13, 2026
Fishing report compiled by California Outdoors Hall of Fame member Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, who guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake.
Rankings key below: 4: Fish are jumping in the boat. 3: Good fishing. 2: Decent fishing. 1: Poor fishing. 0: Don’t bother
Unless noted, area code is 559
Bee’s Top 5 Picks
Lake Don Pedro
Bass 3 Trout 3 Kokanee 3 King salmon 3 Crappie 2
King salmon, kokanee, and rainbow trout are the story at Don Pedro . Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing reported solid action for all three species at depths from 40 to 60 feet with a variety of lures behind a larger dodger such as a Sep’s 3/0. He said, “We’ve landed kings to over 4 pounds along with losing one at the boat that was pushing 7 to 8 pounds, kokanee to 2 pounds, and good numbers of rainbows. The kings, kokanee, and rainbows are still mixed in together, and it’s a matter of figuring out what they want as varied lures from micro-hoochies to full size Pro Troll Kokanee Killers. There are fish starting to show up on structure, but we are finding most of our fish in open water.” Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle in Modesto reported bass can be found from the banks to 30 feet in depth with jigs, plastics on the drop-shot, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits, When the weather is stable, the reaction bite improves, and topwater Spooks or Berkley’s Choppo’s are working. 54 boats participated in Saturday’s Best Bass Tournament’s Mother Lode Division won by the team of Ryan and Russell Whitehead at 17.39 pounds bolstered by a big fish at 6.89. The lake will continue to experience intense fishing pressure on the weekends with 5 more tournaments on the schedule in May with 4 scheduled this coming Saturday along with 9 in June including the 56th Annual Modesto Ambassadors Night Tournament on June 6. Launch updates are posted at www.donpedrolake.com. A self-inspection is required for launching. The lake continues to rise, and it is currently at 819.18 feet in elevation. The Blue Oaks launch ramp may be inaccessible soon due to high water.
McClure Reservoir
Bass 3 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2
Aaron Jones reported a solid topwater bite with Berkley’s Choppo 90 as the threadfin shad are schooling, and the spotted bass are chasing bait on the surface. The backs of the cuts or coves have been the most effective location to find schooling shad as the bass are pushing them into the shorelines. Finesse techniques of jigs or plastics on a drop-shot or Ned-rig are another option for post-spawn fish as the bass have moved out into deeper water. 1,120 pounds of trout from Calaveras Trout Farm were stocked into Lake McClure at McClure Point on May 3, and after the rainbows move out from the shoreline, trollers must find the schools of shad to location the fish. The Reel Deal Market & Cafe at Lake McClure is now open for weekends with Barrett Cove Cafe service returning on May 23. The lake rose 1.5 feet to 844.46 feet in elevation and 85%. There are four bass tournaments on the schedule in May including the Best Bass Tournament event on May 16 with one on the schedule in June.
Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake
Bass 3 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
World gold medal kayak angler, Damian Thao of Fresno, continues his mastery of Eastman with more double-digit largemouth bass as part of a pair of five-fish limits weighing 31 and 32 pounds. Thao is featured in the latest issue of Bassmaster Magazine, a national publication. Tas Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle said, “There were three or four other bags over 25 pounds for those throwing big baits.” There is one bass tournament on the schedule at Eastman in May this coming Saturday. Catfish, bluegill, and carp continue to dominate reports out of Hensley. Eastman rose slightly to 512.32 feet in elevation and 31% with Hensley at 500.45 feet in elevation and 45%.
