New Melones Reservoir
Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sport Fishing 209) 599-2023 reported the full moon made limits of large kokanee hard to find. Kokanee have moved off structure and are suspended at depths of 90 to 115 feet in 300 plus feet of water near the Spillway or the Dam. Green or firetiger Apex lures, Uncle Larry’s Bloody Mary or green firetiger spinners behind Vance’s ball trolls without a flasher was the combination for the larger fish. His best results have been with ProCure Freshwater Shrimp scent. Melanie Lewis of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp (209) 736-4333 reported bank fishing for trout is over for the year, but local creeks such as Angels Creek are open, and have been planted with catchable rainbows. Power Bait, Pautzke’s Eggs, or small spinners such as Rooster Tails or Mepp’s are all good choices for local stream fishing. Night fishing under a submersible light is a great way to target bigger rainbows in the summer. Josiah Darlyn landed 4 rainbows under lights on a Power Bait/crawler combination. The bass bite remains good despite the falling water levels with a good topwater bite at dawn and dusk with Zara Spooks. Spinnerbaits, greenpumpkin or watermelon Zoom Baby Brush Hogs, or weightless Senkos are also working. Deep-diving crankbaits retrieved from longs casts over main lake points in the heat of the day shaded area and mud lines are also good sports to target in mid-day. There have been large schools of spotted bass located. Dropshotting or dartheading 1050 Keeper worms have been productive. The hot temperatures are improving catfish action mackerel, sardines or night crawlers. Lucas Martinez of Oakdale pulled in catfish of 16, 11 and 8-pounds in Angels Creek at night with chicken livers. The best crappie action continues at night at depths from 10 to 20 feet with medium minnows or crappie jigs in Bear, Mormon or Carson Creeks. Blue gill are starting to get active with red worms or crickets near brush in the backs of coves. The lake dropped 2248 acre-feet to 52% of capacity.

Lake Isabella
Ed Cordell of Big Ed's Bait and Tackle (760) 379-4170 reported a continued good catfish bite throughout the lake with cutbaits, chicken livers or frozen shad in the deeper water. Bass fishing continues to improve with crankbaits, Senkos or Smith Worms. Crappie fishing has been off and on with some quality fish landed with live minnows or dark green minijigs in deep water. A boat is necessary for crappie fishing. Trout fishing is very slow in the hot temperatures. The lake dropped 1483 acre-feet to 39% of capacity.

San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Ly Tu of Ly’s Fishing Goods in San Jose 408) 629-9644 reported several anglers have takentot he banks near Romero Visitor Center with pile worms for limits of stripers to 27-inches. Rebel Jumbo Minnows in bone continue to find fish before the sun hits the water. The drifted anchovy bite near the Trash Racks has been only fair with the best action from the banks. As the lake continues to drop in capacity, fishing should continue to improve. Wind conditions: 800-805-4805.

Eastman Lake
Patrick Movey of the Fisheman’s Warehouse in Fresno said the best bass action has been at night with black spinnerbaits tossed along the banks. Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said a local club tournament produced a 7-fish winning limit of 22-pounds on crankbaits, but the next limit dropped to 8-pounds. Hot temperatures and heavy boat traffic have pushed the best bite to the evenings. The lake dropped 323 acre-feet to 15% of capacity.

Hensley Lake
Merritt Gilbert reported continued overall slow bass fishing with the best action for catfish at night with anchovies from the banks. With the hot temperatures, the best bite should be after dark, and Patrick Movey said black spinnerbaits on the banks have accounted for a few fish.

McSwain Reservoir
Diana Mello of A-1 Bait in Snelling (209) 563-6505 reported excellent trout fishing for trollers working from the Dam to the Chimney with blade/crawler combinations as well as Cop Car Needlefish. There have been some large fish to 4-pounds landed from the banks at the Brush Pile with pink or orange Power Bait or inflated crawlers. Bank anglers continue to find fish up river near the Maintenance Shed in the early morning before power is generated with night crawlers under a bobber on a 5-foot leader for quality fish.

Delta Mendota Canal and Sloughs
Merritt Gilbert said local anglers have been heading to the California Aqueduct instead of San Luis to find schoolie stripers with anchovies in the tail races with moving water. There has been increased interest in the canals, perhaps due to their proximity to town.

