Submit
Report

Northern California Lake Fishing Report

Limit:

Friday, May 25th, 2001

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: N/A

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished or 6 hours hard today managed to get 3 bass to bite along the tulie line in honker bay. Nothing over 2 lbs very tough bite on rainbow worms. Threw cranks and spinnerbaits to no avail. Bite lasted about 1 hour. nothing else doing. All in all a very good day or chabot. nice weather calm winds couldn't have asked or anything else.
      City: Castro Valley

      Tips: Have patience while ishing this lake, and i you catch one o our bass please practice (Picture and release) thank you

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished riday with wie she has developed a new way to ish bedsusing a rattle trap by dancing it on the bed or chaising the ewmalewith it. The ish hate this and take the lure. Also just swimmingit around the area it is taken by the ish. I had good luck with a 6"chartruse tube, the males just hammered it. Lots o cruising ish ridayjust wont bite, but still ound some beds to play with. Also caught a ew o o henderson at about 12 - 16 eet dead sticking a hula grub. We caught 8 ish 2lbs to 5lbs not bad or post spawn.
      City: Sacramento

    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the BasinBassmasters club tournament on Saturday the 19th. We were not alone ... Redwood Empire and BFL both had tournaments going or over 100+ boats hittin' the hot spots. Fishing docks was like being in the drive-up at Taco Bell ... I think the ish thought so too.We got 5 bites all day. 1st ish on a clown-color blade, 6:30am at the North end, entrance to the river inlet. 2nd ish on small plastic worm in a small mooring area on the N. West Side. My Son-in-Law Dano missed a nice one in the same area on a Snagproo Frog.With 10 minutes let to ish, we were skipping small plastic worms around docks on the North Shore o the Lake, near Lakeport. We needed two ish to ill our 5-ish limit when I stuck a beautiul 6 1/2 pounder. We inished irst with our ish at 14.16 pounds, and big ish o the event.
      City: Auburn

      Tips: High-pressured water called or inding something in the tackle box dierent than what everyone else was throwing. What worked 4 years ago just might be working again. :-)

Thursday, May 24th, 2001

  • Plumas County
    • By

      Water Temp: 67

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Almanor was great today. On the water late, around 7amhowever the smallmouth are up and hitting just about anything. Work the rocks and stumps. Shad raps, roque's and plastic Caught and release about 20 ish up to 1pm. Have a good weekend and enjoy
      City: susanville

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got there when at 6am and ished all day. Thougth we would get in our licks beore the holiday crowd.We started working south end tules and weedbeds with Zara Spooks and caught 2 right away about 3lbs. a piece. Then moved to the narrows and worked let side, but nothing.Moved up just pass the narrows on the right and worked the tules and weedbeds there and ound some nice ish in the weeds.What we did was dropshotted a baby brushhog(sour/grape} with a 1/4oz. weight.on 12lbs.P-Line Green.Pitched the weed pockets or any opening you could ind and kept the boat in 10 to 15 t. o water. Shimano worked the outside and I worked the inside and picked up 6 ish 2-3lbs. in that one stretch o weeds.Finished up the day with 20 or so bass,1 catish and 1 trout dragging a nite crawler.
      City: Fremont

      Tips: Start on top and work your way down. Alot o ish still haven't spawned yet. Catch & Release. And only keep what you eat.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 77-80 deg

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished South Fork Wednesday evening. All o the Spots and occasionallarge mouth we have been sticking were shut o. Started down sizingbaits. We started picking spots up throwing white crappie jigs.Caught 10 spots 1.5 to 2.5. I have been ishing Folsom or at least 10 years, even though at times I hate the Lake. I saw more boat traicon Wednesday evening then I have seen on the week ends in years past.The ramp was the biggest circus I have ever seen, including some guy tryingto back down on top o my Champion. I you are going to Folsom beware, the idiotsare out in ull orce.
      City: El Dorado Hills

      Tips: Fish are very lethargic. Grubs and reapers are usually the ticketthis time o year but nada. I you can't eed them a mealeed them a snack.

