Oroville Lake and Reports

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Friday, February 23rd, 2007

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    Water Temp: 49-51

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Honestly, I was suffering driving to the lake this morning, knowing conditions were going to be as tough as they can get - post-front, COLD front, cold water, snow on the hills, and possible thunderstorms. My two clients and I put our best attitude on and away we went. Where were the other wimps (har) - only saw 5 rigs on the parking lot at 7:30 am - on a FRIDAY! Wow!! We actually started near the dam and my client soon got the first bass on a morning dawn Robo worm. It was only 12 1/4 inches but I felt good - one in the boat. We fished some main body and middle fork. I know my guys had fish on but they didn't know it. I actually landed 4 or 5 that gave me no clue that they had taken my Robo. I would start to bring my line in and they were there, but none of our bass came close to swallowing the hook - they just held on. The icy wind became a problem so me moved the the south fork which was a little better. About 1 pm the clouds started to thin and we had sun breaks about the same time that my guys started to realize what a non-bite was. Soon one of them sticks a good one and became hero of the day - a fat 2 lb 14 oz spot that ate a "people's worm" Robo - yes, that's the name of the color! That opened the door for two hours of several in the boat and lots of missed bites. Do they want sun, or what! We jokingly set a goal of 20 bass and we got 21 - would have got more but had to leave at 4 pm. Three over the slot and our 5 best well over 11 lbs. We were pretty happy with that considering the conditions.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: It was interesting that our biggest spots were quite shallow, maybe 10 to 20 feet. They were also in cove-like areas, maybe scouting spawning areas already. In 50 degree water? Who knows. We also caught one spitting up pond smelt which means that some bait is probably not too deep. Most of our bass were near rock but were caught on smooth bottom structure. We Texas rigged and split-shot our Robo worms - the big one was on a Texas rig. Morning dawn was good in the morning but gave way to any purple/blue/brown combination 4 and 4 1/2" Robos in the afternoon. I did a little rippin', but no takers. No takers on a jig or drop-shot either. I was going to shake worms but never got around to it. We did notice certain areas held bigger fish while other produced 13-14 inch spots. No largemouth - is that a surprise? The lake is basically debris-free, for now!

Sunday, February 4th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 45-47

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: 3 of us Sac Bass Wranglers piled in the boat to sample Oroville before our 2/24 club event. Since 2 of us had never fished it before we just wondered about hoping to stumble in to fish. We fished the main body and middle fork from about 8-4:30. We caught about 17 total and had several other bites. Jigs and other plastic worms were key. Best 5 10-11 pounds conservatively. had maybe 6-7 over the slot. All nice and fat.
    City: Sacramento

    Tips: Nothing special, just fishing slow with plastics. It wasa nice relaxing day.

    www.sacbasswranglers.net

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007

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    Water Temp: 49-50

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: What a difference a week makes! I took two fellas to the lake yesterday, starting at 10am, planning to work the evening bite. I was optimistic after last week as the weather was sunny and we caught some right away. Then the wind started - from the north - typical for post-front conditions. What wasn't typical was that it shifted to the south for 2 hours, then back to the north. I know I wasn't a Clear Lake!! We moved to the south fork for most of the trip and fished some of the areas I did last week. No bass! Then it clouded up - not good! I was thinking these might have been reasons for the slow bite - THEN, I looked at the shoreline and saw the problem - the lake had dropped about 3 feet. Sure enough, I check the DWR report this morning and I was right - 3 feet. These arn't excuses, just a bass guide trying to learn and figure out why the bite had changed so much. Anyway, the late afternoon bite did happen a little and we wound up with 10 spots in the 14 to 15 inch range - in addition to one under 13 and one over 15 - 12 total. One of the clients also caught a salmon on a Robo worm!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: We caught all our spots on 4 inch Robo worms of several different colors. They would not touch the morning dawn color! Aaron's magic w/ R&B flake seemed to be the best. And lo and behold, I caught one on a Rodstrainer jig! I used a rip bait late in the afternoon - no takers. All of our fish we taken deeper than 20 feet on steep structure or a drop-off. The lake started at 49 degrees - one or two degrees cooler than last week - and ended at 49 1/2 to 50 1/2 degrees. How's that for a day-long warm'up?!