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Trout 2 Kokanee 3 bass 3
Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service reported a ‘red hot’ kokanee bite with five limits on Saturday before heading back out to scout a few new locations. “I have been running J-Pex lures behind a gold hammered dodger on two rods along with the new Head Hunter Bullet spoon by T-Bone’s Tackle behind the gold dodger on the other rods at depths from 30 to 50 feet. Apex lures and hoochies are also working as ‘anything you throw at them’ is scoring. We are getting double- and triple- hook ups throughout the mornings. The fish are still out in open water, said Wise.” For bass, Aaron Jones said, “There are lots of shad schools, and the fish are busting on the surface. Underspins, topwater lures, jigs, you name it, they are all working from the banks to 30 feet.” Both Glory Hole and Tuttletown open from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Glory Hole will be the only ramp open starting at 8:00 am Monday through Thursday. All boats must be quarantined for 30 days or decontaminated at the New Melones Marina. The marina is expected to open May 15. There are two kokanee tournaments on the lake in June with Kokanee Power on the June 6 and the Central Valley Anglers on June 20. The lake rose slightly to 1040.42 feet in elevation and 78% while downstream Tulloch is at 104%.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 2 Striper 3 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
Striped bass remain moving through the California Delta, and with the numbers of big fish upriver, the action should hold out until the first of June. The last of the salmon smolt dumps were released at Eddo’s Harbor and RV Park on the San Joaquin River this past week, and Alan Fong of Alan Fong Outdoors was out there with Rick Tietz of Blade Runner Tackle in very rough conditions, but they found great action for numbers of linesides to 8 pounds tossing Bailzy Bait’s swimbaits.
Captain Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo Sport Fishing confirmed the outstanding striped bass bite, saying. “I caught and released over 70 fish on Sunday with a 50/50 mix of shakers and keepers. Some days they want live bait while on others, they want spoons. We have been working on the San Joaquin side of the Delta, and we released quite a few double-digit stripers this week as large fish are coming out of the upper river after spawning. Every fish was skinny on Sunday, and they are heading for San Francisco Bay and the ocean. However, we are still catching males that are milting on their way upriver.”
Largemouth bass continue to be affected by the fluctuating weather conditions, and finesse techniques remain the best bet. Punching the weeds have been the technique for tournament champions. Overall, the bass bite has been a challenging, but it should improve with stable weather.
All the rest
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 3 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2
Tas Moau reported bass anglers are picking up from 20 to 30 spotted bass including some in the 2- to 3-pound range with finesse techniques. He added, “One angler found a 4-pound spot on the surface choking on a bluegill so he released both fish from certain death. The bass seem to be focusing on the bluegill spawn.” Keitech swimbaits along with dragging jigs on points remain effective. American shad are taken in the river arm . The lake rose 2 feet to 568.95 feet in elevation and 92%. The San Joaquin River is running at 515 cfs at Friant. There are no bass tournaments scheduled in May with only one in June.
Valley/Westside waterways
Striper 2 Catfish 2
The aqueduct has been unusually slow this year, but there are anglers using live bait by catching grass shrimp in the weeds or live sculpins on red worms for their best opportunities for striped bass. Tas Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle recommended working around the bends or bridges with live bait or with reaction lures such as white flukes. Water movement is the key.
Lake McSwain
Trout 3
Calaveras Trout Farm released 2240 pounds of rainbow trout in the lake on May 3, and two additional plants are scheduled in June. Trout plants are the key to this lake, and the shorelines are crowded the week after the plant. There are still plenty of trout remaining in the lake from the annual derby in early April, but many of these fish have moved into the cooler waters of the river arm. Berkley’s Mice Tails, garlic-scented Power Bait, inflated nightcrawlers, or Kastmasters continue to work from the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks, and the peninsula near the marina. Trolling remains best in the river arm with Ruby Red Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger or blue/silver Kastmasters. The lake held at 88%. Single trout plants are scheduled at Lake Yosemite in May and June. The Reel Deal Market & Cafe is now open for weekends, and the good news is the grand opening of Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle at the site of the former’s Angler’s Edge Market at 6710 Merced Falls Road in Snelling this coming Saturday, May 16, from 5am to 4pm.
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Tas Moau reported the bass bite remains slow as undersized fish remain the story. The best action remains in the river arm where the bass are pushing bait into the shorelines. Crappie is slow, but there are bluegill found in the flooded trees. Trollers are starting to arrive at the lake, and Jim Tartaglia of ‘Fishing with Jimmy T’ was out this week with Terry Walton and Steve Thiessen targeting king salmon. Even though they marked fish at 100 feet or deeper, the kings were reluctant so they pivoted to rainbows, finding them in the 12- to 14-inch range at depths from 15 to 23 feet in Water Ski Cove with TZer Tackle in green, blues, or chartreuse behind a dodger along with green Bottomline’s Tackle Tomahawks paired with Sierra Gold copper-coated dodgers. Rainbows to 18 inches were also the story for Chris Hansen and his crew this week with Bottomline’s 24k gold-plated Tomahawks or the ExCel Eagle behind a dodger. In the lower Kings River, the flows have ramped up to 4404 cfs, creating dangerous conditions for those wading. A trout plant occurred last week, but no plants are scheduled this week. The lake rose 1..5 feet to 925.47 feet elevation and 85%. There are no bass tournaments on the schedule in May or June.
