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Berryessa Lake and Reports

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Friday, November 24th, 2006

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    Water Temp: Around 60

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Put the boat in around noon and trolled Markley Cove and the dam area till almost dark. Hooked a 19 inch rainbow on a superduper and a 15 inch rainbow on a needlefish. Both on top line (no weights).
    City: Middletown

    Tips: Trolled at 1.6 to 2.1 miles per hour.

Sunday, November 12th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 61.3

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: I got to Berryessa late Thursday evening and it was cooold!!!!! Early Friday
    morning
    I took Benny and his daughter Caroline out. As we were trolling out of the
    marina
    Caroline hooked on to her first fish. It was a bass just under twelve inches.
    We took
    this as a good sign for the day and headed towards the BOR in high spirits. As
    we were
    trolling and looking for any top water activity she hooked on to another fish
    and fought
    it to the boat. I thought she had a good size salmon but it turned out to be a
    large
    squaw fish. I decided to head towards the ranch house and we had no luck there
    so we
    changed course for the vineyards where we picked up a bass on a River2Sea
    crawdad.
    Towards the end of the day Caroline hooked on to a five pound catfish which she
    did a
    great job of landing. On Saturday it was almost a repeat of Friday. On Sunday
    afternoon
    my wife joined me and we headed out for the BOR. We fished it for about fifteen
    minutes
    with no luck and no sign of any life whatsoever it could have been the dead sea.
    We
    decided to try one of our favorite spots near the ranch house. Since there
    seemed to be
    no surface activity, my wife used a senco with brass and glass and I used my
    River2Sea
    crawdad. Within an hour and a half we had almost limits of bass within the two
    to two and
    a half pound range. We were fishing in eight to ten feet of water in a rocky
    area. So ended
    a tough weekend of fishing. 'til next week..............................good
    fishing!!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you have any stories or fishing reports you would
    like to share
    please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: NAPA

    Tips: Don*t get discouraged try harder Don*t let the fish out smart us.just find there patern.

Monday, November 6th, 2006

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    Water Temp: n/a

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Went out for the first fall trip of the year on this lake. Beutifull weather but not the best bite yet. Trout and the bait have not moved up wich kept the bass hard to nail down. All my fish were cought on top water mostly on main lake flats some up the creek and some down south. Needed to cover alot of water but the quality was decent for this lake 5 best at 14lbs biggest going 4.5lbs.
    City: Vacaville

    Tips: The fall bite is not here yet look for it in the next two weeks with a weather change. Once the trout move up with the bait it will bust wide open.Throw nothing but reaction baits were ever the bait and trout activity is.

Sunday, November 5th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 60-63

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: went out saturday and start on the westside of the main body. even though it was an early start, i didn't have any luck on reaction baits.had luck drop shotting on graph fish in 20-30ft catching 5 fish w/topped by a 2#smallie. Went to the east side to fish the flats with moderate success. Started throwing cranks, ripbaits and topwater and caught a few more on cranks; all largemouth in about 8-12 feet of water. There was low fog til about noon and after that , no more crank fish. Started dropshotting some fish here and there, fishing no deeper than 18'. Looked for the grieves and they didn't seem to be able to find any bait either. Moved north and south on the east side picking up a few here and there. Couldn't find a pattern, but ended up with about 20 fish all 2# or less.
    City: orinda

    Tips: The fish seem to be scattered at different depths and aren't real aggressive. There are fish in the grass, but getting them to bite isn't easy. I thought i would find bait easy, but no luck with that either. Even tho the fish are spitting up small shad, dark colored worms worked better than the smaller shad baits. If you can find sharp breaks with rocks or structure you should be able to catch fish, along with areas that have grass. I think the water still has to cool somemore, so the fish will become more stupid.

Friday, November 3rd, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out to troll for trout but couldn't help throwin for bass too. I was the first boat to launch at the public ramp on a foggy/cloudy calm morning. Ahhh yes, I love fishing. Trolling was slow, but on a couple of ocassions I found myself surrounded by a school of fish chasing bait near the surface. First time around I couldn't "match the hatch" before they dissapeared. Second time around it seemed a good old fashioned Rapala (black and white) was what they were looking for. I pulled in a really nice spot and a really nice trout before they dissapeared. I hooked up on a few other bass randomly and hooked and lost another trout before leaving at 2. Tight lines!

