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Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Monday, June 24th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 78.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Picture of bigbadsid fishingconnection.net























    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
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: earl ,and when the sun goes down for top water

  • By

    Water Temp: 74-76

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: fished from 6:30-13:30. the wind and sprinkles kept me in the narrows, decent tw action til 11am. 13 fish to 3 lbs (lots of dinks). dd crank was also productive yesterday.
    City: elk grove

    Tips: avoid the wakeboarders

Saturday, June 22nd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 75-78

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Darn!! This would be the perfect report if I hadn't broke off a trophy largemouth right before dark. Why I still was using 8 lb test - I don't know. My client and I decided she was 7 - or bigger. Anyway, the trip was about my client - a good fisherman on his first night fishing adventure. He says he didn't even know about night fishing until I suggested it to him a few weeks ago. He caught 4 of our five big bass - his biggest largemouth at 4 lbs 10 oz. His biggest topwater bass was a 3 3/4 lb largemouth. In addition to his other 2 other good largemouth, I caught a 4 lb 2 oz spotted bass about midnight - my biggest spot ever at Berryessa. It was a quality late afternoon/night trip with quality bass and a stunningly beautiful full-moon night. Now - about that one I lost.....!!

    Tips: We fished several areas in the main body only and found the bite to be somewhat slow - but consistent. In spite of his good trip - he did miss several fish. Most of our action was on main lake points or submerged steep drop-offs and ledges. Average depth was 10 to 25 feet. Bass seem to still be in post-spawn mode as there was no sign of any fish chasing bait and only heard 2 fish surface during the whole 7 hrs. The big fish was lost on a black 7" Berkley Power worm and all the after-dark bass were caught on that bait. It is my favorite summer bait at Berryessa.

Wednesday, June 19th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 75-78

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Monday morning is not my favorite time to guide in the summer, but 2 anglers from Texas - visiting California for the first time - needed to go Monday. Turned out to be alright for our 6 hr trip. After a few small bass, one of the fellows nails a nice 3 1/4 lb largemouth. I was throwing a small Berkley Havoc bait off to the side of a rockpile while they were fishing the top. I got a great bite and was shocked to hook a good fish - thot I was at Clear Lake! Turned out to be a 5 lb largemouth! What is going on??? The bite kept up for awhile as we landed about 10 bass - best 5 around 17 lbs! Nice!! They were excellent anglers too. Another trip Tues morning with a big weather change - cold wind and much slower bite. One of the guys did land an impressive (and beautiful) hybrid bass (smallie-spotted) about 2 3/4 lbs. Great coloring in this fish - I got a good photo. They missed several bites (lost one or two nice ones) in the wind and wound up with only 7 or 8 bass. Hard to find anywhere to get out of the wind. As they say - what a difference a day makes!

    Tips: My clients did some drop-shotting but the bass seemed to prefer a Texas rig. Bites were easier to feel Texas style in the wind - they had to suck it up. We found most quality bass on off-shore structure and points. Nothing on walls. Clay banks with small rock were best. Two of my favorite areas produced nothing! Saw some bait on main lake points and lots of suspended fish. Almost spoon time??

Sunday, June 9th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 82 thru 69

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The weather this past weekend was very strange. On Saturday the temperature was as high as 113 degrees and the water temperature was 82 degrees. By Sunday it had cooled down a great deal and the water temperature had dropped to 69 degrees. The fishing was excellent with top water bites in the early morning and crank baits on the points from the dam to the main lake. I did very well with a clear with black flakes senko wacky style off points in about 15 to 20 feet. Last weekend Chris and his son Collin with their catch (see photo). My daughter-in-law Sarah holding a four pound bass she had caught (see photo). Hoping this coming weekend will be as productive. 'til next week.............................................................good fishing!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or if you would like to book a fishing trip 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
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: Napa's Best Lake Fishing only getting better ,see you on the water. I like to use Pro cure scents it has always worked well for me ,senko worms you can not go wrong,brass and glass when you are in the grass,6lb line is my choice . Hobie Polarized glasses if you want to see the fish.call for help

  • By

    Water Temp: 82 thru 69

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The weather this past weekend was very strange. On Saturday the temperature was as high as 113 degrees and the water temperature was 82 degrees. By Sunday it had cooled down a great deal and the water temperature had dropped to 69 degrees. The fishing was excellent with top water bites in the early morning and crank baits on the points from the dam to the main lake. I did very well with a clear with black flakes senko wacky style off points in about 15 to 20 feet. Last weekend Chris and his son Collin with their catch (see photo). My daughter-in-law Sarah holding a four pound bass she had caught (see photo). Hoping this coming weekend will be as productive. 'til next week.............................................................good fishing!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or if you would like to book a fishing trip 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
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: Fishing only getting better ,see you on the water.

