"I fished Clear Lake on Monday with Joe Bitker and we landed a total of 15 fish from 3 to 5 pounds," explained Scott Green of Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park. "The weather has been warm for the last two days and the frog bite is really picking up on the north end."

According to Green, the fish are positioning themselves under the thick weed beds in the shallow water on the north end of the lake. "Our largest fish of the day weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces," he added. "I also spoke to Joe Leonard and Adam Perry. They only had four fish, but two of them were 7-1/2 pounders. They also caught their fish on frogs."

"Clear Lake has been unusually tough for the last month, but it may be turning around judging from my latest trip on Friday evening," reported Larry Hemphill of Larry Hemphill's Guide and Instruction Service. "I fished with Michael Cannon of Sunnyvale and we landed a total of 14 fish."

According to Hemphill, the pair fished from around 8:00 pm until nearly 4:00 am. "Our best bite was from 3:00 am until 4:00 am," said Hemphill. "Most of the fish were cookie cutters from 3-3/4 to 4-1/2 pounds. Our biggest of the trip weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces. We caught fish on Jigs, plastic worms, crankbaits and spinnerbaits."

"I heard of a few frog fish on the north end, but for the most part the bite has been pretty tough," reported Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle. "I also spoke to a pair of anglers that reported catching five fish up in Rodman Slough today and another pair of anglers that caught a few fish throwing crankbaits near Rattlesnake."

Big fish of the week was a 10 pound, 1 ounce largemouth caught by David Forest. "He caught the big fish on a 7 inch black Berkley Power Worm over by Rattlesnake," said Higgins.

As for the catfish bite, anglers are reporting decent action on fish running 5 to 13 pounds. The top baits have been crawdads fished on a split shot or under a bobber. Clams have also been productive. Cache Creek and Rattlesnake have been two of the top spots.

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"Other than two slower days this week, we've been taking limits or close to it on our salmon trips," reported Rick Thornton of Anchor Charters. "Yesterday, we ended up with 34 salmon up to 30 pounds for 20 anglers. The previous day, Brandon on the Lady Irma II checked in with full limits for his 15 passengers."

According to Thornton, the salmon have been a mix of smaller fish in the 6 to 10 pound class and larger fish from 15 to 30 pounds. "Some days it's nothing but big fish," he said. "When Brandon had limits for 15 people on Friday, the average fish was 20 pounds. Yesterday, we had a lot of smaller fish mixed in with a few big ones."

The salmon have been showing straight out of the harbor in 60 to 350 feet of water. "We've been fishing from the mouth of the Noyo River here up to Laguna," said Thornton. "The fish seem to be out in the deep water, maybe 50 fathoms, early in the morning, then move into shallow water during the day."

Rockfish action has been solid, but fishing pressure has been very light due to the excellent salmon bite. "Brandon ran a rockfish trip Saturday afternoon and checked in with 3/4 limits of quality red and black rockfish," said Thornton. "They were fishing 6 ounce bars with a shrimp fly teaser in 35 to 60 feet of water off the mouth of Virgin Creek. They also had 3 lingcod."

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"The salmon fishing has been phenomenal in the bay, where anglers are catching a lot of fish over 20 pounds," Hoefer of Rogue Sportfishing Unlimited. "We are seeing tons of anchovies in the water; the fish must be tired of eating because the most success has been found while trolling G-Spot spinners, rather than anchovies.

The lower Rogue River has been producing salmon averaging 20 to 25 pounds with a lot of the fish over 30 pounds showing.

"We are seeing a few summer steelhead up river, where anglers are using nightcrawlers or roe, " said Scott from Rogue Outdoor Store. "The salmon anglers are doing very well on the Rogue. The fish are much bigger than in past years and the salmon run this year is looking to be great."

Guide Chris Young hooked into the biggest chinook salmon hauled out of the bay this year. Young caught a 49 pound salmon while using a Clear Water Flash Luhr Jensen spinner.

"There are a lot of big fish showing this season. I have weighed in more than 80 fish over 30 pounds, including 24 over 40 pounds," reported Dean McKinney of Jot's Resort. "Spinners have been the most productive, with a green G-Spot or a Luhr Jensen leading the pack."

Anglers are hooking into chinook salmon averaging 20 pounds-plus, since ocean fishing off the mouth of the Chetco River reopened on July 24, "The anchovies are still present in the Chetco mouth, along with a lot of salmon," said Gary Klein, fishing guide. " I have been getting limits of salmon on just about every trip,"

Klein has found a steady bite while mooching live bait on light tackle. Klein's 3 anglers successfully battled 5 salmon weighing between 20 and 30 plus pounds while using live bait on his latest mooching adventure.

