May 20th

CALIFORNIA AQUEDUCT

Anglers reported a good bass and catfish bite with striper being a little sluggish last week. Largemouth fell for Senkos, finesse plastics, and topwater lures, and whiskerfish took cut baits, dip bait, and chicken liver. Striper reports were slower but the biting linesides went for jumbo live shiners and cut sardines. In the northern sections of the aqueduct a 47-inch striper was landed. For the last couple of weeks huge striper have been taking the bait up north. Hopefully that bite will come south.

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Brite Lake

Brite Lake Free Lake Day is Saturday May 21st! The lake was stocked Wednesday morning with hundreds of Rainbow Trout from 3-8lbs! Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop employees will be walking around the lake with bait and some tackle items to help anglers get rigged up. Please wave them down if you need help! Free fishing hours are from sunup to sundown Saturday! Any angler who brings a trout down the hill to Cope's for a picture at the shop will be entered to win a Daiwa spinning rod combo! There will be NO FISHING permitted until Saturday May 21st!

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CASTAIC LAKE

Castaic dropped significantly to 48 percent of capacity, and the bite slowed somewhat as a result. Water temps have been in the mid to upper 60s. Bass anglers reported good fishing while using Senkos, drop shot, and Ned rigs in 5 to 25 feet of water. Popular colors included Green Pumpkin, shad, and Ox Blood. Large and small mouth also went for cranks and jerks early and after the wind picked up. Some topwater action has been reported as well. Striper anglers reported catching fish closer to shore. Trolling Kastmasters, flukes, and flies has been productive, but bait anglers also did well in 25 to 50 feet of water. Catfish ate dip bait, chicken liver, and cut sardines in deeper coves around the lake.

PYRAMID LAKE 

Pyramid remained at 91 percent of capacity with water temperatures the mid to high sixties. Fishing has been decent, but many anglers opted to avoid the windy conditions. Bass anglers used reactions baits early and finesse presentation later in the day to fool both large and smallmouth. Senkos, Carolina rigged plastics, and drop shot worked in the 5-to-20-foot zone, and crankbait and jerkbaits worked in the mornings and after the wind created mudlines. Striper ate cut sardines and anchovies near the marina and Yellowbar. They also fell for trolled umbrella rigs, Kastmasters and swimbaits. Catfish anglers reported another solid week of fishing while using dip bait, chicken liver, and cut baits.

LAKE ISABELLA

Isabella rose to 14 percent of capacity this week and the crappie bite excellent. Our contacts reported a solid crappie bite, scoring limits of “slabs” with live shiners and crappie jigs. The best fishing has been close to the bottom around structure in 10 to 20-feet. The bass action is moving in the right direction. Anglers have had success off primary lake points, flume, and around offshore structure. Bass have been coming on Senkos, jigs and reaction baits. The annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby continues until July 4th. Trout have been caught with minijigs, Powerbait, GULP! Pinched Crawlers and spinners. Boat anglers have had success with leadcore followed by Needlefish, Flicker shad and Tasmanian Devils. The catfish bite continues to be solid around the lake with Triple S Dip Bait, chicken liver, live minnows, and mackerel.

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KERN RIVER

The Upper Kern River trout action has been solid throughout the 20-mile stretch. Weekly plants by the DFWL continue to keep the river loaded with trout. Spin Anglers have had success with salmon eggs, minijigs, trout worms and spinners. Fly anglers are seeing good action with attractor nymphs and streamer stripping in the late afternoons. In the Lower Kern, all three sections were stocked last week, and the trout action was solid. Anglers reported good action with salmon eggs, GULP! Pinched Crawlers, Chartreuse garlic Powerbait and spinners. The Lower Kern bass action is solid on soft plastics, jigs, and crankbaits. Catfish can be found with cutbait, nightcrawlers and Triple S Dip Bait. At the time of reporting, the Upper Kern River was flowing at 749 CFS and the Lower Kern River was flowing at 413 CFS.

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LAKE KAWEAH

Kaweah Lake rose to 58 percent of capacity, and fishing remained solid. Some bass anglers reported catching more than 20 fish a day. Finesse plastics, Senkos, and creature baits all worked for bites in the 5-to-15-foot zone. Anglers also used small swimbaits on a slow retrieve for bites. Catfish anglers fooled fish with chicken liver, dip bait, and cut sardines on flats and in deeper coves. Crappie fell for minijigs and small live shiners.

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LAKE SUCCESS

The lake rose to 38 percent of capacity with anglers reporting a solid bass bite. A lot of fish have been up on beds, and Senkos, creature baits, and drop shot all got plenty of attention. Crankbaits and jerkbaits worked in the mornings and evenings. Catfish anglers used nightcrawlers, chicken liver, and cut anchovies to land some nice whiskerfish, and crappie were biting near the marine. Crappie took small live shiners and minijigs in 15 feet of water.

