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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, June 26th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75.2

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Ted & I started out on Sunday night and got into them right off the bat. We were fishing south in Konocti and were getting bit on wacky rigged senkos, Texas, blades & cranks. They were fairly tight and were plentiful ranging in the 2 1/2 - 4 lb range. Our biggest went 4lb 9 oz and our best 5 was around 19 lbs. Great starting night!

      Monday saw us start around 6pm with the pattern being pretty much the same. The wind was very brisk, but the fish were a little bigger with our biggest going 4lb 12 oz and our best 5 a little over 22 lbs. The wind died down a little and we picked up a few jig fish with the other previous techniques. Wind stayed brisk all night and they were on rocky structure. Reaction bite was really good early but dwindled as it got later.

      Tuesday, we started at 11 pm waiting on the wind to ease up. It didn’t so we went out anyway & I’m glad we did! The reaction bite disappeared but the jig & Texas bite went nuts! We were limited on fishing area ducking the wind, but we found them on rocky structure off points & on rock piles! They were fairly deep, wanted a slower presentation, but when they hit, they plowed into the bait! Our best 5 went 28 lbs, 11 oz with our biggest at 7 lbs even. We tried like anything to cull our bottom fish to get to 30 lbs but the wind eventually blew us off of the water. We going out tomorrow night & I hope this pattern will stay the same! It was interesting to see the pattern shift in just one day! We couldn’t buy a blade or crank fish when the two days prior, they were attacking it! Tonight they just went into full blown crayfish eating as the fish were puking up crawdad parts & their mouths were all red. Kind of like a kid with chocolate all over their face & the chocolate chip cookie jar’s lid is off!

      Tips: Everything we threw had some red in it. We threw double wide beavers or 1/2 oz jigs and never changed. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Look for any rocky structure & work the bait slowly. When they hit it, it was with conviction! We got bit on every spot we fished to so they were definitely on the chew. We averaged around 20-25 fish per outing. We tried other creature or worm profiles but got no takers. Like I said earlier, they seemed to prefer baits with red in them & a slower presentation. Be safe, I’ll post later for Weds night’s action.

Saturday, June 22nd, 2019

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: This past Saturday I took Jessica and Andrew out for the day. As we headed out of Steele Park the wind seemed to pick up and we saw we were heading into good size white caps. I had planned to go to the Narrows first but the large waves prevented me from doing so. I headed west towards the Big Island and was able to cross over to the Ranch house cove where the water was calm and we were able to fish. I decided that worming would be the most productive method and it rewarded us with a nice 3 1/2 pound largemouth bass brought in by Jessica (see photo). I wanted to take them to the vineyards so we headed in that direction fighting the waves and trolling the shoreline. They had a few hits and hooked a few fish but the rough water worked against us and managed to knock the fish of the hook. It was a rough ride to the vineyards but we made it only to encounter the same conditions and the same problems. We tried worming but the wind and the waves pushed the boat to fast. We started heading back towards Steele Park which was a lot easier because we were working with waves and not against them. Andrew hooked a nice bass along the way (see photo). As we neared Steele Park I decided to go into what used to be Willie’s Ski School and the water was calm and there was a nice breeze and we ended the day there. With all the difficulties they told me it had been a great day and they would definitely do it again.
      ‘Til 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.
      Sent from my iPad

      Tips: looking forward to the holiday see you on the water

    • By

      Water Temp: 80-83

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Yes, the lake was very murky Thursday. I tried to do this report yesterday, but didn't go thru. This will be short! Had an excellent trip Thursday with a wonderful client - fun and a good stick. I guess the guide is happy to say that when the client landed a beautiful 4 1/2 lb largemouth early in the trip and follows that with his first-ever spotted bass at 3 lbs 5 oz. Hey, this client is a keeper - LOL!! And the client is from big bass Texas, so he needs to be impressed. He land his two big 'uns and I lost my two toads - one a big smallie that I saw for a second or two. I showed him a big part of the lake and we fished some of the main body. Most of our action was in the narrows however. The new #980 Senko continues to work well and produced several bass. So - what does he catch his two nice bass on? What else - a morning dawn-chartreuse tail Robo worm - drop-shotted. Yea, a lot of thought went into that set-up!! Best 5 at 16 lbs. Should have - could have been better!

