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Friday, October 26th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 63

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Hooked up with my uncle or a Friday on the lake. He does some pond ishing and I said it was time he stepped up. He agreed. When I could catch ish on this lake he would come along. He waited a while. I made another concession agreeing to tow the boat to the Granite Bay side. I'll come back to that in a minute. Gorgeous weather- perhaps the last 80 degree day until March. Couldn't put down the reaction. Caught 6 including a largemouth and a smallmouth pushing 3lbs each. We ished in the north. Unc breaks out with "The lake's low, so the ish should be concentrated". Blademan's on the lake too and he rolls up with 3 ish or 10lbs. He's all "dude, it's about this lake level". Beore i submitted this report I sured some links provided by this web-site to determine why the dam releases have remained consistently around 1500 cs. The releases are draining this reservoir rapidly and the two remaining launch ramps will be out o the water soon. Speculation ranges rom power generation to terrorist prooing. The dam road is closed at night due to concerns over the latter. That's a precaution I can live with, but the idea o draining the lake due to terrorist concerns borders on hysteria. Oicially one web-site provided by the Bureau o Reclamation said 90% o the releases are or power generation. Remember there's an energy crisis? Crisis. Isn't the crisis about how cheap we want our power? Hyroelectric is cheap because the true cost o dam construction and operation is subsidized by the Bureau o Reclamation (eds), and we beneit by relatively cheap power and clean air. Consider the alternative: ossil uel power plants dotting the landscape. Build them in Nevada. Sucks or Nevada. I'll bet that's where we dumped the reactor core rom Ranch Seco- the ultimate cheap power-clean air solution. The bass in the lake at that acility are so big..... Besides, wouldn't ossil uel power plants add to that choking air pollution created by our irresponsible use o two stroke outboard engines? Don't get me started.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: Major weather change coming- could be the end o ishing reaction with success throughout the day

Monday, October 22nd, 2001

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    Water Temp: 65

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: launched out o Granite Bay's last ramp so i'm told at irst light.Stuck a 16 incher on a spinnerbait irst shot out o the cannon.Minutes later stuck one on a jerk bait about the same size.Caught a ew more rats on drop shots but that's it.Be careull out there it's quite dangerous or your 500 dollar props.
    City: citrus hts.

    Tips: Reaction baits are catching the bigger ish.

Friday, October 19th, 2001

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    Water Temp: cooler

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: First time out on this lake ater a one month hiatus- more on that in a minute. I had a 2.5 hour window and I bet it all on getting the last piece o the season's reaction bite in the rock planters (that's downsized rock gardens). 5 strikes, 3 spots to 2.5lbs. Lake level is at 390t- lowest I can recall since the drought o the seventies. Dam releases remain steady at 1500 to 1700 cs all summer despite declining lows. I'm not a math wiz, but when releases remain constant rom a diminishing pool o water, that means the rate o the dropping level will accellerate. I need a hobby. My absence rom the lake was due to downtime ater a ire on my boat. It happened during a club tournament on the delta and the source was electrical. Some o you clones are thinking yep, that's the karma. Here's a couple tips: Store your ire exinguisher in a ront compartment away rom the usual sources o ires- the electrical and uel in the back. Also, buy the largest extinguisher you can. Mine was coast guard legal- did the lames care? It was done beore the lames were out. We were running past the launch trying to catch an incoming tide. We got it, and ater the episode was over, we drited back on the trolling motor, culled a couple keepers, and took third place. Forgot about my buddy Blademan catching a 7-8lb catish on a blade preishing or the event. C'mon Blademan, we've been over this- a spinnerbait is not a clam! Water's low everywhere. Blademan's at clearlake with Markey Rey and he tries to get into Rodman Slough. The boat's stuck and they're down to thier underwear walking around knee deep hundreds o yards o shore going "There's got to be a channel here somewhere" That had to be a sight.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: The season is ast approaching where locating the ish requires locating the bait.

