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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Saturday, November 24th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54 - 58 degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Luanched the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1" about 9:00 a.m. and was out by 2:30 p.m. Not much to report this time due to the fog I stayed and fished around the marina until it cleared. Cuaght my first bass on the "A" Rig about a four pounder and the other 7 bass using my last 6" PLine Kick R Minnow. Finally got to hit the main channel, first checking out the Calaveris River, tried alittle bit of every thing here and no bites. Following my original plan ran out to Big Al's Light 19, could not get it figured out here either, but did manage to catch a small striper on the "A" Rig which I used as a search bait.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: patterns change as the weather conditions change. High blue sky I should of gone finesse. :-P

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Friday 11-23-12, my buddy, his son and I launched from Russo’s near low tide (8:00 AM). Right away, several fish were caught on a Bass Assassin and a jerk bait. After having no luck with a Rattle Trap, I also switched to a jerk bait. At least 2 hours passed before our next bite which was a 4 lb. 2 oz. bass. It was caught on a point at a break entering into Franks Track. From this spot and around the point on the outside of Franks Track where there was deep water, we caught at least 10 more fish on Jerk baits. There were no fish as we moved further away from the point. We found several more similar points with a school of fish on each. Most of the fish were just under size to just keepers, nothing bigger. We then moved to the back of Sand Mound Slough to see if we could locate a school of stripers. No luck after trying for an hour. Next we moved to the North end of Piper Slough along Franks Track. We immediately started marking fish on the sonar and catching small black bass and striped bass on our jerk baits. On my last cast of the day just as the sun was setting, I hooked and landed a 6 lb. 6 oz striper. We ended the day with well over 40 black bass and 6 stripers.
      City: Pinole

      Tips: If you catch one fish at a location stay there, most likely there is a school. As the sun was getting low in the sky, the striped bass bite seemed to turn on. I would assume the same could be said for a good striper bite as the sun was coming up. We also had some striper bites vertical jigging a spoon over fish we were making on the sonar. But we ran out of sun to find out if there was a consistent bite with this technique.

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: After getting my Ranger Z521 tuned up with the good folks at C&C Marine in Sacto, I decided to head to Amador for a few hours of fishing before heading home. I know the storm was clearing and the bite would be tough. It did clear bringing the bright winter half moon and a cold, damp night. Actually, from about 5 pm 'til 8 pm, I did catch 5 bass with the biggest at 3 3/4 lbs. I think I lost 3. The bite was fair at dark and 2 hrs after, but once the cold moist air set in, the bite died - as it usually does. This was the first night of the winter wet dew which soaks everything in the boat - usually killing the bite. That is why cloudy winter nights are best - the warm afternoon air doesn't rise at dark while cold moist air sinks. Bass generally don't respond well to those conditions - and last night was no exception. I did enjoy my new steel trolling motor rope (cable?) made by Danny Miller. It worked great - no more worries!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: I tried topwater before dark with no results. I threw Yamamoto Flappin' Hogs and D&M Piranha swim jigs most of the time. I got bites on both but the hogs worked the best. Most bass were on points with connecting flats. All were about 20 feet deep. All my bites were pretty solid in spite of the crummy conditions.

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Tried out shore fishing at Lime saddle this am from 7am to 9:30am. Surprised, surprise, 23 spots, 1 15 1/4" 2 14 1/2" the rest 13-14". Nearly ever cast had a hit. Missed maybe 6 or so.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Fished Texas rigged roboworms slow, light as weight as possible. Better fish are deep.

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Epic fishing today, Thanksgiving Day. Huge schools of Shad with hundreds of Steelhead and Bass underneath. Crystal Clear water and the fish were biting well. Caught over 30 bass myself and caught 2 limits of Steelhead between my dad and I. Best freshwater fishinf I have ever seen. Caught on castmasters and 2.5 inch Rapala Countdown.
      City: San Diego

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Just wanted to say thanks to Dave and Larry for posting so often and being specific. I'm way up north where the water dips into the low 40's and high 30's so needless to say I have a hard time finding fish on my lake. well real fish...bass. So it's nice to read about whats goin on at Clear Lake. Gets me through the winter. I did go to Clear Lake last winter but blanked....big lake! Planning on trying it again here soon. Just being on that lake and the potential is exciting. Thanks again
      City: Weaverville, CA

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58-62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Lake seem to have turned over, much more consistant bite than last week. We got 1 bite last week on a crankbait, a nice smallie 2.5 lbs. Yesterday we got around 20 bites all on 1/2oz. jigs. All solid 2.5 to 3 lb. LG and 1 nice Smallie 3.5. They all look healthy and ready for the next years spawn.
      City: Bay Area

      Tips: We moved around some but when we got bit we worked the area. Concentrate on rock walls, wind blown banks 15 to 30 ft. Feel the bottom and be ready when you come over a rock and it starts to fall, that's when we got bit. They hit it Good!
      Go fish and post. Goodluck!

