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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Friday, May 20th, 2011

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: around 60?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: fished from rattle snake, my special cove about 2.5 miles left of 5% launch, out to grantite point and along the dam with no luck, then went trolling along the dock and caught 2 12-14 inch trout about 70 feet down. not much bass activity, everything thats been caught has been one senkos or dive/crank bait and drop shot/carolina riggin off points,coves, and open windy/choppy areas. bass are suspended while spawning the only way to hoax a strike is to hit em in the face with it or piss em off by draggin past thier nest. should be good fiching here in a week or so
      City: roseville

      Tips: alot of people have had good results with very small top water and shallow diving swimmers retrieving very very slow in open water. takes for ever and doesnt always get results but when it does, oh boy. especially towards the evening when light starts to fade off the bass see something floating across the top and its dinner time. take care not to use something big enough to cast a sillohuette that will spook any hungry bass, insect replicas and small shad/millow topwater/divers are what was workin divin anywhere from 2-6 feet on a slow retrieve

  • Merced
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      Water Temp: 67?

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 6am to 130pm. Early shallow crankbait bite and a buzzbait bite til the end when the wind kinda died. best 5 fish 15lbs, big fish 4lbs.caught a couple dinks on drop shot too.bass fry everywhere.
      City: atwater

      Tips: Beded bass in outlet side of lake. best fish on buzzbait near shade of a willow trees sitting in water.

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 62 to 64

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The lake is just over 3' from capacity. Look for staging fish on main and secondary points and around the willow trees. Most of the bass being caught have been on 4" & 5" senkos in natural shad, Baby bass and green pumpkin or 4" & 6" Mother Finest worms in Morning Dawn and Mojave Oxblood. 4" Zoom ringworms and small flukes in Watermelon seed have also been producing well. The topwater bite has been happening in the evenings but not very consistently, Once the weather stabilizes that will improve.
      City: Shasta Lake

      Tips: if you are planning on heading up to Shasta Give us a call at 1-800-462-3917 or 530-275-4939 for the most current info on the lake.

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

  • Solano County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished out of Whiskey Slough starting at 8:00 am. We caught a couple keepers, couple dinks and one about 5 lb in Whiskey. The smaller fish came off the islands and the 5 came off a rocky point w/ tule. All the fish were caught after the water started to move out. Bite slowed down by 10:00 Ran up to White Slough didn't do any good. Fished Telephone Cut Caught one more keeper and a couple more dinks.
      City: Sunnyvale

      Tips: Get out earlier than we did. We used Senko's and Frogs.

    • By

      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Can someone please help me. Got a 1.5 lbr with a jig then all he'll broke loose. Hurricane winds in little potatoe slough and I tried everything that fishermans warehouse has to offer. No luck just a few nibbles and couldn't get a bite even of my life was on the line. Maybe someone can help save me from my pathetic fishing. Normally I do pretty good but today was Awfull. Can someone give me some tips. I rather be honest and get alot of tips than to lie and run my lips. Westernbass folks help me
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: I guess that's why it's fishn not catching

    • By

      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Can someone please help me. Got a 1.5 lbr with a jig then all he'll broke loose. Hurricane winds in little potatoe slough and I tried everything that fishermans warehouse has to offer. No luck just a few nibbles and couldn't get a bite even of my life was on the line. Maybe someone can help save me from my pathetic fishing. Normally I do pretty good but today was Awfull. Can someone give me some tips. I rather be honest and get alot of tips than to lie and run my lips. Westernbass folks help me
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: I guess that's why it's fishn not catching

    • By

      Water Temp: 56-59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: In the water from New Hope at 7:15am; started on Mokelumne fav tule strips...picked up a couple 2lbers on white spinnerbait and speed traps. Moved to connection slough and on the way, big brother nailed a nice 3lb 14oz fatbelly bumpin' the bottom with a speed trap. found some transition eddy points and picked up a few more comin' up from the grass beds. tried st francis yacht harbor...brother caught one then not much else......short strikes but nothing in the boat. went back to mokelumne tules but low tide moved 'em out and we couldn't find 'em. wind threw us around all day....guess that's what the big boys in the bass boats can deal with when they have 24-36v 70-100lb trolling motors...i bet it helps. oh well, good day for big brother and at least i got a couple decent to keep the skunk away.
      City: sac

      Tips: High tide work the speed trap slow over the grass/weed beds...they'll come up from below and smack that speed trap. white spinnerbait worked for my brother and the red craw/chart belly redeye shad worked for me...lost a good line stripper on the redeye shad.

