The Weekly Fishing Report
Wednesday, November 4 – Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Central Valley · Sierra · Eastern Sierra · Delta · Coast | Issue 26-44
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CRAB OPENS SAT. NOV. 7, TRAPS RESTRICTED • SALMON SEASON ENDED OCT. 31 • NEW MOON SUN. NOV. 8, MINUS TIDES TO −0.54 FT MON. • PINE FLAT UP 3,385 AF TO 18.5% • SAN DIEGO BOAT: 208 YELLOWFIN ON 36 RODS • MUSSEL QUARANTINE LIFTED
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Recreational Dungeness crab opens Saturday, Nov. 7, but with the traps restricted. CDFW’s Oct. 30 release has the season opening in most areas that day. From the California/Oregon border to Point Conception, recreational crab traps are restricted until at least Jan. 1, 2027 because of whale entanglements this year; hoop nets and crab snares are not affected, and hoop nets must be serviced every two hours. A stretch of the north coast, Cape Mendocino (40°10′ N) to the Ten Mile State Marine Reserve (39°33.3′ N), stays closed over domoic acid in the crab. The commercial season is delayed to at least Jan. 1, and CDFW’s next risk assessment is mid-December. Fish Emeryville’s own posts confirm crab combos start the 7th, and say its last trips that strictly target lingcod run Nov. 4–5.
Salmon is over. The Pigeon Point to Point Reyes season ran through Saturday, Oct. 31; south of Pigeon Point it closed Sept. 30. CDFW’s salmon page, read this morning, lists no later action, and the newest salmon item on its Marine Management News blog is still Aug. 21. The count service listed only two salmon trips in the last two days: Oakland Anglers II with 5 kings on 15 Friday and Argo with 3 on 4 Saturday, 8 on 19 rods, 0.42 a rod. The count service may not list every boat. We did not re-read CDFW’s catch tracker, which when we last read it ran through Oct. 15 at 13,769 caught of 20,000, so we print no final tally.
Lingcod and rockfish are the steady bite, and San Diego’s yellowfin are still coming. Surf Scooter (Bodega Bay) listed 42 lingcod to 23 lb and 210 rockfish on 21 rods Sunday, limits both ways, and New Huck Finn (Emeryville) had the same 42 and 210 on 21 Saturday. Morro Bay’s Starfire had 220 rockfish on 22. In San Diego, the Seaforth full-day boat San Diego listed 208 yellowfin on 36 rods Tuesday, 5.78 a rod, Sea Adventure 80 105 yellowfin and 90 skipjack on 16 rods on a 2-day trip, and New Lo-An 120 yellowfin to 109 pounds on 12 rods on a 2.5-day trip Sunday. Newport’s tuna bite has gone quiet: Freelance had 137 yellowfin on 56 Saturday and 8 yellowtail on 62 Tuesday.
The new moon is Sunday night, Nov. 8, at 11:02 p.m., and the minus tides come back with it. The Golden Gate low goes below zero Saturday and bottoms at −0.54 ft at 5:24 p.m. Monday, a 6.73 ft drop from the 10:35 a.m. high, with the lows landing around sunset instead of after dark. Clocks already changed Sunday, so everything below is standard time. Pine Flat is up again, +3,385 acre-feet to 18.5%, Millerton gained 4,691, and the sport-mussel quarantine ended at midnight Oct. 31 (CDPH, Oct. 28 release). The permit database lists five bass events on Millerton and Don Pedro Saturday and Sunday, so expect company at those ramps.
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◉ This Week’s Best Bets
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Bet No. 1 · Berkeley, Emeryville, Bodega Bay & Half Moon Bay
Crab Opens Saturday
Open Nov. 7 in most areas per CDFW. Traps are restricted from the Oregon border to Point Conception until at least Jan. 1; hoop nets and snares are allowed, and hoop nets must be tended every two hours. Cape Mendocino to Ten Mile SMR is closed for domoic acid. Fish Emeryville has crab combos starting the 7th and says New Huck Finn runs its last strictly lingcod trips Nov. 4–5. Domoic acid closure line (831) 649-2883.
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Bet No. 2 · Fort Bragg to Morro Bay
Lingcod and Rockfish Limits
Surf Scooter (Bodega Bay) 42 lingcod to 23 lb and 210 rockfish on 21 Sunday. New Huck Finn (Emeryville) 42 and 210 on 21 Saturday. Hooked on Mendo (Fort Bragg) 10 lingcod, 50 rockfish on 5. Morro Bay’s Starfire had 220 rockfish on 22, and Avenger 90 on 9 Monday. Everything north of Point Conception is open at all depths through Dec. 31.
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Bet No. 3 · San Diego & Point Loma
Yellowfin Keep Coming
San Diego (Seaforth) 208 yellowfin on 36 rods Tuesday, 5.78 a rod on a one-day trip. Sea Adventure 80 105 yellowfin on 16 over 2 days. New Lo-An 120 yellowfin to 109 lb on 12 over 2.5 days, 10.00 a rod for the whole trip. New Seaforth’s half-day boat had 120 on 44 Tuesday morning. Sunday was thin: 18 on 35.
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Bet No. 4 · Dana Point & Long Beach
White Seabass and Sand Bass
Sum Fun (Dana Point) listed 22 white seabass on 43 rods Tuesday, and Clemente released 8 more. Victory (Long Beach) had 68 sand bass on 32 Monday and 50 on 44 Tuesday. The Newport tuna bite has dried up, so the inshore boats are the better bet this week.
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⚠ Water Watch
Pine Flat is up again, and the Kings release was cut. The Corps sheet (data through Tuesday midnight, generated 7 a.m. today) has the lake at 184,597 AF, 18.5% full, up 3,385 AF since last Tuesday against last week’s gain of 3,542, and up 675 on Tuesday alone. The Corps’ hourly report has the release at 149 to 150 cfs since Tuesday morning, down from the 196 to 201 we printed last week. The Kings below the North Fork, at the head of the lake, reads 274 to 286 cfs over the last 24 hours, and the sheet’s computed inflow swings from negative to over 1,000 cfs hour to hour; the Corps itself warns that figure is erratic, so the storage gain comes from the elevation gauge.
A small rise came through the south Valley rivers. Kaweah at Three Rivers (CDEC daily mean) ran 63 cfs on Oct. 30, 116 on Sunday, 135 on Monday and 104 on Tuesday; our data doesn’t say why. Kaweah still lost 530 AF, to 10.3%, while Success gained 300 to 10.1% and Eastman edged up 7 to 6.8%. Isabella lost 210 AF, to 24.5%, and is now releasing 322 cfs against 227 coming in, up from 269 last week. Hensley gained 162 AF to 7.5%. Merced near Snelling is down to 212 cfs from 275.
Millerton is the surprise. It gained 4,691 AF to 43.4% after losing 5,752 the week before. The rest of the foothill lakes have nearly stopped dropping: New Melones 62.7%, down only 279 AF on the Corps’ sheet, and Don Pedro 72.6% through Tuesday, down 608 AF in eight days (CDEC). McClure is 49.0%, down 5,515 AF in nine days, and Shaver (49.5%) and Huntington (61,671 AF) are still falling, by 2,019 and 4,582 AF in seven days. Stale numbers are footnoted below.
