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Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Sunday, November 6th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Headed out early Sunday for some bass. We found lots of small fish along the shoreline, but the larger bass were down 15'-50' near rocky areas. Our largest was close to 4 lbs. 5 best went 12 to 13 lbs. We also found a great trout bite under the Pope Creek bridge. I spoke with some guys are the ramp and they caught several trout top-lining Rapalas. They caught several near the Capel Cove ramp.
    City: Rohnert Park

    Tips: Trout are hitting anything close to the surface. Need to go deep for the bass. Drop shotting mostly with 6" Roboworms.

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

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    Water Temp: cold

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The weather forecast for this past weekend was cold and wet but I decided to go fishing anyways. I went down to the water on Friday evening before sunset and fished some topwater from shore. I caught two bass in about six feet of water. I saw a boat anchored by the shore and went over to talk to the guys. They told me they had headed out early in the morning and fished the area around Putah Creek and had limited out on trout. They were using a gold castmaster and similar lures. They had tried for bass but had no bites. I tried to cast a few more times but it was so cold I decided to head home. Saturday I went out with my son and daugther in law, Henry and Sarah, on their pontoon boat for a couple of hours. We headed to one of our favorite spots and started trolling almost immediately we had a double hookup of nice size trout. (see photo) We circled around to do the same pass again and Sarah hooked another trout. Needless to say we decided to stay in that spot and didn't troll more than a hundred feet in any direction without catching a fish. We all limited out on trout and my son landed a nice bass as well. We fished in approximately 14 to 18 feet of water and used lures that dove between 4 and 8 feet. We made it back to shore before the rain which was another plus. 'til next week.....................................................good fishing!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any fishing stories you would like to share email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: look for boiling bait..........trout or bass chaseing bait.

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 67

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Finally arrived at my area at about 12:30 P. M. Fishing in 3-6 feet of water, patience was certainly necessary. Used a drop shot rig with wacky rigged Senkos, natural colors. Best five a bit over 20 lbs. Two huge monsters spit my offering out after running with it for awhile. Nice, peaceful fishing, just the way I like it.
    City: Esparto

    Tips: Use 8 lb floro. , strong dropshot hooks and keep moving with the current. Think East side and become friends with cattle!
    Oh, Hi Wayne.

Friday, October 21st, 2011

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: We tried the western shoreline near the big island. Upon arrival, landed a 2.5 lb smallmouth. It didn't wait for the wacky rigged senko to hit the bottom. Drop shot was the most effective method throughout the day. Small fish were an issue, but there were several spotted bass that provided entertainment. Numbers seemed to relate to brush that was surrounded by water. Later in the day we realized that dropping nose hooked plastics straight down over bait balls in about 20 feet of water was productive. A simple jigging presentation seemed all that was required. Lost count of fish caught. We also caught some on in the northeast corner of the lake.
    City: Esparto

    Tips: The owner mosquito hook in #1 size was most effective for the sure hook on spots. Reaction Innovations, Robo worms, and Senkos all caught fish. Natural colors are key: greens, brown, shad colors. I suggest 8 lb test or lighter. A 3/16 ounce drop shot weight is perfect. Surprisingly, greatest success came with the offering about 15 inches above the weight. Finding the bait balls will be my first objective on the next outing. If you find small fish on shore, pull out a bit and watch for bait.

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I had heard a few good reports on spooning, so Lenn Jann talked me into giving it a try. We caught some nice fish in 20 to 50ft. around main body points useing 3/4 - 1-3/4oz. morning dawn and chrome/green Duh spoons. I saw several boats fishing the bank in the same areas so there must be some shallow fish as well. Also noticed a lot of trout and small bass busting shad over deep water.
    City: Sacramento

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Went out to see if the fall topwater bite had started. It is but with all this warm weather it is taking its time getting started. First thing they were on the topwater hard cought around 10 fish in the first 2 hours most in the 2-3lb range the dinks seem to be going away. I did not put the topwater down the whole time I was out it slowed down quite a bit after the sun was out but the quality was still there including one going 7lbs.Solid day overall but not the way it normally is this time of year and all the alge is not helping.
    City: Vacaville

    Tips: They are off the points and cover but the key is still the shad no shad in the area no active fish.

