Fishing report for week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1 | Eastman bass, Millerton spots on the prowl | Fresno Bee

Compiled by Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, a former Olympic-class decathlete at Fresno State and striper record-holder at Millerton Lake and who now guides in the greater Fresno area. Telephone numbers are in 559 calling area unless noted.

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Best bets

Delta sturgeon take center stage, Alan Fong reported. San Luis stripers continue feeding, Mickey Clement said. Eastman bass and Millerton spots on the prowl, Steve Newman reported. New Melones bass action good , John Liechty said.

Key

1-Try dynamite

2-Have to work hard

3-Limits possible

4-Fish jumpin’ in boat

The northern section of the aqueduct continues to be slow with most anglers heading to the main San Luis Reservoir for striped bass. A security guard has attempted to limit access to sections of the aqueduct, and anglers need to be aware of accessible locations for fishing. The southern section of the California Aqueduct remains solid for both striped bass and catfish with jumbo minnows or tube baits with catfish on Triple S dip bait, sardines, or anchovies.”

Call: Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis 292-3474; Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657

Eastman and now Hensley are starting to heat up for largemouth bass, and the best action remains on jigs or swimbaits.

At Eastman, the River Rats are holding a New Year’s Day Open Tournament, and anglers will start prefishing in earnest after Christmas Day. Last weekend’s big Central Valley Kayak Fishing event brought a number of anglers to the lake, and jigs are still the best bet working the island tops or the saddles between the islands. Newman said, “Some guys are finding big limits from 15 to 19 pounds while others are struggling with 5- to 7-pound limits. The fish have been a bit more aggressive on the plastics at 20- to 25-feet, but the quality is smaller than on the jigs. Local jig fisherman, Larry Llanes, put in a 16-pound limit including a 4 pounder on jigs as the bass are feeding heavily on crawdads. Her Xiong from our shop was out this week, and he reported small fish taken on plastics on the drop-shot, and during the kayak tournament, a number of small fish were taken off of the rockpiles near the dam. The river arm has been very slow.”

Eastman held at 41 percent.

Call: Six Star Tackle Box 673-5688; Eastman Lake 689-3255

Hensley has been slow for the past several months, but a ‘sneaky good’ bite has emerged recently. Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Hensley is sneaky good right now for quality fish to 6 pounds. Most fishermen are overlooking the lake and traveling to Eastman, but there is a good bite by grinding the bottom with Huddleston or similar swimbaits along with jigs. The key is to keep in contact with the bottom on a slow presentation. There is no blade or jerkbaitbite now, and a few dedicated fishermen are finding some quality bass at the lake.”

The lake held at 16 percent.

Call: Valley Rod Gun, Clovis 292-3474; Six Star Tackle Box 673-5688; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hensley Lake Hidden Dam 673-5151

Trout action is heating up at Don Pedro as the rainbows are moving closer to the shoreline. The water temperature remains exceptionally warm for this time of year, but the rainbows are transitioning into shallow water in the coves.

Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing said, “I was out on Friday with two clients, and the action started off fair with a few trout in the first spot. I saw some fog rolling in, and I decided to relocate. After only getting a few strikes, I went back to the original location for a few more rainbows. We had to stop at the dock for one of the clients, and while we were there, I spoke with a bass fisherman who had found good action in a cove. I knew if there were bass there, there would be bait so we took off to the location, but we didn’t find any shad as these bass were feeding on crawdads. Since we were close to one of my favorite coves, we moved over and within 50 yards of letting out the lines, one of the rods just got pounded. We lost two fish in a row, but these fish were hungry, and they kept on biting. My clients ended up keeping 9 and releasing another one so we did pick up limits, and in the process, we lost two fish that must have been big browns. I am certain that it was a brown since it took off with the line just screaming off of the reel. My client was fighting it well, but it just came unbuttoned after several runs. Another big fish broke off just after the rod got slammed on 6-pound test. We are running either my custom shad-patterned spoons or Speedy Shiners, and with the fish so close to the shoreline and the surface, using side planers is very effective. The water clarity is at least 10 feet, and the temperature is warm at 56 degrees. Since the water temperatures remain warm, fast-trolling at 2.5 to 3 miles per hour is still effective, but once the water temperatures drop into the low 50’s, you will have to switch to grubs or similar presentations on a slow troll. We marked balls of bait at 80 feet, and we tried to find some biting fish there, but there was nothing going on.”

