Fishing report, April 21-27: Bass holding on beds at Don Pedro

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State (he still holds the school record). George guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake.

Aqueduct stripers active, and Isabella crappie on a tear, Pete Cormier said. New Melones bass and kokanee bites solid, John Liechty reported. Shaver pumping out kokanee, Dick Nichols said. Delta sturgeon, stripers and bass action good, Randy Pringle reported. Millerton spotted bass on the upswing, Zach Anderson said. Half Moon bay salmon hitting, Tom Mattusch reported.

Roger’s remarks: Two sides of the fish story

Talk to any avid angler and you’re going to hear one of two types of fishing stories. Either it’s about a monster fish they caught — or one they lost.

My favorite tales are the ones about the monster that got away. Losing what we think is a big fish fuels something deep inside us where our imaginations are allowed to run wild. Losing what seems to be a big fish hurts, but also gives us hope that it might happen again. Here’s my tale of both sides of the coin.

I was fishing in Alaska out of Sitka about four years ago for the first time and I was hoping for a big halibut. But on the third day of a four-day trip I was still shut out.

We had anchored in about 225 feet of water, and we were using salmon rods mooching anchovies on 30-pound braid. I had been fishing for an hour with little action, being careful not to get too close to the bottom due to snags. Our tough skipper made it clear he didn’t like us hooking the bottom — so when I found myself snagged, I was worried. I kept trying to get it unhooked, praying he wasn’t going to see me helplessly jerking the rod. Then I hear a voice behind me gently ask, “Are you hung up?”

“Yes,” I confessed as he took my pole.

He reeled down, pulled up with a huge effort, relaxed, smiled and turned to me. “You’ve got a very big halibut on that I can’t move at all, you’re completely outgunned!”

How did he know?

He pointed at our anchor buoy and said, “I just released us from the buoy a few minutes ago and the tide is taking us now. We’re over 70 yards from where you got snagged; your big halibut is moving with us, your snag wouldn’t. I need to just break it off, it’s a big fish.”

Wait! Let me try! But I had to concede defeat. My dream fish had bitten, but I was helpless. At least I now had my very own Alaskan monster story!

The next day we went out to a flats area about 335 feet deep. The skipper put out a huge pole loaded with a good 10 pounds of bait on a huge hook. An hour later my pole went down hard. I had a real horse on the other end! My hands were killing me, but I landed the 140-pound halibut of my dreams. I had won the rematch!

Who knows, maybe the one I lost was even bigger .... I’m pretty sure it was, LOL! Catching that 140-pounder now gives me some credibility in telling my story about the one I lost.

Never give up!

Roger George: rogergeorge8000@sbcglobal.net, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars

Valley

Lake Don Pedro

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “There is an early or late topwater bite with River2Sea Rover or the Berkeley El Choppo before working 4- to 6-inch worms in natural colors on a drop-shot or dart-head. The overall bite has been difficult as there are a number of bass holding on beds.” Kokanee to 13 inches are found at 25 feet with standard kokanee gear, and planted trout are also abundant with Speedy Shiners or similar shad-patterned spoons. The lake dropped to 69%.

Call: Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing (209) 581-4734; Kyle Wise – Head Hunter Guide Service – (209) 531- 3966; Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Fishing - (559) 691-7008

McClure Reservoir

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing reported an early morning or late afternoon topwater bite as well is during mid-day when the wind is blowing. Numbers of bass are taken off of steep bluff walls with a mudline by working small swimbaits, 3.5-inch Dry Creek tubes in green pumpkin, plastics on a Neko-rig or drop-shot, or G-Money jigs on a slow presentation. Barrett’s Cove Marina will be opening soon, and the Bagby, Horseshoe Bend, and McClure Point North launch ramps are closed due to water levels. The lake rose slightly to 41%.

