Fishing continues to be great on the Central Coast with a few more salmon being reported mostly out of Morro Bay and the surf perch starting to bite well. Some halibut have been caught out of PSL around Black Rock and the Pea Patch on frozen bait. The perch are everywhere but are concentrating past Arroyo Grande Creek almost to the ORV section; where they usually are.
Lopez has been producing great quantities of crappie and some good redear as well as lots of bass. The worm bite has slowed a little but there are still some good fish to catch on Texas and dropshot rigs. The Senko bite is kind of spotty but should pickup as more fish move in to spawn with this full moon. Weeds are starting to grow in some areas so move the hook a little higher on the dropshot and the Carolina rig should be producing. French-fry worms, wacky and straight, are good as well as everyone’s favorite; lizards. The crankbait bite sounds like it is heating up with my buddy BJ Westbrook, maker of Kicker Worms, available in the shop, catching an even dozen fish in 2 hours before the Gold Coast meeting Wednesday on rock walls. There is a big trout derby here on the 27th and 28th so there will be lots of boats but the trout bite is ON using Powerbait and some trolling.
Santa Margarita produced lots of fish and some really good ones over the weekend in the WON tournament with the big bag weighing 28 pounds for 5 fish caught by Ken Merrit fishing alone! Jigs on rockpiles, worms and trout baits caught most of his fish. Second place went to the powerhouse team of Lintner and Sharpe with 23 pounds. Jared caught one 6 pounder off a bed and Tim caught the rest on dropshot. The actual color of the worm was not revealed since there is a Western Bass tournament in that lake on Sunday, May 5th and they hope to do well there, also. In the meantime Gold Coast is hosting a tournament out of White Oak on April 27. It sounds like the dropshot may be a little tricky right now, some people are catching lots of good fish on it and some are getting blanked. The best you can do is try and figure it out but it sounds like there are very few fish on the points; try further back in the coves. Trout baits are catching fish pretty consistently almost everywhere, but try Salispuedes. Ripbaits and crankbaits are catching some fish but it sounds like the spinnerbait bite is off. There is some emerging grass and where there’s grass you can smoke ‘em, bass I mean. Crappie and bluegill are all over the lake so if you have a youngster who just wants to catch fish let them try that.
San Antonio is like an aquarium right now, the water is so clear, with some nice smallmouth bass on beds that are fairly easy to catch and some largemouth as well. Try long casts with flukes and Senkos in the brush in the river, but if the fish see you it can be tough. The deeper fish may bite a little better and early and late in the day will produce better than bright sunlight in such clear water. Some crappie are being caught with some good stringers reported.
Nacimiento is still kicking out lots of spotted bass and some good numbers of white bass. Trolling in the narrows will yield both fish in fair numbers but to catch more spots try small worms on rocky points and drop-offs.
We all know this is fishing and the bite will change but this is a good place to start searching for some fish. The weather should not change much with the worm fish but overcast will help the trout bait bite. Be creative, if you're not catching fish with what you're using but you're sure there are fish in the area switch around, you can’t force-feed them. If you throw a lure for 20-30 minutes without any action you can be sure it has been seen several times by a bass and they didn’t want it. The fish are hungry right now so find the right stuff. If you want more specific information or if you are looking for the right lure, call Wilderness Outfitters. Good Luck!