Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Thursday, August 16th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: I GOT 1

Monday, August 13th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 89

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I went out last weekend with Albert and John. The fishing has been good, the weather perfect and fishing with my friends even better. We had a productive day and the biggest catch for that day was by Sarah who landed a largemouth bass weighing in at 5+ pounds. Albert and John did a great job too they landed fish up to 4 pounds (see photos). 'til next week.......................................................................................good fishing!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: fish a little deeper 12 to 15 feet

Sunday, August 12th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 89 plus

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: story will follow ,yes we caught big fish this week crank bait was the #1 choice bait.most big fish were caught during 112 degrees during the day.
    City: Napa

    Tips: top water is happening

Monday, August 6th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 79

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The past two weekends have been very productive at the lake. The weather has been perfect and the fishing has been great. After going through a spell of catching bass under twelve inches this past weekend we landed some really nice size bass (see photos). My son Henry caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass on a spinner bait going against the weed line. Not five minutes later his wife Sarah landed a 6 pound largemouth bass using brass and glass with a five inch senko worm. Both of these fish were caught in about four feet of water. My daughter Helene joined us later in the afternoon and within a twenty minute period she had landed three nice size bass. Not to be left out my wife caught a good size small mouth bass and a nice trout. It was my son's birthday weekend and we all had a good time on the water. On Monday I took Darren out for the day. I headed towards the Narrows and we fished the east side of the lake. The most enjoyable fishing for me is topwater and we were able to throw into a boil of feeding fish and get hit hard in their feeding frenzy. We went into the back of the ranch house cove and with my new pair of Hobie polarized sunglasses I was able to clearly see into the water and see the structure and fish luring in the shadows. We fished our way to the vineyards and I showed him my hot spots there. We headed back fishing the west side to Capell Cove and ended the day in that area.
    '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: Napa

Sunday, August 5th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 78

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Slow fishing. Muddy water due to traffic and wind. 2 sinks and a 3 lb LM. Very little activity on the surface. Lake seems dead for past two weeks. Water has dropped at least 4 feet from two weeks ago. Hopefully there will be enough water for the fall bite.
    City: Fairfield

    Tips: Fish your strengths. Drop shot in deep water is not mine.

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

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    Water Temp: 80

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Well, good day today, caught 5 bass, both lg mouth and small mouth. The largest was caught on a brush hog / about 2 lbs. The rest were on minnows.

    Never caught more than one at any location, just kept moving. Its been a long long time since I caught and released 5 while fishing Berry.w
    tx al
    City: Esparto

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

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    Water Temp: 80 degrees

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Well finally got the "Stink" off my fishing pole.
    Caught one (1) lg mouth @ 2 lbs 6oz. Much nicer
    size than I usually catch! Used a 7in plastic worm tea color rigged "Carolina". The cast was 6 in from
    the shore line and must have hit him on the head, scarfed it up pronto. Sure could handle about 5 of them!
    tx al
    City: Esparto

Friday, July 27th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 78 - 79

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Friday, 7/27/12, the good thing about fishing Friday was the beautiful day on the water that my buddy and I shared. The only issue was that we were fishing but not catching. We tried North, East, South and the Narrows and if we would have had more time, we probably would have also fished on the West side. We did manage to catch a few small fish in about 10 feet of water. And according to other fisherman at the dock, they were having about the same success. We caught our small fish drop-shotting Roboworms. The guys at the dock said they were using Senkos. During our search for fish, we observed on the fishfinder many large bait balls. These were usually in at least 20 ft of water. Almost always, there were a group of diving birds nearby. Deep diving crank baits and swim baits were pulled through these bait balls with no success. Perhaps, jigging a spoon might have worked but we didn’t try this.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: Does anybody have any tips on how to catch summer fish on Lake Berryessa?

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

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    Water Temp: 84

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: For the past two weeks, fishing has been fair to good. The weather is getting warmer which intern makes the sureface water warmer and the fish go deeper for cooler water. The sureface was up to 84 degrees.
    City: Napa

    Tips: Wether the water is warmer or cooler fish look you and I still got to eat!!

