The Weekly Fishing Report

Name: B. Mello Ag Services
Address: 5771 7th Avenue, Hanford, CA, 93230, US
Telephone: (559) 816-3889
Price range: $$

Wednesday, September 9 – Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Central Valley · Sierra · Eastern Sierra · Delta · Coast | Issue 26-36

SALMON WENT 0.78 TO 1.08 TO 1.90 A ROD IN THREE DAYS • 11 OF 14 BOATS LIMITED TUESDAY, 34-POUNDER AT SAUSALITO • NEW MOON FRIDAY 1:29 P.M. — BEST FIVE DAYS OF THE MONTH • LAST MINUS TIDES THIS MORNING AND THURSDAY • PINE FLAT UNDER 16%, OFF 13,651 AF IN SEVEN DAYS • SHAVER, DON PEDRO AND McCLURE ALL WENT DARK ON THE CORPS SHEET

All Fishing Reports

Last week we told you the fall opener limited out and then the bite went quiet. It did — for two days. Sunday the northern fleet managed 146 kings on 186 anglers, 0.78 a rod. Monday it firmed to 206 on 191, 1.08. Then Tuesday happened: 275 kings on 145 anglers — 1.90 a rod, with eleven of fourteen boats at exactly two apiece. The bite did not recover. It tripled.

Outer Limits out of Sausalito had the fish of the week at 34 pounds, on a boat that also went 22-for-11 — limits and the big fish on the same trip. Lovely Martha put 41 on 22 rods with a 32-pounder. New Easy Rider 40 on 20. California Dawn II 36 on 18. Fish Emeryville led their Wednesday post with “RED HOT SALMON BITE YESTERDAY!!” and Allen Chin filed “outstanding limits style fishing today.” Salty Lady, on Monday, had already called it: “Get ‘em while we still can.”

The timing this week is unusually clean, and it cuts two ways. The new moon lands Friday at 1:29 p.m., which by every almanac convention puts the best five days of the month squarely inside this window. But the minus tides are leaving, not arriving — this morning and tomorrow morning are the last two below-zero lows of the cycle, and by Sunday the morning low is a lazy plus-one. If you were waiting for the deep water to drain, you waited too long. If you were waiting for the moon, you timed it perfectly.

Inland the news is thinner, and some of it is that there is no news. Pine Flat gave up another 13,651 acre-feet and is under sixteen percent. The Kings natural flow, the Tule and the Kaweah’s Dry Creek gauge all came back “not reported” this morning, and the Section 7 sheet dropped Shaver, Don Pedro, McClure and the McSwain release entirely. We are not going to invent those. Details, and what we could not get, in Water Watch.

◉ This Week’s Best Bets

● No. 1 — Salmon

The Bite Tripled in Three Days

Tuesday: New Easy Rider 40 kings on 20 rods. California Dawn II 36 on 18. Outer Limits 22 on 11 with a 34-pounder. Lovely Martha 41 on 22 with a 32. Pacific Pearl 20 on 10. Eleven of fourteen boats at exactly two a rod. Berkeley went four-for-four. Book it — the fall guideline is 20,000 fish shared across both open areas.

● No. 2 — Moon & Tide

New Moon Friday, and the Minus Tides Are Leaving

New moon Friday Sep 11 at 1:29 p.m. PDT. The almanac window brackets it: Wednesday through Sunday, peaking Thursday to Saturday. But the below-zero lows end tomorrow — Golden Gate is −0.47 ft this morning and −0.25 ft Thursday, then positive. Thursday is the one day this week that is both a moon day and a minus-tide day.

● No. 3 — Bottom Fish

Straight Limits, and Nobody Is Out There

Every boat that bothered came in full. Sea Wolf 240 rockfish and 48 lingcod on 24 rods — ten and two, both limits. New Huck Finn 190 and 38 on 19, same. Queen of Hearts 110 on 11. Kahuna 100 on 10. All exactly 10.00 a rod. The salmon opener pulled the fleet off the reef and the reef did not notice.

● No. 4 — San Diego

Yellowfin at Five a Rod, Overnight

Producer came off an overnight with 95 yellowfin and 25 skipjack on 19 rods — 5.00 yellowfin a rod. Old Glory 65 on 13, also 5.00. Highliner 150 yellowfin and 46 bluefin on 21 over two days. You do not need a three-day trip for this one; the overnight boats are getting it.

⚠ Water Watch — Flows & Levels

Pine Flat gave up 13,651 acre-feet in seven days and sits at 15.9% of gross pool, elevation 742.47 — down almost six feet from last Tuesday. It is releasing 1,690 cfs against 862 cfs of inflow, so it is losing roughly twice what it takes in. This is the lowest we have printed it this year.

Last week’s river reversal reversed back. The Kings below the North Fork near Trimmer is 233.1 cfs, down from 285.9. The Kern at Kernville is 184.1, down from 189.3. Both had come up the week before; both gave it back. Kernville is still the friendliest wading water on this list, but it is trending the wrong way again.

What the Corps did not report this morning. Kings River natural flow into Pine Flat: not reported. Both Tule River gauges: not reported. Dry Creek near Lemoncove: not reported. We carried a natural-flow figure last week and we cannot carry one this week. The Kaweah at Three Rivers did report, at 42.4 cfs, and McKay Point at 20.0. The Fresno River above Hensley is zero for the seventh straight week. Mill Creek near Piedra is dry.

On the Stanislaus, the Goodwin release held at 202 cfs — exactly where last week’s seven-fold cut left it. Stanislaus natural flow at New Melones is 418 cfs. Flat is good news after a drop like that; it means the operators are done moving it for now. Look at it anyway before you launch.

◉ Lakes & Reservoirs

Reservoir Levels

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, data ending midnight September 8. The Corps sheet regenerated this morning at 07:00 and the Section 7 sheet at 07:01 — both current. Percent full is against gross pool. Storage change is the Corps’ own one-day figure, not our arithmetic.

