Jan. 20 fish report / outdoors photos of the week
By The Bakersfield Californian
Kern County, southern San Joaquin Valley
LAKE ISABELLA: The trout bite has been fair with rainbows showing at the auxiliary dam and where both forks of the Kern enter the lake. Best action on floating baits, inflated nightcrawlers, or small jigs and lures. Fly anglers are also reporting a good mid-day dry fly bite on midges. Few reports on crappie, but a rare fish or two still showing off Rocky Point on minnows or small jigs in 20 to 30 feet of water. Also very few reports on catfish, bass, or panfish.
Related Photos
Wes Collins of Tehachapi had a successful late season cow elk hunt with a 7 mm magnum in Wyoming on Jan. 5. It was an all-day stalk on the herd but ended at about 4:30 with a 200-yard shot from behind a snow drift. Collins had to come back the next morning to retrieve the rest of the animal. It was his first elk.
Seth Newlen of Bakersfield, age 7, shot this whitetail deer recently in Quail, Texas, with his Weatherby .243 Winchester rifle at 130 yards. He dropped this 10 point, 22 inch wide buck with one shot and just 4 days before his 8th birthday.
Cayetano Flores, 6, of Greenfield caught and released this 14-inch largemouth bass Jan. 7 while fishing in the Kern River near the Panorama bluffs. He used worms for bait.
KERN RIVER: Trout action slow to fair on the upper river with only a few fish showing in the cold water on salmon eggs, crickets and nightcrawlers. Fly anglers are seeing slow to fair action in the stretch just above Kernville with mid-day midge and baetis hatches and some dry fly and nymph action. In the lower river flows are down under 400 cfs and the region is very fishable. The trout are best in the Richbar stretch on salmon eggs and nightcrawlers, and there is a slow to fair smallmouth bite on spinners and plastics.
AQUEDUCT NEAR TAFT: The striped bass bite continues to be pretty good with fish to 24 inches and in double digit weights showing on both bait and artificials. Top baits are blood worms or sand worms and large minnows. Gitzits, Flukes and bucktail jigs are the top artificials.
MILL CREEK PARK: The catfish bite has been slow on cut baits and green garlic nightcrawlers. Most of the cats are one and three pounds. Also a few bass and bluegill showing in a very slow bite.
HART PARK LAKE: DFG trout plants two and four weeks ago. The bite has been fair on the new Power Mouse, Power eggs, garlic-scented floating baits and inflated nightcrawlers. The bluegill bite is slow on crickets, wax worms, red worms, or meal worms. Carp are also slow on dough baits but getting very light pressure. No bass or catfish reports.
TRUXTUN LAKE: DFG trout plants two and four weeks ago, with the next plant slated for next week. Fair action on garlic nightcrawlers and floating dough baits. The bluegill, crap and bass are all slow.
RIVER WALK PARK: Fair trout action on the Power Mouse, garlic Power Bait and Power Eggs with garlic oil fished on light leaders and sliding sinkers. DFG trout plants two and four weeks ago, with a plant slated for next week. All other species very slow.
MING LAKE: DFG trout plants two and four weeks ago and the bite has been fair on the new Power Mouse, floating dough baits and inflated garlic nightcrawlers. The bluegill, carp and bass have all been slow.
BRITE LAKE: DFG trout plants two and four weeks ago.
BUENA VISTA LAKES: The trout bite has been fair and a plant is slated for this week for the derby this Saturday and Sunday. The best bite has been on Power Mice or Power Bait (garlic flavored and hatchery formulas the best). Isaac Cruz, 7, Bakersfield, landed a 10-pound trout this week. The crappie slowed to just fair, but some fish are still showing on live minnows and many are quality fish up to two pounds. The catfish bite is slow to fair on shad, but no huge fish reported this week. The bass remain spotty with only a few fish showing.
