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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Friday, February 15th, 2019

  • Napa County
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      Report: by Duke » Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:47 pm

      It was a Pretty Cold day on the water for all the teams. Thanks to the 25 Teams that fished the 5th event of the Pasote Tequila & Berryessa Bass Tournaments Circuit that was on February 10, 2019 and hosted out of Markley Cove. The rain held off, but it was still Cold! Hot Chili was all gone after the weigh-ins! The lake is still fishing well for numbers, and most of the field found limits, just no fish over 5lbs were weighed in. All the teams struggled for a big bite all day, but a few teams got a 4lber! Most teams reported catching their fish in 15 – 40 feet. Thanks to all teams for obeying the 5mph after Pope Creek Bridge and in Putah Creek! DFG saw no one breaking the law! Water temps are down into the low 50’s range with the water clarity slightly murky green, especially after the rain and winds again. Top weights were a little low overall in the 14lb range. Teams reported catching their fish on Jigs. Most teams were fishing all over Main Body of the lake, Narrows, and Putah Creek.

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: Water temp 51-53°

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: by RCook » Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:07 am

      Lake New Melones
      2-9-19
      On the water at 7:00 am
      Off the water at 3:30 PM
      Water clarity 4-15'

      Air temp 28-45°

      Joe and Brandon made the drive up to New Melones to come fish with me for a day and we absolutely hammered em! We started off in a major creek arm working jigs, underpins and senkos VERY slow over some bigger rock piles. It didnt take long to get the day started, as we had a fish over 5 lbs in the boat within a few minutes. We boated quite a few fish on the am side of the day, with most of them being very healthy 3+ pounders.
      Mid-day we decided to run to the main lake and fish some deep island tops in hopes if catching a big spotted bass, and although we didnt find the big one, we did go catch a bunch of spots and had some fun!
      Around 1:00pm we went back to another creek arm and ran the same pattern, fishing bottom bouncing baits slow over big rock in 15-35' of water, and they were still chewin'. We ended the day with 40+ fish, with our best 5 going around 23 lbs with a 7-10 kicker. Most fish were caught on 1/2 oz football head jigs. 1/4 oz Fatty's worms underspin, and 5" senkos on a shakey head.
      Another great day on the water with some great company! Book your trip today guys! 559-691-7008. $250 gets you a FULL day of fishing for 1 or 2 people.

Monday, February 11th, 2019

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 47

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: We participated in the Vista De Lago High School Bass Tournament yesterday. 75 boats on the water and another well organized event with kids from all over NorCal. The guys running these tournaments are awesome.
      We got a keeper in the first hour which is our goal to weigh in at tournaments but after that, we had a tough day.
      Small mouth was caught on a shad color worm fishing slowly and dragging the bottom. I'm going to say around a quarter of the boaters didn't weigh in and most of the boats only got one or two. We drop shot deep and slow, we worked the vertical walls and secondary points. Even, tried over near the dam. Tough day, cold but no rain. A big thank you to Vista De Lago HS Fishing club for putting this on each February.

Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-54

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: A friend of mine asked if I would like to join him for a trip to Don Pedro! YES I WOULD!!!! Haven't been there in about 35 years - since moving from San Jose. I love that lake and even guided there when still in San Jose, and did 2 guide trips after moving to Yuba City. Those two trips spelled the end of Don Pedro for me - 6 to 7 hr round trip from Yuba City!! We missed the early bite as we missed a few turns on the way there. I did get to see New Melones for the first time!! Oops - wrong lake!! I wasn't driving!

      We covered a good bit of the lake, with memories flooding into my head about this spot and that spot! I lost a fairly big bass just after we started, and the rest of the trip we caught about 16 to 18 bass, all from 1 1/4 to near 2 1/2 lbs - mostly largemouth and a few spots. No more big bites. We fished a bunch of different soft plastic baits and Senkos. Most bites were from 10 to 35 feet. it was a beautiful day - sunny and almost warm!!

      Tips: I really don't feel qualified to give tips as the bite was ok, but not great. Not anything in the backs of coves, but you have to try on a warmer day. Sun needs to get a bit higher on the horizon to warm the water.

      I used to trout fish the main Tuolumne (try spelling that!) river feeding the "old Don Pedro" before the lake was raised to its present size. Looking up at those workers building the 200-300 fi pillars for the new highway was a sight I would never forget! Glad I was a teacher - sort of a safe job!!