Monday, November 19th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58 - 61 degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Luanched the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1" out of Ladd's about 8:30 a.m. and was off the water by 2:30 p.m. A total of 8 LM Bass ( just over 20 lbs 5 fish limit) and 23 stripers today. Started out fishing in Calaveris River today when I spotted all the birds. Used the Delta Schooling Rig (aka "A" Rig), Rat-L-Traps, jigging spoon, and the Robo Worm Easy Shad swimbait w/weighted EWG Gammi. A nice 4 pound LM bass hit my Delta Schooling Rig. After a while I decided to try Dad's Point area and the Turning Basin, nothing there so went back to the Calaveris River to catch more stripers. A 1:00 p.m. I decided to head back to the luanch ramp at Buckley Cove. From the mouth of the cove I fished my way back in using PLines New 6" Kick R Minnow. Cuaght seven more LM Bass along the deep side of the docks, two were in the 6 pound class.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: Lost a 10+ pound striper at the boat on my Delta Schooling Rig becuase a snap broke open. I reccomend watching Matt Allan's video about his tips on the "A" Rig. I'm cutting off the snaps and replacing them with split rings for next time.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Weather: rainy
      Lake Level: 1.61 and rising!!\Best Depths: 2-30
      Swimbaits, rattle baits both working. I went minnow fishing thursday and targeted catfish.We caught 9 cats 10-16 # and 10 bass to 5# in about 6 hours
      Big Bass: 2-3011/18/2012 - 11.67
      John Pearl caught a 11.67 in WON toc
      Events: not many tournaments till next year
      Guide Information: clearlake outdoors\Name & Number: 707-262-5852

      Tips: lots of big bags in toc . two over 60 # for two days ,congrats to Paul and Brian Bailey on the WON win
      lots of 20- 30 # limits

Saturday, November 17th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Following my own safety rules about stormy days and the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1", the 12 foot boat stayed in the garage, and I enjoyed bank fishing today between 11:00 a.m. to about 5:00 p.m. Ended up with 8 LM Bass and 3 stripers on PLines new 6" Kick'R Minnow swimbaits. See my forum post about the full details and a bonus catch at the beginning of my day.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: Adapt to changing situations and be prepared for any thing........hint...hint....wish I had a net. :-P

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: No largemouth or smallmouth. Fished the 16th, too, using deep cranks on the shoals/breaks and jigs in the trees. Rained both days off and on. Caught a 4# striper in the narrows just before lake closing on a big shallow running minnow bait. They were boiling the exact same time the next day, too. I spent a lot of time trolling through bait schools. Throwing deep divers and big striper plugs and swimbaits will wear you out.

      Tips: None for bass. Another boater I say caught what looked to be a 10-15# striper shallow on a 10" swimbait and lost another throwing at the seagulls.

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

    • By

      Water Temp: 62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Skunked. Winds calm. Water level low, almost all tules out of the water.
      Saw another boat get a strike on a frog on some mats but that was it.
      City: Monterey

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Ladd's at 7:00 am, fished Fourteen Mile Slough and caught 5 keepers in the first three hours; thr largest one was 3 lbs and the rest went 1.5 to 2 lbs. caught all on crankbait, shallow diver. Tried sweet beaver, senko, and jigs but no bites. Got off the water at 11:30. Lots of boats in fourteen mile slough today.
      City: Sactramento

Monday, November 12th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56 - 60 degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Luanched the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1" out of Ladd's around 11:30 a.m. and was out by 4:00 p.m. Worked some main channels spots with jerk baits and blk/red jigs. Also checked out the north wall near the pump house in 14 Mile Slough today. 3 LM bass and 2 stripers, the stripers hit my jerk baits while the bass hit my jigs.
      City: Stockton

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: around 60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Weather: clear cold, its down in the high 20 s in the mornings, 60 daytime
      Lake Level: 1.12 above rumsey\Best Depths: 1-30
      not many reports coming in but the minnow guys are doing real well with a few big catfish mixed in
      Big Bass: 1-30
      11.0 and a 11.10 last week both on minnows around 20 ft deep
      Events: WON Bass team TOC this coming weekend
      Guide Information: clearlake outdoors\Name & Number: 707-262-5852

      Tips: pick up some minnows and go have fun

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62 - 63

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: What a difference a week makes weather wise the fishing was still great. It was cold out on the water and unlike the mirror calm water of last weekend the wind made the lake full of ripples but the trout were still in abundance if you knew where to fish. I started out earlier this Saturday because of the time change. We launched just before 9 AM my crew included Albert, Brandi and Jeremy. We started fishing as soon as we left the launch ramp because of the masses of birds in the water thinking they might be feeding on bait fish but that was not the case so I headed to the west side going towards the Bureau. We hooked one trout before what used to be Spanish Flats but didn't see too much activity so we headed across the lake to the east side where we had good luck last week. It worked again we landed eight nice size trout up to three pounds each. I decided to try the area around Big Island and was able to see good size baitballs on my fishfinder. We fished the area going back and forth through the baitballs and hit limits for all of us. We headed in at around 2:30 PM (see photos). It was a great day of fishing. Hints for successful trout fishing are good polarized sunglasses (I wear Hobies) the proper scents (I use Pro-Cure) and I like lures that dive between 5 and 12 feet and the best colors this weekend seemed to be silver and blue.
      'til next week................................................................good fishing!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
      City: Napa

