The water is warming and the fishing is heating up along the coastline! Bluefin tuna are being caught by those willing to put in the time and find warm water. Fish have been caught anywhere from Monterey to The Farallones. On the inshore waters, halibut, lingcod, and rockfish are in peak season. I recently took my kayak out in Santa Cruz County and had some good action on halibut in 40-60 feet of water. I was trolling a bounce ball setup in fairly clear water and the big fish of the day was this fat 40" halibut (pictured). Video from the day is live on Youtube!

HESPERIA LAKE – Shrimp & Mackerel Score Easy Cat Limits

Stained water on July 11 kept visibility low, putting the bite on scent-soaked baits. Anglers fishing shrimp, mackerel, or nightcrawlers enhanced with a dash of “Homeless Stench” attractant from the store filled five-fish cat limits from first light through late afternoon.

Most anglers caught catfish in the 6–8 lbs range, and the day’s top stringer weighed 132 lbs. Hesperia Lake staff noted recent sightings of 15–19 lb fish prowling the deeper channels.

Productive water starts at the aerator line and stretches along the north-shore picnic tables. Cast a ½-oz Carolina rig into 8–12 ft or drop a two-hook high-low straight off the main dock when algae mats drift in. Refresh scent every 20 minutes since shrimp scent fades fast in warm water.

Night sessions run Friday and Saturday; pack a lantern, heavy net, and extra ice. The five-fish limit remains in effect, and the bite should hold as long as water temps stay in the mid-70s and the turbidity persists.

June spoiled us with an incredible halibut bite, but by July the changing water temperature had other plans. The bite slowed dramatically, and while halibut are still around, most are on the smaller side. The spotlight this month belongs to spotfin croaker, and they’ve been delivering some of the most exciting surf action all summer.

In Seal Beach, California, Big Fish Bait and Tackle hosted July’s “Best of 2 Spotfin Croakers” derby. During the incoming slack tide, I landed a 22.25-inch and a 23.25-inch croaker, giving me a combined total length of 45.5 inches—enough to hold the lead until the very end of the month. The fights were unforgettable. Both croakers battled like stingrays, charging off with heavy runs and delivering stubborn headshakes all the way to the net. Mussels and ghost shrimp on 15-pound test were the winning baits. My video content on them can be found on my Instagram @VividSnares.

But here’s the twist—my fishing buddy Chris Garcia also landed the exact same total length! He was part of the derby too, so we tied. Since I caught and turned in my submission video first, according to Big Fish Bait & Tackle, I officially took 1st place and Chris took 2nd. He then tried fishing every day to land a bigger fish than mine. Now that’s the kind of camaraderie and competition we love—it’s what keeps us fishing! In my book though, we’re both first-place finishers. Congratulations, Chris!

Local OG surfcasters tipped us off that it’s spawning season, and by late July, spotfins had spread both north and south as sand crab beds lit up the shoreline. It’s been a season to remember, and the bite shows no signs of slowing.

Barred surfperch were everywhere as well, with some reaching 6 to 12 inches. Croaker and corbina stayed...

Kittle’s Outdoor Sports in Colusa hosts the 2025 California Duck Calling Championship and Outdoor Expo!

The California State Duck Calling Championship comes to Colusa on August 23 and 24, 2025. This event will include the California State Championship and the Butte Sink Regional Calling Competitions that are both World Championship qualifiers. It will be held at the Veterans Memorial Park in Colusa. The events start Saturday at 9 am, with registration beginning at 8 am. The festival also includes seminars, sportsman’s vendors with outdoor gear, artwork and more! Plus, a Calling Championship for juniors at no charge. Attendance is FREE for everyone! If you wish to compete in the Calling Contest, download the registration form at www.kittlesoutdoor.com

Kittle’s Outdoor Sports in Colusa is also having a special early season Waterfowl Sale in conjunction with the Calling Contest. They are offering a multitude of Specials in their store which include many discounts of famous name brand gear. Beretta Firearms is offer special Rebates up to $350 on select Beretta shotguns, rifles and handguns. And Kittle’s will be offering Specials on All Ammo throughout the store, including they will pay the Calirornia 11% Tax for you through December 2025

FREE STREET DANCE - LIVE MUSIC

Kick up your heels in Historic Colusa to the sounds of the Jeff Crossman band and Tyler Applegarth!