Tuesday, January 29th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: What a great start to 2019! We have been catching a lot of quality bass during the month January and recently the action seems to have really picked up. Last week I landed an 8-pound largemouth on a big swimbait and over the weekend we boat numerous fish from 3 to 5-pounds. The water temperature in some areas has begun to gradually warm and it is starting to feel like spring. A few fish are transitioning into shallow throughout the day, however many fish are still holding out deep. We have been covering a lot of water, fishing the main lake and major creek arms. The most consistent pattern has been jigs and shakeyheads fished down steeper banks. These areas can be fished from 5’ to 55’ feet with one cast. The next few months are some of my favorites and we are going to be catching some impressive largemouth and spotted bass. Join me on the water for an awesome fishing Xperience!

      Tips: Xperience Fishing Guide Service
      www.xperiencefishing.net
      xperiencefishing@yahoo.com
      John Liechty (209)743-9932

Thursday, January 24th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: What a beautiful day to fish, clear blue skies with some sunshine. It was (2) days after a storm and within (1) week of another storm prior to that one. No fish! Worked some baits pretty thoroughly and used my sonar to locate fish. I found about 4 arches all day along a 2 mile stretch. I believe this post front has pushed these bass into the mud @ 70-80' and they were unwilling to bite. The arches I did find, I fished and they just wouldn't activate. Very skittish and spooked very easily. Can't beat a great day on the water though, even without fish in the boat.

      Tips: Only tip I can share is if you can, plan a trip 3 days after a storm..

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49-51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I really enjoyed my 2 days at the Sacramento ISE show, working with long time fishing buddy and owner of Blade Runner Tackle, Rick Tietz - and others in the booth. You look at his big booth and realize he has created ALL those baits and colors you will see nowhere else. Meeting and talking to new and old friends at the show is always much fun. Fishing stories can get a little out of hand as they grow better each time you tell them - LOL!!! I was able to meet my first record holder - that is - WORLD RECORD holder (Spotted Bass), Nick Dulleck. He caught the giant spotted bass at Bullards Bar a year or so ago, at 11 lbs 4 oz. Talk about a trophy fish! We chatted for awhile and soon were planning a trip to BB. We went yesterday, in spite of the sudden cold front. Talk about having the lake to yourself - saw only 2 or 3 other bass boats. The bite was awful - he caught a few small ones and I missed a few bites. But that's January at BB. We did cover a lot of the lake, checking out different spots. He showed me the spot where the spot was caught. Info can be purchased. BAD JOKE!! NOT A CHANCE !!! THE SPOT is safe in my small brain!!

      Tips: We had a great time sharing experiences and ideas. It is exciting to see the younger generation so dialed in and excited about our sport that just keeps growing. We talked about lots of bass subjects, old and new, tournaments, etc. We did a lot of running around, covering much of the lake, showing each other many good structure patterns. It sure is a different lake than when I started fishing it - floating logs everywhere, very few big fish, no spotted bass, and so on. My first-ever guide trip was at Bullards Bar - a special lake for me!

      The bite should pick up in about 2 weeks, depending on weather. Not only is the lake at 2000 feet (colder nights), but it has a lot of extensive shadows with the surrounding mountains. Some areas only get a few hours of winter sun.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49 to 45

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: If there is one thing I hate about living in FOLSOM it’s not being able to catch quality bass consistently in a lake 1.5 miles from my house... got on the water at 10 hoping to hit that afternoon bite ... saw several bass boats running around the lake and looked like they had a tough day like me... missed a few bites but other than that nada! Someone please share the secret of folsom lake. I tried crank baits, drop shot, jerk bait, and Ned rig. Horrible fishing on such a beautiful day... could it be the full moon? In between storms? Started on. North shore and worked around lake hitting rock points. Tried shallow and deep with no success.

      Tips: Water has risen 17 feet in the last week. Temps are cold and finding the fish was a mystery.

Monday, January 21st, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: Water temp- 53°

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: by RCook » Mon Jan 21, 2019 11:30 pm

      1-16-18
      On the water- 6:55 am
      Off the water- 2:30 pm
      Air temp- High of 50°
      Water temp- 53°
      Water clarity- Clear.

