GENERAL CONDITIONS
Largemouth bass fishing continues to be hit and miss. The water level is now 122,000 acre feet. This is more water than the reservoir has ever held. We are now at 76% of the new capacity level for the reservoir. We anticipate the water level staying about the same for the first few weeks of August. Our water temperature is 65-71 degrees depending on depth, wind and air temperature.

Rattlesnakes continue to be out and active so caution is advised. Watch where you are walking, stay out of high grass and stay out of rocky areas. This time of year they are more active in the mornings and late in the afternoon or evening hours. Never try to pick one up or kill one.

We are in the fire season, so extreme caution with any fire sources is required. We do close barbeques on very high fire danger days. Extreme caution is advised when fishing or hiking on very hot days.

The North entrance to the reservoir is open with a few limitations. Access to the reservoir for fishing at the north entrance is open but requires a strenuous 1.5 mile hike up and over a major hill. Caution is advised. The fishing platform can not open until the reservoir receives another 5 to 7 feet of water. See the CCWD web site for details. The Interpretive Center is open from 9 to 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fish Plants
In an effort to get our warm water fishery going again we have recently planted 1500 baby bluegill, 1000 baby largemouth bass and 1000 red ear sunfish. These fish were carefully placed around the reservoir in heavy vegetation growth. It is our hope they will avoid the larger fish and provide some action for anglers in the coming years. With all the new places for fish to hide we anticipate some of these fish successfully spawning next spring and summer.

Currently we are not able to plant any trout until our water temperatures go down several degrees. We have not been able to plant any trout in July but hold over rainbow trout continue to provide solid action.

We planted 1233 lbs of channel catfish averaging 2 lbs on Friday, July 19.

PLEASE NOTE:
We are still giving out Whopper mugs. Our program has changed some so check with us at the marina. It takes a 5 lb trout to earn a mug, 12 lb striper, 12 lb catfish or a released 5 lb largemouth bass. We have 2013 State of California Fishing Licenses for sale at the marina. Fish and Game has been checking fishing licenses so make such you have one for everyone 16 and over. We suggest taking advantage of the second rod stamp that is available.

TROUT
Fishing for trout has been fair to excellent depending on your skill and luck level. Trout average a pound and a half but range up to 4 lbs. Limits has been difficult to come by in our summer pattern but we see some limits every day. Many of the points east of the marina and past the rock wall have been producing some trout lately. The south cove also continues to produce some nice fish. Garlic power bait in rainbow, chartreuse power bait, orange mice tails and nightcrawlers are all good choices. A few anglers have been fishing nightcrawlers under bobbers pretty close to shore and having success. Garlic scent on any bait seems to help. It is important to use 3-4 feet of leader. Using light line also helps; 4 to 6 lb test is plenty. There is no need for heavy weights. Vary your casting length; sometimes shorter casts are better than longer ones.

Trolling for trout continues only fair but our regulars continue to catch some nice trout. The successful reports we are receiving are from anglers trolling a variety of Rapala's off of points and in the mouths of major coves. Mix it up until you start catching fish. The fish seem to be holding between 5 and 15 feet in 25 to 35 feet of water. Vary your depths until you start getting strikes. Look for areas that have the best visibility and are free of algae. Trollers also catch trout on a variety of other lures including kastmasters, roostertails and Thomas Bouyants.

LARGEMOUTH BASS
Bass fishing is considered slow. Please release any big largemouth bass you might catch. They are the future of largemouth bass fishing in the reservoir. We are not seeing very many anglers focus on largemouth so we are receiving few reports.

STRIPER
Fishing for stripers with bait is an up and down affair but many anglers are catching limits of 18 to 23 inch fish. Cut anchovies or shad will do the trick when bait fishing. Stripers need to be 18 inches or more. We are seeing a tremendous amount of under size fish being caught and released. Please release the small fish as quickly and carefully as possible. They are the future of our striped bass fishery. We have not seen any large striped bass caught recently as all the keeper stripers are in the 18 to 23 inch range. Fishing from the pier below the marina has been a good location. Several boats came back with limits caught on cut anchovies fishing some of the points throughout the reservoir. Anglers trolling continue to pick up a few stripers on a wide variety of lures. Bait fishing currently is the best way to go.

CATFISH
Fishing for catfish was a solid choice last week. Anchovies, liver, mackerel and nightcrawlers all will catch catfish. We suggest fishing with as little weight as possible and watch for very soft bites. The back of cowboy cove and the south cove are good bets. We also had some nice catfish come out of Peninsula cove. We encourage and appreciate the release of any monster catfish (20 lbs plus).

HOURS OF OPERATION
Open seven days a week 6:00am - 8:00pm
Boats are due in by 6:30pm.
These hours remain in effect through August.