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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: lots of spots fished jigs ,drop shot,swim baits,carolina rig fish slow. on water by 6:45 caught limit by 8. biggest 3lbs between 20 to 50 ft deep
      City: modesto

      Tips: be patient it will pay off

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: cold

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Alright is about time someone besides Larry Hemphill make a report on this lake. The weather was cold this morning when we went out. Wind was blowing constantly 10-20 miles per with gust up to 30-35 miles. We try suspended jerk, football jig, rattle trap, drop shot and shakey head. At the end of the day end up with 2 dinks. Nothing to show for not even worth a picture.
      City: sacramento

      Tips: Dress warm...
      Some kid was on the bank ask me if I caught any. I told him just 2 dinks. Then he proceeded to ash me if it was a largemouth or a smallmouth. I told him it was a largemouth. I said to him there is no smallmouth in this lake. He told me he caught one back in one of the creek before. Has anyone heard of any such thing before? Because I fished here for about 8 years and never caught a smallie.

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Big bass are biting at Chabot now. Got a nice 4 pounder trolling with a Junior D crankbait by the tullies at Coots Landing. Caught several in the 2-3 lbs range at Alder Point using nightcrawlers on size 6 hooks.
      City: Richmond

      Tips: Slow presentation and look for where the trouts are located.

  • Lake County
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      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: My first bass fishing trip with my grandfather was in 1974 at the age of 6. The first thing he showed me was how to harvest nightcrawlers in the garden. The next thing was to go down to the local creek and put out a minnow net with old bread as bait,my grandmother saved for this very use. This was a couple days prior to our day at the lake. Then we took our live bait along with a couple Hula poppers,Jitter bugs and few Lucky 13's and my Addiction began. This taught me a whole lot more than buying a bag of lures. Do not get me wrong, I do buy lures and lots of them. This idea of the easy thing to do is buying somthing rubs me the wrong way. How about the guy that we all know who has allways said... DO IT THE HARD WAY-THE BARTA WAY. That teaches you the old way. Bye the way most all of my big bass have come from store items.
      City: Napa

      Tips: Keep Fishing and stay true to all that has been passed down to you by the people you love.

Monday, December 21st, 2009

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 47.5

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Rivers End Marina on the south side at 06:45. Water was 47.5 all day. Started throwing top water for Stripers, nothing. then got one on a luckycraft jerkbait about 20 inchs. We also got only one Black about a pound and half. Had a two come unbuttoned . We went from Rivers End to Union point, Disco Bay,Italian, Victoria Island and all points in between. Saw No Stripers busting on top,hardly any birds overhead. Threw everything,Spooks,Jerks,Blades,Senkos,Cranks,jigs,and nothing seemed to produce. COLD fog by Union, then at noon it started to rain. Rained hard by 3pm, so we called it quits. Tough fishing,but hey we were fishing on a monday and had the delta to ourselves. It was fun running around at 65 mph with no Wakeboarders around.
      We just need a little color to the water and some warm rain from the south to perk it up. I have never seen the Delta water so clear, esp. in late Dec. after several rains.
      We will get them next time. Ray
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: Wear your life jacket! If you fall into 47 degree water you won't be able to breath or swim.

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: cold

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: to catchbigones......you're pretty big on catchin' with minnows. maybe you haven't figured out that bass fisherman use ARTIFICIAL baits....it's the challenge of enticing a bass to eat something that isn't real. that's the challenge. but you go ahead and enjoy catching all the fish you like on your dollar per minnow live bait. when you decide to step up to the challenge, let's see if your 'addictive disease' is still infecting you. i bet NOT!!
      City: clear lake