Saturday, June 8th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 77-79

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: as soon as we launched out of markley, we saw bait busting on the surface in open water. Had a really good tw bite for about 45 minutes. more tw action in the narrows off points, and a few decent spots on swimjigs. buddy landed two quality smallies up north on jigs. had a great day. the heat was bad, but dipping my hat into the water every 5 minutes really helped alot.
    City: elk grove

    Tips: find the bait and you'll find the spotties

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 68-74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished narrows and mainbody using rattle traps,jigs senkos,swimbaits,wacky rigs.Still finding smallmouth on beds. best 5 went 18lbs.
    good luck be safe

Monday, May 27th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Memorial Day weekend was a lot of fun even though the weather wasn't the greatest. On Sunday I went out with Dan and he was using a "Speed Trap" lure with a feather hook on the back. We were trolling in about 35 feet of water and he said he was snagged. I felt he wasn't snagged and told him just keep reeling you've got a fish. He landed one of the largest trout of the season (see photo). It was pretty windy on the main lake so we looked for shelter in a cove and switched to fishing for bass. Bill took three people out for me and limited out in salmon and trout. He told me the wind was pretty bad and they fished in 35 to 45 feet down. My friend Jory was fishing the shoreline in my favorite cove and told me he was using a watermelon colored senko with brass and glass and caught a huge largemouth bass weighing in at 10+ pounds (see photo). I'm looking forward to this coming weekend the weather should be a lot warmer and the fish will be more active.
    '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!
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: shadows,timber,big rocks,bushes,grass,any place that bass can hide make great structure

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 69-74

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: my bud spOnge and I had a good day on thursday. The best part of seeing many shad balls all over the lake. I have never seen this much shad anywhere, with the exception of Clear Lake. With this much forage and all the grass, it should help this fishery.
    On to the catching; Most of the shad balls had fish on them, but many of them wouldn't bite. We did catch some nice spots, smallies, largemouths and squawfish(?) on some of the shad. And in some areas, there were fish nearby. Didn't find a honey hole, so we moved around alot and action was steady. The day was pretty nice except for some gusting winds. We fished form 8:30-6:30 and boated about 40-50 fish up to 4lbs.
    City: orinda

    Tips: We caught them on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics. Later when there was shade, poppers on top worked as well. Couldn't pattern the fish as they were only active if there was shad nearby. Fish your favorite baits down to 12 ft and cover water. Keep an eye on the water and your graph. Only pay attention to the Grieves that go down and come back up in the same spot. spOnge and I found more shad than dem birds.

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: up to 77

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 11:07:15 -0700

    <!-- .ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P { padding:0px; } .ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage { font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri; } -->

    The fishing is getting better and better each day. The water this past weekend was crystal clear and the temperature was around 77 degrees. The fish are very active and feeding on the big balls of bait. At one of my favorite points Kevin and Dominic went swimming and about fifteen feet from them was a ball of bait and trout jumping all over feeding on the bait. It was a great show. They got back in the boat and we went through this feeding frenzy and they landed a couple of nice trout (see photo). We saw more bait activity and threw the lines in that direction and ended up with a nice four pound bass that Dave netted (see photo). The day before Leo and Markey went out with me and caught trout and a good size bass (see photo). Albert and I had a successful day with Albert catching a 2+ pound crappy (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

    Gastronomic Dinner Club
    Executive in Charge
    http://www.facebook.com/#!/GastronomicDinnerClub
    (650) 867-9999

    Past President of YBAC Fishing Club
    Oldest San Francisco Fishing Club
    www.fishingconnection.net
    City: San Francisco

    Tips: enjoyed top water bite , also wacky senco watermelon red flake,this week will try suspended luck craft.

Sunday, May 5th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 58-66

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Started in the narrows,caught a few smaller fish. Went to the main body and found the water temp quite a bit cooler 10+ degrees.Fished the isolated brush pattern again using senkos and rattle traps,used something differant to trigger strikes from spawing fish when i found them. Fishing consistant all day long 15-20 fish most all in the 2+ up to 4lbs.
    good luck be safe

    Tips: Long casts, the fish are shallow when you look you'll think they can't be there.....they are.

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 75 down to 72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Had a wide open bite from 2 pm to 6:30 pm in the narrows with drop shottin. Saw quite a bit of threadfin shad right on the surface. Got some bigger one on cranks in afternoon. Bite shut off all together in evening. Temp was 75 at 2 pm and 72 in evening. Strange bite shut off during the "better" temp and with the shade!

    Tips: Used a 12" leader on drop shot. Not sure how much difference a shorter or longer leader would have mattered. We started off with a 12" leader and never had to change up.

  • By

    Water Temp: 66-72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I guided a senior citizen yesterday (Thurs) at sunny Berryessa. What wind??? Ha!!! The lake was dead-flat calm which helped to make the bite kinda tough, though some previous windy areas were pretty dingy. We only caught 7 or 8, but my client took top prize with his first-ever smallie - just under 3 lbs! Yea - there're all that big! I could hardly believe it. After losing a nice fish previously, he threw his morning dawn Robo worm on top of a shallow rockpile - about 10 feet deep - and hooks the big smallie. This was about noon - pretty rare to catch a quality fish that shallow at high-noon!! She ever jumped twice - fun!!! Caught one largemouth and the others were 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 lb spots. We both missed several good bites - not sure why. We fished 6 1/2 - 7 hours.

