Madera County Fishing Reports

Fishing is really starting to pick up at Bass Lake as the vacation season comes to a close. Boat traffic has dropped substantially, having a positive effect on both trout and bass anglers.

The last trout stock was in April, and the bite had been quiet for the last couple of months. But with a now quieter lake, trollers are starting to find limits on the daily... pulling tubes and spinners behind dodgers in 30-ish feet of water.

The bass action is picking up too, primarily around grass in transition zones or off secondary points. Senkos, drop-shots, Ned rigs, and small jigs are all working well throughout the day... better in the early mornings.

CDFW has been stocking tens of thousands of kokanee fry yearly for the past few years, with the hope of sparking an excellent salmon fishery at Bass Lake. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have taken hold... as kokanee anglers continue to turn up empty-handed.

Water temps have really jumped over the last few weeks, now hovering in the low to mid 70s. The spotted bass spawn is long done, but the bite hasn't cooled off much. Fish are still being caught running small jigs and swimbaits off points and in steep transition areas in 10–20 feet.

A few folks have reported big groupings of American shad near the mouth and further upriver... hooking into 20–30 fish on small jigs. While rare, there are some massive stripers at Millerton (22 pounder was caught in Feb), and they surely are following those shad schools. Target them with large shad style jerkbaits or swimbaits. Also some big catfish are being pulled out on night crawlers around the mouth as well.

An unusual (for March) stretch of 70-degree days has ignited the fishing at Bass Lake over the past week. Water temps have jumped into the high 50s, trout were stocked earlier in the month (with another stock scheduled for early April), and bass are starting to move into the shallows to spawn.

Trollers are running orange or pink spinners/dodgers and pulling trout limits from 10 feet up to the surface. Bank casters are getting limits soaking PowerBait, but also finding fish on chrome spinners or spoons in back of coves in the early morning.

Spotted bass have pushed quickly into spawning areas around deeper flats and under docks. Small jigs and flukes are pulling 1-2 pound males, with the occasional big female hookup (often holding a few feet deeper).

Water temps may dip early next week with a cold front approaching, so take advantage this weekend.