The lake held at 70 percent.

For bass, Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Guide Service said, “I had two guide trips at Pedro this week, and similar to McClure, the bigger fish are in the shallows with reaction baits although the larger grade is few and far between. We did put in a 19-pound limit with a 6.5-pound kicker. Consistent numbers are taken at 85 to 90 feet in depth, and most fishermen don’t believe me when I tell them they are this deep. You have to work plastics on light line to get down this deep, and it is a ‘dead-stick’ presentation. The bass are finally switching over to digging for crawdads, and several fish that we landed are coming up with red noses and mouths from digging in the rocks. My cousin, Jerad Cook from Atwater caught and released a 6.15-pound largemouth bass on a jig this week.”

Call: Monte Smith 209-581-4734; Gary Vella 209-652-7550

Catfish remain the top species at Isabella with Triple S dip bait in Blood Formula, chicken livers, minnows, or nightcrawlers. The lake held at 12 percent. Lake Ming is the only local lake scheduled for trout plants, and the lake received the first of two 500-pound plants of 2 fish per pound this past week with local fishermen congregating on the lake along with a flock of fish-eating cormorants. The trout will be fished out within the first few days of the plant. Hart Park, River Walk, Truxtun, and Woollomes lakes do not have annual allotments. Trout plants at Buena Vista are scheduled every other week, and the action remains ‘hit or miss.’ The upper Kern River has been a good location for planters due to regular plants, and rainbows are taken on live crickets, salmon eggs, Roostertails, Panther Martins, or nightcrawlers.

Call: Bob’s Bait Bucket 661-833-8657; North Fork Marina 760-376-1812

The lake has risen to 11 percent, and there are several tournaments scheduled for the lake early in 2019. The Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournament on New Year’s Day kicks of this year’s action, and there will be local anglers pre-fishing for the event right after Christmas Day. The bass are holding deep near the shad schools, and small spoons or plastics on a drop-shot rig in deep water using a slow presentation are working best.

Call: Sierra Sporting Goods 592-5212

Bass fishing remains slow with the fish congregated in deep water around the shad schools. A slow presentation with plastics on the drop-shot or split-shot along with Senkos on a wacky-rig are working best. The lake dropped slightly to 11 percent. The Tule River is very stained, and fishing for trout is very slow. Chuck Stokke of the Sequoia Fishing Company out of Springville is giving fly casting lessons at the Pierpoint Café the second Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. The lessons are free and all equipment is provided.

Call: Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626, sequoiafishingcompany.com

Ryan Cook of Ryan Cook’s Guide Service was on McClure on Sunday, and he said, “The bass are still scattered from 5 to 80 feet with the better cut of bass found in the shallower water with jigs or swimbaits. I tie my own jigs, and the regular color patterns include browns, green pumpkin, and black/blue with color lines. We still can’t find many shad schools as the bait remains very deep. When we are targeting numbers, I have to go down to deep water, and the largemouth bass are hard to find.”

Steve Marquette of the Lake McClure/Lake McSwain Recreation Company reported catfish are coming off of the banks with chicken livers.

The lake held at 55 percent.

Steve Marquette of the Lake McClure/Lake McSwain Recreation Company said, “A trout plant occurred last week, and shore fishermen are finding success with nightcrawler/marshmallow combinations, trout dough bait, or Roostertailsfrom the two points near the marina.” Trolling is best upriver above the Second Fence Line with blue/silver Kastmasters or similar shad-patterned spoons. The campgrounds and marina are expected to be crowded over the New Year’s weekend, and another trout plant may occur.

