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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74-77

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I took two very nice people to Berryessa yesterday (Tues) and found the fishing to be pretty good for a bluebird, HOT summer day. Luckily, though the water was flat without a hint of a breeze all day, it did have some color to it which I think helped the bite. One of my guests was Clara Ricabal, world record holder (female) for the 7-2 lb spotted bass she caught with me last year at Bullards.Bar. The other was recent Shasta Lake tournament winner Alex Niapas who single handedly put Shasta on the map with his 13+ lb largemouth and 8 lb spotted bass. Yea - everyday stuff at Shasta!!
      I think the two good friends had a nice day with me as we each caught 5 nice bass with Alex spoiling our record with the only dink - LOL!!!

      Alex and I shared the sort-of big fish honors with a spot and largemouth that were just under 3 lbs. If Clara would have just stop catching smallmouth early in the trip - we would have had a bigger limit! But she saved herself at the end of the trip, in the narrows, by catching a really nice,
      quality smallie - a least 2 1/2 lbs. Considering the brutal weather conditions, I was happy with some good action and our best five pushing 14 lbs.

      Tips: I saw little or no bait on the meter which can be common during the post-spawn. We found one big area of bait and small fish that were scattered all over the screen - typical for post-spawn time. I found my best bite on the smaller Yamamoto Chigger Craw (green pumpkin). They were using Senkos and other jig-like baits. As typical post-spawn bites, we found fish at all depths - very shallow to around 25 feet. Talk about scattered!! Makes the guide work too hard!!!

      I guess part of the fun of post-spawn fishing is finding the recovering active feeders and their location (depth). I guess that's fun??

      Good day yesterday - except taking the boat out when it is 100 degrees!!

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74-80F

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got out first thing monday morning to break in the new Ghost trollingmotor. We found them quick by positioning the boat in 14 ft of water on gradually tapered banks near the main lake. We used chatter baits, underspins, and texas rigs to produce the majority of our fish. Chatter bite died as soon as sun got higher and wind simmered down. We moved offshore in the afternoon and continued to catch them on the T-rig and dropshot.

      Tips: It seemed like if we were not around grass or deeper water we would not get bit. The combination of submerged trees, grass, and chunk rock provided the best results. The afternoon fish came in about the same depth however the fish positioned themselves closer to the deeper water or ends of points.

Saturday, May 30th, 2020

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: My son and I fished out of Russo's Marina while the wind had dropped off for a few hours. We did get caught in the rain but that just fired up the bite. We headed to the back of Franks track, found an area out of the wind and started tossing a Green Shaky Head with a watermelon or Green Pumpkin 6 inch senko with a tail. We caught 22 decent sized fish with the biggest just under 3lbs. So much fun and so happy to be back on the water.

Thursday, May 28th, 2020

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 66.6-70.4

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We fished for 6 night’s starting Thurs. Weather was windy on the first night, calm for 4 nights then windy last night. We were boating around 30 fish an evening except Tues we had 45 & Weds 24. Our limits ranged 25-30lbs except last night when our limit was a little over 34 lbs. Last night, Ted drew a pair of queens! They went 7 lbs 11 oz & 9 lbs even! The patterns were scattered, what they would hit one night, they wouldn’t touch the next! They were fairly consistent with the Texas rig & jigs, however. The best baits had red flake in them. The blade & crank bite was hit & miss & We couldn’t buy a Senko or swim bait bite at all. They were deep & seemed to prefer a slow presentation. We also managed an 8 lb 9 oz on Tues night with a lot of fish in the 4-61/2 range so size has been good! There were some spots where they were stacked. Tues we were on one spot for over an hour & boated 20 fish! We even had a pair of ducks jump in the boat to say hello! We fished south & fishing right now is really good!

