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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

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    Water Temp: 70-74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I had an unusual guide trip at Berryessa - on a Monday (not my favorite day to guide) and hours from 1 pm to 9 pm. One was a favorite client who caught an 8-2 last fall with me at Clear Lake and his friend who says he wasn't a very good bass fisherman - but still did very well!! As we motored out of Markley Cove, I told them the bite should pick up around 5 pm. Boy, did I look like a fool about an hour later!! We got on a rockpile in the narrows about 2:30 pm and the bite was on!!! This lasted about an hour and held up so long because of a pretty stiff wind. Surprisingly - most were largemouth up to near 4 lbs. Lots of smallies too and very few spots on the whole trip, though both clients caught spots to near 3 lbs. I took them out to the main body later in the afternoon so they could see it, but it was too rough to go far. We ending the evening in Wragg Canyon where we had a few small hits on topwater, but it really didn't happen. We landed about 30 keeper bass and a few dinks for the trip, with a limit around 14 1/2 lbs. Not bad for post-spawn, post weekend, and the weather conditions. Nearly every fish was no deeper than 15-18 feet.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: The bite was best for us using 6" Robo worms - some bit off to 5". I am doing that more and more. Instead of using a 4 1/2" worm, I use a 6" and bite a little off. That worked great at Lake Almanor last week. A little more bulk in a smaller target. As summer rolls on and into fall, I go with the full 6" Robo. While we found several bass in the backs of coves, most had moved out closer to the main body - on points and broken rock flats. Best color, by far, as it was at Almanor, the morning dawn/chartreuse tail. I guess that color will never get old!! I might mention that the less experienced client really understood what the smallies liked. Almost every fish he caught was a smallie! Most of the others caught by the other fella and me were largemouth. I tried to get something going with crankbaits - nothing doing.

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished the Narrows in the afternoon into the evening. Most of the water was heavily stained due to the high winds yesterday...Fishing was slow...a little reaction bite the last hour. Plastics did not work that well during the day...

    One of the slower days I've a Berryessa for this time of year. I think the front put the fish down...the heavy stain did not help (worse I have seen in May)...
    City: Elk Grove

    Tips: Don't go after a large wind storm during a front...

    We found the fish in the clearish water we could find...

Sunday, May 20th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 71-74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished from 6am to 3pm in the north end. spooks early caught two nice 3 pounders. Chatter bait lost a nice 5 pounder at the boat then nothin for a few hours using small swim baits and drop shots. Had 4 or 5 on cranks short strike. Then we tried the rocky west banks in 5 to 12 feet of water and had 2 pounders,three cast in a row and by the time we left we had a total of 15 bass using that method. caught all those fish on 4 inch robo in baby bass.
    City: Napa

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 69.5 to 75

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Download all as zip




    It was another perfect weekend at the lake. Saturday morning I headed out with Albert and Peter for what I hoped would be a productive day of fishing. The first stop we made was in one of my favorite spots near the narrows but we had no bites at all. I tried another spot further into the narrows and it paid off big time. Peter's first catch was a double hookup on the same lure. It surprised us all. Two nice bass. We fished the area for a little while and Peter landed another bass. We had discussed going to the vineyards and decided to head that way now. We trolled along the shoreline in about 15 feet of water and picked up a few trout and bass along the way no size to speak of. We reached the vineyards and my favorite spot and started out in around 6 feet of water throwing plastic worms and drifting into shallower water between 2.5 and 3 feet. When I hit my marker I went from 2.5 feet to 30 feet in a straight line very slowly with my automatic pilot on. All of us used "Procure" scent on our bait and it seemed to be doing a good job. I told Peter to reel in his line and he asked me why and I said you have a fish and sure enough he had a nice bass. I did the same drift again and this time Albert thought he was stuck but realized he had a big fish. I was sure he had a 14 pound or bigger bass Peter thought he was stuck in a log but Albert said a log doesn't wiggle. After at least fifteen minutes of fighting this fish on eight pound test line he proved me and Peter both wrong he landed a 16 pound catfish on a senko worm with "Procure" crawdad scent (see photo). He was thrilled with a smile from ear to ear. Good job Albert!!! 'til next week.......................good fishing!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or would like to share any fishing stories please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: use scents