Call: McSwain Marina 209-378-2534

Millerton Reservoir continues to produce numbers of spotted bass, and the key is to find the fish. The lake is coming up slightly, and the bass are actively feeding on shad in the morning before switching to the bottom to forage for crawdads.

Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “I was on the lake this week with a tackle representative, and the lake was fishing well. It was a bit tough initially after the cold spell, but they were really eating this week. The key is to find fish, and they are oriented to vertical ledges with broken rock with dirt and not around the big boulders where they were a few months ago. I have been scoring with jigs on a 3/8- to one-half-ounce for the larger grade of spot around 2.25 to 2.5 pounds. My partner picked up a nice 3-pound spot in Winchell’s Cove on a jig, and there was a nice mix of largemouth and spotted bass. The fish didn’t have crawdads in their gullets, but we kept some bass in the live well to see how large a limit we could take, and they were spitting up the crawdads in the live well. Jigs in green pumpkin with a black or orange line are working, and we were using either a twin-tail or Strike King trailer on the jigs. Merritt Gilbert from our shop was also on the lake, and he was working the flat edges of coves and points, and he had 9 fish on 15 casts using a watermelon 6-inch Zoom Trick Worm. He has been been finding success with the Trick Worm over this past few trips to the lake. You have to fish slow as the bass are just picking up the bait and moving off ever so slowly. Once they move, you have to set hook, and they are there. Plastics on the drop-shot, dart head, or Ned Rig are producing a smaller grade of spot with all of the better fish on the crawdad-patterned jigs. We did see a bass up the river arm that spit up a 3-inch shad, and I believe they are eating shad early before digging for crawdads. The water is still warm at 58 degrees, and water releases are only coming into the lake for a few hours per day as the need for power generation from upstream sources has been limited. For striped bass, we saw some marks near Finegold and threw topwater lures and a 4-inch Kei Tech to see if they were stripers, but our efforts were to no avail.”

The lake held at 57 percent, and the launch is on the 2nd ramp.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474

Bass action is becoming consistent as the largemouth and spotted bass are finally holding in the 35- to 40-foot range. The typical wintertime finesse techniques of shakey head, Ned Rig, or drop-shot are working at these depths, but John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Service has been seeking a larger cut of bass with big baits such as the Swaver 200 or 10-inch Huddleston swimbait in the shallower. There are bass coming up between 15 and 20 feet in depth, and the water temperature remains warm at 56.5 degrees for this time of year. The big bass are few and far between, but a trophy bass is possible with either the big swimbaits or with a jig. Kokanee Power set up their net pens for rainbow trout at the marina, and the rainbows will be fed during the winter time and released in the spring. The lake held at 74 percent.

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

Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “Bass action is decent with some finding good action for a decent limit while others are struggling. The big fish bite in the river arm has slowed down, but there are still quality bass taken on jigs. The better cut of fish is found in shallower water from 25 feet up, and it is a matter of locating the schools. The spotted bass are working over the shad schools in 40- to 60-feet in the main lake with wacky-rigged Senkos or Trick Worms on a Nekorig. The winter pattern for the bait schooling up hasn’t formed, and once the schools tighten up, the ice jig bite should come on. Trout fishing has finally improved, and limits in the 16- to 18-inch range have been reported above Trimmer Marina with Wedding Rings or Needlefish near the surface. Trout fishing in the main lake has been slow.” The lake rose slightly to 31 percent. In the lower Kings, weekly trout plants continue to account for a consistent bite with nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, or trout dough bait near flowing water close to boulders or rocks for rainbows to 16 inches.

Call: Valley Rod & Gun 292-3474; Sequoia Fishing Co. 539-5626

The striped bass bite at San Luis Reservoir is holding up, and a variety of techniques are effective for landing the linesides. Larger profile lures from the shorelines are working as well as trolling or drifting jumbo minnows. Bait action from the shorelines has been slower over the past few weeks.

