I started fishing San Luis Reservoir in Los Banos, CA when I was twelve years old. Like many other fishermen I would spend a whole day sitting in the hot day with temperature over 100 degrees using a 15 ft pole and anchovies for bait. Like most fishermen we would come home empty handed. I dreaded fishing the reservoir because it would cost too much. Two hour drive, anchovies, a whole day of hot temperature, and no fish were many of things I didn’t look forward to do. So, I fished the reservoir about three times a year. Until that one night in 2006, I met one the most fascinating person, someone who has been fishing the reservoir for more than 20 years. I have been fishing with that person since that day and I have learned so much about fishing for striped bass. So, I wanted to share some of his techniques that have made my fishing trips more productive and exciting. These techniques are for shore fishermen because on the reservoir and forebay, boating is prohibited at night.

#1 Time, Day, and Where

The best time to fish is from dusk until dawn. He told me not to waste my time sitting in the hot sun all day because stripers move to the deeper water during the day. And the fish will return to the shallow water to feed on bait fish during sunset and throughout the night until sunrise. The moon is also very important because we are fishing in shallow water about 10ft. The best time to fish is when there is little moon or no moon.

#2 Bait and When

Topwater Baits

“Nothing beat the sight and experience of a striped bass following the bait and exploding on it.”

We use topwater baits for the months of May to October because during those months it gets very hot and at night the bait fish moves to the shallow water. The other 6 months from November to April the water is colder and there are fewer weeds so, so we use flukes and storm swim baits.

Most of baits are modify by either changing or bending the hooks and adding more weight. The modification will slightly affect the movement of the bait but it will not decrease its’ effectiveness. The technique of retrieving these baits takes practice especially in very strong wind and wavy water.

The wind speed and water level plays a very important part in a successful fishing night. If the wind is blowing from the north or northwest around 10-30 mph and the water is level is about 220-224 then it is a good night to go fishing. Here are two links to find out the wind speed and water level for the San Luis Reservoir.

Water Level by the hour

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?s=ONF&d=30-May-2009+12:46&span=25hours

Wind Speed

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?LBN

#3 Fishing Gears

Having the right fishing gears is very important. When I started fishing I had a 7ft spinning pole with 15lb mono fishing line. It wasn’t very effective for this kind of fishing because I didn’t cast as far. He would cast two to three time the distance I cast and also caught two to three times more fish. The correct fishing gear was to have a longer fishing pole with a thinner line and a light reel. The longer fishing pole and thinner fishing line will help you cast further and the light reel will let you cast for a longer time.

My fishing gear

8’6” Gloomis GL2 Spinning Rod Medium Heavy

10lb. Original SpiderWire braid line = 2lb. diameter

2500FD Shimano Sahara

8’6” Lamiglas Rogue River Casting Rod Medium Heavy

20lb P-Line braid line = 12lb. diameter

Cabelas Prodigy cast reel

I hope this will help you catch more fish; it has certainly helped me catch more fish and made fishing more interesting.