      Tips: A slow & short presentation worked best for us. Browns & greens with red flakes seemed best. Our best two Texas baits were brushhogs & double wide beavers, the best jig trailer was the sweet beaver. When we got into a blade bite, we were rolling it slowly to where you could just feel the blades thump. When they hit it, POW! We don’t know how good the bite is north as we didn’t have to venture up there, but it should be good as well. If you feel a little heaviness or pressure on your line while jigging or Texas rigging, be careful as they were picking up the baits & swimming with them. Ted’s 9 deadweighted until she saw the boat, then it was on! He at first thought he’d snagged some submerged wood! Anyway, fish is great right now if you get the chance to get out. Stay safe & have fun!

Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68 thru 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing with Sid

      Subject: Fishing with Sid




      
      After many months of waiting to get back on the lake and fish this Memorial Day Weekend was perfect. The weather was ideal the fishing conditions great and just being outdoors was wonderful. With having to be house bound for so long I was eager to get back to what I love to do. I took out my son’s friend Spo (who is like a son to me) the first day out. We had a good time and he limited out with five nice bass. The next day I took Roxanne and Andrew out. It was their twentieth wedding anniversary and they wanted to go for a day of bass fishing. Besides the bass they landed they caught a good size trout (see photo). I think they will do this trip with me yearly they had a great day. My son Henry landed a six pound bass (see photo). I got to take my buddy Albert and his grandson Daniel out on Sunday afternoon and we stayed out till dark. We fished all over the lake and each one of us caught limits of quality bass from 2 1/2 to 4 pounds. It was a really good weekend for fishing and I hope it’ll continue this way through the summer.
      t’ll next time...............................good fishing!!!

      If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or are interested in booking a guided fishing trip please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.

      Thanks,
      Sid

      Tips: knowledge of the lake helps in finding the good spots
      using scents on your bait attracts more fish, I use Pro-Cure scents

  • Butte County
    • By

      Report: by Joe daddy » Tue May 26, 2020 4:05 am

      So just been laying low lately. Some how I got my hands on a picture worthy fish from oroville awhile back. I believe enough time has passed so I’m going to post it.
      The fishing story-
      So, jitterbug and I were out beating the banks up like we do. On our way back up we run into a guy with his girlfriend walking down the ramp. We start b s ing with them and dude is like ‘yeah my buddy caught an 8 pounder the other day.’ So we were like ‘oh that’s cool take it easy’ and proceeded on our walk up. After that of course we were joking back and forth yeah I caught a 5 pounder, yeah I had a 6 pounder on but she broke me off.
      So, the next day by chance jb runs into one of his old high school buddys. They shortly got to talking about fishing when jbs buddy says one of the kids he coaches caught an 8 pounder at oroville and sent him this picture.
      All this transpired in early April.

Friday, May 22nd, 2020

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68 to 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I took a friend from Church and his 9 year old son to Berryessa today. Neither had fished before. I found the bite very spotty and we really had to work to get bites. The boy did very well considering and landed three fish by himself with two of those fish being our biggest fish of the day at about 16 1/2 inches. It was well after lunch before Dad got his only fish and it was the smallest of the day. I spent a lot of time helping, un-sticking, and coaching but I still ended up with somewhere around 15 fish for the day. Good day and we all came home happy! I was there the last time the day before the lake was closed down and water clarity was near 15 ft visibility. Today it was much less clear but very fishable. All fish on soft plastics,.

Thursday, May 21st, 2020

  • Amador County
    • By

      Report: by kporter » Thu May 21, 2020 8:55 am

      Fishing is pretty awesome right now. I was up this past weekend with my wife and kids. The kids had a blast catching a few! Ned rigs and 6” worms on a shaky head will get lots of bites. Our bites came in 5-15’ on rocky flats. Hope this helps

Saturday, May 16th, 2020

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: Many of the Motherlode lakes that I regularly fish and guide on, are opening back up. Don Pedro was one of the first to do so, giving me an opportunity to dust the cobwebs off the rods and reels and uncover the boat.