Water

Elev (ft)

Storage (AF)

% Full

1-Day Change

Pine Flat

742.47

159,487

15.9%

↓ 1,680 AF

Millerton (Friant)

—

233,206

44.8%

↓ 554 AF

Kaweah (Terminus)

604.09

22,661

12.2%

↓ 55 AF

Success (Schafer) †

604.41

15,134

18.4%

↓ 135 AF

Isabella

2,559.74

165,962

29.2%

↓ 767 AF

Eastman (Buchanan)

466.51

10,398

6.9%

↓ 6 AF — outflow 0

Hensley (Hidden)

453.71

6,760

7.5%

↓ 3 AF — flat

New Hogan

670.11

163,462

—

↓ 385 AF

New Melones

—

1,554,302

64.8%

Change 0 — flat

Bass Lake (Crane Valley)

—

37,779

83.2%

Not published

Tulloch

—

64,465

—

Change 0 — flat

Reported no data this morning

Shaver · Don Pedro · McClure (New Exchequer) · Huntington · Florence · Edison · Mammoth Pool · McSwain release
Don Pedro and New Exchequer came back “No Project Data Available at this Time.” Shaver, Huntington, Florence, Edison, Mammoth Pool and the flow below McSwain all returned “-NR-”. This is worse than last week — we carried Shaver, Don Pedro and McClure last issue on two-day-old CDEC numbers, and CDEC did not come through for us this morning either. We are not reprinting eight-day-old figures as if they were this week’s. If you are towing to any of these, call the operating agency.

† Success is shown against an 82,300 AF gross pool. A dam raise may have added roughly 28,000 AF — verify with the Corps before quoting that percentage anywhere it matters.
Week over week, off the same Corps sheet: Pine Flat −13,651 AF · Millerton −6,531 · New Melones −6,470 · Isabella −6,380 · New Hogan −2,809 · Success −951 · Kaweah −584 · Bass Lake −164 · Eastman −53 · Hensley −41. Every water on the sheet fell. Not one gained.
The conflicting-numbers note stands. A widely read regional column publishes materially different elevations and percentages for several of these waters. Those do not reconcile with the Corps daily sheet, which is what we print and which is internally consistent week to week.

Bite Report

Water

What’s Going On

Pine Flat

King salmon remain the reason to go — deep, 60 to 100 feet, and the fish are stacked because the lake keeps shrinking around them. Spotted bass are on the main-lake points early and deep by nine. At 15.9% the hazards are the story: see the safety bar. Two-day Sierra-area events have been running on this water; expect company.

Millerton

44.8% and easing slowly — only 554 AF off overnight, the mildest decline on the sheet in percentage terms. Stripers early on the San Joaquin arm, spotted bass on the rock. Skip the middle of the day.

Don Pedro

No level published this morning — second week in a row the Corps sheet has no Don Pedro row, and CDEC did not fill the gap. King salmon and kokanee are the traditional September draw down 40 to 70 feet. Three-day and one-day tournaments are both booked here Sep 18–20. Call the marina for ramp status before you tow.

New Melones

The steadiest big water on the page — 64.8% and the Corps recorded zero storage change overnight. Trout and kokanee down 60 to 90 feet, catfish after dark in the coves, spotted bass on the points. If you want a lake that is not actively falling out from under you, this is it.

McClure (New Exchequer)

No data published. A one-day bass event is scheduled here Sep 19. We have no current storage, no elevation and no ramp intelligence to give you.

McSwain

Flow below McSwain returned “-NR-”. McSwain normally holds cold water and trout through September regardless of what McClure does above it, and it stays a reasonable fallback when the big lake is ugly — but we cannot confirm a release figure this week.

Eastman (Buchanan)

6.9% and outflow is zero — the lake is essentially static, losing 6 AF a day to evaporation. Bass fishing here has been a legitimate September bright spot in the regional columns. Small water, concentrated fish, but check the ramp: at this level several are on dirt.

Hensley (Hidden)

7.5%, outflow zero, down 3 AF. The Fresno River above it has been at zero for seven weeks. Bass and catfish for the patient; this is a puddle with fish in it right now.

Kaweah (Terminus)

12.2% — the lowest percentage on this page. Inflow 54 cfs against 75 out. Bass early, catfish at night. The Kaweah at Three Rivers is 42.4 cfs, and at that level the upper river is more of a walk than a float.

Success (Schafer)

18.4% against the old gross pool. Down 951 AF on the week. Bass and crappie around whatever structure is still submerged. A club event is booked here Sep 19.

Shaver

No storage published for the second straight week. Shaver is the classic September kokanee and trout lake at 5,370 feet and the elevation alone makes it worth the drive when the valley is baking. But we have no number for you, and the road and fire notes in the safety bar apply.

Wishon & Courtright

High-country granite at 6,500 and 8,200 feet, and the coolest fishable water on this list. Trout hold shallow morning and evening this time of year. Neither is on the Corps sheet, so we have no storage figures — but these are the two waters where the level matters least and the drive matters most. Check road and fire status before you leave.

Central Coast

Read the metric column. Percent of normal is the historical average for the date — not percent of capacity. The two are not comparable, and 129% does not mean over-full.

Water

Storage (AF)

Metric

As Of

Lopez Lake ‡

48,679

129% of normal for the date

Sep 9

Nacimiento — no current storage recovered. We reached the lake association page, which points at Monterey County’s reservoir data sheet rather than publishing a figure. Third straight week with no number we will stand behind.

San Antonio — the only figure available anywhere we can reach is still 270,863 AF, 148% of normal, stamped August 2. That is now five and a half weeks old and it has not moved since we first flagged it. We print the date so you can see the problem; do not treat it as current.

Santa Margarita — fifth straight week with no storage, no elevation and no percent of normal. Call San Luis Obispo County Parks before you tow a boat.

‡ Read this one carefully. The Lopez figure above is dated today and is the freshest Central Coast number we have. But it does not sit comfortably next to what we printed last week — 39,841 AF from CDEC on Sep 1, which we called 81% of capacity against a roughly 49,200 AF pool. A jump to 48,679 AF in eight days, in September, with no rain, is not physically plausible. The aggregator we pulled today also lists a “record maximum” for Lopez that is nearly five times the reservoir’s own capacity, which suggests its Lopez feed may be crossed with a different gauge. We are printing it because it is what the source says today, and flagging it because we do not believe the two numbers can both be right. Treat Lopez as unverified this week and call the county.