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◉ Lakes & Reservoirs
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District. Corps sheet: data ending midnight Nov. 3, generated Nov. 4 at 07:00. Section 7 sheet: data ending midnight Nov. 3, generated Nov. 4 at 07:01, and it carried only New Melones, Friant (Millerton) and Crane Valley (Bass Lake) from our list; Don Pedro, McClure, Shaver, Huntington, Florence, Edison and the flow below McSwain all read “no project data” or not reported. Rows marked § come from the state’s California Data Exchange Center (CDEC): Don Pedro, McClure and Millerton and New Melones elevations through Nov. 3, Shaver, Huntington and Florence through Nov. 2. Change is against last week’s printed figures (Oct. 27 for the Corps rows, Oct. 26 for Don Pedro, Shaver, Huntington and Florence, Oct. 25 for McClure), so §§ marks changes that cover eight or nine days, not exactly a week. Percent-full uses gross pool.
| Lake | Elev (ft) | Storage (AF) | % Full | Change |
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| Pine Flat | 753.28 | 184,597 | 18.5% | +3,385 |
| Millerton (Friant) | 503.48§ | 226,026 | 43.4% | +4,691 |
| Don Pedro | 781.74§ | 1,474,669§ | 72.6%§† | −608§§ |
| New Melones | 1,003.76§ | 1,505,949 | 62.7% | −279 |
| McClure (New Exchequer) | 772.26§ | 501,785§ | 49.0%§† | −5,515§§ |
| Merced R. near Snelling (below McSwain) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 212 cfs§ (275 last week) |
| Eastman (Buchanan) | 466.12 | 10,209 | 6.8% | +7 |
| Hensley (Hidden) | 453.78 | 6,784 | 7.5% | +162 |
| Kaweah (Terminus) | 598.69 | 19,159 | 10.3% | −530 |
| Success (Schafer) | 592.67 | 8,315 | 10.1% | +300 |
| Isabella | 2,554.90 | 139,008 | 24.5% | −210 |
| Shaver | n/r | 66,917§ | 49.5%§ | −2,019§ |
| Bass Lake (Crane Valley) | n/r | 29,824 | 65.7% | −191 |
| New Hogan | 665.84 | 151,208 | n/p | −861 |
| Huntington / Edison / Florence | n/r | 61,671§ / n/r¶¶ / 6,161§ | n/p | −4,582§ / n/r¶¶ / −65§ |
| Wishon / Courtright | n/r | no reading¶ | n/p | stale (last printed Oct. 20)¶ |
§ CDEC provisional daily data. Where the Corps and CDEC both report a lake (Millerton, Pine Flat, New Melones, Success) the storage figures match to within an acre-foot. McClure: CDEC’s Nov. 2 reading shows 573,876 AF and 788.86 ft, then 501,785 AF on Nov. 3; the Nov. 2 value is a sensor spike, and we used Nov. 3. ¶¶ Edison: neither Corps sheet nor CDEC gave us a figure we could confirm; the last number we printed was Sept. 22, six weeks ago. ¶ Wishon and Courtright: CDEC returned no reading this week at all. The last figures we printed were Oct. 20 (112,356 and 7,491 AF), and Courtright’s swing before that was never explained, so treat both as unconfirmed. † Percent-full for Don Pedro and McClure is our own arithmetic against 2,030,000 AF and 1,024,600 AF gross pool; the Corps does not print a percentage for these two. Success uses the Corps’ 82,300 AF; we haven’t verified whether a dam raise has changed that. n/r = the agency reported no value. n/p = we hold no published gross-pool figure we trust for that project, so we don’t estimate one.
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Bite Report
Same straight word on the bite. The weekly NorCalFishReports aggregator lists no reports this week for the Central Valley lakes, the Delta, the Central Sierra or the Sierra foothills, and our searches turned up only undated fishing columns, so we didn’t use them. What follows rests on verified levels, plants, permits and the usual November pattern. Where we describe a pattern, it’s a pattern, not a report.
| Water | What We Know |
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| Pine Flat | Up 3,385 AF on the week, 18.5% full, so the fish are still crowded. The usual November setup: kings and rainbows under the shad off main-lake points early and late, bass on ledges, brush and bluff walls. No approved event this window. Next approved: BTuff Magazine and Cope’s Tackle, Nov. 14, then CA B.A.S.S. Nation, Nov. 27. The Kings below the dam is not on this week’s plant list; it was last week. |
| Millerton | 43.4%, up 4,691 AF on the week. Spotted bass on finesse gear as the water cools; catfish from the bank after dark. Two events this weekend: Kerman Bass Club Saturday, Nov. 7 and Kings VIII Bass Club Sunday, Nov. 8. Next: BASS 101, Nov. 21. |
| Don Pedro & McClure | Don Pedro 72.6% and McClure 49.0% (state CDEC data through Nov. 3, our percentages). Fall pattern: trout and kings on the shad, bass deep. Neither is on this week’s CDFW plant list. Don Pedro Saturday, Nov. 7: Sonora Bass Anglers and Manteca Bassin Buddies. Sunday, Nov. 8: River Bank Bass Anglers. Bass Angler Inc. has a 3-day event Nov. 13–15. McClure’s next dates are Nov. 14 (two events). |
| New Melones | 62.7%, nearly flat on the week (279 AF). Not on this week’s plant list; it was last week. Kokanee are finished as a target. No permitted event this window. |
| Eastman & Hensley | Eastman 6.8%, Hensley 7.5% (6,784 AF, up 162). Eastman is the bass lake of the two; Hensley is catfish and carp. At these levels your first problem is getting the boat in. Eastman Sunday, Nov. 8 has an approved one-day event with no sponsor named in the permit database. |
| Kaweah & Success | Kaweah 10.3%, Success 10.1%; Success inched up after the rise on the Kaweah, Kaweah itself kept dropping. Small-water fishing: finesse plastics, minijigs for crappie, dip bait for cats after dark. No permitted event this window. |
| Isabella | 24.5%, releasing 322 cfs against 227 coming in. The permit database lists no Isabella bass event through Dec. 31, though it does list a Kern County “various waters” filing for Dec. 1–31 with no sponsor named. No Kern section is on this week’s plant list. |
| Bass Lake | 65.7% (29,824 AF), down 191 on the week. Bass Lake (Madera County) is on this week’s CDFW plant list, rainbow trout, pounds not posted, after missing the list last week. We have no report on how they’re biting. No permitted bass event this window. |
| Shaver & Huntington | Shaver 49.5% and Huntington 61,671 AF as of Nov. 2, losing roughly 290 and 650 AF a day (CDEC, Oct. 26 to Nov. 2). Shaver is not on this week’s plant list. Kokanee are usually in the inlets to spawn this time of year with holdover rainbows behind them; that’s the pattern, and we have no report confirming it this week. |
| Wishon & Courtright | State data returned no reading this week, and we found no current fishing report we could date. High-country trout water that fishes into November, weather permitting, but snow can close the gates. Call ahead on access before you make the drive. |
| Modesto & Woodward Reservoirs, Yosemite Lake | None is on this week’s plant list. Plants post by the week, so earlier fish are still in the water; we have no report on how they’re biting. |
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Central Coast
Lopez and Santa Margarita are straight from San Luis Obispo County’s live sensors this morning and report percent of capacity. Nacimiento and San Antonio came back this week from the USGS gauges, but as elevation only: the gauges don’t give a percentage, and we hold no storage curve we trust, so we print the elevation and nothing else. Lopez was 78.0% and Santa Margarita 86.4% last week.
| Lake | Level | Who to Call |
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| Lopez | 77.8% of capacity, 38,494 AF, elev. 509.79 ft | SLO County Public Works |
| Santa Margarita | 86.4% of capacity, 19,282 AF | SLO County Public Works |
| Nacimiento | Elevation 741.26 ft (USGS, 7:30 a.m.); no percentage | Monterey County Water Resources Agency |
| San Antonio | Elevation 737.67 ft (USGS, 7:45 a.m.); no percentage | Monterey County Water Resources Agency |
Santa Margarita’s capacity was cut to 22,320 AF by a 2024 resurvey, and the county’s percentage uses the new figure. No permitted bass event is on Santa Margarita or the other Central Coast lakes this window. Nacimiento has Golden Empire Bass Club Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7–8, then American Bass, Nov. 21–22, and 805 Bass Addicts, Nov. 27.
