Submit
Report

Berryessa Lake and Reports

Limit:
Click for interactive map

Sunday, December 15th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: This report is for the last couple of weeks. Since my last report the weather has bee quite chilly and the water temperature has dropped to 52 degrees. As well as I know the lake and seeing the buoys that mean shallow water "look out" I still ran aground and I want to thank Larry and Gordon for taking the time to help me out. Fortunately I didn't damage my boat because I was going very slow at the time. Art and I started out at Big Island and had no luck until we got to the tubes where Art hit his first fish but lost it and I hit my first fish and not only lost it but he took my lure and line and jumped out of the water and winked at me! We started to head in fishing the points along the way and I hit a smallmouth bass weighing in at 3# (see photo). The weeks prior we caught some nice trout to over 3# and bass to 4# (see photos). 'til next time.....................................................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 .
    Wishing everyone a "Happy Holiday Season" and a very "Happy New Year".
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: feathers working well for me on any crank bait fish worms very slow

Saturday, November 16th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 60.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out on Saturday with my buddy Albert for a few hours. The lake was calm and the water clear. No top water activity in sight. I decided to try worming in the ranch house area. Albert was throwing a cast master with a tail feather and getting a few bites but nothing special. With no luck here I went over to big island and we started to troll for trout. Albert landed a 2.8 pound trout that was stuffed with shad. We did the same run again and sure enough he caught it's twin who weighed in at exactly the same weight. Believe it or not (see photos)!!!! I was using a deeper diving lure and landed a nice smallmouth bass weighing 4 pounds. The surface water temperature was 60.5 degrees and the balls of bait were deep and scattered all over. I spoke to a few fisherman who told me it was a tough bite but they had some luck using jigs and caught some bass up to 2.5 pounds. '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: getting colder trout should be coming to the top and bass should be going down or suspending should want to eat for the winter.book your guide trip for april,may,and june.

Monday, November 11th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: This weekend the weather was sunny but cool with no wind to speak of. The lake was like a mirror and the water was clear. Everything was perfect except that the fish have moved deeper with no surface activity visible at all. These conditions call for different set-ups till you find the one that works best. I decided to worm three different ways. I had John do drop shot in about thirty feet of water with no luck. Then I had Art fish brass and glass and he caught some small bass. I tried texas rig weightless and I got a tap tap and set the hook on a good size bass I played it for about three minutes when I saw the bass nearing the boat I asked John to get the net and the bass got spooked and dove under the boat and my line snapped. That was very exciting!!! We went to Big Island and started trolling for trout. Art and John got a hook up at the same time which was fun and the trout looked like twins (see photo). We headed in after having a good day. 'til next time..............................................................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: digital speedometer app on your smart phone is free also get latitude and longitude app also free

Friday, November 1st, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 65 -67

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Friday 11-1-13, my buddy and I launched at about 8:00 AM out of Capell Cove and started fishing in Skiers Cove. There were many schools of baitfish but we could only catch one fish. Next, we headed to just inside the opening of the Narrows and fished from there all the way to the farmhouse. A few more fish were caught. About 1:00 me tried behind the Big Island and caught a couple more fish. Because the bite was slow all day, we quit early with a total of 7 fish. Nothing big. All fish were caught drop-shotting 4½ in. Roboworms. Other techniques were tried including top water with no success.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: Jigging spoons in schools of baitfish should work. However, we didn’t try this because another boat nearby was having no success with this technique. Perhaps they had success at another location.

Sunday, October 27th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 65

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Picture of Fishing with Sid























    Friday at sunset I headed out with Bob for some night fishing. Bad move on my part should have checked the calendar a little more closely to see what phase the moon was at. It was pitch black out there and we decided to wait for a moon lit night to try again. The next morning I took Art out. We started the day in the Narrows where we were landing small bass. I decided to go for trout because I could see them on the surface all around us. I trolled through the area and sure enough we were getting hit after hit. Art was using a blue and silver "Speed Trap" crankbait with a feather trailer and I was using a white with sparkles crankbait with a feather trailer. We were very happy with the outcome (see photos). Art asked me if fishing with a plastic worm really works so I said let's go do it. I set him up with a senko worm with brass and glass and threw it into four feet of water as he reeled it in slowly I asked if he could feel the bottom and he said yes. He practiced for awhile and then we set off to find some bass. His first cast he could feel the bottom as he reeled in slowly. He felt a tap but did not set the hook but on the second tap he was ready and set the hook on a nice two pound bass. On the way back to the launch ramp we trolled through a large ball of bait and we hit a double hook up it was a little hectic trying to net two fish at the same time but we managed. I showed Art some new spots to fish that he had never tried before and we had a very enjoyable day. 'til next time............................................................................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: Follow the bait

