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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, February 20th, 2011

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Temp: 51-55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Lake fished like I thought it would following the rains. Slooow.
      3 people on the boat fishing. Only scrounged up 3 1.5- 2 # smallies. Fished from 8:00 til 3:30
      City: Ventura

      Tips: All 3 fish came on split shot robo hologram shad curlytail 2-12 ft of water.

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 49

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out today and didnt even fire up the big motor, dropped the trolling motor and started fishing. Scratched out a limit for 13lbs dropshoting a 6" 082 red flake worm, tried other colors and never got bit. Not bad for my first time dropshoting i guess. Stayed in the marina all day, I know some big females gotta be there staging, maybe they will eat next time.
      City: modesto

      Tips: deadstick,shake short and gentle and deadstick again.

    • By

      Water Temp: N/A

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got Out to the delta this morning at 7:00am broke off one about 5lbs, then about a half hour later i caught a 1.5lb, 2 3/4lb, and a 3.5 lbs.. I also had a hit and miss I got to ancy on the hook set.. I had a feeling it was gonna be an early morning thing..
      City: Galt

      Tips: fish slow..

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The rain hasn't slowed the bass down here. The jig bite is still good on bass from 2 to 5 pounds in 20 to 32 feet of water. Green pumpkin/black green crystal or Hunter green/red flake/watermelon candy jigs in 1/4 oz bullet head 3/8oz football head & 3/8oz arkie head all work well. We also stayed with single tail 5" yamamoto grubs as are trailers. It got breezy at timeS but wasn't a factor in the bite it still held up good. Lake is up about 4 feet from last sunday and there was water running in from several creeks around the lake. Traffic was very light today 6 boats on the water when we left at 2 pm
      City: madera ca

      Tips: Fish slow bump the bottom with your jig in a slow swimming action back to the boat. The bass are holding on and round rock structure and alot of bass are hold off of humps and dropoffs in 20 to 32 feet of water.

Friday, February 18th, 2011

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-54

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Despite the freezing temperatures, the bass fishing at Lake Sonoma was surprisingly really good. I was supposed to head up to Clear Lake to do some filming on Friday, but Hwy 29 was closed because of nearly a foot of snow on the summit from the previous day. Luckily my buddy Hank was able to get a “sick day” from work, so he met me at Lake Sonoma at around 10:30 am. We were in between storms, the sky was clear, there was a light south wind, and you could still see last nights full moon in the sky. Water temps were in the low 50’s and had about 3-4 ft visibility. We idled toward the Warm Spring Arm, and started fishing before we even got out of the no wake zone. It only took 10 minutes to get our first four fish in the boat, three smallmouth and one largemouth bass. All were in the 2-3 lb. range and came off the same point. A 3/8 oz. football jig (brown/red) with a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver (California 420) as a trailer was the hot bait. We then moved to another point across the way and caught a few more bass on the jigs, including a nice 4.5 pound largemouth. All the bass were sitting in 15-25 feet of water, and were in areas with a mix of rock, wood and a ledge. It was now around noon, and the next storm front was beginning to move in as the sky darkened. We hit a few more points in the area, but it seemed the fish began to turn off a bit. Hank had to head home, so I dropped him off at the boat ramp at around 2:30. I went back out and started fishing the area just passed the no wake zone. Finally at around 4pm I caught 2 more bass, fishing a steep rocky wall, one largie and one smallie. Both came on a Lucky Craft Staysee 90 (Table Rock Shad). I then bounced around to a bunch of similar looking areas to try to duplicate the pattern, but had no luck. Right before dark I managed one more smallmouth bass on the jig.
      City: San Bruno

      Tips: Please visit www.russnyders.com for more fishing reports, videos, and info on Northern California Guide Trips.

      <a href="http://www.russnyders.com/">Rus Snyders Guide Service</a>

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: Cold again!!

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Rain, rain go away. Come back again another day, please. I've been tying flies for this years bass fishing season. This is the first year tying deer hair poopers and it is fun killing time waiting for the weather to get better.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: To service my custom Valco boat "BassBuster1" I'm have a hard time finding this particular model spark plug (NGK DPR 6EA-9), any suggestions?

