Submit
Report

Northern California Lake Fishing Report

Limit:

Sunday, October 24th, 2021

  • Butte County
    • By

      Report: by Pat » Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:16 am

      This will definitely put some water in our Lakes. Oroville has come up 2 feet since Friday, and this major storm is still coming. They just opened a low-low-low water gravel ramp at the Oroville spillway. With this storm, the possibility exists that the water will raise enough that it will not be usable. The problem since August has been the water level had this old gravel haul road on a flat area that did not have enough slope for launching. Let's hope it rises enough to get past this flat stretch. The few people that have gotten on the lake have reported that fishing is off the hook. Fish have not see a lure in months! And it is time for the fall feed.

Friday, October 22nd, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Sent in from Alan Fong at Fisherman's Warehouse Sacramento
      Went to the Delta yesterday with Denise and Warren to shoot some video on crappie and look what we caught!
      I caught this carp on my crappie rod with 4# test. It ran out over fifty feet line and under a log. As the carp rested, I had Warren snag the line on the other side log and then I cut it and pulled the line back out and tied a uni-knot and continued to fight the fish. After half an hour I got it to the boat and released it back!
      Denise flipped her PB bass yesterday too!
      Only caught 6 crappie so video was a no go!
      Bass - 1 oz Tungsten with a Brush Hog on a 5/0 Gama round bend hook.
      Carp - 1/16 oz jighead with a 3.3 Kietech. LOL
      If you have more questions or want to talk fishing, come on in to Fisherman's Warehouse.
      Alan Fong
      Fisherman's Warehouse Sacramento
      (916) 362-1200

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62.8

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: We were only able to get out for one afternoon & one night due to the weather. We launched out of 5th street Monday afternoon, it’s really shallow & you’re in 2 ft or less of water out to about a 1/4 of a mile so be careful! I had the jackplate as high as it would go, trimmed the motor up & idled out until I hit 6 ft water depth! Fished Henderson & Konocti with limited success. We caught four fish all told in three hours & they were isolated! They came on jerkbaits & medium cranks. They would not hit plastics or jigs& since we were a long way from 5th street, came in before dark. It was really windy Tues so we didn’t bother going out. Weds we shore launched next to our ramp & was able to get the boat in without issues. We fished from 6 pm til the rain ran us off at 1 am. We did better with most of the fish coming on blades. We caught 23 with the largest just a shade under 4 lbs. Our limit was just shy of 16 lbs. They seemed interested in silver/ chartreuse Colorado blade ran really slowly. We tried other colors but this was the only one that worked. We had some jig & plastic bites but they were picking the baits up & then dropping them. We managed a few with each of those techniques but they were mostly dialed in on the blades. They were up close, near rocky structure & fat as ticks! That’s all the info I have with the limited time we got to fish.

      Tips: There’s a ton of baitfish in the water right now! They’re all over the place & will light your graphs up! We were snagging them with the jerkbaits there was so many of them! We were casting those blades parallel to the bank & retrieving them slowly over the structure. The jig & plastic bites we got were largely on the drop but they wouldn’t touch a Senko for anything! Wouldn’t hit a crank or swim bait either! With the water so darned low, you have to search for new structure! The biggest thrill was nailing a 15 lb catfish on a blade! It was a great fight, woke me up, but alas it had whiskers when it got to the boat! Lol Be very careful, I broke off one of my transducers on a rock so be very cautious! Stay safe & have fun! I think the weather plus all of the baitfish affected the bite. With a ton of weather coming in next week, if it stabilizes afterward for a few days, the bite could really turn on!

Sunday, October 17th, 2021

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60's

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Just got back from 5 days on the lake. Oct 10 - 14) The bite was outstanding when the winds were howling. Fish were between 3 - 8 ft. Fished white chatterbaits with fluke trailers in backs of coves with salt cedars. One day I had 15lbs with largest being a 61/2 lb spot. When wind died down , top water bite was in full swing.(Vixen in rainbow trout color on and next to points with shad balls) (for those of you who don't know what a Vixen is, I believe it was a reaction innovations or John Dare's take on a zara spook). Special shout out to the guys at Phils who went the extra mile to make sure my trailer was safe.

      Tips: Reaction baits Reaction baits Reaction baits!
      Use Bridge Bay Ramp, Jones Valley was pretty muddy. Saw 2 4wheel trucks tied together try to pull a ski boat out and they couldn't do it. Took a tractor to pull it out.

