TOP PICKS
TRINITY RIVER: Spring salmon fishing remains very good between Douglas City and Cedar Flat for driftboaters, while bank anglers are concentrating on the Junction City area, where access is best. Most guides continue to limit out daily. Flows at Douglas City are 441 cfs, while flows at Junction City are 539 cfs. Flows at Hoopa are 841 cfs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Redding to Red Bluff: Salmon season opened Aug. 1, along with trout fishing above the Highway 44 bridge. Fishing has been very slow at the Barge Hole. The water temperature is 52 to 54 degrees. Flows from Keswick are stable at 11,300 cfs. Trout fishing has been very good near Anderson. Afternoon hatches are drawing fly anglers to the river.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Red Bluff to Colusa: Salmon fishing has improved to a fish a rod for most guides fishing from Red Bluff to Corning. Schools of fresh salmon have been seen moving upriver. T55 FlatFish are working well near Red Bluff and Woodson Bridge, while anglers are dragging roe in the Corning area.
FEATHER RIVER: Salmon fishing has been slow, but over the weekend schools of fish were seen moving through the Yuba City area. Anglers are awaiting big schools of salmon staging near the Golden Gate to move in from the ocean. Striper fishing is fair on the lower river.
GOLD LAKES BASIN: Mark Tieslau of Mountain Hardware and Sports in Blairsden said the current hotspot is little Eureka Lake, water suitable only for float tubers and kayakers. It’s just been stocked and limits are coming out, nothing bigger than 14 inches. Sardine and Salmon lakes are slowing down, it’s just the doldrums of summer, Tieslau said. Trolling a small Needlefish at Gold Lake is producing rainbows between 12 and 16 inches on the north side by the houses in the early morning.
Far north lakes and rivers
LAKE ALMANOR: The bite has been equally tough for bass and trout anglers around the lake. High water temperatures have the trout pushed out into deeper water trying to stay in the thermocline and anglers are having to troll very slow with Gulp! and nightcrawlers. Bass anglers are fishing main lake points with soft plastics.
BAUM LAKE: Weeds are growing around the edge of the lake, making access more difficult, but there are still plenty of fish being caught on small pmd’s, woollybuggers, and PMD’s and with the full moon and hot temperatures the bite has been best early in the morning and late in the evening.
BUCKS LAKE: The bite has been better in the late evening when the insect hatches are thickest. Leeches, zebra midges, and small emergers like caddisflies, midges, nymphs, and golden stones are still producing best.
EAGLE LAKE: Anglers will continue to fish the summer pattern through September until the lake flips over. The fish are still out deep feeding on tule chubs and anglers are targeting them with Needlefish and Speedy Shiners.
FALL RIVER: The bite has been very good to fly anglers with some monster rainbows starting to be caught by guides working daily. Caddisflies in the afternoon are working pretty well and in the late evening there are still plenty of Hexagenia hatching, which is one of the best bites of the year for this area.
HAT CREEK: Hot summer temperatures have had the bite tougher this past week. Small dark patterns have been working as well as small spoons and Kastmasters. Smaller Trico flies and midges are working in the morning and in the afternoon switch to caddisflies.
LEWISTON LAKE: The trout fishing is on fire right now and you can throw everything, including the kitchen sink and still catch fish. Gold Kastmaster, Power Bait, and flies fished on a light leader are producing big and small fish in numbers near the marina.
PIT RIVER: Pits 1 and 2 aren’t fishing due to warm summer water temperatures. Pits 3 through 5 are all fishing okay but you have to find areas with faster, turbulent water that is aerated to hold fish, especially with the hot weather this past week. The bite will improve into the fall as temperatures drop.
SHASTA LAKE: The trout bite is still steady for anglers trolling between 70 and 75 feet deep and the bait is continuing to ball up. The bass are targeting baitballs in the early part of the morning and there is a really good topwater bite. With smaller baits you won’t have to weed through the small, rat-sized baby bass.
TRINITY LAKE: The bass were shallower this past week and there was some reaction bite with spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but once the sun gets up you have to switch to jigs and soft plastics. Still find some really nice quality largemouth and an occasional smallmouth.
