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Coastal Mountains
LAKE SONOMA LARGEMOUTH... Lake Sonoma is producing excellent action on largemouth bass. The key is to fish early in the morning, late in the afternoon or at night.
"I fished Sonoma Friday afternoon and caught six fish on topwater baits, then hit a wide open spinnerbait bite from 8:30 until I had to leave around 9:30," reported Mike Nunnally of Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park. "Most of the fish I caught were smallmouth bass running about 2 pounds. The rest were largemouth in the 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pound class. I found the best bite around the dam."
According to Nunnally, he caught two topwater fish on Lucky Craft Sammie's, two on Zara Spooks and two on a buzzbait. "I also missed about five other fish on the Spook," he added. "The trip really got interesting around 8:30 just before dark. The spinnerbait bite broke loose and I landed 6 nice smallmouth and lost three more. My last two fish came on Senkos, then I had to head home.
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North Coast
FORT BRAGG KING SALMON/ROCKFISH... King salmon fishing continues to draw most of the attention in the Fort Bragg area. With fish averaging 12 to 15 pounds and impressive numbers of larger fish in the 20 to 30 pound class, it's been one of the top bets for salmon on the north coast.
"The salmon fishing has been excellent this week," reported Jeremiah Waller of Anchor Charters. "We ended up with 16 fish to 37 pounds for 15 anglers today. Yesterday, we had 28 fish to 31 pounds for 18 anglers. Our best day was on Wednesday, when we had full limits for 12 people by 11:00 am."
According to Waller, the salmon have been hitting trolled anchovies in fairly shallow water, approximately 150 feet, from Virgin Creek to Cleone.
"We had a great rockfish trip today," reported Brandon Van Dine of Anchor Charters on July 1. "We didn't end up with any keeper lingcod, but the bite was wide open on big black rockfish along with a handful of blues and reds."
Van Dine said the rockfish bite has been wide open for the past month and limits have been easy as long as the weather cooperates. "We've been fishing shallow water from 40 to 80 feet deep about 17 miles north off Juan Creek," he explained.
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Oregon
ROGUE RIVER SALMON... Anglers salmon fishing anchovies and spinner baits on the upper Rogue River are finding a tough bite. Due to low water levels on the Rogue, the warm temperature of the water has kept a majority of the salmon in the Rogue River Bay.
"I weighed in three chinook salmon weighing over 30 pounds the other day," reported Heather of Jot's Resort. "The fish were caught while trolling anchovies and spinner baits in the upper Rogue."
According to Scott from Rogue Outdoor Store, trolling anchovies or spinner baits on the upper Rogue has produced numbers of chinooks averaging 20 pounds. "The river near tidewater has produced a few red tail perch for anglers using shrimp, while some half pounder steelhead have been seen in the area," reported Scott.
"The water temperature on the Rogue is warm," explained Mike Hoefer from Rogue Sportfishing Unlimited. "Lost Creek Reservoir is regulating the amount of water that is released in order to keep the fish from moving too far up river where they will not have access to the cool water from the bay."
Shaun Carpenter and Ross Bell were fishing on the Rogue over the weekend when they bagged a total of 7 salmon averaging 20-25 pounds, topped by a fat 42 pound chinook caught by Carpenter. Carpenter and Bell were using spinner baits to entice their fish.
"I saw a lot of dead herring floating on the surface of the Chetco River in the harbor, making fishing a difficult task for anglers," observed Bob Shuck of Sport Haven Marina. "Anglers are only landing about one fish for every three boats while fishing near the mouth of the Chetco."
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Northern Mountains
SHASTA LAKE KING SALMON/BLACK BASS... Shasta Lake is producing good numbers of robust king salmon averaging 4-7 pounds, with a few 7-9 pound fish caught by anglers trolling the deep areas of the lake. The reservoir, at 73 percent of capacity, remains one of the fuller lakes in northern California.
"Trolling has been the most productive from the early morning through the evening," reported Kirk Portocarrero of Outdoor Adventures Sport Fishing. "The key is not to give up when the bite slows down; the fish will hit hard when you least expect it, and trolling deep will produce the larger fish."
