Top 5 fishing spots in Central, CA: Lake Don Pedro, McClure & New Melones reservoirs, High Sierra
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 2 Kokanee 3 King salmon 3 Crappie 2
Don Pedro continues to kick out some of the largest kokanee in the state, but some impressive king salmon are also making their presence known, Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing has been using a variety of lures for king salmon to 7 pounds along with solid kokanee pushing 17 inches at depths from 40 to 60 feet. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service has been making the occasional trip over to Pedro to have his clients pull on the larger kokanee, and he said, “The kokanee bite exploded at the end of last week, and we are running similar set ups of pink hoochies tipped with Pautske’s Tuna Garlic Fire Corn behind a gold hammered dodger at 50 to 55 feet in the mornings, but the key is to vary your speeds.”
Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle in Modesto reported a solid topwater bite with Berkley’s Choppo, Spooks, or buzzbaits as the bass are focusing on the forming shad schools. He added, “There is a good jig bite as well along with spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. There are still anglers tossing big swimbaits, and they are having some success for larger bass. Swimbaits or topwater lures are producing the largest grade.” The lake will continue to experience intense fishing pressure on the weekends one more tournament on the schedule in May 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 821.57 feet in elevation. Recreational boat pressure will also increase exponentially starting this Memorial Day Weekend as decontaminations are required at nearby New Melones. Due to rising lake levels, the Blue Oaks Launch Ramp is closed. The duration of the closure is currently unknown as DPRA staff continue monitoring changing lake conditions.
The ramp will reopen once water levels allow for safe public access.
Isabella/Kaweah/Success/southern California Aqueduct reports available at https://www.tackleandrod.com/weekly-fishing-report.
McClure Reservoir
Bass 3 Trout 3 King salmon 2 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2
Aaron Jones reported shad schools have formed throughout the lake, and the bass are feeding heavily on shad. Jigs and worms are effective along with topwater lures like the Berkley Choppo 90. The bass are busting shad on the surface at times out in open water, and the post-spawn fish are moving out from the shorelines.
Steve Tedrick of Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle in Snelling reported trollers are finding success for planted and holdover rainbows with shad-patterned spoons worked in open water around the shad schools. 1,120 pounds of trout from Calaveras Trout Farm were stocked into Lake McClure at McClure Point on May 3. 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 2.5 feet to 847.00 feet in elevation and 87%. There are two club bass tournaments remaining in May with the Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournament coming to the lake on June 6.
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Bass 3 Trout 2 Kokanee 3 Crappie 2
Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service continues to score with up to five limits of kokanee within two hours at the most running pink hoochies tipped with Pautske’s Tuna Garlic Fire Corn behind a gold hammered dodger at depths from 40 to 60 feet in various locations in the mornings before adding blues and greens for his afternoon trips when the kokanee drop in the water column. Wise said, “The kokanee range from 12 to 15 inches, and you can find them throughout the lake from Carson Creek, Rose Island, Glory Hole Point, and the dam. We have been running from 1.3 to 1.5 mph, and it is important to vary your speeds and change direction to entice strikes. The bite is only going to get better throughout the summer as the fish will get larger.”
For bass, Aaron Jones reported shad schools are forming in the main lake, and jerkbaits, underspins, spinnerbaits, jigs, or topwater lures such as the Berkley Choppo or Spooks are all working.” 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 opened on 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 dropped nearly a foot to 1039.67 feet in elevation and 78% while downstream Tulloch dropped to 92%.