• Street Dance August 23rs

• Main Street Colusa, CA

• After the first day of the State Duck Calling Contest - 7pm till 10pm

The City of Colusa will Close down part of Main Street - behind Rocco's, the Sportsman's Club (Jamison's) and the Tap Room for a Street Dance August 23rd. This Live Entertainment is sponsored by the City of Colusa and Kittle's Outdoor. All on a Saturday Night after the first day of the California State...

High School Buddies Celebrate at Eagle Lake

By Paul J. Kneeland

I have been blessed to have a few very good friends from high school days that I get to see every year, in spite of the fact that high school was over 50 years ago! We have been getting together for a “Reunion trip” every year lately. It used to be every 5 years, but when one of us passed away as we got older, we decided to do it annually.

This year we decided to go to Eagle Lake and stay at my small cabin at Spalding.  We went up on a Tuesday afternoon, with me towing the Fish Sniffer. Rogue Jet Coastal 21 to be our fishing platform. Brian Lockshaw of Rogue River, Oregon met Steve Pestoni of Weaverville and Dave Barsi of Oak Run, and they all rode in Steve’s truck and arrived about 5 pm. We had a great dinner of barbequed steaks, baked potatoes and salad as we shared many memories and tall tales on the back deck.

Wednesday morning, we were up at 4:15 and at the launch ramp at the south shore by 5:45. We backed out of the launch ramp and immediately starting fishing, heading to the east side off of Eagles Nest . It was a little smoky from the fires burning near Lake Shasta and southern Oregon. The. air temperature as a balmy 54 degrees, with the water temperature showing 71 degrees on the Lowrance fish finder. 

The weather stayed nice all day with a little trolling breeze that came up and kept us cool. It warmed up in the afternoon, about 86 degrees at the cabin. 

We started trolling east and landed 3 fat fish in the first 20 minutes – unfortunately, all Tui Chubs!!  We were marking...

American River

Steelhead and Stripers Are Hitting Lures

RANCHO CORDOVA – Summer steelhead fishing has been going strong on the lower American River, while schoolie striped bass are also on the bite.

"We’ve been catching and releasing lots of summer steelhead in the 2 to 8 lb. range," said Kailyr Perry of Kailyr’s Guide Service. "We’ve been using both plugs and different types of bobber baits, including nightcrawlers and crawdads."

"On my latest trip on the lower American, my clients caught and released 10 steelhead. Most were in the 2 to 3 lb. range, with the largest going 8 lbs.," he noted. "We also hooked and released six stripers to 22 inches while using paddletails, glidebaits and jerkbaits."

Water releases from Nimbus Dam into the American River were 3,981 cfs at press time.

• Dan Bacher

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR              

The reservoir has been holding its own this past week with reports coming in from anglers fishing up in the channels getting into 15 to 25 fish per boat per day. Most of the action is with bait, pinched crawlers, mice tails, devil tails, power bait and night crawlers have all been good ways to go. We haven’t talked to anyone doing any trolling lately and unfortunately we haven’t heard any news of any perch either. There have been a few fish still being caught off of Rainbow Point but the better action still seems to be in the channels.                  

Report courtesy of Kens Sporting Goods

Camanche / Pardee Lakes

8.9 Lb. Channel Cat Tops Catfish Competition

BURSON – The Lake Camanche Catfish Competition featured 45 entries. Victoria Flemings, who landed an 8.9 lb. channel catfish, won first place in the event. The derby ran from July 19 to 31.

Fishing pressure has been light at both lakes. Trout plants at both reservoirs will resume in the fall after the surface water temperature cools down.

The boat ramps remain closed through the end of 2025 for launching outside watercraft, although shore fishing, mussel-free rental boats, and camping are still available at Pardee and Camanche reservoirs.

Due to the spread of the golden mussel recently discovered in Northern California, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) will keep boat launches closed to private vessels for the 2025 season. This decision eliminates one of the primary ways that mussels spread, helping EBMUD keep its commitment to protect the environment and the public water system on behalf of its 1.4 million customers in the East Bay.

Bass boats, fishing boats, patio boats and party boats are currently available for rental at the marina.

Learn more and book: golakecamanche.com/attractions/#boat-rentals

• Dan Bacher

Davis Lake

Catfish and Black Bass Offer Best Late Summer Action

PORTOLA – The rainbow and brown trout fishing has slowed down during the “dog days” of August at Lake Davis, but brown bullhead catfish are hitting and largemouth bass are providing decent action.

