Fishing Report: Week of Oct. 2

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State and striper record-holder at Millerton Lake and who now guides in the greater Fresno area. Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted. Have a photo of a recent catch to share? Email it to sports@fresnobee.com with “fish photo” in the subject line.

Bass fishing remains very slow with the spotted and largemouth bass loading up with shad at depths to 65 feet. Shad-patterned plastics on the drop-shot or jigs such as Berserk’s Purple Hornet jigs are working best as the reaction bite is very slow. The fish are suspended off the bottom and oriented to the schools of bait. Few trout fishermen are targeting the lake, but with the abundant shad schools, the rainbows are holding around the shad balls. The lake held at 84 percent capacity. Call: Monte Smith 209-581-4734; Gary Vella 209-652-7550

The bass bite remains slow as the water is still warmer than normal. Fish are feeding on the abundant shad schools and less willing to fall for artificial lures. Mike Gomez of Berserk Baits has been pre-fishing McClure the past two Saturdays for minimal action despite throwing a variety of offerings. He said, “I only landed 10 fish this past Saturday, and only two of the bass were keeper-size, and the story was the same the previous Saturday with 15 fish resulting in only two keepers. A recent club tournament from the 1790 group out of Modesto produced a winning weight at 11 pounds, with 9 pounds getting you paid. The only thing I could get them to go on is plastics on the drop-shot, and I have been scoring the occasional bass with the Pro Worm’s 124p or Pro Gold 300 at depths from 40-65 feet in 80-90 feet of water. Every one of the bass are spitting up shad up to 1.5 inches, and the fish are holding around the shad. We see them down there but getting them to go is a different story. With all of the bait, they just aren’t going for lures right now. I tried reaction baits, jigs and crankbaits, but the only successful lures have been plastics. The water temperature starts off at 70 degrees in the mornings, and it rises to 75 by the afternoons. Once the weather cools down, the bass will go on a major feed, but right now, they are suspending in deep water. Don Pedro is the same way, and interest in both lakes has waned as there were only 15 boats on the lake on Saturday.” McClure dropped to 75 percent capacity and 826.19 feet in elevation.

Lake McSwain has been in the doldrums for much of the summer with the lack of trout plants, but the addition of 3,000 pounds within the past month along with plants before this weekend’s Merced Irrigation Trout Derby have bolstered action from the banks and for trollers. The Calaveras Trout Farm is back in operation after being closed during the final year of the recent drought, and fishermen are expected to line the banks for the derby starting at 7 a.m. Saturday and closing at noon Sunday. There will be 50 tagged fish released into the lake with top prizes of $2,000 for tag #51, $1,000 for tag #52, and $500 for tag #53. The remaining tags from 54 to 100 will draw equal shares from a prize pool. And there is a $200 prize for the heaviest trout along with $500 for tag #51 if it’s landed by a derby participant after the derby closes. With the recent trout plants and cooler water, rainbows are coming from the normal locations of the brush pile, handicapped docks and the peninsula near the Marina with Kastmasters, inflated nightcrawlers, various colors of trout dough bait or Power Eggs. Trollers are working with Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger, blade/’crawler combinations or silver/blue Kastmasters from the first fence line upriver to the dam. Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

Despite struggles for spotted bass at the nearby lakes of Don Pedro and McClure, New Melones is featuring a progressively improving spotted bass bite. In addition to the spots, quality rainbows continue to tug on lines in the deepest waters, and an October catfish contest is under way. John Liechty of Xperience Bass Fishing Guide Service said, “I am really excited about the next two months, and if we don’t get an early winter with very cold temperatures, the bass bite should be incredible. It is very good right now with the fish holding in certain areas, and you can catch fish until you are bored. Of course, you have to figure out the pattern, and over the past six to seven years, I have figured out that these bass are holding at depths around 30 feet with our best action on shad-patterned plastics on the drop-shot. I figure out how far the bass are holding off of the bottom and adjust my drop-shot weight to the proper leader length. The larger fish are holding off of the edges, and I try and keep the boat at 30-35 feet in depth and drop over the edges with either a three-sixteenths or quarter ounce weight. I am looking for an early swimbait bite, but it hasn’t happened as of yet. We caught and released 100 bass on Sunday, and 95 percent of the fish are spots. There are also loads of spots in the 8-inch range, and they must have spawned in February and grown rapidly in the high water conditions.” Trout fishing remains solid for rainbows to 6 pounds for trollers working from 50-60 feet with shad-patterned spoons. The water temperature has dropped 10 degrees in the past month to 74 degrees, and the trout should start moving closer to the surface. Glory Hole is holding its annual Catfish Derby from Nov. 1-30. The monthlong event is limited to 50 entrants with sign-ups beginning Oct. 1. The lake held at 84 percent capacity and 1,054.42 feet in elevation. Call: Glory Hole Sports 209-736-4333; Monte Smith 209-581-4734; John Liechty Xperience Fishing Guide Service 209-743-9932

Striped bass fishing continues to occupy Central Valley fishermen, and O’Neill Forebay is back in play for numbers of linesides in addition to the main San Luis Reservoir. Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Fishermen are picking up around 30 striped bass per trip to 5 pounds in the big lake, and there is a topwater bite as the stripers are chasing bait and boiling on the surface. The stripers are pushing the bait into the shorelines, and topwater lures such as River2Sea Whopper Ploppers or Vixens are working in addition to flukes and Lucky Craft ripbaits or Duo Realis jerkbaits. In the forebay, more and more local fishermen are stopping short of the big lake to work the shorelines around Check 12 or the Highway 152 bridge with topwater lures in the early evenings. There is a large number of striped bass in the 13- to 15-inch range, and anglers will have to be patient to pick up a limit to 22 inches.” Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that the fish are showing up on top some days. “The guys who fished between windy days this last week had some flurries of topwater action on fish to 26 inches when it got calm. I expect the overall bite to improve this coming next two weeks with the forecast of somewhat stable temps. There are a lot of small fish.” Paul Jolley of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “I went out to Dinosaur Point this week, and the bite is really good as there is so much bait in the water. When the stripers were feeding and boiling, jerkbaits and squarebill crankbaits were working for me. The key is to cast towards the shoreline and target the feeding schools. The forebay has been good with topwater lures throughout the lake, even in the open water. Anchovies are working around Check 12 and the Highway 152 Bridge.” San Luis held at 86 percent capacity. Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle 408-463-0711, Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com 905-2954

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Fishing Report: Week of Oct. 2."