    Tips: They are chasing bait near the surface right now. It's that time of year. Keep an eye out for the boils near the surface and throw minnow type lures at em till you find something they like and hang on.

Monday, October 30th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 63.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Hello Mark Lassagne if you would like to guide on the lake please let me show you where all the hot spots are.your the guide with the calendas is that correct,drop shot is ok but not my confidennce bait.but it catches fish,I remember you from the san mateo show feel free for my help call me at 650-583-3333 after 9am and before 9pm.
    City: NAPA

    Tips: learn the lake from someone who fishes it a lot and knows where the fish should be.

Sunday, October 29th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 65

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I wanted to work on a local lake to start guiding on and Berryessa is the closest. We arrived there about 10am and launched out of Steele Park. $20 bucks to launch seems a little steep in my opinion. After reading Sid

    Tips: Fishing the island when the spots were coming up they were spitting up bait that looked like pond smelt and not shad probably the reason they would only hit the small worm.

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    Water Temp: 63.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Finally the lake is turning and the fish are getting very active. Trout and
    salmon are on the top
    if you troll any lure that has a little wobble and goes down between two feet
    and eight feet you
    are going to get fish. You can see boils all over the lake but on Sunday
    afternoon as the sun was
    going down I watched about twenty to thirty good size bass herd the shad into a
    ball and just feed
    right thru them. Anything I threw at them that resembled a large shad was hit
    immediatley. When
    you look at your fish finder look for balls of bait that indicates that the fish
    are herding them into a
    circle and devouring them and that should mean good fishing for you. On
    Saturday my wife and I
    trolled in sixty feet of water with lures that dove from four to eight feet. My
    wife hooked on to an
    eighteen inch small mouth bass which weighed a little over three pounds and was
    loaded with shad.
    We did have a few hits on plastics but the real action was on reaction baits.
    This should be the hottest
    three weeks for topwater fishing. We are going into a full moon and the water
    is cooling down so all signs
    are good for some great fishing ahead. 'til nex
    week............................good fishing!!!!!!
    www.fishingconnection.net If you would like to share any fishing stories please
    email me at
    bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.



    WEEK BEFORE

    It was a perfect weekend weather wise at Lake Berryessa. Saturday morning I
    fished for crappie and catfish and was very successful. I only kept nine
    crappie and must have caught over thirty-seven. I caught four catfish and
    landed three ranging from four to six pounds. Not to much success with keeper
    size bass this past weekend but there are a lot of little guys out there.
    Sunday the shad were so plentiful and you could watch the bass herding them on
    the surface of the lake. I caught fifty-four bass using mostly minnows and
    minnow looking baits (fluke). The largest one was about ten inches all of them
    had large girths (eating lots of shad). Try Capell Cove after the boat launch
    ramp by the branches in the water it is loaded with crappie but tricky fishing
    because of all the underbrush. All in all it was a good fishing weekend and it
    will only get better from now on. '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: fIND THE BOILS THROW PAST IT AND BRING LURE THRU IT

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 66.7

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I finally made it back to the lake this past weekend. On Saturday Terry and his son Sean followed me in his brand new red "Ranger". I showed him some good spots to fish. He headed up to Pope Creek to try his luck. I fished three points and I could see trout about four to six feet down chasing shad. I picked up three bass and it wasn't easy fishing. I trolled from Big Island back to Steele Park and picked up a few trout. Mike from Spanish Flat told me to come by early Sunday morning because the crappie bite was great and be sure to bring a red and white jig. I got there at 11:30 am he looks at me and says the bite might be over. He shows me where to go and wishes me luck. My first fish took about two minutes, my second fish took me another minute or two and so it went for five fish. A couple of guys were fishing close to me but were not having any luck or using the right tackle. I introduced myself and asked if they would like some pointers. Divan, who is about thirteen years old, came over and asked me to show him what to do. He was a good student and caught his first fish in about four minutes. After that he was bringing them in almost a minute apart and really enjoying himself. He ended up with seven crappie ranging in weight from 1/4 lb to 2 1/2 lbs. His father used the red and white jig and must have hooked up to a catfish or large bass because the rod bent completely under the dock unfortunately he did not land it so we never will know what it was but it was big!!!! If you would like to catch some crappie I suggest you stop by Spanish Flat Marina and ask Mike or Dino what is the best tackle to use and where are the good spots. In the next few weeks the lake should turn and then the top water bite will be great. "til next week................good fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.fishingconnection.net If you have any fishing stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: NAPA

    Tips: Take picters or vibeos of structure thru the lake while the water is down 10 feet,when the rains come you wont be able to find those bushes,trees,rock,anh montains plus other structer.be there when the lake turns soon.

