"We're starting to see a few quality bass at Sonoma, but the water needs to cool down a few more degrees for the bite to kick in," explained Scott Green of Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park. "Chris Hall and Curtis Rose from Rohnert Park fished Sonoma on October 16 and landed three big fish weighing 6, 4, and 3 pounds on Zara Spooks. Unfortunately, those were the only bites they has all day."

According to Green, the topwater bite is slowing down within the first hour of daylight, so anglers need to switch over to plastic worms fished on a Carolina rig or drop-shot rig.

A few trout are starting to show for anglers trolling near the dam at Sonoma. "I had a report of five big trout caught by a local angler last week, but it hasn't been confirmed," said Green. "Try trolling an orange J. Fair Trolling Fly 20 to 30 feet deep early in the morning."

No reports of catfish this week, but Green said several anglers are targeting whiskerfish with chicken liver and cut mackerel along the dam.

On the Russian River, things have been pretty quiet. "The mouth is closed right now, but there's a few salmon holding in some of the deeper holes," said Green. "I had reports of a couple fish taken on flies and spinners at Vacation Beach."

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"We fished several days down south off Mendocino this week and limited out on every trip," reported Rick Thornton of Anchor Charters. "We had a lot of blue rockfish along with some quality yellowtails, vermilions and coppers. The lingcod bite was actually a little slow this week."

According to Thornton, the majority of the fish were taken on Super Flies and 6 ounce bars in 80 to 120 feet of water.

The salmon bite is pretty much over now in the Fort Bragg area. "We haven't been fishing for salmon for a few weeks," said Thornton. "Conditions actually look pretty good for salmon and I did hear a report of a couple fish taken by private boaters this weekend."

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"I have seen a lot of fish caught in the bay, but the fish don't have the size that they did a month ago," explained Virginia McKinney from Jot's Resort. However, Dwayne Dietrich from Arizona was fishing in front of Jot's Resort when he nailed a feisty 44 pound chinook on a Hot Shot on a recent trip.

"Salmon fishing in the bay remains productive, with anglers taking limits of chinook and coho on a G-Spot spinner with a red or pink blade," reported Mike Hoefer of Rogue Sportfishing Unlimited. "The most productive area for salmon on the Rogue is in the estuary, but anglers fishing further up river are also taking a few darker fish."

Hoefer ventured out on a salmon trip in the bay accompanied by two anglers, returning with limits of salmon to 14 pounds by 9:00 am. "We were drifting about 500 yards using spinners and anchovies to produce the fish," said Hoefer.

"There are still plenty of salmon to be caught in the bay, along with some fish upriver," reported Justin Storms of Rogue Outdoor Store. Anglers are experiencing the best action using G-Spot spinners with red or pink blades.

"The estuary on the Rogue is holding some big coho salmon averaging 13 to 14 pounds," confirmed Gary Klein, fishing guide. "We are allowed to keep four hatchery coho, but anglers have a 50% chance of hooking a wild salmon or hatchery fish."

According to Klein, the most productive way to entice a coho is by using a spinner bait with a green or red blade. "I have been trolling the spinner fairly fast at about 2 1/2 mph," advised Klein.

"The Chetco River water level is very low, but anglers continue to land fish while fishing from the mouth to Low Park and near Tiderock," noted Klein. "Anglers are bouncing a puff ball with bait or sand shrimp to entice a strike."

Kris Keusink was drifting a puff ball near Tiderock on the Chetco River during his lunch break when he nailed a fat 56.5 pound salmon.

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"The fishing is awesome," reported Albert Kutzkey, fishing guide. "We're averaging 15 to 20 salmon per trip and boated 29 fish on one trip. When we try for steelhead, we're catching an average of 4 to 5 fish per day, along with lots of trout."

Anglers are finding the top salmon action while back bouncing salmon roe in the stretch from below Iron Gate Hatchery to Interstate 5. The salmon showing this season are unusually large for a Klamath, averaging 15 pounds, with a few over 20 pounds. "I heard of two fish over 30 pounds, including a 37 pounder," he noted.

"This fishing will not last much longer, so if you were thinking of doing it, you had better get going," he emphasized.

"We're switching over to flies when we concentrate on the steelhead," added Kutzkey. "The steelhead are averaging 3 pounds each and are spread throughout the system."

Gary Klein, fishing guide, confirmed the excellent salmon and steelhead action. "The fish are spread from the lower river to below Iron Gate Dam," he explained. "All of the holes are holding a lot of fish, with the average chinook weighing 10 to 25 pounds."

Besides catching salmon, Klein is also averaging 2 steelhead per trip while back bouncing roe near Hornbook. The lower river is also yielding a mixture of salmon and steelhead, Klein added.