Sunday, July 8th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 82

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: This report covers the last two weeks of fishing at Lake Berryessa. I took my buddy Albert out with his two grandsons who call him Opa for the day and Albert tells me they are still talking about it. The boys names are CJ and Daniel and they had a good time and caught some nice fish (see photos). The next morning I took out Kenny and Larry for a full day of catching fish. They both are fishermen and I brought them to spots they never knew existed and they did very well. In all they landed over twenty fish and nice sized ones and learned some new techniques in the process (see photos). Early the following morning my friend Roger and I set out for a full day of fishing. I took him to many of my favorite spots on the east side of the lake and we ended up at the vineyards. He loved it there until the wind picked up. He caught two nice size spotted bass using a spinner bait and a grub for a trailer. We ended the day with limits (see photos). Kevin and I fished the following day and the water temperature was eighty degrees. We caught and released just under thirty bass and limited out on trout. It was a very successful day (see photos). Today I fished on my own on the west side using only senko worms and brass and glass and my largest fish was a 6 pound large mouth bass (see photo). As you can see it was a very busy couple of weeks but lots of fun and great fishing with nice people. '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.




    http://www.fishingconnection.net
    BOOK A GUIDED TRIP
    AT LAKE BERRYESSA
    City: Napa

    Tips: brass and grass called them pro cure made them want to eat sharp hooks made it easy to set.

Monday, June 18th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 76 to 80

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: TODAY IS MY 45th year married to that wonderful wife of mine.

    From:

    Sidney Silberberg (bestguide@hotmail.com)



    Sent:

    Mon 6/18/12 10:11 AM



    To:

    Sidney Silberberg (bestguide@hotmail.com); lake b Peter



    <!-- .ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;} -->
    This past Saturday I took "Baja Bev" out for the day. It was her first Lake Berryessa experience and I wanted it to be a memorable one. We headed towards the narrows first and the water was pretty calm. Her first catch was a toss up which one was bigger the lure or the fish but from then on the bite was on and the fish were all quality. Bev wanted to try catching as many different species of fish that the lake offered and we came close. She caught largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass along with trout and even a squawfish. At my favorite spot in the vineyards I landed a nice 5 pound bass on a senko worm using Procure crawdad scent (see photos). On Sunday, Father's Day, the family headed out on the west side. My wife caught the first fish a nice trout followed almost immediately by Sarah, my daugther-in-law, who also caught a trout. This continued all day as they kept catching fish after fish. They caught bass up to 6 pounds and my son and I were the official netters and let me tell you they kept us busy. It was a great weekend at the lake. '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.




    http://www.fishingconnection.net
    BOOK A GUIDED TRIP
    AT LAKE BERRYESSA
    City: Napa

    Tips: wash your hands after putting on sun lotion it makes a difference.

Saturday, June 16th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 76.= 78

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fishing Diary

    2012
    June 16

    While it is largely a fact that I have saltwater in my veins the winds have stirred up the salt pond for most of the last month, so I made a phone call to a special friend who knows all about freshwater fishing and said, "Next time you have an opportunity to squeeze me in, let me know." Sidney Silberberg is the special friend and today was my lucky day.

    Lake Berryessa is a couple hours from me and yet I've never fished it but not to worry, Sid knows the place like the back of his hand. I met him at one of the launch ramps on the south end of the lake where he already had his fully loaded Lund in the water. I was prepared to see the freshwater version of a "Tred Barta porcupine" when he told me the number of rods he was bringing. Let's just say he's got everything covered! I was allowed to bring up to three sticks myself but I chose the two staples I own... A Fenwick trout rod/Penn 420 SS (coffee grinder) and a Penn Pursuit/Abu Garcia Ambassador 4600 C3 (level wind), both sporting fresh line.

    It promised to get hot today so I planned ahead and donned my Mojo shirts and a pair of shorts over a swimsuit and wore a pair of water shoes from Lands End. My Mojo cap and Kaenon soft cores completed my ensemble. Polarized glasses are a MUST HAVE if you plan on fishing.

    Sid started us off by trolling and I took notes of the various lures, depths and water conditions. It wasn't long before we had a bass attack and I cranked the feisty golden-hued fish to the boat. A very respectable 2 to 3 pound smallmouth bass got deposited into one of the forward live well. He was soon joined by a 2 pound rainbow trout. Another bass followed before we decided to run a short ways to another spot.

    A nice breeze picked up just as I had discarded my T-shirt, bringing enough relief from the heat to get by with my performance shirt. Since I had caught a few fish on Sidney's gear I decided the put my trout rod out and troll with it a bit. It was promptly bit and whatever hit it started to take line. "It" turned out to be a great fight and I landed my first ever squawfish which was around 4 1/2 pounds. I followed it up with another trout.