Sunday, May 13th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 76.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Unbelievable fishing this past weekend and my wife was a fish magnet. On Friday I went out for a few hours with Kevin. The lake was calm what a difference from last weekend. We saw boils in the water and threw our lines into it with great success. The trout were all over the lake in deep water as well as shallow and seemed to be biting anything we threw out. We ended up with full limits (see photos). On Saturday I fished with my pal Albert. We got an early start and fished the west side of the lake by the buoys. I threw a top water lure twenty or thirty times with no luck. We were able to see the fish but they just wouldn't bite. We decided to try our luck at trout in deeper water after talking to three other boats. I tied on an ivory PK lure and Albert cast it out letting it sink to about forty feet and we started trolling and within minutes he hooked a trout. Albert wanted to use the downrigger so I set it up just as my son called to tell us lunch was ready and where his boat was. We set off to meet up with my son, his wife and my wife. When we got to their spot they told me how the fish were chasing the bait and rolling on the surface all over the area and that they were catching trout and bass left and right especially my wife. No sooner would she reel one in and start to let her line out and she'd have another strike. They all came in with limits. On Sunday (Mother's Day) my wife had a great day again and topped it off by landing a largemouth bass that had to weigh at least 9 pounds. She was thrilled as you can tell from the photos. 'til next weekend...............................................................................................good fishing!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or any stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: any lure that runs true caught fish my wife likes norman lures and i prefer p k lures my new real that i have been playing with runs smooth its called the wave spin dh3000z email me will send you pictures

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 72-74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Finally fished some stable weather and wife and I got into spots and a few largemouth. Never left the Narrows.

    Water is up nicely. 10 feet from full! A lot of trees in the water...it rocks. Could not get the reaction bite going in the trees...but they wanted plastics! Only problem was 6" dinks would hit it every third cast, if not every cast (not kidding). Berryessa had a hell of a spawn last year....but ever so often a big one would hit...lady got a nice 3.0 lb spot! Had quite a few 2 lbers follow in the a jerkbait but would not commit. Saw some 3+ lbers swimming around, but they would not hit anything. Berryessa is missing a class of fish...not as many 15" & 16"ers as there should be (I think a lot of lakes in same situation with the recent drought).

    I caught my biggest on small swimbait late in evening...a nice 2.5 lb spot.

    Water is in the perfect low 70's.

    Water clarity: stained to clear depending on where at.
    City: Elk Grove

    Tips: I think topwater would have worked. A lot of fish rising, but did not have any in the boat. I already have 13 tackle boxes on board...looks like I need to make room for more (or leave a few behind, probably the smarter thing to do).

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 65.6

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: My son and daugther in law got to the lake early Friday morning and were on the water fishing before I got there. The fish were biting like crazy they said and they landed a limit of trout and a limit of bass. I arrived at the lake around 4:30 PM and they picked me up at the dock. There was hardly any wind all day but as we set out the wind picked up. My son brougth me to one of his favorite spots and we trolled the area. We headed towards a group of birds in about 90 feet of water and I hooked up with a trout. The wind was getting stronger so we decided to head in and call it a day. Little did we realize it would get worse. Saturday morning my buddy Albert and I headed out hoping for a productive day of fishing. I had planned to make my first stop the vineyards but as soon as we headed into the main body of the lake we saw the white caps and had to change our plans. I decided to head to the back of Capell Cove and hoped it was sheltered from the wind. We fished there for a couple of hours just to pass the time thinking that the wind would subside and we could get to our goal but it was not to be. My son called me and said that he was in the back of Spanish Flats and the water was pretty calm there and for me to join him. Getting there was no easy task but we made it and just in time for lunch. We tried to fish from the shoreline and were getting nowhere. I made up my mind that I was going to make it to the vineyards and Albert and my son's friend Dan said they were coming too. We trolled around the cove till we reached the main water and it looked like the ocean on a bad day. The wind was blowing against the way to the vineyards so we trolled with the wind in the opposite direction. Dan landed a nice trout and a bass under 4 pounds. Albert landed a trout. I still had my mind set to get to the vineyards so we took a vote and off we went. It took quite awhile to get there but we made it. But after all that I couldn't control the boat enough to allow us to fish safely so we headed back home which was a much easier ride because we were going with the white caps. Sunday I took out my friend Patrick and his wife Janet and started trolling right after we launched the boat within seconds Patrick got a bite and landed a good size trout using a PK lure. He was thrilled. The main lake was choppy again and we knew it would be a short day. Didn't have much luck after that and headed in early. Considering the weather I think it was a great fishing weekend (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. If you are interested in booking a guided trip now is the time.
    City: Napa