WHISKEYTOWN LAKE: The kokanee are moving closer to the spawn and the larger mature fish are making the change to the hooked nose and humped back. The bass bite has been slow in the hot temperatures and many of the fish being caught are smaller baby spotted bass.
Sacramento Valley
AMERICAN RIVER: Salmon season is open, but warm water has prevented kings from holding at the confluence with the Sacramento River. A few big stripers are being caught. Flows at Fair Oaks are 3,440 cfs.
FOLSOM LAKE: The lake level dropped 2 feet last week, from 450 feet elevation to 448. The lake is 18 feet from full pool. The water temperature is 81 degrees. Heavy boat traffic is keeping many anglers away. Trout fishing is fair. Bass fishing remains good. Granite Bay, Brown’s Ravine, Folsom Point, Rattlesnake bar and Peninsula boat ramps are now open. Some catfish are biting from shore.
RANCHO SECO LAKE: Bass, bluegill and crappie are being caught. Trout fishing is slow.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Dunsmuir: With flows of 375 cfs, the upper Sacramento is in ideal shape for trout. Fishing has been good, with hatches throughout the afternoon.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Verona to Colusa: Salmon fishing is slow near Verona, although a few kings are being caught daily on Silvertron spinners. A few stripers are being caught. Fishing for catfish has been slow.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, Sacramento: Salmon are quickly moving to cooler water upstream, and most appear to still be holding up in the ocean. Fishing is slow in the metro area. Striper fishing has slowed, although 13- to 14-inch shakers are common near Miller Park and Bright Beach.
Trinity/Klamath rivers
KLAMATH RIVER, Hornbrook: Don’t expect salmon until mid-September. Water conditions are good for steelhead and trout, with small plugs are working best for steelhead. Flows at Iron Gate Dam are 965 cfs, down from 1,093 cfs cfs a week ago.
KLAMATH RIVER, Happy Camp: Conditions are good, but pressure is light for trout and steelhead because of hot weather. Still early for fall salmon. Some steelhead are showing up. Flows at Happy Camp are 1,070 cfs, down from 1,319 cfs a week ago.
KLAMATH RIVER, Klamath Glen: Summer steelhead fishing has improved, with a few jacks also moving upriver. Fishing in the estuary has been slow, with a few nice adults reported each day. The bulk of the run has yet to arrive. Flows at Klamath Glen are 2,730 cfs. The fall quota has gone into effect, allowing anglers to keep two salmon a day, but only one over 22 inches.
Northern foothills
BULLARDS BAR RESERVOIR: The remarkably resilient kokanee bite is showing signs of coming to an end – the fish are showing the first signs of turning for the spawn. It’s still possible to load up with a limit of 14-inch fish for now. The kokanee have moved towards the Yuba, and it’s best to start fishing at Garden Point or farther up the lake toward the inlet.
COLLINS LAKE: A pair of 20-plus-pound catfish came out of the lake and were weighed on the Recreation Area’s scale, but no catch details were available. Meanwhile, trout are still biting deep, at a minimum of 35 feet, and downriggers or weighted line are necessities. A photo of a 12-pound bass was shown to Ed Palma, the lake’s fish reporter, but it wasn’t available for publication. Otherwise, Creature Baits were enticing bass in approximately 70 feet of water. There’s an unseasonably solid crappie bite around submerged vegetation, of which there is plenty with the lake still in great shape, just 12 feet from full.
FRENCH MEADOWS: Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle in Auburn said French Meadows is still kicking out rainbows and browns for anglers trolling dodgers and worms or crawdad pattern stick baits such as Shad Raps. They can be found close to the inlet.
LAKE OROVILLE: The landlocked king bite is still going, but it’s lost quite a bit of steam, according to Craig Newton of Will Fish Tackle. He thinks it could rebound for one final push once the full moon cycle concludes. Meanwhile bass fishing is slow for most and pretty good for some. Jamey Sorensen of North Valley Tackle said he’d target points in 20 to 30 feet of water with drop-shot or jigs.