Call: Ryan Cook – Ryan Cook’s Guide Service - (559) 691-7008

McSwain Reservoir

Not much change here with recent trout plants from the Moccasin Hatchery assisting trollers to find rainbows in the river arm around the Fence Line with blade/’crawler combinations, Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a dodger, or blue/silver Kastmasters at depths to 25 feet. The best time for shore fishing from the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks, and the peninsula near the marina is in the morning or evenings with various colors of trout dough bait, or inflated nightcrawlers.

Call: McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

Bass fishing remains excellent with spotted bass to 4 pounds taken on plastics either on a Neko-rig or a drop-shot along main lake points or island tops. Bass are on beds throughout the week, John Liechty of Xperience Guide Service is focusing on an early morning reaction bite in the shallows before moving deeper for numbers with plastics. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service continues to find quick limits of kokanee to 17 inches with a 13- to 15- inch average running Paulina Peak’s Tahoe spinners at depths from 10 feet early to 40 feet by mid-morning. Rainbow trout are also taken on Speedy Shiners or J-Pex lures in chartreuse or orange/pink. Crappie fishing has improved with crappie lights at night near submerged structure or creek arms at depths to 35 feet with Beetle Spins or crappie jigs in black/chartreuse along with small to medium minnows. Glory Hole and Tuttletown boat launches are open at the middle ramp, but the Angels Cove launch ramp is closed. Bass tournaments have been placed on hold for the next few months. The lake held at 63%.

Call: Glory Hole Sports (209) 736-4333; Monte Smith (209) 581-4734; John Liechty Xperience Fishing Guide Service (209) 743-9932

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay

Roger George of Roger George Guide Service reported the stripers are moving, and he is trolling through solid groups of linesides with little reaction. Bait anglers seem to be doing better than the reaction bite guys for now although the water temperature are around the low 60’s. Portuguese Cove remains about the best bet overall right now. The male stripers are milting, and the spawn in in place. George has found the 60- to 75-foot range the best depths for trolling. He rates the fishing overall as very moderate at best. The lake dropped slightly to 52%.

In the O’Neill Forebay, trollers have been working around the Twin Islands while shore anglers are concentrating around Check 12 with pile worms or anchovies for the opportunity for a legal limit after culling through numerous undersized linesides. The Highway 33 side of the impoundment has been the most productive, and parking on this side is limited as the lot fills up and vehicles have to park alongside the highway far from the lake.

At San Luis, there are three wind warning and lake closure lights near the Basalt Entrance Station, Quien Sabe Point, and the Romero Visitor Center. At the O’Neill Forebay, the lights are located near the old Medeiros boat ramp and above the South Beach Area. Amber lights signify caution conditions for winds or other concerns while red lights indicate the lake is closed to boating and all vessels must immediately vacate the lake.

Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle (408) 463-0711, Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com (559) 905-2954

High Sierra

The Sierra National Forest has extended closures for select recreational sites, roads, and trails until April 21. Updated information is available at fs.usda.gov/sierra.

Ocean

Half Moon Bay

The Pacific Fishery Management Council set the local ocean salmon season last week with the season starting in Half Moon Bay waters from Pigeon Point north from June 26 through October 31, but party and private boats currently have the option to run 18 miles south below Pigeon Point where the salmon season is open.

Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat, a recent inductee into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, made the run on Sunday for 9 limits of salmon to 10 pounds working in 350 feet of water below Pigeon Point. He said, “We had plenty of action between scratched baits, drive bys, and flurries of salmon with up to 4 hanging at one point during the trip.”

The Riptide out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing went south on Sunday for 16 salmon to 20 pounds, releasing another 8 short fish under 20 inches. The Queen of Hearts was there on Saturday with 13 anglers for 9 salmon, also releasing a number of shakers.

Local rockfishing remains solid with the Huli Cat scoring 13 limits of Dungeness crab and 100 rockfish on Saturday’s combination trips, and they have another combination trip this Tuesday. The Queen of Hearts was also rockfishing on Sunday for 14 limits and 5 ling cod to 12 pounds.