High Sierra
Bass Lake
Bass 3 Trout 3 Kokanee 1
Jayden Moua reported a strong bass bite with the fish in all stages of the spawn. He said, “The key is covering water and slowing down with reaction presentations.” Bill Kunz of Hanford took first during Sunday’s Fresno Bass Club event with a five-fish limit at 14.29 pounds. For trout, Mike Beighey of Bass Lake Fishing Tours reported the fish are biting but you must cull a few small ones to land a big one, but there are some big ones out there after the recent plant of trophy-sized rainbows. The key is getting on the water early as the bite dies around 10:30 am. Beighey is finding his best action between Miller’s Landing and the Sheriff’s Tower right down the middle of the lake at 20 feet in depth with orange Trout Busters or Wiggle Hoochies along with green mini squids tipped with a piece of nightcrawler behind a Dick’s Mountain dodger at speeds around 1.4 mph. The 10K Derby fish remains out there, worth $500 for derby participants if caught by June 30. A webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. No future bass tournaments are schedule through the end of June.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 2 Striper 3 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
Striped bass are making a final push from the upper river system through the California Delta before returning in the fall, but there are still linesides to be found for those willing. Few boats are targeting white sturgeon in Suisun Bay, but the action remains hot and heavy for big, oversized diamondbacks. Largemouth bass fishing remains a grind, but there is an early morning topwater bite. Limits below 20 pounds have been good enough to place during these late spring tournaments.
Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was out of Pittsburg Marina on Friday with a group of four anglers, and oversized sturgeon were the story as they brought 7 fish to the boat with five diamondbacks over 60 inches with one pushing 8 feet in length. Mitchell said, “There were absolutely no boats out in Suisun Bay as we didn’t see one throughout the day, but the sturgeon are still here for certain. We were soaking salmon roe around the Middle Grounds, and these guys had all they could handle.” Sturgeon catch-and-release season ends in a few weeks on June 1 through October 1.
The last of the salmon smolt plants from the Mokelumne River Hatchery into the San Joaquin River were released at Eddo’s Harbor at the end of last week, and Alan Fong of Alan Fong Outdoors continued to locate linesides with a variety of lures including Bailzy Baits swimbaits, swimjigs, and chatterbaits. Striped bass action has been best around water movement around tule berms or troughs with deep water access in the central Delta.
The water temperatures have risen to the 66/68-degree range, and they hit 70 degrees in the sloughs in the afternoons, and largemouth bass fishing remains fair at best. There is an early topwater bite before the sun comes out, but this window is small. A 19.11-pound limit took Sunday’s Bass Hole High Rollers Division by experienced Delta anglers Edgar and Armando Luzuriaga, but most teams struggled Largemouth bass action remains a grind, but the average five-fish weight was in the 10- to 12-pound range. Spinnerbaits are effective when the wind is blowing, and it was blowing hard over the weekend. Starting with the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, the San Joaquin side will be dominated by recreational boaters through the summer months.
All the rest
Valley/Westside waterways
Striper 2 Catfish 3
The California Aqueduct remains slow for striped bass, but a few linesides to 9 pounds have been taken on flukes, umbrella rigs, or bait. In the Delta Mendota Canal, Jayden Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle reported largemouth bass are guarding fry,and chatterbaits or frogs are enticing strikes. He said, “The fry are jumping out of the water when we cast, but the bass are just swiping at the frogs.” Phiab Muas landed an 8-pound largemouth in the Delta Mendota.
Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake
Bass 2 Trout 1 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 3
Jayden Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle reported a strong crappie bite, saying, “Anglers are going to Hensley for crappie, and Eastman generally picked up after Hensley. Large red ear perch are also found on wax worms or jumbo red worms near the launch ramp.” There are no bass tournaments at Eastman through the end of June. Eastman held at 512.48 feet in elevation and 31% with Hensley dropping 2.5 feet to 497.93 feet in elevation and 40%.
Lake McSwain
Trout 2
Steve Tedrick of Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle in Snelling reported slower trout action as the last plant was 2240 pounds from the Calaveras Trout Farm on May 3. There are still plenty of trout in the lake, but many are heading into the cooler waters of the river arm. Bank fishing is best in the early mornings or late afternoons into evening at the Handicapped Docks, Brush Pile, or the peninsula near the Marina with rainbow Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or spoons. Two additional plants are scheduled in June. 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 dropped to 83%. 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 with their grand opening postponed to this coming Saturday, May 23, from 5am to 4pm. Opening Day for the Splash-N-Dash water park is this coming Saturday, May 23. Information: https://mysplashndash.com.
