Fish report for June 29, 2016
Lake Don Pedro
One-hundred dedicated kokanee fishermen and women, along with 11 juniors, hit Don Pedro on June 25 aiming for the top prize in Kokanee Power’s annual Phil Johnson Memorial Team Kokanee Tournament, and the action was challenging for most of the participants. Kokanee Power President Gary Coe said, “There were a number of fishermen who came out to the lake early in the week to pre-fish for the derby, and they progressively found more difficult action throughout the week. Every day the bite declined, and by Thursday, trollers who were catching fish in certain areas were going back and getting skunked. I think it was the combination of the lunar cycle and the triple-digit temperatures at the lake. A large number of teams barely scratched out three-fish limits for the derby, but the kokanee were quality with the team of Sean McCardle and Mike Nichols taking first with a weight of 66.9 ounces for an average of three fish in the 22-ounce range. Their largest fish was at 16.3 inches, and most top fishermen were working in either Middle Bay or the Graveyard at depths from 30 feet in the morning to more than 80 feet in the afternoon. I landed my largest fish at 22 ounces on a Kevorkian Apex lure behind a Shasta Tackle Sling Blade at 97 feet.” Kenny McDonald and Gary Contero placed second with 64.1 ounces with Eric and Tanner Travis third with 63.5 ounces. Jack Duvall won the junior division with a single fish at 22.7 ounces. Monte Smith of Gold County Sport Fishing confirmed the slowdown. After posting limits by 10 a.m. last Wednesday, they struggled for four kokanee Friday, losing another five at the boat. He said, “We have been finding quality kokanee to 16.75 inches, but they are scattered into a number of locations in the lake, including Middle Bay, Big Oak Island out in open water or at the Graveyard at depths from 45 to 80 feet with micro-squids in greens or orange behind Uncle Larry’s, Rocky Mountain Tackle or Sep’s dodgers.” For bass, Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford said, “The bite has been tough with a few large fish taken on Huddleston or River2Sea SWavers before heading to the bottom with jigs or plastics on the drop-shot at depths from 30 to 35 feet. All three launch ramps are open with the lake at 77 percent of capacity and 789.25 feet in elevation, dropping one foot Monday. Call: Monte Smith, 209-581-4734; Danny Layne-Fish’n Dan, 209-586-2383; Gary Vella, 209-652-7550; Bait Barn, 209-874-3011.
MClure Reservoir
Not much change at the lake with the level holding at 60 percent and 696.69 feet in elevation despite water releases beginning in earnest. Mike Gomez of the Bait Barn in Waterford reported an excellent topwater bite in the mornings with the River2Sea Rover or River2Sea SWaver before working the bottom by 10 a.m. with jigs such as the Berserk Purple Hornet or Sprayed Grass with a matching trailer. The McClure Point and Barrett Cove South launch ramps are open with the Barrett Cove North ramp under construction. The Bagby and Horseshoe Bend ramps remain closed and most likely will be closed for the rest of the season. Call: A-1 Bait, 209-563-6505.
MSwain Reservoir
The lack of trout plants since April has plagued trout fishermen, but a few rainbows are still taken in the early mornings off the Brush Pile, Handicapped Docks or along the peninsula at the Marina. The triple-digit temperatures have further complicated the action. Four of the five planted gold-tagged rainbows have been brought in for a $250 reward, leaving one in the lake. Call: McSwain Marina, 209-378-2534.