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 63

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: My son and I fished the Thursday nite tournament out of Lime Saddle. For those of you not familiar with it, its a $10.00 buy in per angler and first place goes to longest fish. Anything over 20 paid entries and they pay a second place. Starts at 5:15 and runs till about 8:30. We opted to fish the west branch cause it was close and we hadn't been in there in awhile. We started fishing in the willows but after 45 minutes or so with no luck, switched to fishing shade pockets, cuts and anywhere water was coming in. The bite picked up immediately with the Reaction Innovations worm in the "Juicy" color, dart headed, working best for me, and my son using a tube, from the same company, in green pumpkin, working best for him. You can find these baits at either Oroville Outdoors or the Tackle Box in Chico. We caught some nice chunky fish but managed only a 16 and three quarters for our longest. That fish came on a jig in brown/purple with matching trailer. Winning fish was close to 18.
      City: Paradise

      Tips: I'd venture to say you could catch fish anywhere right now but if I were to go again, say this weekend, I'd concentrate on all the running water, shade pockets, and steeper banks. The willows should hold fish as well. Senkos in green pumpkin seem to be the hot bait according to some but we didn't use any on this trip. There is some debris out there so be aware of that. Hope to see you Thursday.

    • By

      Water Temp: 57-61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: As most of you know, the bite at Oroville has been very good - even pretty good on a cold, post-front day yesterday. Rain stopped at dawn and skies briefly cleared and the lake went flat calm. I guided a good fisherman who has only been at bass fishing for a year or two and already has the tournament "fever." He will be competing soon so I can only make a general comment. We ran to many, many spots as I tried to give him an overview of the lake and spring techniques. He did well, catching between 20 and 25 bass. Big bass were hard to find because of the post-front conditions, but the bite should be wide open for all sizes as the weather is finally going to stabilize. I certainly did realize that the fish were deeper than last Saturday. A repeat surprise yesterday - another nice smallmouth caught - about 2 1/4 lbs. I tried different baits for him to see and caught 11 or 12. It was a beautiful post-front day with awesome cloud formations!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: None this report. Good luck to everyone this weekend!!

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: not sure but it

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: okay so i didn't get to lake until 3:00 pm but my brother and brother inlaw hit the lake around 10:00 AM and shore fished until i got there and caught total of 10 bass. Majority of the large bass where hitting in areas with small rocks containing crayfish and shallow water. largest was 7.8 lb another was 6.8 and a couple of 5 lb a lot of small bass with nest so just left em, but yeah weekday bites must be better since during the weekend the lake is usually filled with trout fishermans. bait: berkley power worms long tail 5" purple & black, Gary yammo bby craw blck n red glitter. all our set ups were split shots.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: we were at shore so fish in the coves and corners where small rocks are and where some of the reeds are. the bass were moving and hungry. so PATIENCE

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: 56-61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We fished Wed. (after the recent storm) from 10am-5pm. Overcast day with the sun breaking thru from time to time. We caught 4 fish for the day. All were caught on plastics in 16-20ft depth split shotting plastic worms. We found that the greenish -brown colored worms with green/red flake worked best. Fish did not hit any of the chartruse-tailed worms like I thought they would. 3 largemouths, 1 smallie but a good one - about 2.5 lbs. The bite was soft and needed to fish real slow on the bottom for fish to pick it up. We did see many LMB in the top 5 feet but they would not hit the topwater or jerkbait we enticed them with.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Split-shot worms around fallen trees/wood area. Fish slow. Pick up was light.

Monday, May 16th, 2011

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 58-63

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: It has been a while sence I have done a report but this Spring has been Awesome.My client today drove all the way from Salinas to cash in on the numbers that Oroville is known for and he was not disapointed. Using a specific senko pattern he was able to hit over the 100 fish mark with post spawn females still up to 2 1/2 lbs and many of those. It was a wild day. All five trips last week the pattern held up as well but with slighter numbers.
      City: Paradise

      Tips: Most things are working, some better than others. The reaction bite is still not producing like the slower presentations. Colors do chage from day to day. If one is not working, change the color!

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: no finder

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got out a little late about 7:00-7:30am. Second cast 1.5 - 2 lbs. Weather was not fun rained and wind was tough, but we were still catching them. Senkos, Jigs and Cranking. Had about 18 lbs or a little more for 5 fish. Caught 15 in total from 7-3pm. Bite was okay theres alway next week.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: If there is a chance of rain were rain gear!! Lol
      90% of fish i caught were still pre spawn.
      Have Fun and stick to your game plan.