Sunday, October 14th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 68-72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Like I said I would, here is my report on the pattern I used at the Newbass Metro team event. During preishing I ound alot o bait and bass on the riprap levees around the dam. My preishing eort included a 5.3 lb Largey on the dike west o the ace o the dam. At blast-o I decided to ish the dike in the Mormon Island area beacuse it was out o the wind and I wanted to see i a ew surace ish were going. No topwater, but when I picked up my triple-bladed white spinnerbait, a solid keeper latched on. Soon ater a 3.7 came on-board and shortly ater my third keeper was in the well. I then went over to the dam and didn ot catch another keeper the rest o the day. Lots o snakes came rom the water that had previously produced some good keepers. Tried up north or awhile and little in the south, but no more ish were added to the well. My best laid plans didn't pan out, oh well that's ishin'. Winners had 16+ plus with a big ish o 4.70 lbs. Good luck
    City: Roseville

    Tips: Pretty good blade bite in the right stretches. Find the bait and the ish will be close. Be careul, there are alot o UNMARKED hazaeds out there to destroy your boat.

Sunday, September 30th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 70-72

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: While preishing or the upcoming Newbass event I ound some ish in an area (I'll disclose ater the tournament)that I had never ishing beore. Did try crankin', bladin' and dropshot up the North ork with no success. Moved to this area and got bit on a blade our times in about 10 minutes. This included a 5.3 lber' that inhaled my bait. Blade was plowing thru BIG schools o bait as it came back to the boat. Got mysel a plan which I'll tell about on October 15, but with lake soooooo low, there is very little visable cover let in the water. Rock piles become important with the water level here as well as ditches breaks and droppos. Those with good memories o low water years will do good because they know where these things exist. Good luck and I'll clue you in on my pattern later.
    City: Roseville

    Tips: Try a variety o ideas, with the lake so low, the ish and bait are compressed into a smaller pool now. Fish the right combo o cover (rockpiles) and bait and you'll ind ish.

Tuesday, September 25th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 74.9

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out to Folsom "Pond" Saturday and had a air day. I was teaching my brother-in-law, a Salmon isherman rom Chugiak Alaska, how to bass ish. I had success irst thing in the morning with a spinnerbait, a 3 1/2 lb spot and a couple o short strikes. I then split shot a 2 lb smallie on a 6" 082. Then my brother-in-law came and we went to the dam to ish (sorry can't reveal my morning location). The only ishing style he was able to use with any luck was drop-shotting. I dart headed a ew, with the biggest going 2.2 lbs and we drop shot about 15 ish to 1.75 lbs. I am really starting to get an idea o where the big largemouth and spots go during every season. A month has not gone by without a 5 plus pounder in my catch. My days o split-shotting dinks are done, you don't need to inesse ish this lake to be successul, as I once believed. I'm going out again by weeks end to do some top water or smallies.
    City: Elk Grove

    Tips: FIND THE COOL WATER IN THE SUMMER!!! Threadins are about 1 1/2" - 2" right now. Lucky Crat Pointer 78 in Chartreuse Shad is very eective or numbers. Find big Largemouth in shallows next to stumps on lats. Don't ish too ast, and cast to deep water oten or good smallies.

Sunday, September 23rd, 2001

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: The last two weeks at Folsom have been tough.I got on the water at 4:00 pm and ished til dark.I tried jigs, darter heads,drop shot, texas rigged worms and did not get a bite. Finally tied on a rico when the sun went down and caught two small ish,had ive blow-ups in thirty minutes.
    City: Granite Bay

    Tips: Don't ask me , I don't know squat $$^&*&%$#@!

Saturday, September 22nd, 2001

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    Water Temp: same

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Based on these reports it would seem like I have the lake to mysel. Had to wait in line or my spot near Beale's this morning. Maybe some o you could break-o a report. Folsom Point launch is closed. So is the sailboat ramp at Brown's. Got out o the Hobie ramp at 10am just as a ragatta was starting to launch. 9 ish, best 5 going 9lbs including two smallmouth caught shallow. Fall conditions? Water level dropped rom 403.25 to 401.43 in seven days. I'm wondering what's going to last longer- clearing the rubble at the WTC or this reaction bite I've been on. Hopeully webmaster Tony will consider the amount o vital ino above as permission to tell a short story. Business travel took me near a smallmouth lake up north I'm amiliar with where a business partner was vacationing. He brought his camolaged duck hunting ski and he asked me to show up and provide a guided outing. The boat and his buddy were perectly matched or Jeerson state ishing. At sunset I recommended poppers and the riend tied one on the end o his carolina rig. I explained that the popper is normally a weightless presentation, but who knows, maybe I would learn something. My client nails a nice 2.5lb smallie and the riend insisted on harvesting. I took them to experimental water ater that.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: Understand the orage o the lake. Please e-mail me with more ino on Folsom's Pond smelt. When & where do they spawn? When will they go deep? What sends them down?

