Don Pedro Fishing Report Jan 20 and 30
With Fisherman's Warehouse pro John Myers
Late-week conditions in the Don Pedro area leaned classic winter. Thursday, January 29, 2026 brought a cool morning near 38°F with an afternoon high around 62°F. Friday, January 30, 2026 warmed slightly, starting near 42°F and topping out around 67°F.
Fishing Thursday and Friday, John Myer focused on deep water and subtle structure, adjusting locations rather than techniques to stay on active fish. His two-day trip to Don Pedro Reservoir revealed a clear pattern that rewarded patience, bottom contact, and an extremely slow presentation.
On Thursday, the most productive water was found in the back of a creek arm. Fishing depths ranged from approximately 40- to 50-feet, where largemouth bass were the primary catch. John caught seven fish total that day, including three bass that weighed over three pounds. He also spent time fishing main-lake areas and points, where he caught some spotted bass, although those fish were smaller in size compared to the largemouth in the creek.
The most effective approach on the first day involved casting into deeper water and dragging the bait uphill along the bottom. The retrieve speed was critical, as the bait needed to be moved extremely slowly to generate bites. Fish were caught on both a Dry Creek tube and a Keitech jig using this method.
The tube was rigged with a 1/4-ounce weight for consistent contact with the bottom. The Keitech jig paired with a Yamamoto Cowboy trailer using the larger profile. Most of the fish came from maintaining bottom contact and resisting the urge to move the bait quickly.
Based on the size and number of fish caught on Thursday, John estimated that his best five fish would have weighed between 13- and 14-pounds.
On Friday, John again began fishing in the back of the creek and had early success using the jig. As the day progressed, he moved out to deeper water in the 50-feet range but was unable to generate bites in that zone. Instead of staying in unproductive water, he adjusted by targeting island tops and similar structure.
Using the same presentation of casting into deeper water and dragging the bait uphill, he began catching fish consistently again.
On Friday, the tube became the most productive bait, producing several fish in succession. By the end of the day, his fishing partner estimated that John caught approximately 16 fish compared to two for the partner. The difference was attributed to weight selection, as the lighter 1/8-ounce tube head used by the partner did not maintain bottom contact effectively. The 1/4-ounce tube allowed the bait to tick the bottom rather than swim above it.
Although the number of bites increased on Friday, the average size of the fish was smaller. John estimated his best five fish that day would have weighed closer to 12-pounds. He also noted that the fish were positioned shallower compared to the previous day, while the deeper fifty-foot water remained largely unproductive.
Line selection played an important role in detecting subtle bites. On spinning gear, John used 10-pound P-Line Tactical No-Fade braid with an 8-pound P-Line Tactical leader. On baitcasting gear, he used 14-pound P-Line Tactical line while fishing the jig.
Throughout the trip, John used forward-facing sonar and observed a number of fish that appeared to be crappie. He indicated that he plans to target those fish on a future trip.
Tips: The primary lesson from the two days at Don Pedro was the importance of slowing down and maintaining bottom contact. The most consistent bites came from dragging baits uphill at an extremely slow pace in deeper water, particularly around creek arms and island structure. When the retrieve slowed to a crawl, the fish responded.
These and other baits, line and gear for your next fishing trip can be purchased in store at any one of the four Fisherman's Warehouse locations in Fairfield, Sacramento, Manteca, or Rocklin or at FishermansWarehouse.com.
Some historical Pedro Fishing Reports: https://www.westernbass.com/lake/don-pedro
https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com
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