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◉ Eastern Sierra
One dated item this week, from the East Walker. Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport posted on Nov. 2 a 28-plus-inch brown trout caught Oct. 24 on a size 18 nymph. It’s one catch the shop chose to post, so read it as a sign the big fish are still there and that small, quiet nymphs are the answer, not as a full report. The shop’s last full report we saw is Oct. 18. We found nothing dated this week for Bridgeport Reservoir, Twin Lakes, Saddlebag, Virginia Lakes, Crowley, the Owens or the June Lake Loop.
Plants: no Eastern Sierra water is on the CDFW list for Nov. 1–7. A reminder from earlier reports: Big Virginia is a drinking-water lake, so no swimming, no gas motors, and no float tubes or boards without full waders. Check road and weather before you go over the passes; this is late-season country and the first snow can shut Sonora, Tioga and the lake access roads.
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⚠ The Regs Up Here Are Not the Regs Down Here
Inyo and Mono waters carry special regulations that change reach by reach on the same river. The Owens above a given bridge is not the Owens below it, and Hot Creek, the East Walker and the Upper Owens each have their own gear and take rules. Checking the statewide rules doesn’t cover you here.
A handful of Mono County waters, the East Walker among them, stay open year-round, and in the off-season those are catch-and-release, barbless, artificial lure or fly only. Most of the district runs on the general season, which closes in mid-November.
We still haven’t confirmed the exact 2026 closing date on CDFW’s own pages, so we’re not printing one. If you’re planning a late-season trip, read the Sierra District entry for your water in the current regulations booklet.
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◉ Delta, Rivers & Aqueduct
| Water | Conditions & What We Can Verify |
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| The Delta | No regional report again this week. What we can verify is the tide. At Port Chicago the lows go below zero on the evening ebb from Friday: −0.10 ft at 6:27 p.m. Friday, −0.24 at 7:16 p.m. Saturday, −0.26 at 8:03 p.m. Sunday (the deepest), −0.22 Monday, −0.14 Tuesday and −0.07 at 10:08 p.m. next Wednesday. Midday highs build from 4.4 ft today to 5.1 ft by next Tuesday. Sturgeon: Berkeley’s Round 2 (Right Hook) listed 15 sturgeon released on 4 rods Sunday, and Fish Emeryville’s Heisen-Sturg is running catch-and-release trips out of Pittsburg Marina before the crab combos start. Events: Tracy Oasis Marina on the San Joaquin side Thursday, Nov. 5 and again Nov. 11; Delta Bass Club (Contra Costa) Saturday and The Bass Hole Sunday. |
| Upper Kings, above Pine Flat | Below the North Fork: 283 cfs on the hourly report this morning (282.9 on the 7 a.m. daily sheet), 274 to 286 over the last 24 hours, with the water running 53.5 to 57.4°F, a little cooler than last week’s 56 to 61. Low, clear freestone water. Fish it early, small and quiet. The daily sheet’s natural-flow line was not reported. |
| Lower Kings, below the dam | Release 149 to 150 cfs on the Corps’ hourly report, steady since Tuesday morning. Last week it was 196 to 201, so the river is about a quarter lower. The Kings below Pine Flat Dam is not on this week’s plant list. Wading: low flow doesn’t mean safe. It’s cold tailwater over slick cobble, the release is set at the Water Master’s request, and it can change overnight. Check the flow before you step in. |
| Merced River | Merced near Snelling ran 212 cfs (CDEC daily mean, Tuesday), down from 276 on Oct. 28 and 275 last Tuesday. The Merced River is not on this week’s plant list. |
| Kaweah & Tule | Kaweah at Three Rivers 104 cfs (CDEC daily mean, Tuesday), after 135 on Monday and 116 on Sunday; the Corps’ 7 a.m. Three Rivers reading was not reported, and McKay Point read 7.0. Terminus is releasing 127 cfs. The Tule gauges weren’t reported. Creek fishing, not river fishing. |
| Kern River | At Kernville, 217.5 cfs on the Corps’ 7 a.m. reading today, against 218.6 on last week’s sheet. The release below Isabella is running 322 cfs, up from 269. No Kern section is on this week’s plant list. |
| San Joaquin below Friant | No flow published; the Friant additional-data block reads not-reported again. The last number we trust is 375 cfs on Sept. 17, seven weeks old. Don’t plan around it. |
| California Aqueduct, San Luis & O’Neill Forebay | No verified current report. The usual fall pattern: catfish on cut bait and dip bait along the canal, stripers in the boils and around the check gates early. This warning holds whatever the reports say: aqueduct water is swift, cold and steep-sided, with no way out. Wear a PFD, fish with somebody, and stay off wet concrete. |
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◉ Ocean Report & Charters
Boat-by-boat dock totals, Oct. 30–Nov. 3 (Friday through Tuesday), from the NorCalFishReports, SoCalFishReports and SanDiegoFishReports count pages, each date pulled separately. Tuesday, Nov. 3 is thin in the north: one Monterey trip is all the NorCal count page had, and Monday had only three boats; the Davey’s Locker page agreed with the count service for Newport. Fish-per-rod is our arithmetic from the published angler and fish counts. On multi-day trips the per-rod figure is for the whole trip, not per day; a 2-day boat had two days’ limits to work with. “YFT” = yellowfin, “YT” = yellowtail, “WSB” = white seabass.