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 2 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2
Jayden Moau reported a consistent bass bite for numbers of post-spawn fish with finesse techniques as the bass continue to focus on bluegill fry. American shad are in the upper river too. . The lake rose 4.5 feet to 573.38 feet in elevation and 96%. The San Joaquin River is running at 476 cfs at Friant. There are no bass tournaments scheduled in May with only one in June.
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Jayden Moau reported an improving bass bite as the spotted bass are suspending towards the middle of the channels. Senkos on a wacky-rig are effective for the post-spawn bass. For trout, Steve Jones of Fresno, holder of the Shaver Lake brown trout record, scored a limit of rainbows from 14 to 16 inches at depths from 40 to 60 feet with bright-patterned spoons. In the lower Kings River, a trout plant is scheduled this week, but the flows remain high at 3426 cfs, creating dangerous conditions for waders. The lake rose 4 feet to 929.51 feet elevation and 88%. 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
Yahir Leon of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported trolling umbrella rigs, paddletailed swimbaits, or large P-Line Predator Minnows are producing striped bass in the main lake along with anchovies, pile worms, or jumbo minnows from the banks. Jayden Moua added, “The striped bass are feeding on the American shad.”
Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that between the main lake falling nearly ½ ‘ a day, heavy winds and actively milting fish- it’s been tough to pattern the fish in the last week. There have been very few anglers lately due to the mixture of changing variables. “ I once again had to cancel a trip due to wind- so I chanced it and went solo scouting. I released over 16 fish , with a 7 lb and a 10.5 lb milting males in the mix. I fished for over 9 hours – until the wind got over 20 mph- looking for new patterns. The fish were in the 60-70’ range and I was using the regular Lucky Crafts. A lot of fish are really focused on spawning now- and many won’t bite. Overall it’s a tough bite now.” George said
In the O’Neill Forebay, undersized striped bass remain the rule, but bait along with but flukes or small shad-patterned swimbaits remain the best bet. The main lake dropped from 82 to 79% with the forebay rising from 69 to 83%. Los Banos Creek Reservoir is now closed to public access until June 1.
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 2
Dick Nichols of Mountain Tackle reported a continued slowdown at Shaver Lake for both trout and kokanee with the rising water levels to 89%. Nichols said, “I have heard this from several seasoned trollers including Mark Saito of Fresno and Earl Taniguchi of Fowler, and although they were out three times this past week, they found declining action. Saito reported good action in the first 1.5 pounds between 7 and 8:30 am before the bite dropped off to nothing. Chartreuse or orange hoochies with blades worked best for 4 kokanee and a 17-inch rainbow. Many other trollers reported zero to a couple fish being the norm in windy conditions. Shaver Lake Sports tackle manager Jarrett Watson confirmed the quick water rise along with cold then hot weather has decreased the bank bite too. Power Bait in green remains the best offering for shoreline rainbows, but the smallmouth fishing slowed to a crawl. Watson believes when the water crests and the weather balances, fishing will return to normal.”
At Huntington, Jay and Delinda Irvine along Jody and Lisa Allen of Visalia found mixed limits of small kokanee and rainbow trout on pink, gold, or orange spinners at depths from 25 to 30 feet. Hoochies or tubes are another solid option.” The June 13 Greg Marks Youth Fishing Derby at Shaver is full, but there is a waitlist at https://shaverlaketrophytroutproject.org/. This event fills up quickly. Huntington rose to 98%.
