August 28, 2026

Come fishing with Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop!! 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

High daytime temperatures slowed reports from aqueduct anglers, but plenty of striped bass, catfish, and largemouth bass were caught despite the hot weather. Striped bass were caught using cut sardines before check gates, near bridge pylons, and along inside bends. Jerkbaits such as the Lucky Craft 100 in aurora black and bone-colored patterns worked well during low-light conditions, while some topwater stripers were taken on various walking baits. Tube baits and swimbaits worked well near the bottom during midday. Catfish anglers did well using chicken liver, dip bait, and cut baits on Carolina rigs. Most fish weighed one to two pounds, although some larger fish were reported. Bass anglers focused on mornings and evenings in slower-moving areas near outtake grates, bridge pylons, and eddies. Weightless Senkos, Tiny Flukes on drop-shot rigs, and topwater poppers produced fish.

Fishing was good at Castaic, with most anglers focused on the boils. Striped bass boiled throughout the day near Center Point and the West Ramp, and anglers had to be quick and position their boats away from the boils to get hooked up. Espetits, Gunfish, and other smaller-profile walking baits worked well for two- to eight-pound stripers. Closer to shore, largemouth and smallmouth bass also chased bait to the surface, with poppers and walking baits producing until about 9 a.m. After that, most anglers switched to small finesse presentations with decent results. Catfish were readily available for bait anglers fishing deeper coves with nightcrawlers, chicken liver, and cut baits.

Pyramid Lake saw little fishing pressure as pea-soup algae conditions and a health warning kept most anglers off the water. Despite the blue-green algae, lake regulars took advantage of the light pressure and enjoyed the lake largely to themselves. Largemouth and smallmouth bass took Texas rigs, creature baits, and tube baits rigged weedless and tossed into holes and pockets in the weed beds. Crankbaits and topwater baits fished in those same areas also produced bass. The striped bass bite slowed, but stripers still ate cut sardines and chased trolled umbrella rigs in about 50 feet of water. Catfish readily ate cut baits and chicken liver anywhere free from heavy weed growth.

Lake Isabella has dropped to 31 percent of capacity and continues to release water, but fishing remains steady for several species. Bass action continues to be solid, with the best bite coming early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The North Fork shoreline, rocky banks, and main lake points are holding fish, and while plenty of smaller bass are being caught, more quality fish are beginning to show. Whopper Ploppers, buzzbaits, poppers, crankbaits, Texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits, Flukes, Senkos, 4-inch Keitechs, and squarebills in shad patterns have all been productive. Larger 8- to 11-inch worms in darker colors, along with oxblood or purple dropshot worms worked down points to around 20 feet, are also producing. Rocky Point has been giving up some of the better fish during the early topwater bite. Crappie fishing has been excellent in 5 to 20 feet of water around offshore structure, with live shiners and minijigs tipped with Crappie Nibbles producing quality slabs from both the bank and boat. Catfish action has improved this week around the Dam and Camp 9, where SSS dip bait, shad, and mackerel have been working well. Trout fishing remains very good near the North Fork, with anglers reporting limit-style action on floating baits, while trolling Tasmanian Devils, Needlefish, and Flicker Shad near the dam has also been productive.

Upper Kern anglers are reporting steady action on both holdover and wild trout throughout the 20-mile stretch. CDFW is scheduled to stock Section 4 this week, marking the first trout plant in several months. The deeper pools and slower-moving eddies along river bends continue to be the most productive areas, with trout taking yellow or gold bead head nymphs, salmon eggs, and trout jigs. On the Lower Kern, bass fishing remains strong, with both smallmouth and largemouth hitting Get Bent Baits, Roostertails, and small crankbaits. Fly anglers are also reporting excellent bass action in the deeper pools on a variety of fly patterns. Catfish continue to provide steady action on nightcrawlers, chicken liver, and cut bait. As of this report, the Upper Kern at Kernville is flowing at 177 CFS, while the Lower Kern is running at 952 CFS.

Kaweah dropped to 13% of its storage capacity, and fishing remained fair. The best action was on deep-diving crankbaits and topwater in the mornings, followed by drop shots and jigs on main-lake points and deep rock piles. Anglers also reported a second reaction-bait bite in the evenings. Catfishing remained fair with sardines, dip bait, and chicken liver.

Success Lake dropped to 21% of its storage capacity, and fishing was good for some anglers and fair for others. Local anglers reported catching limits of bass using crankbaits, 10-inch worms, jigs with craw trailers, and drop shots. Deep-diving crankbaits produced bites when cast close to shore and worked into deeper water, while plastics were effective around main-lake points and the submerged trees. Catfishing was best late at night, with fish taking cut bait, chicken liver, and dip bait.

Both lakes at River Walk have been producing a better grade of bass lately, with the best action coming early in the morning on topwater baits and jigs. As the day progresses, finesse tactics have been more effective, with drop-shotted soft plastics in shad patterns producing 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 and are being caught on live worms and small crappie jigs.