      Tips: It was hard to figure out the conditions as a very cool early morning breeze greeted us and the water was quite dingy. That surprised me! We tried topwater but only had one blowup. Figured the cool breeze shut that bite off. Caught a few on Keitech swimbaits. A good early summer pattern worked for us, finding every last east shore tree shadow we could find. Bass were there until shadows were no more!!

  • Mariposa County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The water at McClure is Full and with all the stained water, trees and sticks being washed up from the high inflows. It can be a hard grind I caught a couple good ones throwing crankbaits on steep ledges. But head towards the dam and theres a couple shallow hill tops and flats out off all the coves far out from the dirtier water. Finesse fish these areas in 30 feet all the way to the 2 feet of water all my biggest fish came like this and my big fish 8 pounds 2 ounces cames from about 4 feet deep only I actually sight fished her in June talk about a post spawn sight fish..

      Tips: Finesse fish points island tops flats and flooded roadbeds in about 20 feet of water.

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: by Wrknap » Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:09 am

      We had a great trip to New Melonies this past week. We fished three days and every day was fantastic, 50+ fish days and we were off the water by 1pm. I found the better areas were above the 49 bridge. Early mornings were beautiful but slow, the bite didn’t really get going until the sun hit the water. SpiderJigs with twin tails seemed to work best although we caught fish on just about whatever we threw. My brother-in-law even caught a big cat on a spinner bait, crazy!
      Looking forward to the next trip!

Friday, June 14th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: by Andrew5414 » Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:09 pm

      Bite has been great, top water has been solid and kitechs In sexy shad on a underspin has been working really well win suns up and bite shuts down sometime us have to throw the ol stinks but it will produce numbers and every once in a while quality. Top water and underspin have been pretty solid fish. I have been fishing 49 bridge and up

Thursday, June 13th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Well, I had a late start to this season due to hip replacement surgery but at least I can finally fish now! Wow Larry, sorry to hear about the close call! People like that are one of the reasons I favor fishing at night! We pulled into Konocti around 1 AM & saw a boat fishing dark! If I wasn’t using my spotlight and came in 20 feet closer to the left, it could have been close!

      Tuesday Ted & I decided to give Mendocino a try during the day. Wow, it was hot & so was the water. Make a long story short, we got off after 45 minutes & one 2 lber. Fished Clear starting at 10 PM & the bite was really good! They were hitting jigs, Texas rig, & senkos. After a bit, Ted asks if they hit drop shot at night to which I reply “ I don’t know “ since I don’t throw it very often. Had one rigged from Mendo so I pop an Iovino 6” straight tail green weenie on and they were on it in a big way. We probably caught 40 fish ranging 2 - 3+lbs but also had a 6.8 & 4.6 off of the jig. We were south once again. The jig & senko fish were tight again off of rocky structure or in front of tules. We moved a lot but caught fish everywhere we stopped. No reaction fish to speak of. We went out again Weds night fishing the same pattern. Found some a little deeper in the 15 ft range, but were up close too. Didn’t get anything over 4 lbs & it was a bit slower, but around 2 AM they started hitting spinner baits. That lasted for about an hour then things slowed down but it was nice when it lasted! Best five Tues nite went around 22lbs, Weds nite a little over 16lbs. Color we used was watermelon with red flake on the jig trailers, senkos, and the Texas rigged baits. The Iovino worms were the big hit on the drop shot.

      Tips: Look for structure with some deeper water in front of it. Weeds are a problem mucking your rigs up shallow. Move around a lot & throw tight then deeper. Rig your drop shot with enough tag to keep the worm above the weeds & twitch slowly. The jigs were presented slowly with light twitches. We also downsized our Texas weights to get thru the weeds. Senkos, Toss them as close as you can, you either get bit or a mucked up senko! We were able to fish some moderate wind both nights, gotta love the ultrex! All in all this was a fun trip! We didn’t run into any really big toads, but we caught a bunch of fish! Beats working any day in my book!

Wednesday, June 12th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74-77

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Oh NO - hide the bass - CLUM is back!!! Some former clients just keep coming back for more fun!! Seriously, I thought your report was right on. I took a former client - good friend, to Clear Lake yesterday. Yes, CLUM, I do day trips too! We found the bite to be pretty good in the early morning for bass up to 4 lbs. Several in the 2 to 3 lb range. Walls (shadows), pilings, and weed edges were our structures. Totally flat water. Once in awhile a small breeze would come up, helping to survive the upcoming heat! Finally the lake want totally flat - and hot! No wonder CLUM and I night fish!!! After 11 am, we caught one here and there but the bite slowly died. back to the ramp by 1 pm! Fun trip until we got near the Red Bud ramp. Please KEEP reading!!!

