Fish report (April 22)

Kokanee fishing remained solid with early limits the rule. Rainbow trout and king salmon are also on the bite. Monte Smith of Gold County Sport Fishing found outstanding action on recent trips with early limits of kokanee before targeting rainbows and king salmon by mid-morning. He said, “We have had lots of action, and this week’s winds moved the kokanee schools around a bit, but once you locate them, limiting out has been the rule.” He is running Rocky Mountain Tackle’s micro hootchies tipped with shoepeg corn scented with Pro Cure’s Herring or Carp Spit behind a RMT dodger or an Uncle Larry’s spinner behind a Vance’s dodger at depths from 45-65 feet. Smith said, “I just received a set of Phenix kokanee rods, and these are extremely light and make for a great fight on the quality rod.” Rainbows are found at depths from 35-55 feet, and after putting together a few limits of kokanee, Smith is rounding out limits for his clients by fast-trolling heavy spoons in shad patterns for the trout and occasional king salmon to 2.25 pounds. For largemouth and spotted bass, Manny Basi of the Bait Barn in Waterford said, “Medium to large minnows from the bank have been the top technique, and more fishermen are choosing to fish from the banks instead of putting in a boat.” Tournament anglers are finding bass in the shallows with Zoom lizards or Brush Hogs in watermelon/red, watermelon or green pumpkin. The lake has been releasing water, and the launch ramp is limited to one lane at Fleming Meadows. There is a courtesy dock and a long dock in the water, and patience is a necessity to launch on the weekends because of high interest in recreational boating and fishing. The lake dropped slightly to 708.35 feet in elevation and 42 percent capacity. Call: Monte Smith, (209) 581-4734; Danny Layne-Fish’n Dan, (209) 586-2383; Gary Vella, (209) 652-7550; Bait Barn, (209) 874-3011.

The bass bite is wide open for those willing to walk the distance from the North Barrett Cove ramp to the parking lots. Early arrivals can avoid the walk as there is limited trailer parking near the ramp. Most boats are fishing, with only a few recreational users on the lake with the limited launch conditions. Anthony Oates of A-1 Bait in Snelling reported lights-out bass fishing with jigs or plastics on the darthead or drop-shot all working for numbers; many of the bass have yet to spawn. A-1 Bait reported it is under new ownership with live crawdads and live minnows available. Minnows and crawdads are working for the numerous bank fishermen. The launch ramp is accessible beginning at 8 a.m., but boats have to be off the water by 4 p.m. Information on the launch ramp is available at (855) 222-5253. The lake rose 2 feet to 613.44 in elevation and 9 percent capacity. Call: A-1 Bait, (209) 563-6505; Bub Tosh, (209) 404-0053.

Bank fishing has been best from the A-Loop or brush pile with garlic trout dough bait scented with Rip Lipperz Trout Dust. Trout plants may be over for the season because of unseasonably high water temperatures. There is one more big trout tournament – the Mariposa Fish and Game Derby on May 9. Call: McSwain Marina, (209) 378-2534.

At New Melones, the lake is still accessible and will be throughout the summer, but the two-lane concrete ramp at Glory Hole Point is no longer in operation. There is a two-lane dirt ramp at the end of Glory Hole Point that is without a courtesy dock at this point. John Lietchy of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp said, “A four-wheel-drive tow vehicle is highly recommended, as there have been a few two-wheel-drive vehicles stuck on the gravel launch ramp. The ramp has limited the number of recreational boats on the lake, and most boats on the lake are fishing.” Bass fishing remained solid for numbers and the occasional large fish. Lietchy and a partner took Saturday’s Angler’s Choice tournament with a 16-pound, 8-ounce limit, and he said, “It was junk fishing at its best, as I had eight rods rigged up with different lures and caught fish on everything I tried. Our large fish at 6.8 pounds came on a swimbait, but we landed fish on topwater lures in the morning, ripbaits, crankbaits and plastics on shaky heads or a drop-shot. The biggest key is to be willing to bounce around and to not get locked into any one pattern.” Weedless presentations are working best around wood; darthead plastics are best around the rocks. Trout fishing remains best for trollers working depths from 20-30 feet in the main lake near the river channel. A few rainbows over 2 pounds are starting to show, most likely because of the release of the Kokanee Power net pens in early April. Trout are on the surface in the early mornings chasing shad, and they are following swimbaits or umbrella rigs tossed by bass fishermen. Bank fishing for rainbows has slowed, but Lietchy said, “A limit is possible tossing Kastmasters along the banks with deep-water access in the early mornings, but you have to move around since sitting and waiting for a school to come through will not be productive.” More kokanee are showing up on a daily basis, and the warming trend should help ensure that continues. Kokanee are found at depths from 40-60 feet with small spoons such as Sockeye Slammers or Simon Baby Wobblers tipped with scented corn behind a small dodger. Catfishing remained outstanding in the 64-degree water of the lake, and frozen shad, nightcrawlers, anchovies, chicken livers or sardines are working in the shallows. New Melones dropped 7 feet to 859.64 in elevation and 21 percent capacity. Tulloch rose a foot to 501.92 in elevation and 84 percent capacity. Call: Glory Hole Sports, (209) 736-4333; Monte Smith, (209) 581-4734; Danny Layne-Fish’n Dan, (209) 586-2383; Sierra Sport Fishing, (209) 599-2023.

