Top fishing spots: Fresno-area lakes, San Luis Obispo, High Sierra, McClure Reservoir
Fishing report compiled by California Outdoors Hall of Fame member Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, who guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake.
Rankings key below: 4: Fish are jumping in the boat. 3: Good fishing. 2: Decent fishing. 1: Poor fishing. 0: Don’t bother
Unless noted, area code is 559
Bee’s Top 5 Picks:
Lake Don Pedro
Bass 3 Trout 2 Kokanee 2 King salmon 2 Crappie 2
Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing reported trolling has been a challenge as the fish have scattered throughout the lake, and you must search to find any schools of rainbow trout, kokanee, or king salmon. He said, “There are trout on the surface feeding on shad, and I brought an ExCel spoon up to 14 feet on a setback of 100 feet, and we started picking up rainbows. We also had a kokanee on the same spoons as shallow as 40 feet. When you get a kokanee, they are fat, plump, and healthy.” Kokanee Power’s Phil Johnson Memorial Tournament is on July 11, and a large turnout is expected as some of the state’s largest kokanee have been coming out of Don Pedro. For bass, Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle in Modesto reported the fish are schooled up with or without shad throughout the lake, and there is a solid bite with shad-patterned jerkbaits. He said, “Jigs and plastic worms will catch fish throughout the day.” There are 3 bass tournaments remaining in June with 7 on the schedule in July. Launch updates are posted at www.donpedrolake.com. A self-inspection is required for launching. The lake dropped a half foot to 821.90 feet in elevation and 95%. The Blue Oaks Upper Launch Ramp is open. 149,985 king salmon smolts, 49k over expectations, and 50,475 kokanee fry were planted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The additional king salmon plants were added since the lake is the top producing king salmon lake in the Central Valley. Recreational boating is high, particularly on the weekends.
Isabella/Kaweah/Success/southern California Aqueduct reports available at https://www.tackleandrod.com/weekly-fishing-report.
McClure Reservoir
Bass 3 Trout 2 King salmon 2 Kokanee 2 Crappie 2 Catfish 2
Few trollers have been targeting the lake for trout, but the bite has been outstanding for Bryan McGinty of Killer Bee’s Tackle for holdover rainbows pushing 17 inches. Shad patterned spoons behind a dodger are the key around the schools of shad. Quality kokanee are also in the mix. Aaron Jones reported a topwater bite with Berkley Choppo’s while plastics on a drop-shot or shakey head are working at depths from 20 to 30 feet. The banks are loaded with small bass. Jigs are another option for a better cut of bass. much-improved topwater bite as the bass are schooling up on shad schools. The Reel Deal Market is now open daily from 10am - 5pm on weekdays and 10 am to 6:30pm on weekends. The Barrett Cove Café is open weekends through September 7. The lake dropped over a foot to 844.47 feet in elevation and 85%. There are no bass tournaments scheduled through the end of July. 49,993 king salmon smolts and 50,440 kokanee fry were planted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. There are no bass tournaments scheduled in June or July.
New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch
Trout 3 bass 3 Kokanee 3
The kokanee bite remains outstanding with Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service continuing to consistently put his clients on to 4 limits by 8:00 am. Wise said, “We continue to score with Bullet Spoons or T-Bone’s Tackle Head Hunter spoons with shoepeg corn scented with tuna and garlic behind a 5.5-inch Paulina Peak’s gold hammered dodger at depths from 50 to 75 feet at 1.3 to 1.5 mph in the southern portion of the lake. Before the sun comes up, we are running chartreuse or bright pink, but once the sun comes up, I switch over to blue and darker purples. Once we start fishing deep, the darker colors stand out much greater. For kokanee, I like the dodger for vibration, but if I was targeting trout, I would run the lures without a dodger.” For bass, Aaron Jones reported the bass bite is so good, “Whatever you want to throw at them will work.” He added, “There is a strong reaction bite with topwater lures when the bass are focusing on shad.” The bass continue to feed on bluegill and bass fry in the shallows and shad out on open water and in the coves. Both Glory Hole and Tuttletown open from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Glory Hole will be the only ramp open starting at 8:00 am Monday through Thursday. All boats must be quarantined for 30 days or decontaminated at the New Melones Marina. The marina is open. The Central Valley Anglers Team Kokanee Tournament is on June 20. The lake dropped 2 feet to 1030.58 feet in elevation and 74% while downstream Tulloch dropped to 95%. New Melones received a plant of 50,530 kokanee fry.
Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake
Bass 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 3
The Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project/Greg Marks Youth Fishing Derby at Shaver took place on Saturday with a packed group of young anglers with the largest trout coming in at 17 inches. In addition to fishing, participants played fishing games and activities prior to lunch and the weigh in. The event is possible due to the sponsorship of the SLTTP, EECU, Edison International, the U.S. Forest Service, BMY Construction, and numerous other donors. Dick Nichols of Mountain Tackle said, “With the water level finally cresting, the kokanee bite continues to improve. I fished with a friend on Friday and found the first three hours slow with only three hookups, but around 9:30 am, we moved into another area and found a good school at 29 feet in depth using pink Dick’s Mountain Tubes pink Koke Busters in pink, or Doom Mountain Hoochies tipped with corn behind D-MAC and Super Dave Mountain Dodgers ending up with 10 third-year kokanee, releasing a number of 2nd-year fish. Shaver guide Paul Brown of ‘Fishin’ With Paul Guide Service’ found a similar slowdown on
Saturday morning until 9:30 am, ending up with 4 limits of 3rd year kokanee running pink or orange spoons and chartruese spinners at 18 to 30 feet in a new location. Later in the week, Brown found a new school at depths from 25 to 33 feet as the fish are moving. He said, ‘Patience both days really paid off for us. If you don’t find them in your old spot, checkout the neighborhood, they are somewhere’.
Huntington continues to produce a smaller grade of kokanee and rainbow trout from the surface to 20 feet with small spinners or spoons. Easy limits have been the rule. Shaver dropped from 92 to 89 with Huntington basically holding at 96%. The next meeting of the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project is July 11 at 10:00 am in Room 44 at Sierra High School at 33326 Tollhouse Rod in Tollhouse. The public is welcome to attend. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to release 62,200 kokanee fry into Shaver Lake.
Delta/Stockton
Bass 3 Striper 3 Sturgeon 3 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3
There are striped bass in the California Delta, and most of the linesides are found in the northern portion of the system where the water is cooler. Alan Fong of Alan Fong Outdoors said, “The stripers are holding in the shallows along flats and weed beds in 2 to 4 feet of water as they are feeding on crawdads. Red chatterbaits have been the best lure, and the chatterbaits are also working for largemouth bass as we put together a 24-pound limit. The urchin-style baits are also working for bass.” There is a topwater bite for stripers in the Old Sacramento River out of Vieira’s Resort. A variety of offerings are working for largemouth bass including chatterbaits, frogs, plastics on the drop-shot, jigs, or Senkos are working for numbers while the larger fish are found further offshore with buzzbaits or frogs. The frog bite should be picking up with the heat wave as the fish are posting up around cover. although far fewer anglers are targeting linesides. Dave King of Nor Cal Bass reported 26 boats participated in Saturday’s tournament out of Paradise Point, and he reported every boat weighed in, but there was a big disparity from the top three teams to the remainder of the field. He said, “The top three teams weighed in over 20 pounds, but fourth and fifth place dropped to 13/14-pound range with several limits from 8 to 10 pounds. Catching fish wasn’t a problem, but so many of the bass are in the 1- to 2-pound range. Chatterbaits up north produced the winning limit. Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing ends on June 30 before reopening on October 1.
All the rest
Valley/Westside waterways
Striper 2 Catfish 2
Tas Moua of 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle said the striped bass bite has been ‘hit and miss’ with some action around Manning Avenue. He said, “Nees Road has been slow, but there has been some action in the Delta Mendota Canal.”
Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake
Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Moua reported the bass are moving up in the early morning before sunlight to feed and in the late afternoon before moving back out to the rockpiles in deep water. The bass come up to feed on bluegill and crappie in the shallows and crawdads in the rockpiles. Moau said, “One angler reported a 20-pound limit so there are still big fish to be found.” Crappie are spawning around submerged structure in shallow water. At Hensley, Moua reported small palm-sized crappie along with bluegill are holding around submerged structure. Few bass anglers are trying here, but there have been some better than average fish taken off the deeper rockpiles. Carp and catfish remain an option. There are no bass tournaments at either lake through the end of July. Water releases have started in earnest at both lakes as Eastman dropped 3 feet to 503.64 feet in elevation and 25% with Hensley dropping 2 feet to 488.52 feet in elevation and 30%.
Lake McSwain
Trout 2
A plant of 1500 pounds including 220 pounds of trophy-sized trout were released prior to Memorial Day Weekend. The best bank action is in deep water around 30 feet with natural or neutral presentations of Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or spoons. Two additional plants are scheduled in June. The Splash-N-Dash Water feature dominates interest on the lake. Information on the Splash N’Dash is available at: https://mysplashndash.com/. The lake held at 86%. 2,560 pounds of trout were planted at the Lake Yosemite Main Launch Ramp while the park was closed on June 5, giving the fish the night to spread out before anglers hit the water. The Reel Deal Market & Cafe is now open every day the Splash N’ Dash is operation, Mondays thru Fridays from 10 AM to park close; Saturdays from 8 AM to 7 PM; and Sundays from 9 AM to 7 PM. The Bait Bucket Bait and Tackle at the site of the former’s Angler’s Edge Market at 6710 Merced Falls Road in Snelling is now open.
Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River
Bass 3 Striped bass 1 Shad 2 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2
Heavy recreational boating pressure continues to dominate the lake, but Tas Moua reported tons of bluegill in the shallows along with a solid spotted bass bite for numbers with underspins, jerkbaits, and topwater lures in the evening for a better cut of spot to 3.5 pounds. In the river arm, a few anglers are working for American shad with Kastmasters or crappie jigs, but boaters run the risk of getting stuck behind the log jam if the wind comes up. He said, “It took one boater an hour to push the logs out of the way to get out.” Roger George , Millerton striper record holder also cautioned boaters about attempting the logjam without having a stainless steel prop.! A regular prop can get folded up or badly bent very easily by the logs – and you’re stuck! In addition, most outboards have water intake ports and filters that do not handle the small wood chips floating in the jam very well- causing clogging and overheating. “ George explained. The lake rose a half foot to 574.01 feet in elevation and 96%. The San Joaquin River remains stable at 349 cfs at Friant. There is one bass tournament scheduled in June and one in July.
Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River
Bass 3 Trout 3 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2
Pine Flat was one of the only reservoirs to receive a king salmon plant last year due to the outbreak of IHN at the Feather River Hatchery. Since there is no hatchery below the reservoir to be infected, Pine Flat was one of only four lakes to receive king salmon plants in 2025. This year’s plant is 75,00 king salmon, and between the two consecutive plants, the lake should see some solid king action in 2027 and 2028. Brian Klassen of Visalia and four friends trolled for trout this week, releasing a total of 42 rainbows ranging from 13 to 15 inches by 11:30 am. Klassen said, “The bait was stacked up in Windy Gap, and we scored with shad-patterned spoons such as Needlefish along with blade/’crawler combinations at depths from 30 feet in the early morning down to 55 feet by mid-morning on a setback of 50 feet behind the downrigger. 42 feet produced the most fish. We released a 10-inch king salmon on a Cop Car Needlefish and lost an estimated 22-inch king within sight of the net on a shad-patterned Needlefish at 50 feet. Trolling remains excellent.” For bass, Tas Moau reported the best action in the river arm around Sycamore and Big Creek in the early mornings or late afternoons into the evenings with topwater lures, underspins, or Brush Hogs and plastics on a Texas-rig fished weedless. He said, “There are a lot of small bass on the plastics.” A plant took place on the lower Kings River two weeks ago, but there are no plants on the schedule this week. The water is still swift, and Moau advised inexperienced anglers to be very cautious, adding, “Experienced anglers are still catching fish, but they are in the deeper pools.” The river is at 452 cfs at the Army Weir. The lake dropped over 7 feet to 904.20 feet in elevation and 74%. There are no bass tournaments on the schedule in June with one on the books in July.