◉ Eastern Sierra

This is the week the east side earns the drive. September nights in the 30s and 40s put cold water back on top, the summer crowds are gone after Labor Day, and CDFW is still planting up here while the valley floor gets nothing. Mono County took nine separate plants this week — more than any other county in the state on this week’s list.

Water

What’s Going On

June Lake Loop

June, Gull, Silver and Grant. The fall pattern is on: fish shallow at first light and again the last hour, deeper and slower through the middle. Rush Creek between Silver and Grant fished well through the Loop’s plants. Grant is the big-fish water of the four.

Lee Vining Creek

Planted this week — both the main creek and the South Fork. Small water, fresh fish, easy access off 120. Best pocket water on the whole east side for somebody who wants to catch a few without a boat.

Upper Owens (above Crowley)

Planted this week. This is the water that changes character in September as fish start staging out of Crowley. Special regulations apply and they are not the statewide rules — sections carry gear restrictions and different limits, and some of it shifts on the calendar. Read the sign at the access you use.

Owens — Sections 2 & 3, and below Tinemaha

All three planted this week. Below Tinemaha is the lowest-elevation piece and fishes best early. Section 2 and Section 3 both took fish.

Crowley

Not on this week’s plant list, but the September perch-and-trout pattern at the north end is the reason people come. Crowley has its own regulations, including gear and bag rules that differ from statewide and that change through the season. Check before you launch, every time.

Saddlebag Lake

Planted this week. At 10,000 feet this is the highest drive-to water in California and it is spectacular in September. It is also the first to get weathered out — check the road.

Mary Lake

Planted this week. Mammoth Lakes basin, easy access, family water.

West Walker (Sections 2 & 3)

Both sections planted this week. The road-accessible pull-offs along 395 north of Walker get hit hard on weekends; go a hundred yards either direction and you are usually alone.

Bridgeport Reservoir & the East Walker

Neither appears on this week’s plant list. Bridgeport’s big browns start moving in September and the East Walker below the dam is the marquee wild-trout water of the region. The East Walker carries special regulations — gear restrictions and a reduced limit that are not the statewide rules. This is the single most-cited regulation on the east side and the one people get wrong. Read the sign.

Eastern Sierra waters carry special regulations that differ from statewide rules — gear restrictions, reduced limits, catch-and-release sections and seasonal date changes, and they vary reach by reach on the same river. Nothing in this section replaces the current regulation booklet or the sign at the access. CDFW North Central plant line: (916) 351-0832.

◉ Delta, Rivers & Aqueduct

Water

What’s Going On

The Delta

September is when the Delta turns back into a striper fishery. Port Chicago is the tide station that matters here, and it has minus lows this morning (−0.12 ft at 7:53 a.m.) and tomorrow (−0.01 ft at 8:30 a.m.) — then nothing below zero for the rest of the window. Those two mornings are your best moving water. Largemouth are on the outside weed edges early; the frog bite is still worth an hour at first light before the sun gets on it. This is the busiest tournament water in the state right now — see the Tournament Board; there are nine separate permitted events on Delta water on Saturday the 19th alone.

California Aqueduct

Bank access along the O’Neill and Los Banos stretches. Stripers on cut bait and swimbaits at the checks and siphons, and the fish concentrate wherever the flow does. Early or late — there is no shade out there and the concrete radiates. Watch your footing on the liner; it is slicker than it looks and there is nothing to grab.

San Luis & O’Neill Forebay

The forebay is the more reliable of the two in September — smaller, shallower, and the stripers push bait into the corners on wind. Afternoon wind is the standing hazard here and it comes up fast enough to change your day; San Luis proper can go from fishable to genuinely dangerous inside an hour. Neither is on the Corps sheet, so we have no storage figures for you.

Upper Kings, above Pine Flat

The wild-trout water above the lake, up toward Kirch Flat and the Garnet Dike stretch. The Corps did not report Kings natural flow this morning, so we cannot tell you what is coming down — last week it was 293.3 cfs and the week before 185.5, so it has been moving. What we do have is the gauge below the North Fork near Trimmer at 233.1 cfs, down from 285.9. The upper river fishes small and technical in September; hoppers and ants, and go early. The road in is the real commitment.

Kings below Pine Flat

Planted with rainbows this week — it is on the CDFW list under Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties, which is the same tailwater showing up three times. That is the good news. The bad news is the release: 1,690 cfs. That is down from 1,742 last week and it is still not a wading flow. Fish it from the bank or from a boat, wear the vest, and do not talk yourself into one more step. Fresh fish are not worth it.

Lower Stanislaus & Goodwin

Goodwin release held at 202 cfs after last week’s cut from 1,388. Stanislaus natural flow at New Melones is 418 cfs. A week of stability is genuinely useful here — the channel has had time to settle. It can also change again with no notice. Look before you launch.

Calaveras & Mokelumne side

Mormon Slough at Bellota is 26.5 cfs; Cosgrove Creek near Valley Springs is zero. New Hogan is off 2,809 AF on the week and holding 163,462. Small-water bass and catfish; nothing dramatic.

◉ Ocean Report & Charters

Boat-by-boat counts, Sunday September 6 through Tuesday September 8. Fish-per-rod is our arithmetic off the posted angler count. On multi-day trips, per-rod is for the whole trip, not per day — a 2-day boat at 2.4 fish a rod fished two days to get there.

Boat & Landing

Trip

Count

Per Rod

Northern California — the Tuesday salmon bite

New Easy Rider · Berkeley

Full day, 20 anglers

40 king salmon (to 28 lb)

2.00 — limits

California Dawn II · Berkeley

Full day, 18 anglers

36 kings (to 33 lb)

2.00 — limits

Lovely Martha · San Francisco

Full day, 22 anglers

41 kings (to 32 lb)

1.86

Outer Limits · Sausalito

Full day, 11 anglers

22 kings — 34 lb top fish

2.00 — limits

New Rayann · Sausalito

Full day, 11 anglers

22 chinook

2.00 — limits

Pacific Pearl · Emeryville

Full day, 10 anglers

20 kings

2.00 — limits

TigerFish · Emeryville

Full day, 7 anglers

14 kings (to 22 lb)

2.00 — limits

Hog Heaven · Sausalito

Full day, 15 anglers

20 kings (to 23 lb)