| Boat / Port | Date & Trip | Count | Per Rod |
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| Bay Area & North: Salmon (kings), final two days |
| Oakland Anglers II · Emeryville | Oct. 30, full day | 5 kings on 15 | 0.33 |
| Argo · San Francisco | Oct. 31, full day | 3 Chinook on 4 | 0.75 |
| Final two days listed | Fri–Sat, Oct. 30–31 | 8 kings on 19, two boats on the count service | 0.42 |
| Bay Area & North: Sturgeon and Bluefin |
| Round 2 · Berkeley (Right Hook) | Nov. 1, full day | 15 sturgeon released on 4 | 3.75 released |
| Caroline · Monterey | Oct. 31 / Nov. 1 / Nov. 2, full day | 8 bluefin on 14; 9 on 11; 2 on 8 | 0.57 / 0.82 / 0.25 |
| Kahuna · Monterey (J&M) | Nov. 3, full day | 4 bluefin on 4 | 1.00 |
| Bay Area & North: Groundfish |
| Surf Scooter · Bodega Bay | Oct. 31 / Nov. 1, full day | 30 lingcod (to 26 lb) + 150 rockfish on 15; 42 lingcod (to 23 lb) + 210 rockfish on 21 | 2.00 ling, 10.00 rockfish; same both days |
| Dragonfly · Bodega Bay | Oct. 31 / Nov. 1 / Nov. 2, full day | 12 ling + 60 rockfish on 6; 12 + 60 on 6; 10 + 50 on 5 | 2.00 / 2.00 / 2.00 ling; rockfish 10.00 / 10.00 / 10.00 |
| Hooked on Mendo · Fort Bragg | Oct. 31, full day | 10 ling + 50 rockfish on 5 | 2.00 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| Reel Steel · Eureka | Oct. 31, full day | 8 ling + 40 rockfish on 4 | 2.00 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| New Huck Finn · Emeryville | Oct. 30 / Oct. 31, full day | 20 ling + 100 rockfish on 10; 42 ling + 210 rockfish on 21 (plus 1 mako shark, 1 octopus) | 2.00 / 2.00 ling; rockfish 10.00 / 10.00 |
| TigerFish · Emeryville | Oct. 30, full day | 6 ling + 210 rockfish on 21 | 0.29 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| KingFish · Emeryville | Oct. 30, full day | 1 cabezon, 4 ling, 139 rockfish on 14 | 10.00 rockfish + cabezon, 0.29 ling |
| Sea Wolf · Emeryville | Oct. 31, full day | 16 ling + 200 rockfish on 20 | 0.80 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| Oakland Anglers II · Emeryville | Oct. 31, full day | 12 ling + 170 rockfish on 17 | 0.71 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| New Rayann · Sausalito | Oct. 31, full day | 18 ling, 4 bonito, 140 rockfish on 14 | 1.29 ling, 10.00 rockfish |
| California Dawn II · Berkeley | Oct. 31, full day | Listed as 270 lingcod + 50 rockfish (to 26 lb) on 27; see note | see note |
| Queen of Hearts · Half Moon Bay | Oct. 31 / Nov. 2, full day | 19 bonito + 140 rockfish on 14; 52 bonito + 80 rockfish on 8 | 10.00 / 10.00 rockfish |
| Riptide · Half Moon Bay | Oct. 30 / Oct. 31, deep reef | 23 bonito + 170 rockfish on 14; 18 bonito + 200 rockfish on 20 | 12.14* / 10.00 rockfish |
| Caroline / Check Mate · Monterey | Oct. 30–Nov. 1, full day | Caroline: 130 rockfish on 13, 140 on 14, 110 on 11. Check Mate: 80 on 8; 23 ling + 180 rockfish on 18 | 10.00 rockfish every trip; Check Mate ling 1.28 |
| Kahuna / Chubasco · Monterey (J&M) | Oct. 31–Nov. 1 | Kahuna: 3 ling + 170 rockfish on 17 (full day); 3 ling + 110 on 11 (half day AM). Chubasco: 90 rockfish on 9; 50 on 9 (half day AM) | Kahuna 10.00; Chubasco 10.00 / 5.56 |
| *Riptide’s Oct. 30 listing, 170 rockfish on 14 rods, is 12.14 a rod, above the 10-fish aggregate; treat it as a listing or headcount error. California Dawn II’s Oct. 31 line reads 270 lingcod and 50 rockfish on 27 rods. With a 2-lingcod limit that can’t be right, and 270 is exactly 27 rods at 10 rockfish, so the two numbers look swapped. We’re not reading it as 270 lingcod and print no per-rod figure; the count service may fix it. Per-rod figures are our arithmetic. Lingcod limit 2, rockfish aggregate 10. |
| Central Coast: Morro Bay & Avila Beach |
| Endeavor · Morro Bay | Oct. 31, full day | 2 bocaccio, 18 bolina, 5 copper, 45 rockfish, 15 red rockfish (85 rockfish-group) + 18 lingcod (to 14 lb) + 7 bonito on 9 | 9.44 / 2.00 ling |
| Endeavor · Morro Bay | Nov. 2, 1/2 day AM | 110 rockfish-group + 2 lingcod on 11 | 10.00 / 0.18 ling |
| Starfire · Morro Bay | Oct. 31, 3/4 day | 201 rockfish + 19 red rockfish (220 group) + 6 lingcod on 22 | 10.00 / 0.27 ling |
| Avenger · Morro Bay | Nov. 2, 3/4 day | 63 rockfish + 18 red + 9 copper (90 group) + 1 lingcod + 1 yellowtail on 9 | 10.00 / 0.11 ling |
| Patriot · Avila Beach | Oct. 30 / Oct. 31, 3/4 day / 1/2 day AM | Oct. 30: 192 rockfish-group + 18 ling on 24. Oct. 31: 118 rockfish-group + 16 ling on 24 (plus 1 halibut) | 8.00 / 4.92 |
| Sunny Day · Avila Beach | Oct. 30, 3/4 day | 20 rockfish-group + 1 lingcod on 2 | 10.00 |
| “Rockfish-group” is our sum of the rockfish, bocaccio, bolina, copper, canary, gopher, red rockfish and rockcod lines the landing lists separately (Avila’s Oct. 31 sum includes 1 cabezon, which counts toward the same 10-fish aggregate). Copper is limited to 1 a person, canary to 2. Avenger listed 9 copper on 9 rods Monday, exactly at the limit; Patriot listed 23 copper on 24 on Oct. 30 and 13 on 24 on Oct. 31. |
| Southern California: Newport, Dana Point, San Pedro, Long Beach |
| Freelance · Newport (Davey’s) | Oct. 30 / Oct. 31 / Nov. 2, full day | 97 yellowfin, 55 skipjack, 41 bullet on 51; 137 yellowfin, 51 skipjack, 175 bullet on 56; 36 yellowfin, 41 skipjack, 25 pompano dorado on 55 | 1.90 / 2.45 / 0.65 YFT |
| Freelance · Newport (Davey’s) | Nov. 3, 3/4 day | 8 yellowtail, 17 sand bass, 7 calico, 2 sheephead, 1 striped marlin on 62 | 0.13 YT, no tuna listed |
| Blackfish · Newport (Davey’s) | Oct. 30 (trip length listed differently by two sources) | 60 yellowfin on 6 | 10.00 YFT |
| Patriot · Newport | Oct. 30, 3/4 day | 59 yellowfin, 27 bullet, 16 skipjack, 3 dorado on 38 | 1.55 YFT |
| Clemente · Dana Point | Oct. 30, 3/4 day | 76 yellowfin, 16 skipjack, 3 yellowtail, 2 wahoo on 16 | 4.75 YFT |
| Sum Fun · Dana Point | Oct. 30 / Nov. 2 / Nov. 3, 3/4 day | 105 yellowfin, 58 skipjack, 45 bullet on 27; 5 yellowfin, 29 skipjack, 21 bullet on 44; 22 white seabass, 75 sculpin, 62 whitefish on 43 | 3.89 YFT / 0.11 YFT / 0.51 WSB |
| Clemente · Dana Point | Nov. 3, 1/2 day AM | 8 white seabass released, 11 bonito, 2 yellowtail; 80 sand bass and 200 calico released, on 40 | 8 WSB released |
| Pursuit · San Pedro (22nd St.) | Oct. 30, full day | 172 bullet tuna, 41 bonito, 74 calico, 11 yellowtail on 28 | 6.14 bullet |
| Freedom · San Pedro (22nd St.) | Oct. 30, overnight | 43 yellowtail, 42 sheephead, 221 whitefish, 200 rockfish on 29 | 1.48 YT |