  • Mendocino County
    • By

      Water Temp: dunno

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: i actually didn't ish but this is or scot.
      City: RP

      Tips: I used to go out there every memorial weekend but not or the last 2 years or so. But it seems alot o striper luck has been trolling minnows under a split shot or two at the lat next to the mouth o the river. Also right around ther corner rom that past the small rock wall there is a big drain pipe that shoots into the water ishing o that at about 7 am is good also. For large, small, punkin, crappie ish the northern bank when you can. watch out or kids. I have seen some monster bass while ishing there. The oddest thing i have ever seen o that bank is a 16" crappier being caught by a 10 YO punk i was campin with on a peice o HOTDOG (???). I dunno how he did it but it was a nice ish.-+

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 66-71

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I was out yesterday doing the sheri thing and was minding my own business close to the bank when i noticed this massive spot cruising by this particular piece o landscape, sooooooooo I just had to get out there this am, in a Bailey at 555am, air temp 66 water at 67, lake at 24t and dropping about 8-10 inches per day, ran up the McCloud to this place and eased back into a little hole and dropped a little bit o everything on this ish, she/he was still there and must have been asleep, so move out a bit and get into the dinks, dink ater dink ater dink, The MGM 127 and 109 accounted or the irst 15, ater that I went to a big jig trying to scare them away, that didn't work or 12 more dinks, provided lunch or an osprey when a 10 incher swallowed a jig not much shorter than the dink. Two other ellows rolled up on me and were throwing lukes with the same result, lake was lat and today was a beautiul Shasta day, heat started to build so i let , out a 1030, temp up to 89 and climbing ast, the Oregon group will be here Friday along with UC davis, this was the worst bunch last year, hopeully they will mind their manners this year.
      City: Redding

      Tips: 127 4 inch and the MGM 109 in a 3 inch reaper was used as well as a brown on brown jig with 3/8 and 5/8 oz jig head, the heavier jig got hit with great authority but the ish were all small. Oh well what the heck, I went up into Nosoni Creek this am, she's laying under the irst willow sticking up on your let as u go back in the cove, gotta go at least 6.5 maybe 7 lbs, shoulders like a linebacker, I gotta work the next 4 straight anyhow

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2001

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Laucned out of Capell today by myself at 5:20 a.m. Headed to the first point I saw to get my line in the water fast. Caught 2 right out of the launch in five minutes. Caught 2 more in the next 20 min. All on magic worms. Threw out the topwater even though the timing was getting late for topwater. Headed to a nice point, and BAM, 4 casts, 4 smallies. Missed about 10 more in the next 15 minutes. Ended up fishing the bagic worms on very rocky walls, and brought in 12 for the day. Left at 11am. Not a bad day.
      City: Vacaville

      Tips: Fish are in transition and are beginning to suspend. Slow your baits down and go down to nearly 30 feet. Also, if you want to have a blast, get out EARLY and get the topwatr bite that lasts until about 7am. Talk about fun! Good luck!

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75-76

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started at 5am in ourty nine creek area.Caught the irst ish at app 5:30 & the last one at 12:30 pm..Next stop was Blue oaks area & inished up in the dam area...Caught 18 bass,all on worms & grubs rom 5 t too 15 t deep.We had seven that probley weighted 12 lbs.Some were caught on the all,very light bit.Last one caught was the largest,about 21/2 lbs.,Cali. worn on a 1/4 oz. darter head,15 t...Only caught 3 on the senko.
      City: Riv

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Caught ish all day, irst on skitter pop, then a shad spro crankbait, when they stopped hitting that went to a split shot worm. Had alot o dinks but it was un, best 5 went near 12 lbs. In all had over 35 ish.
      City: Manteca

      Tips: Start on top and work your way down to the bottom. Shad pattern working or me, good luck.