Mattusch was the only party boat operator to express concerns during the April 14th meeting of the Fish and Game Commission regarding the upcoming regulation changes for recreational Dungeness crab. The proposed regulations have the potential to severely limit the ability for party boats to offer combination trips when the season opens in November due to the discretion now given to the Director of Fish and Wildlife to open the season based upon the possibility of whale entanglements despite no entanglements reported during the recent recreational season.

Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete will have the boat ready to go within a week, and he is ready to head south for salmon.

The portion of the Pacifica Pier that runs perpendicular to the shore has been reopened with the second at the end running parallel to the shoreline remaining closed.

Call: Captain Dennis Baxter – New Captain Pete (650) 576-3844; Captain Tom Mattusch – Huli Cat (650) 619-0459

Monterey/Santa Cruz

Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak and Surfcasting Guide Service said, “Salmon fishing slowed down considerably along the Monterey Bay coastline just before the weekend. But boat-based anglers are finding plenty of rockfish, lingcod and cabezon closer to shore. And, we are getting off to a good start in hopes of another epic halibut season. Although the salmon fishing has slowed, reports from last week indicating big salmon schools near Morro Bay suggest that we’ll be seeing new schools moving into the bay very soon. Many charter operators are turning to bottom fishing while the salmon bite lags. Tom Dolan on the Mega Bite out of Santa Cruz is always ready to pivot and keep his clients happy. On Friday he reported, “Beautiful water for our salmon hunt today. After experiencing a slow salmon bite, he switched over to rockfish at ‘Jurassic Park’ for a shot at lingcod. The lingcod were biting, and so were rockfish so we came home with three nice lingcod and about a dozen bigger rockfish. Other anglers are limiting out on decent quality rockfish from the Mile Buoy in Santa Cruz and along the West Cliff reefs. Right now, the deeper reefs are the best bet from 75 feet of water out to the 120-foot reefs. The hardy surfcasters are seeing an increase in both quantity and quality of barred surf perch from the beaches below Capitola. Tom Niccum from Coyote Bait and Tackle has caught the surfcasting bug, and he is putting in a lot of time on this side of the hill. Niccum found the right spot Friday evening, ending up with 13 fish. On Saturday, Niccum returned to the same spot and landed six more despite wind and weeds. Other beach reports are filtering in of striper catches from the broad beaches towards the middle of the bay. So far, the bass have been small juveniles. We really need some bait to bring the bigger boys in.”

Call: Chris’ Landing (831) 375-5951; Allen Bushnell – Santa Cruz Kayak and Surf Casting (831) 251-9732

Others

Delta/Stockton

The majority of sturgeon six-pack operators have relocated to San Francisco Bay, but the sturgeon apparently didn’t get the memo as they are ‘biting like wild dogs’ as a farewell to the six-packs. Striped bass and now American shad are migrating through the Delta, and the action for linesides has been drawing crowds to the West Bank area between Rio Vista and Collinsville.

Although Captain Steve Talmadge of Flash Fishing has moved the Flash II to San Francisco, the Flash I made their last stand out of Pittsburg this past weekend, and they found tremendous sturgeon fishing in Montezuma Slough with salmon roe. Captain Charles Kimberly of the Flash II put in 4 slot-limit sturgeon along with a 9-foot oversized released in addition to one huge fish that they never ever saw as part of an 11 fish day. Talmadge said, “Everyone wants halibut right now, but the sturgeon fishing has been outstanding. Charles found them closer to the mouth of Grizzly Bay on Sunday, and there are a number of sturgeon stacked up there.”

Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing will be joining his friends in Berkeley this week, but he also found great action in Suisun Bay on his last weekend of sturgeon fishing for the season.

Legendary Captain Jim Smith of Happy Hooker fame tagged out for the season with Dave Rasmussen and Larry, ‘The Legend’ Nelson of Oakland this week, and perhaps it is Captain Jim’s special sauce on the salmon roe that is making the difference, but in any event, the remaining sturgeon in Suisun Bay are safe for the remainder of this season.

