The Weekly Fishing Report

Wednesday, August 26 – Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Central Valley · Sierra · Eastern Sierra · Delta · Coast | Issue 26-34

SAN FRANCISCO SALMON CLOSED AUG 24 — A WEEK EARLY • MONTEREY: SIX DAYS LEFT • FALL SEASON OPENS SEPT 1 • ROCKFISH WENT 16 FOR 17 AT LIMITS SUNDAY • PINE FLAT OFF 6.4 FEET TO 18.7% • CDFW IS PLANTING THE KINGS BELOW THE DAM • CORPS SHEET DROPPED DON PEDRO, McCLURE AND SHAVER

Past Issues

Correction first, because it matters more than anything else in this issue. Last week we told you San Francisco and Monterey both ran through August 31 — thirteen days. On August 19 the National Marine Fisheries Service took inseason action and cut San Francisco off after Sunday the 23rd. The area is closed as of Monday. CDFW’s numbers say 26,984 of the 34,900-Chinook summer guideline were already in the box through August 15, and the catch rate was going to eat the rest. So if you were holding a Saturday reservation out of Berkeley, Emeryville or Sausalito for a king, that trip is gone.

Monterey and south is still open, and it has six days. Today through Monday the 31st, or until the 21,800-fish guideline fills, whichever lands first. Then the fall season opens Tuesday, September 1 — inside this coverage window — from 38°02′N near Point Reyes down to Pigeon Point through October 31, and Pigeon Point south through September 30. Both areas share one 20,000-fish guideline, which is a smaller number than it sounds like.

The bottom, meanwhile, is having the best week we have printed. Sunday there were seventeen rockfish trips posted between Bodega and Monterey. Sixteen came in at exactly ten a rod. The seventeenth was one fish short of it. Four boats doubled up with full lingcod limits on top. If you cannot get a salmon, you can absolutely get a sack.

Inland, one piece of real news and one piece of missing paperwork. CDFW is putting rainbows in the Kings River below Pine Flat Dam this week — the first plant on our valley-adjacent list all summer. And the Corps’ Section 7 sheet quietly dropped Don Pedro, McClure, Shaver, Huntington, Edison, Florence and every Friant canal gage this cycle. We are not going to reprint nine-day-old numbers as if they were current. Details in Water Watch.

◉ This Week’s Best Bets

● No. 1 — Ocean

The Bottom Went 16 for 17

Sunday: Happy Hooker 240 rockfish and 48 lingcod on 24 rods. New Huck Finn 270 and 54 on 27. Goldeneye 2000 190 and 38 on 19. California Dawn II 220 on 22. Sixteen of seventeen trips at ten a rod, three of them at full ling limits too. Monday and Tuesday held it. Nothing on this coast is more dependable right now.

● No. 2 — Salmon

Six Days, and Only South of Pigeon Point

San Francisco shut Monday by inseason action. Monterey and south run today through August 31 unless the guideline fills first. Then the fall season opens Tuesday, September 1. Sunday’s last SF-area numbers were honest ones — 77 kings on 64 rods, one limit trip out of six. Call the hotline the morning you go: (707) 576-3429.

● No. 3 — Kings River

They Are Planting the Lower Kings

CDFW has Kings River below Pine Flat Dam on the plant list for the week of August 23–29, listed under Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties. That is the closest planted trout to the valley floor all summer, and the release just came down to 1,884 cfs. Still not a wading flow. Bank and boat below the dam.

● No. 4 — Moon & Tide

Fish the Front Half This Time

Exact opposite of last week. Full moon Thursday evening the 27th. Today gives the biggest swing of the window at the Gate — −0.1 ft at 5:11 a.m. against a 6.0 ft high at 11:03 p.m., a 6.1-foot range — and the minus tides end Thursday morning. After that it flattens every day toward last quarter. Go now.

⚠ Water Watch

Pine Flat: another 6.4 feet gone. From 760.47 ft and 202,375 acre-feet a week ago to 754.08 ft and 186,532 acre-feet at midnight Tuesday. That is 15,843 acre-feet in seven days and it puts the lake at 18.7% of gross pool — under twenty for the first time this season. Two weeks ago it was 20.2%. Three weeks ago the ramps you are used to still worked.

The release came back down. Pine Flat is putting out 1,884 cfs, down from 2,174 last week. Over five weeks that line reads 4,226, 3,071, 2,003, 2,174, 1,884. It is trending down again, but we said last week not to take a trend line as a promise, and we are saying it again. Still not wadeable.

The upper Kings fell off a cliff. Kings natural flow into Pine Flat is 185.5 cfs against 422.0 last week — down 56% in seven days, and down from 587 two weeks ago. Below the North Fork near Trimmer is 236.4. The Kern at Kernville is 176.7, off from 207.6, the second straight drop. Kernville is still the friendliest wading water on our list, but it is shrinking fast and the window is closing.

The Section 7 sheet fell apart this cycle. Don Pedro, New Exchequer (McClure), Camanche, Del Valle, Los Banos and Big Dry Creek all came back “No Project Data Available at this Time.” Shaver, Huntington, Florence, Edison, Mammoth Pool and Redinger are all “-NR-”. So are the Friant-Kern Canal, the Madera Canal, the San Joaquin below Friant, flow below McSwain and the Tuolumne natural flow. Last week those figures were nine days old; this week they are simply gone. We have left those rows blank rather than reprint August 17 numbers with a straight face.

Two things did come back. Both Tule gages are reporting again after three blank weeks — South Fork near Success at 3.3 cfs, near Springville at 9.5 — and Kaweah at McKay Point is back at 14.0 cfs. Small numbers, but they are numbers. Goodwin release jumped to 1,388 cfs from 225 last week, which is a big move on the lower Stanislaus and worth knowing before you launch.

◉ Lakes & Reservoirs

Reservoir Levels

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District. Data ending midnight Aug 25; Corps report generated this morning at 08:00, Section 7 sheet at 08:01. Everything printed here is from this morning’s sheets. Where the sheet reported nothing, we say so. Percent full is against gross pool.

Water

Elev (ft)

Storage (AF)

% Full

Trend

Pine Flat

754.08

186,532

18.7%

↓ 2,141 AF/day

Millerton (Friant)

—

241,280

46.4%

↓ 1,261 AF/day

Kaweah (Terminus)

605.59

23,713

12.8%

↓ 163 AF/day

Success (Schafer)†

607.07

17,088

20.8%

↓ 146 AF/day

Isabella

2,562.21

180,920

31.9%

↓ 1,496 AF/day

Eastman (Buchanan)

466.75

10,516

7.0%

Outflow 0 — flat

Hensley (Hidden)

453.93

6,836

7.6%

↓ 4 AF/day — flat

New Hogan

672.02

169,105

—

↓ 448 AF/day

New Melones

—

1,569,452

65.4%

Change 0 — flat

Bass Lake (Crane Valley)

—

38,108

83.9%

Fullest water on this page

Tulloch

—

65,178

—

Change 0 — flat

Don Pedro · McClure · Shaver · Huntington · Edison · Florence · Mammoth Pool · Redinger

No data published this cycle. Don Pedro and New Exchequer both returned “No Project Data Available at this Time”; the rest came back “-NR-”. Their last published figures were August 17, which is nine days old, so we are not printing them as current. Call the operating agency before you tow.