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 44-47

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Joe Everett and I got on the water at 9:30am @ Bedwell and headed up the Meddle Fork for some fun fishing. Stoping at the water falls using Jigs and dart heads with a Aaron's Magic Worms. (something in browns and purple) Using light line and dead sticking the bit was slow but go for 30 plus bass. Most of the bites came in 15-25 ft. Later moved into the main body on steep banks finding 1.5-3.0 lbs. The sun was out in the afternoon, but the morning was better with the clouds.
    City: Rocklin

    Tips: Fish next ot deep water, light line (8 lbs)let it sit in 25 ft and wait.

Friday, January 19th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 58

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: beautiful day to fish. We threw worms on points most of the day. caught 10 keepers over 15 inch.Witches tit with green tail worked best. 6 inch on 1/4 dart head. 40 to 30 foot range. shake a little don't move a lot. hula grubs and smaller worms worked also.
    City: orangevale

    Tips: slow down

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 45 to 49

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Had some a.m. business to attend in Oroville so I decided to bring my boat and fish. I was on the water 9:30 to 1:30 and fished the south arm.The first fish came on the second cast then had to wait an hour for the next one.Then caught eight fish in the next hour and a half.The next hour and a half was skunked. All fish came on a 4 '' hula grub 3/8 oz head with no weed guard. Only broke off one snag, pretty happy about that.All keepers but nothing over 2lbs.
    City: Granite Bay

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 48

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: What a treat - I got taken to Oroville by a friend who is fishing an upcoming tournament. I didn't even have to think - I just went where the boat went!!! Too bad I didn't think a little harder when I was setting the hook - man, I lost a lot of fish. One of those days when they bit after my bait settled from the 80 yard cast!! What a beautiful day (the last one for awhile I hear) complete with 2 eagle sightings!! I landed 5 nice spots and a dink or two and my partner stuck 9 - including a 16 inch smallie! We also had one spot apiece over the slot and a typical limit of near 10 lbs. Great day to be outdoors!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Can't give any tips of course but we did fish all main lake areas. The incoming VERY cold front could really make for a tough bite in the near future. The lake is coming up a bit but fish are really scattered. Only one bank produced about 4 or 5 bites - usually just one here and one there. Good luck to all you tournament folk!!

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

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    Water Temp: 48-50

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished out of Bidwell and stayed in the cove and hit the points in 20-45 ft. Moved in the back of the coves finding 1.5 - 2.5 lb bass were running water was coming down. Fish are eating early and late. Moved into the main body about 10am and still finding bass in 25-40 ft with a hula grub. No reaction bites.
    City: Rocklin

    Tips: fish deep and slow.

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 49

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Arrived on the water around 7:30am 35Degrees
    water around 49 or so Fished just past the bridge My Son caught first fish on first cast with a jig Second cast Second Fish Both on jigs in about 25 feet of water caught the next two later in the day under the bridge
    City: Roseville

    Tips: Fish are bitting slow not something new to hear but this lake never has been a disapointment
    water clear Fish the points slow

Monday, December 4th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 53

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched spillway 8:30. First fish dropshot 72ft up Potters Ravine. Blanked steep banks around slide, then hit hot bite on steep walls Southfork around l:30, 4 fish in l5 min white l/8 jigs. Lost big fish at 70+ ft on spoon.
    City: Magalia, CA

    Tips: Fish deep, dropshot, spoons, if calm and sunny fish could move up in afternoon, stay on steep walls.

Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

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    Water Temp: 56

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: My partner today was pre-fishing for a tourny so I can not reveal what we used to catch the 16 bass we caught. But I will say that the bite was slow and lite. Just be patient and have fun fishin' the bites will come.
    City: Plumas Lake

    Tips: I can say this your gonna have to fish slow, the fish were either on bottom or suspended up in the water column a little ways. Found bait fish moving but no real action accompanied them, wow huh? Good luck to all the tourney guys in the coming weekend.--Wet lines = good times!

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

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    Water Temp: 55

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: On the water at 7am weather was perfect no fog no wind 2 boats on the water .Fished a few spots on the north arm My Son caught the first fish 3 pounds on Spinner bait very soft bite and hardly any fight we continued to troll the rock piles I was using small swin bait and caught my first fish around 10am on the south side not a bad fish of 4 pounds and a bit of a fight as the day went by we stoped by the bridge to fish the rocks and I hooked a fighter I guess the Rookie in my didn't set that hook good enough as I saw this big boy he jumped off We left around 2:30 we saw several fish the water was very clear and still I even put my small swim bait on the back of a bass and he never moved but what a great lake to learn great bass fishing thanks to everyone that posts it helped
    City: Roseville

    Tips: I dont think I am good enough to give any tips but My son used spinner bait and caught a fish I used a small swim bait with smelly jelly on it and caught fish
    I did drop shot a little but nothing
    Happy fishing (the Rook)

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished with Folsom Bass Team on Sunday. tough bite. fish were scattered. My partner and I fished North Arm, and caught fish on spooks, ripbait, darterhead, jig, and drop shot. No particular pattern. All were small and we weighed in just over 6 lb. Most were caught in around 15-20 ft of water, so had to fizz no fish at all. There was no wind where we were, but some fished the light wind in the main body and caught bigger limits. Winning weight was over 10 with a 5 lb kicker for 5 fish.

