During the first week of the 2016 fishing season we saw many quality fish checked-in at the general store. Over a dozen of the fish were 4 pounds or bigger. To check out these nice fish visit our fishing photo gallery for 2016.

Early in the week I sent out an Opener Weekend Review. Make sure to visit the review and see some of the biggest fish of the opener. The fattest being a 9 pound 10 ounce monster. For this report I have posted all the other big fish caught throughout the week including over the opener weekend.

Catch of the Week: Alanuel Lopez from Ridgecrest, CA with a lunker from Convict Lake. Alanuel was using Powerbait when he landed the "catch of the week", a 7 pound 5 ounce Rainbow along the South Shore.

Other notable catches this week:

Matthew Banuelos from San Jacinto, CA with a 6 pound 7 ounce Rainbow that he landed on the North Shore. Matthew was fishing with nightcrawlers.

Charles Pedregon with an excellent catch while fishing in along the North Shore. Charles landed a 6 pound 6 ounce Rainbow using a Mini Jig.

Mike Rodriguez of Wilmington, CA hooked a 6 pound and 3 ounce Rainbow. Mike was using Garlic Powerbait and was fishing at the Inlet.

Joe Ruiz of Long Beach, CA caught a beautiful 6 pound and 1 ounce Rainbow. He was using a Marvel Fly while fishing at the Jetty. This was his second monster of the opener.

Toby Luke, Christina Luke, Jame Lox & Bradley Vaughan with two quality fish. The largest fish was 5 pounds 9 ounces. The second was only two ounces off at 5 pounds 7 ounces. They were fishing the North Shore and using nightcrawlers.

Ryan Wischnack of Valencia, CA caught a stout 5 pound Rainbow. He was using a Sierra Slammer jig while fishing at the North Shore. The second fish wasn't too bad at 3 pounds.

Tactics/Bait: A variety of different baits and lures were hooking fish all week. Some nice fish (4 pounds plus) and full stringers were caught with Mice Tails (Pink or Red are always successful colors), nightcrawlers, Mini Jigs (try tossing Swim Baits from Sierra Slammers) and trolling Tasmanian Devils. In the creek use salmon eggs. The most successful Powerbait color was Salmon Peach. Any color with garlic worked well. I would suggest using some type of added attractant. Pro-Cure, Bait-On, Lip Ripperz and Berkley all make excellent attractants, which are sold at the general store. The North Shore and the Inlet were the hottest spot this week. Other locations fishing well were the South Shore, the Handicap Pier and Hangman's Tree.

Here is a list of other baits/lures that can be productive: Panther Martins, Tasmanian Devils, green or brown Marvel Fly Lures, Kastmasters, NeedleFish, Roostertails, and garlic scent on Powerbait.

Here is a list of recommended flies:

Dry Flies: Adams, Female Adams, Cutter's Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, Stimulators, Black/Red Ants, Sierra Bright Dot, Royal Coachman and Hoppers.

Streamers: Wooly Bugger (black, brown, olive, or green), Mutuka (black, brown, olive, or green), Hornberg, and Muddler Minnows.

Wet Flies(Nymphs): Prince Nymph, Flashback Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Zebra Midge (red and black), Copper John (red and copper) and San Juan Worm (brown or red).

Other Resources: View our Convict Lake Fishing Map and Fishing Rig Suggestion brochures. Both brochures are available in the General Store.

Derby News: The Round-Up at the Lake Fishing Derby started on May, 1st. Come join us for a chance to win $6,000 in Resort prizes! Also mark your calendars for the Hangman's Bonus Cash Weekend on June 3-5. $2,200 in cash prizes.