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    Water Temp: ???

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: i concur with larry, fished during the midday caught 5, 4 smallies 1 lm. wait for lake to turnover its only going to get better.
    City: mountain view

    Tips: huli grubs a t rig tubes

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    Water Temp: 69-70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I took a father-son and friend Sat. late afternoon until 2 am Sun morning. The wind was a major factor in the main body so we moved back to skiers cove and fished our way back to Markley. Everyone caught bass mostly with Texas rigged worms and some drop-shotting Basstrix minnows before dark. After dark the 7" Berkley black Power worm was the best bait. Our 15 or so bass were caught from 5 to 35 feet - slow but steady action. Biggest was only a 2 1/2 lb largemouth, but we did have a near 12 lb limit. Not too much more exciting to report.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Points and rock walls with outcroppings seemed to hold most of the biting bass. As is usual for early fall, most bass are suspended in the 10 to 40 foot range. Many shad are near the surface now but due to the frontal passage last night, there was NO surfact activity whatsoever - very unusual for mid-October. This is a very stagnate time for resevoirs until we get some rain and cold fronts to cool off the water.

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 69-71

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I launched out of Cappel Cove at 6:30 am with high hopes. I spent a good chunk of time back in Cappell Cove fishing the stick ups and exposed weeds on the bank and got nothing. Then I went over to the Wragg Canyon area and tried the floating docks and got nothing. By about 11:00, I switched strategy and just worked rocky points on the main lake. At least I started seeing some bass. Off one point, I spotted a monster in about 6 feet of water. I tried to get her to bite for about half an hour and then gave up. I worked my way back to the launch fishing points on the west bank and got nothing. The closest thing I got to catching a bass was a flash from a smallmouth chasing a rattletrap. Bad luck or bad timing, I could not find 'em. And when I could find 'em, they wouldn't bite (and I threw everything but the motor at them). This was my first time on the lake in a boat, though I used to fish it in a canoe with moderate success. I'll have to spend some time learning the lake.
    City: Vacaville

    Tips: With water temps around 70, I was expecting a better bite, but I have been hearing that the bite turns on after 4:00. The fall bite should pick up in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 73-77

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I took a good fisherman to Berryessa yesterday to help him learn the lake better since he was struggling there lately. I decided to meet him at 10 am at Markley so we could fish up to dark. It seemed to be a wise choice at the end of our trip since most of our 14 bass were caught after 4:30 pm. The lake is very warm still and no wind with bright sun make daytime fishing very tough. We spend the early part of the trip looking at off-shore structure and other good fishing areas and then got serious about fishing in the late afternoon. After 2 dinks, I drop-shotted a nice largemouth on a 4" Basstrix flashtrix minnow. Since my client had not drop-shotted before - I told him this was the time to learn! And learn he did! He missed several until he got the hang of it and every bass he boated was quality - up to a 2 3/4 lb smallie! Actually the big smallie was caught on a tube bait he brought. He caught her on the first cast - wow!! The Basstrix minnows are all we used up to dark - drop-shotting from 15 to 35 feet of water. Most of our bass were caught from Big Island to Rancho Montecello. Many of our bass were largemouth with two nice spots at 2-2 and 2-4. We had a nice limit about 11 lbs. I was hoping for a topwater bite but only saw one quality bass bust a shad. I threw a Chug Bug to it and there was a blow-up but I missed! I did throw the bug a dusk and nailed a nice 1 3/4 lb largemouth. We had a great time learning the lake and had some quality late-summer bass as a bonus!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: All the resevoirs need some cold nights and a front or two to get the quality fish moving and chasing. Berryessa was like the dead sea yesterday - nearly all day. No surface activity at all except 4 to 6 inch bass busting shad once in awhile and that one bigger one that I missed. We fished some submerged islands in different parts of the lake and they wern't holding bass during the day. I suggest looking for any shadows you can find - especially as the sun sinks lower on the horizon every week. When the surface temp drops into the '60's, things should pick up. Remember last year? There was no fall!! Let's hope we have one this year.

