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Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Sunday, May 4th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 68.5

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: I was getting my gear ready for Saturday's fishing when my neighbor who was out walking his dog came over and introduced himself. He told me he lived next to Bob who had told him about our fishing trips and what a good time he had and how knowledgeable I was about this lake and how to catch bass. He told me he was interested in learning how to catch fish and would I have any suggestions for him. I asked if he would like to go out tomorrow (Saturday) and he said yes. I asked him if he had any rods that he would like to use or if he needed to borrow mine. He said he had some rods to use. He went and got them to show me and his wife drove him back to my place. That's how I met Judge and Lori. I invited her to join us and she was excited about going out. I showed them a few basics and we agreed to meet at 9 AM the next morning. I set up my rods for the trip on my Okuma Rod Rack which holds up to sixteen rods and reels. When we started out the lake was like glass smooth as could be but as soon as we reached the main lake the wind picked up and you could see whitecaps. I told them that the ride over to the vineyards would be a little rough but that's where they really wanted to fish so we headed there. Judge caught the first bass of the day trolling but his line was frayed and snapped and goodbye fish, lure and line. This happened two more times. We decided to get to the vineyards and fish there. I had them use my equipment. I decided to use brass and glass and plastic worms. I told them to open the bail and let the worm go to the bottom and let me know when it reached the bottom. Judge got the first bite and landed a 4 lb bass he was thrilled. I took Lori's worm and put Pro-Cure crab scent with garlic on it and boy is that potent. I cast her line out towards shallow water and told her to just to make sure she felt the bottom. All of a sudden the line was jerked down hard and she knew she had a bite as she reeled the fish in and it jumped out of the water she realized she had a big bass. The closer she reeled it in the bigger it got. Judge did a great job of netting the bass which filled the whole net. The bass weighed in at 12.5 lbs!!!! (see photos) After taking pictures we released the bass. It was another great day of fishing at the vineyards. 'til next week................................................................good fishing!!!!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com
    or call me at 650-583-3333
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: My web page is up and running again. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please visit me at www.fishingconnection.net.
    Thanks,
    Sid

Sunday, April 27th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 65

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: What an amazing weekend!!!! Took my buddy Albert out on Saturday and hit some of my favorite spots. I noticed how low the water really is as we noticed rock formations and trees in areas we had not seen them before. Its one thing to see it on the fish finder another to actually see it in front of you. In Willy's ski school there is a tree laying in about eight feet of water that is always loaded with bass you can see them swimming around but catching them is another story. I watched at least ten bass boats trying their luck with no good results. I tried to entice a good size bass for at least fifteen minutes with no luck very frustrating. Albert had two blow ups on a large top water lure it was very exciting. We fished in approximately three feet of water and as the sun went down it got cold. We had a very enjoyable day. On Sunday John and I headed out in the morning and our goal was to end up at the vineyards. At the ranch house cove I saw many birds indicating bait so we went through the birds a few times and we were disappointed because we ALMOST had limits. We continued towards the vineyards and I found another bait ball in about fifty feet of water where the bass corralled them and now we had limits so for the balance of the day we culled the bass as we caught them. Now we are at the vineyards and the bass are everywhere it was bass heaven. You could see signs all over of the previous spawn. I hooked one of the largest bass I had ever caught had it on for about fifteen seconds and it snapped my line and broke my heart. I marked the spot and I'll be back!!! Bass were jumping all around us it was unreal. The weather was changing and white caps were forming and we had a ways to go to get back to the launch ramp so as much as we hated to leave we did. In the whole time we had fished this area we did not see any other bass boats which was surprising. What a great day!!! (see photos)
    'til next week..........................................................................good fishing!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: there will be another spawn get ready

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 55 to 58

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fishing with Sid‏














    Fishing with Sid



    8:29 AM






    To: Sidney Silberberg, lake b Peter Kilkus new







    bestguide@hotmail.com


















    What a difference a week makes!! I took out Danielle and Ben at noon hoping to get a couple of hours of fishing in before the weather changed. Getting to the vineyards was easy because the whitecaps pushed in that direction. When we got to the first barbed wire fence I stopped in twenty feet of water and before I could let my electric motor down we were in seven feet so I had to go deeper and let my motor down. The wind kept pushing me towards shore it was a battle to keep the boat in the strike zone. I kept this up for a while till I decided it was to hard to control the boat but Danielle got a hit as we were ready to leave and she played the fish for about five minutes and ended up bringing in her largest fish of the day a nice bass weighing in at 4.5 lbs using a senko worm weightless texas rig and "Procure" crawdad scent. We headed back as the wind picked up and the clouds were gathering we made it in before the rain (see photos). My buddy Albert fished from shore and landed a 2+ lb bass using a Carolina rig with brass and glass with a black creature (see photo). 'til next week.......................................................good fishing!!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: my go to for bigger fish is the vineyards it works and worth the distance and time.