Wishon/Courtright
Trout 3
Wishon and Courtright are scheduled for trout plants this week. Steve Blair of Hanford and Lloyd Holland of Auberry found good action, catching and releasing 9 fat rainbows and a brown trout trolling Mountain Candy tipped with pink maggots behind Super Dave Mountain dodgers on lead core at depths from 10 to 20 feet. They experienced three road delays on the way to Wishon and again heading home. 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 4 Halibut 2 Striper 3 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3
Yahir Leon of Coyote Bait and Tackle reported a vastly improved striped bass action in the Watsonville/Monterey region in the early mornings or late evenings with big jerkbaits such as Duo Realis 160’s or 180’s. He added, “Perch fishing remains excellent for numbers from Santa Cruz south to Watsonville with small jerkbaits or motor oil/red flake grubs on a Carolina rig.”
Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, “Many of us almost forgot what is like to have a real salmon season along the Central Coast of California. As the Chinook situation developed over the past month, things are looking pretty good. Last week, water temperatures dropped a critical four or five degrees thanks to an increase in northwest winds and resultant upwelling, which brings cool nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface and feed a beautiful array of sea life including salmon. Santa Cruz angler Matt Mitchell got a tip about good water to the north this week, and they found ‘absolute idealistic salmon conditions’ with birds and whales working everywhere, landing a 31-inch salmon at a depth of 225 feet. The weather was extremely windy over the weekend, bringing high seas of between 12 to 17 feet, and boats stayed tied up to the docks. The Harvest Guideline for “Summer Season” in the Central Region is set at 21,800 fish. The official count of king salmon caught since the opener as is 2328 recreational chinook as of 4/30/26. That leaves 19472 fish still available to catch before August 31.
The fall Season is scheduled to open immediately thereafter on September 1 and runs through September 30. Minimum size for the salmon has been 24 inches since the April opener, but the minimum size changed to 20 inches on May 15. thereafter. Salmon are measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail fin. An additional 20,000 chinook total harvest for Fall Season has been approved for the Central Region. We can keep track of the number of fish estimated as caught, and the number still available at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website, wildlife.ca.gov. Use the search term “2026 Summer Recreational Chinook Salmon Catch by Area.”
Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay/Half Moon Bay
Halibut 2 Striper 2 Rockfish 2 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2
Big tides bring muddy water, and consecutive days of minus tides brought the striped bass bite to a screeching halt on Sunday after a scratchy bite on Saturday. Striped bass continue to do the heavy lifting in San Francisco Bay as droves of halibut have yet to arrive, but there is optimism for the next set of smaller tides. “We’d be pretty much dead in the water without the stripers right now,” said Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excurstions.
Early in the week, striped bass limits were the rule as Captain James Smith of the California Dawn returned with a combined 79 linesides along with 25 halibut for the California Dawn I and California Dawn 2. The bass scores remained consistent throughout the week before bottoming out on Sunday with the big tides. Smith’s boats returned with a combined 25 striped bass and 7 halibut to 20 pounds on Sunday. Smith’s brother, Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream took out a charter of military veterans from Vets4 Huntn and Fishn/Ranger Road midweek for 22 limits of stripers and 6 halibut. The Happy Hooker and Pacific Dream are running a special on Tuesday, May 26 for $150/angler.
Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Paradise Cove worked hard on Saturday for 5 limits of striped bass and a halibut, saying, “We didn’t have a fish until noon where we picked up a halibut at Southhampton Shoals. We ran back over to where the striped bass have been biting between Treasure Island and Angel Island, and at the top of the tide, we were able to get what we came for. There were several boats out there, but we didn’t see any nets flying until the top of the tide. Then it was on.”
There is optimism for this next set of smaller tides for halibut, and the striped bass have now invaded the bay for the next few months. Smith added, “The commercial draggers are coming in with 1500 to 3000 pounds of halibut so that tells me there are fish outside the Golden Gate, and this next set of smaller tides should tell us where we are at with this summer’s halibut. There is very good news for the future as this year has the highest concentration of undersized halibut that we have experienced. We released close to 250 short halibut on a recent trip, and even private boats are releasing between 30 and 40 shakers.”