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 71

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I spent Tues and Wed on Oroville, and had some great ishing. I didn't know i the heat o the past ew days would aect the bite or not, but it didn't slow it down, that's or sure. Tues, I just wanted my clients to have a lot o un and get a lots o bites - and they did!! We started in the main body around 5:30 am and got a ew topwater ish on Chugbugs. I again had my clients ishing #62 and 84 Magic worms, Texas rigged, starting about 7 am. We ished mostly in the middle ork. They took great delight in counting every bass, which were all spots, so I know I am very accurate in saying we caught 56 total. Lots o them were under 12", and most in the slot. You have heard the expression "it took 50 to catch a good one". Well, we were stuck on 49, so I decided to put on a #66 (blue ghost), and bass number 50 was 16 1/4 inches!!, our only over-the-slot ish. We drop-shotted a ew, caught a couple on jigs too, but that bite is slowing down. #66 and 64 Magic worms were good colors too. Today's trip was dierent in that I was teaching a ellow how to ish the north ork, so we looked at the meter as much as we ished. It was quite dierent to start the day by landed our irst two that were over the slot - his on a #62 Magic worm and mine on topwater. We wound up with 21 total in a 7 hour trip. I was amazed that we only caught 2 dinks today, around 6 rom 12 to 13 inches, and all others 14 inches and over. Most o our spots were 14 to 14 3/4 inches. I just ound that very interesting. We saw ry all over the creek arms; I hope they ine enought cover to hide in. We saw small spots chasing them already! I, too, tried the midday topwater thing a bit, and had three or our good blowups on spooks and Chugbugs, bug missed them - they all missed the plug. All o our bass were caught, both days, rom about 8 to 35 eet. Many bass are suspended o walls, and they are starting to eed heavily on baitish.
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: I have ound that the post-spawn bass will hit a Texas rigged worm as well, i not better, than a split-shot rig. Later in the season, splitshotting seems to work better. We were using 6 inch worms - some bit o to 5 inch. I think the thicker body worms may attract larger ish.

    • By

      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the main lake and the middle ork today. Fished rom 6:30 to 1:30. 22 ish on a Pop-R ,6 on a worm. Top water worked all day. Big ish was a 3lb 9oz spot on the Pop-R.
      City: Marysville

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Good top water bite starting at about 7:30PM in the "rock piles"Lots o bites last night but only landed one Largemouth 14"
      City: Weaverville

      Tips: Both the Pop-R and an AC Shinner were working when cast about 5' rom shore.

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2001

  • Santa Clara County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Stuck 6 today, best day in a while! Biggest was a 4.2 lber, nice fish! The rest were from 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. All fish fought real hard! Lost a bigger one about 1/2 hour before landing the 4.2 lber. I caught a glimpse of her, I'd say 7lbs easy... ow well, too bad.
      City: santa clara

      Tips: Senkos did the trick! i Love these things!

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Stuck 6 today, best day in a while! Biggest was a 4.2 lber, nice fish! The rest were from 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. All fish fought real hard! Lost a bigger one about 1/2 hour before landing the 4.2 lber. I caught a glimpse of her, I'd say 7lbs easy... ow well, too bad.
      City: santa clara

      Tips: Senkos did the trick! i Love these things!

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished hard or 8 hours using everything. Managed only one largemouth (3lbs.) on a green senko. My hat is o to Ryan and the other bass isherman who call Chabot their home lake or being able to have the success they do. I have ished 9 dierent bodies o water in CA and ind Chabot to be the most diicult.
      City: Seaside, CA

      Tips: Try ishing deeper, ater 4 trips and only 2 small ish, there doesn't seem to be much action in shallow water.

Monday, May 21st, 2001

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I started up north, ishing all the looded rock piles. We caught a couple, but nothing to brag about. Tried a new spot arther up and caught a couple more. I decided to try the peninsula campground area, and got into some spots and smallmouth spitting up shad. We tried one more area by the south ork, and got a nice smallie on a pop r at 2:30 and 120 degrees. My guess is either late or early, because I only got two good ish. good luck.
      City: El Dorado Hills

      Tips: Pink, salt&pepper, chartruese tails, or anything in a shad imitator.Fish wind blown banks.

