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E-mail StoryFish report for May 9
| Thursday, May 8 2008 10:57 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, May 8 2008 11:01 PM
Kern County and southern San Joaquin Valley
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LAKE ISABELLA: The crappie bite is phenomenal. Lots of big fish from 1-8 to 3 pounds have been landed on small minnows in the north and south forks. Keith Bonner, Bakersfield, landed a 2-8 crappie. Greg Evans, Bakersfield, landed a 2-pound crappie. Fair to good catfish bite on shad, and decent bass fishing for anglers fishing plastics, jigs and nightcrawlers. Trout fair.
KERN RIVER: The Kernville area has a fair to good trout bite on salmon eggs and Blue Fox spinners. The flows are rising in the upper river, but it's still fishable. Fair trout bite in the lower river. Still too cool for the bass, but the action should start to pick up as it warms.
RIVER WALK PARK: The action from the last trout plant is slow to fair. No more trout plants will go until next season.
AQUEDUCT NEAR TAFT: Excellent striper bite on blood worms and lug worms and chicken liver. Mat Soh, Bakersfield, caught a 20-pound striper on anchovies. Ernie Sandoval, Bakersfield, landed a 12-pound striper on chicken liver. Juan Morales, Bakersfield, caught two 20-inch stripers on blood worms. Very good catfish action on anchovies and shad, with improving action as the waters warm.
HART PARK LAKE: Bluegill action good on wax worms and crickets. Good bass action on brush hogs and Senkos. Good carp bite on dough balls. Trout action fair, but winding down, on Power Bait and nightcrawlers.
TRUXTUN LAKE: Bluegill action good on wax worms and crickets. Fair bass bite on nightcrawlers, live minnows and brush hogs. Good carp bite on dough bait. Catfish bite picking up. Fair trout bite.
MING LAKE: Very good bluegill action on wax worms. Fair to good bass bite on Senkos, plastic worms and minnows. Good carp bite on dough bait. Fair trout action on Power Bait.
BUENA VISTA LAKES: The crappie bite is very good on minnows and jigs with fish to 1-8. Good catfish bite on shad. The bass bite has slowed down. Bluegill bite good on wax worms.
WOLLOMES LAKE: Fair to good bluegill action on wax worms and crickets. Bass bite good on minnows and plastics. Good carp bite on dough bait.
SUCCESS LAKE: Very slow. Little to no bite.
KAWEAH LAKE: Fair crappie bite on small minnows. Fair bass action on Senkos.
Other regional lakes
CACHUMA: Fair trout bite in five to 20 feet for trollers using red Needlefish and nightcrawlers. The trout are from 11/2 to 2 pounds, with some over six pounds. Bait anglers are using rainbow Power Bait and nightcrawlers. The trout bite is best in Cachuma Bay, just outside the marina and on the flats. Bass bite fair in the mornings on crankbait and plastics in the Jackrabbit Flats. Crappie bite fair on jigs and nightcrawlers in Bobcat Canyon. DFG trout plant three weeks ago.
CASITAS: The live shad are the name of the game. The bass bite is very good with anglers catching large numbers of fish on live shad, swimbaits and plastic worms. Maria Fyffe, Philadelphia, caught a 14-pound bass on live shad. Seth Casey, Oak View, caught an 11-pound bass. Joe Messinio, Ventura, landed a 10-pound bass. Very slow trout bite. Fair to good bluegill and redear bite on live worms and pieces of nightcrawlers in the shallows. Crappie bite fair to good on jigs and live shad. Roger Snowbarger, Ojai, landed 12 crappie. Top fish was three pounds. Catfish bite very slow. Nightfishing scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Private boats will again be allowed at Casitas in the near future, but boaters will face an inspection and 10-day dry dock requirement because of fears of quagga mussel infestation.
CASTAIC: Fair to good largemouth bass bite, with mostly small fish reported in the shallows. The coves and off the points are the hot spots. The striper bite is very good, with a few fish in the double-digits on anchovies or frozen shad. Mike Thompson, Oxnard, caught a 9-pound striper. Some carp still lurking near the west ramp and showing on frozen shad pieces. Trout were planted two weeks ago -- 1,500 pounds at the lagoon -- and aside from a few holdovers, the action is just fair. The Ski Cove is closed for the remainder of the spawning period this season.
LOPEZ: Very good crappie bite on jigs. Bass action very good on jigs, nightcrawlers or plastic worms, especially in Wittenberg Canyon. Good bluegill, perch and redear action on meal and wax worms. Catfish bite spotty. Try anchovies or shrimp. Fair trout action on nightcrawlers and rainbow Power Bait in Cottonwood Cove, off the Cottonwood shoreline, off the points and across from the marina. Trollers are also having luck just outside Cottonwood Cove on Needlefish and silver Kastmasters. Most fish are under the two-pound mark. DFG trout plant last week.
NACIMIENTO: Continued good spotted bass action on plastics and spoons. The spotted bass are in the narrows and off the rocky shorelines. Anglers reported catching 12 to 15 fish by putting in two to three hours. Fair white bass bite.