| Victory · Long Beach | Nov. 2 / Nov. 3, 3/4 day | 68 sand bass, 41 calico, 160 whitefish on 32; 50 sand bass, 31 calico, 71 whitefish on 44 | 2.12 / 1.14 sand bass |
| Eldorado · Long Beach | Oct. 30 / Oct. 31, overnight | Oct. 30: 16 yellowtail, 32 sheephead, 137 whitefish, 118 rockfish on 27. Oct. 31 (listed “Island Freelance”): 6 yellowtail, 40 sheephead, 186 whitefish, 102 rockfish on 20 | 0.59 / 0.30 YT |
| San Diego & Oceanside |
| San Diego · Seaforth | Oct. 30 / 31, Nov. 1 / 2 / 3, full day | 151, 124, 18, 72 and 208 yellowfin on 35, 36, 35, 35 and 36 (Nov. 3 also 68 skipjack, 4 dorado) | 4.31 / 3.44 / 0.51 / 2.06 / 5.78 YFT |
| Sea Watch · Seaforth | Oct. 30, full day | 104 yellowfin, 44 skipjack on 15 | 6.93 YFT |
| New Lo-An · Point Loma | Nov. 1, 2.5 day / Nov. 3, 2 day | 120 yellowfin to 109 lb on 12; 120 yellowfin to 60 lb on 25 | 10.00 / 4.80 YFT, trip |
| Sea Adventure 80 · H&M | Nov. 3, 2 day | 105 yellowfin, 90 skipjack, 3 bonito, 2 yellowtail, 1 wahoo on 16 | 6.56 YFT, trip |
| Pacific Queen · Fisherman’s | Nov. 1, 2 day | 78 yellowfin, 3 wahoo, 1 striped marlin on 30 | 2.60 YFT, trip |
| Pacific Voyager · Seaforth | Nov. 1, 2 day | 80 dorado, 71 skipjack, 42 yellowfin on 20 | 4.00 dorado, 2.10 YFT, trip |
| Aztec · Seaforth | Oct. 31, 2 day | 148 skipjack, 37 yellowfin, 7 bonito, 5 yellowtail on 19 (1 striped marlin released) | 1.95 YFT, trip |
| Ocean Odyssey · H&M | Oct. 30 / Nov. 1, 1.5 day | 16 yellowfin, 13 yellowtail on 29; 54 yellowfin, 2 wahoo on 12 | 0.55 / 4.50 YFT, trip |
| Tribute · Seaforth | Nov. 1, 1.5 day | 30 yellowfin (to 70 lb), 50 skipjack, 1 striped marlin on 18 | 1.67 YFT, trip |
| New Seaforth · Seaforth | Nov. 3, 1/2 day AM | 120 yellowfin, 25 skipjack, 10 bullet on 44 | 2.73 YFT |
| Premier · H&M | Nov. 3, 1/2 day AM | 68 yellowfin, 36 skipjack, 37 rockfish, 11 sand bass on 22 | 3.09 YFT |
| Standouts only; the count service lists many more San Diego half-day and Oceanside trips, mostly skipjack, barracuda, sand bass and calico. Nov. 1 was thin for the full-day boats (San Diego, 18 yellowfin on 35). Lobster twilight trips out of H&M and 22nd Street kept posting limits of spiny lobster (Tradition: 43–70 kept plus 91–121 released per trip). Dock totals by landing were not summed this week. |
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Catalina & the Island Boats
We found no dock total or skipper post this week that names Catalina, so neither will we. We read 22nd Street Landing’s report page (newest post Oct. 18, a two-day trip on Freedom that never names an island; nothing newer) and Davey’s Locker’s count page (counts only; the word Catalina appears there only as a menu link). The count service again tags Long Beach’s Eldorado “Island Freelance” for an overnight Saturday, Oct. 31 (6 yellowtail, 40 sheephead, 16 calico, 186 whitefish, 102 rockfish, 34 vermilion rockfish on 20 rods) without saying which island, and we won’t guess. We have no fish counts to give for Catalina.
Oxnard’s and Santa Barbara’s boats keep posting island-style mixed bags: Aloha Spirit (Oxnard) listed 300 whitefish, 12 sheephead and 3 yellowtail on 30 rods Saturday, Speed Twin 200 whitefish on 20 Monday, and Santa Barbara’s Coral Sea 27 lingcod on 23 rods Monday. The landing’s name carries “Channel Islands,” but the count service doesn’t say where those fish came from. If you’re planning an island trip, ask whoever you book with where their boats have been fishing.
Rockfish rules for every SoCal boat, island trips included, as we read them two weeks ago and did not re-read today: from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, south of Point Conception, nearshore rockfish, cabezon and greenling are closed to boat anglers, and shelf rockfish and lingcod may only be taken seaward of the 50-fathom line. Yellowtail, calico, bonito and tuna aren’t affected. Also in force as of CDFW’s Sept. 17 notice, which we did not re-read this week: yellowfin 10 a day within the 20-fish general limit, bluefin 2 on top of it, and the emergency rule from Pigeon Point south: no hooks over 1½ inches and no wire leaders for shore anglers or anyone within 1,000 yards of shore. Check CDFW before you go.
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⏳ The Season Clock
Salmon: closed. Dungeness crab: opens Saturday, Nov. 7.
Salmon, Pigeon Point to the U.S./Mexico border: was open Sept. 1–30. Closed since Oct. 1.
38°02′ N (near Point Reyes) to Pigeon Point: was open Sept. 1 – Oct. 31. That ended Saturday night; there are no open salmon days left in 2026 (0 on the calendar as of today, Wednesday Nov. 4). CDFW’s salmon page and Marine Management News blog, read this morning, list no change to those dates; the newest salmon action on the blog is still Aug. 21. We did not re-read CDFW’s Sport Ocean Salmon Tracker, so we print no final fall tally; the last reading we took ran through Oct. 15 at 13,769 caught against the 20,000-fish guideline. Seasons for 2027 aren’t set, and we won’t guess at them. The salmon hotline, for when they are: (707) 576-3429.
Dungeness crab, recreational (CDFW release, Oct. 30): opens Saturday, Nov. 7 in most areas. Traps are restricted from the California/Oregon border to Point Conception (Fishing Zones 1–5) until at least Jan. 1, 2027, because of confirmed whale entanglements this year; hoop nets and crab snares are not affected, and hoop nets must be serviced every two hours. Closed: Cape Mendocino (40°10′ N) to the Ten Mile State Marine Reserve (39°33.3′ N), where crab tested unhealthy for domoic acid; take and possession there are prohibited until state health agencies clear it. CDFW has issued a fleet advisory for all zones: keep gear out of areas where whales are present. Domoic acid closure line (831) 649-2883. The commercial season is delayed to at least Jan. 1, with the next risk assessment in mid-December.
Groundfish Limits
10 rockfish, cabezon and greenling per day, aggregate. Within that: copper 1, canary 2, and vermilion/sunset 4 per person combined in the Northern Management Area (north of Cape Mendocino), 2 everywhere else as we read it last week; the 4 was re-checked this morning against CDFW’s groundfish summary, last updated June 23, 2026. Lingcod 2 a day, 22-inch minimum. No retention at any time of quillback, cowcod, yelloweye or bronzespotted.
