San Luis Reservoir Striper Fishing

[The Pond King]

I haven't posted in a while because I really haven't been fishing much. My focus has been on other parts of my life. I've only been dabbling with some local large mouth bass fishing here and there.

Anyways, my friend invited me out to go fishing with him and another buddy on his boat this past Saturday. I couldn't pass up on a boat fishing trip, so I got everything geared up and ready to go.

We launched around 7 in the morning, and the first spot we stopped by was a great choice because we started getting hit right off the bat. Lucky Craft Sammy's were the hot bait of the day and the top water bite was on like Donkey Kong! It was only within the first hour or so where we had the flurry of action, and then the bite died. We're so busy catching fishing, I couldn't take pictures during the moment. The only thing I was thinking was to get back out on the water asap. We've caught probably around 10 each and missed many more. There's nothing like a top water bite. The stripers were so aggressive. If it missed the Sammy, it kept jumping at it till it got hooked. Most were 17-21 inchers. They weren't big, but they were very fun to catch on bass rods.

I highly recommend fishing at San Luis Reservoir right now. Catch the early morning bite. That is the key!




























My friend Frank and I doubled up within our first few casts:

[ACP]

Nice going. How were you able to fish San Luis? I thought they put a ban on 2 stroke motors?

[ILW]

Nice man! Thanks for sharing. Looks like a good trip.

[The Pond King]

Nice going. How were you able to fish San Luis? I thought they put a ban on 2 stroke motors?

Maybe it's only for SLR and not the forebay, but I'm not sure about this. I would call them and find out directly.

[george]

These pics are from the O'neal forebay that sits at the base of San Luis, this is where the aquaduct feeds in and out. Don't know if they have banned two stroke engines from the fore bay but it is some good striper fishing as well as some top notch bass fishing; water comes straight out of the delta! The launch ramp that you see is from the access off of Hwy 152 just past the pumping stations going up west up the hill!

[mark poulson]

These pics are from the O'neal forebay that sits at the base of San Luis, this is where the aquaduct feeds in and out. Don't know if they have banned two stroke engines from the fore bay but it is some good striper fishing as well as some top notch bass fishing; water comes straight out of the delta! The launch ramp that you see is from the access off of Hwy 152 just past the pumping stations going up west up the hill!

George, the Navionics webapp shows four ramps total. Are there really that many?

[surfk9]

Mark I've fished the the Forebay & "The Big Lake" (San Luis Reservoir ) for the last 35-40 years...the Forebay has one launch....The Big Lake has a launch @ Basalt Area, launch @ Dinosaur Point....Dinosaur will have various launch locations depending on water level...main launch @ Dinosaur is concrete...I believe there are three other locations as water drops that are dirt launches...great fishery...we've caught nice stripers & black bass over the years from both impoundments...Go Fish!!!

[mark poulson]

Mark I've fished the the Forebay & "The Big Lake" (San Luis Reservoir ) for the last 35-40 years...the Forebay has one launch....The Big Lake has a launch @ Basalt Area, launch @ Dinosaur Point....Dinosaur will have various launch locations depending on water level...main launch @ Dinosaur is concrete...I believe there are three other locations as water drops that are dirt launches...great fishery...we've caught nice stripers & black bass over the years from both impoundments...Go Fish!!!

Thanks.

[george]

Mark, I know of two ramps; one accessed from highway 152 heading west just past pumping stations and the second off highway 33 as you enter the camping areas just south of the aquaduct you will turn right and it sits at the out flow exit of the aquaduct!
I have caught some big stripers in the fore bay and I believe the California state "inland" record came out of there at like 66lbs; there was also one caught from a float tube some years ago at 55lbs.
But the largemouth bite can get really good out of both lakes, I prefer the fore bay as it is much easier to navigate and get off the water when the winds come up; both San Luis and the fore bay can go from zero to sixty in fifteen minutes so you want to have a exit game plan when you on either of them.
Folks don't realize that all that water comes directly out of the delta!

Good Luck,
George

[briansII]

Hi George,

The Medeiros launch off of hwy 33 is no longer open. It's been closed for several years. The San Luis Creek launch off of 152 is the only launch ramp at the Forebay now. Anyone thinking of launching needs to know they have a Quagga Mussel inspection. Boat needs to be clean, and totally dry. That means the boat and motor cannot have a speck of water in it. If they find any moisture, you are not launching your boat.

briansII

Mark, I know of two ramps; one accessed from highway 152 heading west just past pumping stations and the second off highway 33 as you enter the camping areas just south of the aquaduct you will turn right and it sits at the out flow exit of the aquaduct!
I have caught some big stripers in the fore bay and I believe the California state "inland" record came out of there at like 66lbs; there was also one caught from a float tube some years ago at 55lbs.
But the largemouth bite can get really good out of both lakes, I prefer the fore bay as it is much easier to navigate and get off the water when the winds come up; both San Luis and the fore bay can go from zero to sixty in fifteen minutes so you want to have a exit game plan when you on either of them.
Folks don't realize that all that water comes directly out of the delta!

Good Luck,
George

[The Pond King]

I appreciate the comments guys!

Rather overwhelmed I received so many comments (for here) because generally people don't comment much on these forums at all.

I've definitely learned a thing or two from the information you guys shared. I'm grateful for that!

Tight lines,
The Pond King

[Turkeyman]

George you are right that not many people realize that the water comes from the delta, neither do the Nazi park police that do the inspections. I asked the gate guy why they do inspections when there are a thousand boats running around the delta with no inspections being done there. He couldn't answer that. Also you cannot fish within 500 feet of the dam which is the best bass holding habitat I've found on the fore bay anymore, and you have to be off the water at 5 pm just when the stripers start boiling good.