    Tips: I still belive the spawn is on,next week you should see fry in the lake.the girls should be in post spawn mode.that was a super moon friday and saturday.Ninfola

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 62 to 70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Since I haven't written a report for awhile this one will cover the month of April. I was in Miami at the beginning of April and had the pleasure of taking my niece Chloe out for the day with Captain Moe. He taught her how to cast on her own. She caught a lot of fish but landed 12 on her own (see photos). Back at Berryessa last weekend I went out with my buddies Albert and John. The water was very clear and we could see bass in the shallow water but they weren't biting. We tried everything and almost the kitchen sink to no avail. I believe the bass will spawn around May 5th. This past weekend my friend and neighbor Bob went out with me for a few hours. The opposite of last weekend occurred we couldn't see any bass but we caught some which I liked better. We fished in approximately 2.5 to 4 feet of water and no visible signs of fish. We used larger plastic baits like the brushhog and zipper crawdad. We both landed good size bass after working this area for awhile. On our way back to the Ranch house we saw a ball of bait boiling on the surface so we turned the boat into the boil and trolled through it and Bob landed a nice 2 pound trout. After trying some top water lures with no luck at all I changed Bob's lure to a "Rattle Trap" and as soon as he cast it out he was hit hard by this 3 ounce bass. We had a great day (see photos). Looking forward to next weekend till then...................................................................................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.


    sorry about my web page will be on in 2 weeks again
    City: Napa

    Tips: big is better in plastics for this week

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

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    Water Temp: 66-70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I guided a great client on Friday - wanting to learn more about spring fishing on this beautiful lake. The trip is really about what we saw rather than what we caught, although we caught several nice bass. We never made it to the main body because fishing was so good in the narrows. We landed 16 to 18 bass with a good limit around 15 lbs - mostly largemouth to 3 1/2 lbs. The fun part was watching the monster largemouth cruising around in about 2 to 4 feet of water. They were very spooky and would not touch anything. All the bed fish we saw were 2 to 4 pounders. Watching big fish and sight-fishing the smaller ones made for a fun day. A brown Blade Runner jig with a chartreuse Yamamoto grub trailer was my bait and he brought his own stuff and was using something similiar. Most of our action was early in a very warm afternoon. Early morning bite was kinda slow.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Water is quite clear in the lower part of the lake with lots of cover now under water. I heard the lake was a zoo today so that will probably hurt the visibility. Drop-shotting bright colored baits like Basstrix minnows, Senkos, or fishing jigs will all work for sight fishing. Please release everything immediately or right after a photo. This will help the tournament problem during the spawn!

Friday, April 20th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 59-68

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Left Markley at 6:30 AM. Immediately went to main lake, east side. Slow bite at first; 58 degree water. By the end of the day, water temp reached high sixties. The bite took off! 14 fish boater, 7 over 5 lbs. Soft plastic worms, wacky rigged was most effective. Fish caught in shallow water, 3-8 feet. Best 5 just under 30. Huge fish cruising everywhere. Berryessa is seriously my choice above Clear Lake these days. It is awesome!
    City: Esparto

    Tips: Use light line. 8 lb test flouro worked, but get the good stuff. Set your drag and hang on!

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Correction - My previous report should read
    Thursday 4/19/12 not Friday
    City: Pinole

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    Water Temp: 67 - 69

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Friday, 4/19/12 was a beautiful day with air temperature in the mid 70s and water temperature from 67 - 69. There was little to no wind. At times, the main lake was slick. My buddy and I caught at least 10 fish each. Both of us had several fish over 3 lbs but less than 4 lbs. Our best five weighed 17lbs. 2 oz. Larger fish were all females. The fish are starting the spawn. We saw many pairs of fish in shallow water who would move away when they saw us but would soon return to a certain spot. We could only catch a couple of these by casting to them from a distance where they couldn’t see us. Only one of the fish we caught showed any signs on their tail indicating bed preparation. The fish were caught casting 6-inch Roboworms and wacky-rigged Senkos. .
    City: Pinole

    Tips: The water temperature is right. So the fish are ready to spawn or spawning all over the lake.