  • Mariposa County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Tough day due to the wind. Fished from 7 to noon caught three, (all were spotts). Used dd 22 shad pattern in 18' to 25', very windy made it hard to fish. Largest catch was a good 4.5# spott.
      City: Delhi

Monday, February 14th, 2011

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 48-52

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Great weather and great fishing this last week on Clear Lake,

      The water level is up and the fish are biting, catching healthy and strong fighting fish from 3 to 5 1/2 pounds on Jigs / Shaky Heads and minnows, the LV 500 bite is also good and some fish can be caught on the medium size Swim Baits, both fished slow on the bottom in 5 to 18 ft of water.

      I fished in the Red Bud arm and only had to fish a few spots, most of the fish had moved up from the deep rock piles to the first break on the shore line.
      City: Clear Lake

      Tips: Fish the Jigs slow, and work them from 5 to 18 ft, most the bites came from the 12 ft range.

      The best time for me was around noon,.

      I know there is a good Rip Bait bite up north to, i just had fun fishing the rocks down south. .

      Lets hope this year will be wide open at Clear Lake !


      Have fun..... .
      for more information... StevePerkinsFishing.com

Sunday, February 13th, 2011

  • Mason County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50 ish

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out with Tiger to try and land my first 2011 BASS. The problem was the boat didn't cooperate. technical problems limited us to the minnkota for the first couple hours but Tiger did land a couple spots. Then the big motor cooperated and we headed north. Fished points like everyone else ad managed to pick off a fish here and there. Later in teh day the water warmed up and the fish seemed to school. When we found one there were more close by. Most fish came with boat in 25-30 and casting towards the shore. about 20 fish in total no size at all. range <1 to 1.5 lbs. Tiger got about a dozen or so and I got 6 or so. We also had many that didn't hook up. One fish on a t-rig bhog and rest on the old drop shot which we fished the most after they showed they wanted it that way. Pretty fun but never found the big girls, they are probably still working their way out of the seeper water. The storm will likely revert the fish that had started to come up with the recent warming we had....
      City: Pacifica

      Tips: Slow presentation. Many of the fish didn't give the traditional tap just were on when you moved the bait. As the water warmed they did get more aggressive.

  • Yuba County
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      Water Temp: 48-52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Another tough day...fished with my friend Wayne Hodge. Wayne picked up one small one in about twenty feet on a jig. At least I can see fish on my graph. Last trip couldn't find a fish...now they are all over...just not eating...fish and game was at the ramp and shared with us it has been real slow as of late.
      City: Roseville

  • Ventura County
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      Water Temp: 57-59

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Overcast for pretty much the whole day with a dim cast that varied to sunny once in a while with little wind at all. Water temps started at 57 and made it just over 59 in the backs of the coves by the end of the day. Water visibility was startlingly clear. I have been gone for a month so I wasn’t ready for that clear water. I had a father and son for the first half of the morning. They are total rookies but we managed to get Dad a healthy 2 pounder and his son 2 fish from 2 to 2-1/2 pounds. Males shallow looking but not actively building beds. I caught one over five pounds on a dropshot and took everyone in for lunch. The second half of my day I was solo and I looked into the skinny water and caught fish on senkos where there were not and could not be any fish. The fish came from 2 feet or less and were in structure tighter than tight to the bank. I came outta the cove with just a faint impression of bed making at a level between the growth just off the bank and the next ring of growth in about 10 – 12 feet of depth. I dropshot some 2-3 pounders and at that depth but would stick a 4+ pound female in every fifth or sixth piece of structure that was tight to the bank on a senko. I ended the day at 3:30 with an 8 pound kicker. I had a 25+ pound limit with an 8 pound kicker. Much better finish than I would have predicted at first light when I saw how clear the water was. This info should all go out the window this weds. As it’s going to rain like heck start’n wed. and when the smoke clears I expect the lake to be 5 feet higher in the next 3 weeks….We’ll see. Green pumpkin black flake on all plastics
      City: Ojai

