Fishing Report for 8/26

Lake Don Pedro

The Mother Lode lakes are in full summer doldrums. Don Pedro has a single ramp open at Fleming Meadows, requiring an experienced operator to back down the curving ramp. As a result, interest in trolling for rainbow trout or kokanee remained at a serious lull. Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said, “I have received only a few calls for fishing on the lakes in the past month, and I am reluctant to take out clients until the action improves, until I am confident that we will catch fish.” For spotted and largemouth bass, Manny Basi of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported Don Pedro has been very slow with a few fish taken here and there. Baby Brush Hogs on a Carolina rig off the shoreline with deep-water access has been the top technique as the minnow bite has slowed in the past week. Catfish remain a staple from the banks at all Mother Lode lakes. The launch ramp at Fleming Meadows is the only launch on the lake, and it requires a skillful backup job in order to launch, as it turns to the left. Once a boat is past the curve, the launch ramp opens up, allowing for two boats to be put in or taken at out a time. The lake dropped 3.5 feet to 676.6 feet in elevation and 32 percent of 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.

McClure Reservoir

Few fishermen are heading to the lake with the low water conditions, but spotted bass and catfish are abundant for those willing to make the long walk to the lake. Live crawdads or plastic worms are working best, and there is a topwater bite in the mornings and evenings. The North Barrett Cove ramp is the only launch operational, as the lake has dropped 2 feet this week to 615.13 feet, 10 percent of capacity, and the ramp requires a long walk back to the parking lot unless you arrive early. The Merced River is now closed to fishing until Jan. 1 between the Crocker-Huffman Bridge to G Street in Snelling due to warm water conditions. Call: A-1 Bait, 209-563-6505; Bub Tosh, 209-404-0053.

McSwain Reservoir

The McSwain Marina is now closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Terry Mello of A-1 Bait in Snelling said, “A few limits of holdover rainbows have been reported from the banks in the early morning as cooler evening temperatures are improving conditions.” Spotted bass are as abundant as rainbow trout with the bass thriving in the warm water conditions after coming over the dam with releases from Lake McClure. There will be no future trout plants for the summer, and a decision for future plants will be reviewed based on the water temperatures. Call: McSwain Marina, 209-378-2534.

New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch

At New Melones, catfish continued to be the top species on the lake with shore fishing taking center stage with the launch ramp requiring a four-wheel drive to splash a boat into the lake. John Lietchy of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp said, “There haven’t been any giant whiskerfish brought in this week, but many fishermen continue to catch quality catfish near the shoreline with frozen shad being the top bait. The shad schools are thick in the lake with balls of the bait fish in the 1- to 2-inch range throughout the lake. Adding scent to the shad, mackerel, anchovies or sardines is a good method to increase your catch ratio.” The lake is extremely low, and the shoreline is scattered with submerged trees. Fishermen are seeking crappie with small to medium minnows in the submerged structure before switching over to minijigs to save the minnows. The crappie are holding in the timber to ambush the abundant shad. Bass fishing is fair with numbers of schooling fish around the shad schools. Lietchy added, “I went out this past week and caught and released between 15 and 20 bass to 14 inches drop-shotting shad-patterned plastics. It is important to downsize your baits with small flukes or minnows working as the shad are small, but growing.” Kokanee fishing is all but dead, and trout fishing is also slow with few fishermen targeting rainbows. The best action remains in the deeper water near the dam and along the river channel with spoons behind a large dodger. Spotted bass are showing up on terminal tackle as often as rainbows, as the bass are suspended and following the shad schools. The lake dropped 2.5 feet to 811.98 feet in elevation and 13 percent of capacity. Tulloch dropped 1.5 feet to 507.4 feet in elevation and 95 percent of capacity, but water releases are expected to begin in earnest within the week. 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.