      We launched out of Moccasin Point in the mid-morning and it felt amazing to be back on the water. We chose to start close by in the river arm and focused our efforts on grassy cuts and shade lines. Instantly we were hooking up wtih many smaller fish, and with a few nice ones thrown in the mix. After exhausting that bite and with our curiosity of other areas, we decided to leave them biting.

      For years now, I have capitalized on a May jerkbait/crankbait bite and wanted to see if they were willing to chase. Our move proved to be a good one and the action improved with some better than average spotted bass and largemouth bass coming to the boat.

      I know the bite was exceptionally good due to the recent lack of fishing pressure, however during the midst of a normal year, I’ve seen this same pattern fish even better. The key is to find areas with water movement. Wind-blown banks that have a combination of dirt and chunk rock are perfect.

      We dabbled with topwater in the same locations with some success, but found that going subsurface was far more productive. Many lakes are open now and we are all itching to get out and enjoy them. Be respectful to others, the fish and our beautiful Mother Nature to ensure a pleasurable Xperience fishing.

      John Liechty

Friday, May 15th, 2020

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Went out to fish incoming tide got on about 8am, wind was steady most of day 8-10 mp, water was clear but wind helped provide cover. Not the best day but found a solid spinnerbait bite around noon fishing over tall grass an cover. Had a couple bites on the senko fishing tooley edges. Frog but should be picking up

      Tips: Launches are busy almost everyday, plan accordingly

Wednesday, May 13th, 2020

  • Amador County
    • By

      Report: by StanL » Wed May 13, 2020 9:12 pm

      Okay, here we go.

      I know some people are going to be a little uneasy about me doing a report about fishing Camanche because only Amador and Calaveras County residents are allowed to BUT I don’t make the rules, I just happen to live there. So after five days of fishing the lake, I am going to share what it was like after the shutdown.

      WOW! Like I said, I was on the water five days and in that time we caught over 300 fish. The largest one was about 8 pounds. Most of the fish were in the 6’ to 12 ‘ depth range, on points, and slow tapering banks. The best baits have been a Frenzy Nail with a Zoom Trick Worm or a NED bait in watermelon or green pumpkin  color.

      The surface temperature is around 72 and the visibility is about 7‘. I have to thank Jay at Hook’d tackle store in Ione for telling me about the Ned bite. Shout out to the mom and pop stores that need our business right now. You can check them out online at hookd4life.com.

      Here are a couple of pictures of a couple of the fish me and my family caught this week.

      I hope this helps, if you are able to go.

      Good luck fishing!
      StanL

Monday, May 11th, 2020

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68.2

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished for 3 nights in front of this weather system with Manny Frias. Not knowing what to expect, we hit the water a little after midnight the first trip. We pretty much caught fish everywhere we tried. They were hitting Texas rigged Double Wide Beavers, brush hogs, jigs, blades, & crankbaits. Also got a few on swimbaits. We boated around 30 with size ranging from 3 lbs with the biggest at 6 1/2 lbs. The second night was a little more active with the same pattern except for some reason we couldn’t buy a crankbait bite! We did around 40 fish for the night same size range except our biggest came in at 9 1/2 lbs, our limit went 33 1/2. The third night was even better! The fish were really schooled up as we were able to stay in one spot for long amounts of time getting steadily bit. Pattern was the same as some crankbait bites came back but the blade bite suffered. (Go figure?) Manny sticks a very nice 8 1/2 lber & our best five came in at 40lbs 3 oz with our largest going 12 lb 5 oz. It was an incredible night! It’s the best I’ve seen in some time! They were dialed in on Double Wides & jigs & we boated almost 60 fish! At any rate, the fishing’s insane right now. The lake is open only to locals so far but as soon as you get the chance to fish Clear Lake, I’d highly recommend it!