Sunday, October 10th, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: by Fishermans Warehouse Megastore
      The fall weather is here and the flipping bite is on.
      I am fishing in one to three feet of water. Try flipping in this depth where you find good current.
      TIP: Use a 1 ounce, pegged Tungsten weight and a 5/0 Gmakatsu Wide Gap Hook.
      If you have questions about setting up a flippin' rig, I ma at the Sacramento Fisherman's Warehouse store Friday to Monday.

Thursday, September 23rd, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: While I was bass fishing yesterday with Charles and Bob I caught a couple nice stripers.

      The stripers are chasing fish in the shallows like in 2 to 4 feet water.

      Stripers are starting to move into the Delta system for the next few months feeding heavily getting ready for the spring spawn.

      If you're going out this week, try topwater River2Sea S-Waver and Megabass Megadog.
      Any more questions, come on in to Fisherman's Warehouse and we will get you taken care of.

      Alan Fong
      Fisherman's Warehouse Sacramento
      (916) 362-1200

Wednesday, September 15th, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Couple of the bass I caught yesterday fishing with Warren and Sterling.

      It was a very good day fishing for stripers in the morning until 8am then we started catching lots bass on chatterbaits, Senkos and a few punching.

      Sterling was in the back boat behind Warren and I and was using an underspin with a Keitech and was catching some big bass! Water is pretty clear and the underspin was catching fish behind us!

      Alan Fong

Tuesday, September 14th, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: rom Alan Fong at Fisherman's Warehouse Sacramento

      Yesterday I took out Sterling striper and bass fishing.

      He works for Fisherman's Warehouse repairing reels.

      Tomorrow is his last day at work because he is moving back East with his mom.

      I took him to one of my good areas in the Delta and he caught his PB bass and striper. What a happy guy when we were done! As the weather cools the stripers are moving into the Delta for the winter. It will bust wide open here real shortly!

      We caught limits of stripers and over thirty bass releasing lots of bass in the 3-4.5# Warren was also with us but didn't catch any photo class fish lol

      Alan Fong

Thursday, September 9th, 2021

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: by monte300 » Thu Sep 09, 2021 6:15 am

      Hey guys and gals, my brother and I fished the Delta yesterday and I managed to catch this fish cranking. It's not my PB, but it is the biggest fish I've ever caught on a squarebill. Overall the bite was tough. Murphy's law my scales failed to work and I couldn't find anyone with good scales. One guy had a deliar that showed 6 1/2 pounds, but that fish was at least a pound bigger than that. I checked the length and girth online and it says at 22.5" long and 18" in girth the fish should weight about 7.8 pounds, which sounds about right.

      Tips: https://www.westernbass.com/forum/post657244.html#p657241

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I apologize, forgot to post this! I fished Monday & Wednesday evenings 8/23 & 8/25. Launching & loading the boat was a challenge but I was able to get in both evenings. Monday was fairly active with fish coming on blades, jigs, Texas, & cranks. They seemed to be fairly shallow in 10-12 ft. Fished rocky structure & docks with good success fishing slowly. The smoke was pretty bad as the moonlight was more amber in color! Largest was 4 lb 7 oz with the limit a tad under 20 lbs. Weds night was a different story! Got on the lake around midnight & didn’t get bit until 2 AM! Was about to pack it in with the skunkeroo when I finally picked up a 2 lb Senko fish! I rode a 26 mile bike ride that afternoon & quitting was starting to sound pretty good! Decided to give it 30 more minutes & if it didn’t pick up, I was going home. After about 30 minutes, it was as if the switch flipped & I caught several in succession. They would only hit a Texas rigged red,black beaver, not the jigs reaction or any other plastic, just this one! Ended up with 14 more between 2 - 4.7 lbs & then it was over! Mon I landed 23 fish, Weds 15 with a limit at 16 1/2 lbs & the largest again at 4 lb 7 oz. I was by myself this time & fished behind Buckingham down to Frazier. Not as wild as it has been for me but still caught some fish!

      Tips: I would try using all kinds of techniques until one works for you. I threw everything on the boat Weds until I finally hit a bait they would bite. What amazed me was the total lack of a reaction bite when they were on it on Monday night! I fished fairly slowly & dark colors seemed to be best! Close, rock structure got the most strikes! Hope this helps, I don’t know how long we can put our boats in, but I’ll give it another try soon! Stay safe, be vigilant when you launch, & have fun out there!