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 67-69

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I was telling my buddy - spoonmeister Rick Tietz about a slower than expected spoon bite during my Berryessa guide trip last Fri - after his good trip 2 days before. 'Bring your Duh! spoons and we'll catch 'em!!" So we hit the lake yesterday and after a few hours of intense spooning, Rick said - "Wow - the bite slowed down!!" "I told you so!" - I said with great glee!!! Fun to be right occasionally!! We worked the main lake (with the same dead calm clear water we have seen for the last week) and really didn't catch many bass - but they were in the 3 lb + range (spots). We decided to try the narrows during the later afternoon - and - there they were - giant schools of shad! We did catch quite a few smallies, spots,and one nice largemouth, but we still had to work for them. Lots of missed hits which is rare when they are aggressive. We both agreed that a cooling trend (next week) should get them going. There were a lot of bass near the shad, but they seemed to spook easily - one or two bass and that was it - had to move on.

    Tips: Can't speak to any other bait - only used spoons! Are my elbows aching today? Naw!! As you probably know - move around until you find the bait. Bait does move a lot - as this report proves! Some areas that looked good had no bait, one non-appealing wall hosted tons of bait - 40 to 65 feet. I had never fished that wall seriously during my 45 years at Berryessa! We are always learning, aren't we?!! I was using black shad color most of the time while Rick was using his newer morning dawn color, though he changed color often. And watch out for those trout - they will give you a thrill when they take a spoon!!!

Monday, October 21st, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: as low as 64.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Sid‏














    Fishing with Sid


    11:38 AM








    To: Sidney Silberberg, lake b Peter Kilkus new






    Picture of Fishing with Sid























    The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler and fishing is getting better. Last Saturday was fairly windy so I decided to go in the back of the Monticello Ski School which provides shelter from the wind to fish. I used senko worms with brass and glass on the weed line in shallow water and was very successful in landing some nice bass the largest being four plus pounds. When we were ready to head home the wind had died down a little so I went to the west side by the BOR and trolled in. We went through many bait balls and hit trout up to three pounds all the way in. This past Saturday was a perfect day weather wise. The water was calm and the temperature dropped to 65 degrees. I started off where my wife had caught her 10 pound 2 ounce bass a few weeks ago hoping that I might get lucky but too no avail. I decided to stay in that area because of the size of the bait balls all around me. It paid off big time I landed a good size limit of trout and Albert landed some nice trout the largest a little over three pounds and a nice bass too boot. We went in early because it was getting cooler and the sun was starting to set but it had been a great day of fishing (see photos). 'til next week..................................................
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: knowing which way the wind blows tells you where the bait should be.thats a good start for finding the bait balls.

Saturday, October 19th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 67-69

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I took another guy and gal out yesterday, introducing them to a lower water level Lake Berryessa! They were learning to bass fish, but the bass didn't cooperate as well as I had wished. We started off with a 2 1/2 and 3 lb spotted bass which they successfully fought and landed, using 3/4 oz Duh spoons. We started about 11 am, hoping for a good late afternoon bite. I really didn't happen - bass wouldn't even hit topwater. The lake was dead calm and very clear all day long - tough conditions. Also - full moon was up at dusk. Should have been night fishing?? My buddy Rick Tietz and a former client had done very well on Wed. We struggled finding baitballs yesterday - some days they are hard to find. Find them and you find the fish! We did end the trip with several more bass - just not very good quality. Metered lots of good off-shore structure and did find some bass - they just weren't feeding.

    Tips: Our best fishing was in the narrows. The main body was gorgeous and we could fish anywhere. Hard to find slightly off-color water. Quite a few bass boats our there yesterday - running around quite a bit. I had them use a variety of baits, but all bass were caught on spoons.