San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2
Tas Moua reported striped bass are starting to push shad into the banks around Highway 152, and anglers are tossing topwater lures for keepers to 26 inches during the short window during the boils.
Roger George of Roger George guide service said that the trolling and reaction bite has improved some - but the wind continues to be coming up hard after noon. Add in falling water around a foot a day and it’s not easy. “ I took out 3 guests, Ed Stoddard , 82, his son Robert and another family member , Darren Batty of Los Banos on Friday. I thought Darren had a school fish on but it turned out to be a huge 42.5” , 30 lb PB for him. We released it in great shape on the Seaqualizer tool. Overall it was a 12 fish day with nice schoolies to 24” . Silver lures were the hit at 70 feet or deeper. The fish are still milting. That’s the second released 30 lber in the boat this year. Looks like more wind in the forecast.”
In the forebay, 4-inch paddletail swimbaits, River2Sea Rig Walkers, and soaking anchovies are all working for stripers ranging from mostly undersized to the occasional 21- to 23-inch keeper are working at Check 12, the Highway 152 Bridge, and Highway 33. Golden mussel watercraft inspections are no longer needed at San Luis and the O’Neill Forebay. The main lake continues to release water, and it dropped from 72 to 70% with the forebay holding at 82%. Los Banos Creek Reservoir was scheduled to open this month, but the opening has been postponed to June 22.
High Sierra
Bass Lake
Bass 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 1
Recreational boating is the main story here as summer has arrived. Tas Moua reported a few bass fishermen are heading to the lake for some of the best quality and numbers in the region. The grass is thick along the shorelines, and weedless presentations on a Texas-rig, flukes, or Senkos are best. The docks are holding suspended fish. Mike Beighey of Bass Lake Fishing Tours with Mike reported trout are in large numbers with plenty of holdovers ranging from 14 to 24 inches with limits possible most days. He said, “Somedays it takes some time to locate them, but we have been finding success out in front of the Pines Resort to the Forks Resort and also across from Miller’s Landing with at depths from 14 to 20 feet with green or pink Dick’s Trout Busters, red Mountain Tubes, orange Apex lures, or Wiggle Hoochies tipped with corn or a piece of nightcrawler behind a Dick’s Mountain dodger on a 16-inch leader at 1.4 to 1.6 mph. A plant of 50,600 kokanee is scheduled this year, adding to the annual plants of 50,000 kokanee the past several years. Despite the plants, the kokanee remain from extremely scarce to non-existent, puzzling many who have experienced the outstanding kokanee action at Bass Lake over the years. The 10K Derby fish remains out there, worth $500 for derby participants if caught by June 30. A webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. No future bass tournaments are schedule through the end of July.
Wishon/Courtright
Trout 3
Kelly Brewer of the Wishon Village RV Park and Store said, “Both lakes are still filling limits with bank anglers scoring with assorted colors of Power Bait and nightcrawlers while trollers use Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler behind a flasher or blade/’crawler combinations. We have been seeing plenty of 18-inch plus trout out of both lakes.” Road conditions – Sierra National Forest 297-0706 ext. 4961 or 392-0423.