The main lake continued to release water, and it is has dropped to 64 percent. In the main lake, fewer trollers are targeting the lake with most boats drifting minnows at depths from 40 to 80 feet near the dam, the Trash Racks and the mouth of Portuguese Cove. Falling water has put most stripers off the bite. Roger George of Roger’s Guide Sevice said he pre-fished the evening bite Friday and released 12 fish to 24 inches, but the bite Saturday completely turned off and he only got five fish with most schools suspending in midlevel water. “Jim Kenyon of Fresno pulled up by us at the dock and showed us a huge 44-inch, 29.8-pound striper he caught/kept on a fluke fishing it near the bank,” George said. “Earlier, we also found a floating dead striper – in the middle of the lake – around 25 pounds that had a 4- to 5-pound striper stuck in its mouth! Overall, it was very slow and tough going.” Bank fishermen are finding good action at night with 4-inch Storm swimbaits in bluegill or rainbow trout. Small swimbaits such as K-Tech’s or Duo Realis jerkbaits are another option for shoreline fishermen. In the O’Neill Forebay, numbers of striped bass are showing up around Check 12 with blood worms or pile worms. The bass range from undersized to 24 inches. Tossing bucktail jigs with a black/white curly-tailed jig trailer is another option as the fish are in the shallows. Heavy pumping through the main lake is attracting the stripers, and the action is best when the water is moving. Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle, (408) 463-0711; Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com, (559) 905-2954.

Chris Arcoleo of Chris’ Landing in Monterey reported continued slow salmon fishing over the weekend with all of their boats targeting rockfish Sunday. There was a bite Thursday, producing 12 salmon and a thresher shark for seven anglers on the Check Mate, but the action dried up with the Star of Monterey only returning with five salmon for 24 fishermen on Saturday. The Star of Monterey found the rockfish bite much more to their liking on Sunday with 35 limits of rockfish and 41 ling cod while the Check Mate and Caroline checked in with a combined 41 limits and 20 lings. The Star of Monterey went to Point Sur on Friday for 95 ling cod for 35 fishermen along with half limits of rockfish. They have made two trips to Point Sur since the season opener, and the results have been spectacular for lings with scores of 84 and 95. Arcoleo said, “The area around Point Sur is loaded with lings, and it is difficult to catch the rockfish. Anglers with bars are loading up as the lings are hitting nearly everything. There is a minimum of live bait in the bay with no squid or small mackerel around, and the only live bait is possibly small sand dabs.” They have plenty of room throughout the week for rockfish or salmon trips, but the weekends are very busy. Call: Chris’ Landing, (831) 375-5951; Bayside Marine, (831) 475-2173; usafishing.com.

Salmon fishing is concentrated off the San Mateo coastline, but the action is less than stellar. On Saturday, the C Gull II out of Emeryville went south in more ways than one with a total of three salmon to 10 pounds for 11 anglers while out of Sausalito, the New Rayann and Outer Limits combined for 12 salmon to 12 pounds for 33 anglers. The C Gull II tried to switch up things on Sunday, heading to the Marin coast, but the results were similar with three salmon to 8 pounds for 13 anglers. The three boats out of Sausalito also tried for a change of pace Sunday, trolling west of Point Reyes, but the change in location resulted in only 12 salmon to 18 pounds for 45 passengers. Rockfishing at the Farallon Islands has been tremendous with the New Huck Finn, New Seeker, New Salmon Queen, Sea Wolf and Tiger Fish out of Emeryville Sport Fishing returning with near limits of rockfish with 1,176 rockies and 38 ling cod to 14 pounds for a combined 122 fishermen. The Marin coast was good Sunday with the New Huck Finn, Sea Wolf and Tiger Fish scoring 75 limits of rockfish and 75 ling cod to 18 pounds before heading into the bay for three striped bass to 12 pounds. Captain James Smith on the California Dawn did a potluck trip Sunday, returning with 145 rockfish, a ling cod and a cabezon on the Marin coast before returning to the bay for 27 striped bass. Monday’s trip produced 12 limits of rockfish and 10 ling cod below working the central bay for seven striped bass. Inside San Francisco Bay, Captain Jim Smith of the Happy Hooker completed three days of spectacular striped bass fishing in the growing tides, scoring 51 stripers to 12 pounds on Friday, 39 stripers to 14 pounds plus a leopard shark on Saturday and 19 stripers, a halibut and two ling cod inside the bay. He predicts outstanding halibut action by next weekend with the smaller series of tides. Captain James Smith stayed in the bay for 15 limits of striped bass in the flats on Friday before working over a few rocks for 55 rockfish to go with 31 stripers for 31 fishermen on Saturday. Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael said, “The bay has turned muddy in response to all of the wind during the past week, and the minus tides haven’t helped with the mud either. Trolling is just impossible in these conditions, and striped bass action has slowed despite having some of the largest shiners we have ever had in the shop. I don’t know why the shiners are so large, but they are something else.”