    With a light chop on the lake we headed for the opposite side to get some protection and take a break to hang out with Sid's family on a patio pontoon boat. We snapped a few pictures of some of the catch so far and tossed a couple of lines out to check for catfish. After a quick hamburger and beer we cooled off with a dunk in the lake and then I got schooled in the fine art of using a senko from the shoreline. I practiced for a few minutes before we headed back out.

    We found a nice area to drift using the senko technique and I also tried casting a couple of topwater lures. The next time we hooked up I told Sidney to bring one in since I had lost a bass earlier. He let me net the fish which was a nice largemouth bass around 4 pounds. Throughout the rest of the afternoon we scoped out areas hiding bass and I learned a lot about the structure that they prefer at different times; During the day-to-day and over their lifecycle.

    In one small cove I had a huge takedown and fought the biggest bass I'd encountered, so far, to within five feet of the net before it leaped and spit the hook. Sid figured it was a 6 pound class fish. I was really starting to enjoy fighting bass and I wanted another shot at a big one. We paused to dunk ourselves again before moving on.

    Well when you're fishing with a pro lightning can strike more than once! A short while later I got to fight an even bigger bass around 8 pounds, but alas it too found freedom before the net. Sidney took it in stride but I know we both would have loved a photo op with both of those largemouths!

    It was a pleasure not only fishing but getting to experience a fantastic lake with plenty of wildlife. Sidney pointed out several osprey and bald eagle nests, grebes, Canadian geese and we saw plenty of deer as well.

    If you want to hire Sidney (who is also a very talented angler on saltwater too) then contact him at his web site here or call him at (650) 583-3333. I'll be adding Sidney to my endorsements page.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    City: Napa

    Tips: Baha Bev you did good

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 75

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: went thurs and got a lot of bites and hooked most of them. Unfortunately not alot the hooked ones were keepers. Couldn't figure out what was going on even tho I released all 25 fish including a 13lb+ catfish that wore me out. Fished main body, narrows and wragg canyon. Junked fish and caught some, on topwater, jerkbaits, blades, tubes, dropshot and grubs. Even tho I fished deeper,didn't catch anything deeper than 13 ft.
    City: orinda

    Tips: If it's big fish you want, I'm not much help, as my bigger fish were only 2.5-3lbs. If you want bites throw the plastic. Keep moving til you find fish.

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

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    Water Temp: 76

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report:
    Fishing with Sid‏



























    From:





    Sent:




    To:












    This report covers Memorial Day weekend through this past weekend. Memorial Day weekend had it's ups and downs with the weather but all in all turned out to be a good fishing weekend bringing in limits of trout and bass and including a nice size catfish caught by Dan and weighing in at 9.5 pounds (see photo of Dan and some helpers Quinn, Aiden and Jaden). This past weekend I went out with John and his sons Jason and Edwin. Our first stop was in the narrows where we trolled past one of my favorite spots with no luck. My aim was for the boys to catch something quickly so they wouldn't get bored and lose interest. We headed to another area and tried our luck there. Once I explained how much line to let out and what to look for it made a big difference and they started to get bites. We started off with both boys getting hookups at the same time and landing two nice size bass. After that first doubleheader they kept catching fish for most of the day. We ended up with limits and very happy boys (see photos). Hoping next weekend will be as good. 'til then..................................................................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.






    http://www.fishingconnection.net
    BOOK A GUIDED TRIP
    AT LAKE BERRYESSA
    City: Napa