      Tips: You.ve heard the term "WATCH YOUR BACKSIDE" !! Well, it happened again! We were traveling south, straight towards Red Bud, just off the pipeline, maybe 125 yards offshore. I am about the make the left turn towards the ramp but hadn't started yet. My client yells 'WATCH OUT" and here is a pleasure boat of some kind doing about 20-25 MPH about TEN FEET on my left side, trying to cross in front of me. This is a wide open lake area with no other structures or boats around. What goes thru a mind like that - IF there is a mind at all!! I don't think I was targeted - he would have not know me or my boat. That would not have been the end of it had I been alone, and there was no time to get his CF numbers. It takes a minute of two to recover from something like that!! He was heading to the west side of the sound end, past the houses.


      Keep you eyes open on Clear Lake!!!

Tuesday, June 11th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished last night & today and they were active. Only problem was the biggest ones topped out at three lbs! We fished south with the exception of fishing highway 20 across from Buckingham. Pretty much caught fish at all of the stops. The mucky weeds are really prevalent right now. If you want to fish jigs or Texas ect, you have to fish around 15 ft to get away from them. Trouble was we found them shallow. Decided to throw senkos to minimize the muck & it was on! So we had a great time but just couldn’t stick a big one or two! Anyway, still a bunch of fun and with this Lake, you never know when that next hookset is a toad! Biggest five went around 15 lbs.

      Tips: We found them tight against weeds or tules! Look for deeper water in front of the structure and cast as tight as you can. Tried fishing deeper, but no takers. Senkos were the hottest, but got a few on Texas rigged Yamamoto Cowboys in areas with minimal weeds. Stay safe out there and have fun!

Sunday, June 9th, 2019

  • Mono County
    • By

      Report: by Otay Michael » Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:45 pm

      Killing 'em at Barrett (East San Diego County, catch and release only). Only got 22 on top this past Wed., in a half day, but was sunny for once, got 38 the week before when overcast, as I did the week prior. All topwater, averaging 3 lbs each, a few 4's and 5's and a couple of Sixers and sevens. Spooks, frogs, and boot tail flukes. Fun times. Would show you some, but nowhere to upload photos on this post. :?

      Lost my last 6" wooden Lunker Punker, anybody got one they'd like to sell pm me, it was my last one.

Thursday, June 6th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: by On The Water Guide Service » Thu Jun 06, 2019 9:13 pm

      An early summer pattern is finally beginning to emerge up here at Clear Lake. I couldn't hardly believe how much rain we got in the month of May and there was plenty of wind to go with it. The lake level has been holding relatively steady with the Rumsey gauge at 7.39 and water temps have been ranging from the low to mid 70's for the most part. Both ends of the lake have decent water clarity with about 2' to 3 1/2' visibility depending upon where you are at. Bass fishing is good right now with both ends producing some fish on a number of different techniques. I have been catching a few first thing in the morning on a Rico in the Tennessee shad and John Murray bass color. I have also caught some better size fish on the River2Sea Whopper Plopper 130 in the colors of Munky Butt and Terminator. I have been trying the double buzzbait quite a bit but haven't been real successful yet. water temps might need to heat up just a little more. The frog bite is starting to pick up a bit despite the overall lack of weed mats on the lake. The majority of the frog fish I have been catching have all been in areas where the floating duck weed has gathered together in a corner or pocket creating a little shelf for the bass to get under. I have been using the 2 5/8" Kopper Live Target frog with a nice quiet underhand pitch with no splash. twitch...twitch...boom!

      There is also a good jig bite going on all around the lake. In the north end, I have been skipping a 3/8oz jig under docks and in the south end I have been throwing a 1/2oz on rock piles, ledges, and deep docks with crawdad colors working the best. A whacky rigged Senko is a good bait to be throwing on the tule edges and under docks right now. I Have been also catching quite a few fish on a drop shot and Ned rig at all the concrete and metal headwalls all around the lake. I have heard of a few guys getting fish on crank baits and chatter baits as well. Crappie action is fair and they are biting in the morning if you can find them. I had a couple clients catch and release about 18 in a one hour period. We were using a chartreuse pan fish assassin with a sliding bobber. Some giant catfish have been caught recently by fisherman using mackerel, shrimp and night crawlers. Some of the better spots for the catfish have been the bridge at Rodman Slough and also by Rattlesnake island.