Ocean
Monterey/Santa Cruz
Rockfish 3 Salmon 2 Halibut 3 Striper 3 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch
Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, “Local anglers had to pick their days last week to avoid the gusty winds. A strong swell also complicated matters for inshore anglers. Despite those conditions the fishing was generally good in our area, especially for halibut which are showing up in greater numbers now. King salmon are still being netted daily with anglers reporting limits of four to six fish per boat. Rock fish and lingcod fishing has been productive near Natural Bridges, Four Mile Beach, and South Rock. The flat sandy areas inshore are hosting an increase on halibut catches. Swell and wind are forecast to calm during and after this weekend, and inshore anglers will be keeping busy with halibut and the nearshore rockfish species. Halibut have been biting sardines, mackerel, squid, and fish traps. As the swell dies, expect to find the halibut in even shallower water, especially in the Capitola/New Brighton area. At the Capitola Wharf, skiff rentals are up, and plenty of fish (including some big ones) are being caught from the wharf. The key for that area is bait. Big schools of mackerel are on the prowl in that area and often sweep in towards the wharf. When that happens, anyone with a Sabiki rig in the water can catch as many macks as they may want. The mackerel make excellent bait for nearby halibut and especially for the striped bass that are feeding on these schools. Anglers using live macks with or without a bobber are catching good-sized stripers near the foot of the wharf, and boaters are using live bait fly lined in towards the backside of the waves for success. Most of the striped bass are in the 18- to 24-inch class, but there are some hogs in the mix. Larger striped bass also were reported from several North Coast Beaches this week, mostly before the big swell hit. They’re biting well on #110 and 115 stick baits or sand crabs on a Carolina rig. Barred surf perch up to 14 inches were reported in that same area, near San Gregorio Beach. A bit of a drive, but worth it for us surfcasters getting skunked while fishing in town.”
Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay/Half Moon Bay
Halibut 2 Striper 3 Rockfish 2 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2
The Pacifica Pier has been a stalwart for decades for northern California salmon, striped bass, and Dungeness crab anglers. These experiences may only be a memory now as the pier has been closed, perhaps permanently, due to a huge crack forming within the past week.
Striped bass remain the staple in San Francisco Bay as halibut over the 22-inch minimum size continue their hiatus with the return of larger tides.
Striped bass limits or near limits remain the story with Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sport Fishing reporting a combined 80 striped bass and 18 halibut to 16 pounds for 41 anglers during the week. On Saturday, Smith’s boats checked in with 60 striped bass to 13 pounds and 11 halibut to 16 pounds. These have been typical scores with the consistent series of larger tides. Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excursions out of San Francisco added, “Where would we be without the stripers. We found an outstanding grade on Friday with fish to 18 pounds. Striper limits have been easy to come by, and we were done with limits by 6:40 am. We are starting to see them on the rocks around Mel’s Reefs, but you don’t even have to work the rockpiles to find the bass. Halibut is another story, but we grind out a few every day. Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Paradise Cove added, “We put in easy limits of quality striped bass fly-lining anchovies off of Angel Island on Saturday morning.”
While striped bass continue to do the heavy lifting inside the bay, rough offshore weather has limited rockfishing trips, but that is about to change. We are reaching the time of year where party boats will start heading outside the Gate to work the bars and beaches for halibut along with adding rockfish to their potluck trips along with making some drifts back inside the bay. The Pacific Dream out of Berkeley tried rockfishing along the Marin coast on Saturday morning, but after finding the bite less than desired due to a big swell, they headed to the Farallon Islands for limits of rockfish before picking up a few stripers on the way back to the harbor. The ocean weather is expected to be much improved this week, and the Codfather out of Alameda is planning on heading far offshore for bluefin tuna and/or albacore.
All of this will come to a halt on June 27 when striped bass and halibut will be ignored as every party and private boat is gearing up for the first extended salmon season since 2022.
San Luis Obispo
Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3
Rockfishing remains the staple out of the San Luis Obispo County ports. On Sunday, three boats were out of Morro Bay Landing with a combined 57 passengers for a few fish shy of rockfish limits with 261 assorted, 97 vermilion, 158 Boccaccio, 34 copper, 2 cabezon, and 44 ling cod to 16 pounds. Out of Patriot Sport Fishing, two boats were out with 24 passengers on Sunday for 214 assorted, 7 copper, 8 vermilion, 5 Boccaccio, and 11 ling cod to 7 pounds.
Events:
June 20 – Central Valley Tackle Swap Meet – 1000 Kansas Ave, Modesto. Information: 209-402-1764.
This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 7:37 AM with the headline "Top fishing spots: Fresno-area lakes, San Luis Obispo, High Sierra, McClure Reservoir."
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