    Tips: Keep looking. Like Lunker Larry said, when it cools off, it should be better.

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

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    Water Temp: 62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I took a client to Oroville Friday to teach him how to bass fish and though the bite would be ok because of good cloud cover most of the day. We fished Potter's, main body, and the middle fork. We did find a lot of bait but not many bass around the bait. Much of the bait was 80 to 130 feet - a bit deep!!! Most of our bass were landed by drop-shotting a Basstrix flashtrix 4' minnow. Our first two bass were even over the slot, but we only caught about 10 bass total. We missed several. Most of our bass were near creek channels. I was happy he caught a few and one of the "overs".
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Like has been mentioned, you need to move around a lot. All of our bass were caught at 35 feet and deeper. When the water finally cools - if it ever does this winter - the spots will school up and we will catch more in one spot. Until then - happy hunting!!!!!

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    Water Temp: 60-62

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Saturday was beautiful day to be at the lake! Myself and two friends Todd & Rich were out to find some bass! There was a tourney going on that day but not so many boats that around every corner you had to troll around someone. The bite was tough make no mistake yall, you pretty much had to hit the bass in the head to get it to bite. From daylight to 2:30pm we accounted for 11 spots, best five would go about 8-9lbs. Saw two fish chasing lures, one was actually caught on a crank! The others were all caugh on 4-6 inch strait tail worms. Caught a few up shallow but most fish are between 20-60+ feet of water.
    City: Plumas Lake

    Tips: Just be patient and have fun fishin' the fish are down deep and will bite, just depends on how hungry they are when they see your offering! See yall on the lake...

Sunday, November 12th, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: we got on the lake at 12;30 got 3 slot spots at the bridge droppin a kastmaster then moved to the main body about 40' and got two at 15" with a real good fight , missed one that broke my line when he hit .
    City: lake oroville

    Tips: go deep and slow

Saturday, November 11th, 2006

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    Water Temp: Did not check,

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Pattern was keep them honest up shallow then proceed to 50-75 feet deep. Dragging jigs heavy darts and drop shot. Caught 10 plus pounds a day to garner first place overall. Great lake just could not do my thing from the back of the boat. There are some larger bass in the lake and they will take your offerings, just work for them. I heard of a few taken on spooks and I would not disbelieve that. Congratulations to Lockhart (pro side winner).
    City: Sacto

    Tips: Use depht finder to locate the bait, no matter what level they may be. Some fish came from no signs of fish down there. Present the technique that has the higher percentages in less time. Good fishing, Jimbo

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    Water Temp: 53 - 59

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: fished a three boat two-day club tourney out of bidwell to avoid crowd at the AC pro am. Saturday promised t be a great day with rain and cold weather coming in starting Friday - i usually like inclement weather at Oroville. Boy was I wrong.
    First day was won with 12.1 lbs (seven fish). Fishing quiet pockets upriver from 20 - 40 ft. drop shots mostly. We had 7 lbs.
    Second day was also a drop shot day.
    I suxed. Threw the kitchen sink, got bit on beavers, dropshot, worms, jigs, just not often enough. Better fish on bottom hugging baits in about 10 - 20 ft - i think these were the roaming fish, up for a bite. not much of a rip bite.
    Not your normal Oroville fall bite.
    City: belmont

    Tips: conditions were changing rapidly over two days. overcast, rain & cold on Sat, overcast, clear and cold on sunday.
    No real tips other than to go slooow. I got two of my fish deadsticking. I think three to four days of steady weather (whatever, as long as it doesn't change much) will put the fish back on the feed.
    Note that the AC Pro Am wieghts were fairly light too.

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: sorry for not putting down my location on the last entry we were on lake oroville thanks!
    City: oroville ca

Sunday, November 5th, 2006

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: only 5 fish all day in middle fork, around 20-40 depth i dont have a graph can any one give me some pointers?