"The catfish are hitting both day and night all over the lake," said Jeanne Graham. "The fish average 1 to 2 pounds each. The top baits are worms and prepared catfish baits."

Shore anglers and boaters are both catching largemouth bass in the 2 to 3 lb. range. "Most of the fish are hitting plastics south of Eagle Point and north of Lightning Tree," said Graham.

The trolling bite for trout has slowed down to a crawl. However, she said anglers fishing worms and PowerBait are bagging a few trout in the 17 to 20 inch range at Mallard.

On July 23, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife planted 20,000 subcatchable rainbows in the reservoir.

Davis is holding 71,278 acre feet of water, 86 percent of capacity and 123 percent of average.

• Dan Bacher

East Bay Lakes Roundup

Del Valle Smallmouth Bass and Catfish Lead East Bay Fishing Scene

ALAMEDA COUNTY – I’ve been out of town for the past couple of weeks and was a bit worried that when I returned, the summer action would have slowed. I wasn’t surprised to see that the cats are out, especially following the recent plants, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that largemouth bass action is still going strong, and the smallmouth bite at Lake Del Valle is starting to get good.

Lake Del Valle – I want to give a special call-out to Paul Clouse and Dr. Al Hurwitz who continue to provide me with near-weekly reports and help keep me tuned to the local action, especially when I can’t get out myself. Dr. Al and Paul are both pretty fishy. The two tend to follow the bite, moving from one species and body of water as the seasons progress, and if they tell me that the bite is good, you can generally count on seeing some similar action.

This past week they caught and released eight smallies. The fish ranged from one to two pounds and were hitting very aggressively and oftentimes going airborne. All fish were caught on their “go-to” trolling lure, the 1/4 oz. Roxstar spinner with silver blade and brown/yellow feathers. The productive areas were the points in Heron Bay, the western shoreline through the Narrows, and Swallow Bay. The fish were down 15 to 18 feet in the 20-to-30-foot column.

The water surface temperature was up from last week, ranging from 74° to 76°. Water clarity was best from Swallow Bay to the dam. In addition to the rapidly improving smallmouth bite, largemouth bass continue to hit spinners, surface baits and plastics, with several fish taken over three pounds...

Folsom Lake

Trout Bite Improves, Salmon Bite Challenging

FOLSOM – The rainbow trout bite has been much better at Folsom Lake than the salmon action lately.

"This week has been challenging, but has rewarded patience," reported Wes Ward of Angling Wes Guide Service. "The salmon have been hard to find, but the trout bite has picked up substantially since early July."

"The water level is dropping daily and the fish are on the move. I started the week chasing trout between Folsom Point and Mormon Island early and moving out to open water in the afternoons. Hoochies tipped with herring were consistent with an occasional spoon fish in the mix," Ward stated.

"As the week progressed, the fish scattered to open water. By Wednesday, most of my fish were caught between Beal’s and the dam. Spoons trolled fast, covering water were the most effective."

"By Friday, I had moved up the North Fork near Anderson Island to find pockets of trout. Slow plastic presentations were the only offering I could get bit on. The bass were way more active than the trout," Ward noted.

"Saturday morning, the North Fork was totally dead. I had one really solid hit on a spoon that didn’t stick. We moved out to the peninsula and moved into the shallows. My one and only salmon of the week came on a green hoochie in 30 feet of water. Soon after the salmon, we picked up a very nice trout on the same hoochie," he explained.

"Surface temperatures were 77+ by the end of the week with most of our bites coming between 45–65 feet."

"I have a few dates available in August if you want to get out on summer Folsom fishing. It’s a great time to get the kids out on some mixed bag...

Lake Almanor

Good Fishing in beautiful conditions on the lake.

Pleasant summertime conditions have made for some great fishing out on Lake Almanor. Below average temps and an occasional thunder shower have been the weather headlines as of late. The water level continues its slow decline currently sitting at 4488.4 A drop of about a foot in the last several weeks. Flows on all the lake’s tributaries are at seasonal norms. Water temperatures are currently running in the low 70’s ticking up into the mid 70’s during the days. Bug hatches continue in many areas of the lake, even a few hearty Hex Flies continue to pop at various locations around the lake, with fish in those areas still keying in on them as evidenced by the stomach contents of several Rainbows. Some fish including trout and Smallies have shifted their attention back to the lake’s pond smelt population. The trout are now widely spread throughout the entire lake. Action for trollers is happening at many locations around the lake, from the dam to Big Springs as well as the area around the mouth of Hamilton Branch. Both sides of the peninsula have also been giving up fish as are the deeper pockets of the west shore like Rocky Point giving anglers plenty of locations to visit. Trout have been caught on a wide variety of offerings recently. Slow trolled worms and plastics along with fast trolled spoons in bright as well as bait fish patterns have both produced fish this week. 35 to 45 feet seems to be holding the bulk of the active fish. The catch continues to be a mix Rainbows and Browns along with a few salmon. Bait fishermen have been netting a few fish at several locations including the dam and east shore. Suspended baits...