1.33

Dragonfly · Bodega Bay

Full day, 4 anglers

8 kings

2.00 — limits

Northern California — bottom fish, and nobody is competing for it

Sea Wolf · Emeryville (Mon)

Full day, 24 anglers

240 rockfish, 48 lingcod

10.00 + 2.00 — both limits

New Huck Finn · Emeryville (Mon)

Full day, 19 anglers

190 rockfish, 38 lingcod

10.00 + 2.00 — both limits

Queen of Hearts · Half Moon Bay

Full day, 11 anglers

110 rockfish, 3 lingcod, 1 bonito

10.00 — limits

Kahuna · Monterey

Full day, 10 anglers

100 rockfish, 4 lingcod

10.00 — limits

Caroline · Monterey (Mon)

Full day, 21 anglers

210 rockfish, 16 lingcod

10.00 — limits

Shellback · Eureka (Mon)

Full day, 6 anglers

12 lingcod to 33 lb

2.00 — limits

Central Coast — Morro Bay & Avila Beach

Avenger · Morro Bay Landing (Sun)

½ day AM, 35 anglers

303 rockfish + 2 bocaccio, 8 copper, 1 ling, 5 bonito

8.66 rockfish

Starfire · Morro Bay Landing (Sun)

¾ day, 28 anglers

120 rockfish, 80 bocaccio, 56 red rockfish, 24 copper, 10 lingcod to 12 lb

Mixed sack

Avenger · Morro Bay Landing (Mon)

¾ day, 18 anglers

99 rockfish, 25 bocaccio, 49 bonito, 7 lingcod to 13 lb

Bonito showed up

Endeavor · Morro Bay Landing (Mon)

½ day AM, 14 anglers

110 rockfish, 15 bolina, 5 copper, 5 lingcod

7.86 rockfish

Flying Fish · Patriot, Avila (Mon)

½ day AM, 19 anglers

188 rockcod, 5 whitefish, 2 bocaccio

9.89 — near limits

Patriot · Patriot, Avila (Sun)

¾ day, 20 anglers

192 rockcod, 4 cabezon, 4 lingcod

9.60 — near limits

Note on the Central Coast: neither Morro Bay nor Avila posted a single boat on Tuesday September 8. That is almost certainly a reporting gap rather than a fleet that stayed home — both landings posted full slates Sunday and Monday. Call the landing rather than reading anything into the blank.

Southern California — San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport, Dana Point

Pursuit · 22nd Street, San Pedro

Full day, 36 anglers

142 bonito, 15 yellowtail, 26 calico, 3 sheephead

3.94 bonito

Native Sun · 22nd Street, San Pedro

¾ day, 23 anglers

20 yellowtail, 21 bonito, 17 calico, 3 sand bass

0.87 yellowtail

Toronado · Pierpoint, Long Beach (Mon)

2.5 day, 30 anglers

120 bluefin tuna, 19 sheephead, 78 whitefish

4.00 bluefin for the trip

Victory · Long Beach Sportfishing (Mon)

¾ day local, 60 anglers

36 yellowtail, 139 bonito, 91 calico, 16 sheephead

0.60 yellowtail

Thunderbird · Newport Landing

1.5 day, 21 anglers

38 bluefin tuna, 1 yellowtail

1.81 bluefin for the trip

Western Pride · Davey’s Locker, Newport

½ day PM, 42 anglers

210 bonito, 17 calico, 12 sand bass

5.00 bonito

Freelance · Davey’s Locker, Newport

¾ day, 54 anglers

163 bonito, 11 sand bass, 6 yellowtail

3.02 bonito

Patriot · Newport Landing

¾ day, 41 anglers

25 yellowtail, 25 bonito, 2 yellowfin, 1 dorado

0.61 yellowtail

Clemente · Dana Wharf

½ day AM, 43 anglers

210 bonito, 1 yellowtail

4.88 bonito

Fury · Dana Wharf

Overnight, 20 anglers

36 yellowtail, 30 whitefish, 17 bonito, 4 sheephead, 60 calico released

1.80 yellowtail

San Diego & Oceanside

Highliner · Seaforth

2 day, 21 anglers

150 yellowfin, 46 bluefin, 2 dorado, 1 yellowtail

7.14 YFT for the trip

Producer · H&M Landing

Overnight, 19 anglers

95 yellowfin, 25 skipjack

5.00 YFT overnight

Old Glory · H&M Landing

Overnight, 13 anglers

65 yellowfin

5.00 YFT overnight

Sea Adventure 80 · H&M Landing

2 day, 22 anglers

67 yellowfin, 6 bluefin

3.05 YFT for the trip

Grande · H&M Landing

Full day offshore, 23 anglers

55 yellowfin

2.39 — on a day trip

Tomahawk · Fisherman’s Landing

2 day, 28 anglers

44 bluefin tuna

1.57 for the trip

Pacific Dawn · Fisherman’s Landing

2 day, 14 anglers

34 bluefin tuna

2.43 for the trip

Apollo · Seaforth

3 day, 14 anglers

39 bluefin, 8 yellowtail, 7 yellowfin, 3 dorado

2.79 BFT for the trip

New Seaforth · Seaforth

½ day AM, 39 anglers

195 bonito, 16 calico, 4 barracuda

5.00 bonito

Pacific Voyager · Seaforth

2 day, 13 anglers

42 barracuda, 22 yellowtail, 61 bonito

1.69 yellowtail for the trip

San Diego day totals, Tuesday: 876 bonito, 439 yellowfin, 222 bluefin, 167 calico, 85 barracuda, 77 yellowtail across the four landings. The bonito are thick enough that half-day boats are turning 5 a rod on them.

Catalina & the Island Boats

One trip in this window was posted as a Santa Catalina Island trip, and here it is. The Sport King, out of LA Waterfront Cruises and Sportfishing in San Pedro, ran a ¾-day to the island on Monday September 7 with 35 anglers and came back with 12 yellowtail, 35 blue perch, 11 calico bass, 5 sheephead, 5 whitefish and 8 bonito. That is 0.34 yellowtail a rod — a grinding island day, not a hero day, and worth knowing before you book one.

