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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 61-62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Took a friend and his son to McClure today from 3:00 P.M. until dark...Caught 17, with 4 lbs being the largest. Again, I don't see any fish shallow, and I can't remember when I didn't see that in April. The water cooled off to 58 at sunset, and I think that's the problem. Caught all our fish on Senkos: Natural Shad, Trout, and Purple/Silver. Fish Finder shows most fish from 10-20 feet.
    City: Merced, CA

    Tips: Rock Piles and Points...throw and change colors often. Seems that when the light goes down, the bites heat up...

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 59-61

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished Thursday and Friday. Found the fishing still a little slow, especially in the am.
    Weather was nice, wind was not too bad. Had 4 people on my pontoon both days. Everyone on both days exceeded 10 fish each but the size were all in the slot. Only 1 LMB both days didn't even go 2 lbs. Te rest were 12-15 " spots.
    City: Ventura

    Tips: Split shot and dropshot. Seemed to like 6" morning dawn straight tail, natural shad 4" fx sculpin and margarita mutilator 5 1/2" curly tail
    Got one decent spot on a rattlin rouge. Look for boulders and rocky points. Fish are not to far into the coves yet. 10-20 ft water

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 61-62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Beautiful Day to fish 75 and bright sun..but for some reason, the bite was dead.. We fished from the dam all the way past Horse Shoe Bend. We tried every color of Lizard, Senko, and worm, as well as ripbaits. I couldn't spot any fish shallow, but I also didn't see any holes burrowed in the back of coves either. We got tons of play bites, but until 6:00 P.M...we saw two fish 8-9" long and both fell off. At 6:00 P.M. though, I caught 5 fish 1-2 lbs along the rock wall south of Temperance on Natural Shad Senkos (Wacky). Lots of boats were on the Lake...water still rising. I saw lots of fish jumping right before Dawn
    City: Merced. CA

    Tips: I still would stick with the usual baits. The nights have been colder as of late, so maybe the fish are still not coming up all the way??? Warm weather is forecast for the next two weeks, so that will probably do the trick...

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

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    Water Temp: 58.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Started out at about 9:00am started late. Fished Piney and caught about 11 in about an hour and a half. Caught most fish on drop shot in about 10 to 15 ft. of water using Keeper worms. Most fish were in the slot. Came back out later in the afternoon before the rain caught fish up shallow in about 6 to 8 feet of water behind Mc Clure point marina. Used Senko and drop shot. Caught 4 fish in about half hour Biggest 4lbs. rest in the slot. Start to rain had to leave had neice and nephew.
    City: Riverbank

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

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    Water Temp: 60-61

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Had a good day, started at 2:30 P.M. at the Dam and finished at the waterfall across from Barretts Marina. My buddy and I caught 16, with my largest, a 7.5 Lb Black, caught on a rainbow trout Senko in 25' of water. The fish were very aggressive, and we caught the majority of our fish on Green/Red Flake Lizards, and Senkos with Natural Shad, Rainbow Trout, and Bass Patterns. Missed a ton of bites...Water is rising and warming fast. The Big Fish was definitely a Female defensing her nest. She was released unharmed.
    City: Merced, CA

    Tips: Watch your line, and set the hook fast...the bites are soft and the fish are carryin the lure to deep water and usually towards you. Rock Piles and points are the rule still. No much action in the weeds yet. Also watch for Debris, I saw a bunch of logs and wood drifting about...

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished yesterday from 10am to 7 pm,launched from McClure.We did alright,started throwing a jerk bait caught caught 3 spots all in the slot,switched to a drop shot and caught did not switch for the rest of the day.No bed fish yet,did see a few roaming shallow.
    City: Turlock

    Tips: Caught the majority of fish 20 to 30 feet deep,drop shoting.

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    Water Temp: 55-61

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: got on the water around 730 and launched from barret. we started out throwing dropshot and jigs. nuthing so we moved to the east side of the lake and one the third cast had a nice 14 inch spot put up a good fight. and then we moved to the back of tht cove and caught 3 fish back to back of some structure(wood)we then realized tht was a pattern so we looked for tht the rest of the day and caught 20 -25 fish mostly spots with 3 largies mixed in all largies about 2 pounds. what was funny is we caught fish in 60 feeet of water on wood they were suspended and nailed my dropshot. first time to this lake and i was suprised to catch them like this. didnt see any bed fish but saw a couple crusing and they were largies.?
    City: castro valley

    Tips: use watermelon red flake anything pretty much dropshotting was the only thing wrking tried swimbaits,jigs,and jerkbaits. thanks to people posting reports this is how it shld be on every report page! LOOK FOR WOOD!

Friday, March 26th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 59

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished from 1PM to 6PM. Caught 14 Spots, 1 Black, all 12-14" with one about 3lbs. Basically I hit all the points and rock piles, ans throwing right at the bank. Most were caught on Watermelonseed/Red Flake Lizards, and I had quite a few bites on Natural Shad Senkos hooked Wacky style. Most fish were caught in 3-4 feet, with some as deep as 25-30 feet. Seeing more fish in the shallows, but no spawning bass yet. Water is at the base of the flat concrete slab on the west side of the dam.
    City: Merced

    Tips: Fish are 10-20 feet and going shallow to bite..throw anything that threatens the nest: Lizards, Minnows, Trout/Shad Patterns, etc...Water is warming fast..