      Tips: slow slow slow.... stay just outside of the baitballs and work your favorite confidence plastic. slow roll a lipless crank or spinner off the bottom. if working the docks, pitch your senko to the piling then work toward the dropoff just beyond the dock. if they're not at the piling, they'll be down in the structure just beyond. slow slow slow. or you can simply give up and go buy dollar apiece minnows.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: At the time of this writing I haven't been out on the lake for over a week. I go often. I'm responding to the catfish guy, but also submitting a bass report. There are giant catfish all over the lake. I really don't fish for them. I have been catching 10 to 20 lb catfish lately. Usually just 3 or 4 mixed in with much bigger numbers of bass (that all get released). I get more cats if I use minnows. If I was just trying for cats, I would put some catfish bait on. Offshore rockpiles tend to have catfish nearby. They also cruise near points. They will bite jumbo minnows. In some areas, if you fish jumbo minnows, you never know if its going to be a bass or a cat. Dragging the minnow behind the boat slowly is deadly. You really need to go slow. The most popular methods are dragging drop shot with the hook about 15 inches above the lightest weight that lets you feel the bottom (between 1/8 and 1/4 ounce). The other effective method is with the hook on the bottom and a splitshot about 15 to 18 inches above the hook. I often fish jumbo minnows during the toughest part of the season. Sorry, I am addicted to the feel of giant bass on the end of my line. I've succumbed to a very serious and addictive disease. I always catch lots of fish. I spend considerable time on the south end of the lake. When you consistently see fishermen a ways offshore, but staying in the same place, it probably means they're on fish. It's not uncommon for me to catch 12 or more fish in a location 10 feet in diameter during this part of the year. You don't use much gas that way. I save more on gas than the difference between the price of senkos compared to jumbo minnows (about a 1$ each). I could care less about impressing people with my catch. I just love that feeling of a big bass on my line. Offshore structure, like rocks can be great. During the cold months, rocks get even better. The fish are schooled during this time of year, so if you catch em, don't be in a hurry to move. Be sure to have your boat inspected and get the sticker. If you do all of this, you will probably discover how much more fun bass are to catch than catfish. I know, some guys just dig catching cats.
      City: Esparto

      Tips: Catfish tend to prowl around a little bit off of the rocks. Sometimes I have to make sure I stay close to the rocks or I'd spend my whole day wrestling those big knuckle biters off my hooks. I'm after the double digit bass. The big bass tend to like the edges of rock beds. The north side of Point Lakeview and Jones Bay might give you a good idea of where to start. Rocks, tules, and other cover (like docks) all together = fish. Oh, I almost forgot. In the winter, using light line, 8 or even 6 lb test will yield way more fish. I like 100% flourocarbon. If you can't land a 20 lb catfish in open water with 8 lb test, you are in the wrong sport. (Use the drag or backreel) This last tip is absolutely critical. Those fish would hate me for giving you this tip, (If they could hate).

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: 51-52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the Monday before Christmas sticking mostly to main lake areas in the Dry Creek part of the lake. First fist came on a wacky senko, and the others came on a drop shot 6" worm. Lost 2 fish on the senko after getting hung up in the trees. Lands 4 keepers total to 3 1/2 lbs.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: Fish slow this time of year. Looks for rocky areas around sparse trees. All fish came in less than 30' of water.

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: 7:30 am launched out of Big Break....fished surrounding marinas for Crappie.....caught 6 and 2 Red Ear....off the water by 11 am
      City: Antelope

      Tips: 1"sassy shad did the job

  • Ventura County
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      Water Temp: 63

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: No fish today.The last plant has made a few more of the bigger fish to move around. I had a few followers come up to the baits. I guess they had a tourney going on,I saw a few guys hitting the points more than once. Some of the guys coming in said the bite was not there for them. I was there on Friday also and the guys on the boats got them on drop-shots using Oxblood 4in worms.
      good luck Chief
      City: Camarillo

      Tips: Keep throwing those swimbaits your time will come. Check your line, if its looking old time to replace it.

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

    • By

      Water Temp: 46

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started and finished the day with water flat as a pancake. Launch was easy as water and dock are great and the water was gin clear. Really tough bite and saw 2 boats leave after less than 2 hours on water but persisted after fishing some of my spots near the launch and up Rock Creek a short way. Decided to head to the rocks below the road to the dam and picked up a nice 2+ on jig and then headed up the main body working a tube when I noticed it hanging on those submerged sticker bushes so went to a chatterbait and knocked one on the 2nd cast, another nice 2+ and they both had nice color and fat as footballs. Although it was overcast, having no wind made it tougher and it was tough even finding them on the graph. Things will only get better and the good thing about today was the launch dropped from $15 to $10. CFW must have gotten one of those stimulus checks!
      City: Wheatland

      Tips: If I had a patten, I could give a tip but no pattern but the black on black jig and black/blue chatterbait is what produced for me today. No jet skis or power boats makes this a great winter lake to fish and with the water on the rise, bite will get better every day.