From the landings’ own report pages: Aaron Graham on the Native Sun out of 22nd Street filed on September 4 that it “hasn’t been wide open but we’re getting our shots daily on this beautiful grade yellowtail, a token Mahi and lots of bonito of all sizes this week,” and noted they were sold out through Monday. The Freedom crew posted a “great day of island fishing” with a good number of yellowtail and calico — but that report is dated August 26, outside this window, and we are not going to date-launder it into this week.

What we will not do is guess. Neither count service breaks the island out, and Davey’s Locker’s own count page did not attribute a single trip in this window to Catalina — the island appears only in their site navigation. Plenty of San Pedro and Long Beach yellowtail landed this week almost certainly came from island water, and the Amigo (50 bluefin, 38 yellowtail, 15 anglers, 1.5-day) and the Eldorado (38 yellowtail, 31 anglers, overnight) are the obvious candidates. But neither boat said Catalina, so we are not saying it for them. Call 22nd Street at (310) 832-8304 or the Long Beach landings and ask where the boat is actually going tomorrow.

Landing & Charter Directory

Area

Landings Posting Counts This Week

North Coast

Eureka (Shellback Sport Fishing) · Bodega Bay (Reel Obsession)

San Francisco Bay

Berkeley Charter Boats · California Dawn Sportfishing · Reel Addiction · Right Hook · Fish Emeryville · Hog Heaven · New Rayann · Salty Lady · Big C’s Charters · Argo · Bass Tub · Lovely Martha

Half Moon Bay & Monterey

Half Moon Bay Sportfishing (Queen of Hearts) · Riptide Sportfishing · Chris’ Fishing Trips · J&M Sportfishing (Kahuna)

Central Coast

Morro Bay Landing (Avenger, Starfire, Endeavor) · Patriot Sportfishing, Avila Beach (Flying Fish, Patriot, Sunny Day)

Santa Barbara to Oxnard

Santa Barbara Landing · Ventura Harbor Sportfishing · Channel Islands Sportfishing · Hooks Landing

LA & Orange County

Marina Del Rey Sportfishing · Redondo Beach Sportfishing · 22nd Street Landing, San Pedro (310) 832-8304 · LA Waterfront Cruises · Pierpoint Landing · Long Beach Sportfishing · Davey’s Locker · Newport Landing · Dana Wharf Sportfishing

San Diego

Fisherman’s Landing · H&M Landing · Point Loma Sportfishing · Seaforth Sportfishing

⏰ The Season Clock — Verified This Morning

Ocean salmon, fall season. 38°02′ N. lat. to Pigeon Point: September 1 – October 31. That is 53 open days left counting today. Pigeon Point to the U.S./Mexico border, which is Monterey and south: September 1 – 30 — 22 days left counting today. Daily bag 2 salmon of any species except coho. Minimum size 20 inches. No coho, ever. Salmon may not be filleted on the boat.

The number that actually decides when it ends: 20,000. That is the fall harvest guideline, and it applies across both open areas combined. CDFW states plainly that inseason action may close open days when harvest approaches it. We checked the CDFW Marine Management News blog this morning and the most recent salmon post is still August 21 — no inseason action has been taken on the fall season as of today. But last month federal action closed San Francisco a week early, and a fleet-wide day like Tuesday moves that counter fast. Call the hotline before you drive: (707) 576-3429.

Gear rules people get wrong. North of Point Conception: no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks, one rod per angler when salmon are aboard. Between the 40°10′ line and Point Conception, when fishing bait by any means other than trolling, you must use two barbless circle hooks, hard-tied, no more than 5 inches apart.

Rockfish and groundfish. 10 fish per day aggregate. Within that: canary rockfish 2, copper rockfish 1, vermilion 4 north of Point Conception. Lingcod 2. No retention at all of quillback, cowcod, yelloweye or bronzespotted rockfish — those four are the ones that end a good day badly. Know the difference between a copper and a quillback before you drop.

◉ Tide Tables

Pulled directly from the NOAA CO-OPS prediction API this morning — MLLW datum, high/low interval, local time with daylight saving. Minus lows are in red. There are only four of them left in this entire window, all on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. After Thursday the morning low climbs above zero at every station and stays there.

San Francisco · Golden Gate — Station 9414290

Day

Highs & Lows

Wed Sep 9

Low 4:39 a.m. · -0.47 ft
High 11:34 a.m. · +5.40 ft
Low 4:45 p.m. · +1.82 ft
High 10:54 p.m. · +6.29 ft

Thu Sep 10

Low 5:18 a.m. · -0.25 ft
High 12:07 p.m. · +5.62 ft
Low 5:32 p.m. · +1.36 ft
High 11:46 p.m. · +6.05 ft

Fri Sep 11

Low 5:55 a.m. · +0.13 ft
High 12:38 p.m. · +5.79 ft
Low 6:18 p.m. · +0.99 ft

Sat Sep 12

High 12:37 a.m. · +5.72 ft
Low 6:30 a.m. · +0.64 ft
High 1:09 p.m. · +5.90 ft
Low 7:03 p.m. · +0.73 ft

Sun Sep 13

High 1:28 a.m. · +5.33 ft
Low 7:05 a.m. · +1.23 ft
High 1:38 p.m. · +5.93 ft
Low 7:48 p.m. · +0.59 ft

Mon Sep 14

High 2:21 a.m. · +4.92 ft
Low 7:40 a.m. · +1.85 ft
High 2:08 p.m. · +5.89 ft
Low 8:34 p.m. · +0.56 ft

Tue Sep 15

High 3:19 a.m. · +4.55 ft
Low 8:17 a.m. · +2.46 ft
High 2:40 p.m. · +5.77 ft
Low 9:23 p.m. · +0.64 ft

Wed Sep 16

High 4:26 a.m. · +4.24 ft
Low 8:59 a.m. · +3.00 ft
High 3:16 p.m. · +5.59 ft
Low 10:19 p.m. · +0.76 ft

Port Chicago · West Delta — Station 9415144

Day

Highs & Lows

Wed Sep 9

High 12:27 a.m. · +5.16 ft
Low 7:53 a.m. · -0.12 ft
High 2:00 p.m. · +4.43 ft
Low 7:38 p.m. · +1.28 ft

Thu Sep 10

High 1:22 a.m. · +5.07 ft
Low 8:30 a.m. · -0.01 ft
High 2:36 p.m. · +4.54 ft
Low 8:31 p.m. · +0.99 ft