Depths: Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco and Central areas (everything north of Point Conception) are open at all depths through Dec. 31, as we read it last week. Southern area: nearshore species closed; shelf and slope rockfish and lingcod seaward of 50 fathoms only from Oct. 1, also as read last week. You must carry a descending device (re-read this morning). Cordell Bank: all groundfish fishing is prohibited there, re-read this morning on CDFW’s summary. Check the boundary on CDFW’s Ocean Sport Fishing interactive map and the NMFS compliance guide before you go.
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◉ Tide Tables
Source note: every prediction below is a direct pull from the NOAA CO-OPS prediction API, read as raw data this morning for the four stations, Nov. 4–11. MLLW datum, local time (standard time all window), heights in feet. H = high, L = low. Minus lows show in red.
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The minus tides come back with the new moon, and they land at sunset. At the Golden Gate the afternoon low dips below zero Saturday, Nov. 7 (−0.21 ft at 4:11 p.m.), then −0.45 at 4:48 p.m. Sunday, −0.54 at 5:24 p.m. Monday, −0.53 at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday and −0.44 at 6:37 p.m. next Wednesday. Monday’s swing is the biggest of the window: a 6.19 ft high at 10:35 a.m. falling to −0.54 ft, 6.73 ft in under seven hours. Today’s low is a mild +1.35 ft at 1:59 p.m.
Monterey bottoms at −0.43 ft at 4:47 p.m. Monday and Port San Luis at −0.36 ft at 4:17 p.m. Port Chicago stays shallow, to −0.26 ft at 8:03 p.m. Sunday. Sunset runs about 4:52 to 4:58 p.m. this window by our Fresno calculation (the coast is a few minutes later), so Saturday’s and Sunday’s minus lows fall in the last hours of daylight and Monday’s through next Wednesday’s fall at or after dusk. Last week’s came well after dark. The new moon itself is Sunday at 11:02 p.m.
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San Francisco / Golden Gate · NOAA station 9414290
| Day | Highs & Lows |
|---|
| Wed Nov 4 | 1:00a L 0.47 · 8:00a H 5.64 · 1:59p L 1.35 · 7:57p H 4.73 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 1:47a L 0.86 · 8:35a H 5.91 · 2:48p L 0.70 · 9:03p H 4.71 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 2:29a L 1.31 · 9:08a H 6.11 · 3:32p L 0.17 · 10:03p H 4.71 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 3:09a L 1.79 · 9:38a H 6.22 · 4:11p L −0.21 · 10:58p H 4.72 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 3:47a L 2.26 · 10:06a H 6.24 · 4:48p L −0.45 · 11:50p H 4.73 |
| Mon Nov 9 | 4:25a L 2.68 · 10:35a H 6.19 · 5:24p L −0.54 |
| Tue Nov 10 | 12:39a H 4.70 · 5:02a L 3.03 · 11:04a H 6.08 · 6:00p L −0.53 |
| Wed Nov 11 | 1:27a H 4.64 · 5:41a L 3.30 · 11:35a H 5.93 · 6:37p L −0.44 |
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Port Chicago / West Delta · NOAA station 9415144
| Day | Highs & Lows |
|---|
| Wed Nov 4 | 4:04a L 0.04 · 10:27a H 4.42 · 4:37p L 0.58 · 10:22p H 3.77 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 4:46a L 0.25 · 11:06a H 4.63 · 5:35p L 0.17 · 11:22p H 3.74 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 5:23a L 0.56 · 11:39a H 4.79 · 6:27p L −0.10 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 12:17a H 3.73 · 5:56a L 0.95 · 12:08p H 4.90 · 7:16p L −0.24 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 1:09a H 3.74 · 6:28a L 1.37 · 12:31p H 4.98 · 8:03p L −0.26 |
| Mon Nov 9 | 2:01a H 3.76 · 6:59a L 1.75 · 12:51p H 5.05 · 8:47p L −0.22 |
| Tue Nov 10 | 2:53a H 3.79 · 7:34a L 2.06 · 1:12p H 5.10 · 9:28p L −0.14 |
| Wed Nov 11 | 3:44a H 3.81 · 8:13a L 2.27 · 1:40p H 5.10 · 10:08p L −0.07 |
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Monterey · NOAA station 9413450
| Day | Highs & Lows |
|---|
| Wed Nov 4 | 12:17a L 0.42 · 6:59a H 5.08 · 1:11p L 1.47 · 6:53p H 4.28 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 1:00a L 0.84 · 7:31a H 5.41 · 2:03p L 0.82 · 7:59p H 4.17 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 1:38a L 1.32 · 8:00a H 5.67 · 2:48p L 0.29 · 8:58p H 4.08 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 2:12a L 1.80 · 8:28a H 5.84 · 3:30p L −0.09 · 9:52p H 4.01 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 2:44a L 2.25 · 8:56a H 5.92 · 4:09p L −0.33 · 10:44p H 3.95 |
| Mon Nov 9 | 3:15a L 2.63 · 9:24a H 5.92 · 4:47p L −0.43 · 11:36p H 3.88 |
| Tue Nov 10 | 3:46a L 2.93 · 9:52a H 5.82 · 5:26p L −0.41 |
| Wed Nov 11 | 12:28a H 3.81 · 4:17a L 3.16 · 10:23a H 5.66 · 6:06p L −0.31 |
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Port San Luis (Avila / Morro Bay) · NOAA station 9412110
| Day | Highs & Lows |
|---|
| Wed Nov 4 | 6:36a H 5.20 · 12:47p L 1.46 · 6:29p H 4.44 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 12:37a L 0.80 · 7:07a H 5.54 · 1:36p L 0.82 · 7:30p H 4.33 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 1:13a L 1.24 · 7:35a H 5.81 · 2:20p L 0.31 · 8:25p H 4.21 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 1:45a L 1.69 · 8:02a H 5.99 · 3:00p L −0.06 · 9:15p H 4.09 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 2:14a L 2.12 · 8:28a H 6.07 · 3:39p L −0.28 · 10:04p H 3.96 |
| Mon Nov 9 | 2:41a L 2.50 · 8:55a H 6.05 · 4:17p L −0.36 · 10:55p H 3.85 |
| Tue Nov 10 | 3:08a L 2.80 · 9:22a H 5.94 · 4:56p L −0.33 · 11:46p H 3.74 |
| Wed Nov 11 | 3:35a L 3.04 · 9:51a H 5.76 · 5:36p L −0.21 |
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◉ Moon Phase & Best Days
Illumination is the moon’s true figure at local noon, and the new-moon time, sunrise, sunset and lunar transits come from an astronomy-library calculation (ephem) for Fresno (36.75°N, 119.77°W); we cross-checked the phase against the 29.530589-day synodic month from the Jan. 6, 2000 new moon, and the mean calculation lands about 15 hours after the true new moon, which is normal. Local time is standard time all window. Solunar majors are the moon overhead and underfoot, in the order they fall in the day. Almanac convention: the best fishing brackets the new and the full moon.
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This is a bracket week. The moon was last quarter Sunday, Nov. 1, and is new at about 11:02 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8; first quarter is Nov. 17 and full moon Nov. 24. By the almanac’s convention the best fishing runs from about Nov. 6 through Nov. 10, and the tide agrees: the biggest swings of the window, 6.69 and 6.73 ft at the Golden Gate on Sunday and Monday, land on those days.