      Michael Bryant and Ryan Orozco came up to Don Pedro to fish in a NASTY storm with me, and they were not disappointed! We started off on the main lake fishing a few steep bluff walls with glide baits and spinner baits, with a few fish right off the bat, biggest going just under 6 lbs. The reaction bite seemed to die quickly, so it was time to change up and slow down.
      We started fishing jigs and underspins very slowly, but we continued to stay fairly shallow (10-25') and kept catching quality fish all day. The bite wasn't fast and furious, but the storm had the big fish up shallow feeding, and we seemed to get a big bite about every hour with several smaller sized fish mixed in.

      Days like these are so much fun, when the nasty weather rolls in, typically these big fish become easier to catch and tend to move up a little shallower also. We ended up catching a bunch of fish, including some absolute fatties! The lake is starting to rise quickly with all of the recent rain and it should continue to be great fishing all through this winter! If you guys are interested in a trip give me a call at 559-691-7008, or check out my website, ryancookfishing.com. $200 for a full day guys!

Thursday, January 10th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: by RCook » Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:48 am

      Lake Don Pedro fishing report.

      On the water- 11:00 am
      Off the water- 3:00pm
      Air temp- 50°
      Water clarity- 8-15'

      Zach and Mikaela came out for a quick half day Don Pedro Session, and the fish were chewin'! We started out deeper, from 30-60' throwing jigs, swimbaits, and drop shots. We caught several fish on our starting spot, and honestly didnt move the boat much until it was time to leave, (gotta love those days!)

      We found that the main key this day was to fish extremely SLOW, and seeing the fish on the graph and dropping down straight on top of them was the easiest way to get bit. The fish are still schooling up, but a little more scattered than they have been recently. We wised the day with around 25-30 fish (not bad for 4 hrs) and Mikaela absolutely kicked both of our butts!
      I have trips available guys! The month of Janruary is almost booked up, I have a few days left, but February is still pretty open! Now is a great time to catch a bunch of fish, and also have a shot at a BIG ONE! $200 gets you and a buddy a FULL day trip, you won't find a better price! Ryancookfishing.com 559-691-7008.

Friday, January 4th, 2019

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50-53

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at 7AM out of Tuttletown. Second time to the lake so wasn't to sure where to start so i motored directly across the ramp and worked the shoreline headed south. Started out with a jerkbait and was surprised when i got bit on the first cast. Ended up with 6 spots on the jerkbait to 3 lb's. The bite slowed and nothing on a crankbait so i started throwing a ned rig. By the time i got to the dam i probably put another 15 fish in the boat. Ran across to the east side looking for similar structure and caught 3 fish on three cast at my first stop, again on the ned rig. A breeze came up so i pitch the jerkbait again for 2 more fish. Pretty much a steady pick the rest of the day on the ned. Most of my fish were 10-20 feet of water. Off the water at 5 pm.

      Tips: Megabass 110 is the jerkbait i was throwing, shad pattern. Threw every color of ned rig and they all caught.

Monday, December 31st, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-55

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: One who almost never guides on Sunday - guided yesterday - a Sunday!! I am usually in church, but decided to take a great young bass fisherman up from Texas, attending a bay area family wedding. We started about 9 am, hoping to take advantage of the usually good afternoon bite this year at Berryessa. Thousands were there earlier - but I did find a parking place in the Markley parking area. I have been complaining about the lack of wind this fall - making conditions tough with the clear water. It was even that way when we taped the Angler West Berryessa program (with Clara Ricabal) this fall. Made the bite tough, but ok that day. After seeing the north wind today, yesterday was a blessing!! As is normal for winter fishing, the bite was slow until around 2 to 3 pm. He went crazy as we (HE) got into them. They went on a 45 minute feed. He landed 7 or 8 up to 4 lbs - all largemouth except the smallest one, a spotted bass, the first he has ever caught! His limit was between 13 and 14 lbs! He had a 3 1/2 + largemouth to back up the 4. He also landed a few undersized and 2 smaller keepers before noon. Once the bite was over abound 2:45, nothing after. We fished until 3:30 as I had to get him back by 4 pm. He WILL have a great memory of California fishing, I'm sure!!