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: - - - 1st of all, In regards to comments made by a local resident about tournament anglers killing fish. -----> Not a true statement ! <------ 99.% of all anglers appreciate our local fisheries (Lake Pillsbury) yup, there might be a fish or two that don't make it, BUT, that is a very small %. Many, MANY tournaments that I have personally fished have had 0 - no fish loss. !! ---------- The bass fishing on Lake Pillsbury is really good right now ! Many large fish are up in the shallows spawning. Check out Oak Flat (tulles), Salt Creek, back into Turtle Cove and the mouth of the river. Slow draggin' plastics works best for me. Rig it w/ a roboworm or senko wacky style on drop shot . The roads are in excellent shape ! Be sure to say hi to Nick @ the Soda Crk. Store. - Thanks Don - remember to keep it reel !
      City: UKIAH

      Tips: Make long casts so you don't spook the bedding fish. Don't move your bait too fast. ENJOY BEAUTIFUL LAKE PILLSBURY.

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56-59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished south end from 5:30am to noon. Caught 5. Three that were photo worthy a 2 1/2, 3, and 5 lb all smallies. 5 lbder came on a swim bait and the 3 lbder off top water first this in the morning. Numbers are poor this year anyone catching numbers?
      City: Weaverville

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

  • Mason County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished AM 9-12. Caught 14 bass all 2.5 lbs or less but fun. Caught 1 on crank bait, 1 on Senko, and the rest on Crig Plastics. All fish were shallow along banks that had small stick-ups in the water's edge.
      City: Foster City

      Tips: Try reaction baits first. Switch to plastics up shallow were there are weeds in the water.

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63-67

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I guided a nice fellow from Australia yesterday and I understood most of what he said! A bit of an Aussie accent!! Fishing was pretty good but not great. We fished a little bit of everything with the biggest bass being a 3 1/4 spawned-out spotted bass that took a Jackall Mikey topwater bait. Several bass came up to look at it but said "not today!" Bass seemed to be suspended off points and some still spawning. Robo worms were effective. Bite was best when the wind was up. No surprise.
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: Post-spawn fish seem to be more active now and will hit topwater, spinnerbaits, and swimjigs after first light, areas with shadows as the sun gets higher (water is very clear now in many places), evenings, and cloudy days. Mid-day with high sun can be tough now through the summer and early fall.

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 61-63

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Hit the lake early, launched out of Dark Day, still no boat dock there...fished topwater for a solid 1.5hrs, Rio Ricos, Don Ivino Splash It, Vixens, Went to Spinner Baits, still no luck, my buddy got into a crank bait bite on a little Norman wobbler...all dinks, switch over to wacky rigged 4" Senkos. Started catching lots of fish, all dinks. The 2 biggest fish went 3 lbs and 5.2 lbs. Wind picked up around 9am, stayed in coves. Ended up with about 25 fish, all Spots. Only 2 keepers!
      City: Roseville

      Tips: All the fish were around chunk rock, with submerged trees, 10-20 feet water depth. The big fish was caught on a Jig.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: Unknown

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Saturday afternoon I decided to leave the Custom Valco "BASSBUSTER1" in the garage and drove down the street to Grupe Park (back end 14 Mile Slough) to do some fly fishing for bass. I used deer hair poppers I tied this past winter. I used a 10 wt. fly rod for the bass and a 6 wt. fly rod for the large panfish that had moved into the area. Ended up catch/release 51 fish from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The blugills and redears were all big females filled with eggs. Fish #47 was actually a 10" golden shiner minnow that hit my fly. While fighting this fish with my 6 wt. fly rod an 8 lb. bass grabs the shiner and now it ended up being a 15 minute battle with the big bass which did not want to let go. I was finally able to bring the big bass to shore and as I attempted to grab her she then decided to spit out the big shiner and swam off.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: with the approaching storm it was quit windy today and it was important to keep the wind at my back as best as possible so the fly casting would be easier to manage. This side of 14 Mile Slough near Grupe Park is perfect for fly fishing because it is only about 4 feet deep at the most during high tide.

  • Riverside County
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      Water Temp: 67

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The fishing is great lots of numbers with a few 4 and5's on occasion. Wave Tikki Sticks and drop shotted worms are your best bet with a few jig bites mixed in. The fish are everywhere from 3 to 30 feet. Fish slow and be patient the fish are there. The key is the under water trees on main lake and secondary points. Have fun and best of luck!!
      City: Hemet