Striped bass continue their move into the Sacramento River system, and the majority of trollers have been focusing upon the West Bank below Rio Vista. The boat pressure is so intense at times that guides are avoiding this stretch of river although the stripers are present.

Dave Houston of Livermore was out this week, and he said, “We started off on the San Joaquin today and found lots fish but only in a couple locations. We went over to the Sacramento side to mark a lot more fish, but there was also a ton more boats. Fishing the West Bank is challenging right now because of the boat traffic, but once we found a clear spot to fish the bite was back on. They bit most colors today both deep and shallow, ending up with 12 keepers and 11 shakers with four of our fish in the 6- to 9-pound range.”

Jeff Soo Hoo of Soo Hoo’s Fishing out of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor in Oakley has been out most days, and he said, “The West Bank has been holding fish, and we released a 20-pound female on a Rat-L-Trap in shallow water this week. My client hooked the fish and it ran straight into the bank as we were in 5 feet of water, and the boats behind us had to move out until we were able to bring the big fish to the net. The client at first wanted to keep the fish, but after he released it, he had tears in his eyes as he was so happy. The bite has been very tidal with the best action at the bottom of the tide, but sometimes the action happens when the tide is halfway through the outgo. We couldn’t go 30 feet without hooking up earlier in the week, but Saturday was a tough day for us. The water is stained along the West Bank, and it doesn’t clear up until further downstream around Marker 13. With the water as dirty as it has been, I haven’t been able to drift minnows or spoon for the stripers which is my preferred method.”

Tony Lopez at Benicia Bait reported tremendous interest in fishing, and they are having a difficult time keeping up with the demand for bag anchovies or tray anchovies or herring. Lamprey eel has been very difficult to obtain, but they are getting a limited supply of large grass shrimp as the shrimp are in the midst of spawning.

In the north Delta, Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait in Freeport said, “Striped bass are coming through the upper river, and pile worms, blood worms, or sardines coated with garlic spray are working for both the male and female stripers. A few shad are showing up on their way upriver, and a few sturgeon are coming back down from the upper river. Bluegill and crappie are in the sloughs.”

Also in the north Delta, Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, said, “There are a number of male shad moving into the river from Freeport up into the Feather, but the American River will be the last place for the shad. Many fishermen are using Sabiki rigs on the anchor, and they are cutting off the top three of the six hooks. Bass fishing has been solid with chatterbaits or Senkos.”

The largemouth bass are in all stages of the spawn while striped bass have flooded into the San Joaquin-Delta. Trollers have been finding spacious conditions on this side of the Delta to work without interruption as the majority of trolling is taking place on the Sacramento side.

Chris Ditter of HeadRush Guide Service said, “There haven’t been a lot of fish on the San Joaquin, but you can troll in peace. We have been scratching out limits trolling either shallow or deep, but there just aren’t a lot of fish around. Normally, at this time of year it is routine to experience double and triple hook ups while running through a school, but that hasn’t been the case this year. My favorite way to troll is running the shallow-diving Rat-L-Traps in 3 to 4 feet of water as the stripers really smoke these lures. I hooked an 8-pound striper on a Rat-L-Trap that ran off 40 yards right away before making another run. I will ‘join the circus’ at the West Bank if I have to since the stripers are consistently there, particularly when the tides are right. I really would like to be able to drift minnows during the periods of negative tides when the water dirties up, but the lack of jumbo minnows will limit this opportunity so I will be trying out Atlas Rig umbrella rigs to add something else to my tool box this summer.”