THERMALITO AFTERBAY: The water level and temperature have been consistently good at approximately 133 feet of elevation, which brings all the fish-holding structure into play, yet bass fishing has been consistently tough all summer and big fish are playing hard to get. Another 18-inch fish won the social fish-off hosted by North Valley Tackle, small for this body of water, but the bigger bass have been almost totally absent this season.
North Coast lakes
LAKE BERRYESSA: The bass have moved out into deeper water and with the full moon phase the night bite has been on fire with jigs, crankbaits, and single Colorado black spinnerbaits. The kokanee are in pre-spawn stage and are aggressively feeding in the later part of the morning but you might have to cover a lot of water to locate a good school.
BLACK BUTTE LAKE: The water level continues to drop from irrigation and the hot triple digit weather has had the fishing tougher for most anglers with the best action being an hour before sunrise until the sun hits the water. Topwater, wakebaits, buzzbaits, and poppers work early in the morning for bass and once the sun gets up they retreat back to the cover of the willows and deep channel edges in Stoney Creek where the water temperatures are cooler.
BLUE LAKES: Despite the hot weather the lake is in great shape, the water is clear, and the trout are on the bite. Anglers are catching limits of nice rainbows along with an occasional bass. Chartreuse Power Bait has been the top bait but nightcrawlers and a bobber will work as well.
CLEAR LAKE: The north end of the lake has threadfin shad relating to the offshore weed beds and the bass are feeding on them ferociously, making for an excellent topwater bite with buzzbaits and Whopper Ploppers. The south end of the lake near Redbud where they are drawing water out of the lake has a slight current and the bass are biting jigs well on the offshore rock piles.
EAST PARK: The lake and water level are both in great shape for this time of year. There are a lot of people out camping and enjoying the lake and the bass are biting spinnerbaits and jigs on the tule edges and weed edges off shore. The topwater bite has been slow since the heat wave hit but there are plenty of fish willing to hit reaction baits.
LAKE SONOMA: There are a lot of smaller bass to weed through, but soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and topwater are all still producing around the lake. The creek edges are also holding fish. The steelhead bite hasn’t picked up yet but as fall draws near it will begin picking up as temperatures drop.
STONEY GORGE: The lake is still nearly full and in great condition. Bass are resorting to offshore structure and willow bushes in the creek arms. When there is a breeze there is a good reaction bite with spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Jigs, senkos, and soft plastics are working once the sun gets up.
North Coast rivers
North Coast streams and rivers are regulated by low flow closures. Always call ahead to determine the condition of the river you want to fish. If not mentioned, the river is closed or no reports. The DFW’s Low Flow Closure Hotline for north coast rivers is (707) 822-3164. South Central Coast streams number is (831) 649-2886.New low flow closures for Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties, Oct. 1-April 30, call (707) 822-3164 for Mendocino, (707) 944-5533 for Sonoma, Marin and Napa.
CHETCO RIVER, Brookings, Ore.: Anchovies are once again thick in the harbor, drawing a few salmon close to the jetties. California halibut are being caught in the estuary.
COOS RIVER, Coos Bay, Ore.: The first salmon of the year have been caught in the lower bay below the Highway 101 bridge. Fishing will pick up around Labor Day.
ROGUE RIVER, Gold Beach, Ore.: Salmon fishing was slow in the bay most of last week, but improved Friday and Saturday before slowing again Sunday. Big numbers of jacks arrived over the weekend, but not a lot of adults. The water in the bay is 72 degrees.
RUSSIAN RIVER, Guerneville: Conditions on the Russian are still holding in a summer pattern with flows hovering around 140 cfs and water temps in the mid 70’s, according to Scott Heemstra of Kings Sport and Tackle in Guerneville. “As we move closer to late summer/early fall expect the bass bite to pick up as they prepare for winter,” he told WON on Sunday. “Both the smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing can be excellent in the lower river as we move into September. Just keep in mind there are lots of water users during the day especially on weekends.”
SMITH RIVER, Smith River: Expect the first salmon of the year near the mouth in a couple of weeks. Trout fishing is slow upriver with summer-time low flows.