Los Vaqueros Reservoir

Catfish Plants Boost Summer Fishing Success

LIVERMORE – There have been five plants of catfish in Los Vaqueros Reservoir so far this summer. The latest plant by Tsai Enterprises was on August 5 when 1,000 pounds of catfish were stocked in the reservoir. They also stocked 1,000 pounds of channel cats on July 15.

For those targeting catfish, chicken liver and anchovies are the best choices of bait. There has been a steady number of catfish being caught around the reservoir. South Cove, Cowboy Cove and Oak Point are some of the popular spots, according to the Los Vaqueros Marina. Expect to catch channel cats averaging 2 to 5 pounds, along with some bigger fish.

"Striper fishing is mixed with both shakers and legal sized fish being caught from around the reservoir," the marina reported. "Cut anchovies or shad are the baits of choice, either from shore or a boat. Cowboy Cove and Howden Cove seem to be the hot spots for stripers. Just a reminder: stripers need to be 18 inches or more to be legal. Please release the small fish as quickly and carefully as possible. They are the future of our striped bass fishery."

Although trout plants are suspended until the fall, there are still plenty of rainbow trout out in the lake for anglers to catch. The last plant of the spring of 2,000 pounds of Mt. Lassen trout went into the lake on May 14.

"Shore anglers have the most success using garlic scented PowerBait followed by night crawlers. Trolling is doing fairly well, especially in the backs of coves. Light tackle is important for catching trout. 4-6-pound test is plenty. Fishing has been good. On days the winds allow boats we have seen a number of limits as well as anglers...

Lake Oroville

King Salmon and Rainbow Trout Bite Sizzles!

OROVILLE – Lake Oroville is “on fire” right now for landlocked king salmon and rainbow trout, reported Bret Brady of Bare Bones Guide Service.

"Most bites are happening 55–85 ft deep," Brady said. "Morning’s the best time, but you can score late morning too."

Brady has been trolling Uncle Larry's hoochies in white or green. He recommended adding scent, anchovy, or sardine for extra strike.

"Oroville today produced an insane bite," Brady reported on a recent trip to the reservoir. "We went 19 fish landed for 24 hook-ups. We pulled a great double hook-up in our first few minutes of fishing this morning and it never stopped."

"We trolled 45 to 85 feet deep – the bait was everywhere. Our big rainbows went up to 4.5 lbs. We also had a king that went 4.5 pounds. What a morning," Brady advised.

"Track those bait schools on Oroville—they’re the hot spot," he added.

Ron Rickman reported top-notch king salmon and rainbow trout action on the Lake Oroville Fishing Reports Facebook Page.

"My Buddy Richard Kowski, Ron, John and I had a great day fishing on the Fish Machine," said Rickman. "We landed 6 kings and 6 rainbows to 18 inches."

DWR’s mussel inspection program in Oroville continues to protect State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

Mandatory watercraft inspections are required prior to launching at the Oroville Facilities (Lake Oroville, Thermalito Forebay, Thermalito Afterbay). Watercraft that pass the inspection will receive a seal and can launch during designated ramp hours.

Watercraft Inspection Location/Decontamination Services are only available at the North Thermalito Forebay at Garden Drive and HWY 70 in Oroville. Hours of operation are daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Watercraft inspections and decontamination services...

Russian River

Lower River Yields Quality Largemouths

GUERNEVILLE – While smallmouth bass have drawn many anglers to fish the Russian River during the summer over the years, the lower stretch of river has been producing beautiful, chunky largemouth bass lately. King’s Sport and Tackle reported a memorable day of largemouth fishing during his latest trip:

“I took out a client, Shawn, today. It was a birthday present from his mother-in-law, the owner of the wonderful ‘Inn on the Russian River’ in Monte Rio. And it was very much like fishing with one of my buddies growing up.”