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

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    Water Temp: 59-62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Hit the lake around 1 pm to find a full parking lot at Capell. Went north and started fishing north of the big island. Beds are starting to show with a few locked on here and there. The next week should get fun if you like to sight fish. Ended the day with about 20 fish on swimbaits and jigs. Fish were caught in the first fifteen feet.

    Tips: Brown jigs and keitech swimbaits were the ticket. The shallow fish were tough to catch with the bright sun but in the evening the went shallow and bit.

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    Water Temp: 56 / 63

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Spring is definitely here! I went out Saturday with my buddy Albert the water was calm, slightly stained, and it looks like the lake is turning. It shouldn't be too long before the bass start preparing to lay their eggs. The surface water temperature was between 56 degrees in the morning to 63 degrees in the afternoon. My first stop was in the back of one of my favorite coves where the water was shallow and warmer. We fished in three feet of water with access to twelve feet using plastic baits and Carolina rigs with brass and glass and Procure crawdad scent a very successful combination for the day. After fishing this area for a while we decided to go to the east side to the first flats and had very good results fishing in 4 to 5 1/2 feet of water. The bass I landed weighed in between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. We ended the day by the vineyards near the tree stumps by the barbwire fence and we could hear fish jumping all around us. Landed a nice limit for the day. Knowing the lake and where to go does make a difference. Next weekend I plan on using the same set-up. 'til next week...............................................................good fishing!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.com If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com
    or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: SMARTPHONE HAS APPS THAT I RECOMMEND ONE IS A GPS THAT HAS WAYPOINTS WHEN YOU FIND A LOCATION THAT YOU WANT TO REMEMBER RECORD IT THIS APP IS FREE.

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    Water Temp: 56 thru 63

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Spring is definitely here! I went out Saturday with my buddy Albert the water was calm, slightly stained, and it looks like the lake is turning. It shouldn't be too long before the bass start preparing to lay their eggs. The surface water temperature was between 56 degrees in the morning to 63 degrees in the afternoon. My first stop was in the back of one of my favorite coves where the water was shallow and warmer. We fished in three feet of water with access to twelve feet using plastic baits and Carolina rigs with brass and glass and Procure crawdad scent a very successful combination for the day. After fishing this area for a while we decided to go to the east side to the first flats and had very good results fishing in 4 to 5 1/2 feet of water. The bass I landed weighed in between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. We ended the day by the vineyards near the tree stumps by the barbwire fence and we could hear fish jumping all around us. Landed a nice limit for the day. Knowing the lake and where to go does make a difference. Next weekend I plan on using the same set-up. 'til next week...............................................................good fishing!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.com If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com
    or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: San Francisco

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    Water Temp: 62

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished from safe light until 5 pm. Absolutely crushed 'em all day with Pony Boy. Well over 20 keepers with best 5 going close to 22 lbs. more info to come after the BBT event on March 15th.

    Tips: Take a kid fishing!

Wednesday, March 19th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 57-61

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I had the privilege of taking another person on the UC Davis staff - and her son - to Berryessa, on a beautiful day! The fishing wasn't as beautiful as last week however, - lots of bass - but not the good quality of the last trip. No largemouth this trip, but several nice smallies in the 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 lb range. Nearly all of their bass were caught on off-shore structure and deeper - maybe because of all the north winds and cool nights. The green craw 6" Robo worm continued to work, but today the "New Ayu" color worked good in the afternoon! It produced most of the bigger fish. Best 5 only about 12 lbs.

    Tips: Bass were really scattered around today, again, mostly on off-shore flats. Points weren't as productive as last week. The shallow bites we had last week (in warmer weather) were non-existent this week except for one island top. Several fish landed in 12 feet of water. We fished the narrows, Skiers Cove, and the west side. Water has cleared some from last week.

