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Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Friday, March 29th, 2013

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Lots of bass caught off shoreline in the narrows and skiers cove area. Out of approximately 20 bass, no spawners were caught, nor were any beds seen in clear water down to 12 feet. All fish caught dropping plastics near the shoreline and fishing the baits slowly back to the boat. Most fish came out of 10-15 foot of water. Not to many solid "hits" but just light pickups that allowed for some weight to be felt at the end of the line. Expect fish to be more active as the water temp continues to rise in the uuper areas of the lake.

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 57 - 60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Tuesday, 3/26/13 - Sorry for the late report. It took me a long time to get registered to submit reports. My buddy and I fished both the East and West sides of the lake. The water temperature on the East side was 59 - 60º which was about one to two degrees warmer than the West side. Crank baits, Senkos, and swim baits were tried but essentially all fish were caught drop-shotting 6 inch Roboworms. Of the 18 fish we caught, a few more of these fish were caught on the East side. Most fish were caught in 5 -10 feet of water which compared to two weeks ago is shallower water. All three species of bass were caught. My buddy caught the largest that was a real nice 4 lb 2 oz small mouth. Our best five fish weighted 12 lbs 13 oz.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: In the areas that we fished, we looked but didn’t find any bedding fish. With the full moon, I thought a lot of bedding fish would be found. The fish appeared to be in the pre-spawn stage and moving up. The water needs to come up a few more degrees to start the spawn in full

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 58-61

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I didn't get a chance to post a timely report. I took a client last Tues - showing him around the lake and pinpointing some off-shore structure areas. Fishing was fair as we landed 8 or so. A friend of his followed us around for awhile and fished himself. He shot some cool videos of my boat and one of my client fighting and landing his biggest fish - a spot a little over 3 lbs. Lake was flat as could be with bright sun - tough conditions. All spots except for 2 smallies. We did not look for spawners as I wanted to cover a lot of water for him.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Lots of bass are moving shallow while some are spawning already. A possible mid-week storm could move some off the bank for awhile. We'll see.

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 56-61

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Caught 9 fish today. Best five around 12-13lbs. Fished in Putah, 1 on blade when wind came up, 1 on rip, the rest on jigs. Caught 4 off beds, 2 smallies( one was the same caught on same bed from last Sun.), 1 spot, and 1 lmg. Lots of fish shallow and cruising. Going again Sun. and should be more bed fish if weather holds.
    City: Fairfield

    Tips: If you want to bed fish before the rains next week, you can burn down banks and find enough fish to keep it fun right now.

Monday, March 11th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 53 -59

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Please see Bill Talley's report below concerning the Reapers tournament.

    Monday, 3/11/13. Starting at 9:00 AM, my buddy and I fished the West side near the big island with no success. The water temperature on this side was 53 – 55º and was very clear with visibility to 10 ft. Around 1:00, we moved to the East side and found a few fish at 5 to 15 ft mostly on points. The water here was warmer at 55 - 59° and was stained with visibility to only 3ft. By 5:00, the two of us had fished hard to catch a nice bag of 11 fish. Our best 5 weighed 13 lbs 2 oz. The two largest were small mouth bass at just over 3 lbs each. The others were a mixture of SMB, LMB and spots. All were caught drop-shotting 4½ inch Roboworms. A jerk bait, crank bait, Senko and jig were tried with no success.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: Look for warmer water which in the spring is usually along south facing shoreline. Stained water also warms up faster than clear water.

    As Bill Talley says in the Report below, the Reaper Tournament is really a Fun Family Team Tournament. This is the only tournament that my buddy and I fish. We have been fishing it for years and really enjoy ourselves. It has become our annual tradition. I also have another fishing buddy who's son comes up from LA every year to fish with his dad.

Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 56 to 58

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished a few hours in the afternoon, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. I was fishing points at 20ft or less, with zero results; when I ran into a guy who asked if I had a needle to deflate his fish. He had a nice 5 fish stringer, two were bloated. He told me he was fishing 40 to 50 ft deep. After adjusting my depth, I promptly caught a few to 1.5 LBs. Shout out to Todd Storm he took 3rd in a tournament today out of Pleasure Cove, 18 LBs!! Winning weight was 25 LBS.
    City: W.Sac

    Tips: Caught all my fish on a Green Pumpkinseed Hula Grub. 0 on Robo worms, Jerkbait, or Jig.