      Tips: We fished south the whole time. We didn’t venture far as we were able to really catch them not far from our ramp. For us they were on rocky structure and fairly deep in the 12-20 ft range. Slow presentation was the key & they were just picking up the baits & running with them instead of mashing them. One 4 3/4 lber picked up my Double Wide & ran with it so fast I had to use my trolling motor to catch up to it so I could set the hook! They seemed to like dark colors with blue in the baits. We didn’t try baits with red this time because frankly we didn’t have to. Anyway, stay safe & have a great time out there!

Saturday, May 9th, 2020

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: Fished from sun up til after sundown on the day of the opener. Hit Angels first thing and caught 3 decent fish from 2.5-3.75 lbs. I believe we caught all of those on a neko rigged senko. From there headed to the back of Mormon creek. Decent bite there. Caught a few more in the 3 lb class plus a bunch of others from 1/ 2lb to 2 1/2 lbs. We used cranks, blades, senkos, drop shot, etc.
      Sun was up so we fished an island a little south and caught a half dozen dinks. Headed up river past Parrots Ferry Bridge and caught dink after dink. We fished all the way up river to the log jamb and managed a bunch more dinks and a few in the 2 lbs class and a few more that were larger with the biggest weighing a little over 3lbs.
      Got bored and headed into Coyote. Nothing but dinks. It was getting later so we headed back to Angels and caught a few more dinks. There was about an hour more of light so we headed for the Tuttletown ramp. We were going to leave but decided to fish a couple islands around there. The bite picked up considerably. We boated around another 30 fish around those two islands. These fish were healthier up to a little over 2lbs.
      Caught em on the neko rig and after it got dark a white willow leaf spinnerbait was working the best.
      Since the moon is full it made the fishing tough during the day but good in the morning and evening.
      During the day I think we only got bit a couple times deeper then 5 feet. There was nothing biting deeper then that. Shallow fish were biting but they were 10 inchers.
      With this full moon my advice is to show up later in the day and stay til midnight.

Friday, May 8th, 2020

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Rented a K boat on 5/2 and fished from 7 -6. I caught fish on everything but top water. Senkos/worms/ripbaits/spinnerbaits/chatterbaits. The reaction bite got better in the wind on the flats on white and shad colored skirts with chrome blades. The plastics fish were up tight in the back of the coves. I was using a 7 inch oxblood light red flake worms in the same place as the senkos with a 1/8 dropshot sinker and 10 inch or so tag end. It would seem I got there in time for the spawn and the postspawn. With the postspawn getting better. The ripbait bite was good but I couldn't fish it very well without a trolling motor so I just caught them anyway I wanted. Lots of fish caught by lots of people with smiles all over the parking lot after the rental fleet

      Tips: Lots Of Brush. Learn how to fish it and you will be rewarded...try to stay with weedless rigging when possible. All my plastics are fished either with a weed guard on the hook(i.e. wacky senko) or with the hook point Texposed in the bait. light weights allow you to pull up and over limbs and the fish will set the hook for you.

Thursday, May 7th, 2020

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: by StanL » Thu May 07, 2020 9:03 pm

      My wife Kelly and I got out on the Delta last week and did some looking around.
      I’m starting to get ready for the WWBT tournament in June hopefully. The fishing in general was pretty tough. The Surface temperature wasaround 70degrees and most of the Delta is as clear as a swimming pool. It was not what I was expecting.

      We saw a lot of fish on beds but we weren't looking to target those fish. We were trying to figure out a pattern. After a lot of different baits, the Senko seemed to be the only thing that we could get bit on with any consistency. Every fish we caught was on a Senko and it was at the end of fairly long cast after we just let it set there. Most of the fish came on flats with sparse tules.

      I hope this helps good luck fishing and most of all be safe!!

      One more thing I’m seeing a few tackle stores like Fisherman‘s Warehouse and Hook'd in Ione are reopening and being a small business owner myself, please do what you can to support local business.
      Thanks!!
      Stan

    • By

      Report: by StanL » Thu May 07, 2020 9:03 pm

      Fishing the California Delta

      My wife Kelly and I got out on the Delta last week and did some looking around.
      I’m starting to get ready for the WWBT tournament in June “hopefully”. The fishing in general was pretty tough. The Surface temperature wasaround 70 degrees and most of the Delta is as clear as a swimming pool. It was not what I was expecting.