Steve Newman of Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis said, “We have been selling a number of jerkbaits, and we brought in the larger Lucky Craft Pointer 158’s on Dec. 17, and we have already sold out of the Ghost Minnow and Chartreuse Shad. It seems that the shore fishermen are throwing larger profile baits lately as Magnum Flukes are also popular. During this time of year, running these big baits from side-to-side on long slow rips are working best. We aren’t selling much bait right now, but there is some topwater action in the early mornings and evenings. Trollers are scoring with deep-diving P-Line Predator Minnows, Rebels, And umbrella rigs.”

Roger George of Roger George Guide Service said that he fished with Marco Vuicich on a scouting trip for 12 fish to 24 inches after getting to the lake late from fog. “The fish are going shallower overall in the 61-degree water. The trolling bite is not easy with the fish in tighter schools. Topwater and jerks are better options right now,” George said. George will soon be setting the date for his upcoming Downrigging 101 class at Sportsmans Warehouse.

Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill said, “The weather pattern hasn’t changed at all this week and drifting jumbo minnows at 40 feet in depth in the middle of Portuguese Cove around the submerged island in the middle is producing stripers in the 25-inch range. Topwater action has been few and far between, but things may change with this weather system arriving early this week.”

In the forebay, Clements reported anglers are plugging with ripbaits or jerkbaits along with some topwater action in the early mornings. Bank fishing has been best near Checks 12 or 13 along with under the Highway 152 Bridge with jumbo minnows. with the best action near Check 13 or the Highway 152 Bridge.”

The lake rose to 69 percent due to increased pumping out of the south Delta.

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

Few reports from the lake this week, but the water level came up slightly to 49 percent. Bass fishermen have all but abandoned the lake with the low water conditions affecting the ability to launch a bass boat, but small aluminum boats for trout trolling is a possibility at the public launch. The rainbows are found from the surface to 6 colors of leadcore with orange lures behind a chrome dodger. Shore anglers are also getting in on the trout action with inflated nightcrawlers or trout dough bait.

Call: Todd Wittwer 288-8100; Mike Beighey 642-3748

Snow in the high country slowed down any interest in fishing in the Kaiser Pass region or the difficult to access high country as the road is closed for the winter. Check the Caltrans website at www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi or call 800-427-7623 for road conditions.

Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000

Shoreline action has improved for the first time this year as Ocsanna Seropyan from Valley Rod and Gun in Clovis along with her father from Madera Ranchos scored limits of rainbows within a couple of hours soaking chartreuse trout dough bait near the dam. Few boats have been on the lake this week, but Dick Nichols of Dick’s Fishing Charters said, “For those who fished this week, a mixed limit of kokanee and trout is possible, down from multiple limits of kokanee a week ago.” There have been some quality rainbows to 16 inches taken near the dam by James Swope of Fresno. Spawning kokanee are swimming in the shallows near the Sierra Marina ramp. Boaters have to be aware of the launch conditions, and a webcam of the Sierra Marina launch ramp is available at www.sierramarina.com/camera.html. The lake receded to 60 percent.

Call: Dick Nichols, Dick’s Fishing Charters 281-6948; Todd Wittwer, Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Dinkey Creek Inn 841-3435; Rancheria Marina 893-3234; Shaver Lake Sports Inc. 841-2740; Tom Oliveira Fishing 802-8072; Steve Santoro Fish Box Charters 871-3937

Road conditions to both lakes have been affected by the recent winter storms, and the gate at DinkeyCreek is closed, eliminating access to both Wishonand Courtright.

Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361

The big swell was the story of the past weekend out of Pillar Point Harbor, and the swell brought in big wave surfers from around the globe for the anticipated Maverick’s Big Surf Contest which is announced with only a few day’s prior notice. The winds were anticipated to be high, and the tentative contest for last Monday was postponed, but both male and female surfers were out in the huge waves on Tuesday and Wednesday. Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat and the boats out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing were out with passengers observing the surfers despite the postponement of the actual contest. The window for the contest to be rescheduled will last until March 1, and the event is a huge boon to the local economy.