† Success shown against an 82,300 AF gross pool. A dam raise may have added roughly 28,000 AF — verify with the Corps before quoting the percentage.
Week-over-week, off the same sheet: Pine Flat −15,843 AF · Isabella −10,703 · Millerton −13,331 · New Melones −9,765 · Success −1,045 · Kaweah −942 · Bass Lake −196.
A note on conflicting numbers, again. A widely read regional column publishes materially different elevations for most of these waters — Pine Flat near 793 ft and 29%, Isabella near 2,574 ft and 47%, Kaweah near 595 ft and 9%. Those do not reconcile with the Corps daily sheet, which is what we print and which is internally consistent week to week. We are not guessing which basis the other column uses. We are telling you both exist and that ours comes straight off the USACE report.

Central Coast — Reported as % of Normal

Different metric. These are percent of the historical average for the date — NOT percent of capacity. 148% does not mean over-full.

Water

Storage (AF)

% of Normal

As of

Nacimiento

285,131

109%

Aug 26

Lopez Lake

48,679

129%

Aug 19

Lake San Antonio

270,863

148%

Aug 2

Santa Margarita

Third straight week with no storage, no elevation and no percent of normal. The station is listed and returns nothing. Call San Luis Obispo County Parks before you tow a boat.

Nacimiento is the only fresh reading here. For scale, its gross capacity is about 377,900 AF, so 285,131 works out to roughly 75% of capacity — that is our arithmetic, not the source’s. USGS shows the Nacimiento River below the dam at 400 cfs and the Salinas near Bradley at 526.
One oddity worth flagging. Nacimiento’s storage figure is identical to last week’s — 285,131 AF both times — even though the page is stamped Aug 26 and shows a 24-hour change of −0.3%. The same number cannot be both seven days apart and down three tenths of a percent overnight. Treat it as directionally right and precisely suspect.
Lopez has not refreshed since Aug 19. San Antonio moved from Jul 26 to Aug 2 and then stopped again. Directional only on both.

Bite Report

Straight talk: no new regional freshwater column landed inside this window. The Central California report we rely on for named guide quotes publishes Thursdays, which is after we send. Everything in the Conditions column below is measured water off this morning’s Corps sheet. The Pattern column is standing seasonal pattern and permitted-event fact, not fresh fish counts, and we have not recycled last week’s quotes as if they were new.

Water

Conditions (measured)

Pattern to Work

Kings & Tulare Basin

Pine Flat

18.7% full at 754.08 ft, off 6.4 ft in seven days. Releasing 1,884 cfs against 826 cfs inflow.

Under twenty percent and dropping about 2,100 acre-feet a day. The river arm above Sycamore stays the percentage play — shaky head, Texas rig, finesse jigs on the bottom — and the trout and kings are deep and following shad. Fresno Bass Club is on it this Saturday and Sunday, Aug 29–30. Every waypoint you set in July is wrong.

Kaweah

12.8% full at 605.59 ft, off 163 AF/day. Three Rivers down to 40.8 cfs; McKay Point reporting again at 14.0.

A puddle. Whatever structure is left is holding everything on it. Early and late only, catfish after dark. Verify ramp access by phone before you tow.

Success

20.8% full at 607.07 ft, off 146 AF/day. Both Tule gages reporting again — 3.3 cfs near Success, 9.5 near Springville.

Low and warm. Bass scattered and suspended off main-lake points; work slow on the bottom. Catfish in the deeper holes is the honest recommendation. Golden Empire fishes it Sep 19 and Ducks Unlimited Oct 17–18.

Isabella

31.9% full at 2,562.21 ft, off 1,496 AF/day. Kern at Kernville down to 176.7 cfs.

Still the biggest steady drawdown on this page — 10,703 acre-feet in a week. The river above it remains the better bet, but 177 cfs is thinner than the 224 we printed two weeks ago. American Bass has the lake Sep 19; Cope’s Tackle runs it Oct 3.

San Joaquin & Madera

Millerton

46.4% of gross pool, 241,280 AF, off 1,261 AF/day. Friant-Kern Canal, Madera Canal and San Joaquin-below-Friant all “-NR-” this cycle.

Dropped under half full this week. Small spotted bass on plastics down 20 to 40 feet in the channels, and bank catfishing is the better use of a hot afternoon. Sycamore Island open 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. BASS 101 fishes it Oct 4; Kings VIII Nov 8.

Eastman

7.0% of gross pool at 466.75 ft, outflow held at 0 cfs, off 9 AF/day.

Still the numbers water. Shallow crankbaits, drop-shot worms, watermelon-red creature baits on a Texas rig, jigs over the rockpiles. Go for the bend, not the weight — the ratio of dinks to a three-pounder here is brutal.

Hensley

7.6% of gross pool at 453.93 ft, off 4 AF/day. Fresno River above: 0.0 cfs.

Thin water, concentrated fish, no inflow. Bass on the rockpiles and small. Catfish and carp are the solid bet. Boat access is the real question — call the Corps at Hidden Dam first.

Bass Lake

83.9% and 38,108 AF — the fullest water on this page and a current figure.

Early or nothing. Recreational traffic owns this lake from mid-morning on, so the troll window is first light to about 9 a.m. and the last hour before sunset. Spotted bass down 12 to 15 feet on the drop-shot. Kings VIII fishes it Sep 13, Kerman Oct 10.

Foothill & High Country

New Melones

65.4% full, 1,569,452 AF, storage change 0. Stanislaus natural flow down to 247 cfs from 475.

Kokanee water, and they are going deep. Late-August fish hug the bottom and the males start to color. Stick weights and slow speeds. Night catfishing on cut bait is the underrated second option. Note the 30-day golden mussel quarantine or decontamination requirement before you launch, and check ramp hours — they are restricted Monday through Thursday.

Don Pedro

No Corps data this cycle. Tuolumne natural flow “-NR-”.

Kokanee and kings deep behind big dodgers is the standing pattern, with a topwater window at both ends of the day for bass. We have no measured level for you this week. Bass Angler Inc. runs Sep 18–20, All American Bass Sep 19, Oro Madre Sep 26, Sierra Bass Club Sep 26–27.

McClure & McSwain

Both blank. New Exchequer returned no project data; flow below McSwain “-NR-”.

McSwain’s bank bite off the recent plant should still be holding — Power Bait or nightcrawlers at the brush pile, the handicapped docks or the peninsula. McClure itself runs small; bass suspended deep over humps. Sonora Bass Anglers Sep 19, 17-90 Bass Club Sep 26, Kings VIII Oct 11.

Shaver & Huntington

Both “-NR-” on the Section 7 sheet this cycle.

Kokanee are migrating toward the marina to spawn — that is the pattern that ends the season here. Pink and purple hardware tipped with corn behind dodgers, and the fish keep sliding deeper. The CDFW permit database lists Kokanee Power at Shaver Sep 9–12, not Sep 7 as some calendars have it. Confirm with the club. Huntington is loaded with small kokanee starting to color.

Wishon & Courtright

No USACE reporting — PG&E projects.

Trollers have the upper hand at both: blade-and-crawler at three to four colors of lead core for rainbows and browns in the 13- to 14-inch class. Levels fluctuate daily. Courtright is still being drawn down into Wishon for dam and gate work. CDFW planted Portal Forebay and Mono Creek this week and Ward Lake last week — the Kaiser Pass road is where the fresh fish are.

Edison, Florence & Mammoth Pool

All “-NR-” this cycle. No storage published.

Edison remains the best of the Kaiser Pass lakes for bank anglers and trollers both. Fire danger is extreme in the high country — check the High Sierra Ranger Station at (559) 855-5355 for road and fire status before you leave.

Central Coast

Nacimiento

285,131 AF, 109% of normal, stamped today. River below the dam 400 cfs.