Millerton Lake
Merritt Gilbert reported the lake continues to drop water and the most consistent depths for bass have been from 20 to 40 feet with plastics or jigs. There is a reaction bite with rip or buzz baits in the evening, but you have to cull through a dozen fish to find a couple of keepers. A few stripers have been caught at the mouth of Finegold with jumbo minnows, but the top water bite has died. Weekly trout plants keep a few anglers happy near Lost Lake in the mornings on yellow Power Bait.

Pine Flat Reservoir
Merritt Gilbert said Pine Flat is still the best area bass option with an overall fair bite. There is a short window for top water in the evening with Chug Bugs, Zara Spooks or Buzz Baits. A more consistent bite is with Hula Grubs, drop shotting or dart-heading. Experienced anglers are picking up a 6.5 to 7-pound limits. A few catfish in the 2-pound range have been found in Deer Creek with anchovies or night crawlers in the evenings. Most trout anglers are heading for the high country and spending the weekends at either Edison, Wishon, Courtright or Huntington, but a few trout continue to be taken on red or green Wedding Rings, Needlefish or Apex lures at 4 to 5 colors of leadcore from Windy Gap to Trimmer. King salmon action has all but come to a close. Recreational boat traffic is heavy by mid-morning. The lake dropped 6804 acre-feet to 26% of capacity. Weekly trout plants keep anglers coming to the Lower Kings, but the river levels have risen, slowing overall action.

Lake Kaweah
Sierra Sporting Goods in Exeter (559) 592-5922 reported action has slowed with the dropping water with a few large bass to 8.5-pounds landed on shakey head plastics, drop-shotting or crankbaits in shallow water. Crappie fishing continues to be good around submerged trees with an outstanding blue gill bite with wax or meal worms. Chicken livers and anchovies are pulling in loads of catfish. The lake has dropped 3297 acre-feet to 30% of capacity and will continue to drop quickly in the coming weeks.

Lake Success
The lake is dropping 435 cfs with a total of 809 acre-feet to 14% of capacity. The Rocky Hill lower ramp and Tule south ramp are still open with the Tule Ramp expected to close within a week. There is no report from last weekend’s Success Bass Club tournament.

McClure Reservoir
Manny Basi of the Bait Barn in Waterford (209) 874-301 reported a good top water bite early or late for small fish with Rico, Spooks or PopR’s. Dropshotting 6-inch Reaction Innovation plastics in sprayed grass or ½ oz. jigs with Reaction Innovation sprayed grass Sweet Beaver trailer are also working. Kokanee are starting to show up near the Dam in depths of 50 to 60 feet. There is an excellent crappie bite, particularly at night in Piney Creek near structure at depths from 40 to 60 feet with small minnows or red/white minijigs. Trout trolling has been best in the mornings or evenings with a definite lull in mid-day with Cop Car Needlefish, blade/crawler combinations or blue/chrome Kastmasters at depths from 30 to 35 feet. Catfishing has been excellent with crawdad tails, anchovies or chicken livers along muddy, sloping banks from 15 to 20 feet in depth. The lake dropped 3018 acre-feet to 40% of capacity.

Lake Don Pedro
Mike Van Guilder Jr. of Fishwrangler’s Bass Guide Service (209) 604-8222 said bass are chasing bait in the back end of the larger creek arms with top water lures picking up a few fish. Dropshotting 6-inch worms on Berserk shakey heads have been landing bass to 6-pounds off of rocky points or banks leading into the points. Crankbaits bounced off structure are also working. Manny Basi added that ½ oz. jigs with a 4 or 5-inch doubled tailed Hula Grub in watermelon/redblackflake (208) is working as well as the 316 Lure’s Wake Jr. swimbait in rainbow lite. Danny Layne of Fishn’ Dan’s Guide Service reported a decent kokanee bite in deep water off of Copper Mountain, Oat Hill and Hatch Creek at depths from 100 to 120 with Shasta Tackle Pee Wee Hootchies, Sockeye Slammers and Glo Marni Bugs behind a Vance’s gold dodger or UV Sling blade. The kokanee are up to 15-inches.