Portocarrero has found success trolling between 100-150 feet while using a shad pattern lure 2-4 inches long. "I've been targeting big fish averaging 4-7 pounds, with a few in the 7-9 pound class from the Sacramento Arm to Bridge Bay. The dam has not been producing the larger fish that I want to target," he said.
According to Tony Messer of Phil's Propellers, the early morning top water bass bite has remained steady at Shasta. "Brown and red jigs are very productive for spotted bass during the early mornings," said Messer.
"Trolling for trout near the dam and Big Back Bone at 75-100 feet is yielding trout averaging 1-2 pounds," he added. "Trolling Wee Tads and shad color Cripplures is the most productive method to use."
"The bass bite during the early mornings is very productive for anglers using top water baits and spinner baits from the surface down to 15 feet," noted Bob
Braz of The Fishin Hole. Live crawdads and blue ghost plastic worms are also enticing the spotted bass.
"Anglers fishing at night are hooking up with a lot of catfish while using anchovies, livers or sardines," said Braz. "The trout and salmon anglers continue to nail large numbers of healthy fish using chrome/blue Kastmasters and Cripplures near Big Back Bone and Dry Creek."
"Although the action is not red hot, the lake is producing lots of big salmon in the 3-5 pound range, with a few big rainbows mixed in," said Guide Hank Mautz. "Some of the fish have been caught using nightcrawlers or jigging spoons, but the best bet is still small chunks of anchovies."
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Monterey Bay
SANTA CRUZ ROCKFISH/ALBACORE/HALIBUT... Lingcod season opened on July 1 with decent catches of the toothy predators off the Santa Cruz coast, while halibut and albacore provide top-notch for anglers when the water conditions are right.
"On July 1, the 4 anglers fishing with me boated 4 lingcod to 9 pounds and 10 assorted rockfish to 3 pounds," reported Joe Stoops of Chartle Sportfishing. "The catch was short due to an early day; we fished less than an hour. We drifted live sardines in the Natural Bridges area in 100' of water."
On June 30, Stoops' 5 anglers boated 9 halibut to 25 pounds. "We fished live Sardines in the Capitola area in 35' of water," said Stoops.
The last tuna trip by Stoops produced 5 albacore averaging 20 pounds for 4 anglers. Rough weather has prevented Stoops and other anglers from fishing off shore.
The Wild Wave made a trip to New Year's Island on July 1 that yielded limits of rockfish and 10 lingcod for 36 anglers. "Most of the fish were black rockfish, with a few reds and vermilions mixed in," said Bill Rawson of Shamrock Charters. "The anglers fished with shrimp flies, baited with squid. They also released 20 shaker lingcod."
On the following day, the 22 anglers aboard the Wild Wave landed 21 keeper lingcod, as well as releasing lots of shaker lingcod. The rockfishing was slow, with anglers averaging 3 to 4 fish per rod, according to Rawson.
"Halibut fishing is the best thing going on," said Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine. "There were 1-3 halibut a boat for the people who fished from Oneill's to Capitola Wharf in 30-50 feet of water. The biggest halibut we weighed in was a 31.6 pounder that Linda Sue caught off Capitola. The salmon bite picked up with 9 fish caught in front of Moss Landing by two boaters mooching."
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North Eastern California
HAT CREEK/CASSEL AREA TROUT.... Upper Hat Creek remains the hottest trout prospect in the Burney area, since the creek is consistently producing lots of rainbows, with some brook and brown trout mixed in.
"The fish are mostly planters in the 8 to 14 inch range," said Steve Vaughn at Vaughn's Sporting Goods. "The top baits are nightcrawlers, meal worms and red salmon eggs, while the hottest lures are Super Dupers and Panther Martins. Fly fishermen are also catching some fish on ant and hopper patterns."
The Cassel area and Baum Lake are yielding "fair to good" trout fishing, revealed Vaughn. Most of the fish are rainbows measuring 8 to 16 inches. Nightcrawlers and mealworms are the most effective baits, while Kastmasters and Super Dupers are the best lures. Fly fishing enthusiasts are finding the top action using small caddis and may flies and nymphs (sizes #16 and under), according to Vaughn.