Saturday, September 7th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 76-78

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I took two good fisherpeople - guy and gal - out Thursday for a late afternoon/night trip. The cool weather was in the process of leaving as a north wind set in after dark. As usual - it slowed the bite at night. She loves buzzbaits and used my Blade Runner 1/2 oz black buzzbait. Just before dark she made a perfect cast about 2 feet from the bank and a nice bass smashed it and we soon had a healthy 4 lb 13 oz angry bass in the boat. She caught a smaller one right after that. We had to leave the main body because dark of the moon big swells aren't fun! We retreated to the narrows and caught a few more 2 to 3 pounders. Dark of the moon wind can ruin the best laid plans. Couldn't do anything I had worked out for the night bite. We did wind up with near 15 lbs for the best five.

    Tips: All our bass were largemouth with a few spots this time. The largemouth have really shown themselves this year - along with the smallmouth. My boat has seen very few spotted bass this year - thought I did catch a 4-2 spot in May or June. I understand my clients stayed another day and did well in the evening with bass up to 6 lbs! Probably a more pleasant evening with less wind.

Friday, September 6th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 76to83

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fishing with Sid‏














    Fishing with Sid


    9:04 PM








    To: Sidney Silberberg, lake b Peter Kilkus new






    Picture of Fishing with Sid























    Labor Day weekend was just perfect at the lake this year. The weather was great and the fishing was super!!! I took out Justin whom I had not seen since last year. This year he wanted to target bass and boy did he. See photo of him holding two bass just over five pounds each. He had a great day. The following day I took Bob out again and taught him to drop shot, wacky worm, use brass & glass with a worm and use a senko weightless. We went to the vineyards and along the west side by the Bureau. Saw balls of bait all over the lake. We fished the area around the Bureau heavily with no luck so I decided to go by the west wall going south towards Spanish Flats with no success. I changed to deeper diving lures and instantly we started catching fish. Bob caught four bass up to four pounds in less than twenty minutes (see photos). We had a great time!!! The icing on the cake for this weekend was when my wife and kids just passed me on my son's boat and my wife had a hit and as she was reeling it in the bass jumped twice and it looked bigger and bigger each time. She brought in a ten pound two ounce very large mouth bass her biggest bass to date (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: Knowing the lake is important but knowing what when and where to use it makes a difference.

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 75 to 78

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Kept getting reports Berryessa was fishing well in the Narrows in the morning on topwater (spitting poppers) and dropshot & split shot 15’ to 25’good once sun up. Went out this morning from 6:30 am to 11 am and fished what was recommended. Fishing was horrible to say the least. We only scratched up 3 fish on dropshot 25’ to 35’ deep. Did not get a bite on Topwater (spitting poppers/poppers/zara spooks), cranks, and split shot. Was surprised too because we had a light wind with cloud cover early on.

    Found ton of bait from the surface down to 50 feet. All the bait we found was too small at 1½” long. Got off the water at 11 am as the holiday crowd arrived. Hope others did better, because I could not figure it out today…

    Tips: None

Saturday, August 17th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 79.2

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Picture of Fishing with Sid























    I only fished on Saturday this weekend with my buddy. We went to the back of the Monticello Ski School and fished mostly in very shallow water. The water temperature was 79.2 degrees. I was using a senko watermelon red worm with brass and glass and "Procure" crawdad scent. Fishing along the shoreline I was casting into the weed bed and landing some good size bass up to 5 lbs (see photo). We fished there for several hours and as the sun was starting to set I went to the west side of the lake and trolled slowly back to the launch ramp using a "Lucky Craft" in white with a feather treble hook in the back which my wife put on. This crankbait is like a fish magnet especially for larger bass. We kept going back and doing the troll again and again because the bass were biting like crazy. It was dark when we finally came in. What a great fishing day!!! '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: sunday Y B A C picnic fisherman and there better halfs. oldest fishing club in san francisco