    Tips: if u need a tip on lake berryessa call me

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

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    Water Temp: 74-77

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I had the pleasure of taking a star pitcher for the SF Giants, Matt Cain, along with his lovely wife, to the oven at Lake Berryessa. After a 20 game stretch, he was ready for some R&R. I knew it would be really tough - post-spawn, hot, and FLAT water - no breeze! We had a 4 hour window to fish, from 10 am to 2 pm - quite a challenge - 95 degree when we quit. I helped his wife with her casting skills and gave Matt a few tips on worm fishing. He has done bass fishing in the past and loves it. A night trip might be in his future! So, who catches the first bass? His wife - with a dandy 2 1/4 lb spot. Pressure is off!! Because of the time limit, we stayed in the narrows, though I showed them the main body since it was their first time to Berryessa. Matt and his wife caught several more from 6 to 13 inches. Matt got the only smallie, about 12 inches. We went into Skier's Cove to a flat I like, but no results. Just as I was going to pull the Minn Kota up, she says she has one. And did she ever! It took her nearly 5 minutes to get the near 3 lb spot to the net. I couldn't believe it - this fish had not spawned yet or had eaten several craws. Big belly! I only fished about 45 minutes, trying other baits - catching 2 small ones but losing a nice one. Our total catch was about 11 or 12 bass and several missed hits. I was very pleased that the bite was ok, considering the very tough conditions and time frame! We finished in Wragg Canyon with a few more small ones. Again, their best bait was a Texas rigged morning dawn w/ chartreuse tail 6 inch worm. with about an inch bitten off. The worm that enticed the big spot probably only had 4 1/2 inches left on the 6 inch original. My 250 hp Evinrude got them back to the dock at 2:03. Great day!!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: I don't usually make personal comments about my clients. I have guided and worked with many pro athletes and enjoyed them all, but Matt Cain (and his wife) were simply great people to be around. What a pleasure to spend a few hours with them in my boat! They both fished hard the whole time and didn't even touch the lunch they brought! Lots of laughs and joking around. It's never too hot to enjoy the great outdoors with great folks!!

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 74-76

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: This was a great week for some nice bass on my favorite lake. I took out one client on Wednesday and up until then had never caught a Bass. He ended the day with 15. Largemouth up to 4 pounds, smallmouth up to 3.5lbs. and spotted bass 3.5lb. most of the fish came on a dropshot rig and the rest on Carolina rig. The next day I had 2 clients and they also landed some nice fish up to 4 lbs on the same rigs. Top water bite was very slow but we did see a lot of bait moving around so I expect it to get better soon.
    City: Sacramento

    Tips: Work the outside points in the main body from 5 to 20 feet. Most of the fish are post spawn and feeding. Try top water baits early you never know when that bite will take off.

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 72

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: nice fish thanks for the pictures
    City: napa

Saturday, May 26th, 2012

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Download all as zip





    Great day on Berryessa, little chill in the morning, with a question mark on the afternoon weather coming, started at the mouth of the narrows by the dam picking up 3 kings got slow so we moved to the lower main lake and it was non stop action on kings to 5 lbs and trout from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. By 2:30 had 9 kings and 6 bows from 17 to 22 in trolling Lyman lures from 37 to 61 ft for both. Got off the lake just as the rain started.

    pic 1 is Jack Harmon of Sacramento with his 5 lbr
    pic 2 is Jack Harmon of Sac on Left and Chuck Soden of Carmichael on right

    Captain Bill
    City: sac

Friday, May 25th, 2012

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Launched at first light from Putah. Caught a 3.5lber from the launch ramp on a spook. Went straight across to the ranch house and fished the willow trees. Caught 4 fish from 6-9 feet on spinnerbait, cali swim jig, and nice 3.5lber on spook. Headed back up Putah, one dink on a senko by standing timber. Moved out closer to bridge and found the magic cove. Caught all the fish on crank baits in 6-9 feet half way back the cove, fishing the banks at 45 degree angles. Speed trap did the trick. 5 Biggest fish went 21lbs. 25 total fish. Finished day fishing willows by buoys on way out of putah before the bridge. Fun day. Caught all 3 species of bass. 4 biggest were all LM.
    City: Fairfield

    Tips: Depth was key. Running a pattern eliminated a lot of useless water. I think we could have stayed and caught them all day running our pattern.

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    Water Temp: 69-72

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I guide a great father/son team Friday in very different weather conditions than Monday's trip. Chilly, windy, cloudy w/some sprinkles. Fishing was slower and the bass were smaller - though each of them caught a nice 2 1/2 lb spotted bass. We also caught a few largemouth about 2 lbs each. The son had just moved out here from Illinois and was experiencing beautiful Berryessa for the first time. Dad wished he had moved too!!! It would have been nice if the hills were still green, but brown has set in!! I took them out to see the main lake after fishing the narrows most of the time and we fished a few spots with no luck. Unlike Monday, the afternoon bite died! Morning bite was ok. Bass all seems to have spawned by now.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: We used Robo worms most of the time since they were working the best and I knew they could get bit in some tough conditions. Most bites were from 8 to 20 feet on rock structure - some on-shore and some off-shore. I brought a lot of topwater baits but we never used them. It was very cold at 7 am and thought the worms would be best for action. Morning dawn/chartreuse tail was the best color, followed by MMIII. The cold weather kept the lake pretty quite - only saw 3 wake-board boats! What a shame!!!!