Fri Sep 11

High 2:13 a.m. · +4.89 ft
Low 9:02 a.m. · +0.19 ft
High 3:09 p.m. · +4.64 ft
Low 9:22 p.m. · +0.76 ft

Sat Sep 12

High 3:03 a.m. · +4.65 ft
Low 9:31 a.m. · +0.47 ft
High 3:37 p.m. · +4.71 ft
Low 10:11 p.m. · +0.62 ft

Sun Sep 13

High 3:54 a.m. · +4.37 ft
Low 9:58 a.m. · +0.80 ft
High 4:02 p.m. · +4.78 ft
Low 11:00 p.m. · +0.55 ft

Mon Sep 14

High 4:47 a.m. · +4.08 ft
Low 10:25 a.m. · +1.14 ft
High 4:24 p.m. · +4.84 ft
Low 11:49 p.m. · +0.55 ft

Tue Sep 15

High 5:46 a.m. · +3.82 ft
Low 10:56 a.m. · +1.49 ft
High 4:49 p.m. · +4.87 ft

Wed Sep 16

Low 12:43 a.m. · +0.60 ft
High 6:52 a.m. · +3.63 ft
Low 11:35 a.m. · +1.84 ft
High 5:20 p.m. · +4.83 ft

Port Chicago runs roughly three hours behind the Gate. This is the station to plan Delta striper trips against — the two minus lows here are 7:53 a.m. Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. Thursday, both comfortably after sunrise.

Monterey — Station 9413450

Day

Highs & Lows

Wed Sep 9

Low 3:57 a.m. · -0.51 ft
High 10:25 a.m. · +4.64 ft
Low 3:47 p.m. · +1.76 ft
High 9:47 p.m. · +5.89 ft

Thu Sep 10

Low 4:35 a.m. · -0.24 ft
High 10:56 a.m. · +4.91 ft
Low 4:37 p.m. · +1.33 ft
High 10:37 p.m. · +5.61 ft

Fri Sep 11

Low 5:09 a.m. · +0.18 ft
High 11:25 a.m. · +5.15 ft
Low 5:26 p.m. · +1.00 ft
High 11:27 p.m. · +5.22 ft

Sat Sep 12

Low 5:42 a.m. · +0.70 ft
High 11:55 a.m. · +5.33 ft
Low 6:14 p.m. · +0.79 ft

Sun Sep 13

High 12:17 a.m. · +4.76 ft
Low 6:13 a.m. · +1.28 ft
High 12:26 p.m. · +5.40 ft
Low 7:02 p.m. · +0.69 ft

Mon Sep 14

High 1:11 a.m. · +4.29 ft
Low 6:42 a.m. · +1.87 ft
High 12:57 p.m. · +5.38 ft
Low 7:53 p.m. · +0.70 ft

Tue Sep 15

High 2:12 a.m. · +3.87 ft
Low 7:11 a.m. · +2.41 ft
High 1:30 p.m. · +5.26 ft
Low 8:48 p.m. · +0.78 ft

Wed Sep 16

High 3:30 a.m. · +3.55 ft
Low 7:41 a.m. · +2.88 ft
High 2:09 p.m. · +5.08 ft
Low 9:53 p.m. · +0.87 ft

Port San Luis · Avila / Morro Bay — Station 9412110

Day

Highs & Lows

Wed Sep 9

Low 3:32 a.m. · -0.56 ft
High 9:56 a.m. · +4.73 ft
Low 3:21 p.m. · +1.59 ft
High 9:23 p.m. · +6.03 ft

Thu Sep 10

Low 4:08 a.m. · -0.30 ft
High 10:25 a.m. · +5.01 ft
Low 4:09 p.m. · +1.19 ft
High 10:10 p.m. · +5.75 ft

Fri Sep 11

Low 4:41 a.m. · +0.11 ft
High 10:55 a.m. · +5.24 ft
Low 4:56 p.m. · +0.91 ft
High 10:56 p.m. · +5.34 ft

Sat Sep 12

Low 5:12 a.m. · +0.62 ft
High 11:25 a.m. · +5.40 ft
Low 5:43 p.m. · +0.74 ft
High 11:45 p.m. · +4.85 ft

Sun Sep 13

Low 5:41 a.m. · +1.20 ft
High 11:55 a.m. · +5.46 ft
Low 6:30 p.m. · +0.68 ft

Mon Sep 14

High 12:36 a.m. · +4.34 ft
Low 6:09 a.m. · +1.78 ft
High 12:25 p.m. · +5.41 ft
Low 7:20 p.m. · +0.73 ft

Tue Sep 15

High 1:33 a.m. · +3.85 ft
Low 6:34 a.m. · +2.33 ft
High 12:57 p.m. · +5.26 ft
Low 8:15 p.m. · +0.86 ft

Wed Sep 16

High 2:47 a.m. · +3.46 ft
Low 6:57 a.m. · +2.81 ft
High 1:33 p.m. · +5.05 ft
Low 9:24 p.m. · +0.98 ft

Port San Luis has the deepest minus of the four — −0.56 ft at 3:32 a.m. today and −0.30 ft at 4:08 a.m. Thursday. Both are well before first light, which is a real consideration if you were thinking about clamming or working exposed rock. Sunrise on that coast is about 6:47 a.m., by which time the water is already flooding hard.

◉ Moon Phase & Best Days

Phase computed from the synodic month (29.530588853 days) against the reference new moon of January 6, 2000, 18:14 UTC. New moon falls Friday September 11 at 1:29 p.m. PDT. Almanac convention brackets the new and full moon, so the strongest days of this window sit Wednesday through Sunday. Sunrise times are San Francisco; Fresno runs about ten minutes earlier.

Day

Phase

Illum.

Rating

Notes

Wed Sep 9

Waning crescent

4.7%

★★★★

Sunrise 6:46. Dark moon and the deepest minus low of the week at the Gate. Morning major runs into a hard flood.

Thu Sep 10

Waning crescent

1.3%

★★★★★

Best day of the window. Sunrise 6:47. The only day that is both inside the new-moon bracket and still carries a minus tide. If you fish once this week, fish Thursday.

Fri Sep 11

New moon 1:29 p.m.