"The wild trout section of lower Hat Creek in producing good action in the evenings and fair fishing in the mornings," said Vaughn. "Use Trico Spentwings in the mornings and yellow stone, Pale Morning Dun and caddis patterns in the evenings."
The Pit River from Pit #3 to Pit #4 is yielding "fair to good" fly action on rainbows averaging 10 to 17 inches, with an occasional fish to 19 inches, according to Vaughn. Good fly patterns including pheasant tails, Bead Head Princes and Californian Coachmens (wet).
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Northern Sierras
FRENCHMAN/DAVIS LAKE RAINBOWS... Anglers trolling on Davis and Frenchman lakes continue to land limits of quality rainbows while trolling nightcrawlers and flashers. With the warming water temperatures, anglers are finding success fishing in the deep areas of the lakes.
"I have seen a lot of limits caught on Lake Davis by anglers trolling flashers and large nightcrawlers in about 20 feet of water," reported Gary Milby of Gold Rush Sporting Goods. Anglers fishing off the bank have found a steady bite throwing out rainbow glitter Power Bait and small Dick Nite lures. "The Dick Nite lure has been very productive for anglers bank fishing; most have landed limits while throwing out this lure," said Milby.
"Fishing at Frenchman Lake continues to be productive for both bank fishermen and trollers," reported Shirley Wiggin of Wiggin's Trading Post. "The fish are going deeper now, so anglers need to add a little more weight to their lines."
Bank fishermen on Frenchman are finding success by soaking worms, Power Bait or salmon eggs in 20-25 feet of water.
"Trollers are consistently catching trout while trolling nightcrawlers and flashers in the deep water," said Wiggin.
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Sacramento Valley
FOLSOM LAKE SPOTTED BASS/KING SALMON... Anglers are working hard for the spotted bass and king salmon they catch on Folsom Lake, now that hot summer weather has arrived.
Bob Davis at Fran & Eddy's Sports Den reported catching 4 spotted bass and one king salmon on his last fishing adventure to Folsom Lake.
"I landed 4 bass, measuring 13 to 16 inches, while using Carolina-rigged 4 inch Morning Dawn worms and Predator 4 inch leeches," stated Davis. "I found the top action fishing the main body off the peninsulas in 20 to 30 feet of water."
He caught his one salmon while trolling a Needlefish at 50 feet deep on his downrigger between the Browns Ravine launch ramp and the sail boat buoys. However, that was the only salmon or trout he saw landed. "I saw a bunch of guys trolling with leadcore line, but I don't think they could get deep enough to get the fish," he noted.
Folsom Lake is holding 593,000 acre feet of water, 61 percent of capacity, and the water level is 38 feet from maximum pool. All of the boat ramps are open to launching.
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Delta
WEST DELTA... The striper action in the West Delta has been fairly unproductive for anglers this past week, since most fish have been shakers. However, catfish provide a consistent bite for anglers tossing cut baits in Dutch Slough, while a few sturgeon are biting at the Middle Grounds.
On a trip by Diana Canevaro of The Fish Hookers Sportfishing, Mike Steele caught a small striper and Jerry Alves landed a fat 66 inch, 65 pound sturgeon. "He hooked the sturgeon at the Middle Grounds on the incoming tide while using shad and eel for bait," noted Canevaro. "As long as the weather stays calm, the sturgeon fishing will remain steady near the Mothball Fleet, Middle Grounds and Garnet Point."
"Parents who want their kids to experience fast fishing should try for bluegill in Dutch Slough," said June Bug from Hook, Line and Sinker.
"The fish are spawned out and they are in a feeding frenzy, hitting on worms. A good number of crappie are also biting red/white crappie jigs in the slough."
For a complete Delta Report, click here.
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San Joaquin Valley - Mother Lode
SHAVER LAKE KOKANEE SALMON... Kokanee action at Shaver Lake has taken center stage. The bright salmon are hitting and anglers are reporting limits.
"Lots of kokanee in the 12 to 15 inch range are being caught now," explained Jack Yandell of Captain Jack's Guide Service. His clients have been nailing limits on almost every outing.