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"Some nice salmon have been taken out of Burnt Ranch Falls this week," reported fishing guide E.B. Duggan. "The salmon coming out now are a bit smaller on average. The good part is that these fish don't seem to have lockjaw like the bigger fish did."

According to Duggan, the majority of fish taken lately have been caught on roe and some of the mid-size salmon and jacks are still taking tuna balls. "Up at Del Loma, Loren Everest of Weaverville checked in a 25 pound salmon," he added. "There have also been some 15 pound fish recorded."

At press time, releases into the Trinity were 450 cfs. "The first half of the main run is now up river with more fresh salmon coming into the valley on a regular basis," said Duggan. "Some fall run is already starting to show down at the mouth of the Klamath."

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"The Wild Wave came back with limits of rockfish by 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday," reported "Grandpa" Bob Schmidt of Shamrock Charters. "The anglers are jigging shrimp flies and bars in the 80 feet of water off Davenport."

On July 30, the 12 anglers aboard the boat landed limits of red, vermilion, yellowtail and other rockfish while fishing off Davenport. A good number of legal-sized lingcod are also being caught by anglers fishing 6 ounce jigs on the reefs.

"My latest fishing trip was aboard the Sea Stag III with Captain Ken Stagnaro," noted Schmidt. "I limited out in a hour while drop-shotting with my home-made 6 ounce jigs. The other 27 anglers aboard the boat also limited out on rockfish. We caught a mixture of chilipepper and vermilion rockfish, along with some cabezon and lingcod."

The albacore fishing is also great on the calm days. The Wild Wave returned with 127 albacore for 19 anglers on the last trip by Captain Mike Baxter, according to Schmidt.

Joe Stoops of Chartle Sportfishing is finding excellent fishing for halibut in Monterey Bay. "Our 6 anglers boated 12 halibut to 30+ pounds and also released 2 others over 15 pounds," stated Stoops. "We fished the inner bay with live sardines. Conditions were great all day."

"On the following day, we experienced hot action with early limits of halibut," stated Stoops. "Our 5 anglers boated 10 halibut to 22 pounds and released an 8 pounder! We fished inside the bay in 35' of water."

At press time, the bite had slowed down a bit. However, Stoops still managed 5 halibut to 30 pounds and a 7 pound salmon. "We fished the Pajaro area in 25-40' of water with live anchovies," he explained.

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"The fish are mostly rainbows, with some browns and brookies mixed in," stated Steve Vaughn of Vaughn's Sporting Goods. "Most of the fish range from 7 to 15 inches. The top areas to fish are near the campgrounds, where the fish are regularly stocked."

Anglers are tossing out nightcrawlers, meal worms, crickets and Panther Martins for the trout. Some fly anglers are also finding success with grass hopper and ant patterns in the evenings.

Lower Hat Creek is yielding rainbows in the 10 to 16 inch class for fly fishermen fishing in the evenings. Use yellow stone flies, callibaetis and caddis patterns #16 to #18 for maximum success, advised Vaughn.

"The heat has slowed down the fishing at Baum Lake and the Cassel area," stated Vaughn. "Your best bet now is to fish nightcrawlers and crickets at both locations.

"The Pit River offers good fishing in the evenings, tough action during the day and fair fishing in the early morning hours," added Vaughn. "Anglers fishing the stretch from Pit #3 to Pit #5 area are fooling rainbows with pheasant tail, Prince, AP and birds nest patterns in sizes #14-16. Most of the fish are 10 to 17 inches, with a few larger fish to 18 inches."

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"Trollers are doing well with a dodger and crawler, Needlefish and Speedy Shiner down 20 to 30 feet in the early morning," reported Kathy Blake at the Sports Nut. "The browns and rainbows are running 2 to 5 pounds."

According to Blake, the top areas have been Big Springs, Rec. 1 and 2 and the dam. Anglers can also anchor up or drift crawlers, meal worms or crickets in the same areas. For salmon, fish roe, anchovy tails or mini gitzits near the dam and off the mouth of the Hamilton Branch.

For bank fishermen, the jetties in Prattville, the dam and the Hamilton Branch continue to produce most of the action. Try using rainbow Power Bait, crawlers, meal worms, crickets or a gold Kastmaster.

Smallmouth bass action is heating up at Almanor. During the day, crickets and crankbaits will produce well. At first light and just before sunset, try fishing topwater baits or rip baits on rocky points or flats with stumps.

Lake Almanor is approximately 12 feet from full.

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"Since the July 16 salmon opener, I've averaged only one fish per day while fishing from Redding to Anderson," said guide Mike Bogue. "On the other hand, trout fishing through the same area has been producing some quality fish over 20 inches."