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay

In the main lake, extra-large and even jumbo minnows have arrived in local bait shops, but after several weeks without big minnows, bait drifters have been few with the lack of awareness of the live bait in the shops. Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod in Clovis reported a few fishermen are walking the banks at night with Storm 4-inch swimbaits in bluegill or pearl shad for linesides in the 19- to 23-inch range. Andrew Weh of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “There have been few trollers on the lake, but with the warm and low water conditions, the best action remains near the bottom at depths from 60 to 80 feet with P-Line’s Predator Minnows, broken-back Rebels, swimbaits on an Umbrella rig, or Yozuri Crystal Minnows near the mouth of Portuguese Cove or along the Trash Racks.” Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said several good anglers have told him the bite has improved for schoolie fish on trolled plugs in blue colors. “It seems the fish are showing up in more of the regular patterns of small schools we expect this time of year,” he said. In the O’Neill Forebay, catfish to 20 pounds have been caught near Check 12 and the adjacent entrance into the California Aqueduct with chicken livers, mackerel fillets, anchovies or nightcrawlers. Blood and pile worms are working for schoolie striped bass along with small white flukes on a 3/16th-ounce Scrounger head. Shore fishermen are choosing to wade into the lake to avoid the heavy weed growth along the shoreline. The main lake continues to release water at a rapid clip for agricultural and domestic uses, and it dropped 2 percent this week to 20 percent of capacity with a release of 3,849 acre-feet Monday. Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle, 408-463-0711; Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com, 559-905-2954.

Delta/Stockton

Salmon fishing is starting to show a glimmer of life at both ends of the Delta with the best action occurring at Dillon Point State Park west of Benicia. A few salmon have been caught near the Freeport Bridge on heavy spinners cast from the banks, but overall the action is less than stellar. Tony Lopez of Benicia Bait said, “There were four fish landed at the state park on Sunday with another eight or nine fish coming off the hook along the crowded shoreline. Everyone is going to the state park right now, and the best action is at the bottom of the tide with Vee-Zee or Flying C spinners.” The fish have been bright and in the 12- to 17-pound range. Striped bass continued to show up along the Benicia shoreline with the linesides hitting spinners intended for salmon, but there is a dedicated group of fishermen working 12th Street with blood worms for solid action. Windy conditions have made it difficult for sturgeon fishermen, but there have been several diamondbacks landed in the Antioch and Pittsburg area over the past week. James Nguyen of Dockside Bait in Pittsburg reported one boat landed four sturgeon using a grass shrimp/eel combination. Stripers in the 3- to 5-pound range are holding in Sherman Lake, and drifting live mudsuckers produces no end to the 25-inch linesides. Nguyen was in Sherman Lake on Sunday and said, “We caught them on swimbaits on a Diawa casting rod along the weedline. Drifting live mudsuckers is also producing no end to the schoolies.” Sherman Lake is very shallow, and you have to have a good sense of where you are going before running full out into the area. Mark Wilson, striped bass trolling expert, has been trolling with Rat-L-Traps on spinning rods in the shallows of Broad Slough, Collinsville and around Pittsburg, and he said, “I am really enjoying landing these schoolie stripers on the light gear in the shallows, as I am leaving my heavier gear and deep-divers until larger fish start to show up.” He’s finding from seven to 10 keepers per trip to 9 pounds with most linesides in the 4- to 5-pound range. The school that has been holding from Decker Island up to Rio Vista has disappeared, so Wilson went further south toward Collinsville. Wilson added that the water temperatures have cooled to the 70- to 72-degree range, and the water hyacinth is starting to accumulate along every cove and hole along the banks. Further north near Liberty Island, Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento reported a great bite for big stripers last week with 8- to 10-inch Kincannon swimbaits, but the smaller tides this week have slowed the action on the lures. He said, “You need a moving tide for the larger fish to react.” Striped bass fishing continued to improve in the San Joaquin River with the best action near Antioch. Captain Stan Koenigsberger of Quetzal Adventures out of Bethel Harbor reported “off-the-hook” striper fishing over the weekend with 72 stripers for three total keepers to 22 inches anchored with frozen shad. Brandon Gallegos at H and R Bait in Stockton said, “Clifton Court Forebay has been excellent for striped bass with linesides from 21 to 32 inches taken on sardines or live bluegill.” Brookside Road west of Stockton is another location for small stripers along with bluegill and largemouth bass. For largemouth bass, Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, reported the recent fluctuating weather conditions have slowed the previously terrific largemouth bass bite. He said, “The action has been fair to good, as there has been a lot of pressure from recreational boaters and large tournaments during the past month. The weather is starting to balance out, and it is important to stick with it with a slower presentation, keeping the bait in the strike zone longer.” Pringle has been tossing the ima Big Stick in search of larger fish and said, “There is a small window for topwater for those larger fish, but the action is limited.” 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 August 25, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Fishing Report for 8/26."