PIRU: Fair trout bite on Power Bait, plastic worms and nightcrawlers for bait anglers. Trollers have been using Kastmasters, Rapalas or Needlefish in 65 to 85 feet. Most fish are in the one- to two-pound range, with an occasional four-pounder or better. Slow to fair crappie action in 10 to 20 feet on white mini-jigs. Most fish are under a pound, with a few over. Bass action fair on nightcrawlers and plastic worms in 10 to 15 feet. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PYRAMID: Good bass bite for anglers throwing jigs and plastics up shallow. Some still on beds but most are moving out. Fair trout action on Power Bait, anchovies and nightcrawlers. Lots of holdovers from last week's DFG plant. Fair striper bite. The bigger stripers should come out and go after the trout from the plant. Best action reported on cut baits or shad-like swimbaits and cranks. Down below the gatehouse is the best area for trout and stripers. Many anglers have caught easy limits this week. Catfish slow to fair. No bluegill or crappie reports yet.
SAN ANTONIO: Very good crappie bite on jigs and minnows. Fair to good striper action in Bee Rock Cove and Harris Creek on anchovies and swimbaits. The smallmouth are scarce, but the largemouth bite is fair to good around the rocky points on swimbaits, spoons, crankbaits and plastic worms. Fair catfish action on anchovies.
SANTA MARGARITA: Largemouth bass action fair to good on Brush Hogs, plastics or crankbaits. Anglers have landed their limit with largemouth to five pounds on some stringers. The early morning bite from sunrise to 8 a.m. is best. Fair to good trout bite on Power Bait or worms. Decent crappie action on jigs near the river. DFG trout plant last week. The marina store is open Wednesday through Sunday.
Eastern Sierra
BRIDGEPORT REGION: Bridgeport Reservoir has been good this week, but only for boat anglers fishing nine to 12 feet of water with bait or trolled lures. Lots of quality fish up to five pounds. Twin Lakes best for shore anglers fishing floating baits in a fair bite. The East Walker River remains good for good fly anglers with a lot of fish to 20 inches and better. The West Walker remains fair with decent water clarity in spite of the beginning of the runoff cycle, and both fly and spin anglers are scoring. Kirman remains good with most of the action on quality cuts up to 20 inches. For the East Walker River flows, you can check: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/uv?10293000 for real time data.
JUNE LAKE LOOP: June, Gull, Silver and Grant have been fair to good, with waves of better action between windy spells. Silver Lake has been fishing the best in the loop, and Grant was slowest this week with low water levels, although some brown trout have been showing from the upper end of the lake.
MAMMOTH AREA: Bite fair to good on Crowley with fish spread out all over. Beaver Cove is the hot spot with lots of small fish. For those with patience, fish McGee Bay for the larger fish. Top fishing for Crowley trout has been in the tribs with most of the bigger fish up the streams spawning. The Upper Owens and Big Springs are very good, and Convict-McGee (below their confluence) excellent. Nymphing or eggs patterns fished below an indicator the best bet with a lot of 18-plus-inch fish. Convict Lake is good with quality fish to 6 pounds still showing regularly. Top trout this week was a 6-11 rainbow caught Monday by Ron Fenley, Sylmar. Sarah Buzby-Rynders, Bakersfield, landed a 6-3 fish. The Mammoth Lakes have all been good, with Twin Lakes ice-free and still producing some quality fish. Lake Mary has rotten ice and should be open in a matter of days. Lake George is mostly still ice-covered and fishing is good through the ice. Mamie also has thinning ice and fair action at the outlet. Hot Creek good for fly anglers. Mid-day dry fly action at both on midge, mayfly and caddis hatches. Rock Creek Lake still good for ice fishermen.
BISHOP AREA: Bishop Creek is still fair to good, especially Intake II, and Sabrina Lake. Lots of open water at the shore at Sabrina which is opening up quickly. Pleasant Valley Reservoir and the lower Owens River (in both the Gorge below Crowley Lake and below Pleasant Valley Reservoir) are fair to good. Fly-fishing good in the Owens River gorge above Pleasant Valley. Top action on dry/dropper rigs.
BIG PINE TO LONE PINE AREA: Pretty decent bite in both the lower Owens River and Diaz Lake. Plants this week at Baker, Big Pine, Cottonwood, Georges, Goodale, Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Diaz Lake, Georges Creek, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek, Owens River (below Tinnemaha), Sheperds Creek, Taboose Creek, Tinnemaha Creek, Tuttle Creek.
Ocean fishing
CHANNEL ISLAND UPDATE: Excellent rockfishing has continued for everyone fishing in the Channels Islands region, but the cooler weather hasn't let the spring action start yet.
LOS ANGELES LANDINGS UPDATE: Catalina Island, while not wide open, is producing flurries of good action on white seabass and calico bass. The spring season has been progressing in stutter-step fashion with flurries of action over the past week. Seabass were showing in fair numbers late last week, and calico bass popped over the weekend. San Clemente has been mostly deserted, but the Phantom was there Wednesday with eight anglers who caught three white seabass, a halibut, limits of calicos and a good bag of rockfish. The calicos have been very consistent there.