The big swell affected the ling cod and rockfish bite, and although the crab counts per pot are getting thinner, Captain Tom Mattusch continues to bring in limits for his customers. He said, “Sunday was the best day in the past three or four as the wind, wind chop, and swell has come down. We only put in 26 rockfish two days before with 131 on Saturday, but the bite is much better on Sunday. The crab are thinning out, but we have been able to come back with limits every day since the opener. We have enough pots that I think this will be the story throughout the remainder of the season. I will be running rockfish/crab combination trips until December 31st and after this, I hope to put together some sand dab/petralesole, and crab trips. The water is very clear and warm at 58 degrees, and let’s hope the future months bring northwest wind to cool down and stir up the water with upwelling as we are not seeing the type of bait needed for the upcoming salmon season in the clear, warm water.”

The six-pack Ankeny Street has been running rockfish/ling cod trips and despite the tougher bite in the big swell, they were able to put in half-limits of rockfish and 8 lings to 9 pounds on a pre-Christmas Day trip.

Out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, rockfish trips are done for the season a week ahead of the closure, and they will be running whale or bird watching trips until the rockfish opener below Pigeon Point on April 1 with the local opener in the San Francisco Management Zone on April 15.

Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete is crabbing commercially during the current season, and he is selling live crab off of the boat on the weekends.

Further north in Pacifica, the big waves from the surf resulted in the closer of the Pacifica Pier for several days prior to Christmas.

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

It’s been busy out of Chris’s Fishing Trips in Monterey as the interest in rockfish and crab trips is high as the season is closing. On Sunday, the Check Mate returned with 24 limits of rockfish, 6 ling cod, and 79 Dungeness crab while the Caroline posted 55 crab and 17 limits of rockfish. They will be running rockfish/crab trips until Dec. 31 with sand dab/crab trips starting New Year’s Day until the rockfish opener on April 1.

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

Mike Aughney of Fishing.com said, “Long time party boats captain Jared Davis on the Salty Lady has proclaimed the "end is near". Not "that" near the end of the rockfish season and crab combos. Party boats are scheduling trips through December 31s. On Sunday, Davis along with three other boats from Emeryville reported a collective 129 limits of both crabs and rockfish adding 12 lings. Emeryville has room weekdays after the holiday put weekend spots are limited. While it's too late to score you're Christmas crabs one can still jump on board for a New Year’s stash.”

Inside the bay, Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters had a great day on Friday with 3 legal sturgeon. He said, “We started out in the flats in 6 feet of water, and regular client Dan Davis put in the first sturgeon. By the time the tide was over, we were in 3 feet of water so we moved over to China Camp. We picked up two more slot-limit sturgeon for Erik Castillo and Matt Smart, and we saw at least 15 more sturgeon jump. Saturday was a different day as we put in one legal sturgeon, but we only saw 6 sturgeon jump around China Camp.”

Call: Captain Trent Slate, Bite Me Charters 415-307-8582; Happy Hooker 510-223-5388; Captain Jerad Davis, Salty Lady 415-760-9362; Captain Steve Mitchell 707-655-6736