Monday, August 30th, 2021

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: Good news, Lake Don Pedro boaters! All of our launch ramps are anticipated to remain open over Labor Day Weekend! Closures are projected later in September based on new lake elevation projections, but current lake levels will allow us to keep all launch ramps open over the holiday weekend.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Report: by ash » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:03 am

      Browns Ravine is closed, the only ramp i know of is the Granite Bay low water ramp. Lake is at 180 not a lot of options. Berryessa or the Delta would be other viable options.

Sunday, August 29th, 2021

    • By

      Report: by MT » Sun Aug 29, 2021 7:33 pm

      No launch.
      No dock
      No water.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Clear Lake’s dropping water level isn’t just presenting challenges to boaters and causing ramp closures, it’s now making it harder for the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol to keep its boats on the water, and county officials are asking for help in identifying hazards on the lake.

      Clear Lake’s level was -1.54 feet Rumsey, the special measure for the lake, early Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, gauge.

      For context, a mean of daily mean values for water years of record for 1913 to 2021 based on USGS data, puts the daily mean lake level for Aug. 27 at 2.31 feet Rumsey.

      In 2014, the last serious drought year the state experienced, the lowest recorded lake level was -0.83 feet Rumsey.

      The lowest level for Clear Lake in the 1977 drought year was -3.39 feet Rumsey, but the lowest lake depth recorded, -3.50 feet Rumsey, was in September 1920, the USGS reported.

      FULL STORY: https://www.lakeconews.com/news/70146-marine-patrol-moves-its-boats-due-to-low-water-water-resources-looks-at-ramp-extensions-seeks-help-identifying-lake-hazards

Thursday, August 26th, 2021

  • Amador County
    • By

      Report: I finally got a chance to get out on Lake Camanche with my buddies Derik Dalton and Casey Cabral from team Jackson Rancheria. I haven’t been out for a while, but the last time I was out a few weeks ago I caught a 12.12. It was my biggest fish at Camanche so far. There is a picture of that below. That fish came on an island top in 20 feet of water with a dropshot.

      Today we started throwing reaction baits first thing in the morning. Derik caught the first fish, A SMALLMOUTH, on a Bass Union double buzzbait! First smallmouth I’ve seen in a few years!

      I caught a few spots on a popper, and Casey started getting a few on a Ned Bait Big TRD on A Frenzy Baits Nail.

      After the first few hours fishing became very challenging, but we did end up with a trifecta; a smallmouth,a spot, and a largemouth!

      It seems like fishing is better the first few hours in the morning, after that we got one here and there, but no good pattern.

      The surface water temperature was 76°.

      The water clarity was about 8 feet in most areas.

      The South Shore ramp is a little rough, but not as long as a walk as the North Shore ramp.

      Remember the lake is very low and there’s still a few obstructions that are not marked. Be careful!

      And a big shout out to my good buddy Earl Dalton for making the APEX!!

      I Hope this helps!
      Good luck fishing!
      stanL

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Prefish day 1
      ML – I fished the southern side of the lake and found fish on a decent pattern but it was pretty nasty down there.

      Prefish day 2
      ML - I then went back to my old stomping grounds where I did pretty well a few years ago in a YAB tournament launching mid lake. During prefish I got about a dozen bites and didn’t set the hook on the fish except for the 2 jerkbait fish.

      Competition day 1
      ML - It was really routine, I didn’t get a bite for the first hour and a half. There wasn’t anything happening in the dark. I fished deep since I couldn’t see the shore but no bites. Once the light started coming up I started throwing a frog. Once I started getting bit on a frog, I switched up to a 5.5” glide bait. Once I had my limit, I switched to a 7.5” glide and started culling. Once the glide bait bite stopped, I started flipping around some really huge submerged boulders with adjacent grass. The wind picked up and started pushing more bait into my area and I stayed within a 100-yard zone cycling different baits. Number one bait for really good fish was a Bobby D’s swim jig that I would pitch, bounce and then swim back to the boat.

      Competition day 2
      ML – I started off in one area close to my initial spot on day one. Again, no bites in the early morning. I only got one bite on the frog and missed it. I switched up to the swim jig and a chatterbait. The wind was blowing and it was cooler so the topwater bite wasn’t happening. Went down the bank with both and was flipping the swim jig and was fishing it like a regular jig. The chatterbait was taking care of a lot, I had back to 22 inch plus fish back to back on the chatterbait. They were pulled off the bank a little bit and were deeper. As the sun came up and things began to warm up, the fish moved back up and I started throwing some topwater and caught a few more. 103 inches that day and I didn’t even know it. I never look at the leaderboard while fishing.