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    Water Temp: 71.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Had not been fishing for a couple of weeks due to having some repair work on my boat. Took it out this past Saturday and it felt great to be back on the lake. My buddy Albert went out with me. We first went to the back of Monticello Ski School to have our lunch and put out two rods for catfish. A few minutes later the rod bent in half and it was a hit and run the fish took half the bait and hit the road. Our aim was to fish for bass so I decided to go to one of my favorite coves on the east side. Once we got there I discovered that my trolling motor was not running properly again so we anchored in 4.5 feet of water and started fishing with top water lures. We had a couple of roll overs but no fish. Then I tried the fluke and had a few bites but no size to them. The water was clear and Albert said to me that he could see some nice size bass and he decided to change to a castmaster and I suggested he throw it over the weeds which he did and as he was reeling through and over the weeds he caught a nice size fish. We continued that pattern for a little while longer and with each cast we landed another fish. None of the fish were keepers but they were up to ten inches. I told Albert that I thought changing to a bigger rattle trap lure might work to catch bigger fish and sure enough his next hit was larger. We decided to troll our way back in on the west side in the shade. It paid off big time every bass we caught was up to 3 lbs and we landed a few nice size trout. We used a silver and blue speed trap lure that dove six to eight feet and we were in fifteen feet of water. The only reason we called it a day was that it was getting dark so we headed in. 'til next week..........................good fishing!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or would like to share some stories please email me at
    bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333. My fishing club is having it's annual crab feed on Saturday, December 3rd if you are interested in attending please get in touch with me for more information.
    City: Napa

    Tips: enjoy the lake while weather permits,,call for tips,

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Good shore fishing at Berryessa this weekend. We pulled in 10 or so bass and 1 nice sized 2 pounder, about 17 inches (I was very happy with that size) in about 4 hours of fishing. We were also able to nab some feeder trout also but they weren't much of a fight. Bluegill aplenty.
    City: Santa Rosa

    Tips: -We fished Rapala's for the bass. Stuck to minnow imitations and immature trout imitations. Caught the trout on night crawlers (believe it or not. Didn't have a lot of luck with crayfish imitations or plastic worms.
    -The coves were fun to fish. Pretty easy to pull in some small bass. We were having better luck from shore that day than the boaters were from conversations we had.

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 75 to 81

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: The past two weekends were very warm and the fishing was very good. The water temperature fluctuated between 75 and 81 degrees. This past weekend I took Steve, his son Chris and Chris's friend Danny out for the day. I decided to start off in the Narrows and work the shady side. Chris and Dan were using crankbait and each one landed a 2+ lb bass. They also caught a lot of small ones on the way to the Ranch house. I went into a cove and the boys were throwing top water lures in around four to five feet of water and getting some action but no keepers. I tried another cove and suggested they try worming with brass and glass using a senko texas rigged. Chris thought he was stuck but I told him to reel quickly because he had a fish on and sure enough he landed a nice small bass (see photos). The Sunday prior in about four feet of water I took out two beautiful bass weighing in at 4.5 and a touch over 5 lbs on a white "chugger" with a feather tail. I think top water fishing is one of my favorite ways of catching bass I love how they come up and turn on the lure (see photos). My buddy Albert was fishing with me and he limited out with a total weight of approx. 15 lbs (see photos). The day before I took out Andy, his wife Paula and their daughters Gracie and Katie who did well but they couldn't beat their previous record of one bass weighing 14 lbs 3 ozs. The past two weekends were very productive and I hope the fishing continues to get better and better.
    'til next time......................................................................................good fishing!!!!
    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: try shallows if deep water does not work for you find structure I did and was rewarded

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

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    Water Temp: 76-78

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Alge bloom starting on the lake...caught 5 spots, 1 largemouth and 1 smallie...best five fish 14.25 lbs. tried some new techniques and forced myself to fish in "new" areas rather than the same old spots. Turned out to be productive and I found some new areas that I will keep my eye on in the future. Caught the smallie while "bugging" fist time I tried tis technique. Caught the others on either a sweet-beaver as a trailer on a jig, a jig with a swimming senko as a trailer and drop-shot with Keeper 6" worm.
    City: Sactramento

    Tips: Force yourself to try new techniques and seek out new areas to fish rather than the old stand-by's...you might surprise yourself and you will give yourself some new opportunities and broaden your knowledge.

Monday, August 29th, 2011

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Launched at Capell's around 11:00. Algae Bloom is starting to take over the north end of the lake. Fished Putah Creek most of the day. All you want on the 8 inch fish on the dropshot. Two nice keepers on the Dirty Jigs Swim Jig. Fun Day all in all.
    City: Dixon

    Tips: Find the bait in cleaner water. 20-25 Feet with the bait and you'll find the bass. Wear Sunscreen!