    • By

      Water Temp: 52.5 to 54.1

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The BASS BITE IS STILL GOOD ON BASS TO 3 1/2 POUNDS AND THEY ARE STILL FALLING TO GREEN PUMPKIN/BLACK GREEN CRYSTAL 1/4 OZ BULLET HEAD AND 3/8 OZ FOOTBALL HEAD JIGS & 208 WATERMELON 5" SINGLE TAIL YAMAMOTO GRUBS AS ARE TRAILERS. THE BASS ARE IN 18 TO 25 FEET OF WATER AND HOLDING AROUND ROCKY STRUCTURE AND ON SMALL ISOLATED ROCK PILES TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT TODAY AND THE EAST RAMP IS CLOSED DO TO A MINOR ROCK SLIDE BLOCKING THE ROAD. DAY USE SIDE IS OPEN ALSO WE SAW A COUPLE OF BOATS TROLLING FOR TROUT AND THEY DID HOOKUP ON FISH AND LAND THEM IT WAS A REALLY NICE DAY TODAY. THE LAKE IS IN GOOD SHAPE
      City: madera ca

      Tips: VERTICAL JIGGING IS A VERY GOOD WAY TO CATCH BASS HERE RIGHT NOW. DEAD STICKING YOUR BAITS WELL ALSO WORK. AREAS TO FISH ALOT OF ROOM IN THE 5MPH AREA ALSO THE COVES FROM THE EAST RAMP TOO THE DAM AREA ARE ALL HOLDING BASS.

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at Jones Valley. Fished Jones inlet and lower Squaw arm. Very slow weekend. Threw green lizards (black speckled) down to 30 feet and only hit 3 small specks. Switched to trolling for trout from top water down to 40 feet with riggers and various colors. No luck what so ever. Air was cold (29 degrees in morning) and water was clear (down to 20+ feet). Nothing biting nothing! Normally February is a great month for fishing Shasta Lake. This was a day before a big storm so maybe the pressure drop stopped the bite?
      City: Cottonwood

    • By

      Water Temp: mid day 53

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: met my buddy at the lake,i got in the water and within 4 casts he stuck a fat 5.3 we went south cranking and crawlin jigs to no avail. middle of the lake and still no bites.well that leaves the north side,decided to stick with the jig got my first of the year a chunky 5.6 an hour later got a 3.4 crankn went home and pitched some shoes the first two were both ringers. very nice day!!
      City: ROSA

      Tips: stick with your confidence baits and fish em untill the paint comes off,the plastic dissolves,till the rattles dont rattle or untill those eyes fall off that spinnerbait and cover lots of water and slow at that! good luck @ tight lines. p.s seen a couple kids kill a 7.2 i woulda gave you a few bucks for mcdonalds buddy!! LET EM GO!!!! CATCH @ RELEASE! bye bye eggs and trophy fish that no one else will get to enjoy. SAD.

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 51-53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: We had a beautiful Spring like day for our fifth Berryessa Pro Team Tournament, the air temperature was 70 degrees and the water temperature was 51-54 degrees. The top teams reported that the fish were chewing pretty good, but for most it was a tough tournament. Thanks to the 21 teams for coming to Markley Cove February 12, 2011; a great turnout again with some solid bags of fish coming to the scales. Blast-Off was great, clear and not too cold. At the weigh-ins it was a warm beautiful afternoon (when you were in the sun). The nice weather made the bite tough for most teams; I guess the fish haven’t moved up in a lot of places yet. The top teams managed to find some nice largemouth that moved up, fishing the points in the main lake from 2’- 20’. The top finishing teams seemed to get a lot of bites, and culled up until they got the right bites! A lot of nice 3# - 4# largemouth with a few nice smallies and spots were brought to the scales. Few fish were caught with reaction baits; most fish came on jigs, and worms with the points in the main body being the most productive. Teams reported fish being caught in 2-25 feet of water as well as 20-40 feet in crawdad colors and shad colors. I want to thank our sponsors: Centennial Batteries, Guns Fishing & Stuff, Alan Fong, Dobyns Rods, Tomat’s Restaurant, Oroville Outdoors, Don Sebastiani Winery, Kazoku Teriyaki & More, Markley Cove, and Winters True Value Hardware for supporting the 2010-2011 Berryessa Pro Team Trail! With a very impressive First Place finish by Father & Son Team Jack & Colton Jeha (Alamo) who came to the scales with a big sack of 18.77#s. Stephen Seals(Windsor) fishing by himself took Second place honors weighing an excellent 16.32# bag. Third Place went to a new Father & Son Team Shane & Tom Peirson(Roseville)weighing a solid 15.22# bag with a 4.82# kicker for the big fish honors. Fourth Place was Art Narverud (Vallejo) and James Kimura(Vallejo)with a 14.91# bag. Fifth Place was Dave Perez (San Jose) and John Trujillo (Milpitas) with a 14.42# bag and last out of the money was Shawn Taylor(El Sobrante)and Ravin Persaud(Oakland) being consistant and weighing a 14.33# bag. Again Thanks to the new teams for joining the Berryessa Pro Team Circuit and to all the other teams that fished another great tournament on Lake Berryessa! See you all at the next tournament on March 27, 2011. Check-in at Markley Cove. Any questions email me at dukekalani@yahoo.com or call me at (530)795-2659. Tournaments Remaining: 3/27/11 (Sixth); 4/17/11 (Seventh & Last) SAVE YOUR RAFFLE TIX!!!!! Gonna have over $200 cash for last tournament.