Sunday, September 16th, 2001

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    Water Temp: warm

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Me and my buddy went down the south ork,we stoped in some coves and tried ishing plastic but we had no luck. I decided to ish a small white spinnerbait and had minimal luck. My buddy went with a big white spinner and caugt 0. Thats ok he is used to not catching any. MY CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILYS THAT LOST THEIR LOVED ONES. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
    City: nort highlands

Saturday, September 15th, 2001

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: LAKE IS OPEN AGAIN!!!!!
    City: El Dorado Hills

Friday, September 14th, 2001

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    Water Temp: cooler

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: A morning on the water is a moment to relect sometimes. Today was about the abomitable act commited against our country, and also about the git o reedom to enjoy ishing. 4 bass to 9:30, main lake and north. All spots, largest going 3 lbs. Water continues to drop, and conditions were cool, breezy with a ront passing through. Stayed with reaction. Other techniques would have been more productive probably. The 3lb came rom the area where my tournament partners and I have had success recently. They're relecting on why I didn't get this ish during competition.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: Bass ishing 101. Frontal activity typically has the ish move deeper and tighter to cover. Make the adjustment and the ish can be caught.

Wednesday, September 12th, 2001

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    Water Temp: unknown

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The Lake is closed until urther notice due to the activity in N.Y.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: clean out your tackle box and change your line... it will still be a least a day beore it reopens

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    Water Temp: N/A????????????

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Hey Randy, remember our trip to Wild Sports? I you do, do you remember the rod/reel combo. The Abu-Garcia/rod combo selling or 89.99? Well, I was wondering i I should get that, or the Shimano Coriolos (pronounced crolia) instead.bassmaster out
    City: sm

    Tips: n/t/g

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    Water Temp: N/A????????????

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Hey Randy, remember our trip to Wild Sports? I you do, do you remember the rod/reel combo. The Abu-Garcia/rod combo selling or 89.99? Well, I was wondering i I should get that, or the Shimano Coriolos (pronounced crolia) instead.bassmaster out
    City: sm

    Tips: n/t/g

Tuesday, September 11th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 75-76

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I guess I either just like to ish, or I am crazy. I know thats what the security dude must o thought when he unlocked the gate to let me out at 3:30 today. I don't have a radio on my boat, so I didn't hear that they decided to close the lake down this aternoon. It's a good thing I had to pick the kid up rom school, or I might have been staying the night. Anyway, we went up the South Fork or the simple act that we weren't sure i it was going to rain or not, and the wind was blowing pretty good on the main lake. I started at new york creek, and picked up a largemouth on a jig irst cast. We cruised the shoreline with nothing going, and then boom I caught 5 ish in 5 casts split shotting. One o the ish a 2.5 largemouth. The wind drited us down the bank, so I went back up and caught a couple more. We decided to move, because my signiicant other o whom hadn't even had a bite, said there wasn't any ish in this spot. Go igure. We moved to the rock pile nearby and I got one bite, but it ws a dink. So we moved to some rocky points, and she inally hooks one. A nice 3lb smallmouth. We tried one more area out by the main lake, and I hook a 2.5 spot. I guess the reason why we had the lake to our selves wasn't because o the chance o rain. That is some crazy s t! Good luck.
    City: Eldorado Hills

    Tips: Steep walls and worms in oxblood and maybe a jig. Fish adjacent to deep water.

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    Water Temp: unkown

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I can not believe this I caught a 134 pound catish right o the rocks at Beals point.I was ishing with some let over sausage rom breakast.I caught him around 10:00 in the morning.My wie took my picture and he went right back in the water and swam o.I brought the picture to the bait store over by Granite bay.
    City: north highlands

    Tips: I got lucky I never ish or catish,this was a very scary 0ccasion.

Sunday, September 9th, 2001

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    Water Temp: hot

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Made a last minute decision to ish Saturday and got out or the aternoon bite. It was real windy when I got there, so I ran to a good spot or ripping and started picking up ish immediately, but no size. That bite slowed when the wind stopped. Moved to rock piles and pulled a 2+ lb largemouth o a hazard buoy on a white/white spinnerbait. That ish was a luke. I don't know where the decent ish are at. My wrist got sore so I headed over to the dam to throw worms. The dinks were stealing my worms. I caught about 20 in an hour, with only one keeper. Upsized the worms, and I couldn't get bit. So I called it quits. At the ramp I talked to a guy in a Malibu Skier with the tower and the stereo system. He had a little spinning combo tucked in with his wakeboards. He said that he and his buddy caught "a ton o nice bass around the corner on those rocks." I said, "Worms?" He said, "No, these were good sized ish."
    City: Sacramento

    Tips: I you ish like I do, buy lots o worms.