Saturday, August 27th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 79-84

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: A friend and I tried the evening bite and sampled a little night fishing. Bite was very slow - lots of small bass. I did get a nice smallie on a dropshot Robo worm. She had an above average girth and went a little over 3 lbs. About 30 feet deep. We got another nice spot just before leaving - again - almost 3 lbs. Caught a nice largemouth on topwater before dark and lost another but that bite was dead. Slower fishing than I expected but some quality fish anyway. Night bite was nearly dead.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: All fish were caught on the main body - west shore. Bass were 20 feet or deeper except for the topwater fish.

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

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    Water Temp: 75 degrees

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Started off the morning in Willie's cove caught a 6lb. largemouth at about 8:00 on topwater. The rest of the morning caught 50 bass between my wife and I. All dinks and then ended the day with a 3 lb. spot on topwater in skiers cove. Water was like glass all day. Worked drop shot, wacky rig and fluke all day with topwater but only topwater baits caught the fish. Surprised to see lots of large fish with their nose on the bank in the mid day sun.
    City: Napa

Monday, August 15th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 81'

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched out of Cappalls at 05:30>Went back up the flood channel and picked up a 2.5lbr on drop shot with a Margarita Mutilator. Continued on with no success. Crossed the Main body to Putah Creek. Worked the rock walls for four more fish from 2-5lbs.All fish in 15-20 Ft of water. All on above lure. Bite closed out at about 11:30.
    City: Pittsburg

    Tips: Light line,very soft bite.

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 75-78

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Started out fishing top water near Ranch House, caught one 2lb spot no other top water bites after an hour, moved to the vinyards and started fishing shallow crank baits and landed two more smaller fish, moved to Pope Creek Bridge and caught another 2 lb at the bridge piling along with a couple of dinks. Finally started fishing points on the main lake and landed a nice 4 lb large mouth on a drop shot rig with Roboworm in 12 feet of water.
    City: Elk Grove

    Tips: Other than the top water all fish came from 8 to 14 feet of water. Saw lots of fish on graph and every time I saw more than four or five fish togeherI was able to get one of them to react. Watch the graph this time of year and when you see a group stop and fish slow.

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 77

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Summer time fishing continues. Tope water baits this week still caught the best, 3.5lb spotted bass. This only last till about 8 am in the main body. The rest were caught on drop shot rigs using Basstrix minnows and Aarons Magic color robo worms fishing points in the main body. Fish seem to be from 25 to 30 feet pushing bait around points.
    City: Sacramento

    Tips: Electronics are your best friend this time of year, so use them. Bait fish are on the move so move with them to stay on the fish.

Monday, July 25th, 2011

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: this is not a report...just an update. We at Westernbass.com will be updating the lake info for Berryessa in the coming weeks. We are waiting for a callback from the Pensus Group with updated information.
    Special thanks for the "heads up" that we need to update the info from Sid from "Fishin' with Sid Guide Service" who is a local guide on Berryessa.
    for info about Sid's Guide Service go to www.fishingconnection.net

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 78 - 80

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Had a great weekend of fishing but Friday started out slow. I took my good friends Kitty and her husband Bob and Kitty's sister Kathy out for the day. We started at the Ranch house and Kitty used a top water lure to start the day and we had a bit of excitement as a at least 3 lb. bass rolled over the lure but did not get hooked. We continued trying the top water lure for many more casts without any luck. Trolling to the Vineyards produced a large trout for Kathy on a "Rattle Trap" lure. At the Vineyards Kathy threw the "Rattle Trap" lure in about seven feet of water just coming across the weeds and caught a nice size sunfish. With nothing happening at the Vineyards I went to the Monticello Ski School and trolled to the back where Bob was catching smaller size bass with a "Speed Trap" lure (silver and blue). On Saturday morning we parked our boats at one of our favorite coves. Like last weekend we decided to put a pole on shore and set it up to catch catfish. I used a hotdog for bait as usual and while we were all swimming my son was BBQing and saw the rod bent over in half he dropped everything and ran to reel in the rod. He brought in a 9 lb. catfish (see photo). Later in the afternoon I took out Al for a little while because he wanted to try and catch a fish. We were trolling by the Bureau when he was hit by a 2.5 lb. largemouth bass which he landed like a pro. When the day was over we trolled all the way in. On my boat I caught four bass and on my son's boat he caught three bass one of which was a smallmouth weighing almost 3 lbs. (see photo). Sunday I went out earlier then the others and headed straight to the Ranch house. My first twenty casts of topwater landed three bass and at the point I used a "River2Sea" crawdad with "Pro-cure" crawdad scent and picked up and released a limit. Then I headed over to the cove where I was to meet my family and I set-up two rods for catfish one with a hotdog and one with mackerel. Just as my son arrived and his buddy Dan (who had fished with me previously)walked over to my boat I had a hit and Dan reeled in the catfish which weighed a whopping 12lbs 8 ozs (see photo). Dan wormed with a "Senco" from shore and picked up a couple of bass. Another great weekend. 'til next weekend..............................................good fishing!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.