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On Saturday, the fish went down and were hard to get to bite, but anglers aboard the Wild Wave still managed to catch 33.

"On Sunday we had a slow start, but around noon we stopped the boat on a fish mark and to our surprise they started to bite then they really began to chew," said Baxter. "It kept going until 5:30. We went from 6 fish to 96 fish and these were all big tuna. The average albacore on Sunday was 25 pounds we had a great crowd with some of the best fishermen of the central coast on the boat."

Joe Stoops of Chartle Sportfishing confirmed the excellent albacore action.

"We had another great day on Tuna today," said Stoops on October 17. "With little in the way of bait or signs of fish, we were trolling 26 miles west and hit a big school of fish. Our 4 anglers stopped at 11 Albacore from 33 to 40 pounds! They took 9 on bait and we left fish under the boat at when we left at 10:30 am. The conditions were excellent."

Rockfish action off the Santa Cruz Coast is also productive. The Sea Stag III and the Stagnaro II returned early the past few days with limits of assorted rockcod, according to Ken Stagnaro of Sea Stag Sportfishing.

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"Anglers are fooling trout to 15 inches while tossing out nightcrawlers, Rooster Tails and Panthers," said Jean Rodgers at Vaughn's Sporting Goods. "Fly fishermen are catching fish with callibaetis cripple and midge patterns."

Baum Lake near the Hat #1 Power House is also a solid prospect for trout enthusiasts. Planted browns and rainbows to 14 inches are grabbing the same baits, lures and flies fished in the Cassel area. "The most productive area is the parking lot below the fish hatchery," added Rodgers.

The wild trout section of Hat Creek is yielding slow trout action for anglers using #20 Pale Morning Duns. Pheasant Tail Cripples and Pheasant Tail nymphs are also producing rainbows averaging 10 inches each.

The Pit River below the #1 Power House is kicking out decent numbers of rainbows for anglers fishing nightcrawlers and larger Panther Martin and Mepps spinners.

"Lake Britton is yielding slow smallmouth bass action," he added. "However, anglers fishing top water lures in the early morning and evening hours are nailing a few smallmouths."

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"Fishing on Frenchman Lake is starting to improve as the cooling water conditions bring the rainbows closer to shore," reported Shirley Wiggin of Wiggins Trading Post. "The west side of the lake has begun to turn over, so conditions are not good there, with weeds making fishing tough. The north end is also unproductive, since the low water level has made fishing difficult."

The best action is being experienced by bank anglers taking limits of rainbow trout near the dam and off Turkey Point. "The most productive baits remain nightcrawlers and rainbow Power Bait," said Wiggin. Ben Mesa of Reno caught a beautiful 19 inch, 3 pound rainbow trout while soaking a worm during a recent trip to Frenchman Lake.

"Trollers are also taking limits of trout while trolling crawlers and flashers near Crystal and Turkey Point," said Wiggin.

"Anglers fishing around Old Camp Five on Lake Davis are successfully battling big rainbow trout ranging between 1.5 and 6.5 pounds," noted Gary Milby from Gold Rush Sporting Goods. "The most productive baits are large nightcrawlers or rainbow Power Bait."

Trolling has been fair, with anglers bagging a few quality fish using cinnamon and olive color Wooly Buggers. "Anglers are also finding success trolling flashers and worms between Camp Five and Eagle Point," said Milby.

Martin Preston was soaking crawlers and Power Bait during a recent outing on Lake Davis near Eagle Point when he fooled three rainbow trout to 4.5 pounds.

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"Bud Sipes and I caught and released 20 bass during a mid day, four hour trip to Oroville this week," revealed Brent Deaner at McGrath's Fishing & Diving Supply. "The majority of fish were in the 12 to 15 inch slot, but we managed to catch two fish over 15 inches."

They concentrated on tossing out reaction baits - buzz baits and crankbaits - in the main body. They also landed a few fish while drop shotting with plastics.

"The bass are getting bigger," he added. "The fish that were 1-1/2 pounds a couple of months ago are now over 2 pounds, since they've been feeding heavily on pond smelt and other forage."

Although Deaner hasn't heard any reports of king salmon or brown trout being caught lately, he said the fishing should pick up near the dam and Bidwell Marina as the water temperature cools.

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"Stripers are making their way into the Delta and some quality fish have been caught," reported Barry Canevaro of The Fish Hookers Sportfishing. "There have been a lot of schoolie-sized stripers caught that has kept the day interesting."

"While fishing Honker Bay on Sunday, the Burgess family had a flurry of stripers averaging 5 pounds while fishing aboard Fish 'n' Fun," said Canevaro. Shad was the most productive bait, but bullheads have also been very productive for taking large stripers in the Pittsburg area, according to Canevaro.

