GENERAL CONDITIONS
We had some really large catfish caught this week. The water level is now 128,000 acre feet. This is more water than the reservoir has ever held. We anticipate the water level continuing to slowly rise through the rest of August. Our water temperature is 70-72 degrees depending on the day, depth of the water, wind conditions 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. During August 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 extreme fire danger days. Extreme caution is advised when fishing or hiking on very hot days.

Fishing at the North End of the reservoir is now more easily accessible. A 15 minute hike (depends on what kind of shape you are in) will get you to an area with about 200 yards of open shoreline. Caution on the trails is advised. We also suggest (as always) being snake aware. This area is accessed by a short hike from the Dam. We anticipate fishing being very good in this area. The fishing platform still needs about 2 to 3 feet of water to be usable.

The Interpretive Center is open from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fish Plants
We planted 1233 lbs. of channel catfish averaging 2 lbs on Friday July 19. We planted 515 lbs of catfish on August 9.

We continue to wait for cooler water temperatures before we plant trout. We anticipate frequent trout plants beginning late this summer or early this fall.

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 depending on your skill and luck level. Trout average a pound and a half but range up to 5 lbs. Limits has been difficult to come by but we saw a few limits earlier this week. Many of the points east of the marina and past the rock wall have been producing some solid trout action. The south cove also continues to be a regular producer of 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 slip bobbers 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 slow to fair but our regulars continue to catch a few nice trout. The successful reports we are receiving are from anglers trolling a variety of lures 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 12 and 18 feet. A few fish have been caught at deeper levels. Vary your depths until you start getting strikes. Look for areas that have the best visibility and are free of algae. Anglers trolling catch trout on a variety of lures including kastmasters, roostertails, rebels, rapala's and Thomas Buoyant. We continue to wait for cooler water temperatures before we plant trout. We anticipate frequent trout plants beginning late this summer or early this fall.

LARGEMOUTH BASS
Not many anglers are focusing on largemouth so we have little to report here. Bass fishing is considered slow but anglers report catching a largemouth here and a largemouth there. Please release any big largemouth bass you might catch. They are the future of largemouth bass fishing in the reservoir.

STRIPER
Fishing for stripers with bait is an up and down affair but some anglers are catching limits of 18 to 23 inch fish. There were several nice limits of stripers caught past the Rockwall this weekend. It seems to be good for a few days then drops off only to pick back up a few days later. Cut anchovies or shad will do the trick when bait fishing. Stripers need to be 18 inches or more. We are seeing a tremendous number of under size fish being caught and released. Sometimes anglers catch dozens of small fish from 8 to 17 inches. 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 but had several reports of big stripers breaking lines. Fishing from the pier below the marina has been a good location. Several boats came back with limits caught on cut anchovies fishing in cowboy cove. 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 continued a solid choice last week. Anchovies, liver, mackerel and nightcrawlers all caught catfish. We suggest fishing with as little weight as possible and watch for very soft bites. The back of cowboy cove, peninsula cove and the south cove are good bets. We encourage and appreciate the release of any monster catfish (15 lbs plus). We had many catfish over 10 lbs caught and released this week.

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. In September we begin opening an hour later at 7:00am and close an hour earlier at 7:00pm.