Fishing conditions, catches at Millerton, Don Pedro and San Luis

This regular fishing report (compiled by California Outdoors Hall of Famer Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George) covers current conditions and angling tips for reservoirs and lakes serving the Fresno area, including Millerton Lake, Don Pedro and San Luis," the compilation notes.

Millerton Lake drew the most detail. A Fishcaddy Millerton entry dated Feb 4 recorded "54°F Clear" and said, "Brown, green, and other dark-colored jigs have been the deal, producing 10–20 fish days for spotted bass in the 25–30 foot range around submerged structure." That same Fishcaddy note reported most fish running "1 to 3 pounds" and warned of multiple reports of "giant stripers over 15-20 pounds smashing bass mid-fight."

A field account posted April 2, 2011 by Peter North on Westernbass registered a different temperature and added operational context: "Water Temp: 64" and "Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)." North tied clarity changes to river management, writing, "Due to the SAN JOAQUIN SALMON RESTORATION PROJECT, the outflow of water to the lower San Joaquin River is really affecting the lake," and he added, "Dock 1 is still in use for boaters." North also recounted an evening outing: "On the water about 5Pm last night. My Bro hit the 2sd cast with a 3.10lb spot. We fished until about 9:30 most fish came on a drop shot. ... Top water netted a lot of fish most in the 6" to 14" ... Dans drop shot worked for him all evening having one break off 6lb test. Blades in Black/red with a Colorado blade slow netted some good ones. The jig and Texas worked good but not the numbers of the D/S. I had some good fish boated big fish on the blade 3.0 lbs. We both had good limits."

A separate Westernbass entry listed simply as "Nice day at Millerton today" echoed high catch rates on points: "Great weather, lots of 14-16 inch spotted bass willing to bite all over the lake. Only fished the points on the main lake and probably managed 30 spots in about 4 hours fishing." That undated post recommended "Jigs, texas rigged plastics and senkos working good right now" and called Millerton "a great lake to take a kid fishing."

Not all field reports agree on clarity and temperature. John Holmes' Westernbass entry dated April 5, 2011 listed "Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)" while Fishcaddy's Feb 4 header and North's April 2 post show clear conditions and differing temperatures (mid 50s vs 64°F). Those dated entries underscore that clarity and thermals have varied on short notice during recent reporting periods.

Outside Millerton, Fresno-area briefings were slimmer. Fresnobee listed "Don Pedro king salmon action good, Steve Wirfs reported," and noted "Bass Lake trout available, Mike Beighey reported," while another Fresnobee line recorded "Delta stripers and sturgeon biting." San Luis appears in the Hurley-George compilation but the provided excerpts include no observational detail for that reservoir.

The assembled notes name specific anglers and outlets, Peter North, John Holmes, Steve Wirfs, Mike Beighey, and the Fishcaddy and Westernbass posts, and document tackle strategies (dark jigs in 25-30 feet, 4-inch Texas-rigged Keeper worms, dropshot, blades, topwater) that produced the catches described.