      Tips: So, what else is new. We drop-shotted 6" Robo worms, mostly in the MM111 color. Saw very few shad on the meter. Where do they go?? Up Putah Creek I've heard. I think the best news I can tell you is that we (he) caught them as shallow as 5 feet, but mostly 10 to 15 feet. Only one maybe at 20 feet. I have seen this happen with all different fishing positions in the boat, and have seen back-seaters do some amazing things! The dummy is in the front, working the Minn Kota 112 all day. This dummy (the guide) didn't get a bite! I was trying different baits to see if there were variations on the bite. I forgot - I did catch one small bass on a shad colored Robo worm.

      In a situation like ours, or during a tournament, when there is no bite -- is it the turned-off bass or the wrong baits? Ah, the eternal question!!!

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: by RCook » Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:42 pm

      Fishing Report for Lake Don Pedro. Saturday 12-29-18

      On the water - 6:45 am
      Off the water- 2:30 PM
      Air temp- 32-50°
      Water temp- 52-55°
      Water clarity- very clear
      Steve cardoza and I headed up to Don Pedro on the coldest morning of the year so far, and we had some FUN! We started off the day shallow throwing jigs and shakey heads, catching 3 really nice fish up to 4.5 lbs, with several other quality fish mixed in.
      Mid morning we decided to head out deeper and run main lake points and steep ledges, targeting schooling fish with finesse plastics. We caught quite a few fish, with a few in the 3lb range. Mid lake was best, but we caught them just about everywhere we stopped.
      They main key of the day, (and lately as a whole) are to fish SLOW!!! We had a 20+ pound, 5 fish limit, with nothing over 5 lbs... pretty solid day! I have guide trips available for the month of January guys, $200 for a full day trip, includes up to 2 people! Book your trip today!

      Ryancookfishing.com. 559-691-7008.

Sunday, December 30th, 2018

  • Mariposa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Last day of fishing in 2018!!!! Decided to head to McClure and was not disappointed. Started out just running the bank throwing an underspin with 3.8" trailer in about 20-40 FOW. Caught alot of fish on the day but nothing big. Most of the fish were coming off of chunk rock when I would grind the underspin on the bottom or bang it into the rocks. Caught a couple fish on a hula grub as well. I did catch a few spots hovering around 3lbs. One had a large shad down his gullet close to 5" in length; what a greedy fish :). Only caught 2 largemouth the whole trip. I tried throwing an A Rig and big swimbaits as well with no luck. A fun day of winter fishing though.

      Tips: Some bites on the underspin came on the fall so pay attention on that intial drop. Water was pretty clean so I'm sure they can see your bait from far away.

Thursday, December 27th, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: They say when you fish the Delta you better get used to the wind. Today was the only day my buddy and I could fish, so we decided to brave the 25+ mph winds. Fishing in these conditions can get pretty squirrely, so it's recommended to stay in the backwaters/marinas and avoid the large flats.

      We launched at Disco around 12:30pm. Even with the houses there the north wind was brutal. We hugged north banks. Found one group of docks that held fish. Drop shot was the ticket here, as it usually is in the winter. We decided to brave a east/west stretch and hug the north bank. Jerkbaits were the ticket here. Fished until sunset at 5 ish.

      No big fish, just fat, well-fed, healthy 1s and 2s. 8 fish in the boat. One broke off right at the boat. A couple more missed bites. Is this considered a good day on the Delta? We don't know, but we caught fish in miserable weather and we're happy about that.

      This year has been tough for me on the Delta. I can fish reservoirs fine but the Delta is a different animal. However, the last couple trips have slowly been restoring my confidence.

      Tips: Slow everything down. Dead stick the drop shot. Most hits weren't really hits, we just felt weight. If they did hit it was a subtle tick. Increase pauses between jerkbaits. Jerk, then count to a number. Or sit down and eat a sandwich. Hell, purposely backlash and pick out the backlash. Fishing slow, especially in the wind, sucks hard. But it puts fish in the boat.

Sunday, December 23rd, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Berryessa for the first time in a long time today. We knew the day would be tough with the full moon the previous night. The day started out a little sunny but then the clouds moved in and it started raining. We were on the water from 12pm to 6pm. I barely graphed any fish shallower than 30 feet. Either they were really shallow or pretty deep. Most likely pretty deep. That being said my partner and I decided we were going to try fishing really shallow just because we wanted to. My friend was throwing my jerkbait rod with a vision 110. He backlashed and as he was picking it out something swirled on the jerkbait in about 4 feet of water. He quickly picked out the backlash and commented "wouldn't it be funny if there was a fish on the end of this?" Well there was. We caught one more on the jerkbait and I caught one on a popper in the same area (both in really shallow water).