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Friday we left out of Half Moon Bay to go to the Farllons but the windy weather prevented us from reaching our destination. Capt. Tom Matuch of the "HuliCat" knows these waters very well and brought us to a location where we were able to fish in 180 feet of water. I started out with one of my old diamond bars and did well. Fishing near me was Bob Trice of "River2Sea" and he brought some knife jigs for us to try. I changed my old heavy jig to this thin knife jig and was very impressed with how it casted and how fast it went to the bottom. Once again I hooked up with some nicer size fish. I used the new jigs for the rest of the day and I recommend them highly to anyone who goes rock fishing. After catching a lingcod with the squid knife jig I had Bob give it to ohter people to try and everyone who tried it raved about it. Seventeen full limits plus lings were caught that day. A few people got seasick the water was pretty rough but all in all it was an enjoyable day. Didn't make it to Lake Berryessa this weekend but hope to be there next weekend. 'til then...........................good fishing!!!!!! www.fishingconnection.net If you have any fishing stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: prinston by the sea half moon bay

    Tips: change is sometimes good,variety is the spice of life are we talking about fishing.

Sunday, September 17th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 74.5

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Got to the lake late Wednesday night it was chilly and windy. Early Thursday morning Bob and his son Matt and I headed out to catch bass. It was still chilly and windy and the fish were not co-operating except for small bass around six inches. The next day it warmed up a little and Adam and I set out for a couple of hours of fishing. He landed a nice size bass and he got some pointers on tackle. Now to Jose he never thought he would hold these two monster cats for this picture. Later in the afternoon (Friday) my wife and I went to my favorite cove where I had lost that huge catfish last weekend (yes I had to try and get him again). Using a small treble hook and the cornmeal mixture that I spoke about last week I gently cast it in the direction where I thought he would be and let it sink down to the bottom. Within four or five minutes I saw the line moving out, I aimed the rod at the fish and closed the bale within seconds he took of running and the fight was on. This time I did not tighten the drag I played him till he tired out. I handed the rod to my wife so I could get the net ready and he must of gotten a second wind because he took off again. She enjoyed reeling him in as he neared the boat and saw the net he took off again this went on for a couple of minutes until I finally netted him. He wasn't the "big guy" from last weekend but he was a good size at least twelve to fifteen pounds. I did catch some more cats on hotdogs and alot of small bass around four to six inches. Sunday I went out by myself it was a very hot day what a difference from Thursday. Caught a few keeper bass but still landing alot of little guys. The carp were off this weekend just couldn't get them interested in anything I threw out. 'til next week......................................good fishing!!!!!!!! www.fishingconnection.net If you have any fishing stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: NAPA

    Tips: if you want to see pictures send me your emails ,thanks for reading my stories i enjoy answering your questions about lake berryessa i hope you got some additional fish from my help.

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 76-80

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched at 6:00 out of Markley, hit a few points on the way out to the main lake. Had a few blow ups on top water, but no hook-ups. I did manage a couple 13" fish throwing a jerk bait. Fished around Big Island and caught 6 throwing Jerk bait, biggest was 2.5 LMB. By 9:00, I had made my to Putah and hit some outside points, switched to a tube and drop shot, picked up a few dinks. Couldn't buy a bite from 10:00 to noon. Ran back down the lake and managed a few more dinks but caught a 4 pound LMB on the Jerk bait. Wasn't a great day, it was 100 degrees by 1:00 off the water at 2:00. Finished up with 20 fish for the day.
    City: Antioch

    Tips: Should have fished the Delta.