      We saw a lot of fish on beds but we weren't looking to target those fish. We were trying to figure out a pattern. After a lot of different baits, the Senko seemed to be the only thing that we could get bit on with any consistency. Every fish we caught was on a Senko and it was at the end of fairly long cast after we just let it set there. Most of the fish came on flats with sparse tules.

      I hope this helps good luck fishing and most of all be safe!!

      One more thing I’m seeing a few tackle stores like Fisherman‘s Warehouse and Hook'd in Ione are reopening and being a small business owner myself, please do what you can to support local business.
      Thanks!!
      Stan

Wednesday, May 6th, 2020

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-64

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I finally got the chance to wash the delta slime off and launch the boat into some clean lake water. For anyone that is looking to do some lake fishing. Whiskeytown and Shasta are both still open. I would just say try to be smart and go straight to the lake. Don't stop anywhere and don't bring anyone with you who isn't from your immediate household just to be safe and abide by the states regulations. The bite was okay for me. I'm not going to tell you it was off the hook because that would be lying. It was pretty slow to start and I was hoping to get on some bigger spots with big swimbait's but ended up busting out the spinning gear and throwing a neko rig. which if you are familiar with spotted bass, they freaking love eating neko rigs. I started out the day launching at 0700 and fishing the back of a couple wind blown pockets. Alternating between a Gan Craft glide bait and a whopper plopper, I managed to pick up two small ones with the whopper plopper. The Gan craft pulled some fish up to take a look but wasn't what they were looking for. With the wind blowing 10-15 mph out of the north I decided to make a run to some calmer waters and a potential transition spot for these fish to move in and out of a spawning area. I started making long casts with a neko rigged yum dinger and it didn't take long for me to realize that was the ticket. First cast I picked a 3.06 and then two 2 pound spots.
      When the fish came up each one had friends with them. one follower was a solid 5 pound class spot. So needless to say I stayed on that spot most of the day. I continued to catch fish but in intervals, almost as if new fish were moving up every hour or so. I caught around 30 fish but only 6 or 7 fish were actually keepers. I ended the day with a 5 fish limit of 14.04, anchoring the limit was a 3.72. No giants but they were definitely around, I just hope next time I'm able to fool one. I got off the water at 2:30 pm to make the long drive home. This trip was fun but it also confused me, and feel free to message me if you have a theory or know something I don't because I kinda want to figure this out. I started fishing and the water temps were 63-65 degrees in most areas, so I expected to at least see empty beds from the spotted bass spawn, and probably some largemouth doing there thing. I searched a couple different spawning areas but I didn't see any beds, not even empty ones. I wondered if maybe they just spawned very deep like 15ft-20ft due to the water being so clear, but I still don't know for sure. it was a new experience for me and I need to do some more research to figure out the truth. Anyways I plan on getting back out on the delta this week and do my best to get on a bite. I just need to avoid the spray boats and all of the other bass fisherman out there lol. Until next time keep on living fast and catching bass.
      Instagram @livefastmovement
      website: https://www.livefastmovementoutdoors.com/

Sunday, May 3rd, 2020

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Report: postby Kelly Ripa » Sun May 03, 2020 11:15 am

      I rented a K boat. !5 tohatsu with console. I was first in line and they process you like your at a store with distancing in and barriers in place. Fished from 7 till 6. Caught fish on everything but topwater. I am beat up something as it's not my champion. missed the trolling motor but the rental had spot lock(anchor :wink: ) so that worked well. I fished the windy main lake by just putting that 4 stroke in reverse and sitting pretty much in place on the casting deck. Lots of chatterbait and ripbait fish. I had 20 or more fish on plastics. They were all under 2 pounds but a very enjoyable day on the water. May 17th is the new date for Casitas...Who opens on a Sunday?