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished Wednesday, April 24 from 7:30am-2pm. Caught 16 Bass on Senko's and Drop Shot. I caught a few shallow (6 feet) but mostly 14-20 feet deep. I just love it when you throw out a Senko and as it's falling you see your line screaming to one side. Way too much fun. Mostly slot fish but some over 15 inches. I caught most of them on points or by big rocks. The biggest fish came on a bare bank close to the end of a cove. Probably some big fish in the spots where most of us don't fish.
    City: Denair

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: We fished from 1-6PM, saw a lot of boats on the water. Fished Barret's South Ramp and a little towards the dam and a little towards Piney Creek. We caught 10 Spots, all 13-14 inch bass. All were caught drop shotting in about 18-22 feet. Very aggressive bite, missed only two fish. Fished points and coves, didn't seem to matter, but we usually only got bite once a spot. Picked up 2 on one point.
    City: Denair

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 53-54

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Not much action today..caught a few 1 lb spots on drop shotting..saw some fairly large bass in the shallows just hanging out..water is rising fast, and is still really cold. Saw some smaller males as well cruising around. Fishfinder showed fish in 20-30 foot range, but not reallt feeding.
    City: Merced, CA

    Tips: I think the spawn is 6 days of warm weahter away. Water is still too cold, but I hear forecast is for sunny days in the 70's...

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 52-53

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Caught 4 Spots about 1-2 lbs after fishing from 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M....missed many bites, and fish finder showed most fish were 30-45'. Of course it had rained about 12 hours before, so that affects alot. Caught one on a Lucky Craft Chartreuse minnow, and the rest on Watermelon/Red Flake Lizards. The lake is rising fast and is about 5' below the flat concrete slab next to the dam. I saw a few small males cruising into the back of coves and for the first time in a long time I see LOTS of thick vegetation in the water,grass is growing fast, and the water looks clean and healthy. This year McClure will be RED HOT for Bass Fishing!!! I see the lake completely filling up by May...
    City: Merced, CA

    Tips: Fish slow and deep...Watermelon colors are going to be good, and brush hogs should also start getting action..

    Also, if you catch any fish that are Fat, and you can keep em...don't..they're probably mammas...ready to spawn...release them gently so we can catch back up for the last three years of drought..

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 60-65

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: My wife and I fished together in our Fellowship of Christian Anglers Society tournament. Started in Horseshoe throwing a crankbait and a spinnerbait trying to locate fish. Caught first keeper on the blades 1.5 lbs on a secondary point. Slowed down and made several more passes with a drop shoted watermelon red worm and picked up keepers 2&3. Moved to the island in Horseshoe and hooked up with a big fish on the drop shot, and after a stressful battle landed keeper 4- 5 1/2 lbs. continued around the island and picked up keeper 5 on a c-rigged lizard. Had my limit by 9:45. Cought a few more on the d.s., c-rig, and wacky rigged senko. but wasn't able to cull. My wife caught all hers on the d.s. but didn't get her fifth fish until 20 minutes before weigh-in. I ended up in first with just under 11 lbs. and my wife finished third. Heard that a little girl fishing in the Mike Van Guilder Sr. tournament caught an 11.75. Way to go!
    City: Fresno

    Tips: Go fish!

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

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    Water Temp: 50

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: CBL-Christian Bass League had a solid start for 2010. 18 teams competed 6 of the teams were father/son and we even had a few grandsons! The day was beautiful some clouds in the morning with sun the rest of the day. Most of the fish were caught on drop-shot and shaky heads in various colors from the greens to craws. There was even a few reaction fish early in the morning. One team placed high dragging a Carolina rig. With all that the bite was tough not everyone brought in a limit. If you would like to join us for our next tourney on the Delta give me a call of check out our web-site at www.christianbassleague.com 209-988-5818
    City: Turlock

    Tips: Fish slow and then slow down again. The bite picks up later in the day. Moving water or the south end of the lake are good bets.

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    Water Temp: 53-54

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Water is coming up fast...good news for fishing this year. Caught a grand total of 4 fish from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 P.M. Caught 1 in the corner of the dam drop shotting with Prism Shad/Robo Worm, and 1 on my go-to: Natural Shad Senko hooked wacky style. The others on Watermelon/Purple Lizard with Texas Style set-up. Missed alot of fish across from Barrett Cove Marina at the point on lizards. Most of the action was at 20-30 ft.
    City: Merced, CA

    Tips: Fish slow, purple/green/shad colors seem pretty reliable. I talked to some of the others coming off the lake, and they had some luck with brush hogs off points. Watch for debris, it's starting to run in the lake.

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 53 to56

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Not much talk about fishing this lake.It is tough for good fish 1.5 to 2.0 lbs but you can get one or two a day in between 20 to 25 small fish.Fish where you find the most concentration of fish and work thru them.Slow is good.Mostly plastics.
    City: madera

    Tips: Slow,slow,and slower mostly presure bites be on your A game

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: fished 6am- noon. 7.5 ft clear water.....before dawn a gentle westerly breeze, switching about 9am to dead calm, then a 10mph wind headed mostly north. Caught a couple dinks on a shad pattern crankbait. substantially less surface activity than last week. Alot of Carp, along bank....in 6-8 in of water....damn things keep breeching. thought they were bass on shad at first, wasted 40 min fishing them.
    City: Atwater

Monday, October 5th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 70

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: On the water at first light very windy up river, moved to narrows and landed 3 on top water jr spook with many more strikes. on strike on a pop-r. top water bite lasted till 10 am
    City: modesto

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: 4pm- 7pm. Shad surface activity reduced from yesterday. Had lots of bites from smaller fish, but nothing got in the boat. another boater got two on a shad rap by trolling it.
    City: Atwater

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 75

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Weather change from hot to cold and windy has made the fish go down and suspend. a few shad boils tormented by small bass. Fished from 9am to noon. Jeff Miller caught 1, I caught 0.
    City: Atwater

    Tips: Don't tow your boat into a wall.
    Don't run your Troling motor straight at a dam.
    Nuf said.