    • By

      Water Temp: 49.9

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got on the water at 830 cranked,cranked,and cranked with no takers.After about 4 hours finally got bit.Got a total of four fish going 5.2, 4.3, 3.5, and 3.2.Never changed the pattern just kept on it.Caught those 4 fish in the last 2 hours of fishing, left at 230.
      City: santa rosa

      Tips: No need to go to another lake thats how spring lake is.you just got to keep on it.find the under water weed patches and rip through them ,you will get bit eventualy.CRANK,CRANK,CRANK

Friday, December 18th, 2009

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-58

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started out at 11 am and fished until 4:30 pm. I tried to find balls of bait over the majority of the lake...nothing. I was surprised to see the large bait balls up north were gone. No large groups of grebes in fishable water either. I did not even bother to put the spoon down. Tried all the bridge pilings. Nothing. I think cold snap last week either killed or moved the bait dramatically. I was surprised the temp was 54-58 however...

      We were able to hit the bank with a dropshot and catch some smallies, spots, and largemouth. Nothing in great numbers.

      I'm done with bass until the spring. This is the lowest I have ever fished Berry at 407.13. Lets hope the rain continues and fills up the lakes!
      City: Elk Grove

      Tips: Morning dawn and smelt color (green back with either clear or white belly) dropshot style baits worked for us.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Been quite awhile since I have been on the lake. great weather fishing was not bad. Started out with cranks and picked up 4, up to 3.5lbs. Then the flat calm blue bird day set in. Switched over to a jig fish were on a soft bite a couple swings no hook up. Had to switch over to a drop shot and mojo rig to catch 6 more to 2.25lbs.
      City: Vacaville

      Tips: Fish were on the tops of the points in the morning then moved to the deep sides as the sun came out. Craw color cranks were working, not shad for some reason. The soft plastics any thing in a green. Fished main body and the south end and the fish ranged fron 10-50 feet deep. That is what happens after the turn over.

  • Siskiyou County
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      Water Temp: Cold

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Ponch told me to fish this lake and buy some property. Lake is good, property no so good. Caught 25 fish on pts. and humps. Go humpty!!
      City: Earth

      Tips: Tell John to hand back, I got this one. Fishing is good as long as you don't try the veil.

    • By

      Water Temp: cold!

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: no luck!!!!! fished for about 3 hours with different crank baits, different roboworms, senkos, crawdads, with nothin. only one bite.
      City: rohnert park

      Tips: go to another lake

    • By

      Water Temp: cold!

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: no luck!!!!! fished for about 3 hours with different crank baits, different roboworms, senkos, crawdads, with nothin. only one bite.
      City: rohnert park

      Tips: go to another lake

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 47-48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Korths around 7:15A. Headed up the Mokelumne toward Hog/Sycamore. Encountered dense fog most of the way. Fished Hog/Sycamore using crankbaits and Punker for linesides. Did some bass fishing with plastics. No action at all. Saw a lot of boats bait fishing Mokelumne for linesides. Headed back to Potato Slough and Mokelumne/San Joaquin area. Partner caught a 14 inch bass on a senko. That was the action for the entire day. Off the water at 2:30P.
      City: Dixon

      Tips: A lot of dense weeds in Hog so tough to fish a many areas using crankbaits. Great for cranking punker but no action.

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: fished main body dropshotted 7 and spooned 3 and caught 2 salmon and 2 trout.was able to boat one largemouth around 3 pounds.
      City: Roseville

      Tips: find the bait balls and work the outside of them all fish were caught away from the bait

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 46 - 50

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished along dam. Picked up fish on graph. No takers though. Moved on to points on south facing side. Found water a bit warmer, caught two, boom,boom. that was it. Slow draggin' a watermelon-candy lizard. It's sure is B E A U T I F U L UP ON THE MOUNTAIN! We are blessed to live where we do !
      City: UKIAH

      Tips: Take the road up real slow. If you do, you'll be alright. Make a day of it. DRESS FOR THE WEATHER. It's cold this time of the year. The bite was very soft, stay in contact with your lure. WATCH FOR THE BALD EAGLES! GOOD LUCK !