Randy Pringle, The Fishing Instructor, targeted striped bass with the Little Stick topwater lure in sardine and the AA Bubba Shad swimbait on the San Joaquin River near the Antioch Bridge this week, and he said, “We wrecked them on the outgoing tide as it was very slow on the high tide. There were little pods of stripers, and once we would find a small pod, we were able to score. The stripers were holding on flats, and we did find one pod with quality stripers in the 8-to 13-pound range. The water was dinghy due to the big winds during the week, and the water temperature reached 65 degrees in Sherman Lake, but there weren’t any stripers in there. The water temperature on the main river ranged from 62 to 64 degrees. We didn’t target largemouth bass on this trip, but I was out earlier in the week, and the key is to make long casts while staying well outside of the banks. The bass have seen a lot of different gear in the past few weeks, and I showed them something different with a 10-inch Power Worm on a light weight in a bright color such as June Bug to imitate a bluegill. The big worm has to be worked slowly, but the big tail will attract attention. We didn’t land any giants, but we consistently caught fish in the 2- to 4-pound range. There are some bass ready to spawn, and many are being interrupted by being targeted by fishermen. A key is to work methodically over flats where the bass will be spawning.”

Johnny Wang, manager of Turner’s Outdoors in Stockton, said, “The south Delta has been ‘on fire’ for striped bass for those drifting live bluegill or perch in the Old River, Indian Slough, Union Point, Woodward Island, and the Highway 4 Bridge. There is a school of gobis that are spawning in the Port of Stockton, and fishermen are using red worms on a split-shot rig for the gobis to be used as striped bass bait. There is a topwater bite in the east Delta with Pencil Poppers, River2Sea Swavers, or G-Ratt’s Pistol Pets in White Slough, Tyler Island, Eight Mile Road, and around the B and W Resort.”

Omega Nguyen of Mega Bait in Tackle in Manteca said, “Below Mossdale on the San Joaquin, there have been a number of shaker striped bass taken on sardines, pile worms, or anchovies, and the legal fish over 18 inches have been ranging from barely keepers to around 5 pounds at the max. Drifting minnows has been effective, but there aren’t any jumbo minnows available, and they won’t be available until the fall months. We have a lot of interest in fresh shad, but the shad hasn’t schooled up enough for the shadders to net them yet. They are starting to ball up, and we hope to have fresh shad soon.”

Call: Randy Pringle (209) 543-6260; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing – (707) 655-6736; Chris Ditter – HeadRush Sport Fishing – (916) 284-9236; Vince Borges – Vince Borges Outdoors (209) 918-0828

Events

Tournament results

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Wild West Bass Trail – April 17: 1st – Mark Lassagne/Jodie White – 25.54 pounds; 2nd – Ken Mah/Jason Austin – 22.95; 3rd – Mike Andrews/Phillip Dutra – 22.68 (Big Fish – 7.83).

Clear Lake/ Redbud Marina –Best Bass Tournaments – April 17: 1st – Igor Reiant/Andrey Pereverzev – 23.07 pounds; 2nd –John and Kyle Zinda – 22.94; 3rd –Joey Verna/Joel Chin – 22.54 (Big Fish – 9.12).

Tulloch – Kerman Bass Club – April 17: 1st – John Albidrez/Tony Lopez – 17.92 pounds (Big Fish – 7.47); 2nd – Ross Aoki/Mike Pickering – 17.10; 3rd –Rusty Brown – 16.22.

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Wild West Bass Trail Kayak Tournament– April 18: 1st – Damian Thao – 83.50 inches; 2nd – John Myers – 80.75 inches; 3rd –Robert Woo – 80.50.

Upcoming tournaments (subject to change)

April 24-25

Delta/B and W Resort – Fresno Bass Club

Kaweah – Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments

Don Pedro – Gold Country Bass Tour

April 24

Salt Springs – Bass N’Tubes

New Melones – Gold Country Bass Tour

Isabella – American Bass Association

Nacimiento – American Bass Association

April 25

Delta/B and W Resort – California Bass Federation

Bass Lake – Kings River Bass Club

April 30-May 2

Don Pedro – Wild West Bass Trails

May 1-2

Pine Flat – Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments

May 1

Delta/Russo’s Marina – Best Bass Tournaments

McClure – Stanislaus County Sheriff’s

Nacimiento – Central Coast Bass Bashers