“Shawn grew up in Alaska fishing and lives in Washington. That fishing lineage scares me every single time but I had nothing to worry about. Shawn was totally happy fishing for bass, relaxing on the Russian.

“It started slow with one hookup. The morning fish bite just hasn’t happened often this summer. But in the end he reeled in around eight plus bass and lost two bigger bass, one due to a smart fish and the other due to the guide’s knot tying ability (Palomar knots rarely fail me. I still think it’s the strongest and easiest knot to tie). I was bummed.

“But Shawn’s last fish of the day, just 100 yards from his dock, ended up being 4 lbs 12 ounces, beating the previous largest bass of the season so far by one ounce!

“Good trip. Good company. I could do with a little better morning bite but overall, I call it Russian River successful!”

During a previous trip, King’s Sport and Tackle reported:

“Steve, the current record holder for biggest bass this season from a week ago, asked me to take him and his old fishing buddy Dave out on Tuesday. What a blast those two were, with a game...

Trinity River

Community Unites for River Clean Up As Flows Threatened by Water Plan

GUERNEVILLE – Hoopa Valley — On Saturday, July 26, a Trinity River Clean-Up organized by Save California Salmon and the Hoopa Valley Tribe brought together over 50 community members, Tribal leaders, youth, and environmental advocates.

“The day began at the Hoopa Tribal Office with a morning ground clean-up, followed by a rafting clean-up on the Trinity River and a community lunch,” reported a press statement from Save California Salmon (SCS). “Volunteers removed bags of trash and debris from the riverbanks and waterways, helping restore critical salmon habitat in one of California’s most important and endangered rivers. Organizers said they are finding less trash every year.”

Joe Davis, Hoopa Tribal Chairman, said, “On behalf of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, I would like to thank Save California Salmon and everyone who contributed to this year’s ever-important clean up. Let’s keep the momentum going and continue our strong role as Hupa People to be the stewards of the Trinity River.”

The event centered Indigenous leadership and stewardship, bringing youth and families together to care for the river while educating participants on the deep cultural and ecological significance of the Trinity River, along with current threats to the river’s flows from the Trump administration, according to SCS.

“I’m proud to support the Trinity River Clean-Up,” said Hoopa Valley Tribal council member and local raft guide Joseph Marshall. “It’s important to keep our riverways clean and take pride in our homelands. The youth and community are involved in this cleanup so future generations will learn to keep our valley and river clean. It is our responsibility to take care of our home.”

The organizers said the clean-up was “part of a larger effort to protect salmon populations and honor Tribal stewardship...

Truckee/Little Truckee Rivers

Hit The Canyon for Best Trout Action

TRUCKEE -

The flows on the Truckee River have dropped around 100 CFS at the Farad gauge. As of today, this section of river is sitting at 550 CFS, which is just a bit above average for this time of year. The cooler than normal days have also kept the water temps peaking at 66°F around 5:00pm along this same section of river, which will often be the coolest on the entire river because of the tailwater releases out of Boca.

Remember, trout are a coldwater fish and prefer cooler temperatures. Because of this we are highly recommending to fish down in the canyon right now. If fishing upstream of the Boca confluence, continue to carry a thermometer with you and call it when temps exceed 66°F to give the fish a break when the water gets warm. This will also be the same for those fishing West Reno and down as water temps will warm back up once you hit Verdi.

At this point in the year, it’s safe to say that the best fishing is early in the morning anyways, so get on the water early and off by mid-day. The flies dejour are a mix of crawdads, large stonefly patterns imitating the nocturnal stone (size 4-6), and small flies such as PMDs, BWOs, midges, and caddis pupa.

We have also noticed an uptick in the fish’s willingness to take a streamer this week, and using most methods of presenting have been working. Stripping, swinging, and dead drifting sculpin, whitefish, baby trout, or crawdad patterns have been putting fish in the net. Just be sure to use heavy flies, a sink tip line, or even just a bunch of split shot to present your flies on or near...

VIRGINIA LAKES                 

The Virginias are still enjoying very good action, especially from the fly anglers fishing from kayaks and tubes. They’re doing excellent with intermediate sink likes dragging small wooly buggers, mini leeches, soft hackles and damsel nymphs. There’s some ok bait action with pinched crawlers and mice tails and early or late in the day there’s been some good fish caught with Kastmasters and Thomas Bouyants. 