"Back trolling F-5 Flatfish and side drifting Glo Bugs has produced an average of 20 to 25 trout daily," noted Bogue. Bogue, along with a few fishing buddies, drifted from Redding to Anderson to take four trout over 20 inches, with the big fish of the day a 25 incher, on a recent rainbow fishing adventure.

"I've been hooking into some fat wild rainbows averaging 1-1/2 to 2 pounds, with 3 to 4 pounders common, on drifts on the Sacramento River from the Posse Grounds to Bonnyview," said Bob Brown of Fish Connection Specialty Guide Service. Brown has found success by fishing light colored Glo Bugs and K-4 Kwikfish in metallic silver. "We are averaging about 20 to 25 fish daily during a two person drift down the river," added Brown.

"The salmon fishing on the Sacramento near Red Bluff has been very slow; we've only averaged about 1 to 2 salmon per trip," reported Kirk Portocarrero of Outdoor Adventures Sport Fishing. "I haven't had a chance to do much fishing on the river because of the slow fishing conditions these past few weeks, but I am hoping for the action to improve."

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"A lot of catfish up to 10 pounds are being caught in Steamboat Slough on chicken liver and grass shrimp," said Ranjit Birring from Freeport Bait. "The fish are spread throughout the area, so try different baits to produce a bite."

The stripers are scattered in Steamboat Slough and Seven Mile Slough. Most fish are undersized ones averaging 14 to 16 inches, with an occasional keeper mixed in, reported Birring. Anglers are drifting sardines and anchovies for the striped bass.

"A few king salmon averaging 6 to 7 pounds have been caught in the Sacramento River by boaters trolling silver and blue Wiggle Warts," stated Birring. "I expect the salmon bite to improve as the season progresses."

According to Jim Chocalas of Hap's Bait, a few salmon have been caught by anglers trolling anchovies in the Mokelumne River. "The fishing has been tough, but anglers are bagging some quality fish," said Chocalas. Walt Cardwell from Galt successfully battled a healthy 21 pound salmon while trolling anchovies in the Mokelumne River.

"We are seeing a lot of big catfish all over the place in Steamboat Slough," added Chocolas. "Cats weighing up to 10 pounds are hitting cut baits."

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His clients are picking up fish in the 15 to 16 inch range. Apex lures in red or watermelon colors, Vance's lures, Murphy's Bugs and Wedding Ring lures, all tipped with white corn, have been the best producers. Sling Blades in silver or silver/blue are the top attractors.

The main channel from Tunnel Creek to the dam has been hot. Most of the action is coming before 10:00 a.m.

Haskell Cape of Fresno, a local Sierra angling expert, limited out in less than two hours. His kokanee measured from 15 to 17 inches.

Trout action at the lake is good. Bank anglers are scoring with rainbow select Power Bait or inflated night crawlers. Edison Cove and the rocks around the dam have been the best areas.

Trollers are finding the rainbows at the 20 to 25 foot levels. The Dora Bella Cove area and the face of the dam are producing 3 to 5 fish per outing.

Night crawlers behind blades, Wedding Rings tipped with worms and Hum Dingers in orange have been the most consistent lures. A few rainbows in the 18 inch class have been caught, but most of the fish are 12 to 13 inches.

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Frank Ward took first place by catching a rainbow weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces. In second place was Frank Gault, who nailed a 6 pound, 8 ounce fish. Jamie Reifert took third place with a weight of 6 pounds, 2 ounces "Most of the big fish were caught on lures, but several were taken on Power Bait or worms," said Allison.

"The fishing is still productive in the high country lakes. The fish are holding in the top 12 feet and are feeding at the surface in the evenings," noted Allison. Bank anglers have reported limits at Kinney Reservoir, Alpine, and Spicer while soaking Power Bait and worms. Fly fishermen are picking up fish with Wooly Buggers during the day and then switching over to Caddis or Hoppers in the evening.

"The flows are extremely low in the rivers and streams," stated Allison. "Beaver Creek will not be planted the rest of the summer, but stocking of the North Fork of the Stanislaus continues weekly. Small spinners and crickets have been productive, and fly casters are doing well with Caddis, light Cahill, and black Gnats."

"Most of the high lakes, such as Highland lakes, are filled with aggressive brook trout and can provide hours of action," said Allison. Hoppers are the fly of choice this time of year, but many other patterns have been productive.

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"It's outstanding. We've seen a lot of 6 pounders come out of Silver," reported Susan Greilich of Kittredge Sports.

Boaters are taking limits of 12 to 16 inch fish with frog or bikini Needlefish. Bank anglers are scoring with rainbow Power Bait or inflated night crawlers.