Friday, March 14th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 57-60

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: After 2 days of howling wind at Clear Lake, it was nice to have a rather calm guide trip at Berryessa!! I took two folks out of Markely about 8 am. It was pretty cold and so were the bass! No real bite for us until about 9:30 am. I hooked a feisty 3 1/2 lb smallie on a Robo worm in about 5 feet of water. What a beautiful fish - almost looked as tall as a Pardee smallie! After that the bite got quite good for quality bass including a 4 lb and 4 lb 11 oz largemouth! We caught 11 bass total with a 17+ lb best five. I think they are fishing an upcoming tournament, so I won't discuss the techniques we used. They did work however - LOL!!

    Tips: This was really one of my typical "teach the lake" trips, so we really didn't concentrate on catching big numbers of bass. We looked at the Lorwance a lot as I explained to them the "Lay of the Land!" Covered a lot of water. Wow - we found an island top in 9 feet of water - WAY off shore! Truly, Berryessa is a structure fisherman's dream!!!

Friday, March 7th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 51-56

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished from 6AM-2PM and had a monster day. We didn't get the numbers that I am used to getting at Berryessa, but the quality was awesome.

    Perfect day; sunny, no wind and air temps at 70+.

    Started on the East side of the lake and picked up a 3.2, 5.1 and a 6.4. Next, we headed to the West side and added a few more from 3.5-4.0. Went to my favorite spot up river and got the biggest of the day, a 7.2 slob. We ended the day down in the narrows, but never even got a bite. Marked fish in the 30-40' range, but they weren't pickin up what we were layin down. We ended the day with 12 total, with our best 5 going over 26 lbs.

    The fish are definitely moving up and it appears that quality fish are the first to arrive. We targeted main points from 5-15' and all of our strikes were a very soft pull. Mushy, mushy bite.

    Having fished this lake heavily last spring, I would say that everything is going to be early this year, for sure. If the weather stays warm, Berryessa might be wide open by April 1st.
    City: San Ramon

    Tips: If you want to know what we were throwing, ask Scotty G. I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you after his tournament this next weekend. Good luck Scotty!!

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

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    Water Temp: 51=54

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I had the pleasure of taking another client from Japan yesterday (Sunday)to Berryessa. He has never caught a bass and very much wanted to catch an "American" bass! We only had about 6 1/2 hrs to fish and my hopes weren't too high after all the fishing pressure from a typical Saturday. I had him fishing a purple, then morning dawn Robo worm. No bites - so I switched him to a green craw Robo and behold - pressure off the guide. He landed his first bass - all of 1 1/2 lbs!! I think he took 20 photos of the "monster!" Very happy man!! I soon netted his second bass - a little larger. At the end of the trip, we stopped at the point where he caught the first one and this time he hooked a good spotted bass - 2 lbs 10 oz. I wish you all could have seen his excitement upon landing that fish! That is when guiding is really cool!!! We wound up with 6 spots and a nice largemouth for a 13 lb limit.

    Tips: We found all our fish on points in the narrows - which I guess had been pounded the previous day. Our bigger bass were all deep in spite of a cloudy, rainy day - mostly 20-30 feet. All his bass on the Robo 6" worm, all mine on brown/orange jigs w/#180 Yamamoto double tail grub. I tried crankbaits some - no takers.

Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Sorry date was actually February 23rd on previous post.

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    Water Temp: 53-58

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I made a quick trip Sat afternoon to look around and meter some new spots. Took one of the last parking spots inside Markley. Yes - the lake is getting pounded! I did fish some, but couldn't land several that I hooked. One a nice 4+ largemouth jumped and spit my drop-shot Robo worm. I did land a 2 1/4 lb spot on a smallie beaver. I spend a lot of time checking the north/east area, which I don't fish much. I did some rippin' and did manage to get a 3 1/2 largemouth to take my Staycee 90 - in 3 feet of water! I lost another rip fish too. Fun afternoon!

    Tips: It is still a big lake - and if and when some of that brush gets flooded again - the future should be bright. The best structures I found were long flats in about 10 feet of water that dropped off to 30-40 feet on two or three sides.

Saturday, February 22nd, 2014

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    Water Temp: 56

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished up the river inlet and managed to get some very nice fish. 5lb large, some 3-4 pnd smalls and a few spots. Caught all fish on reaction. Ended up with about 20lbs.

    Tips: Like Larry said with the flats, the only difference is we found flats that went from 1-30 within 30' from bank. Good luck fishing is good there right now and should only get better.