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2
Josh Mesa of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “The striped bass bite remains good with anchovies from the banks along with Duo Realis 120 or 130 jerkbaits, paddletailed swimbaits, and topwater lures. Tas Moua reported a shad spawn is taking place, and the River2Sea Rig Walker has been a productive lure.
Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that the lake has started falling about a foot a day- but there are male stripers in the milting stage now- signaling spawning behavior is in full swing. Trollers are getting a few fish working the Romero side of the lake working the deeper flats with silver Lucky Crafts, Rapalas or Smithwicks. There has also been some action on jigs and spoons once you find an active feeding school. “ I scouted with a buddy just a few days ago and it took all day to find any fish. The falling water had moved the fish to new structure , but we eventually released over 20 nice fish to 7 lbs. on Shad colored Lucky Crafts It’s been the same thing lately, we’ve had to move a lot to find the biters. The spawning schools are not eating most of the time.” George said
In the O’Neill Forebay, Moau reported anglers are going through 50 to 60 stripers to pick up 5 over 18 inches, but flukes or the Sakamata Shad swimbaits have been the best bet. Mesa reported a strong largemouth bass bite by shaking a minnow like Sakamata shad using Live Scope. The main lake dropped from 85 to 82% with the forebay dropping from 74 to 69%. Los Banos Creek Reservoir is now closed to public access until June 1.
High Sierra
Bass Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0
There are plenty of planted trout in the lake from the recent derby plants, and the 10K fish remains out there, worth $500 for derby participants if caught by June 30. At the derby, many anglers struggled while other reported landing trophy rainbows to 7 pounds. Although there are numbers of rainbow trout in the lake, Tas Moua said, “The bass don’t sem to be chasing trout as they are keying on bluegill and crappie. Bass at 6 and 8 pounds were caught and released this week on Megabass Magdraft swimbaits. The swimbait bite is best in the early morning or an hour before sunset. There have been some large fish close to the docks, and the males are guarding fry throughout the lake.” A webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. Two bass tournaments are scheduled in May with none in June.
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2
Dick Nichols of Mountain Tackle reported Shaver is experiencing a slowdown as the trout trolling bite is off, and the kokanee counts have dropped by 50%. The lake has been rising rapidly, and when the lake rises, the trout bite slows as they are feeding primarily on insects washed off the shorelines. Nichols said, “I fished with former Shaver Lake resident and now of Arroyo Grande Bob Hatmaker on Friday and Saturday. We found a decent bite on Friday at Eagle Point on pink Dick’s Mountain Tube’s with scented pink corn behind a Super Dave Mountain Dodger in pink and D-MAC Mountain Dodger. Out of 18 hookups, we landed two limits of kokanee with Hatmaker keeping a limit. On Saturday, we found much slower action as did many other trollers working the Blackrock area. We were fortunate to put a limit together for Hatmaker using pink and chartreuse Mountain Tubes behind the same dodgers we used on Friday. I expect the bite will be off until the lake column crests, which should be within a week or two. Check the launch ramp at http://www.sierramarina.com/webcam-weather-page.html for conditions. Online registration began on May 1 for the June 13 Greg Marks Youth Fishing Derby. This event fills up quickly. Shaver rose to 81 with Huntington dropping to 92%.
Wishon/Courtright:
Several creeks have been planted in the past three weeks including Dinkey Creek last week. McKinley Grove Road was scheduled to open on May 1. The docks are in at Wishon, and the Wishon Village RV Park and Store will open soon. Road conditions – Sierra National Forest 297-0706 ext. 4961 or 392-0423.