Monday, August 12th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 77.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I had to cancel a few trips due to some maintenance work I had done to my boat. During that time I went out on a rented pontoon boat out of Markley Cove with eight great guys for a day of fishing, bbqing and swimming. We caught fish in the Narrows and on the east side heading towards the vineyards. The wind picked up and the water got choppy so we headed back to return the boat in time. It was a fun filled day for everyone. I spent the next few days fishing on my son's boat. During the day we caught a lot of little bass but as evening approached and the sun was setting we went to one of my favorite spots and for the next hour or so we hit good size bass with the largest one being at least eight lbs that I missed netting at the boat. I am now not allowed to net ever again on his boat!!! (joking only). I had family visiting this past weekend and I was able to use my boat again. I took my niece Alexia and her friend Sydney to the big island to fish and after ten minutes of no bites I decided to go to the Narrows and try our luck there. The shadows were just setting in and the fish were reacting. They caught three small bass but were very excited. We did the run again and they were landing bigger bass up to 4 lbs (see photos). The following day my 4 year old nephew Ari said he wanted to go fish with me. After a full day of fun on the water he and I set out on our fishing adventure. Heading home on the west side we trolled along the shoreline and he got a bite and reeled the bass in almost all the way by himself. The fish was over fifteen inches and weighed 2.5 lbs see photo for the biggest smile you have ever seen!!! In less then an hour he caught four bass. After he told his story to everyone in the family the fish had grown to be ten feet long and weighed over fifty lbs this guy is a true fisherman to be. 'til next week..............................good fishing!!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or fishing stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: big ball baits in deep water 130 to 150 feet deep lots of trout 40 to 50 used pk lures hit 2 trout on the way down over 200 birds.

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 75-77

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I was able to take a client from China who was here on business. We went Thursday - my second trip in a row that found windy, cool weather. Fishing was kind of tough but we did put 10 in the boat - all species - 2 1/4 largemouth was the biggest. We had to stay in the narrows because of the wind, and it was still hard to fish. We found the bass around 20 to 30 feet deep - mostly on points,

    Tips: Hard to give any tips after this trip. It was just not a normal summer day. I did catch one on a jig but most were caught split-shotting and drop-shotting Robo worms. Oxblood w/red flake was the best color. I did some spooning to no avail.

Thursday, August 8th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 74 - 76

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I fished Thursday with a former colleague of mine who had never been bass fishing before. We launched at about 8:00 AM out of Capell Cove and started fishing in the Narrows. After about and hour my friend caught the first fish. We continued to work points and by noon, we only had 3 fish. After a nice relaxing lunch break at one of the marinas, we headed back to the opening into the Narrows. During the next two hours, we landed 9 more fish. All fish were caught drop-shotting 4 in. Roboworms. Several were small keepers to 2 lbs. The rest were dinks but still fun to catch. Earlier in the morning, I did have several hits on a popper but no hookups. Senkos didn’t work either. I did observe many small baitfish jumping out of water as my lure was brought back to boat. In addition, about one-inch dead baitfish (shad?) were observed floating in most places that we fished. I assume the bass are not hungry because they are attacking schools of these baitfish.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: It was really fun to introduce a new person to bass fishing and watch them catch their first fish.

Thursday, July 25th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 79 - 81

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Starting at 7:00 AM, my buddy and I fished the South end and the Narrows. We finished at 12:30 when the temperature was hitting in the 90s. By that time, we managed to catch eight fish. Most were small but several were nice keepers with one spotted bass weighting 2 lb 10 oz. Almost all fish were caught with the boat over 20 to 30 ft of water with steep banks near by. Drop-shotting 4 in. Roboworms was our most successful technique. One fish was caught early on a popper. I also had a couple of hits on a Senko. During our search for fish, we also marked some large bait balls on the fish finder but didn’t try to fish these.

    .
    City: Pinole

    Tips: If you see some bait balls, perhaps, casting a jigging spoon to them might work. I didn’t have one with to try

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 73-76

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I had a chilly Tues trip with a father and 2 grown sons. Foggy until about 10 am - weird. Bite was slow in the morning but improved some as the sun appeared. Quantity wasn't good but the quality was - including one of the sons in a 20 minute battle with a 13 lb catfish - on 6 lb test!! Wow!! They caught several good bass from 2 1/2 to almost 3 1/4 lbs - and some smaller ones. We were fish the west shore of the main body.

    Tips: Only could use single hooks with 4 in the boat, so Robo worms were the ticket. Even the catfish liked the morning dawn Robo worm!! MMIII and prizm shad were the best colors - about 15 to 25 feet - on points.