Report courtesy of Kens Sporting Goods

Bodega Bay/Tomales Bay

Rockfish and Lingcod Action Sizzles, White Seabass and Stripers Boated in Bay

BODEGA BAY – The New Sea Angler continues to find topnotch shallow water rockfish and lingcod fishing off the Sonoma County Coast, while anglers are catching a mixture of halibut, striped bass, and white seabass in Tomales Bay.

On his most recent trip, the 16 anglers aboard the New Sea Angler bagged 160 rockfish and 15 lingcod up to 16 pounds.

“After running research trips the last three days, we went back out again today,” Powers reported. “The 16 anglers caught full limits of great quality rockfish, all bottom grabbers with no school fish. They also boated 15 lingcod to 16 pounds. Conditions were good, with no wind and light seas conditions.”

On his previous trip, the 18 anglers aboard the New Angler bagged 180 rockfish and 36 lingcod up to 18 pounds.

The anglers have been catching quality canary, brown, copper, and vermilion rockfish. Anglers are hooking the fish while using shrimp flies baited with squid strips, bars, jigs, swimbaits, and other offerings.

Meanwhile, anglers fishing inside Tomales Bay have been catching a mixture of halibut, white seabass, and stripers, although the fishing has been challenging at times.

“So what do you do when you're on vacation but the weather turns to gale force winds? I guess you troll the back by Marshall for bass,” Willy Vogler of Lawson’s Landing reported. “I guess that because the only boat we launched today did that and caught bass – white seabass and striped bass. Flatfish are hard this year, and likely will continue to be hard for a few years if the past salmon closure is any kind of indicator.”

“Gage and I were looking at the halibut results, year over year, from Sportfishingreport.com, and they...

Half Moon Bay

Shallow Water Rockfish Limits Are The Rule

EL GRANADA – Rockfishing adventures are producing limits of colorful shallow water rockfish, along with some lingcod and an occasional halibut.

The Queen of Hearts reported 160 rockfish, 4 lingcod, and 1 halibut for 16 anglers on their latest trip out of the harbor. The boat returned the previous day with 250 rockfish, 1 lingcod, and 1 halibut.

Rockfishing trips on Wednesdays are departing at 10 a.m. and returning by 3 p.m. through the end of August.

The rockfish season is the same as last year:

• May through September and November is coastal rockfishing from shore to no deeper than 120 feet.

• April, October, and December are deep-sea rockfishing, fishing depths outside 300 feet.

The only regulation change from last year is that there is no minimum size limit on cabezon or seatrout (kelp greenling).

Recreational salmon season will, barring any unforeseen changes, DEFINITELY REOPEN FOR THE "FALL SEASON" on September 4, 5, 6, and 7. The separate "fall fishery" off the Bay Area coastline is scheduled for Sept. 4–7, 29–30, October 1–5, and 27–31, or until no more than 7,500 salmon are landed during that period. Limit is 2 salmon per person with a 20-inch minimum size. These dates are available on the online booking system—reserve spots as soon as possible as they go quickly.

Perch are showing along the coastline, and squid and anchovies are appearing outside the harbor. Anglers continue to catch rock crab off the fishing pier inside the harbor and on the jetty.

Recreational Dungeness crab season is closed until the first Saturday in November, but rock crab season is open all year using hoop nets or snares.

For those interested in monkeyface eel, there are plenty hidden in the jetty rocks for...

Check out the new Issue of The Fish Sniffer magazine for August 15, 2025

In this issue of The Fish Sniffer, we bring you the latest information of summertime fishing in northern California. The big news is the opening of the Feather Rivier for salmon. The fishing has been good with lots of salmon hitting the hooks. The foothill Lakes like Shasta, New Melones, Folsom and Berryessa are producing good action for trout, bass and catfish, with the kokanee catch starting to cool off as they get ready to spawn. The Bay and Delta are producing good numbers of both halibut and stripers and off shore has been very good for rockfish and lingcod.

The golden mussel problem is still impacting boaters all over the state and has caused major boat launch closures and strict new inspection and quarantine rules at Folsom, Camanche, Pardee, New Melones and Berryessa. These rules are starting to change, and some lakes like Oroville and Bullards bar are allowing boaters to launch the same day after an inspection

All you need to know about fresh and saltwater fishing in Northern California is now available in the new issue of The Fish Sniffer Magazine!