SLO County Bass Ambushers are on the water this Saturday, Aug 29. White bass and the deep summer pattern. Local advocacy groups put the practical recreation floor near 780 ft, with many ramps unusable below 760 — worth a phone call before you drive.

Lopez

48,679 AF, 129% of normal — but stamped Aug 19.

Good water year, week-old number. Lopez Creek inflow 2 cfs. Kern County Bassmasters Sep 19.

San Antonio

148% of normal — as of Aug 2.

Biggest and healthiest water on the Central Coast list, on a reading that is now more than three weeks old. SLO County Bass Ambushers Sep 19.

Santa Margarita

No level available. Third week running.

Busy September ahead — Bakersfield Bass Club Sep 19 and Orange County Bass Club Sep 19–20, both permitted. Still unmeasured as far as we can tell.

◉ Eastern Sierra

From Fresno it is roughly five hours over Tioga Pass to the June Lake Loop, six to Bridgeport. This is the best stocking week Mono County has had in a month. CDFW put rainbows in ten Mono County waters for the week of August 23–29 — including both Twin Lakes at Bridgeport, both Virginia Lakes, Robinson Creek and Trumbull. That is the report this week. Filed fish counts from the region remain thin.

June Lake Loop & Mono Basin

Water

Latest

What’s Working

Trumbull Lake

Planted this week

On the CDFW list for Aug 23–29. Small, cold, high and right off the Virginia Lakes road — an easy add if you are already headed up that canyon.

Grant Lake

No new report

Largest and lowest of the Loop lakes, best trolled. Cutthroat and browns are the draw here rather than planters. No count filed inside this window — pattern only.

Silver & Gull Lakes

No new report

Both hold trophy rainbows that go deep once the surface warms. Intermediate sinking lines, leech and scud patterns. Gull is the smallest of the four at about 60 acres with the easiest shoreline access. Nothing dated inside this window.

June Lake

No new report

About 320 acres, one of the few natural lakes in the region, and the best trolling water on the Loop. Fish the inlet early. Nothing dated inside this window.

Rush Creek

—

Connects the whole Loop and drains to Mono Lake. A genuine trophy-brown fishery, and low, clear and technical in late August — small flies, long leaders, early light.

Crowley, Owens & the Mammoth Side

Water

Latest

What’s Working

Owens River Section 2

Planted this week

Planted again for the week of Aug 23–29 — second straight week. Easy access, catchable trout, good water for kids and a sensible first stop coming over the hill.

Rock Creek (Sections 1 & 2)

Planted this week

Both sections on the Mono County list this week. Roadside pocket water off Highway 395 south of Tom’s Place, and it fishes well with a short rod and a small spinner.

Crowley Lake

No new report this week

The standout water in the region, but nothing new filed in the feeds we track. Read the regs box below before you go — the August rules here catch valley anglers out every single year.

Bridgeport & the Walkers

Water

Latest

What’s Working

Twin Lakes (Bridgeport)

Planted this week

Both Upper and Lower Twin got CDFW rainbows the week of Aug 23–29. That is the first plant we have seen here in weeks and it should turn the bank bite on inside a few days. Trollers still need lead core or downriggers — the holdovers are down.

Virginia Lakes

Planted this week

Big Virginia and Little Virginia both planted. High, cold and reliable, and now restocked. This is the strongest recommendation in the Eastern Sierra section this week.

Robinson Creek

Planted this week

The creek below Twin Lakes, also on this week’s list. Small water, easy access from the Twin Lakes road, and a good place to put a kid on a fish.

Bridgeport Reservoir

No new report

Not on this week’s plant list and nothing newly filed. The tagged trophy trout program is running and the boats work the channels in the East Walker, Buckeye and Robinson arms. Last dated update we carried was Aug 17.

West Walker River (Section 2)

Planted this week

On the Mono County list for Aug 23–29. Roadside water along 395 through Walker Canyon.

East Walker River

No flow reading

Not planted, and we have no flow reading inside this window — the Corps sheet does not carry it and we will not reprint an August 16 number as current. Call Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport before you commit.

⚠ Before You Drive Over — Different Rulebook

Special regulations are the norm over there, not the exception. Individual Eastern Sierra waters carry their own gear restrictions, size limits, reduced bag limits and seasonal closures. Several run barbless-only or catch-and-release stretches, and Crowley in particular fishes under tighter August rules than the statewide standard — restricted baits and a reduced limit with a size minimum. Look up the specific water in the current CDFW freshwater regulations before you launch. Do not assume the five-fish valley rulebook travels with you.

Getting there from the valley: Tioga Pass (Highway 120) is the direct route to the June Lake Loop and it is a seasonal road — open now, but check Caltrans before an early start. Figure roughly five hours from Fresno to June Lake, six to Bridgeport. Sonora Pass (108) and Monitor Pass (89) are the northern alternatives.

Labor Day weekend is next weekend. Bridgeport, Twin Lakes and the June Loop fill up, and the fresh plants will draw a crowd. If you want water to yourself, go this week instead of next.

◉ Delta, Rivers & Aqueduct

The Delta — Fish the Tide, Because That Is What We Can Measure

Honest accounting on this section. The fall striped bass run we led with last week is still on — nothing has happened to reverse it, and it usually builds through September. But no new guide report was filed inside this window in the feeds we track, and the regional column that carries the named quotes publishes tomorrow, after we send. So we are not going to reprint last week’s Liberty Island and Frank’s Tract quotes with fresh dates on them. What follows is the standing pattern plus this week’s measured tide.

The tide is the actionable part, and it is good. Port Chicago runs a strong front half: today brings a 4.9 ft high at 12:44 a.m. against a 0.0 ft low at 8:22 a.m., and Thursday holds nearly the same shape. Then the lows climb every day — 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 — and by Tuesday the daily swing is a full foot smaller. Port Chicago never goes minus in this window; 0.0 ft is as low as it gets, this morning and tomorrow. The general rule stands: two hours before the high into the peak, blood worms, pile worms or fresh shad, with the better fish on shad.

For largemouth, the late-August pattern is wood and moving water — flip and punch the tule edges where there is current, big profiles on the high tide, and reaction baits when it blows. Small bass dominate the numbers. If the wind lays flat, prop baits with long pauses.

Sturgeon status, unchanged and still not law. The Fish and Game Commission voted 3–2 on August 15 to allow catch-and-release only for white sturgeon, with no harvest. As of this morning we have seen nothing confirming the Office of Administrative Law has acted, and no opening date has been published. Do not put a card in your pocket on the strength of this paragraph. Confirm with CDFW that the regulation is actually in effect before you fish.

California Aqueduct, San Luis & O’Neill Forebay

San Luis and O’Neill are Reclamation and DWR facilities and appear on neither Corps sheet, so we still have no independently measured storage here — that has been true every week we have published. The standing pattern: bank stripers around Dinosaur Point on jumbo minnows, anchovies or blood worms; the forebay slowed by thick grass limiting access; trollers grinding between wind windows for a handful of fish and the occasional very large one.

Two things to know before you go. Boat inspections are required on exit at San Luis, O’Neill Forebay and Los Banos Creek — golden mussels were detected at the forebay, and boats leaving will not get a clean-boat tag. And in the south aqueduct in Kern County, the cooler water has kept striper action honest on cut sardines, anchovies or jumbo minnows, with catfish steady on dip bait in the calm water below check gates.

The state publishes a map of the 16 designated aqueduct fishing locations through the Department of Water Resources recreation pages. Worth having on your phone — access is not legal everywhere along that ditch.