Near limits of rockfish were the story for heavy loads of fishermen seeking rockfish during the final days of the boat-based season. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing at Port San Luis, the Patriot, Flying Fish and Phenix took out 70 anglers on Sunday for near-limits of rockfish consisting of 40 vermilion, 1 cabezon, 9 treefish, 44 gopher rockfish, and 484assorted rockfish to go with 20 ling cod to 14pounds. James Owen of Springville took the jackpot on the Phenix with the 14-pound ling. Out of Morro Bay, the Endeavor, Avenger, and Starfire out of Morro Bay Landing put their 83 anglers onto near-limits of rockfish with a whopping 358 vermilion, 36 copper, 45 Boccaccio, 1 cabezon, and 366 assorted to go with 54 ling cod to 20pounds. Out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay, the Rita G and Fiesta took out a combined 25 anglers on Sunday 120 vermilion, 61 assorted rockfish, 32 copper, 7 Boccaccio, and 19 ling cod with Kevin Bell of Fresno taking a jackpot with a 15.5-pound ling. All landings are running a variety of bottom fishing trips from ½ day to two-day ventures up the coast. Rockfish season ends on December 31stuntil April 1, 2019. After January 1st, nature and whale watching trips along with the occasional sand dab/crab trip will be on the schedule.

Call: Virg’s Landing 800-762-5263; Patriot Sport Fishing 805-595-4100

In the Sacramento-Delta, sturgeon are taking over the top spot as the water clarity is muddying up from the recent storms and big tides. Striped bass are moving quickly, and they have gone on hiatus to parts unknown, but there is optimism that they will return in the coming weeks. Crappie fishing is both the north and south Delta is solid, and live minnows or small swimbaits are working well for numbers of slabs.

In the north Delta, Alan Fong, manager of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento, is finding fantastic crappie fishing in the dead-end sloughs, and he took out Warren Trombley, formerly of the ‘Fun Fishing’ TV show for limits of slabs to 1.5 pounds. He said, “Warren was using two 2.5-inch Lunker City’s Fin-S Fish on each of his two rods, and he was regularly hooking up with two fish on each rod. He asked me what to do, and I told him to reel in what he thought were the larger fish and hold the other rod between his legs. Stripers have been absent in the north Delta near Liberty Island as they have moved somewhere. Warren did land a 7 pounder on a crappie jigs, but the bulk of the linesides have moved out. I expect that they will be back soon, and when they show up, they will come in quick.”

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, took a run north to Liberty Island mid-week after a slow trip on the San Joaquin River, and he said, “There was no bait or birds up at Liberty, and we found very slow action. I will once again be focusing on largemouth bass until the stripers return.”

Johnny Tran of New Romeo’s Bait in Freeport said, “Sturgeon are starting to make their move into the north Delta as the water is muddying up, and grass shrimp/eel or pile worm/eel combinations are working for the diamondbacks in the upper sloughs. Crappie fishing has been very good with live minnows, and Snodgrass or other dead-end sloughs are holding the slabs. There are also red ear perch and bluegill found in the same areas as the crappie. Live jumbo minnows or mudsuckers are the best bait for striped bass in the Sacramento Deep Water Channel or in Prospect Slough.”

The sturgeon are stacked up in a number of locations in Suisun Bay but getting them to bite is another story. Captain Steve Mitchell of Hook’dUp Sport Fishing put his clients onto slot-limit sturgeon for three days in a row from Friday to Sunday, and he said, “The bite is not like it is red hot or anything like this, but we are getting 4 solid bites per day. The fish are just not snapping right now although there are sturgeon stacked up at Roe/Ryer Island, in front of McAvoy’s at Bay Point, the top of the Big Cut in deep water, the mouth of Honker Bay, or in the Little Cut. There hasn’t been any consistent pattern for bait as they are hitting roe one day, and eel the following day. Sunday was a roe day, and in addition to the slot-limit sturgeon, we also picked up a nice striped bass in Montezuma Slough. I think the water temperature has been a factor in the bite, but there are so many fish in the system that on an earlier trip this week we had multiple line rubs. With this many fish in the system, the action in the spring should be phenomenal.”

Captain Joey Gamez of Golden State Sport Fishing has been running both night and day trips, and the fish bit on Wednesday with 13 total sturgeon including 3 slot-limit fish with eel being the top bait. They have been fishing in deep water to 70 feet, and it is taking from 16- to 24-ounces to stay down on the bottom. It is also difficult to stay on anchor in the deep water, and several private boaters will break loose and drag anchor through the zone, moving out the sturgeon. The deep water has been the only location devoid of crab at the present time as Gamez said, “The shallows in Grizzly Bay and Honker Bay are loaded with crab. There are so many sturgeon in the area, and we must have seen 60 sturgeon jumping on Wednesday.”