WOOLLOMES LAKE: DFG trout plant last week. The bite had been slow before this plant with the best action on garlic-flavored nightcrawlers, Power Bait in hatchery or garlic formulas and Power Mice. All other species have been slow.
SUCCESS LAKE: DFG trout plants last week and four weeks ago. Trout providing the best action. A few bass on deep, slow presentions with plastics and nightcrawlers the best bet. Other species slow.
KAWEAH LAKE: DFG trout plants last week and four weeks ago. Fair action on the rainbows with small lures and floating baits in garlic and hatchery formulas. The bass bite has slowed with just a fair bite, mostly on plastics in deeper water. The bluegill action is slow with only a few fish on red worms or nightcrawler pieces in deeper water. Crappie very slow.
Other regional lakes
CACHUMA: The trout action has remained fair with some diligent anglers getting limits. A few decent crappie catches. All other species very slow.
CASITAS: The trout action slowed down after the big plant of Nebraska Tail. The warm weather has perked the bass bite and the fish have actually moved up, with fish in eight to 20 feet of water.
CASTAIC: The trout bite has continued fair to good and a DFG plant is slated for this week with the last plant two weeks ago. Quite a few limits reports on Power Bait, nightcrawlers and small gold Kastmasters for both shore and boat anglers.
LOPEZ: Very slow. A few crappie continue to show on small jigs tipped with Crappie Nibbles fished around structure, especially around the docks and in Marina Cove.
NACIMIENTO: The spotted bass bite has remained fair on jigs and drop-shotted baits in 12 to 35 feet of water.
PIRU: Very light fishing pressure, but the bass bite has been fair in deeper water with plastics, jigs and nightcrawlers. The redear, bluegill and crappie bites have all continued to slow down with very few reports. The catfish have also been very slow. No recent trout reports.
PYRAMID: Trout were planted last week and four weeks ago, and the bite has remained fair in the marina on small lures, flies, and floating baits. Most of the rainbows are pan-sized. The striped bass are slow to fair in the marina area and the inlet. Most are one to three-pounds, with some four and five pounders. Most of the action has been on frozen anchovies fly-lined in 25 to 60 feet of water. Slow bluegill and catfish action.
SAN ANTONIO: Continued light fishing pressure and few reports. No recent striper reports. The action on black bass has been pretty fair on drop-shot plastics or jigs in 20 to 45 feet of water and slow presentations.
SANTA MARGARITA: Very light fishing pressure and mostly slow fishing.
Trout plants
None reported this week in Kern, Tulare counties
Ocean report
LONG RANGE TUNA AWESOME: It just continues. The long range yellowfin tuna bite for the 18- to 22-day trips running south out of San Diego is simply as good as it gets. Since Friday, there have been fish at 253 and 270 pounds reported aboard the Intrepid. The average fish are 100 to 120 pounds with a lot to 240 and then those monsters over that. The 50 to 65 pound wahoo that fill in between tuna bites are just icing, and the Royal Polaris stopped a Benitos Island this week en route home to add some rockfish, big calicos and whitefish just to add a few sprinkles to the cake.
MEXICAN ROCKFISH EXCELLENT: While there are new Mexican license and Visa requirements and fees for Mexican waters, it hasnÃt changed the excellent fishing for the 1 1/2 and two-day boats fishing Mexican waters for rockfish. Indian out of H&M was out over the weekend with 24 anglers on a 2 1/2-day trip and returned with one yellowtail, eight sheephead, 201 whitefish, 30 bocaccio, 147 rockfish, 83 ling, four sculpin.
SAN DIEGO LOCAL: The skippers running half-day trips are finding mostly tough fishing with just a few local bass and sculpin right now.
LOBSTER STILL EXCELLENT: Perhaps the best action along the local coastline right now is for lobster. The Jig Strike and Alicia, both out of H&M landing, the Condor, out of Fisherman's Landing, and the Pride out of Seaforth have reinvented winter twilight fishing by running these lobster trips.
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