Monday, September 4th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 77

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Subject : Fishing with Sid

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    Got up to the lake late Friday and got my boat prepared to go out the following day. While I was on the dock my friend Ray arrived with two friends to go catfishing so I decided to stay and fish too. The young boy caught his first catfish and I helped him net it. The next morning I went to the dock early and caught and released quite a few carp. I used bread on the hook and they really like that. I saw two boys fishing without any luck and asked them what they were going for. They said they were trying for bass and not getting any bites. So I showed them three methods I would use in warm water. Top water fishing with a chugger, ripping a suspended crankbait, and last throwing a sinking rattletrap and bringing it in slowly or let it troll behind the boat. Later that day they went out with their uncle and caught four bass they were really excited when they were telling me how they landed the fish. They joined me on the dock when I was fishing for carp and catfish and they caught two good size cats up to ten pounds and lots of carp. Their mom couldn't believe the size of the fish when they showed them to her. The next morning (Sunday) before I headed out with my wife, the boys met me at the dock ready to catch more fish. We used a bait that my wife prepares made from cornmeal and scented with vanilla extract that I form into a ball around the hook and it sinks to the bottom. It works great for carp but catfish love it too. The boys landed a huge carp up to twelve pounds which gave a great fight. My wife and I set out to meet our family in a quite cove for a BBQ. While the boat was on shore we fished off the back. One rod had a hotdog for bait and the other had the cornmeal mixture. We started to get bites almost immediately and landed five good size carp in no time and one monster catfish. Next week I start going for bass again as the water starts to cool and the boat activity lessens. 'til next week..................................good fishing!!!!! www.fishingconnection.net If you have any fishing stories to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
    City: NAPA

Sunday, August 20th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 75-80

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched the boat at dark with not great expectations and over near big island. No reaction bite, but i graphed fish and bait between 8-15' and caught some on the drop shot. Then they moved. could find them again and went to the east side and the graph found some more fish in the 3 0f the 4 stops. Initially i caught 'em, but they would lose their aggressiveness no matter what i tried. I even changed leaders to flouro, but that didn't seem to help. The fish were there and shallower than i thought they would be, but they were very particular. 1/3 of my 15-20 fish were dinks, but i did manage a 2 1/2 lmb..i was happy, caught some fish, had a couple of brews and off the lake by noon..
    City: orinda

    Tips: using your graph is important now as there are lotsa of non productive areas. when you do find the fish they will be schooled on bait...I wish i could give you better hints on how to trigger a bite, but I probably only caught 10-20% of what was under the boat........

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    Water Temp: 80

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The Wife and I were going to hit Clear lake, but got a late start so went to Berryessa instead. Arrived at Putah creek resort around 7am and tryed fishing the main lake near the resort and got nothing. so we headed up Putah creek arm past the ski area ( 5mph zone ). Only one fish on crank baits, but a nice 3lber. Most of the 20 fish I hooked were on bl/red plastic. Mostly senkos, and all around wood. Tree roots, logs, brush, but not on the rocks. Very light bite,just a tap or felt pressure, then set the hook. One smallmouth, and the rest were largemouth. The last time I fished this lake was in June with my son, when the water was 12ft higher, and we had a 60 fish day. This lake should really turn on in a couple of weeks.
    City: SAN FRANCISCO

    Tips: Look for wood and if you think you feel a tap or presure, SET THE HOOK !

Saturday, August 19th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 78-81

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: We launched out of Putah Creek and worked some of the points and coves in the Putah Creek arm. My buddy hooked up with a small spot with an 8-inch green ribbon tail worm in the first half hour. We moved over to a point off a steep rocky wall, then I hooked a nice spot (almost 2 lbs) on a 4-inch green roboworm. No action for awhile then we moved to another cove and fished some weeds in 8 feet of water. My buddy hooked a fat largemouth hiding in the weeds. The fish jumped at the boat and threw the hook. It had a big fat belly on it, I would guess maybe 4 pounds. With the skiers showing up and the sun high in the sky, the action slowed for a bit. Just for kicks, we headed over to the northwest corner of the lake. I know it's August, but those weedbeds looked to good to pass up, plus we weren't getting any action anywhere else. A few casts and my buddy boated a 1 lb spot hiding in the weeds with the same huge worm he was using before. A few minutes later, I caught a similar sized spot in the weeds on a brown bitsy bug with a baby brush hog trailer. I saw him charge my jig and take it. That was fun. We had no business sight fishing shallow weedbeds in the middle of the day in August, but I'll be darned, there were some fish in there. The final tally: I boated 2, my buddy boated 2 and lost 3 at the boat, including that hawg. Pretty slow, but catching those bass in the weeds made it fun.
    City: Vacaville

    Tips: When the sun comes out, look for shady spots around submerged weeds. or around docks.