Isabella has increased to 61 percent of capacity and boaters are reminded to stay clear of the vortex “whirlpool” from the intake to the Main Dam Outlet. The release of over 6000 CFS of water into Lower Kern River has created a massive whirlpool near the Main Dam. The overall all fishing has improved over the last week. The crappie bite is excellent for some and slow for others. Our contacts reported solid action in 10 to 20-feet of water near and around trees with live shiners and minijigs. Anglers with stringers of slabs have been moving around until they find the right structure holding fish. Boaters trolling flicker shad and shad type baits have been fooling Crappie. The bass have moved in shallower, and the bite has improved greatly. Better model fish are going for trout like swimbaits, jigs, large plastic worms, and crankbaits. The catfish bite continues to be steady with anglers scoring Whiskerfish on frozen shad, Triple S Dip Bait, and live jumbo minnows. The DFWL had a scheduled trout plant here last week. Shore anglers have been scoring trout with minijigs, Powerbait, GULP! Pinched Crawlers and spinners. Boaters have been doing well trolling Needlefish, Flicker shad and Tasmanian Devils. The start of the Isabella Trout derby is two weeks away. The coordinators for the Isabella Trout derby will release 10,000 trout they’ve been raising, and stock an additional 4,000lbs of Mt Lassen trophy Rainbows. The Annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby has been pushed back to May 20th - June 4th, 2023. There are 500 tagged trout valued from $20 to $10,000 with $50,000 in tagged-fish-cash and prizes up for grabs. For more information contact Copes Tackle or visit KernRiverValley.com.