Tuesday, April 28th, 2020

    • By

      Report: by changher » Tue Apr 28, 2020 7:15 am
      Went out for a morning run and had a great time.

      Ended up catching 27 bass under 4 hours of fishing. Best five went for 11.88 lbs.

      Lake: Black Butte
      Water Temp: 68 Degrees
      Weather Forecast: 88 Degrees
      Wind: 2 - 5 MPH
      Launch: Grizzly Flat

      Fished mainly submerged trees in 2-3 feet of water. Fish was chasing shad early in the morning. I was catching bass with a Strike King Rage Blade and senko in the early morning. Switched to a flipping jig and caught better fish as the morning progresses. Also caught fish on square bills, and jerk bait.

Thursday, April 2nd, 2020

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-61

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The Delta has had some really good fishing for a lot of people so far this year. some believe it's showing its former glory again, I personally haven't been blessed to have fished the delta my whole life like a lot of others, but if the delta is beginning to rebound to it's true self again, then we are in for some superb fishing the rest of 2020. On this Day my Buddy Mark Vis took me out on his boat for an afternoon session. keeping our 6 ft social distancing We launched out of B&W at around 1130 and fished till sun down. we started the day making a run to the Mandeville Island area. the wind was blowing strong out of the North West at 10-15 mph, and the tide was still rising so I started throwing a spinnerbait and he started with a chatterbait. I got the first fish a healthy 2.55 pound fish. Mark got a few short strikes on a chatterbait but nothing to speak of. As the tide slacked out we moved into the flooded pond and started fan casting the northern bank with senkos, Drop shots, and flukes. The water temp was 59-61 degrees so we expected to see fish on beds but the wind made it nearly impossible. Mark was able to pick up a 5.31 and a couple more dinks on the outside edge of the penny warp as we worked down the bank. We continued to fish Mandeville for a while longer with very little action so we made a move towards false river, where the tide was beginning to move again. we started flipping a pretty well known swift current bank and were able to get a lot of small bites, and when I say small I mean this years spawn small, LOL. So we made a move to go look for some bigger bites. We moved into Owl Harbor where I've seen some big ones move in and spawn this time of year, and it paid off. I was able to get 7.03 and 4.18 in there fan casting a drop shot with a watermelon red flake dream shot. we got a few more bites in there but just couldn't keep them pinned. we moved to some marina's to finish out the day where vis completed our limit with a 2.33 pound fish on once again the drop shot. We ended the day with a 5 fish limit of 21.42, if we could of culled out our 2 pounders we would of had a way better bag, but sometimes that's the way it goes. We didn't get a lot of bites but the quality was there. we just needed to execute a little better. This time of year gets tough. the fish are mostly in spawn mode so a lot people struggle to get bit, me included. That is why I start downsizing or up sizing to get bit. For me what I've noticed is its really only a two week period where the fish just get finicky. they either only want to eat something small and subtle or they go to the whole other side of the spectrum and go crazy for a fast moving swim bait, like a Glide bait or a Osprey of some sort. at least that is how it goes for the first few weeks of the spawn until fish start transitioning to the post spawn. This is just a theory of course and not an absolute but I feel like its because bass are mostly territorial this time of year, they don't have food on the mind, all they want to do is make babies. They bite the things that piss them off and interrupt there ritual and that is why one of my favorite pre spawn/spawn techniques is a drop shot. I can fan cast spawning areas and work it really slow leaving it directly in front of a bass or within its territory for a longer period of time. which for me really helps with getting those bigger bites. I think things are going to be changing soon. Some bass are already starting to transition into some post spawn habits. I will hopefully get back out there soon and break down for y'all what exactly that is but I have feeling its going to have something to do with swim baits and frogs. Until next time stay safe, from the Covid19, and keep on Livin Fast and Catchin Bass.
      Website: https://www.livefastmovementoutdoors.com/
      Instagram/Facebook: @livefastmovement