"June Lake continues to produce easy limits of quality rainbows," said Greilich. "Most of the fish are in the 12 to 13 inch range with a few trout of 3 to 4 pounds showing up daily."

The hot action is coming from the reed areas all around the lake. Casting night crawlers or rainbow Power Bait into the edge of the reeds is the key to landing easy limits. The fish are holding at the 12 to 20 foot levels.

"Action at Lake George is very good," stated Greilich. "Bank anglers are nailing limits of 12 to 18 inch bows with rainbow Power Bait. A few Alpers in the 4 to 5 pound range have fallen for Thomas Buoyant lures in red/gold."

Lake Mary has turned on and has been heavily planted with Alpers trout up to 10 pounds. Experienced anglers are finding the trout along the steep drop-offs.

Baby crawlers behind mini blades and Needlefish in silver/black colors are the top producers. Red/gold Thomas Buoyant and Super Dupers in silver/red are working well. The evening action is hot with black gnat or Adams flies.

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"Brent Whitman of Elko was up here for four days and he left with five trout from 17 to 18 inches, 14 catfish up to 6-1/2 pounds, 3 big buckets full of perch and an 18-1/2 inch smallmouth," reported Dennis Dunn of Wildhorse Resort.

According to Dunn, the perch bite remains wide open all over the lake. "The top bait for perch is still a worm with a piece of corn," he said. "If you like to use lures, try fishing a small white tube jig in 10 to 15 feet of water. The perch are averaging 7 to 11 inches."

Catfish action has been excellent at a variety of areas including the mouths of Penrod and Hendrix creeks and also near the dam. "The catfish are hitting any type of smelly baits in 5 to 20 feet of water," said Dunn. "Whitman said he used rotten steak to catch his catfish."

For trout, anglers are trolling spoons in orange or green colors. Another productive set up has been a nightcrawler behind a set of flashers. "Trolling has been best right out in the middle of the lake," said Dunn. "For bank fishermen, try a crawler or Power Bait fished two feet under a bobber."

Wildhorse Lake is approximately 45% full at press time. Dunn suggested boaters launch at the gravel beach at the Sho-Pia Campground.

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John Norrdom of San Mateo fooled the 52 pound chinook while trolling a Rotary Salmon Killer on a downrigger off Slide Ranch. He landed his fish using 20 pound test line aboard his boat, the Anne Chovi, according to Jacky Douglas, captain of the Wacky Jacky.

"The fishing is excellent," she noted. "The three anglers fishing with me caught limits of chinooks by 9:30 a.m. today while mooching off Slide Ranch," reported Jacky Douglas, captain of the Wacky Jacky on Monday, July 30. "

On July 29, the 15 anglers aboard the Wackly Jacky nailed 12 salmon to 25 pounds. The anglers found the best action off Duxbury Reef. "A lot of big kings in the 20 to 30 pound class are showing now," revealed Douglas.

The halibut fishing has improved with the arrival of slower tides. The Bass Tub returned with 16 halibut for 20 people on July 29 and 21 halibut and one bass for 19 anglers on July 28.

"We caught the fish both days drifting live anchovies at South Hampton Shoals," stated Erik Anfinson, captain of the Bass Tub. "The halibut averaged 24 inches each."

The salmon bite finally broke loose outside along the Marin coast with anglers reporting solid action on big kings running 12 to 30 pounds. As for the live bait trips, small tides inside the bay this week meant anglers were fishing outside the Golden Gate targeting mixed bags of rockfish, halibut, stripers and salmon.

"The salmon fishing has been excellent this week off Duxbury Reef," reported Bob Lane of the Berkeley Marina. "The live bait bite inside the bay was a little slow during the week because of the small tides, but things should pick up over the next couple of days."

On Sunday, July 29, salmon anglers found steady scores averaging a fish per rod. The New Easy Rider mooched off Muir Beach and managed 16 fish to 28 pounds for 20 anglers. The New El Dorado III also targeted salmon and landed 24 fish to 30 pounds for 24 anglers. The El Dorado also caught 24 salmon to 32 pounds for 24 anglers.

The Baywatch, skippered by James Smith, was one of the few boats fishing inside the bay and they had an impressive day with a total of 23 halibut to 12 pounds and 8 striped bass for 23 people.

The Golden Eye ran a coastal trip that ended up with 190 rockfish, 1 halibut to 24 pounds, 4 lingcod and 3 salmon for 26 anglers. The Drifter brought in 1 halibut, 6 salmon to 18 pounds and a 22 pound striped bass for 16 people. The New Golden Eye managed 10 halibut to 12 pounds and 4 salmon to 28 pounds for 25 people.