September 4, 2026

We have the best charter giveaways for our anglers! We give away a raffle rod and Cope's Tackle gift card to every fisherman and bring sponsor prizes/giveaways on all our charters! PLUS!! All anglers on Cope's Tackle sponsored trips are automatically entered into our BIG LING OF THE YEAR CONTEST!

September 12th (Departs Friday 9/11), 2026 - Overnight Charter w/Black Pearl Sportfishing

October 10th, 2026 - 12 Hour Charter w/Black Pearl Sportfishing

November 14th, 2026 - 12 Hour Charter w/Black Pearl Sportfishing

December 12th, 2026 - 12 Hour Charter w/Black Pearl Sportfishing

A slight reprieve in the weather brought out more anglers, and the results were very good. Striped bass readily took cut baits, live worms, and jumbo live minnows, with the golf course gate being one of the hot spots. Lure anglers did very well with white and shad-pattern jerkbaits, tube baits, and Flukes on jig heads. Most anglers reported plenty of smaller fish, with some approaching five pounds and a few larger models also reported. Largemouth bass went after drop-shot baits, with 4-inch Roboworms in oxblood and green pumpkin producing well in the eddies below check gates. Catfishing was excellent, with dip baits, cut anchovies, and chicken liver all producing fish.

Anglers reported another productive week at Castaic, although the striper bite slowed a bit. Largemouth and smallmouth bass boiled in the backs of coves from sunup until about 9 a.m., with white topwater baits, spoons, jerkbaits, and Flukes all producing bites. Anglers fishing deeper also found success using shad, purple, and dark green 3- and 4-inch plastics on the drop shot. Striped bass were still around, but surface boils were harder to find, with most of the action occurring between the west ramp and Sharon’s Rest on Espetites, Riser Baits, soft jerkbaits, and Kastmasters. Cut bait also produced fish in the Ski Arm between Kong Island and the buoy line, with anglers dropping baits as deep as 90 feet along main-lake points. Catfishing was also good from shore using cut sardines and chicken liver.

Pyramid Lake once again saw little to no fishing pressure due to the blue-green algae bloom, but anglers looking for some solitude did well on bass, striped bass, and catfish. The big story was the size of the catfish, with many fish approaching 10 pounds reported on cut sardines and chicken liver. Most anglers were targeting striped bass but were happy to reel in the behemoth whiskerfish. Striped bass took cut sardines in about 50 feet of water, although the bite had yet to recover to the level seen a few weeks earlier. Bass anglers focused on the surface early in the day with poppers and Lucky Craft Gunfish in shad patterns, while Texas rigs in brown and dark green produced good results for the remainder of the day.

Lake Isabella has dropped slightly to 30 percent of capacity, but the bass bite remains excellent with quality largemouth being reported, including fish pushing the 10-pound mark. Anglers are finding steady action on dropshotted 6-inch Roboworms in 15 to 25 feet of water, along with Senkos in shad patterns. The North Fork has been especially productive around rock and submerged timber, while Rocky Point has been kicking out some of the better-quality fish. Early mornings have offered a solid topwater window with prop baits, Whopper Ploppers, and Spooks, while later in the day anglers are working main-lake points down to about 20 feet with 8-inch worms in oxblood and purple patterns. Crappie fishing continues to be excellent in 5 to 20 feet of water around submerged structure, with anglers finding quality slabs on live shiners and crappie jigs. Catfish action has also picked up this week, particularly around the Dam and Camp 9, where SSS dip bait, shad, and mackerel have all been producing. A few trout anglers soaking floating baits have also been hooking catfish as an unexpected bonus. Trout fishing itself remains very good, with limit-style action being reported near the North Fork on floating baits. Trollers working around the dam are also finding success with Tasmanian Devils, Needlefish, and Flicker Shads.

The Upper Kern continues to provide steady action for both holdover and wild trout throughout the popular 20-mile stretch. CDFW has Sections 5 and 6 scheduled for stocking the week of September 13, marking the first trout plant in several months. Anglers are finding fish in the deeper pools, slower eddies, and around river bends, with yellow and gold bead-head nymphs, salmon eggs, and small trout jigs all producing. On the Lower Kern, the bass bite remains strong, with both smallmouth and largemouth taking Get Bent Baits, Roostertails, and small crankbaits. Fly anglers are also reporting excellent bass action in the deeper pools on a variety of patterns. Catfish continue to provide another reliable option, with nightcrawlers, chicken liver, and cut bait all producing. As of this report, the Upper Kern at Kernville is flowing at 196 CFS, while the Lower Kern is running at 734 CFS.

Anglers at Kaweah reported a slowly dropping water level and improved fishing. Spotted bass went after small finesse baits on the drop shot, Ned rigs, and small jigs, with orange crusher, oxblood, and MMIII among the top-producing colors. Senkos also produced plenty of fish. The topwater bite slowed with the cooler weather, although there was still some action at first light. Crappie and catfish reports remained on the slow side.