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 58-60

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I thought a warming trend was coming in starting Sunday. I was wrong. A cold, cold front came in Monday. Nearly got blown off the lake. Even some sections of the Narrows had white caps. I think it put the fish down. I caught a few on a still worm (like below post stated). I did not stay long.

    The water was clear to stained depending on where you were in Narrows.
    City: Leo

    Tips: Don't fish cold front in the spring (of course)...

Monday, April 16th, 2012

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: City: Benicia

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

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    Water Temp: upper 50s

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Got up there about 6:30 and nothing until about ten when I got a 2 pounder on rubber worms. Had two others on about the same size, just couldn't get them in. Spinners did no good. Fish were still fickle. Should be great fishing real soon.
    City: Fairfield

    Tips: -Rubber worms
    -Wait a while

Saturday, April 7th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 56

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished Berryessa on Saturday. Managed 15 fish with the biggest at 6.2lb. Fish were all shallow and picked up on drop shot. Only exception was the dam are where they were sitting in 30 feet of water. All good fish, surprised that there were none under the limit
    City: Concord

    Tips: Drop shot watermelon worm and Pro Gold

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 52-55

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: First light we caught spotted n lmb in trees laydown n ledges with drop shot. Afternoon we caught lmb n smallie in shallow water with spinnerbait n crankbait. Smallie was in submerge brush pile. Late after noon we found spotted stack up on pionts b4 arms in 25-35 ft. Pope n putah creek is very stain due to run off. Does any one fish there when it that stain n Wat to use?

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

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    Water Temp: mid to upper 50

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Took my son to Berryessa for the first time for prespawn bass fishing.

    Fished the shore at Smittle Creek and Capell Cove

    Caught 3 fish (2 smallies and 1 largemouth)

    Two were females 1.5 lbs and 1 was male 1.5 lbs.

    Water in Smittle Creek is stained but still visible down 3 feet. Water in Capell was muddy with 0 feet visibility.

    All fish taken on night crawlers (weightless) within 10 feet of shore.
    City: Moraga CA

    Tips: Fish have not started staging yet. It seems as though they are just starting to move up. Late spawn this year due to late storms?

Friday, March 30th, 2012

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    Water Temp: 55 - 56

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Friday, 3/30/12. Except for a period from about 11:00 to 2:00, the day was windy. The sky was heavily overcast all day. The water temperature is now up to 55°. In spite of the wind, my buddy and I caught 13 fish for the day. The biggest was a nice 6 lb 11 oz. Our best five also included a 4:12, 3:14, 3:11, and a 3:3 fish for a total of 22 lbs. 3 oz. Four of these five were female large mouths. The fifth was a 3:3 lb female small mouth. Their tails were all normal color with no sign of bed preparation. All were caught in 10 – 15 ft of water. The largest fish was caught on jig. The rest were caught casting and slowly working a drop-shot setup with 4½ and 6 inch Roboworms. We also tried fishing shallow with no success. A 4-inch swim bait and a wacky Senko were tried with no success.
    City: Pinole

    Tips: The fish appeared to be in the pre-spawn stage and are ready to move up to the bedding areas when the water temperature warms up a couple of more degrees.

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Hello and Happy Hump Day to all you teams. Just want to remind you of the 5th Tournament this weekend at Berryessa on Sunday (3/25/12) and to see who is coming. We’ll be checking in at Markley Cove Store and getting live-well checks, then blasting off from the gas dock. Check-in’s will start 5:00 a.m. in the Markley Cove Store and blast off will be at the gas dock at safe light (around 6:45 a.m.). Weigh-in’s will be at the gas dock with hot chili for all, and awards, raffle, and pics will be behind the store. Call me if you have any questions @ (530)795-2659 or email me at dukekalani@yahoo.com
    Lastly, I will be throwing a party for all to attend at The Main Street Cellars in Winters some time in June/July. Date will be posted soon. This party is in appreciation for all you teams fishing the Berryessa Pro Circuit and making it grow. At the festivity there will be Dinner & Wine with a Bocce Ball Tournament! Everyone can bring wife, girlfriend, friend and enjoy the party. No Questions! Just joking, if you have questions email me back anytime.

    Duke---<)Xx<