      Tips: Call with stories.where you caught fish.what you used.need info.want to book a trip.how deep where you fishing and what color did you use,

Saturday, November 10th, 2012

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59 - 61 degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Luanched the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1" out of Ladd's today about 11:00 a.m. and was out by 4:00 p.m. Total of 8 bass today with a 3 pound big fish. Finesse was the ticket for me Mojo shotting 4" Magic Worms on the sunny side of rock banks and points in 10 - 15 feet of water.
      City: Stockton

  • Ventura County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: It's been a long hiatus for me from Casitas but my freezer is plugged with bluefin/dodo's and yellowtail. I got out sporadically this summer and found the fish less than enthusiastic about my idea of what should be working. I got out last weekend but was off the lake at 10:00 because of obligations. On this Saturdays tripas I made my way along my first stretch of water I came across some active meter marks and tried a number of baits until I caught the fish on a dropshot robo worm 4 inch in red crawler in 30 feet of water. I kept it up with only the worm in my hand for about 20 minutes when I noticed a fish scale on the tip of the treble hook on my ¾ oz. Chrome Hopkins shorty.It was the first bait I dropped on the meter mark that morning. I started driving about using my spoon and I had 4 fish when I left early. This Saturday I went fishing for the whole day. I brought it all but found that I did best by using my electronics to scan for action and then work over that area with the spoon. I had some initial tackle malfunctions that cost me but I sat down and changed out my reel to my green Curado with some fresh 10 pound maxima clear. Back to fishing. It boiled down to fishing super shear main lake banks anywhere from 30 to 50 feet with the spoon and a fresh #4 red Gamagatsu treble hook. I landed 13 fish but missed many opportunities as I slowly became more confident in presentation/water depth/location. While I did fish as much wood as I could find, it was not a determining factor in my catching fish. The shad where being pushed by the western grebes in a big circle all day long and the wind was blowing pretty stiff and cold with water temps at 68 which was down 2 degrees from the week before. The shad that I saw with my eyes in that open water were really, really small. I had thought that my BPS tungsten spoon because of it's smaller size would match the hatch better and get me more fish but the fish wanted the bait to be moved slowly sometimes just dangled and other times with some more flutter to it so the Hopkins was the bait that caught my fish. I foul hooked 3 fish this day and they were all dinks. I had a 21/2- to - 3lb. pound average on the fish. I caught 7 in one stretch of about 50 feet along the shore and caught 3 and dumped 2 on another spot. So it's not pie in the sky fish catching everywhere. You have to work for every fish by being ready for the bite and then be ready to pop a few in a few drops When my mind starts to wander to other baits I just started to focus more on my electronics. Great tool that HDS10-Lss1 on the trolling motor. I am starting my can it be ????3rd year using it and I am still constantly learning about my bite with it. Best investment I ever made. I am sure that there are other bites going on that the guys who followed the fish all this year are on but this worked for me right out of the gate so I will continue to refine it.I am positive that I am shutting off my fish by releasing them as fast as I can right on top of where I caught them but hey it's just fun fish'n!!!
      City: Ojai

      Tips: If your new to the spoon than read my article on Cachuma in the library section of this website.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Had my personal best days on Clear Lake with my 5 best fish totaling over 25 lbs. the weather was cold but clear and windy all day. We found all out fish shallow on crankbaits on the wind blown banks. We tried several types of plastics and jigs in the deeper water, but couldn't find many bites so we went back to crankbaits. Landed my best fish of the day at 6.7 lbs around 3:00 off a rock pile.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: We wee surprised at just how shallow these fish were for November. Work the points.

Friday, November 9th, 2012

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Finally - the water is beginning to cool! I had a half-day trip today with a "crowded" boat - 4 from the same family! Grandpa down to the 10 yr old. None had too much fishing experience, so I had my work cut out - in a post-front day - with air temp just above 50 degrees. And just a few bass boats!!! No problem! We started about noon and finished about 4:30 pm. Surprise - the fishing was pretty good. One of the party landed a 2 lb 2 oz spot and another almost 2. Another landed one that I measured several times - 14 7/8. Almost a hero! A few more 14 inchers landed by them and a few dinks chasing baits all the way to the boat! Interesting that all their bass were in the 14 to 17 inch size! I was pretty pleased since three of them caught bass while grandpa lost the 3 or 4 he hooked.
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: Because of the short time period, we never got too far away from the dam. Most of their bass were caught drop-shotting 6" Robo worms in various colors with a chartreuse tail. Morning dawn was the best, followed by Witches "T". Creek channels with steep rock was our top structure. Average depth was 30 to 40 feet. Glad I'm not night fishing tonight! Brrrr!!!!