Success Lake fell held near 20 percent of capacity, and anglers reported another good week of fishing. With summer winding down some of the boat traffic has let up. Most of the action for bass remained in the submerged trees on Senkos, crankbaits, Texas rigged 8” worms, and weedless frogs. However, anglers also scored bites by working main lake points with drop shot and hula grubs. Catfish anglers fooled fish with chicken liver, dip bait, and cut mackerel.

The cooler weather this week has been a welcome change and has helped improve the bite at River Walk. Both lakes have been producing a better grade of bass, with the best action coming early in the morning on topwater baits and jigs. As the day progresses, finesse presentations have been more productive, with drop-shotted soft plastics in shad patterns drawing consistent bites. Small Texas-rigged craws have also been working well during the evening hours. The bluegill bite remains excellent, with live worms fished under a bobber or on a drop-shot producing steady action. Crappie are also showing in better numbers, with anglers finding success on live worms and small crappie jigs.

At Ming this week, anglers have been finding quality bass on topwater buzzbaits and Whopper Ploppers, while jigs and Senkos in watermelon, green pumpkin, and brown/purple patterns have been producing steady numbers. Most of the bass have been holding tight to the weed beds, with some fish also being caught just outside the reeds. Larger bass have been coming from anglers punching baits through the vegetation or working frogs deep into the tullies. Catfish action has been steady around dusk, with cut bait, chicken liver, and SSS dip bait all producing. Bluegill fishing remains excellent, with live worms fished near the weed beds providing consistent action.

Buena Vista Lakes provided decent fishing for all species last week, with bass, catfish, and sunfish all taking the bait. Bass anglers found success with finesse Roboworms in Aaron’s Magic and Margarita Mutilator, while wacky-rigged weightless Senko-style baits in Green Pumpkin fooled bass as well. Topwater frogs and prop style baits drew strikes during low-light conditions. Catfish ate cut anchovies, chicken liver, and dip bait, while bluegill fell for live worms fished under a bobber. Crappie anglers used small live minnows and minijigs to fool fish holding over submerged structure.

Fishing was good for Hart Park anglers last week. Bass anglers fooled plenty of fish while using weedless frogs, Texas rigs, and punching gear. Bass anglers also use small weedless swimbaits to catch largemouth. Catfish anglers fed the whisker fish cut mackerel, sardines, and chicken liver, and bluegill ate any live worm under a bobber.

Naci fell to 41 percent of capacity, and fishing was good. Bass anglers settled into a reliable pattern of topwater action in the mornings followed by finesse fishing in the afternoons. Walking baits, buzzbaits, and poppers all produced bites early and late in the day. Four-inch worms in Aaron’s Magic, baitfish, and purple worked well on the drop shot in 10 to 30 feet of water. Spotted bass also took Senko style baits and darter-head grubs. White bass fell for trolled spoons and small swimbaits, and topwater lures produced when schools pushed baitfish to the surface. Catfish anglers found success with cut mackerel, chicken liver, and dip bait, while crappie held over submerged brush.

The bite from Dana Point through Newport and San Pedro remains very good, with bonito, yellowtail, calico bass, and some offshore tuna keeping anglers busy. Dana Point boats have been seeing strong bonito numbers along with scattered yellowtail and dorado; the Sum Fun returned September 1 with 55 calico bass, 31 bonito, 23 sand bass, 7 yellowtail, and a dorado for 24 anglers. Newport has also been loaded with bonito, with the Freelance landing 219 bonito, 47 sand bass, and 38 barracuda on its September 1 trip, while longer-range trips continue to find bluefin, yellowfin, and yellowtail. San Pedro has been especially productive around the islands, with 22nd Street Landing reporting more than 4,100 fish over the past seven days, including 1,379 bonito, 923 calico bass, and 347 yellowtail. Offshore boats are also finding mixed-grade yellowfin, with one recent overnight trip producing 172 yellowfin along with 7 yellowtail.

The Channel Islands surface bite remains very good, with yellowtail, bonito, and calico bass providing most of the action around the islands. The better fishing has been around kelp lines, shallow structure, and areas holding bait, with fly-lined sardines, surface iron, and plastics all producing. On September 1, the Aloha Spirit had 21 yellowtail, 70 calico bass, and 25 bonito for 25 anglers, while the Speed Twin put together 23 yellowtail, 123 bonito, and 66 calico bass for 28 anglers. Even the Graylight, fishing with just one angler, landed 10 yellowtail along with 5 calico bass and 5 bonito. Rockfish and whitefish remain a good fallback when boats move deeper, but right now the surface action is the main attraction.

Bottom fishing remains excellent along the Central Coast, with rockfish, reds, bocaccio, and lingcod making up most of the catch. Boats are finding quality fish on deeper reefs and hard-bottom areas, with shrimp flies, swimbaits, and jigs all working well. On September 1, the Endeavor out of Morro Bay returned with 95 rockfish, 35 bocaccio, 25 reds, 5 copper rockfish, and 5 lingcod for only 15 anglers. Nearby at Port San Luis, the Patriot had 102 bolina, 30 rockcod, 13 cabezon, and several reds and copper rockfish for 15 anglers. Overall, anglers are seeing very consistent limit-style bottom fishing with a good chance at adding a lingcod to the bag.

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