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 52 to 56

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out Saturday with Albert and John expecting a great day of fishing. The water was like glass, no wind to speak of and unfortunately no signs of fish. We had a tough day although we ran into a few people who fished in 30 to 50 feet of water and had success landing some nice bass (see photos). We stuck mostly to trolling in shallower water without much luck. This coming week if the signs are the same I will fish with my PK spoons and drop shot in deeper water. Mike from Bait Barn told me that was the method used by the Pro Am winner this past weekend. As the water gets warmer the fishing will get better and better and by the full moon in April the female bass will start going on their beds. '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: Napa

    Tips: points 15 to 35 feet for best results use drop shots ,spoon,or jig SLOW

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    Water Temp: 54-58F

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Retired from Pinole and myself hit the water at about 9am and got off at 5:30pm. Between the two of us landed 29 bass, most coming in 5 to 15ft, drop shoting Roboworms in coves and main body points on the lake. Fish were fat and were spitting up bait fish. Couldn't of had a more pleasant day, not to hot, not to cold, great way the to start the 2013 season!
    City: Fremont

    Tips: Slow pattern, allot on dead sticking with a little jiggle every now and then.

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    Water Temp: 54-57

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Tiger and I went out to enjoy the beautiful weather and try and get out first 2013 bass. He got a 3.0 fat bellied spot around 9:15 about 18' of water, then he got a 2.7 on a senko an hour later shallower. Then a 2.5 smallie a couple hours later, then I got a 2.7 smallie an hour later, then he got another 1.7 smb, and a dink after that. Never cought more than one fish off a spot. Most fish caught on dropshot. Baits that did not work. Jerk Bait, SpeedTrap, Texas rig, Jig, A-Rig (tried a new 3 arm version for about 2 hours total). the few fish that we did get were very hard fighting fun fish.
    City: Pacifica

    Tips: No real tips - found no real pattern. Beautiful day on the water nearly 70 and no wind (except in the creeks)

Saturday, February 23rd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 49 - 53

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: The Results are in for Contra Costa Bass Clubs Berryessa tournament on 2/23/2013...

    Boater Chris D. takes it with a total weight of 16.18 lbs.
    Non Boater Tai N. tops the back seaters with a total weight of 11.44 lbs.

    A total of 19 members launched out of Capell Cove landing and releasing 58 fish totaling 120.35 lbs.

    Berryessa BIG Fish Bill B. 4.42 lbs., Brian B. 4.24 lbs. Chris D. 4.16 lbs.

    Windy day, fish were caught on dropt shots, jigs, a few on rip baits in the morning and afternoon wind. Predominant colors were browns, purples for jig and purples and shad colors for drop shots. Most good fish were caught main lake with smaller spots in the narrows.

    If your looking to fish in a great club, with a great bunch of guys whose main purpose is to become better fisherman and have fun. Look us up at www.ccbassclub.com or email me.
    City: Walnut Creek

    Tips: Stick to wind blown main lake points in 25 - 50 feet

Sunday, February 17th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 51-56

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Fishing was tough! We managed 5 bites, 5 fish, for 15lbs this past Sunday. I can't complain. Last two outings I've caught my personal best spotted bass. Last week a little over 4lbs and this week a chunk that almost went 5lbs. We caught our 5th bass (a nice 2.5 lb smallmouth) 10 minutes before dark on the rig from a nice looking secondary point. That "last cast" always works...
    City: P-Hill

    Tips: Fish finesse lures like worms, tubes, jigs etc. We found all our fish from 3-15ft deep. There are fish in this lake besides places like the narrows and putah creek - believe it or not!

Monday, February 11th, 2013

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Larry you are a great fisherman and a man of integrity. I attended one of your classes at Yuba College several years ago I still draw upon the knowledge you bestoewd upon me. Thank you!!
    City: W.Sac

Sunday, February 10th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 53

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Spent the day fishing sun baked banks and we were able to catch a nice mix of largemouth, smallmouth, spots and two nice trout. Fish were found 1' to 35' using dropshot, jigs and rip baits. The fish told us tehy we not in a aggressive mood so we slowed way down. total weight for the limit was 16 lbs plus.
    City: Santa Rosa

    Tips: Fish crawdad patterns slowand then slow down some more.

Saturday, February 9th, 2013

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Wendell - this is just a kindly reminder that the reports section is for fishing reports. Did you fish the lake? Opinions about tournaments, etc, are welcome on the forums, but not here. This is a political-free zone.

Friday, February 8th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 50 degrees

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: jigs and drop shots off humps and points. moving on to something i read on one of the fishing reports addressing the future pro at clearlake. i fished anglers-choice, BBT, and future pro tour and i can say this all three circuits care about the handling of the fish, and it's a shame that the other two would bad mouth the future pro tour in order to gain another boat or two. the message that should get out is that it's the responsibility of the anglers in the events who bare the blame for those dead fish due to poor fish handling onboard there boats after the catch, and after the weigh in, not going the required distant to release the fish since the live release boat never showed up. And yes thats my name on this report as i don't hind behind my monitor, i stand by my words. happy fishing.
    City: sacramento

    Tips: move often until you find the right point or hump.