The ocean was blown out over the weekend, and no boats were outside the Gate, but fierce northwest winds are also a good sign for the upcoming salmon season, cooling down the water and creating upwelling, bringing nutrients to the surface. As soon as the ocean calms down, rockfishing will resume at the Farallon Islands and along the coast, and things are lining up for the June 27 salmon opener below Point Arena.
San Luis Obispo
Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3
Rockfishing remains the story along the San Luis Obispo County coast, but the boats were tied up to the docks over the weekend with rough ocean conditions. On Friday, three boats were out of Patriot Sport Fishing in Port San Luis with a combined 36 passengers for near boat limits consisting of 207 assorted, 30 vermilion, 11 Boccaccio, 22 copper, 12 Bolina, two ocean whitefish, and 23 ling cod. Out of Morro Bay Landing, two boats were out on Friday with a combined 26 passengers for 10 fish shy of rockfish limits composed of 122 assorted, 44 vermilion, 60 Boccaccio, 22 copper, two cabezon, and 12 ling cod to 10 pounds.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 2 Striper 3 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
Striped bass are making a final push from the upper river system through the California Delta before returning in the fall, but there are still linesides to be found for those willing. Few boats are targeting white sturgeon in Suisun Bay, but the action remains hot and heavy for big, oversized diamondbacks. Largemouth bass fishing remains a grind, but there is an early morning topwater bite. Limits below 20 pounds have been good enough to place during these late spring tournaments.
Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’d Up Sport Fishing was out of Pittsburg Marina on Friday with a group of four anglers, and oversized sturgeon were the story as they brought 7 fish to the boat with five diamondbacks over 60 inches with one pushing 8 feet in length. Mitchell said, “There were absolutely no boats out in Suisun Bay as we didn’t see one throughout the day, but the sturgeon are still here for certain. We were soaking salmon roe around the Middle Grounds, and these guys had all they could handle.” Sturgeon catch-and-release season ends in a few weeks on June 1 through October 1.
The last of the salmon smolt plants from the Mokelumne River Hatchery into the San Joaquin River were released at Eddo’s Harbor at the end of last week, and Alan Fong of Alan Fong Outdoors continued to locate linesides with a variety of lures including Bailzy Baits swimbaits, swimjigs, and chatterbaits. Striped bass action has been best around water movement around tule berms or troughs with deep water access in the central Delta.
The water temperatures have risen to the 66/68-degree range, and they hit 70 degrees in the sloughs in the afternoons, and largemouth bass fishing remains fair at best. There is an early topwater bite before the sun comes out, but this window is small. A 19.11-pound limit took Sunday’s Bass Hole High Rollers Division by experienced Delta anglers Edgar and Armando Luzuriaga, but most teams struggled Largemouth bass action remains a grind, but the average five-fish weight was in the 10- to 12-pound range. Spinnerbaits are effective when the wind is blowing, and it was blowing hard over the weekend. Starting with the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, the San Joaquin side will be dominated by recreational boaters through the summer months.
Events:
May 23 – Grand Opening of The Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle in Snelling – 5 am to 4pm - 6710 Merced Falls Road in Snelling.
Tournament Results:
Bass Lake – Fresno Bass Club– May 17th: 1st – Bill Kunz – 14.29 pounds; 2nd – A.J. Duncan – 13.59; 3rd – Michael Cantu– 12.65 (Big Fish – 4.44)
Delta/Orwood Resort – The Bass Hole High Rollers Division – May 17th: 1st – Edgar and Armando Luzuriaga – 19.11 pounds (Big Fish – 7.57); 2nd – Steve Bosrock/Brayan Badali – 17.52; 3rd – Marc Young/Dave Newton – 17.33.
Delta/Orwood Resort – The Bass Hole Low Roller Rollers Division – May 17th: 1st – Jeremy Tanti/David Biczkow – 16.92 pounds; 2nd – Ivan Lazarin/Vern McCalla – 14.22; 3rd – Brandon Chaline/William Mericle– 13.87.
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Top 5 fishing spots in Central, CA: Lake Don Pedro, McClure & New Melones reservoirs, High Sierra."
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