      Enough screwing around. Got to our second spot and graphed around. Noticed a fair bit of activity in ~45 feet of water. Hit the spot lock and dropped the dropshots straight down. Reminded me of fishing for rock cod. Soon enough we started getting bit. Dead sticking was key, they would bite it very light. Had one bite where I was reeling it up then it realized it was hooked. Started digging deep. Got it close to the surface, a solid 3 lber. Broke me off. Like an idiot I had my drag set way too tight. Painful lessons are the easiest to remember. Ended the day with 8 fish boated and a satisfactory amount of bites. Considering the conditions, a satisfying day.

      Tips: I've been fishing my local lake a lot and noticed a similarity in that fish were hanging out around 45+ feet of water. Find the deep rock. This time of the year electronics are almost a necessity.

Saturday, December 22nd, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55 deg F

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Left Bethel Island around sunrise and took a cold (39 deg F) ride over to Tinsley Island, mostly to avoid getting shot at by duck hunters at Frank's Tract. Only caught one small LM at Tinsley on a white/silver spinnerbait. Nothing on the swimjigs or crankbaits. Back on the north, inner-side of Franks kept the bite continually going with the spinnerbait (probably about 6 LMs) but nothing sizeable.

Saturday, December 15th, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Report: Guys, low water like these days always had some of the best fishing days I have ever had in past years. Get out and get those spots. I'm getting close to closing on a home up here in Washington, with luck in the next 2-3 weeks. After getting moved in will work at a small boat and begin fishing bass, and will have to learn trout, since most have nice ones available to catch. Nearest lake is 4 minutes from home, so will be posting lots when I get going again, camera last purchase. Get out and catch those spots, low lake levels are good for them, better then high levels.

Friday, December 14th, 2018

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-55

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: It is no big secret that New Bullards Bar holds some of the biggest spotted bass in the world, but it can be one of the most difficult places to catch a bass at times. The tendencies of these bass to hold on deep stumps or rock piles make them hard to locate even with the all mighty Lowrance HDS 12. Subsequently, these incredibly intelligent and lock jawed giants will at times suspend at depths of 30-80 feet over 150 feet! When targeting them this is the best time of year to break that personal best or seek a world record.

      Why is this? Well yesterday, I finally discovered why! The Salmon... We all talk about bait and how it dictates the bass and their behavior, but at Bullards there is no shad. So, this can throw a newcomer for a spin and I am here to attempt to assist you in at least catching one of them. At this time of year, the Land locked salmon have been spawning which means they find a nice area at the backs of creeks or bluffs to lay their eggs. As I discovered yesterday the bass follow and eat their eggs and the dark red and black dying post spawners. To my surprise, I slung out a bright pink ned rig and roboworm around all the streaks of Salmon in the shallows of the "creeks" and left and right I opened pandoras box. Cast after cast my co angler and I boated spotted bass in the range of 1-3 Pounds. I guess the bigger ones would be eating the salmon but were already full. In conclusion my live well is full of salmon eggs and I have the need to inform all of you on my success in hopes to aid the community.

      Sincerely,
      Nathan Gardner

      Tips: Also if it is not to much to ask if you would follow me on Instagram at nate_g_fishing, I would love it!
      https://www.instagram.com/nate_g_fishing/?hl=sr

Thursday, December 13th, 2018

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-55

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I did a 6 hr day trip with buddy Mike to check out conditions at Bullards Bar. Conditions were not so good. Dark Day ramp is out of the water - no launch possible. The ramp at the dam is at the curve - it is ok, but awkward. Good to have a buddy help with the launch. The bite was very slow - did not hook any quality spots, 7 or 8 with only 2 keepers. Only saw two other boats on the lake. Very cold mornings - temps around freezing or below. Water is clear.

      Tips: I tried several different styles of winter fishing. Drop-shotting and small types of beaver baits worked the best. Did seem some bait on the meter, but not much. No creeks running. Weekend rain may help some if storms hold together.