    • By

      Water Temp: warmer

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: No report on this lake, however or non regular visitors be aware this is the season or intense recreational boating- the kind you get with over a million people and only one lake. Got a report on Clearlake in a minute. I'm a weekend warrior and my outings here in the summer are early morning and they are capped o by a little ramp rage at the end sometimes. it's a volitile situation- 19 year olds bloated with testosterone rom aluent amilies trying to launch thier wake board boats and me trying to get mine back on the trailer. At Brown's Ravine the main ramp that has adaquate size is under water during the summer- that engineer was a genius, leaving only the steep, narrow sailboat ramp. These boys try to see around their rack bristling with equipment (they look like russian ishing trawlers) and it makes or a circus. I'll be out there only occationally rom now until September. Submitting these reports has worked out great. My riends have stopped talking to me- wow, the power o the internet. Fished a club tournament a Clearlake. Once lived in Ukiah (now you undertand) and ishing Clearlake takes me back a decade or so. I was in a club there, and back in the day we had a couple decent anglers. One o them, Jim Reese, has a kid brother that's a air country stick. I decided to go as a boater this time- I had all that current experience to all back on. Such is the luck o the draw or the non-boater. Four ish or 11.5lbs. Beore the trip I consulted with a couple buddies. one suggeted the post spawn conditions might require ultra inesse techniques like weightless plastic worms and small poppers. I'm ok with that as long as nobody sees me. At the end o a worthless preish day I was in a slough looking desperately or shallow, dirty water action when low, hung on a reed was a popper somebody snagged. I was lipping so I was close and I could see it wasn't corroded, it was a good color, and it turned out to be an import boutique popper just like my buddy suggested. Game day I tied that bad boy on and two bass a 3.5 and 2.5. Not in the slough- a clear water area. My partner wasn't exactly a ish magnet either except later when we started on a point at Clearlake Oakes Beach Club and Resort. Behind the boat a catish rolls up and gives a wink to my partner. It was old and beat-up about 8 t 10lbs and my partner had to wink back. Great. All we needed some deadbeat resort pet beach bum catish globbing on to us. I put the trolling motor on high and motored a couple hundred yards accross the bay and he showed up again! From then on our Karma was shot- no action rom 9am on. My partner nailed a 4.5 and a keeper on a Senko and he was done by 6:30. Maybe we should not have blown o the riendly approaches o a harmless old catish looking or some attention. We were in the south out o Redbud and three o the our came rom the Konocti side. Some o the locals are pretty colorul. On practice day I was extracting the treble hooks out o another boats anchor rope again when a ellow on the bank shut down his riding mower. From inside he house someone yells "Hey Vern you're a pretty good whacker!" Vern says "Yeah you ought to see me cut grass too!" true story. At Clearlake signs that say just say no to crack have people pulling up thier Jeans. I Clearlake were a state Je Foxworthy would be govenor.
      City: El Dorado HIlls

      Tips: Fish somewhere else until all

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Shadow Clis today rom 9am till 3pm. This was a hot day and not ideal or ishing rom an aluminum boat (100 degrees plus the heat rom the boat). Caught 2 bass in the AM on the weed edges using rapala stick baits light geen/yellow and red belly (both 2lbs released)-- saw a couple o hogs but they weren't intersted in anything that I was throwing. Then decided to do some trout ishing with my new portable depth inder. 3 trout with rainbow powerbat in 35 - 50 eet o water (middle o lake towards back shoreline). Lots o trout were clocked/caught 3-5 eet o o the bottom. Noticed that this lake is very eatureless once you get past 15' o water. Anyone have any suggestions on how to ish this lake or bass other than the back lakes?
      City: Sunnyvale, Ca

      Tips: On hot days be sure to bring sun block. Read "Circle on Bass" by Homer Circle -- 'Ten casts and change lures. This way I let bass tell me which lure, color and action they want.' This worked or me today. This book can most likely be ound at your local library. Tight lines.