      Competition day 3
      ML - I really didn’t know if the fish were going to be there. I beat them up pretty good the prior two days. I was planning on moving on to another spot located on the opposite side of the lake about 2.25 miles away. The shad school that I found on days 1 and 2 reappeared which was a blessing. They came through and I was able to capitalize on the active feeding fish. I chased the school up the bank. I broke my rod on the third fish and had to switch out. I came back and there were a few fish still hanging out feeding on the shad. I went back with the swim jig and went back to flipping, caught 1 more and I left. All the other fish I caught for the rest of the day didn’t help.

      Weekend wrap up
      ML - Leading up to this weekend (outside of the WWBT at McClure where I finished 5th.), my season has been challenging. I had lots of opportunities to do well but just a bunch of different mistakes. With this competition, you can’t afford to make bad decisions or have bad tournaments. Going into this tournament I told myself I was going to fish the conditions, not force anything and Use baits that I have confidence in. Doing well this weekend really took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I felt like I stuck to my game plan, didn’t get distracted and it paid off

Thursday, July 29th, 2021

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 79.2

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Made it back to fish the moon cycle & found that the bite is still good! Rufino & I fished Monday night thru Wednesday night & averaged 50 fish each night. It was pretty much the same as last time but each night was more lure specific. Monday night was active with jigs & Texas rig, Tuesday night was a torrid blade bite & Wednesday night was Senkos, cranks, & a little of everything else. They seemed to be on rocky structure & with the water being so low, the terrain was a little different than usual. The blade bite worked when we retrieved the blades super slow & the fish just hammered it! All the plastics were fished slowly as well & the Senkos were the 5” wacky rigged. Color seemed to lean towards purple & blue & we were really successful with the color “ junebug”! Our limits averaged in the low to mid 20’s with our biggest being 6 lbs 3 oz with a lot of 5+‘s also being caught. They’re still really strong & full of juice right now & are really fun to catch. We stayed south again hitting rocky points & structure. They were up close to the bank so don’t let shallow water deter you from fishing some areas. The water is pretty clear of slimy weeds for the most part so we were able to throw blades & cranks just about anywhere! We fished from 11pm to daybreak each night & the bite was real steady after moonrise.

      Tips: Fish slowly & once again, if you get bit, stay for awhile as they seem to be schooled up. They are actively feeding & once you find the right target lure, they will nail it! There were a few places that I thought would be great, but we got skunked on those so if there’s no activity, leave for another spot! Be careful as the water is low & pay attention to your depth. Stay safe & have fun out there!

Monday, July 26th, 2021

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: by Jboutfishn » Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:07 pm

      Launched at Sugarloaf, 6:00 am, what a pit. the dock (for what it's worth) is at an angle to the ramp which is Old Hwy 99. Left side of road is deeper that the right, always fun loading. If I did not have an annual pass I would launch at Bridge Bay. Rant over.

      Lost several Sencos to what I perceived to be small fish on the Sac. Tried a shaky head with 7 inch Robo worm. All small. Ran over to the Pit/McCloud area picked up a 2lb 9 oz spot, had another on felt about the same, lost it. Both on green pumpkin Senco.

      11:00 am, getting hot, Headed home.

Monday, July 12th, 2021

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: by Pat » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:58 am

      I was at Redbud and the Oaks on Tuesday and Wednesday July 6 & 7. Both are usable, but be cautious. I recommend using your trolling motor anytime you are inside the buoys/channel markers. A few weeks ago I tagged a rock coming into Redbud when the wind pushed me to the left a little ways. Stay inside the channel markers, those are the Red and Green buoys. You want the red on your right coming in (Red, Right, Returning) and on your left going out. It was still safe to use your big motor to power onto the trailer. As the picture shows, the algae at the Oaks is BAD, and it stinks. I attribute this to the fairly consistent wind from the NW blowing it in and then it just stays there and continues to grow.. At one point Clearlake Tackle was saying they were going to close after 4th of July, last week they were still open and indicated they are no longer planning to close, at least for the near term.

Friday, July 9th, 2021

    • By

      Report: by jiggin4bass » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:49 pm

      The docks are out of the water
      They are still releasing water down about 25 feet
      It very low and alot of hazards
      Surface temp 85° today
      Be careful if your planning on fishing there.