Los Banos, CA (March 4, 2026) — San Luis reservoir is currently at 1,740,000 acre feet of storage-83 % capacity , and coming up slowly each day with light input . The fishing seems to have slowed some this past week with mixed reports from good to poor – as the full moon became brighter.
Anglers are working a lot of the new coves along the expanded shoreline with ripbaits, topwater lures and fluke- like plastics for limits some days and few fish on others . The all out bite may come back – after the full moon recedes – but it looks like the next week or so will have some moderate to heavier wind coming into the picture. The warming weather is creating the breezes that pour through the pass – creating the early spring winds that plague the lake at times from late March through May. It’s time to get more careful about not getting caught on the east end of the lake in smaller craft when the northwest wind ramps up and bigger waves and whitecaps suddenly pop up on that side of the lake- and boaters have to plow all the way back to the west to reach the Dinosaur dock.
Trolling in the main lake has been slow to decent – but I expect this bite to improve soon. Anglers downrigging diver lures and the regular stick bait choices in Shad colors are still picking up limits at the 50-70+ depth range if they work at it. Most shallow coves are holding fish that are cruising the areas looking for bait. Dead calm conditions can be tough fishing as the fish can see the lures too well. Interestingly, we are seeing more algae growth than usual for March, partly due to water temps as high as 65 degrees last week..
I think that the fishing has slowed a bunch with the full moon and I would rate it a 4-5 out of 10 on the reaction fishing side of the bite at this point. Wind is forecast most days for the coming week, but there may be some decent bite windows during that time too.
Good luck ! Never give up! Roger George
Interested in a trip? Let me know! Go to my website at www.rogergeorgeguideservice.com or call (559) 905-2954.
My recently posted YouTube video on the new “Catch America “ channel – about fishing San Luis for monster stripers has gotten over14,000 views in less than 2 weeks .