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Kokanee remain the top species for trollers, and although limits aren’t the rule, the quality is exceptional with some fish running from 15-17 inches. John Liechty of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp said, “The kokanee are scattered throughout the main lake, and most of the larger fish are landed near the dam, spillway and in front of Rose Island with a few fish taken around Carson Creek. Many presentations are working, and the kokanee are found at depths between 25 and 40 feet with spinners or a bladed Super Squid behind a large Sling Blade in watermelon, blue, gold or pink with a slight bend at speeds from 1.4 to 1.8 mph. Kokanee will bite out of aggression; it is very important to offer them a presentation that has an enticing action by adjusting the bend in your blade to get a wide side-to-side swing.” The trout bite is starting to heat up with the shad moving out into deeper water. Kokanee trollers are picking up a few rainbows, and Liechty advised working intersections where creek channels meet the main lake and existing river channel with blade/’crawler combinations or shad-patterned Rapalas at depths from 25 to 40 feet. Benn Camicia of San Jose landed 2-pound, 9-ounce rainbow and a kokanee that was more than 16 inches using Needlefish on leadcore. Night fishing under lights is also producing, and limits of quality rainbows have been taken by dropping down at submersible light at 20 feet in 40 to 80 feet of water and tying on a small minnow, nightcrawler or trout dough bait. The bass bite has slowed since the fish have completed their spawn and moved into deeper water. The topwater bite has tapered off, and most of the bass are taken on subsurface baits such as crankbaits, ripbaits or spinnerbaits along with soft plastics at depths from 5 to 25 feet. Bass are focusing on panfish around submerged timber or heavy cover. Weightless Senkos, California Reservoir jigs or plastics on the Texas-rig are working around the cover. There are big catfish taken on the main lake points and flat dirt banks with sardines or anchovies coated with scent. The dam and southern end of the lake have been producing big whiskerfish. Crappie action is fair with the night bite hit or miss with Liechty advising fishermen to make multiple stops per trip until the slabsides are located in isolated wood or standing time with mini jigs, live minnows or small plastic minnows. The lake is releasing water, and despite inflow from the upper Stanislaus River, the lake dropped 1.5 feet to 884.44 feet in elevation and 26 percent of capacity. Glory Hole remains the only launch available on the lake with two lanes and a courtesy dock. 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.
Delta/Stockton
The Sacramento River-Delta is in summer mode with catfish and smallmouth bass taking top draw along with the occasional striped bass. The combination of high winds and triple-digit temperatures have been a deterrent to solid action. Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait and Tackle in Freeport reported, “Most fishermen are heading into the American River for shad, as the bite has all but dried up in the Sacramento River. Local fishermen are starting to gear up for the July 16th river salmon opener, and there is optimism for a solid season with the high water flows in the Sacramento River. Smallmouth fishing is best along any of the rocky areas with large minnows if you can find them – Senkos, plastics on the drop-shot or deep-diving crankbaits. The channel catfish have moved into the Sacramento River, and chicken livers or mackerel are working in the main river or the Deep Water Channel, as they are everywhere right now. Bluegill fishing is best around Locke on the Old Sacramento River or along the Delta Loop on the Mokelumne with red worms or wax worms.” Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento reported striped bass of the large variety taken on topwater lures in Sherman Island, but they are limited to experienced fishermen with an extensive knowledge of the habits of Delta stripers. Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, went out as part of three boats of tackle executives to film their products out of Ladd’s Marina on the San Joaquin. Pringle said, “We must have caught and released over 50 bass to 6 pounds using a variety of techniques, including spinnerbaits, the new Berkley deep-diving and shallow-diving crankbaits, the Havoc Flat Dog and the Chigger Craw in black/red or watermelon candy. The bass are focusing upon either bluegill or crawdads, and the fish are coming up with their antennas sticking out of their mouths. The big minus tides allowed for a window of topwater action in the afternoon on the outgoing tide, and the key is finding areas with the weeds exposed, and the fish will be holding off of the weeds. There is a topwater window in the mornings, but we also picked up a quality bass on the ima Little Stick in the afternoon. There are green-eared perch moving through the shallows, and two of our boats landed big perch on bass gear.” Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento said, “The hot temperatures are driving the bass under the weeds, and my nephew, Bub Fong, continues to score quality largemouth bass with Missile’s D Bomb’s under a 1.5- to 2-ounce tungsten punch weight.” Call: Randy Pringle, 209-543-6260; Intimidator Sport Fishing, 916-806-3030; Captain Steve Mitchell – Hook’d Up Sport Fishing, 707-655-6736.
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
With the rapidly dropping water levels at the main San Luis Reservoirs, most Central Valley striper fishermen are heading to the aqueducts or the O’Neill Forebay for their striper fix. Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said there was a fire caused by a car accident that burned about 1,100 acres on the west end of the lake near Highway 152, but it was contained Sunday morning. “The Basalt ramp is down to the dirt ramp area, and the Rangers have had a hard time keeping up with the falling water since they have to reposition the dock out further each day, so it might be key to have a 4x4 vehicle to launch. The lake may reach minimum pool sooner than anyone would have guessed this year. The fishing is sporadic, if you can get on the water between windy days,” George said. Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “With the main lake slowing down for numbers, fishermen have been heading to the Highway 33 side of the forebay or near the old launch ramp with blood worms, pile worms or blue bag Sea Wave anchovies for schoolie stripers. We have been selling boxes and boxes of worms every week. Check 12 is still a good location, but it gets crowded early on the weekends and stays crowded all day long.” The reservoir continues to recede and is currently at 20 percent of capacity. Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle, 408-463-0711; Roger George of rogergeorgeguideservice.com, 559-905-2954.