"Salmon are making their way up-river and anglers have been pulling in some quality fish from the bank using spinners or by trollers who are using Wiggle Warts, spinners, and Flatfish," noted Canevaro.

"Anglers sturgeon fishing have found an improved bite using shrimp baits near Decker Island, Sherman Island, and at the mouth of Montezuma Slough," said Canevaro. "As the water begins to cool, all the fish should start getting more aggressive on the baits."

According to Bobby Barrack from Back To Class Guide Service, bass fishing on the West Delta has shown great improvement for anglers flippin' plastic worms, jigs, or Brush Hogs in red or orange. "Anglers using spinner baits with red in it have found a productive bite on the west end of the Delta," said Barrack.

"Striper fishing has picked up for anglers using Rat-L-Traps on the bottom of the outgoing tide," noted Barrack. "The top water bite has been productive, but the bite turns off when the wind is blowing strong."

Black bass anglers are taking quality fish using shad pattern crank baits and spinner baits, according to George from Hook, Line and Sinker in Oakley.

"Anglers continue to bag fat catfish on the west end of the Delta using mackerel and other cut baits," added George.

For a complete Delta Report, click here.

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"You can catch just about all the small spots you want," explained Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun. "The fish are hitting all around the main lake."

The best action has been happening before noon. Crank spinners, small jigs and Yamamoto worms are the top attractors. White and brown are the color picks. Working water 40 to 50 feet deep has been the trick for bass averaging 10 to 14 inches.

"Largemouth bass are beginning to show along the up-river banks and near the mouth of the Fine Gold Arm," said Gilbert. "A few fish up to 4 pounds have fallen for plugs in silver/black or brown/silver. Striper action is extremely slow."

Fishermen looking for catfish are finding 2 to 3 pound cats around the dam and near Winchell Cove. Chicken livers and cut anchovies are the top baits.

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"Three shore anglers caught limits of brook trout averaging 12 to 14 inches at Burnside this weekend," said Dave Kirby at Woodfords Station.

"They fooled all of the fish while using rainbow Power Bait."

Upper and Lower Blue Lakes are also yielding solid rainbow trout action. Bank anglers are tossing out Power Bait and inflated nightcrawlers, while boaters are trolling with Rapalas and Rebels or nightcrawlers behind flashers, according to Kirby.

Caples Lake continues to yield rainbow, brook and brown trout for trollers fishing nightcrawlers behind flashers and minnow imitation lures. However, Kirby noted that he hasn't seen any mackinaw taken out of the lake lately.

"Dedicated anglers are still catching a few holdover and wild rainbows in the deep holes of the East and West Forks of the Carson River," he reported. "Salmon eggs, Kastmasters and Panther Martins are the hottest baits."

For Wiza's Tahoe area report, CLICK HERE.

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Rock Creek Lake is kicking out rainbows in the pan-sized variety. Super dupers in red/silver, Kastmasters in silver/blue and black/silver Roostertails are the top lures. Rainbow Power bait leads the bait parade. All of the offerings have been successful in fooling 3 to 5 fish per outing.

"Convict Lake has been producing easy limits of 12 to 18 bows and several Alper's trout in the 3 to 5 pound class have been caught," stated Greilich. "Thomas Buoyant lures in red/gold, drifted crawlers and rainbow Power Bait are the picks."

The areas off the picnic grounds and near the launch ramp have been excellent. An early morning bite has been strong, according to Greilich.

"The Convict Creek trout action has been strong," added Greilich. "Limits of 12 inch trout are the norm. A few trout in the 3 to 4 pound range have fallen to the early morning anglers. Small spinners and drifted salmon eggs do the job."

For the SouthEast Sierras Report, click here.

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"We just returned from about 5 hours on the water and landed easy limits for 3 anglers," reported Bob Tompkins of the Gun and Tackle Store. "The fish are stacked up around the Sandy Point area in water 50 feet deep. Trollers are using Flatfish in the chartreuse/red dot pattern."

Most of the strikes are coming at the 25 to 35 foot levels. The average fish is in the 2 to 3 pound range.

"As the weather cools off, things should really pick up and we'll start seeing a lot of big fish," added Tompkins.

Bank anglers are finding it tough. Power Bait in rainbow glitter is the preferred bait, Tompkins revealed.

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"Our albacore tuna trips have produced some large fish this past week and we are taking over three fish per rod," said Holloway. "We had one boat go out with 17 passengers and they hooked into 54 tuna to a hefty 59 pounds, with an average weight of 25 to 35 pounds."

Light tackle, rockfishing trips continue to be successful, with anglers taking limits of rockcod and one lingcod per rod, added Holloway.

For the live bait fishermen, the live bait receivers will be open to the public through October 28.