UMPQUA RIVER, Reedsport, Ore.: Coho salmon are being caught along the jetties, while a few kings are being caught between Winchester Bay and Reedsport.
Sierra lakes and rivers
BOCA LAKE: Construction work on the Boca dam is now expected to overrun the mid-August scheduled completion date according to Miles Zimmerman of Mountain Hardware and Sports. That means the water level will remain low and the dam road will be closed for some time to come. Only the eastern shoreline is available for bank fishing or launching small boats. The best trout fishing is at the Little Truckee inlet.
CAPLES LAKE: Last week Dale Daneman said it is extremely difficult to catch a fish here, largely due to a lack of stocking.
CARSON RIVER: Todd Sodaro of Todd’s Bait and Tackle and the Alpine County Fish and Game Commission said 1,800 pounds of private trout were split between the East and West Carson Rivers. He further said trout fishing has been outstanding, with one customer reportedly releasing 60 trout in 3 days. The rivers will be stocked again with Mt. Lassen Trout Farms fish shortly before the Labor Day holiday weekend.
DAVIS LAKE: Jeanne Graham at J&J’s Grizzly Store said fishing didn’t change much week to week. Shore anglers are catching trout in the morning and in the evening, and bass and cats in between. Trollers working 10 to 15 feet are also catching fish, and the observant will note that’s shallower than recently – the surface water temperature has dropped from 74 degrees to 70.
DONNER LAKE: Miles Zimmerman of Mountain Hardware and Sports in Truckee said Donner remains slow for shore-based trout anglers offering the typical baits, nightcrawlers and Power Bait. The lake hasn’t been stocked in over a month and likely won’t be for some time. There is one bright spot, a few smaller Mackinaw are being caught from shore, a sure sign Autumn isn’t far off. Trollers are picking off a few smaller kokanee, which have yet to start turning. Try 80 to 120 feet for larger Macks.
FRENCHMAN LAKE: Travis Schwier of Goodwin’s and Son store said an angler brought in a 4.75-pound trout to be weighed, but he didn’t identify himself. This fish, one of the largest caught at Frenchman this year, fell for a ball of Power Bait at the dam. Schwier said quite a few others have also been bringing in fish, and they also connected at the dam. Trollers working the area between the coves and from Crystal Point to the boat launch have also been catching. Shore anglers working Crystal Point have been catching, but they’ve been smaller trout.
ICE HOUSE RESERVOIR: Last week Kyle Neeser of Crystal Basin Tackle and Guide Service said Ice House has slowed down dramatically. It’s late summer, DFW fish plants are over, and anglers have been pounding the water all season. These summer doldrums should last until the lake turns over.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: Todd Sodaro of Todd’s Bait and Tackle and the Alpine County Fish and Game Commission said Indian Creek Reservoir doesn’t get much attention with the Carson River fishing so well, but those who try it are finding plenty of trout.
JENKINSON LAKE (AKA Sly Park): Kyle Neeser of Crystal Basin Tackle and Guide Service said Sly Park is starting to quiet down. Heavy recreational boat traffic will return for the upcoming holiday weekend, but it’s possible to get a fishing boat in at 6:30 a.m., catch a few trout, and get back out by 9 or so.
LAKE TAHOE: Mackinaw and kokanee bit full speed early mornings through Saturday, and then there was a brief slowdown, but not enough to prevent limit style catching.
PROSSER LAKE: Miles Zimmerman of Mountain Hardware and Sports in Truckee said Prosser has been consistent all day for bass. Trout are slow, with a small window in the morning and then it shuts down. Fish the dam area for the best shot at both.
PYRAMID LAKE: The cutthroat season ended July 1 and reopens on Oct. 1.
SILVER LAKE: Last week Dale Daneman reported Silver Lake was fishing so poorly in 6 hours he never got a bite. Other boaters he talked with reported similar outings. He knows the lake well and remembers when he could expect to catch rainbows and browns. The lake is beautiful and full, but unless the stocking truck comes, neither do the fish. He also said the ramp is a challenge.