0.0%

★★★★★

Sunrise 6:48. Dead dark. Near new moon the moon transits close to solar noon and rises near sunrise, so the solunar major stacks on first light. Tide is flatter than Thursday but the moon is peak.

Sat Sep 12

New moon

1.0%

★★★★

Sunrise 6:49. Still inside the bracket, and the first weekend day — every ramp on this page will be busy. Big Delta and foothill tournament slate.

Sun Sep 13

Waxing crescent

4.2%

★★★★

Sunrise 6:50. Last strong day of the bracket. Morning low at the Gate is +1.23 ft — the minus water is gone.

Mon Sep 14

Waxing crescent

9.5%

★★★

Sunrise 6:51. Moon building, tidal range narrowing. Perfectly fishable, no longer special.

Tue Sep 15

Waxing crescent

16.5%

★★

Sunrise 6:51. Weakest tidal exchange of the window — the Gate swings only about 3.3 feet between the morning low and afternoon high.

Wed Sep 16

Waxing crescent

25.1%

★★

Sunrise 6:52. Flattest day on the page. The Gate’s morning low is +3.01 ft — barely a low at all.

Where the majors land. Within a day or two of new moon the moon and sun move together, so lunar transit sits near midday and moonrise near sunrise. The practical effect all week is that the dawn major and first light are the same event — and at the Gate on Wednesday and Thursday that also happens to be the middle of a hard flood off a minus low. That triple stack is why Thursday rates five stars and Tuesday the 15th rates two. Ratings are our read of moon plus tidal range, not a guarantee; fish do not read almanacs.

◉ Fish Stocking Report

CDFW plants for the week of September 6 – September 12. Plants are posted as week ranges, not dates — the fish went in sometime during that week and CDFW does not say which day. All rainbow trout. CDFW does not publish poundage on this listing.

County

Water

Species

Fresno

Kings River, below Pine Flat Dam

Rainbow trout

Kings

Kings River, below Pine Flat Dam

Rainbow trout

Tulare

Kings River, below Pine Flat Dam

Rainbow trout

Mono

Lee Vining Creek · Lee Vining Creek South Fork · Mary Lake · Saddlebag Lake · Owens River below Tinemaha · Owens River Section 2 · Owens River Section 3 upper, above Crowley · West Walker Section 2 · West Walker Section 3

Rainbow trout

Nevada

Jackson Meadows Reservoir

Rainbow trout

Sierra

Jackson Meadows Reservoir

Rainbow trout

Read the pattern, because it is the whole story. Every water on this list is either a cold tailwater or high country. In summer and early fall CDFW does not plant valley-floor lakes at all — the water is too warm to hold a hatchery rainbow alive, so they do not waste the fish. That is why Millerton, Pine Flat, Success, Kaweah, Eastman and Hensley are not on this list and will not be until the water cools, usually late October or November. It is not neglect and it is not a data gap. If you want planted trout right now, the choice is the Kings tailwater below Pine Flat, the Mono County waters, or Jackson Meadows.

The Kings below Pine Flat appears three times because the river runs through Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties and CDFW lists it under each. It is one plant on one river, not three. And it is running 1,690 cfs — read the safety bar before you go stand in it.

CDFW regional plant lines: Central Region (559) 243-4005 x151 · North Central Region (916) 351-0832 · Bay Delta Region (707) 944-5581.

◉ Tournament Board

Every permitted event on the water between today and next Wednesday. Straight off the CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, pulled this morning, black bass category. All shown are Approved status. Even if you are not fishing one, know it is there — a two-day event on a lake at fifteen percent means a busy ramp at daylight.

Dates

Water

Sponsor

Thu Sep 10

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

Tracy Oasis Marina

Fri Sep 11

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

Tracy Oasis Marina

Sat Sep 12

Casitas Lake

American Bass

Sat Sep 12

El Capitan Lake (San Diego Co.)

So Cal Kayak Anglers

Sat Sep 12

Lake Elsinore

Inland Empire Bassmasters

Sat Sep 12

Lake Oroville

Paradise Bass Club

Sat Sep 12

Lower Otay Lake

Summit Bass Anglers

Sat Sep 12

Lake Piru

Point Seekers Bass Club

Sat Sep 12

San Vicente Reservoir

Bass Club of San Diego

Sat Sep 12

Lake Sutherland

Perris Valley Bass Anglers

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Lake Britton

Rogue Valley Bassmasters

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Clear Lake (Lake Co.)

Bob’s Marine

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Delta (Contra Costa Co.)

Best Bass Tournament

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Delta (San Joaquin Co.)

NorCal Bass

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Diamond Valley Lake

American Bass

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Lake Piru

National Bass Association West

Sat–Sun Sep 12–13

Shasta Lake

Bass Angler Inc.

Sun Sep 13

Bass Lake (Madera Co.)

Kings VIII Bass Club

Sun Sep 13

San Vicente Reservoir

So Cal Kayak Anglers

Sun Sep 13

Thermalito Afterbay

Oroville Bassmasters

Wed Sep 16

Folsom Lake

Folsom Rats

What this tells you about the weekend. Fifteen permitted events launch on Saturday the 12th and not one of them is on Central Valley home water — the only local event all weekend is Kings VIII at Bass Lake on Sunday. The Delta carries two two-day events plus Tracy Oasis running Thursday and Friday. If you want quiet water this weekend, Pine Flat, Millerton, Kaweah, Success, Isabella and Eastman are all clear of permitted events until the 19th.

📅 Mark the Calendar

Saturday September 19 is the biggest single day on the board all month — and it lands squarely on Central Valley water. Isabella (American Bass) · Success (Golden Empire Bass Club) · McClure (Sonora Bass Anglers) · Don Pedro (All American Bass Club) · Lopez (Kern County Bassmasters) · San Antonio (SLO County Bass Ambushers) · Santa Margarita two-day (Orange County Bass Club) · plus Oroville, Shasta, Sonoma, Castaic Lagoon, Diamond Valley twice, and Lower Otay. Nine separate permitted events on Delta water that same day. If you fish any of these lakes for fun, pick a different Saturday.

Fri–Sun Sep 18–20: Bass Angler Inc. runs a three-day on Don Pedro — the same lake the Corps has published no data for two weeks running. Yak-A-Bass runs three days on Clear Lake.