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013

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    Water Temp: 50-53

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: On the water by about 7:30 am. First spot was a 2.5 on a crank. Second spot was about a 4 pounder on a shaky head. That was it for the day, off te water by 3. Both fish were good looking and fighters.

    Tips: Don't even think of a morning bite

Friday, January 25th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Unlike my last trip here, the air temps were 50+ during the ride there, unlike the previous 30+. I was optomistic that fish would be more active and move up. Well, once again what do I know, as it was about the same as last time. Fished from 9-4:30 and got about 15 bites and boated about bass. Mostly spots and few smallies up to 2+. All were on plastics in 15-25 ft. Couldn't figure out a pattern, so some stops I got bit and many others I didn't. Most stops only caught one but one stop got 5. Not sure what's going, just made a lot of casts. Grubs and tubes in S&P and green respectively were the colors. For those interested, there were periodic trout swirls, but they didn't last long. Even tho Thursday had no sun, the mild temps made for a real nice day. except for the 30 minute shower around 1-2.

    Tips: Couldn't find a pattern. They seemed to want it on the bottom, moving real slow. Once they would commit they would hold on to it, so take your time and make sure you wind down to the fish before setting hook. Seemed like the fish were in the 15-25 ft depth. Hope this helps

Saturday, January 12th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched in the 20+ degree weather, fished from 7:30am to 4pm and tried to thaw out all day. Caught some descent spotted bass and smallmouth bass off the main points before the coves/creeks on a Strike King 6XD deep diving crank (Citrus shad color), and caught one smallmouth on the Yumbrella rig (rigged with reaction innovations little dippers, bad shad color) in anywhere from 12-20 feet of water. Caught another smally off a submerged island in 14ft of water on the 6XD. All fish weighed from 1b to under 3lbs, best 5 goin 9.5 lbs.
    City: San Jose, CA

    Tips: I had a lucky day. Spoke to a number of other people and nobody was catching them on reaction baits. I didnt get any on finesse baits like everyone else was catching them on.

Friday, January 11th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Sorry for the late post but better late than never right?

    Launched at capell on Friday around 8:15 to a balmy 26 degrees. Might not be cold to you but as scrawny as I am It goes straight to the bone. My buddy and I jammed over to the narrows looking to catch some smallies. After an hour of trying to force feed them reaction baits it was time for the drop shot and tube to come out. We started focusing on the pockets along the north shore that we're steep and muddy with small isolated rock outcropings, as expected the fish were sitting right on the seams of the rock and mudd awaiting an ambush. The fish were holding in 30 feet and chewed up every purple smoke cross tail shad I had, as for the tube they were choking it down as well. Dead sticking was the ticket as well as a 1/16 dropshot weight and a 1/4 ounce tube hook.
    City: San Lorenzo

    Tips: Be patient this time of year, it does not mean the fishing is slow it is just harder to find em. Once you get a bite or two stay with that spot the fish are definitely stacked on subtle changes along the vast shoreline called the narrows. The colors that worked best for us were green pumpkin w purp/copper flake for the tubes and smoke purple drop shot worms.

    Hope this helps and if nothing else it will be a great for reading if you need help going to sleep

Friday, December 14th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 56 to 57

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: First time back on Berryessa after several weeks. Fished from about 1100 to 1530. Overcast skies and near calm conditions. Only debris was small (1 to 2 foot) branches and assorted crud. Nothing spectacular but the smallies were chewing pretty good. Caught one small spot near the first point before the Narrows (across from the sunken island). Then the fun began. Along the North shore of the first cove in the Narrows hooked up with my first smallie on a jig with 420 beaver trailer (just slowly dragging it). Next three smallies, including a really nice 5 lber, were caught on a spinner bait (3/4 oz. Revenge with a clear/black hula grub trailer with chartreuse highlighter on the tips) from the point at the start of the rock slide and down that shore. All very healthy and fought like hell. Love it when they get near the boat and go into the dive mode. 5 lber had my 704 Lami Cert Pro bent in half.
    City: Windsor, CA

    Tips: All spinner bait fish were caught in 40 to 45 ft. of water with fish suspended at 25 to 30 ft. Didn't venture up to Putah but probably still close to mocha colored. Stayed pretty much in the Narrows due to limited time.