Ocean
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Rockfish 3 Salmon 2 Halibut 2 Striper 3 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3
Josh Mesa of Coyote Bait and Tackle reported excellent surf perch fishing at Sunset and Rio Del Mar Beaches with Honey Badgers Moto Red 2 grubs. He added, “Striped bass are found from 5:00 am to first light with Duo Realis 140 or 160 jerkbaits around the mouth of the Pajaro River, Marina, and Moss Landing. Tom Niccum released a 29-inch striper on Sunday morning on a Duo.” Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, “Anglers around the Monterey Bay are enjoying our first real salmon season in years. Reports indicate the salmon fishing’s getting better with fewer skunks and an increase in limits caught. The proportion of shakers is on the increase as well. A new school is moving into the bay, feeding on abundant anchovies and an increasing number of sardines. Anglers are reporting an increase in undersized fish, with keepers ranging from six to nearly 20 pounds. Commercial boasts working in our area report an average weight of 12 to 15 pounds per fish, and they are finding plenty of fresh king salmon to sell. Hot spots close to Monterey are the 250- to 300-foot depths outside Point Pinos, and the canyon edges closer to Moss Landing. Some boats have found success fishing the Soldier’s Club and Mulligan Hill area. Successful anglers are trolling “in the mud,” as close to the bottom as they can. Over the past week, we’ve seen an increase of salmon catch reports coming from the 300-foot depths straight out from Santa Cruz, off Natural Bridges, near Three-Mile Beach and up the coast towards Davenport. Bonita are proving to be an enjoyable distraction for trollers, halibut drifters, and even for anglers casting lures from the Capitola and Santa Cruz Wharves. These tuna-like fish are a blast to catch, especially when you get surface action. This year’s higher water temps have drawn schools of bonita from 14 to 24 inches from the south to feed in Monterey Bay. They are very aggressive fish, capable of swimming up to 40 miles an hour. They are quite edible but should be promptly bled and iced for the best culinary results.”
.Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay/Half Moon Bay
Halibut 3 Salmon 2 Striper 3 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 2
The weather offshore limited salmon fishing below Pigeon Point, and the party boats postponed their weekend trips to start again with better conditions this week. The New Captain Pete out of Half Moon Bay loaded up with coastal rockfish on their special half-day trip on Friday. When the weather cooperates, the improving action for ocean salmon below Pigeon Point should resume along with rockfishing at the Farallon Islands.
Inside the bay, live bait availability has been on a ‘day to day’ basis, and the party boats were trolling frozen anchovies or herring this weekend for improved halibut action with the slower tides. The two boats of the California Dawn returned with 36 halibut and 13 striped bass for 24 anglers on their two boats on Sunday, over a fish per rod on the halibut. The Pacific Dream and Happy Hooker, also out of Berkeley, posted 60 striped bass and 12 halibut on Saturday for a combined 51 anglers, and if the passengers wanted striped bass instead of halibut, limits would be possible. The smaller boats such as the six-pack Codfather out of Alameda put their customers onto 6 limits of halibut and two striped bass on Sunday. Smaller tides make for better conditions for halibut fishing as clear water is necessary for the flatfish to locate their prey swimming close to the bottom. Halibut have small stomachs and need to eat frequently. The first window of the commercial salmon season opened on May 1, and the best action was far up the coast near Point Arena where colder water is found.
Recreational salmon fishing between Point Arena and Pigeon Point opens on June 27, and many of the party boats are already booked.
San Luis Obispo
Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3
Rockfish limits were taken over the weekend as Patriot Sport Fishing had two boats out on Sunday with 15 anglers for limits consisting of 107 assorted, 12 vermilion, 29 Boccaccio, 2 copper and 13 ling cod to 15 pounds. Out of Morro Bay Landing, two boats were out on Sunday with a combined 22 passengers for two fish shy of rockfish limits composed of 121 assorted, 26 vermilion, 60 Boccaccio, 8 copper, 5 Bolina, and 2 ocean whitefish along with 24 ling cod to 16 pounds.
Events
May 16 – Grand Opening of The Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle in Snelling – 5 am to 4pm - 6710 Merced Falls Road in Snelling.
Tournament Results:Don Pedro – Best Bass Tournaments Mother Lode Division – May 9t: 1st –Ryan and Russell Whitehead – 17.39 pounds (Big Fish – 6.89); 2nd – Ron and Rich Ingram – 14.54; 3rd – Mike Impeartrice/Derek Carapinha – 14.46.
This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Our experts reveal top 5 fishing in Central CA? Fresno-area lakes, Don Pedro, High Sierra."