Rivers — Measured Flows

River / Gage

Flow (cfs)

Read

Kings — Pine Flat natural flow (above the lake)

185.5

Down from 422.0. That is a 56% cut in one week. The upper Kings is done being generous.

Kings — below North Fork nr Trimmer

236.4

Off from 273.8. Still fishable for the hike-in stretches.

Kings — Pine Flat release (lower Kings)

1,884

Down from 2,174. Getting fresh trout this week. Bank or boat below the dam — do not wade it.

Mill Creek nr Piedra

0.0

Dry.

Kaweah at Three Rivers

40.8

Down from 47.3. Early morning only.

Kaweah at McKay Point

14.0

Reporting again after weeks of “-NR-”.

Kern at Kernville

176.7

Down from 207.6 — second straight drop. Still the best wading water on this list, but shrinking.

Tule — S.F. near Success

3.3

Back after three blank weeks.

Tule — near Springville

9.5

Also reporting again.

Fresno River above Hensley

0.0

Zero, again.

Stanislaus natural flow at New Melones

247

Down from 475 — about half. Less cold water pushing into the lake.

Goodwin release to river

1,388

Up hard from 225. Big change on the lower Stanislaus. Check it before you wade or launch.

Bear Creek at McKee Road

190.4

Off from 217.4.

Tuolumne nat. flow · Merced below McSwain · San Joaquin below Friant · Friant-Kern · Madera Canal

—

All “-NR-” on this cycle’s Section 7 sheet. No current figures published.

Dry Creek nr Lemoncove · Yokohl Creek · Cross Creek

—

Still not reporting.

East Walker at Bridgeport (Eastern Sierra)

—

Not carried on the Corps sheet. Call Ken’s Sporting Goods.

USACE Sacramento District. Gages read at 0700 Aug 26 or as the Aug 25 daily value. Natural-flow figures are computed values, not direct gage readings.

◉ Ocean Report & Charters

Dock Totals — Boat by Boat

Sunday Aug 23 through Tuesday Aug 25 for the northern ports. Central Coast and Southern California are Aug 24 and 25; San Diego is Aug 25. Fish-per-rod is calculated from reported angler counts — on multi-day trips it is per angler for the whole trip, not per day.

Boat / Landing

Anglers

Score

Per Rod

★ R O C K F I S H & L I N G C O D ★

New Huck Finn — Fish Emeryville, Sun 23

270 rockfish, 54 lingcod — double limits

10.0 — limits

Happy Hooker — Berkeley, Sun 23

240 rockfish, 48 lingcod, 1 halibut — double limits

10.0 — limits

Sea Wolf — Fish Emeryville, Tue 25

270 rockfish, 54 lingcod — double limits

10.0 — limits

Sea Wolf — Fish Emeryville, Mon 24

240 rockfish, 48 lingcod — double limits

10.0 — limits

California Dawn II — Berkeley, Sun 23

220 rockfish, 17 lingcod to 18 lb, 1 cabezon to 8 lb

10.0 — limits

Check Mate — Chris’ Fishing Trips, Monterey, Sun 23

210 rockfish, 5 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Sea Wolf — Fish Emeryville, Sun 23

200 rockfish, 30 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Velocity — Stagnaros, Santa Cruz, Sun 23

200 rockfish

10.0 — limits

Goldeneye 2000 — Berkeley Charter Boats, Sun 23

190 rockfish, 38 lingcod — double limits

10.0 — limits

Caroline — Chris’ Fishing Trips, Monterey, Sun 23

180 rockfish, 2 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Pacific Pearl — Emeryville (1/2 day AM), Sun 23

170 rockfish, 3 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Kahuna — J&M, Monterey (1/2 day AM), Sun 23

170 rockfish, 1 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Queen of Hearts — HMB Sportfishing, Sun 23

150 rockfish, 8 bonito

10.0 — limits

New Huck Finn — Fish Emeryville, Mon 24

150 rockfish, 30 lingcod — double limits

10.0 — limits

Queen of Hearts — HMB Sportfishing, Tue 25

140 rockfish, 29 bonito, 5 lingcod

10.0 — limits

New California Dawn — Berkeley, Sun 23

120 rockfish, 15 lingcod to 20 lb

10.0 — limits

Surf Scooter — Bodega Bay Sportfishing, Sun 23

110 rockfish, 15 lingcod to 18 lb

10.0 — limits

Lady K — Emeryville (1/2 day AM), Sun 23

99 rockfish, 10 lingcod, 1 cabezon — one fish short

9.9

Reel Addiction 1 — Berkeley, Mon 24

80 rockfish, 12 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Bass-Tub — San Francisco, Mon 24

80 rockfish, 1 bluefin tuna

10.0 — limits

Queen of Hearts — HMB Sportfishing, Mon 24

70 rockfish, 1 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Caroline — Monterey, Mon 24

60 rockfish, 11 lingcod, 1 petrale sole

10.0 — limits

Argo — Argo Sportfishing, SF, Sun 23

50 rockfish

10.0 — limits

Mega-bite — Monterey Bay Charters, Santa Cruz, Sun 23

50 rockfish

10.0 — limits

Riptide — HMB (deep reef), Sun 23

50 rockfish, 5 released

10.0 — limits

Oakland Anglers II — Emeryville (1/2 AM), Mon 24

199 rockfish, 4 lingcod, 2 halibut, 1 cabezon

9.95

Salmon — Sunday Aug 23 Was the Last Day North of Pigeon Point

Chasin Crustacean — Big C’s, Sausalito, Sun 23

12 king salmon

2.0 — limits

Outer Limits — Big C’s, Sausalito, Sun 23

21 kings, to 20 lb

1.3

Scallywag — Fish Emeryville, Sun 23

8 king salmon

1.3

Hog Heaven — Sausalito, Sun 23

18 kings, 1 bonito

1.3

Oakland Anglers II — Fish Emeryville, Sun 23

15 king salmon

0.9

Diamond — Fish Emeryville, Sun 23

3 kings, 1 bonito

0.5

Six trips, 77 kings on 64 rods — 1.2 a rod, one limit load. Then it stopped. Not a single salmon has been posted anywhere in the northern fleet on Monday or Tuesday, which is exactly what a closure looks like in the counts.

Bluefin & Odds — Northern Fleet

Barbarossa — Santa Cruz, Tue 25

2 bluefin tuna

0.4

Reel Addiction 2 — Berkeley, Mon 24

1 bluefin tuna

0.5

Lady K — Fish Emeryville, Mon 24

1 bluefin tuna

0.2

Happy Hooker — Berkeley, Mon 24

8 sevengill shark, 2 released

1.0

▼ C E N T R A L C O A S T ▼ Aug 24–25

Flying Fish — Patriot Sportfishing, Avila Beach (1/2 day AM), Tue 25

191 rockcod, 5 red, 4 copper — 200 rockfish — plus 1 lingcod

10.0 — limits

One boat. That is the entire Central Coast feed for two days. No Morro Bay counts at all on Monday or Tuesday — no Virg’s, no Morro Bay Landing, no Black Pearl — and nothing else out of Avila. Second straight thin week. If you are planning a trip out of Morro Bay or Port San Luis, call the landing rather than reading a count sheet.

▼ S O U T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A ▼ Aug 24–25

The count feeds report by home port, not by island. Where a trip is island-attributed we have said which island. See the Catalina block below for what the skippers said in their own words.