Sunday, July 7th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 82

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Hope everyone had a great July 4th!! My family and I enjoyed the holiday doing one of our favorite things ______fishing!! It was extremely hot on the 4th with temperatures reaching up to 113 degrees on the lake so I decided to wait till Friday morning before heading but my son and his wife were out on Wednesday and Thursday (they love the hot weather) and scored good size bass up to 4 pounds each day. Friday early morning Albert and I headed out to the Narrows. We followed the shoreline into the Narrows and at each point we hooked up fish most of which were not keepers but still fun to catch and release. We trolled from there to the Vineyards picking up more fish along the way. I was surprised that the bass were so active considering the heat and the surface water temperature which was at 82 degrees. We had a great day (see photo). The next morning I started out in the same location in the Narrows with Steve and his wife Amy who were visiting from Florida. This was the first time they had fished for bass. Amy caught three bass one after the other right off the bat. Steve wondered why he wasn't getting any bites. Amy said she say a fish jumping ahead of the boat and I told Steve to cast beyond the fish and bring it in slowly and sure enough that bass hit the bait with a whollop and Steve landed a 6 pound large mouth bass. (see photo). He cast out again with no luck. Not willing to give up on that spot he cast out again and it paid off he hooked a 10+ pound bass which gave him a good fight all the way to the boat where the line snapped just before we could net him. We changed from crankbait to worming with brass and glass and a senko watermelon with red flakes worm. He hooked up another good size bass but never made it to the boat. He had beginners luck all day long and really enjoyed himself. 'til next weekend...............................................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.





    Book a guided fishing trip at Lake Berryessa!
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: don't give up on a spot if you see fish on it.

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 75-81

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Two more good trips to Berryessa. I took a father/daughter team to the lake early Thurs morning to get the early bite. WHAT early bite?? There was none! Coulda slept in! As the day warmed up - so did the bite. Yes, a good bite was from 11 am to 2 pm and no, I'm not crazy - the bass are!!! We fished the west side of the lake - selecting different structures. Father-daughter both caught largemouth and smallmouth over 3 lbs and several over 2 1/2 lbs. I caught a 3-6 smallie. And - those quality bass were shallow - most at 10 to 15 feet - middle of the day - in fairly clear water! Our best five about 16 1/2 lbs. Mike Sperbeck and hit the lake Friday late afternoon/night and started of with a ball of fire - several bass to 3 1/4 lbs and one that snapped my line on a crankbait! We did not get on to a great before dark bite as I did last week, and even the night bite was fair. The bass were quality though, nothing much under 2 1/2 lbs. My biggest was a 3 lb 13 oz largemouth. Because Friday was the beginning of the heat - we were catching bass down to 25 feet. And that is the number of bass we caught - around 25.

    Tips: Where are the spotted bass? Other than the 4 lb 2 oz spot I caught last week, I have seen almost 0 spots in 5 trips. Thursday, most of our bass were caught on 6" Robo worms - most MMIII and oxblood/red flake. A few on morning dawn. The night trip again was successful because of the 7" black Berkley Power worm. Mike did catch some on Senkos. NO topwater action. I should have thrown crankbaits more than I did. We caught our night bass on shoreline areas with steep drop-offs and off-shore ledges. Both trips have shown me that the bass are not schooled up yet - feeding on bait. Many times we caught a single quality bass in an area - not 2 or 3. Again, our best five about 16-17 lbs.

Monday, June 24th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 78.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Name: Fishing With Sid Date: 2013-06-24
    Location: San Francisco
    Water Temp: 78.5 Water Clarity: 3
    This past week has been excellent fishing for bass. Last weekend I went out with my family on my son's boat and we fished the east side of the lake where I had not been for awhile. The water was calm and we were able to drift from deeper water into shallow water while casting and retrieving crankbaits. The water was very clear and we were able to see the top of the grass and the bass swimming into and out of the grass. Lighter colored crankbait worked the best. You could see the bass chasing the lure. My daughter-in-law cast out between two grass clumps and was hit hard by a 4+ pound bass which she successfully landed (see photo). Then I cast into the same area reeled fast to get the lure down and slowly reeled in toward the boat and saw the bass explode on the lure and landed him. Early morning fishing was best with top water lures. I trolled on the way back to the launch ramp and was whacked hard by what turned out to be a nice 3 pound trout (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. Book a guided fishing trip at Lake Berryessa! (650) 583-3333 www.fishingconnection.net

    Tips: early ,and when the sun goes down for top water
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: I love Feathers on my crank bait it works GREAT.