Captain Zach Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures said, “I normally will go searching for the sturgeon. If the tides are medium to small, I will focus on deep water, but if the tides are larger, I will stay from 35 feet and shallower.”

The Diamond Classic ‘Catch and Release’ Sturgeon Derby is coming to Martinez Marina on Saturday, January 26 with a pre-derby seminar at La Tapatia restaurant the previous evening with all of the participating captains present.

The San Joaquin-Delta is in dire need of fresh water flow, and the rainstorm anticipated for Christmas Eve is desperately needed. The water in the San Joaquin is extremely clear, and both the bait and the striped bass have moved out to other locations. In addition, the colder water temperatures in the clear water has led to the weed growth dying and breaking up, leaving fewer forage and hiding locations for largemouth bass.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, “The Delta needs another stirring up as we had a good bite going on the San Joaquin River, but the fish have moved with the weather change of bright sunshine and cold temperatures. The birds and bait are now absent, and I spent Tuesday looking for schools of striped bass in the crystal-clear water of the San Joaquin River. We ended up with two striped bass for our efforts, and the fish have moved on, perhaps north to the Port of Sacramento, further up river, or south into Discovery Bay. The shad normally head into Discovery Bay as the water is warmer at this time of year, and the stripers go in there are get confused, taking a few weeks to find their way out of the maze that is Discovery Bay. With the striped bass absent, largemouth bass are the top species, and you have to slow way down as the fish do not want to chase in the cold water. The ima Flit 120 in shad patterns on a dead stick presentation is one lure of choice, but you have to focus on areas with weeds moving in the current. The weeds create warm, and the bass want to hang around the warmest areas. There will be four or five bass holding in one weed patch as the fish are congregating with fewer weeds due to the vegetation dying in the cold water. Staying in the strike zone is key, and I will cast out the rip bait, reel down three or four times, and then making it pop – not pulling the lure, but twitching it my moving your wrist. This will make the lure move 6 to 8 inches. The other method is a Berkley Bottom Hopper or General Max Scent plastic on a Zappuhead with light line. Light line is very important in the clear water. We haven’t had enough weather to muddy it up yet.”

Dan Mathisen of Dan’s Delta Outdoors in Oakley said, “It has been very slow around here the past week, and the bass bite has been tough overall. The bait has basically been absent in the San Joaquin system.”

Mike Pipkins of Gotcha Bait in Antioch said, “We have been selling a number of large minnows for crappie in the south Delta, and our fishermen come in and are reluctant to buy the large minnows, but I tell them to try them. After buying a half-dozen, they return and buy more as the larger minnows are working for the slabs. Striped bass has been fair at best, but there are still a few sturgeon taken out in front near Buoy 31. The quality of grass shrimp from the south bay is the best I have seen in three years, and this has been a popular bait for sturgeon.”

Fresh shad are now out of the question as the cold water has driven the shad into deep water, but most bait shops have an adequate supply of frozen shad.

Call: Randy Pringle 209-543-6260; Captain Mike Gravert, Intimidator Sport Fishing 916-806-3030; Vince Borges, Vince Borges Outdoors 209-918-0828; J.D. Richey, Richey’s Sport Fishing 916-952-1554