Half Moon Bay
Second Captain Michael Cabanas of the Huli Cat went rock cod fishing south of Pillar Point. Rojo Chavez of Stockton landed a 5-pound vermillion on shrimp fly with Sydney McCarthy of Lake Tahoe landing a 6-pound vermillion on a shrimp fly. The ocean conditions were breezy with choppy swell. He added, “Saturday’s salmon trip off of Pedro Point was non-productive. No scratched baits or a single bite all day, although there was plenty of bait marking along with lots of birds and whales.” The Dungeness crab season ends June 30. Call: Happy Hooker, 510-223-5388; Captain Roger Thomas, Salty Lady, 415-760-9362; Emeryville Sport Fishing, 510-654-6040.
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Chris Arcoleo of Chris’ Landing in Monterey reported the wind remains a limiting factor, and they haven’t been able to take out their afternoon whale watching trips. Ling cod action remains outstanding at the local reefs, and they have been able to stay out until around noon before the wind becomes too much of a deterrent. The Check Mate returned with 43 ling cod and near limits of rockfish for 25 anglers Sunday while the Caroline had half limits of rockfish and 20 lings for 17 anglers. They have plenty of room throughout the week on rockfish trips, and fresh dead squid are still the bait of choice for the lings. Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Company said, “Halibut reports are on the rise for both sides of the bay. Kayak angler Josh Quinton from Pacific Grove tried trolling for salmon last Saturday for a few hours before paddling to fish inshore.” Quinton says, “I dropped down my eight-ounce iron and started pounding the bottom. It wasn’t 10 minutes and something slammed my jig. A couple big head shakes and I knew what I had and it felt heavy: 40 1⁄2 inches long and 32 pounds. New personal-best halibut and new personal-best fish.” Capitola kicked out a few big halibut this week as well. Michel Mendez brought in a 31-pound flattie from the SC3 Buoy area with a Capitola Boat and Bait skiff, and kayak angler Aviv Ben-Dashan caught an 18-pounder in that same area using fresh squid on a stinger rig. More halibut were reported near Capitola, the Mile Buoy in Santa Cruz and off the West Cliff kelp beds. As of last week, most of the big flatfish were still somewhat deep, in 60-65 feet of water. Rockfishing remains steady. Brian Cuttting, who skippers the Chubasco for Randy’s Fishing Trips in Monterey, says they are on a summer schedule now with morning and afternoon trips. Cutting says even on these half-day trips, “We go where we need to find the fish, even as far as Carmel Bay.” The Chubasco is averaging three-quarter bags of rockfish and one keeper ling per rod, with multiple undersize ling released.” Call: Chris’ Landing, 831-375-5951; Bayside Marine, 831-475-2173.
San Francisco Bay
The wind has been the big factor for several weeks, but party boats sneaked around the corner to find limits of salmon Monday inside Duxbury Reef. There weren’t big loads on the boat, and two Sausalito boats combined for 18 limits of salmon. On Sunday, three Sausalito boats returned with 46 salmon to 22 pounds for a combined 57 anglers. Earlier on Wednesday, the Salty Lady out of Sausalito found six limits of salmon to 22 pounds plus a crew fish inside Duxbury Reef. Captain Roger Thomas said, “There were some fish taken south of the Gate near Pacifica, but with the weather conditions, we decided to head north, and we found a spot of salmon inside of Duxbury. There are 21-inchers in addition to the larger fish, and it looks like a new bunch of fish in the area.” Captain Jim Smith of the Happy Hooker was out in the bay Saturday and Sunday and said, “We ended up with around 40 fish for 23 anglers, but the bite was slower for striped bass today. We have been pounding the rockpiles in the central bay for limits to near limits on most trips.” Captain James Smith of the California Dawn continues to find solid striper counts along with big halibut on his regular ventures into the bay. The larger minus tides this week will be a limiting factor for halibut as well as shortening the window for working the bass on the rockpiles. Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael reported numbers of undersized striped bass and halibut are the rule with the occasional legal fish taken in San Pablo Bay.
This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Fish report for June 29, 2016."