Saturday, September 8th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 76

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Irony. Seems I get a dose everytime I strap it on lately. This day was no dierent. What would you call catching at least one 3lb largemouth or better eveytime or a month except two tournament dates? This was the second o the two tournaments and we caught 7 keepers to 2.6lbs or 10.74- good enough to win a Newbass catagory 1 event. (boats under 100hp) My partner bladed one ish on a main lake point early, and rom there we worked the north rom Beale's Point to the narrows. We were in his boat and he caught our total on spinnerbaits. It was a six hour event and we had only 5 ish when we returned to our second spot near Beale's at 11:30. Talk about pulling it out. There I dragged worms and caught ish 6 & 7 back to back in the last hour. In the irst event two weeks ago I bladed ish rom the ront o my boat, and my partner split shot the money ish on that same spot in that event's last hour. The lake is dropping almost two eet per week and it won't be a spot or much longer. Within the irst two hours it was apparent the reaction bite had cooled o. Our dilema was either accelerate the rock to rock, run and gun blade pattern or slow down and worm the areas that produced ish. My partner wasn't a believer in the ormer, but he began to lean that way ater he nailed a ew. He opted or stopping and worming however, and it worked. Hard to second guess success, but one wonders the result had we pressed the reaction. Missed one strike on a jig and that's ater i threw it a substancial amount o the time. The jig had been working shallow, but the ish moved o. Props to my partner Terry. He turned around his tracker and came within two pounds o going back to back in club tournament on the delta the next day. He inished third on a nasty, wind blown, post ront day competing against a ew pros with rigs that would be considered o-shore capable by comparison. At the Folsom event I told Larry Newby I was a local. He asked me my opinion o the bite and I said it was the slowest in a month. I said the reaction had almost come to a complete stop. Ater that statement one o the top catagory II teams got up and said they caught over 20 on PopRs. Go igure.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: Sometimes just a subtle change in conditions can abruptly slow down a reaction bite. A very minor ront came through and we went to a sotpastics back-up. Let the speed o the action and the quality o the ish help you decide how to get the best result rom limited time on the water.

Monday, September 3rd, 2001

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    Water Temp: ?

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Labor Day ishing. It wasn't a day o or working on patience. I waited in line to take the boat at 2:00pm at Browns or 20 minutes. Seems the wakeboard enthusiasts slept o thier hangovers just about that time. 10 ish including the 3lb largemouth I was looking or last week in the club tourney. My 4 year old son didn't hook up- I provided a smaller but identical bait he could cast with his spinning gear, but he orgets to lip the bail over about 50%. Instead, he was happy to measure each o my ish on the go board and cull our way to about 10 lbs. My wie asked what happened to the skin on his thumb. I'm waiting until he can vote and then I plan to doctor his BASS card and enter him in the casting kids contest. Don't mind the gotee, he's just mature or his age.
    City: El Dorado Hills

    Tips: Quality ish are a worthy challenge.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2001

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    Water Temp: 80

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: We decided to check out the lake again. Ater yesterday I thought what the hell. Besides my uture brother in law is in town, so I had to take him out and show him up. We started in the south with nothing going, but 1 ish on a senko. Moved out to the main lake and ished some rock piles and I caught two in two casts. We had to pick up my girlriend at the dock, and then went up past the granite bay area. The wind was up and going again, but the ish didn't seem to mind. All three o us hooked up at the same time, and we were all using dierent stu. The ishing was good or an hour, and then nothing. I did notice the moon was up over the hills when the ishing died, but I don't know i that had anything to do with it. We went over by the damn beore dark, and missed a ew bites, but my girl caught a 2.5 spot and we let on that. Just in case you were wondering I caught the most, but the little woman had the biggest again. Good Luck.
    City: Eldorado Hills

    Tips: Shad pattern worms either split shot or drop shot, and jigs. Decent bite on jigs today, but the ish were small. We caught 15 this aternoon and evening. Alot o small ish.