Thunderbird — Newport Landing (2 day, offshore), Tue 25

80 bluefin tuna, 52 yellowtail, 1 yellowfin

4.0 bluefin

Coral Sea — Santa Barbara Landing (3/4 day), Mon 24

250 rockfish, 95 whitefish, 15 lingcod

10.0 — limits

Coral Sea — Santa Barbara Landing (3/4 day), Tue 25

220 whitefish, 172 rockfish, 7 lingcod

10.0 whitefish

Stardust — Santa Barbara Landing (3/4 day), Tue 25

30 lingcod — full limits — 133 rockfish

2.0 ling — limits

Fury — Dana Wharf, Dana Point (overnight), Tue 25

99 calico, 36 yellowtail, 37 bonito, 27 sheephead, 120 released

4.0 calico

Western Pride — Davey’s Locker, Newport (1/2 AM), Tue 25

145 bonito, 97 yellowtail, 6 calico, 6 whitefish

3.2 bonito

Speed Twin — Channel Islands, Oxnard (1/2 AM), Mon 24

271 rockfish, 225 calico, 18 whitefish

6.0 rockfish

New Del Mar — Marina del Rey (3/4 day), Mon 24

303 rockfish, 25 whitefish, 3 calico

6.7 rockfish

Island Fox — Channel Islands, Oxnard (3/4 day), Tue 25

65 calico bass, 1 dorado

5.0 calico

Eldorado — Long Beach Sportfishing (2 day, offshore), Tue 25

180 whitefish, 65 sculpin, 45 rockfish, 21 sheephead, 6 bluefin

7.5 whitefish

Betty-O — Marina del Rey (3/4 day), Mon 24

190 rockfish

4.3

Western Pride — Davey’s Locker (1/2 AM), Mon 24

195 bonito, 30 yellowtail, 12 whitefish

4.1 bonito

Freelance — Davey’s Locker, Newport (3/4, coastal), Tue 25

165 sculpin, 140 bonito, 8 yellowtail

2.8 sculpin

Amigo — 22nd Street, San Pedro (overnight), Mon 24

37 yellowtail, 2 bluefin, 4 bonito

2.5 yellowtail

Monte Carlo — 22nd Street, San Pedro (1/2 AM), Tue 25

91 calico, 21 whitefish, 6 bonito, 4 sheephead

2.9 calico

Graylight — Channel Islands, Oxnard (full day), Mon 24

12 bluefin tuna, 2 dorado

2.0 bluefin

Blackfish — Davey’s Locker (full day, offshore), Tue 25

12 yellowtail, 12 calico, 1 yellowfin

2.0 yellowtail

Aggressor — Newport Landing (overnight, San Clemente Island), Tue 25

41 calico, 38 bonito, 25 yellowtail, 31 whitefish, 100 released

1.7 yellowtail

Mirage — Channel Islands, Oxnard (overnight), Mon 24

24 bluefin, 50 whitefish, 15 bonito, 12 calico

1.4 bluefin

Toronado — Pierpoint, Long Beach (overnight), Tue 25

109 rockfish, 47 red snapper, 5 dorado, 1 bluefin

3.9 rockfish

Native Sun — 22nd Street, San Pedro (3/4 day), Mon 24

92 calico, 35 bonito, 12 yellowtail

2.2 calico

Victory — Long Beach Sportfishing (3/4 day), Tue 25

72 calico, 48 whitefish, 10 yellowtail, 2 barracuda

1.4 calico

Freedom — 22nd Street, San Pedro (overnight), Tue 25

19 bluefin, 4 yellowfin, 4 bonito, 1 skipjack

0.5 bluefin

Sum Fun — Dana Wharf, Dana Point (full day), Mon 24

20 yellowfin tuna

0.9 yellowfin

▼ S A N D I E G O ▼ Tue Aug 25

Fleet totals Tuesday: 844 yellowtail, 523 yellowfin, 242 bluefin, 201 bonito. That yellowtail number is the biggest single-day figure we have printed all summer.

Pacific Voyager — Seaforth (4 day), Tue 25

135 yellowtail, 54 bluefin, 2 dorado, 2 yellowfin

15.0 yellowtail

Pegasus — Fisherman’s Landing (overnight), Tue 25

170 yellowfin, 68 bluefin

10.0 yellowfin

Little G — H&M Landing (3.5 day), Tue 25

38 yellowtail, 8 bluefin, 8 sand bass, 2 dorado

6.3 yellowtail

Grande — H&M Landing (full day offshore), Tue 25

205 yellowfin tuna, 3 dorado, 3 skipjack

5.0 yellowfin

Producer — H&M Landing (overnight), Tue 25

85 yellowfin, 11 skipjack, 5 dorado

5.0 yellowfin

Voyager — Seaforth (1.5 day), Tue 25

71 yellowtail

4.7 yellowtail

Mission Belle — Point Loma (full day, Coronado Islands), Tue 25

125 yellowtail, 5 bonito, 5 barred sand bass

4.2 yellowtail

New Lo-An — Point Loma (2 day), Tue 25

77 yellowtail to 35 lb, 15 bluefin to 30 lb, 3 dorado

3.7 yellowtail

Point Loma — Point Loma Sportfishing (full day, Coronado Islands), Tue 25

67 yellowtail, 2 halibut

3.7 yellowtail

Tribute — Seaforth (1.5 day), Tue 25

73 rockfish, 50 vermilion, 12 yellowtail, 11 sheephead, 1 lingcod

4.2 bottom fish

San Diego — Seaforth (full day, Coronado Islands), Tue 25

80 yellowtail, 36 bonito, 12 sand bass

2.4 yellowtail

Legend — H&M Landing (2 day), Tue 25

42 yellowtail, 36 bluefin, 3 dorado, 1 yellowfin

2.1 yellowtail

Pacifica — Seaforth (2 day), Tue 25

37 yellowtail, 32 yellowfin, 8 bluefin

1.5 yellowtail

Ocean Odyssey — H&M Landing (1.5 day), Tue 25

35 bluefin, 13 yellowtail, 1 dorado

1.4 bluefin

Excalibur — H&M Landing (1.5 day), Tue 25

30 yellowtail, 1 bluefin

1.4 yellowtail

Liberty — Fisherman’s Landing (full day), Tue 25

41 yellowtail, 15 bonito, 12 sand bass

1.2 yellowtail

Top Gun 80 — H&M Landing (2 day), Tue 25

15 bluefin, 15 yellowtail

0.6 each

Dolphin — Fisherman’s Landing (full day, Coronado Islands), Tue 25

61 bonito, 22 yellowtail

0.5 yellowtail

Nautilus — H&M Landing (overnight), Tue 25

4 dorado, 2 striped marlin released

0.8 dorado

Catalina & the Island Boats

Same answer as last week, and we are going to keep giving it until it changes: we cannot verify a Catalina-attributed count inside this reporting window. Here is exactly what the landings themselves posted.

Boat / Landing

Date

What the skipper actually said

Freedom — 22nd Street, San Pedro

Aug 25

Newest post on the page. “Bluefin are back! We had a great day on today’s overnight trip.” The count feed puts that trip at 19 bluefin on 35 anglers. Offshore, not the island.

Pursuit — 22nd Street, San Pedro

Aug 20

Gus Gutierrez: “Split the day between the local fishing and the island once again and gave our guys plenty of opportunities. Had a steady yellowtail bite for about three hours, hooking close to 70 fish and landing 24.” The most recent island-attributed report on the page — but it is six days old and it says “the island,” not Catalina.

Aggressor — Newport Landing

Aug 24 & 25

Two overnight trips explicitly logged to San Clemente Island — a different island. 25 yellowtail, 41 calico and 38 bonito on 15 rods Tuesday.

Mission Belle · Point Loma · San Diego · Dolphin

Aug 25

Four full-day trips explicitly logged to the Coronado Islands, and they were the day’s best local yellowtail: 125 fish on 30 rods, 67 on 18, 80 on 34, 22 on 42.