    www.fishingconnection.net

    www.projectpridelostchild.com
    Sid # 650-583-3333







    CC:
    Subject: Alan - mylinda-9lb cat fish
    From: bestfishingguide@yahoo.com
    Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:33:47 -0700


    SIDS iPhone
    SIDS iPhone
    City: Napa

    Tips: try whats in your tackle box first then if no fish look at the conditions and ask yourself if i were a fish what do i want to eat and how do i want it presented.

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 75

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: The water temperature dropped at least five degrees this weekend and the winds picked up. It made it a little tougher to keep the boat in one location for too long. It was easier to troll then to worm. On Friday afternoon I decided to fish the three points by the Bureau of Reclamation first. We started in about 65 feet of water and trolled over the point which was about 8 feet of water and then back into deep water. I kept this pattern up for about forty minutes and ended up with a limit of bass all in the 2 to 2.5 lb. range. The following day I took Kevin and Jory out in the afternoon and I decided to fish the same location and pattern as the day before. The wind was stronger and there were whitecaps. Kevin picked up a bass on each pass (see photo) and he ended up with near limit. Four bass were caught in less then an hour. Jory caught a bass almost the same size as the lure (see photo). On Sunday we headed out a little earlier the water was calmer and I had a friend's daughter Rachel, who likes to be called Moe, with me along with Kevin. We decided to troll again and had a fun day with Moe bringing in a large fish which she landed with a little help from Kevin. My son Henry and his wife Sarah were in a cove near the Bureau along with my wife. Sarah had set-up a pole on the shoreline with a bell using a small hook and hotdog as bait determined that she would get a catfish. As the afternoon went by we almost forgot about the pole until the bell sounded and Sarah went flying to get hold of the rod. She landed a good size catfish (which Moe is holding in the photo) to the delight of everyone. I would say it was a good fishing weekend but the best part is being out on the water with friends and family. 'til next week...............................good fishing!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any question or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: be carefull for shallow rock piles in back coves

Monday, July 11th, 2011

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    Water Temp: 78 thru 83

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: This past Friday I took Kevin and his son Nick out for a few hours. Nick caught the most fish that day with the largest one being a fifteen inch spotted bass. The bite was pretty good and we had a lot of fun that day (see photos). Saturday at 7 AM I took out Andy, Pauline and their daughters Katy (age 10) and Grace (age 7 1/2) who had never caught a fish for a fun day on the lake. As we left the dock the girls helped me drive to the east side of the lake and boy were they excited. The girls were using a "Speed Trap" silver and blue on one rod and a "Rattle Trap" silver on the other rod. Grace caught the first fish with a little help from her father and it was an eleven inch bass which she was happy to release because I had explained to her that the bass had to be at least twelve inches. Then Katy got hooked up with a trout and brought it in with the help of her father. We trolled for a little while and then we headed out to the Vineyards. We started at the first barbwire fence and were using brass and glass and senko worms (three different colors - watermelon red fleck, watermelon black fleck, and my wife's favorite color which I'm sworn to secrecy not to reveal) and not suprisingly my wife's color worked the best. By the time we left the Vineyards we had caught some large sunfish and the big star of the day was a fourteen pound large mouth bass brought in by Andy!!! Please see photos. Needless to say it was a very happy and productive day. On Sunday I went out with Dan and we fished the west side by the Bureau. Using brass and glass Dan hooked a nice three pounder. Later that afternoon we fished the back cove of Big Island and Dan landed a few more nice bass. My buddies Albert and Jory who have been fishing for catfish from the shore told me that they have been catching good size cats using hotdogs and mackerel. 'til next week...................................................good fishing!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: Napa

    Tips: I LOVE BERRYESSA