Bass Lake
Todd Wittwer of Kokaneenet.com (559) 288-8100 reported the bite all but shut down last week for about three days. There were signs of life at the end of the week with Wittwer boating 9 kokanee at depths from 30 to 45 feet with seven of the fish hooked on the blue Radical Glow Tube behind a Hyperplaid dodger. Rainbow action has also slowed with the disappearance of the shad bait balls in the lake. Merritt Gilbert said local bass anglers are still working jigs or buzzbaits along natural banks for spotted bass to 4.5-pounds from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. The lake has dropped slightly to 94% of capacity.

Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Captain Jack Yandell said the kokanee bite is showing faint signs of life with 3 quality fish to 15-inches landed in the evening from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at depths of 45 feet near the Dam. He landed the fish with his pink Super Hootchie behind a Jumbo Jack silver/green dodger. The morning bite has been pretty slow. Trout fishing has also slowed but remains better than the kokanee bite. Smallmouth bass provide consistent action on live crickets or grubs. The lake has dropped to 79% of capacity. Patrick Movey said a larger grade of kokanee than normal at 13-inches have been hitting pink hootchies or pink spinners at depths to 30 feet. Merritt Gilbert said the overall trout bite has slowed a bit with the grade of fish smaller at 13 to 14-inches. Trollers are finding fish in the main trough of the lake from the Boy Scout Camp to Dam 2 from the surface to 4 colors of lead core.There is a good evening bite from the banks near Dams 1 or 2 and Rancheria Creek with pink or chartreuse Power Bait or inflated night crawlers. The bite is tough in mid-day. The lake is at 98% of capacity. Dennis Beard of Dinkey Creek Inn (559) 841-3435said trout plants continue weekly with the fish holding in the pools. Crickets, worms or salmon eggs are bringing out the fish. The creeks are all dropping, but overall there is still a fair amount of water.

Wishon/Courtright
Chuck Crane of Wishon Village RV Park (559) 865-5361 reported Wishon is low and dropping daily. The concrete ramp is still in use but may be down to the dirt ramp soon. Trout fishing remains excellent for an outstanding grade of trout from 12 to 16-inche with blade/crawler combinations. Drifting and tossing a #2 yellow Roostertail towards the bank has also been productive, as well as trolling a black Wooley Bugger behind the boat on the surface in the evenings. Bank fishing with crawlers under a bubble or with orange or rainbow Power Bait in Short Hair Creek or the Dam remains strong. The big fish (#324) was not taken in the derby and is still worth $1000 by September 30th to anyone registered in the derby. Courtright is nearly full and producing a smaller grade of rainbows with quick limits on blade/crawler combinations. Shore fishing has been slower with similar offerings to Wishon.

Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool
Jim Clemons of Vermilion Valley Resort (559) 259-4000 said trout fishing has been very good with small spinners such as Panther Martins below the Dam in Mono Creek. Boaters in Lake Edison have been scoring with Needlefish in bikini or Thomas Buoyant behind a small flasher at depths from 30 to 40 feet. Edison is holding at 43%; Florence is at 96% with Mammoth Pool dropping to 81% of capacity.

San Antonio/Lake Nacimiento/Santa Margarita/Lopez
Will Hesch of Central Coast Guide Service (805) 466-6557 reported spotted bass, a species which in not supposed to be in San Antonio, were caught this week on plastic worms. If so, this will mean the end of the smallmouth fishery over time with the more aggressive spots taking over. Crank baits and plastics have been picking up the occasional largemouth. The lake is holding at 63% of capacity. Hess said Naci is a similar pattern to last week with a top water bite for spots in the morning, switching to dragging Texas-rigged Robo Worms in Purple Weenie or Baby Bass in mid-day. The lake has dropped to 42% of capacity and the new ramp will be out of the water soon. There is a good jig bite in watermelon colors at Santa Margarita at depths of 15 to 25 feet for limits to 20-pounds in a small club tourney over the weekend.

Upcoming Events:

July 26th – Delta/Russo’s – Angler’s Choice
July 26th – Isabella – American Bass
July 26th – Santa Margarita – Tri-Valley Bass Club
July 26th – Lopez – Gold Coast Bass Team
July 27th – Delta/Russo’s - American Bass