    Tips: Most of our bass were caught in the narrows. We saw some shad spawning in a cove on the west side of main body. Interesting! I tried to get topwater going with my Chug Bug - nothing doing after the wind event. Got a few on #301 Senkos - like THAT is unusual!!

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Hello, Bill Talley here, just wanted to give all you bass fisherman a heads up about out upcoming Reapers open April 27, 2013 out of Pleasure cove. This will be our 32nd Open. over the last 32 years The Reapers have planted more than 30,000 Florida strain large mouth Bass in lake Berryessa!! Plus we have sunk more than 2000 thousand Christmas trees in the last two years to help the bass survive. It's a fun tournament, cost $120 per team $20 of the entry goes for big fish. We pay back up to 22 big fish paybacks. We have a huge raffle with Great stuff to give away. Bring your wife, son, daughter, aunt or uncle, it's a Fun Family Team Tournament. Have any questions, go to www.bassreapers.org and print out your entry form. Hope to see all you there.
    City: Suisun City

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 75

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Picture of Sidney Silberberg























    Last Saturday I took out Bruce and Jenna for the day. The lake was fairly calm when we started out but by the time we reached the Narrows the wind had picked up and when we looked back to the main lake we could see white caps. I had promised to take them to the vineyards so we headed out that way and it was a rough ride. Once we got there it was hard to fish in any pattern as the drift was very rapid. We were still able to land our largest fish of the day a 3 1/3 LB smallmouth bass (see photo). Took Albert out in the afternoon for a couple of hours. We went into a cove to be out of the wind and went into pretty shallow water approximately three feet or less. We saw a lot of bass and many fry in the water. This past weekend I took Albert and Bob out and we had a pretty good day. We ended up in my favorite cove with the sun going down the bass just started jumping all around us and chasing minnows. We hit pay dirt and started catching some nice bass and trout (see photo). Now about the one that got away........I threw a lipless crankbait into about four feet of water and was hit like a freight train by a bass weighing between six to eight pounds he pulled me into the grass and I fought him for at least five minutes and lost him when he broke the tip of my loomis rod. '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
    City: San Francisco

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 58 - 60

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Thursday, 4/18/13, because of the strong North wind in the morning, my buddy and I starting fishing in protected areas on the west side. After the wind subsided somewhat in the afternoon, we moved to the east side. The water temperature on both sides was between 58 and 60ยบ. This is essentially no change from what I reported 3 weeks ago. Jigs, Senkos, Roboworms and swim baits were tried but essentially all fish were caught drop-shotting 4 and 6 inch Roboworms. Of the 17 fish we caught, more than half were caught on the West side. Two thirds of the fish were small mouth bass. Most fish were caught in 5 -10 feet of water. Our largest was a 4 lb 7 oz large mouth with the best five weighing 12 lbs 7 oz.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: Because of the wind, it was hard to see any bedding fish. The recent cold weather stopped the water temperature from warming up and the fish appeared to have backed off and are not spawning yet. With the full moon coming and much warmer weather, they should be moving in to spawn.

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 60 thru 65

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Subject: Fishing with Sid
    Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:29:28 -0700

    <!-- .ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P { padding:0px; } .ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage { font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri; } -->
    Just got back from vacationing in Miami and couldn't wait to get on the lake. Saturday I went out and noticed that the bass are coming into the shallower water for bedding. The water was clear and wearing my "Hobie" polarized sunglasses I was able to see the activity of the bass. Paul is holding a nice size bass (see photo). Albert and I are holding the largest bass we landed (see photo). It seems that using a sanko worm watermelon color in "wacky" style was getting the best results. Where the water was clear you could see ten feet down and see fish. Other areas were murky possibly because of bedding fish. Full moon should be the 25th of the month so five days prior and five days after should be excellent days to fish. '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: check the map on top of this page its great

  • By

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Just got back from vacationing in Miami and couldn't wait to get on the lake. Saturday I went out and noticed that the bass are coming into the shallower water for bedding. The water was clear and wearing my "Hobie" polarized sunglasses I was able to see the activity of the bass. Paul is holding a nice size bass (see photo). Albert and I are holding the largest bass we landed (see photo). It seems that using a senko worm watermelon color in "wacky" style was getting the best results. Where the water was clear you could see ten feet down and see fish. Other areas were murky possibly because of bedding fish. Full moon should be the 25th of the month so five days prior and five days after should be excellent days to fish. '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

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

  • By

    Water Temp: 58-66

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: fished main body found fished@10+ft on isolated brush no big ones but alot of 3 and 4lbs largemouth and smallmouth caught on senkos.Color didn't seem to matter