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 51.3-54.4

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Left ramp at 8:15am back to the ramp at 1:30pm. Headed to school house,narrows, skiers cove and main body off shore points up to 40 feet deep. Tossed a rigs,deep cranks,drop shot and jigs with craw trailer's. Missed a few and caught two largemouth and one smallmouth up to 3 lbs. All on the jig.
    City: Napa

    Tips: I work hard to find the one I did catch. With the h2o temps were they are I thought it would have been a little more wide open. Maybe I should have tossed a few jerk baits. Fish were either suspended at 12 to 25 feet or on the bottom. Good luck

Monday, February 17th, 2014

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    Water Temp: cold

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: YERBA BUENA ANGLING CLUB of the San Francisco Bay Area
    THE NEWS TROLLER & CASTER February 2014 by Nick Koozmin
    DINNER/BUSINESS MEETING The Dinner/Business meeting will be on Monday, March 17th, 2014, at the Buon Gusto Restaurant, 224 Grant Avenue, South San Francisco, Telephone (650) 742-9776. Please try to attend! ****Social hour at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. ****Choice of entrée with the extras for $22 incl. tax and tip.
    EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING Monday, March 3rd, 2014, at The Magnolia of Millbrae.
    FISHING NEWS We are currently working on selecting dates, type of derbies and party boats for our fishing derbies this year. Any input from members are more than welcome. Call Sidney Silberberg 650-583-3333 or Greg Stimmel 415-518-1857.
    MEMBERSHIP The membership is still open – bring a friend or relative to join us for great fishing!
    PAST EVENT Ladies Night at Nick’s Restaurant was a success! For those who missed it, you missed out! Nice place, good food and good music. Greg Stimmel did a great job!
    We want to thank Capt. Jackie Douglas for the generous gifts at the tables, including the wine and wine glasses! Thank you, Jackie!
    Dave Costello was sworn in as new Recording Secretary. Welcome and Good Luck, Dave!
    The Jules Sahlein Award was awarded to: Charles Deguara. Thanks Charlie for your contributions to the Club!
    2013 Trophy Presentations: Salmon Derby Winners: 1st place Charlie Deguara 26lb. 2nd place Walter Huwe 23lb. 3rd place Greg Stimmel 20.4lb.
    Halibut Derby Winner: Tom Westphal 5.14lb.
    Striped Bass Winner: Walter Huwe 5.5lb.
    2013 Largest Fish Category Winners:
    Salmon: 1st place Greg Stimmel 29lb. 2nd place Charlie Deguara 27lb.
    REMEMBER! – Dues are due now!!! Please send or give the $35 to Rangal Yorks, 1550 Magnolia Ave. Millbrae, CA 94030.
    P.S. At Ladies Night, someone mistakenly took the wrong rain coat. Please let Rangal Yorks know and he will return yours. Thank you!
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: Learn about Lake Berryessa from me at no charge at the dinner and meet other fisherman who can tell you fishing stories.call Sidney 650_583_3333

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 50

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Forgot to post so I'll post it late....Went out with Tiger for first trip of 2014. On the water at 9 off at 3. Six fish total. 4 for Tiger. Depth between 25 and 50 feet. 5 on Dropshot and one on T-Rig. 5 Spots and 1 LMB 2.2Lbs biggest fish, the rest under 2. Six fish all on different color plastic. Most of the fish were well away from the points (we were targeting points). Fished south end of the lake most of the time. No fish in the time we were north and we never went more north than big island. Air temp was near 70 - but only if you were sitting still and off the water.

    Tips: soft bite - for most all fish.

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Well hit some of my key points and rock piles with drop shot, jigs and a crankbait, caught quite a few fish on the drop shot Roboworm (prism shad) but had nothin on the jigs or crankbait. Then found the schools of shad and the bite turned on, threw spoons and drop shot. Caught more fish and seen more fish also when we found the shad. We even snagged a couple shad and used them (they hammered it) catching all different types of fish.
    City: Napa

    Tips: Find the shad and throw shad colors

Sunday, January 26th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 48-52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched 830pm public launch, fished until 130pm. Fished skiers cove, narrows, and damn area. Fished 20-40 foot rocky slopes. Fished minnows all day (drop shot, bobber, and split shot). Slow day. 2 fish for the boat, 4lb LM and 2lb SM. The 4lb LM felt like a giant on my drop shot rod! Big ole belly!
    City: Fairfield

    Tips: I'm thinking some sun would have turned them on. Didn't start warming up until mid-afternoon.

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: On the water around 8am, off around 12:15. Slow day till the end. We found grass that we had success at during the summer. Grass on points in about 12-20 feet of water. Brief and light rain that lasted about 20 min. seemed to turn on the bite. All of our four fish were caught in that 20 min. window of rain. All were caught by way of dropshot.
    City: Santa Rosa