Delta Report:
Fishing continues to be tough right now on the delta, striped bass catches are increasing as the cooler temperatures are bringing more fish through the system. For striped bass try sticking to the main channels or right outside the flooded islands. The largemouth bass bite has been off and on as I believe the unstable weather conditions have halted a lot of fall type activity. Most anglers are targeting outside weed lines with jigs and crankbaits.
New Melones Lake:
Melanie Lewis of Glory Hole Sporting Goods in Angels Camp reports, “Trolling anglers had very little luck this week fishing the main lake. The trout seem to be in transition from deep to shallow water. We have had reports of fish being caught from 5’ to 65’ of water. With the water temperature dropping we should start seeing more fish being caught toward the surface. Try using shad patterned trolling spoons such as, Needlefish, Excels, Slimfins, and Speedy Shiners. The fish are feeding heavily on 3-5” shad. Large plug baits like Countdown Rapalas, Rattle traps, and Speed traps might coax a few fish into biting.” Bass fishing is starting to pick up as anglers are fishing deep 20’ to 40’ deep while dragging small worms through the schools of actively feeding fish.
New Hogan Lake:
Recently the bite has been really good for large numbers of bass. Spider grubs in watermelon red is working well if thrown up to the bank and worked down to at least twenty feet. Reaction baits such as Lucky Craft Staysees are also working but not as well as the jig. Six inch shaky head worms such as Robo Worms margarita mutilator II is another go to bait right now. For the deep water angler the larger fish are coming from anglers fishing the schools of bass down to sixty feet while using a drop shot or a jig.
Lake Don Pedro:
Fishing for trout is tough right now on the lake. There are some anglers catching them but they are stumbling into schools of actively feeding trout on the surface. Both the trout and the bass are said to have the bait schooled up and are following them throughout the lake. When they are schooling it’s sometimes a waiting game as there is a small window as to when they can be fooled into biting.