At Ming this week, bass fishing has remained solid, with topwater buzzbaits and Whopper Ploppers producing some quality fish during the early hours. Jigs and Senkos in watermelon, green pumpkin, and brown/purple patterns have also been producing steady numbers. Most bass are holding tight to the weed beds, with a few fish being caught just outside the reeds. Anglers punching baits or working frogs deep into the tullies have connected with some of the better-quality bass. Catfish have been active around dusk on cut bait, chicken liver, and SSS dip bait. Bluegill action remains excellent, with live worms producing nonstop bites around the weed beds.

At Buena Vista Lakes fishing was decent last week. Bass held tight to cover, with anglers catching them on lures worked around the cattails. Flipping and pitching jigs into tule pockets produced some nice bass, while topwater frogs and Senkos were also effective in those areas. Catfish anglers continued to catch plenty of smaller fish on sardines, anchovies, and dip baits. Panfish were biting live worms and small minnows floated near the islands, docks, and cattails.

Hot days drove most anglers to fish mornings, evenings, and at night, with a decent number of bass reported. Bass held in heavy cover, and anglers punched through the floating weed beds to reach them. A few bass were caught on drop shots, while topwater also produced fish during the mornings and evenings. Catfish anglers caught with dip baits, chicken liver, and cut bait. Bluegill were biting redworms and wax worms.

The lake fell slightly to 42% of its storage capacity, and fishing was very good. High daytime temperatures forced most anglers off the water early. Topwater continued to be a fun and productive way to catch bass and white bass, with poppers, prop baits, and walking baits all producing fish. Small swimbaits, spoons, and even inline spinners also worked near bait schools. Neko rigs, drop-shot rigs, and hula grubs took bass on main-lake points, with baitfish patterns, oxblood, and purple hues all working well. Catfish took cut baits from shore near the marina, while crappie went after white and green minijigs.

The Dana Point/San Pedro offshore bite remains strong, with yellowfin tuna, bluefin, yellowtail, and a few dorado all in the mix. Out of San Pedro, the Freedom had an excellent overnight trip on August 22 with 172 yellowfin and 7 yellowtail for 35 anglers, then followed that up August 24 with 6 bluefin, 9 yellowtail, and 5 dorado for 33 anglers. On August 25, the Freedom added another 19 bluefin and 4 yellowfin for 35 anglers. Dana Point boats have also been finding yellowtail and occasional tuna, with the Lex Sea returning August 24 with 5 yellowtail and 1 yellowfin for just 3 anglers, while the Current had 6 yellowtail for 5 anglers on a half-day trip. Overall, San Pedro is seeing the better offshore tuna action right now, while Dana Point continues to offer a good mix of yellowtail, bonito, bass, and occasional yellowfin. Kelp paddies remain worth checking for yellowtail and dorado, while flylined sardines and smaller fluorocarbon setups have been productive when the tuna are up and feeding.

The Channel Islands/Ventura/Santa Barbara bite remains productive, with rockfish and whitefish making up most of the catch while yellowtail, calico bass, bonito, lingcod, and a few halibut continue to add variety. Ventura Sportfishing’s Pacific Eagle returned August 23 with 170 rockfish, 117 whitefish, 2 lingcod, and 4 sheephead for 23 anglers, while its August 22 trip produced 5 yellowtail along with 91 rockfish, 27 whitefish, and several calico bass and bonito. The Island Spirit also had a strong August 23 trip with 355 rockfish and 38 whitefish for 44 anglers, while an August 21 trip found excellent surface action with 180 bonito, 81 calico bass, 21 barracuda, and a yellowtail. Channel Islands Sportfishing is also showing a mixed bite that includes rockfish, whitefish, halibut, lingcod, white seabass, bluefin, dorado, yellowtail, and bonito. Overall, anglers fishing the islands should be ready for both bottom fishing and surface action, with live bait, swimbaits, jigs, and flylined sardines all worth having rigged and ready.

The Port San Luis and Morro Bay bite remains excellent for rockfish and lingcod, with limits or near-limits showing on many trips. Out of Port San Luis, the Flying Fish returned August 23 with 172 rockfish, 8 reds, and 4 lingcod to 14 pounds for 18 anglers. Morro Bay has also been producing strong counts, with the Endeavor posting 90 rockfish, 32 reds, 30 bocaccio, 13 lingcod to 12 pounds, and 8 copper rockfish for 16 anglers, while the Starfire had 100 bocaccio, 90 rockfish, 50 reds, 11 lingcod to 21 pounds, and 10 copper rockfish for 25 anglers. Overall, anglers are seeing very good bottom fishing with quality reds, bocaccio, copper rockfish, and lingcod making up most of the catch, and larger swimbaits, jigs, and bait rigs are all producing well.