"The fish are hitting around the 50 to 60 foot levels. The morning bite has been hot near the dam and around Shaver Point, while the evening strikes are coming form the Tunnel Creek area," Yandell added.
Apex lures in the pink or red speckled patterns, and Murphy's Bugs in the tiger color have been the hot lures. All of the kokanee lure should be tipped with white corn.
Trout fishermen are landing 2 to 4 fish per outing while trolling crawlers behind blades or Wedding Ring lures with worms. The rainbows are averaging 12 to 14 inches, with occasional fish up to 18 inches.
Most of the trout action is coming during the evening hours. The hot spots have been around Edison Cove and near Slide Rock.
Bank anglers are finding the trout concentrated around Edison Cove and near the eastern side of the dam. Power Baits in pink or yellow select have been the top selections, according to Yandell.
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Central Sierras
UNION RESERVOIR TROUT & CATFISH... Union Reservoir offers anglers a unique chance to catch rainbow trout and tasty brown bullhead catfish during the summer in a high elevation setting.
"Bank anglers and boaters are catching rainbow trout averaging 12 inches while fishing Power Bait near the boat ramp at Union," said Marla Tallant of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods. "Anglers are also landing lots of catfish averaging 12 inches using nightcrawlers."
Erik Momyer had a great day at Union when he and his fishing partner caught and released 15 rainbows, mostly wild and holdover trout in the 14 to 16 inch range, while trolling with nightcrawlers and dodgers.
Kinney Reservoir, located near the summit of Ebbetts Pass, is yielding good numbers of rainbow trout for bank anglers tossing out orange Power Bait, nightcrawlers and spinners,
"The trout at Alpine Reservoir are moving towards the west end, where the water is deeper," added Allison. "Trollers are working dodgers and worms at 10 to 15 feet, while bank anglers are tossing nightcrawlers and Power Bait. Some larger rainbows to 4 pounds have been caught."
The North Fork of the Stanislaus River is low and Beaver Creek is "very low," stated Allison. However, anglers using light leaders and gear are fooling lots of rainbows with small spinners and black gnat and mosquito flies. "The planters average 10 to 12 inches, while most of the wild fish are 7 to 8 inches long," stated Allison.
Steve Blayney won the recent trout derby at White Pines Lake by catching an 8 pound, 11 ounce rainbow with chartreuse Power Bait.
For Wiza's Tahoe area report, CLICK HERE.
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Southern Sierras
MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES TROUT... If you're looking for outstanding action for rainbow trout averaging 13 inches, and the opportunity to land an occasional trout in the 4 to 5 pound range, plant yourself on the banks of Lake George.
"Green Power Bait or small worms do the trick," reported Susan Greilich of Kittredge Sports. "The trout are hitting all day long and the action has been strong. Tubers are picking fish with matuka flies or Thomas Buoyant lures in red/gold.
Just down the mountain from Lake George is Lake Mary, and the action there is also outstanding. Bank anglers are nailing limits of bows with Kastmasters in silver or Power Bait in green. A few Alpers in the 4 to 6 pound class have fallen for Thomas Buoyant lures in blue/gold.
June Lake is hot. Boaters and shoreline anglers are using night crawlers or orange/glitter Power Bait to land easy limits of 12 to 14 inch trout. The reeds along the eastern shoreline have been hot during the evening bite.
Gull Lake action is good. Tubers and boaters are finding an excellent bite as the suns sets. Hornburg and matuka flies fished on the surface have been nailing limits of 12 to 18 inch fish.
Silver Lake is kicking out a lot of trout in the 13 inch class and a few big fish up to 6 pounds. The areas around the reeds near the inlet have been good. Most of the action comes from boaters drifting crawlers or Powerbait.
Mammoth Creek is excellent for rainbow trout. The 12 to 15 inch fish are falling for salmon eggs or small worms. Mosquito flies are working in the morning.
Tom Kulterman of Fresno managed to land golden, brown, rainbow and brook trout while fishing Ellery Lake and Saddleback Creek near the top of Tioga Pass.
For the SouthEast Sierras Report, click here.