Where the majors fall. Near the new moon the moon crosses overhead near midday and underfoot near midnight, so the majors fall around noon and midnight, not at dawn or dusk: Sunday’s are 11:14 a.m. and 11:38 p.m., Monday’s only one, 12:02 p.m. Sunrise is 6:30 a.m. and sunset 4:55 p.m., so on Sunday and Monday the tide, not the moon clock, sets the best hour: the ebb runs out through the afternoon, and the minus low (4:48 p.m. Sunday, 5:24 p.m. Monday) comes at dusk. The midday majors, with the ebb running hard, are the other window.
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| Day | Moon | Majors | Sun | Rating |
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| Wed Nov. 4 | Waning crescent, 20% | 8:15a / 8:37p | 6:26a – 4:58p | ●●○○○ Building toward the new moon Nov. 8; Golden Gate high 5.64 ft at 8:00a, so the morning major lands on the top of the tide |
| Thu Nov. 5 | Waning crescent, 12% | 8:59a / 9:21p | 6:27a – 4:57p | ●●●○○ Moon rising earlier each night; low 0.70 ft at 2:48p |
| Fri Nov. 6 | Waning crescent, 6% | 9:43a / 10:05p | 6:28a – 4:56p | ●●●○○ Port Chicago first dips below zero after dark, −0.10 ft at 6:27p |
| Sat Nov. 7 | Waning crescent, 2% | 10:27a / 10:50p | 6:29a – 4:56p | ●●●●○ Crab opener. First Golden Gate minus, −0.21 ft at 4:11p |
| Sun Nov. 8 | New moon (11:02p tonight), <1% at noon | 11:14a / 11:38p | 6:30a – 4:55p | ●●●●● New moon 11:02p. −0.45 ft at 4:48p, 6.69 ft swing |
| Mon Nov. 9 | Waxing crescent, <1% | 12:02p | 6:31a – 4:54p | ●●●●● Lowest water of the window, −0.54 ft at 5:24p, 6.73 ft swing |
| Tue Nov. 10 | Waxing crescent, 2% | 12:27a / 12:52p | 6:32a – 4:53p | ●●●●○ −0.53 ft at 6:00p, after dark |
| Wed Nov. 11 | Waxing crescent, 6% | 1:18a / 1:44p | 6:33a – 4:52p | ●●●○○ −0.44 ft at 6:37p; moon 6% lit, a thin evening crescent |
Major times are computed from lunar transit and are good to within about fifteen minutes; sunrise and sunset to a minute or two. Ratings apply the almanac convention straight, and they’re not a promise; the notes beside them mark where the tide does something.
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◉ Fish Stocking Report
CDFW plants are posted as a week range, not a date. The list for this week, Nov. 1–7, 2026, is posted on NorCalFishReports. All rainbow trout, source CDFW. Pounds are not posted for any water, so we print none.
| County | Water |
|---|
| Madera | Bass Lake (CDFW) |
| Nevada | Donner Lake (CDFW) |
| Siskiyou | Bass Lake (CDFW); a different lake from Madera County’s |
| Fresno / Kings / Tulare / Tuolumne / Calaveras / Mariposa / Merced / Stanislaus / Kern / Inyo / Mono | Nothing on this week’s list. |
We read this list on NorCalFishReports alone. We did not re-query CDFW’s own Fish Planting Schedule this week (it returned no record when we tried it before), so treat the table as one source. The list for Nov. 8–14 isn’t posted yet.
What changed: last week’s list (the Kings below Pine Flat, Don Pedro, New Melones, Lake Berryessa and three Sierra County lakes) is gone, and Bass Lake in Madera County and Donner Lake take its place. Plants are listed by week, so a lake can be stocked any day of it, and earlier fish are still in the water. Call the regional lines below before you drive.
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◉ Tournament Board
Pulled this morning from the CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, black bass category (656 records on the feed in all; we filtered to events starting Nov. 4 or later). Events are approved unless marked pending. Dates and venues can still change at the club’s end.
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The big Valley weekend is here: Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7–8. Millerton and Don Pedro each have an approved event both days (Don Pedro has two on Saturday), Nacimiento has a two-day event, and Eastman has one Sunday. It is also the crab opener, so ramps and launch docks will be busy. Nothing approved is on Pine Flat, McClure, Isabella, New Melones, Bass Lake or the other Central Coast lakes through Nov. 11. The Delta has Tracy Oasis Marina events Thursday and next Wednesday.
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On the Water This Window: Nov. 4 to Nov. 11
| Date | Water | Sponsor |
|---|
| Thu 5 | Delta (San Joaquin) | Tracy Oasis Marina |
| Saturday, Nov. 7 |
| Sat 7 | Millerton | Kerman Bass Club |
| Sat 7 | Don Pedro (two events) | Sonora Bass Anglers · Manteca Bassin Buddies |
| Sat 7 – Sun 8 | Nacimiento, 2 day | Golden Empire Bass Club |
| Sat 7 | Delta (Contra Costa) | Delta Bass Club |
| Sat 7 | Elsewhere: Clear Lake, Oroville (two), Sonoma, Almanor, Trinity, Pyramid, Diamond Valley, El Capitan, San Vicente (two), Colorado River | 17 approved events start this day statewide, counting the Valley ones above |
| Sunday, Nov. 8 |
| Sun 8 | Millerton | Kings VIII Bass Club |
| Sun 8 | Don Pedro | River Bank Bass Anglers |
| Sun 8 | Eastman | No sponsor named |
| Sun 8 | Delta (Contra Costa) · Shasta · Berryessa | The Bass Hole · Shasta Cascade Bass Anglers · Berryessa TNT |
| Wed 11 | Delta (San Joaquin) | Tracy Oasis Marina |
Mark the Calendar
| Date | Water | Sponsor |
|---|
| Nov. 13–15 | Don Pedro, 3 day | Bass Angler Inc. |
| Nov. 14 | Pine Flat · McClure (two events) · Delta (San Joaquin) · Delta (Contra Costa) | BTuff Magazine & Cope’s Tackle and Rod Shop · Gilroy Bassmasters · Sierra Bass Club · Oro Madre Bass Anglers · Bass Anglers of Northern California |
| Nov. 19 · 27 | Delta (San Joaquin) | Tracy Oasis Marina |
| Nov. 20–22 | Delta (San Joaquin) · Millerton · Nacimiento · McClure | NorCal Bass (Nov. 20–21) · BASS 101 (Nov. 21) · American Bass (Nov. 21–22) · Fresno Bass Club (Nov. 22) |
| Nov. 27 | Pine Flat · Nacimiento | CA B.A.S.S. Nation · 805 Bass Addicts |
| Dec. 5 | Pine Flat · Don Pedro (two events) · McClure | Kerman Bass Club · Sonora Bass Anglers · Best Bass Tournaments · Manteca Bassin Buddies |
| Dec. 6 | McClure (two events) | Fresno Bass Club · Hughson High School Bass Fishing Club |
Nothing is permitted on Isabella through Dec. 31; the database does list a Kern County “various waters” filing for Dec. 1–31 with no sponsor named. We don’t print last week’s weights. Host clubs post results on no verifiable schedule, and many never post at all, so a results table here would be part fact and part guess. Upcoming permitted events only.
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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.
Rather talk it through? (559) 816-3889.