Fri–Sun Sep 25–27: American Bass runs three-day events on both Clear Lake and Shasta. Sep 26 adds Berryessa.

Two honest caveats. First, this is the black bass category only — kokanee, trout and catfish events are permitted under different categories and do not appear here, so a quiet-looking lake may still have a derby on it. Second, permits get amended and cancelled without the database being updated the same day. Call the host club before you plan around any of this. And as always: no results table. Host clubs do not publish weights on any schedule we can verify, so we are not going to pretend otherwise.

Did We Miss Your Water?

Tell us about water we are not covering. The Eastern Sierra section, the Southern California dock totals and the Catalina block are all 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

Pine Flat is at 15.9% and has dropped almost six more feet in seven days. That is the most dangerous number in this issue and it got worse, not better. Every rock, stump and old roadbed that was safely under your hull in August is at prop depth now, and some of the ramps are ending in dirt. Idle in, watch the sounder, and throw out every waypoint you set before this month. The lake you fished in July is not the lake that is out there.

The lower Kings is at 1,690 cfs and CDFW just planted trout in it. That combination is exactly how people get in trouble — fresh fish are a reason to get in the water and 1,690 cfs is not a wading flow. It has eased by fifty cfs in a week, which is nothing. Fish it from the bank or from a boat, wear the vest, and do not take the one more step.

Four lakes on this page have no published level at all. Shaver, Don Pedro, McClure and the McSwain release all came back empty, and there are permitted tournaments on Don Pedro and McClure inside three weeks. A blank row is not a safe row — it means nobody has told us where the water is. Call the operating agency or the marina before you tow, every time, and especially at these levels.

The minus tides end Thursday, and that is its own hazard. This morning and tomorrow morning put people out on rock, reef and mudflat that the ocean takes back fast — at Port San Luis the low is at 3:32 a.m. today, in the dark, more than three hours before sunrise. If you are out there for clams or off the rocks, know your flood time, take a light, watch the water and never turn your back on it.

Fire danger stays extreme in the high country. That is the ranger district’s wording, not ours. If you are headed to Shaver, Edison, Florence, Mammoth Pool, Wishon, Courtright, Portal Forebay or over to Saddlebag, check road and fire status before you leave and know your second way out. One closed road is a much bigger problem at 8,000 feet than it is on the valley floor.

And the heat. September in this valley is still summer no matter what the calendar says. Off the water by mid-morning or fish the evening, take more water than you think you need, take shade and a hat, and tell somebody where you went and when you will be back.

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Two things to act on, and they point at the same day. First: if you want a king off a party boat, this is the week. The bite went 0.78 to 1.08 to 1.90 a rod in three days, the new moon lands Friday, and the whole fall allocation is 20,000 fish shared between two open areas. The calendar says October 31 north of Pigeon Point and September 30 south of it. A fleet that puts up Tuesday’s numbers for a couple of weeks does not get to October 31, and CDFW says so out loud on the regulation page. Book it, and call (707) 576-3429 the morning you go.

Second: the one day this week that has everything is Thursday. It is inside the new-moon bracket, it carries the last real minus tide of the cycle, and it is a weekday — so the fifteen tournaments launching Saturday are not on it. After Thursday the moon stays good for three more days but the tide goes flat, and by the middle of next week the Gate is barely swinging three feet. If you have one day to spend, spend it tomorrow.

Tight lines,

Bryan Mello
B Mello Ag Services · Central Valley, California

Every issue we have ever published is free at bmelloag.com/reports — field conditions, ag crime, markets, fuel and fishing.

(559) 816-3889
bryan@bmelloag.com

Sources used for this issue: Tide predictions came directly from the NOAA CO-OPS data API — stations 9414290 San Francisco, 9415144 Port Chicago, 9413450 Monterey and 9412110 Port San Luis, MLLW datum, high/low interval, local time. First-hand API pulls, not second-hand tide tables · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District daily reservoir reports, Corps and Section 7, data ending midnight Sep 8, generated Sep 9 at 07:00 and 07:01 · NorCalFishReports.com boat-by-boat dock totals for Sep 6, 7 and 8 · SoCalFishReports.com dock totals for Sep 6, 7 and 8, source of the Morro Bay and Avila counts and of the one Santa Catalina Island trip attribution · SanDiegoFishReports.com boat-by-boat counts for Sep 8 · NorCalFishReports.com weekly report for the week of Sep 7, source of the skipper quotes · 22ndstreet.com landing report page for the Catalina block, read this morning; daveyslocker.com’s count page was also checked and attributed no trip in this window to the island · CDFW ocean salmon regulation page and CDFW Marine Management News, both checked this morning — most recent salmon post is still “Inseason Ocean Salmon Changes Announced for August,” Aug 21, 2026, and no inseason action has been taken on the fall season · CDFW fish plant listings for the week of Sep 6–12 · CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, pulled this morning, black bass category, upcoming events only · Lopez Lake storage from a third-party reservoir aggregator dated Sep 9 and flagged in the Central Coast block as unverified. Moon phase and sunrise computed from first principles. What we could not get: no current storage for Shaver, Don Pedro, McClure, Huntington, Florence, Edison or Mammoth Pool, and no McSwain release — the Section 7 sheet published none of them and CDEC did not fill the gap; no Kings natural flow, no Tule River flows and no Dry Creek reading, all “-NR-” on the Corps sheet; no current Nacimiento or Santa Margarita storage, and nothing newer than Aug 2 for San Antonio; no fresh regional freshwater column inside this window — the weekly aggregator filed “no reports” for Central California, Central Sierra, Sierra Foothills, the Delta and the Eastern Sierra, so the inland bite notes here are built on flows, levels, plants and season pattern rather than on somebody else’s fresh fish stories.

Please read: Conditions, seasons, bag limits and closures change — sometimes with a single day’s notice. Last month federal inseason action closed San Francisco salmon a week early, and the identical mechanism applies to the fall season described above. The 20,000-Chinook fall guideline is shared between both open areas and either can close early. Eastern Sierra waters carry their own special regulations that differ from statewide rules and vary reach by reach on the same river. 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, from a second agency or in conflict with another published source, we said so and date-stamped it rather than guessing.