What we can say honestly: boats working island and near-island water are on yellowtail, calico, barracuda and bonito, the yellowtail grade is very good, and the two islands actually named in this window are San Clemente and the Coronados. We checked one aggregator report headlined “Pursuit Catalina Island Wrap-up” and found it was dated April 1, 2026 — five months stale — which is a good illustration of why we do not repeat these. Sources checked Aug 26: 22ndstreet.com fish reports, SoCalFishReports.com and SanDiegoFishReports.com boat-by-boat counts, 976-TUNA post archive.

What the numbers say. The northern fleet is now a rockfish fleet, full stop. Across Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we counted 26 rockfish trips and 24 of them hit exactly ten a rod; the two that missed were off by one fish apiece — 99 on the Lady K and 199 on the Oakland Anglers II. Six of those boats also came in with full two-fish lingcod limits, and the ling grade is real — 18 and 20 pounders on the Berkeley and Bodega boats. Bluefin, which led this newsletter two weeks ago, has gone quiet up north: four boats, four fish, across three days.

Down south it is a yellowtail story and it is getting louder. San Diego posted 844 yellowtail Tuesday. The Coronado Islands day boats did most of that work, and Pacific Voyager came home off a four-day with 135 yellowtail and 54 bluefin for nine anglers. Nine hours from Fresno and a different kind of trip — but if you have ever thought about it, this is the week the grade justifies the drive.

Two source notes. The Relentless out of H&M posted a 2.5-day trip with 17 anglers and no count at all — we have left it out rather than guess. And the Tribute’s “4.2 bottom fish” per rod combines its 73 rockfish and 50 vermilion, because vermilion are a sub-limit inside the rockfish aggregate, not a separate species column; if you count only the line item marked “rockfish,” it is 2.5 a rod.

⏰ The Season Clock — Verify Before Every Trip

Ocean Salmon — Recreational

Area

Status

Harvest Guideline

Pigeon Point – Mexico border (Monterey & south)

OPEN — 6 days left

21,800 Chinook

Point Arena – Pigeon Point (San Francisco)

CLOSED as of Aug 24

34,900 — 26,984 taken to Aug 15

40°10′ – Point Arena (Fort Bragg)

CLOSED — concluded for 2026

5,100 Chinook

OR/CA border – 40°10′ (KMZ)

CLOSED — guideline attained

3,900 Chinook

Fall Season — Opens Tuesday, September 1

38°02′N (near Point Reyes) – Pigeon Point

Sept 1 – Oct 31

20,000 Chinook shared

Pigeon Point – Mexico border

Sept 1 – Sept 30

20,000 Chinook shared

Six days. Counting today through August 31 inclusive, that is what is left of the summer season, and only south of Pigeon Point. The August 19 inseason action by NMFS superseded the end dates we published last week — that is exactly the risk we flag every issue, and this week it landed. Another closure can arrive with a day’s notice if the Monterey guideline fills.
Bag limit 2 salmon, no coho. Minimum size 20 inches. Two barbless single-point single-shank hooks north of Point Conception; barbless circle hooks required when fishing bait by any means other than trolling between 40°10′ and Point Conception. No filleting on the boat.
The fall guideline is 20,000 fish shared across both areas and it can close either one early. Commercial fishing is closed statewide for the rest of August and reopens in September for the 38°02′N to Pigeon Point subarea.
Salmon hotline: (707) 576-3429. Call it the morning you go. This week that is not boilerplate.

Rockfish — North of Point Conception

10 fish per day aggregate. Within that: canary rockfish 2, copper rockfish 1, vermilion rockfish 4.
No retention: quillback, cowcod, yelloweye, bronzespotted. With nearly every boat on the coast putting up full limits right now, the sub-limits are what will bite you — know copper and vermilion on sight before you drop. Depth restrictions apply and vary by management area; check the current groundfish regulations for the water you are fishing.

◉ Tide Tables — Aug 26 – Sep 2

NOAA harmonic predictions, MLLW datum, local time. Minus lows in red. Predictions run about ±10 minutes and ±0.5 ft; sustained wind and river flow move them further. The source publishes two highs and two lows per day, so a late-evening high occasionally falls off the end of a row — today at the Gate is one of those days, and we have noted it.

San Francisco / Golden Gate — Station 9414290

Date

High 1

High 2

Low 1

Low 2

Wed 26

—

12:10p — 4.9*

5:11a — −0.1

5:04p — 2.5

Thu 27

—

12:34p — 5.0

5:40a — −0.1

5:39p — 2.2

Fri 28

—

12:58p — 5.2

6:09a — 0.0

6:16p — 1.9

Sat 29

12:26a — 5.7

1:23p — 5.5

6:37a — 0.3

6:55p — 1.5

Sun 30

1:10a — 5.5

1:49p — 5.7

7:07a — 0.7

7:37p — 1.2

Mon 31

2:00a — 5.1

2:18p — 5.9

7:39a — 1.2

8:25p — 0.9

Tue Sep 1

2:57a — 4.7

2:52p — 6.0

8:14a — 1.8

9:19p — 0.7

Wed Sep 2

4:06a — 4.3

3:32p — 6.1

8:54a — 2.4

10:23p — 0.5

* Today also carries a 6.0 ft high at 11:03 p.m. that falls off the end of the two-column row. That is the biggest high of the window and it pairs with this morning’s −0.1 to give a 6.1-foot range — the widest swing in these eight days.