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⚠ Water & Weather Safety
Minus tides mean fast water at dusk. From Saturday the Golden Gate drains more than 6 feet in under seven hours, to −0.45 ft at 4:48 p.m. Sunday and −0.54 ft at 5:24 p.m. Monday. The flood comes back just as fast over rocks, jetties and bars you walked out to on the ebb, and from Monday the turn comes after sunset. If you’re on the rocks, a flat or a sandbar, know when the tide turns, carry a real light, and give yourself a way back before it does.
Dark comes early. The clocks changed Sunday, and sunset runs about 4:52 to 4:58 p.m. this window. Plan your launch and your drive home around it.
Crab season brings whales into the conversation. CDFW has a fleet advisory for every zone: keep gear out of areas where whales are present. Traps are restricted from the Oregon border to Point Conception, so if you set a hoop net, tend it every two hours and don’t leave it unattended. Cape Mendocino to Ten Mile State Marine Reserve is closed over domoic acid; the closure line is (831) 649-2883.
The Kings release is low, and still cold. The Corps’ hourly report had the flow below Pine Flat at 149 to 150 cfs since Tuesday morning, and the water at the head of the lake at 53 to 57°F. It’s cold tailwater over slick cobble, and the release is set by request, so it can change overnight. Wear the vest, carry a staff, and check the flow before you cross back.
Shellfish: the mussel quarantine is over, but advisories remain. CDPH’s Oct. 28 release ended the statewide sport-harvested mussel quarantine at midnight Oct. 31. It says the Northern Channel Islands advisory for sport-harvested mussels, clams, scallops and oysters stays in place over domoic acid, as do the Del Norte and Humboldt County razor clam notices. Check CDPH before you gather anything. Shellfish line: (800) 553-4133. We did not re-read CDFW’s Sept. 11 order making anchovy taken from Pigeon Point to Point Lobos bait only, and saw no notice lifting it, so treat it as still in force.
Young white sharks may still be close to shore. CDFW’s Sept. 17 notice set an emergency rule from Pigeon Point south that bans big hooks and wire leaders from shore and within 1,000 yards of it. We didn’t re-read the notice this week, so check CDFW before you fish that stretch. If you hook one, cut the line. Don’t try to land it.
Low lakes, and a blank row isn’t a safe row. Pine Flat 18.5%, Success 10.1%, Kaweah 10.3%, Eastman 6.8%, Hensley 7.5%, and Shaver and Huntington are still losing water. Every stump and roadbed that cleared your hull in July is closer to prop depth now. Idle in, watch the sounder, and call the marina before you tow.
Wind, fire and the first snow. Check road, fire, wind and snow before you head for Shaver, Huntington, the Kaiser Pass lakes, Wishon, or over the hill to the Owens, and know a second way out. Tell somebody where you went and when you’ll be back.
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Three things this week. First, the crab. Recreational Dungeness opens Saturday, Nov. 7, with traps restricted from the Oregon border to Point Conception until at least Jan. 1 and Cape Mendocino to Ten Mile closed over domoic acid. That’s CDFW’s Oct. 30 release, not a landing’s say-so. Salmon is done for 2026; the last two days the count service listed were 8 kings on 19 rods. If you’re planning ahead, the salmon hotline is (707) 576-3429.
Second, the new moon. It’s Sunday night, Nov. 8, and the Golden Gate goes to −0.54 ft Monday at 5:24 p.m. Minus tides at dusk mean water coming back fast over the rocks. Carry a light and mind the early dark.
Third, the lakes. Pine Flat is up 3,385 AF to 18.5% full, Millerton gained 4,691, and Don Pedro and New Melones have nearly stopped dropping, while McClure, Shaver and Huntington are still falling. This week’s trout plant list is only Bass Lake and Donner Lake. We also couldn’t get a usable freshwater bite report, so the bite table says so. Call the marina before you tow.
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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.
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(559) 816-3889
bryan@bmelloag.com
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Sources used for this issue: Tide predictions for Nov. 4–11 are direct pulls of the raw NOAA CO-OPS prediction data (read in the browser, not through second-hand tables) for stations 9414290 San Francisco, 9415144 Port Chicago, 9413450 Monterey and 9412110 Port San Luis (MLLW, local time) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District: Corps reservoir sheet and Section 7 sheet (data ending midnight Nov. 3, generated Nov. 4) and the Pine Flat hourly report · California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) daily storage for Don Pedro and McClure (through Nov. 3), Shaver, Huntington and Florence (through Nov. 2), plus river flows and Millerton and New Melones elevations · San Luis Obispo County live reservoir sensors for Lopez and Santa Margarita and USGS gauges for Nacimiento and San Antonio elevation · NorCalFishReports.com, SoCalFishReports.com and SanDiegoFishReports.com boat-by-boat dock totals for Oct. 30–Nov. 3, Davey’s Locker’s count page, 22nd Street Landing’s report page, Fish Emeryville’s skipper posts and Ken’s Sporting Goods’ East Walker post, via NorCalFishReports · CDFW: salmon regulations page, Marine Management News blog, the Oct. 30 Dungeness crab release, the groundfish summary and the Marine Region news page · CDPH Oct. 28 mussel-quarantine release · NorCalFishReports.com fish plant list for Nov. 1–7 · CDFW Fishing Contest permit database, black bass · Moon, sun and solunar figures computed with the ephem astronomy library for Fresno · CDFW, CDPH and NMFS rule summaries as dated in the text.
What we couldn’t get, and what we corrected: No usable freshwater bite reports for the Central Valley lakes, the Delta or the Sierra this week, so we printed none · Wishon and Courtright returned no state reading and Edison none at all, so those rows are blank or stale; Don Pedro and McClure changes cover eight and nine days, and Shaver, Huntington and Florence are Nov. 2 figures · McClure’s Nov. 2 state reading was a sensor spike and was ignored · Nacimiento and San Antonio are elevation only, with no percentage · No San Joaquin flow below Friant (last trusted figure Sept. 17) and no Tule flow · No verified current report for the California Aqueduct, San Luis or O’Neill Forebay · The Pine Flat inflow figures on the Corps sheet and at the head of the lake still disagree, and Success’s gross pool is unverified · Tuesday, Nov. 3 dock totals in the north are one Monterey trip, there is no attributable Catalina catch, and two California Dawn II and Riptide listings look like count-service errors (flagged in the table) · CDFW’s salmon tracker was not re-read, so there is no final fall tally · We did not re-read CDFW’s Sept. 17 shark order, the Sept. 11 anchovy order or the Southern-area and Central-area groundfish depth rules this week; they are carried from earlier readings and labeled that way · The vermilion/sunset limit of 4 is CDFW’s wording for the Northern Management Area, which differs from the shorthand “4 north of Point Conception,” so we kept CDFW’s · The fish plant list rests on one source and shows no pounds · Two boats listed Blackfish’s Oct. 30 trip as different lengths (half day versus full day); we flagged it · The mean-moon cross-check lands 15 hours from the true new moon, as expected.
Please read: Conditions, seasons, bag limits and closures change, sometimes with a single day’s notice. Crab trap restrictions and area closures can change with a risk assessment or a health notice. Groundfish depth rules and sublimits change by area and month, and the Southern Management Area changed on Oct. 1. 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 check ramp access and lake levels with the operating agency before you travel. Where a figure was stale, missing, from a second source or in conflict with another published source, we said so and dated it rather than guessing.
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