At Nacimiento, the warmer water during the afternoon hours are the best window for spotted bass as the fish have moved out into deeper water near structure. Small spoons are starting to be effective for the spots to 2.5 pounds along with plastics on the drop-shot, shakey head, or split-shot. The fish are starting to school up with the colder water temperatures, and some of the white bass are mixing in with the spotted bass schools. The lake is now at 11 percent of capacity. The low water conditions have led to both marked and unmarked hazards just under the water levels. Boaters have to use extreme caution when running. The marina remains open for all services with the exception of gasoline. A webcam of the lake is available at http://www.lakenacimientolive.com/. At San Antonio, the lake is still at 12 percent, and there is minimal interest in fishing with most anglers heading to the better bass action at nearby Nacimiento. Catfish to 6 pounds have been taken on a variety of baits including cutbaits, Triple S Blood Formula dip bait, or chicken livers. Bass fishing remains extremely slow with the occasional fish taken on plastics on the Texas-rig or jig. Launching at the Harris Ramp is still a possibility, but the Lynch Ramp remains closed. Lopez remains the top coastal lake for largemouth bass with plastics on a drop-shot or Texas-rig along with jigs on a football head with the fish holding from 10 to 30 feet in depth. There is also some vertical jigging action with ice jigs or small spoons. With the colder water temperatures, the panfish bite has slowed. A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/. At Santa Margarita, quality largemouth bass can be taken plastics on the drop-shot or Texas-rig along with jigs, deep-diving crankbaits, and swimbaits on a slow grind on the bottom. There have been some quality fish to 4 pounds taken recently, but the numbers of fish are limited. Catfishing is also slower, but a few whiskerfish are taken on cut baits. Panfish are shutting down with the colder water temperatures.. A webcam of the lake is available at http://805webcams.com/santa-margarita-lake-webcam-california/.

Call: Lake Nacimiento 805-238-1056, ext. 3; Lake San Antonio Marina 805-472-2818; Central Coast Bass Fishing.com 805-466-6557

Dec. 29: Pine Flat – Basshido

Jan. 1: Eastman – RiverRat Bass Club, Pine Flat – Bass 101, Kaweah – Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments, Nacimiento – Bakersfield Bass Club

Jan. 5-6: McClure – New Jen Bass Tournaments

Jan. 5: Camanche – Manteca Bassin’ Buddies, Don Pedro – American Bass Association, McClure – Kerman Bass Club, Nacimiento – American Bass Association

Jan. 12: New Melones – Sonora Bass Club, Tulloch – Gold Country Junior Bass Club, Don Pedro – Christian Bass League, McClure – Best Bass Tournaments/Tri Valley Bassmasters, Nacimiento – Kern County Bassmasters, Santa Margarita – Bakersfield Bass Club

Jan. 13: Delta/Russo’s Marina – Hook, Line, and Sinker, Millerton – California Bass Federation, Kaweah – New Jen Bass Tournaments, Nacimiento – San Luis Obispo County Bass Ambassadors

Jan. 17-20: International Sportsmen’s Exposition at Cal Expo, Sacramento, www.sportsexpos.com/attend/sacramento

Jan. 19: Delta/Russo’s Marina – American Bass Association, Don Pedro – Best Bass Tournaments, McClure – Merced Bass Club, Pine Flat – Sierra Bass Club/American Bass Association, Nacimiento – Best Bass Tournaments

Jan. 20: Delta/Tracy Oasis – Tracy Oasis Marina, Pine Flat – Fresno Bass Club/Kings River Bass Club

Jan. 26: Delta/Russo’s Marina – Dan Mathisen Outdoors, Pine Flat – California Bass Nation, Nacimiento – Golden Empire Bass Club

Jan. 27: New Melones – Riverbank Bass Anglers

Feb. 2-3: Delta/McAvoy’s Boat Harbor in Bay Point – Foundation Sportsmen’s Club Original “Super Bowl” Sturgeon Derby

Feb. 2: Don Pedro – New Jen Bass Tournaments, McClure – Manteca Bassin’ Buddies/RiverRat Bass Club, Pine Flat – Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments/Kerman Bass Club, Santa Margarita – American Bass Association

Feb. 3: Pine Flat – Cen Cal Elite Bass Tournaments

This story was originally published December 24, 2018 11:45 AM.