    • By

      Water Temp: 50.2 - 54-6

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I guided two good fishermen yesterday and we found the bite to be fairly decent in spite of the 30-31 degree morning, and the previous very cold morning. They are preparing for a tournament so, as is my policy, cannot say much on this post. We did fish spots from Markley Cove to well up the main body - and some did produce quality bass. They caught 6 of our 7 bass and lost about as many. I caught one and missed a few too. Their best bass was a 3 lb+ largemouth that was very shallow. I was pleased with the quality that they put together with limit a little over 13 lbs. I thought that was good since we ran around the lake as much as we fished. Beautiful day (after the first 2 hours, brrrrr), green hills, and good loking bass. I always complain about the lack of wind there lately, especially last fall. Well - here it is - the slight breeze yesterday was perfect for fishing!!!!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: As many of you know, we keep our head in the meter during the fall looking for bait. In the late winter and spring, we keep out head in the meter looking at the water temp numbers. Those numbers dictate what the bass are going to do this time of year. It's not the number so much as whether the numbers are going up or going down. And - where is the highest number likely to be! Then you need to match the water temp with the present air temps! Solving that puzzle is one of the major keys to success in the spring!!

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the 12th and 13th. Tough fishin'. Moved around a lot trying different terrains, working jigs, drop shot, plastics, some deep, slow crank baits. Couldn't find a pattern. Missed a few because of some over-aggressive hook sets. Soft bite! Otherwise, skunked two days in a row. Trolled for steel head on the way out of Warm Springs in desperation.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: A storm front was off the coast on this beautiful weekend. My hopes weren't high but skunked? Sure is a pretty lake though and there was hardly a boat on it all weekend. It was a good day to test props!

Friday, February 11th, 2011

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Up from Sacramneto for a day and a half of fishing. Fished with minnows and found 12 bass between 3 and 6 lbs. All fish were in 20-25 feet. tried deeper tried shallower, that depth was the key. Also tried artificals with no luck even when we knew the fish were there.
      City: Sacramento

  • Merced
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-54

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Great Day on Kelsey Bass Ranch. Three boats and six guys boating around 40 bass in the 2.5-3.5 lb range in 4 hours. Im the first one back, and they are still out there fishing as I type.

      They started out with a Norman Deep N in a shad pattern, and Steve of Berserkbaits had an easy limit. BY 830-900 the rest of us showed up, doing better on slop jigs and dropshot. River2Sea 3/8 host minnow spinnerbait claimed its due as well. Also the Prototype new River2sea mini frog showed up as I was leaving, it looked awesome. Angelo from Bait barn and river2sea prostaff even started fishing the River2sea rover...and its February! ...62+ degree weather...t-shirts...February!
      City: Atwater

      Tips: Look in the middle for better fish. The wood had fish too but we weren't even counting the fish under 2 lbs.

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: i am interested in when the lake re-opens for boats?
      thanks in advance
      City: san jose