Port Chicago / West Delta — Station 9415144

Date

High 1

High 2

Low 1

Low 2

Wed 26

12:44a — 4.9

2:33p — 4.2

8:22a — 0.0

7:49p — 1.8

Thu 27

1:25a — 4.9

3:01p — 4.2

8:50a — 0.1

8:32p — 1.6

Fri 28

2:07a — 4.8

3:23p — 4.3

9:13a — 0.2

9:12p — 1.3

Sat 29

2:49a — 4.7

3:40p — 4.5

9:34a — 0.3

9:52p — 1.1

Sun 30

3:34a — 4.5

3:59p — 4.7

9:57a — 0.5

10:34p — 0.9

Mon 31

4:23a — 4.2

4:25p — 5.0

10:26a — 0.7

11:20p — 0.8

Tue Sep 1

5:20a — 3.9

4:59p — 5.3

11:01a — 1.0

—

Wed Sep 2

6:31a — 3.6

5:40p — 5.4

12:16a — 0.8

11:43a — 1.4

Monterey — Station 9413450

Date

High 1

High 2

Low 1

Low 2

Wed 26

11:04a — 4.1

9:57p — 5.6

4:30a — −0.1

3:55p — 2.4

Thu 27

11:25a — 4.3

10:35p — 5.5

4:59a — −0.1

4:35p — 2.1

Fri 28

11:47a — 4.5

11:14p — 5.3

5:26a — 0.1

5:16p — 1.8

Sat 29

—

12:11p — 4.8

5:53a — 0.4

6:01p — 1.6

Sun 30

—

12:37p — 5.0

6:20a — 0.8

6:48p — 1.3

Mon 31

12:45a — 4.6

1:06p — 5.3

6:47a — 1.3

7:42p — 1.1

Tue Sep 1

1:43a — 4.1

1:41p — 5.5

7:16a — 1.8

8:43p — 0.9

Wed Sep 2

2:57a — 3.6

2:23p — 5.6

7:48a — 2.3

9:56p — 0.7

Port San Luis / Avila — Station 9412110

Date

High 1

High 2

Low 1

Low 2

Wed 26

10:31a — 4.1

9:32p — 5.7

4:04a — −0.2

3:28p — 2.3

Thu 27

10:52a — 4.3

10:07p — 5.6

4:31a — −0.1

4:05p — 2.0

Fri 28

11:15a — 4.5

10:45p — 5.4

4:57a — 0.0

4:46p — 1.7

Sat 29

11:40a — 4.8

11:27p — 5.0

5:23a — 0.3

5:29p — 1.5

Sun 30

—

12:07p — 5.0

5:49a — 0.7

6:17p — 1.3

Mon 31

12:14a — 4.6

12:36p — 5.3

6:16a — 1.2

7:10p — 1.1

Tue Sep 1

1:09a — 4.0

1:10p — 5.4

6:43a — 1.7

8:12p — 0.9

Wed Sep 2

2:20a — 3.5

1:52p — 5.5

7:12a — 2.3

9:30p — 0.8

Clam diggers: this is a two-morning window and then it is over. The minus tides run today and Thursday only — −0.2 ft at 4:04 a.m. Wednesday at Port San Luis, −0.1 at Monterey and the Gate both mornings. Friday is a flat 0.0 and after that the morning lows climb every day. Port Chicago never goes minus in this window at all. The next real minus-tide run does not arrive until the first week of September. If you were planning to dig, go before Friday. Confirm the current health advisory and any closures before you do.

◉ Moon Phase & Best Days

Phase computed from a 29.530588853-day synodic month against the January 6, 2000 reference new moon. Full moon falls Thursday evening the 27th, about 7 p.m., and last quarter does not arrive until Friday, September 4 — after this window closes. The almanac convention brackets the full moon, which puts the strongest days at the very front of this issue and walks them down from there. This is the mirror image of last week: fish it now, not later.

Date

Illumination

Rating

Notes — Solunar Majors vs. Sunrise & Tide

Wed 26

99% waxing

★★★★★ Best

Best day of the window and it is today. −0.1 ft at 5:11 a.m. at the Gate against a 6.0 ft high at 11:03 p.m. — a 6.1-foot range, the widest in eight days. Majors near 11:15 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. Hard outgoing through sunrise at 6:35.

Thu 27

100% full

★★★★★ Best

Full moon about 7 p.m. Second and last minus tide of the run — −0.1 ft at 5:40 a.m. Majors near midnight and noon, which puts the midday major square on the low-to-incoming turn. Fish first light and again around 12:30.

Fri 28

99% waning

★★★★☆ Very Good

Still a 5.2-foot range at the Gate. Low drops to a flat 0.0 ft at 6:09 a.m. — the last of the big morning drains. Majors near 12:52 a.m. and 12:52 p.m. Best remaining weekday.

Sat 29

95% waning

★★★★☆ Very Good

The weekend day to take. Two highs, 5.7 ft at 12:26 a.m. and 5.5 ft at 1:23 p.m., against a 0.3 ft low at 6:37 a.m. Majors near 1:41 a.m. and 1:41 p.m. Also the biggest tournament Saturday of the month inland — Pine Flat, Nacimiento and two Delta events.

Sun 30

90% waning

★★★☆☆ Good

Range narrowing to 5.0 ft. Low up to 0.7 ft. Majors near 2:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Ordinary good day — go early.

Mon 31

82% waning

★★★☆☆ Good

Last day of the summer salmon season south of Pigeon Point. High 5.9 ft at 2:18 p.m., low 1.2 ft at 7:39 a.m. Majors near 3:19 a.m. and 3:19 p.m. If you want one, this is the last legal morning.

Tue Sep 1

74% waning

★★★☆☆ Good

Fall salmon season opens. 6.0 ft high at 2:52 p.m., lows a modest 1.8 and 0.7. Majors near 4:07 a.m. and 4:07 p.m. Moon is fading but the afternoon tide is strong and the season is brand new — expect a crowd.

Wed Sep 2

64% waning

★★☆☆☆ Fair

Biggest high of the whole window — 6.1 ft at 3:32 p.m. — but paired with a 2.4 ft morning low, so the useful drain is late. Majors near 4:56 a.m. and 4:56 p.m. Waning toward last quarter Friday. Afternoon fishery.

Sunrise at the Gate runs 6:35 a.m. Aug 26 to 6:41 a.m. Sep 2; sunset 7:48 p.m. to 7:37 p.m. Central Valley times run a few minutes earlier at sunrise and later at sunset. Illumination is the mean-synodic value at evening and can differ two or three points from published almanacs. Solunar major timing is estimated from lunar transit, not measured — treat the times as approximate and the rating as a tiebreaker, not a guarantee.

◉ Fish Stocking Report

This is the best stocking week we have printed since June, and two of the plants matter to Valley anglers directly. CDFW has the Kings River below Pine Flat Dam on the list — posted under Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties — and the San Joaquin River South Fork across six counties from Fresno all the way down to Contra Costa. Add Mono Creek and Portal Forebay up the Kaiser Pass road, and ten Mono County waters over the hill. The usual August caveat still applies to still water: CDFW does not put catchable trout in valley-floor lakes in August because the lakes will not keep them alive. But moving water is a different story this week.

CDFW posts plants as week ranges, not specific dates. Week of Aug 23–29, 2026. All rainbow trout unless noted. Pound totals were not published for any CDFW water.

County

Waters Planted

Species

Fresno

Kings River below Pine Flat Dam · San Joaquin River South Fork · Mono Creek · Portal Forebay

Rainbow trout

Kings

Kings River below Pine Flat Dam

Rainbow trout

Tulare

Kings River below Pine Flat Dam · Deer Creek

Rainbow trout

Madera

San Joaquin River South Fork · Rock Creek Sections 1 & 2

Rainbow trout

Merced · Stanislaus · San Joaquin · Contra Costa

San Joaquin River South Fork (Contra Costa also Deer Creek)

Rainbow trout

Mono

Twin Lake Upper & Lower (Bridgeport) · Big Virginia & Little Virginia · Robinson Creek · Trumbull Lake · Owens River Section 2 · Rock Creek Sections 1 & 2 · West Walker River Section 2

Rainbow trout

Alpine · El Dorado · Placer · Sacramento · Sierra

East, West Carson & Markleeville Creek · American River Silver Fork · Gold Lake

Rainbow trout

Shasta · Tehama · Lassen

Hat Creek (Upper & Middle) · Burney Creek Lower · Rock Creek · Battle Creek South Fork · Deer Creek · Clear Creek · Goodrich Creek Lower

Rainbow trout

Alameda

Lake Temescal — 500 lb, stocked by EBRPD, not CDFW

Channel catfish

Kern: no plants reported this week. Expected for August.

CDFW regional plant lines:
Central Region — (559) 243-4005 ext. 151
North Central Region — (916) 351-0832
Bay Delta Region — (707) 944-5581

◉ Tournament Board

This Coverage Window — Aug 26 through Sep 2

Date

Water

Host

Wed Aug 26

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

Open event, no sponsor listed

Thu Aug 27

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

Tracy Oasis Marina

Fri Aug 28

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

Tracy Oasis Marina

Aug 28–29

Lake Amador

Oro Madre Bass Anglers — permit now Approved

Aug 28–29

Castaic Lake

American Bass

Aug 29–30

Pine Flat Lake

Fresno Bass Club

Sat Aug 29

Lake Nacimiento

SLO County Bass Ambushers

Sat Aug 29

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

NorCal Bass

Sat Aug 29

Delta (Contra Costa Co.)