Rockfish scores along the Central Coast range from half limits to limits, depending up on the length of the trip. The Black Pearl out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay is taking overnight trips to the fertile rockfish grounds off Cape St. Martin, leaving at 10 p.m. and returning by 6 p.m. the following day for $165/angler. There are several overnight trips planned in the coming week on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A full schedule is on www:virgs.com. The Princess and Rita G went out Sunday with a combined 64 anglers for 227 rockfish, 186 assorted rockfish, 26 ling cod to 12.2 pounds and a rocksole for three-quarter limits of rockfish. Out of Patriot Sportfishing in Port San Luis, The Patriot went on a three-quarter-day trip Sunday with 39 fishermen for 20 vermilion rockfish, five coppers, 60 assorted rockfish and two ling cod. Their boats have scored 450 ling cod since the April 1 opener. Surfperch fishing remained excellent at Oceano or Pismo Beaches with Berkley Sand Worms, motor oil grubs or blood worms. Call: Virg’s Landing, (805) 772-1222; (800) 762-5263; Patriot Sportfishing, (805) 595-4100; Port Side Marine Sports Launch, (805) 595-7214.

Sturgeon interest has slowed considerably over the past few weeks, but the diamondbacks are still in the Delta. The limiting factor has been the availability of live bait and constant winds. Most sturgeon fishermen are heading into the Big Cut or Montezuma Slough to keep out of the wind as much as possible. Bill Clapp of Bill’s Sport Fishing went out sturgeon fishing Saturday, and he said, “The wind was howling, it was cold, and I didn’t take off my coat until 2 p.m. We marked a ton of fish, but we didn’t find any takers, although the action was good on Friday.” The best action has been for striped bass in the Rio Vista area, and salmon smolt plants near the Coast Guard Station have contributed to the armada of boats on the river in the area. The weekend boat traffic was even heavier than Thursday’s massive fleet, but Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento said, “It didn’t matter since everyone was catching fish. The larger fish were coming on spoons under the schools of the smaller stripers. You will catch fewer fish if you can get to the bottom, but they will be a larger grade.” Captain Scott Feist of Feisty Fishing continued to find limits trolling for his clients. He is based out of Viera’s Resort near Isleton, and he has been finding his best action with P-Line Angry Eye Minnows in chartreuse. They have been working shallow water with the Angry Eyes, and he said, “There are fish everywhere, and you just have to use your electronics to find them.” Feist will also be running trips for trolling from 3 p.m. to sundown in the coming weeks. The majority of stripers are already spawned out. There has been a solid bite along the West Bank from Sandy Beach to Collinsville, and shallow-diving RatLTraps are a solid bet in the shallower stretches of this section of the river. The Central Valley Anglers out of Lodi are holding their Spring Striper Derby out of Brannan Island State Park on Saturday, April 25, with a target length to be announced at 6 a.m. on the day of the derby. Information is available at the Fishermen’s Friend in Lodi at (209) 369-0204. The big news of the week affecting the San Joaquin River is the installation of a temporary rock barrier in False River off the main San Joaquin to keep salt water from further intruding into the central Delta. Construction on the barrier will be started within a few weeks and is planned to be removed by November. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, was the tournament director for the Best Bass Tournament on Saturday at Russo’s Marina, followed by the Rat-L-Trap Open on Sunday, and he reported an excellent largemouth bass during the Rat-L-Trap-only event with a 22-pound limit taking first place. He said, “They only make two lures, the Echo Squarebill crankbait and the lipless Rat-L-Trap crankbait, and that was a quality limit on reaction lures.” During Saturday’s all-tackle tournament, the top limit at 35 pounds was taken drop-shotting with three bass at 9, 9, and 7 pounds removed from one area within a half-hour. Flipping the Berkley Thief creature bait, running the Berkley Havoc Flat Dog weightless on a Zappu-head or a drop-shot, or the ima Rock N’Vibe crankbait have been his top techniques, and there is also a solid bite in the wind with the Persuader spinnerbait in chartreuse. He said, “This is the best time to be out there since the bass are in all stages of spawning.” Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento also touted solid bass action with Senkos or large Kincannon Glidebaits or swimbaits. He said, “The fish are still spawning, and the next round of spawn will occur this full moon.” The water temperature is holding around 64 degrees, and the bass have moved off the banks. They are loading up on crawdads and bluegill, and Fong said, “They are fat and in beautiful condition.” In the Stockton area, Brandon Gallegos of H and R Bait reported a much slower striped bass bite in the San Joaquin River along with bluegill taking a back seat. Fresh shad has been all but unavailable with shadders working hard for only a few pounds. Call: Randy Pringle, (209) 543-6260; Captain Stan Koenigsberger – Quetzal Adventures, (925) 570-5303; Intimidator Sport Fishing, (916) 806-3030.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Fish report (April 22)."