      The major bass tournaments are all winding down. The lake is full and in beautiful shape. It is a great time to hook up the boat and head up for some hydrotherapy. We will see you guys out on the water.
      Good fishing, Troy Bellah
      https://bassfishingclearlake.com/

  • Jackson County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53 to 75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: It had been some time but I finally got out to one of my favorite fun fishing lakes. Hit the water about 6 AM. I worked tubes in underwater rocks and timber on the 73-75 degree main lake for the first few hours on the main lake. Things were slow for me, I did not limit until after 9. Slow for Rollins. Around 10:30 I went up river to find my favorite deep pockets with shadows on them. The shadows were there but the water was moving and the temp was 53, still a little too early in the summer for that plan. Dropped down the river some into water that was in the 60's and started getting them again on drop shots. Tried jigs but nothing happened. Filled out two more limits with the biggest just over 2.5. Mostly spots but one largemouth, the bigger one, and one small mouth. By 1:30 the wind was blowing pretty good so I worked another couple hours fishing spots that were out of the wind. Things were slower on those spots. By 2:30 I was off the water.

      Tips: Did try topwater with a Spook first thing. One blowup and that was it. Jigs are usually really good here but I could not prove that today. Tubes and drop shots did it all. Weekdays at Rollins are so nice. By noon I had only seen 5 other boats.

Saturday, June 1st, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70-71

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Round two at Clear Lake started as a big surprise! I drove in to meet my clients about 4 pm at Red Bud and was shocked!! The tournament started on Friday!! I guess everyone knew except me!!! Anyway, fun to talk to some of my friends in the tournament. I guess near 25 lbs was leading. My grandfather/grandson team were ready to go and we launched as everyone was leaving!! We fished until midnight. What a difference in the bite from two nights ago - nearly a dead bite! I was happy to have a little action myself in landing a 5 and 6.1 lb bass - one at dusk and one about 10 pm. Was very happy that we all could see some larger bass. They caught a few up to 2 1/4 lbs. In fact the grandson caught their biggest at a spot I saved for last - stroke of midnight!! That's the way to end a slow trip!! Again - very slow bite.

      Tips: It is amazing how well a recovered post-spawn female bass can fight - especially at night. That is a largemouth fight at its best!! They cam really pull when lean and mean!!!! We used Power worms, Yamamoto Cowboys, and jigs. The two big bass were caught on 6" Berkley Power Plus ribbed worms. Just what they wanted at night. They worked two nights ago too!


      Lake was dead clam at dusk and until we quit. Swatted the bugs for a longer time at dusk - no wind! Glad they don't bite. Gone in about 20 minutes. Bass that did hit were very aggressive. Best 5 at 19 lbs - pretty good trip.

Friday, May 31st, 2019

  • Amador County
    • By

      Report: Fishing Report Camanche Week of May 31

      Shallow, shallow, shallow is the key for us at Lake Camanche this week.

      My buddy John and I went out and found the water with a surface temperature of 69° first thing in the morning.

      We thought the first hour should be a topwater and lipless crankbait bonanza, but we had zero results.

      As the morning was progressing, I picked up a Frenzy Baits nail head with a 6 inch Zoom Trick Worm and John used a dropshot with a 6 inch shad colored, handpoured worm and we started catching them.

      We targeted flats that were 15 foot and under and caught 12 fish. Nost of the bites came at the end of a long casts, as if the fish are a little bit spooky.
      
      And I have to throw out a little shout out to my buddy Nick Doring that I jumped in the boat with a few days ago when he caught this 8 lbs. 11 oz. beauty!

      I hope this helps good luck fishing
      

Thursday, May 30th, 2019

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70-71

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Mike Sperbeck and I decided to try some late afternoon-night fishing at Clear Lake, Since most of my guide trips have been at Berryessa this year, I thought that sounded like fun! We got to Red Bud about 2 pm and found that many, many folks had the same idea. Might have been some tournament, but certainly lots of pre-fishing goin" on! We fished the south end and caught a few, here and there. The lake got quiet around 7 pm, but still some folks running here and there up until dark. We found a quiet area to fish the hour before dark - and the bite was ON! Almost like the 'ol days! It continued up until midnight when we called it a day - er, a night! Best 5 around 21+ pounds, and my biggest at 5.78 lbs. I caught that one about 11 pm. Great bite The bass moved up the hour before dark - 8 to 15 feet and were using newly formed weed edges. I love Berryessa but it is hard to beat those Clear Lake big largemouth. Man, they pull!