Discovery Bay Community Foundation

Sat Aug 29

Lake Oroville

Paradise Bass Club

Sat Aug 29

Highland Springs Reservoir

Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club

Aug 29–30

Trinity Lake

Red Bluff Bass Anglers

Aug 29–30

Shasta Lake

Shasta Cascade Bass Anglers

Aug 29–30

San Vicente Reservoir

East County Bait and Tackle

Aug 29–30

Lake Piru

National Bass Association West

Wed Sep 2

Folsom Lake

Folsom Rats

Saturday the 29th is the busiest day on this board since June — eleven permitted events on the water at once, three of them on water we cover. If you are fishing Pine Flat, Nacimiento or the Delta on Saturday and you are not in a tournament, expect the ramps to be full before daylight and plan accordingly. Everything above is Approved status in the CDFW permit database. Permits get amended and cancelled — confirm with the host club before you tow a boat anywhere.

📅 Mark the Calendar — Central Valley & Central Coast

Date

Water

Host

Sep 5

New Hogan Lake

Manteca Bassin’ Buddies

Sep 5–6

Pine Flat Lake

BASS 101

Sep 9–12

Shaver Lake

Kokanee Power — four-day permit

Sep 13

Bass Lake (Madera Co.)

Kings VIII Bass Club

Sep 18–20

Don Pedro Reservoir

Bass Angler Inc.

Sep 19

Lake Success

Golden Empire Bass Club

Sep 19

Lopez Lake

Kern County Bassmasters

Sep 19

Isabella Lake

American Bass

Sep 19

Lake McClure

Sonora Bass Anglers

Sep 19

Don Pedro Reservoir

All American Bass Club

Sep 19

San Antonio Lake

SLO County Bass Ambushers

Sep 19

Santa Margarita Lake

Bakersfield Bass Club

Sep 19–20

Santa Margarita Lake

Orange County Bass Club

Sep 26

Lake McClure

17-90 Bass Club

Sep 26

Don Pedro Reservoir

Oro Madre Bass Anglers

Sep 26–27

Don Pedro Reservoir

Sierra Bass Club

Oct 3

Pine Flat Lake

BASS 101

Oct 3

Isabella Lake

Cope’s Tackle and Rod

Oct 4

Millerton Lake

BASS 101

Oct 10

Pine Flat Lake

Golden Empire Bass Club

Oct 10

Bass Lake (Madera Co.)

Kerman Bass Club

Oct 11

Lake McClure

Kings VIII Bass Club

Oct 17

Lake Nacimiento

Gilroy Bassmasters

Oct 17–18

Lake Success

Ducks Unlimited

Oct 17–18

Lake McClure

River Bank Bass Anglers

Oct 24

Pine Flat Lake

Bakersfield Bass Club

Source: CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, pulled Aug 26. All events shown are Approved status. Note the Shaver date. Several calendars list the Kokanee Power event as September 7; the permit database has it as a four-day event, September 9 through 12. We print what the permit says and recommend you confirm with the club. Permits get amended and cancelled — call before you tow.

Did We Miss Your Water?

Tell us about water we are not covering. The Eastern Sierra section and the Southern California dock totals — San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport, Dana Point, San Diego — are here because readers wrote in and asked. Say the word and yours could be next.

Tell Us What We Missed

Rather talk it through? (559) 816-3889.

⚠ Heat & Water Safety — Late August

Pine Flat is under twenty percent and has dropped sixteen and a half feet in fifteen days. That is the most dangerous number in this issue. Rock, stump and old roadbed that were well under your hull three weeks ago are at prop depth now, and the ramps are ending in dirt. Idle in, watch the sounder, and throw out every waypoint you set before August.

Goodwin release jumped from 225 to 1,388 cfs. That is a six-fold increase on the lower Stanislaus in one week and it is exactly the kind of change that catches waders and bank anglers out. Check it before you step in.

The lower Kings is at 1,884 cfs and getting planted this week. Fresh trout will pull people to the bank. It is still not a wading flow. Bank or boat below the dam, and wear the vest.

Fire danger is extreme in the high country. That is the ranger district’s wording, not ours. If you are headed to Edison, Florence, Mammoth Pool, Wishon, Courtright or Portal Forebay, check road and fire status before you leave and know your second way out.

Eastern Sierra? Different risks. Afternoon thunderstorms build fast over the crest, there is no cell coverage in the canyons, and altitude is real above 9,000 feet. Tell somebody your route and be off exposed water when the clouds stack up.

Heat. Valley afternoons are still the real risk on this list. Off the water by mid-morning or fish the evening. Water, shade, a hat, and somebody who knows where you went.

Two things to act on, and both of them are time-sensitive in a way this newsletter usually is not. If you want a king off a party boat this summer, you have six days and you have to launch south of Pigeon Point. San Francisco is closed and it closed a week ahead of the schedule we printed last Wednesday. Call the hotline before you drive.

And if you would rather fill a sack than chase one fish, go this week rather than next. The rockfish bite is at full limits on essentially every boat from Bodega to Avila, and the moon and tide both peak in the first three days of this window instead of the last three. After Thursday morning it flattens out. We do not usually say “go now” — this week we are saying it.

Tight lines,

Bryan Mello
B Mello Ag Services · Central Valley, California

(559) 816-3889
bryan@bmelloag.com

Sources used for this issue: Tide predictions are NOAA CO-OPS harmonic predictions retrieved through US Harbors for stations 9414290 San Francisco, 9415144 Port Chicago, 9413450 Monterey and 9412110 Port San Luis — the NOAA data API was again not reachable from our tooling this week, so we used the US Harbors monthly tables, which cite the NOAA station IDs directly, and spot-checked the San Francisco rows against the same page’s published daily figures · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District daily reservoir reports, Corps and Section 7, data ending midnight Aug 25 and generated Aug 26 at 08:00 and 08:01 · NorCalFishReports.com boat-by-boat dock totals for Aug 23, 24 and 25 · SoCalFishReports.com dock totals for Aug 24 and 25 · SanDiegoFishReports.com boat-by-boat counts for Aug 25 · landing-level skipper reports from 22ndstreet.com and the 976-TUNA post archive for the Catalina block, read Aug 26 · CDFW Marine Management News, “Inseason Ocean Salmon Changes Announced for August,” published Aug 21, 2026, reporting the NMFS action of Aug 19 — this is the source for the San Francisco closure and the fall season dates · CDFW Ocean Salmon Fishery Information page · CDFW fish plant listings for the week of Aug 23–29 as published through NorCalFishReports.com · CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, pulled Aug 26 (upcoming events only — we do not carry a results table, because host clubs do not publish weights on any schedule we can verify) · Snoflo reservoir reports for Nacimiento, Lopez, San Antonio and Santa Margarita. Moon phase computed from the synodic month against the Jan 6, 2000 reference new moon. No fresh regional freshwater column was available inside this window — the Central California report we normally draw guide quotes from publishes on Thursdays, and we did not reuse last week’s.

Please read: Conditions, seasons, bag limits and closures change — sometimes with a single day’s notice. This week is the proof: the San Francisco salmon dates we published on August 19 were superseded by federal inseason action on the same day. Eastern Sierra waters carry their own special regulations that differ from statewide rules, and the white sturgeon catch-and-release decision described above is not in effect until the Office of Administrative Law acts. Everything here is a snapshot of what the public data said when this was written on Wednesday morning. Confirm current regulations with CDFW at wildlife.ca.gov, call the salmon hotline at (707) 576-3429 before an ocean trip, and verify ramp access and lake levels with the operating agency before you travel. Where a figure was stale, missing, or in conflict with another published source, we said so and date-stamped it rather than guessing.