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR: Kokanee action slowed, but it had the favorable effect of making the larger, 17-inch fish easier to find. Guide James Netzel seemed to prefer this situation, as he and his clients reportedly caught some dandy fish at 70 to 90 feet. He also repeated the advice to move if you’re catching small fish.
TRUCKEE RIVER: Miles Zimmerman of Mountain Hardware and Sports in Truckee said the river is in great shape with steady flows from Lake Tahoe at about 250 cfs. The dry fly action is very good, mostly on caddis and grasshoppers mid-day.
UNION VALLEY RESERVOIR: Last week Kyle Neeser of Crystal Basin Tackle and Guide Service said like Ice House, Union Valley has drastically slowed down and isn’t expected to improve until the lake turns over.
WEST WALKER RIVER: Jenna Casanova of the Walker General Store said she weighed a 4-pound, 7.2-ounce trout but didn’t have time to take the angler’s name or the catch details. Still, this is a good sign of improved fishing since the end of the “How Big is Big?” derby. She suggested anglers search until they find fish-holding holes. If you do that, the fishing can be pretty good.
Northern Saltwater
BERKELEY: The biggest halibut to ever come aboard California Dawn made it over the rail, a whopping 50 pounder. Dream Fisher got two halibut per rod. New El Dorado III and Pacific Dreamfished the islands for limits of rockfish and some big lingcod to 22 pounds. Top Gun pulled limits of rockfish and some lingcod along the Marin Coast. New Easy Rider and New El Dorado III whacked the salmon up at Point Reyes where counts were a fish per rod to full limits.
BODEGA BAY: Salmon fishing went wide open off Ten Mile Beach and New Sea Angler was all over it. The boat pulled limits of salmon for 7 of 8 successive trips. Some of those trips were combo trips and limits of rockfish were also taken. Point Reyes is where the easy limits of rockfish and some long lingcod came from. Tomales Bay anglers enjoyed hookups with halibut near Hog Island and near the entrance to the Bay. Surf fishers near Lawson’s Landing caught perch and some striped bass.
EMERYVILLE: Plenty of salmon were caught, exemplified by C-Gull II, Tigerfish and Pacific Pearl returning with a combined 51 limits to 30 pounds. Halibut boats like Kingfish had counts that remained steady at 2 fish per rod from North Bar, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Richmond outer harbor. Sea Wolf and New Huck Finn worked on rockfish and lingcod with limits of rockfish, and lingcod counts as high as 37 on New Huck Finn.
EUREKA: The beginning of the week featured weather that allowed albacore trips and there were plenty of fish to 27 pounds as close as 17 miles from Humboldt Bay on Reel Steel and Shellback. Salmon fishing was up and down, but not that great, with counts like 6 fish per boat. Many smaller craft fished inside Humboldt Bay and found California halibut to be exceedingly hungry. Jetty fishing was good for a variety of rockfish, kelp greenling, cabezon and lingcod.
FORT BRAGG: After early-week success offshore with tuna, weather kept boats along the coast. Sea Hawk, Capt. Tuna and other boats like Viking and Samurai found a handful of salmon off Ten Mile Beach and Pudding Creek. Loads of rockfish and lingcod came from off Casper. Shore fishers worked Old Mill, MacKerricher and Mendocino for good quality rockfish, cabezon and a few lingcod.
HALF MOON BAY: Six-pack boat Reel Screamer managed a salmon per rod. Riptide god good counts at Pedro Point, but generally salmon counts were down. Huli Cat and Queen of Heartshammered the rockfish and lingcod at spots including Pescadero, Ritz and Deep Reef. Jetty fishers caught halibut and rockfish. Beach fishers reeled in redtail perch and striped bass. Private boaters fishing near Pacifica caught both salmon and striped bass.
SAN FRANCISCO: Wacky Jacky and Lovely Martha joined with Sausalito boats Salty Lady, New Rayann, Outer Limits, Hog Heaven and others to pull in good counts of salmon to 23 pounds, sometimes traveling as far as Point Reyes. Bass Tub, Flash I and Flash II worked the Bay hard for high counts of bass and as many as 2 halibut per rod. Lovely Martha also ran a rockfish trip to get 31 limits of rockfish.