      Tips: I did a little cranking with no results. The evening bite was too good with soft baits to do much else. Senkos were working well as always. Kreature baits were great too. Worm bite was fair. First time this year found us casting to targets (weed lines, wood) as the bass were in certain feeding positions. We weren't too rusty!! Mike lost a really big fish which didn't seem to be a catfish. She got into some underwater structure and that was that! Would have like to have seen that one. Had to be a bass we thought.

Sunday, May 26th, 2019

  • Butte County
    • By

      Report: by Pat » Sun May 26, 2019 10:15 am

      And, the fishing at Lake Oroville is great right now. Not unusual for a pair of anglers to catch 100 in a day. There will be some dinks in the lot, but a lot of solid 14-16" fish too. They are fat and strong. The recent cold snap slowed things down for reaction and topwater, but small plastics in the top 15 feet of water will get bites all over the lake. I even caught a 4 pound kamikaze king salmon while reeling up my Ned rig on Friday. Would be a great time to take kids out.

Saturday, May 25th, 2019

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We fished from 12:30pm to 7pm. Water was more stained than usual. Launched off Putah Creek Campground and stayed in the general vicinity. It was a fun style of fishing, largies and smallies were biting near shallow cover. Best 5 about 10lbs. 21 fish total. Nothing special considering 50-100 fish days here are possible, but fun nonetheless.

      Tips: Postspawn patterns. Fished near the mouth of coves around the main lake and Putah Creek. Drop shots and finesse jigs. Best fish was a 2.5 lb largemouth that nailed a finesse jig in Putah Creek.

Sunday, May 19th, 2019

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Bullards yesterday, and caught a fair number of fish but no big ones.

      Biggest went just shy of 2 lbs. Nearly all of them came right up against the bank.

      The lake is the fullest I've ever seen it. Launched at the dam and the water is probably 10 feet below the top of the dam.

      Tips: Ned rigs and keitechs were working for us right against the bank.

Friday, May 17th, 2019

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing for the season started for me this past Friday. I took Tim and his children, James and Elena, out for the day. We went to the back of the Monticello Ski School for our first stop just to check it out. I saw no real signs of fish activity. Next stop was the Narrows where we trolled along the rock wall with no bites. I decided to go towards the vineyards. We trolled along the shoreline using Speed Trap crank bait and Procure rainbow trout scent and our first catch was a largemouth bass that weighed a little over 2 1/2 pounds which Elena did a good job bringing it in and her dad netted it. Tim was next to get a hit and he brought in a nice size bass and Elena did a great job netting it. Our next bite was a nice size crappie using the same lure. I found a spot where we could worm and throw crank bait at the same time. Using a 4 inch senco chartreuse colored worm with brass and glass set-up and drop shot set-up we had success landing bass. We all agreed that it had been a very enjoyable day.
      ‘til 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.
      Sent from my iPad

      Tips: pro cure scents ,senko, speed traps ,brass and glass, drop shots, , top water,are successful ways to fish this lake call me if you need help or want to book a trip on lake berryessa only.

Wednesday, May 15th, 2019

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 67-70

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The surface temp at Berryessa is dropping, just like it is supposed to in the fall. Oh wait - this is the spring!! Yes, the water temp has dropped from a 74 degree reading last week to 68 today. And it was stormy today - Left after 2 hours. Will re-scheduled the trip. Yesterday I took Clara Ricabal to Berry and we found outstanding fishing! Maybe a pre-storm bite. We found a school of bait - and bass that bit for hours! I even caught a smallmouth an ounce or two under 4 lbs!! All 3 species were active and feeding.. Really not sure what our biggest 5 weighed, probably between 15 and 16 lbs. Great bite and it lasted for hours! That is rare.

      Today the school had thinned out and were not very active. With the incoming storm, thot it would be better. Water was flat today, but windy yesterday for the whole trip. That probably was the key.

      Tips: Shad crankbaits, salt and pepper Yamamoto grubs, Keitech 4.3 inch swimbaits, and drop-shotting were the keys to our success yesterday Fun to have a wide open bite again, in spite of the wind. But wind is often the key to a good bite in clear water. Lost several fish I'm sure because of the smaller hooks used for the swimbaits. The bass seemed to be hitting the baits on the run - vicious hits yesterday! The hooking percentage is always lower on that kind of bite. FUN though!!