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BUENA VISTA LAKES

The main lake is closed until June 3rd for the music festival and small lake remains open until further notice, but it will close as the festival nears. Fishing has been steady at BV with bass, catfish, and crappie biting. Catfish anglers used Triple S dip bait, cut baits, and nightcrawlers to land plenty of smaller fish. A few good-sized cats were also reported. Bass bit weightless Senkos, Texas rigged lizards, and jigs near the cattails. Finesse bait anglers caught fish in shallow water on the south side of the lake, and crankbaits fooled bass near submerged structure. Crappie bite Get Bent Minijigs tipped with crappie nibbles and small live minnows.

RIVER WALK LAKES

The Bass action has been solid in the late afternoon, and they’ve been coming on drop-shotted soft plastics and jigs. There were a few quality fish just shy of 5-pounds reported earlier this week. The bluegill bite is good with wax worms and meal worms under a bobber.

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MING LAKE

The Bass bite is steady here and anglers have been scoring fish with reaction baits, soft plastics on drop-shot and Ned rigs. The crappie bite is fair to good with crappie jigs and nibbles. The bluegill bite is good on wax worms and meal worms under a bobber. Carp are going for dough baits. Catfish can be caught with dip baits, chicken liver and nightcrawlers.

HART PARK LAKE

Anglers reported fair fishing at Hart Park with bass and bluegill as the best bets. Anglers used Carolina rigs, drop shot and Senkos to fool bass. Bass also went for white spinnerbaits and topwater lures. Catfish ate chicken liver and Garlic scented nightcrawlers on the long soak, and bluegill fell for any live worm under a bobber.

TRUXTUN LAKE

Anglers reported slower fishing at Truxtun Lakes last week, and bass were the best bet. Bass anglers used Senkos, drop shot, and creature baits to fool some nice sized bass, but the numbers were lower. A few bass fell for square billed crankbaits as well. Catfish ate chicken liver, dip bait, and nightcrawlers, and bluegill took waxworms, mealworms, and redworms.

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NACIMIENTO LAKE

Water levels have been steady at Nacimiento, and they remained at 26 percent of capacity again last week. Bass fishing is about as good as it gets with anglers reporting high numbers of spotted bass and a few kicker fish to three pounds. Shad patterned topwater and crankbaits have been the ticket early in the day, and then anglers switched to drop shot, darter head grubs, and Senkos for the rest of the day. White bass took white Kastmasters, spinners, and small swimbaits on the troll. Anglers also hit the boils with topwater. Catfish ate dip bait, nightcrawlers, and cut baits.

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TROUT PLANTS

*Week of May 15th

Brite Valley Reservoir

Upper Kern River Section 4

 
OCEAN FISHING

​SAN DIEGO

The San Diego wrapped up their Full Day trip Thursday with 1 Bluefin and 46 Yellowtail for their 30 anglers. The New Lo-An returned Thursday from a 1.75-day trip with 57 Bluefin Tuna (40 to 160 pounds), 11 Yellowtail for 25 anglers. The Pacific Queen picked up 65 Bluefin Tuna with 16 over 140 pounds and the rest were 20 to 90 pounds. Tackle recommendations are a 25-pound outfit for Yellowtail fishing. A 40-to-60-pound outfit for daytime fishing with smaller size jigs 80 to 150 grams jigs. An 80-to-100-pound outfits for nighttime fishing with medium to larger 200 to 500 grams jigs.

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DANA POINT/SAN PEDRO

The Pride out of 22nd street returned Thursday from a ¾-day with 121 Ocean Whitefish, 7 Kelp Bass, and 4 Sheephead with 18 anglers. The Western Pride out of Davey’s locker returned Thursday from a 1/2-day with 2 Rockfish, 7 Sheephead, 23 Calico Bass, 17 Sculpin and 5 Sand Bass for 28 anglers.

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CHANNEL ISLANDS

The Aloha Spirit out of Channel Islands Sportfishing returned Thursday from a Full day with 8 White Seabass, 1 California Halibut and 1 Yellowtail for 18 anglers. The New Hustler out of Hooks Landing returned Sunday from an overnight with 2 Ocean Whitefish, 1 Sheephead, 1 Calico Bass, 1 Lingcod and 190 Rockfish for 19 anglers. The Endeavor out of Ventura Sportfishing returned Thursday from an overnight trip with 180 Rockfish, 13 Lingcod and 70 Ocean Whitefish for 20 anglers.

PORT SAN LUIS/MORRO BAY

The Flying Fish out of Patriot Sportfishing returned Thursday from a ½-day with 78 Rockcod and 2 Bocaccio for 8 anglers. The Fiesta out of Virg’s Landing returned Sunday from a ½-day trip with 15 Vermilion Rockfish and 285 assorted Rockfish for 30 anglers. The Avenger out of Morro Bay Landing returned Wednesday from a ¾-day trip with 126 Rockfish, 2 Lingcod and 54 Red Rockcod for 18 anglers.