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Nevada
WILDHORSE YELLOW PERCH/RAINBOW TROUT... Wildhorse Reservoir continues to kick out near-limits to limits of rainbows for bank fishermen and trollers. Also, big numbers of yellow perch are hitting throughout the lake and smallmouth action is picking up steam with the warming temperatures.
"The trout bite seems to be on the rebound since cold temperatures slowed things down last week," reported Dennis Dunn of Wildhorse Resort. "The west shore has been kicking out a lot of quality fish in the 16 to 20 inch class. The inlet areas at Penrod and Hot creeks are also doing well."
According to Dunn, trollers are finding the most consistent trout action. "Flashers and crawlers are still the top set-up," he said. "For bank fishermen, a nightcrawler with a piece of corn or Power Bait is your best bet."
The perch bite remains red hot at Wildhorse. "I've seen a lot of people leaving with catches of 50 to 70 perch during the last couple days," said Dunn. "You can basically catch as many as you want to clean. The top bait for the perch has been a worm fished on the bottom."
Smallmouth bass season opens July 1. Once the season opens, anglers may keep 1 smallmouth over 15 inches. "I already had a report of a 5 pound, 7 ounce fish that head to be released," said Dunn. "If that fish was caught during the season, it would have been a new Nevada state record smallmouth."
Wildhorse Lake is approximately 12 feet from full at press time.
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Bays and Ocean
FARALLON ISLAND LINGCOD&ROCKFISH/SF BAY STRIPERS... Emeryville anglers celebrated the season opener on Sunday, July 1 with reports of red hot action on rockfish and lingcod.
"The C-Gull II had a great day on the lingcod opener," reported Carl Rollins of Emeryville Sportfishing. "It was a little rough to make it out to the Farallons, so they fished along the coast and still brought in full limits of rockfish and lingcod. They were fishing live bait in the Point Reyes area and brought in full limits of rockfish, mostly blues, blacks and yellows, along with 46 lingcod to 15 pounds for 23 anglers."
On Sunday, July 1 the New Huck Finn landed 25 halibut to 32 pounds and 2 stripers to 15 pounds for 29 anglers.
The Captain Hook checked in with 31 halibut to 17 pounds for 30 anglers. The
Rapid Transit had 23 halibut to 20 pounds, 2 lingcod to 15 pounds, 12 rockfish and 7 striped bass for their 20 passengers. The New Seeker brought in 13 halibut to 20 pounds and 12 stripers for 22 anglers.
The New Salmon Queen was the only boat targeting salmon over the weekend and the bite was extremely slow. On Sunday, they brought in a 32 pound salmon, 1 striped bass and 1 rockfish for 17 people. Saturday's trip produced similar results with 2 salmon to 15 pounds for 30 anglers.
Live bait trips are producing solid action on striped bass and halibut for anglers fishing out of Berkeley Marina Sports Center.
"Halibut and stripers are definitely the best thing going right now," reported Gary Freedman of the Berkeley Marina. "The salmon bite looked like it was going to pick up mid week, but it completely died over the weekend."
On Sunday, July 1, the Drifter brought in 15 halibut to 12 pounds and 2 striped bass for 21 people. The Baywatch had an impressive day with a total of 20 halibut to 21 pounds and 20 striped bass to 13 pounds for 15 people. The Golden Eye ran a coastal trip that ended up with 13 halibut to 24 pounds, 150 rockfish, 8 lingcod and 4 cabezon for 30 anglers.
The New Easy Rider targeted salmon and managed 2 fish to 18 pounds for 21 anglers. The New El Dorado III also targeted salmon and landed 7 fish to 25 pounds for 23 anglers. The El Dorado caught a 16 pound salmon for 17 anglers.
"I've been splitting my time between stripers at the Brothers and halibut in the central bay," reported James Smith of the Baywatch. "We took limits of stripers to 26 pounds for our 11 passengers this morning and now we're heading over to Treasure Island to spend the rest of the day drifting for halibut."
According to Smith, the stripers are also beginning to show in the Pacifica area. "My father Jim ended up with full limits of big stripers and 5 halibut on the Happy Hooker Sunday," he explained. "They were fishing live bait on the beach near Pacifica."
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