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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Friday, July 25th, 2025

    • By

      Report: Eastman & Hensley Lakes
      Unread post by jiggin4bass » Fri Jul 25, 2025 2:21 pm

      If your fishing from your boats beware of hazards in the water on both Hensley lake it's at 16% the bass bite is fair for bass to 2lbs
      Eastman lake is at 23% and the bass bite here is much better bass to 2 1/2 to 4 lbs
      Both lake using jigs Ned baits chatterbaits spinnerbaits senkos brushogs
      Night fishing has been good at Eastman
      For info on both lakes
      Hensley lake 559 673-5151
      Eastman lake 559 689-3255

Monday, July 21st, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: California Delta Fishing Report — July 21

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      The Delta spread kayak teams across 1000+ miles of waterway with multiple launch options. Outgoing and incoming tides dictated the bite, and low tide exposed healthy grass that held bigger bass for some anglers. Success came from launching where bait, cover, and tide movement lined up—and adapting as the tide changed.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Frog fishing on small cheese mats/duck weed pockets (low tide window).
      Punching along berms with small cheese mats tight to the bank (produced smaller fish).
      Hand-tied jig (living rubber + silicone in brown/red/black) with a Sweet Beaver trailer, fished along a retaining wall (early).
      Z-man chatter bait (green pumpkin) in open lanes/outer weed edge, best as the tide dropped out.
      Punching cane islands at low tide when the cane laid on the water.
      Magnum speed worm after chatter bait lull; then 6” Senko (Texas-rig) for multiple keepers and late culls.

      Key Depths / Zones:
      Low-tide frog water over small cheese mats.
      Berms with small cheese mats tight to bank.
      Retaining walls (early window).
      Outer edge of cane and outer weed line as tide dropped.
      Small cheese mats & duck weed pockets when grass was scarce.

      Low tide was the frog difference-maker on small mats, while punching produced numbers but smaller fish. As water dropped, a chatter bait on the outer edges played, and cane-island punching shined at true low. When reaction stalled, anglers shifted to speed worm and 6” Senko to finish limits and cull late.

      Tournament Spotlight:
      1st: Propane Accessories (Alden Walden) — 95.50”
      2nd: Lone Rangers (Jesse Hoover & Joey Silva) — 92.75”
      3rd: Haynie/Patino — 88.00” (won tie on a 21.00” big fish)
      Big Fish: Jesse Hoover — 23.00”

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      On low tide, work a frog over small cheese mats and duck weed pockets—make a big splash, watch for a wake, then recast to that spot and work it slow (walk it or let it sit) to make them commit. As the tide drops out, run a green pumpkin Z-man chatter bait on the outer weed/cane edges; at true low, punch cane islands that lay on the water. If reaction dies, switch to a magnum speed worm and a Texas-rigged 6” Senko to keep bites coming and cull late.

    • By

      Water Temp: 71

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched early as always at Paradise; ran down to fav flats and worked topwater popper but no takers; switched to a black Choppo 90 and immediately picked up 3 keepers, largest one approx 2.5lbs; Here's where bad luck hit me. I tried to cross over through the flats at high speed on my trolling motor and then about a minute into it, it just died. I thought maybe it was just full of weeds so brought it up, cleared the weeds, but it wouldn't power on once deployed. Wireless remote acted like it wasn't connecting. Tried battery test button, nothing and system light showed nothing. My belief is I either fried the motherboard or it was already dying a slow death. I had my tester with me and both 12v deep cycles in series showed 12.89 volts.
      So I guess it's a blessing in disguise because it's a Minn Kota Riptide Gen1 with a spotlock that has a variance of 10 meter radius; hated it!
      So anyways, we continued fishing with the main motor on and repositioned as necessary. Continued to catch along rock wall trough on my black plopper and brother was using a weightless weedless horny toad on a 4/0 wide gap hook. Picked up probably another 6-7 keepers and several little guys and called it an early morning ... couldn't wait to get home and research a new trolling motor. For my boat, likely a MinnKota Riptide Terrova. I don't use FFS anyway. It was humbling not to have a trolling motor.

      Tips: As always, not qualified to give tips but here's what worked this morning:
      - Choppo 90, black - worked it like a popper, just twitching slow cadence, 1- plop, 3-plop plop plop, 1-plop, 2- plop plop etc. Hits came on the pause/rest.... never retrieved it like it was designed.
      - Horny toad in Watermelon red pearl on 4/0 wide gap, weightless and texposed weedless. Brother just used subtle twitches and they hit on the pause.

Tuesday, July 8th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched early from Paradise, pretty breezy but tolerable. Ran down to main channel and just hit inlets and oxbows off main. First stop yielded 3 stripers 16" & 17" slow crankin' a bluegill squarebill. Continued catching on crank for the next hour, mostly 10-12"ers to 1lbers. Also picked up some fat redear sunfish and a couple of good sized crappies on the crank. Kept em for a needy family I know. When that slowed, switched to 3/8 oz Green Pumpkin/Blue/Chartreuse Jackhammer; first 3 casts hooked at least a 3lber (judging by the size of the mouth when it jumped) and then lost it at the boat ($#!+!!) No more hits after that loss and wanted to get back to crankin anyways so didn't spend any more time with it. Went to whopper plopper 90 in bone. Many hits just twitching it like a popper as well as straight retrieve parallel on top of weedlines. Also got three big blowups as soon as it hit the water, like immediately. One was 2lbs, the other two were about a pound. Nothing on senko, dropshot, or jerkbait though I didn't give those a lot of time, always went back to the bluegill pattern crank and whopper plopper. Big brother was also throwing a white horny toad on 4/0 weightless and was getting lots of action. He'd throw to open holes and they'd hit as soon as he was about to drag it onto the slop. Fun watching it.
      Fun day, nothing over 2lbs but hey, always fun gettin fish on the hook!

      Tips: As always, not qualified to give tips but here's what worked for us:
      - SB-57 crank in bluegill
      - Whopper Plopper 90 in bone
      - 3/8 oz Jackhammer chatterbait in green pumpkin/blue/chartreuse (used spike it colors)
      - Horny toad weightless on 4/0 wide gap; white

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025

  • Mariposa County
    • By

      Report: Lake McClure Fishing Report — July 1

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      Windy conditions and a tough bite challenged the 59 anglers. The lake had been drawing down a few feet each week, pushing fish deeper into their comfort zone. The top results came from anglers who targeted deeper water/structure.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Neko rig: Dragged on rock over humps in 30–40 ft, and down steep walls; also used to drop on a fry-guarding fish seen on a Garmin.
      Topwater: River 2 Sea Rover and Reaction Innovation Vixen to start the morning and get a limit.
      Worms: Brown 7” Trick Worm on a ¼ oz shaky head; cast across coves and worked back along the banks.
      Jig: ½ oz Keitech football jig with a small beaver-style trailer; drag and pop cadence to trigger bites.
      Follow-ups: Tube and spoon helped with upgrades later.

      Key Depths / Zones:
      30–40 ft on humps (rock).
      Steep banks/walls (worked down with the Neko).
      20 ft top of a break, casting from 50 ft and working up the structure.
      Coves with fish that “ate” at different times of day.


      With the lake dropping and wind blowing, deeper rock and breaks produced best. A Neko rig on humps and steep walls, topwater early for a limit, then a brown Trick Worm (¼ oz shaky head) in key coves, and a ½ oz Keitech football jig (popped off bottom) rounded out winning patterns. Tube and spoon provided additional upgrades.

      Tournament Spotlight:
      1st: Joseph Silva — 86.00”
      2nd: Dana Remy — 84.25”
      3rd: Damian Thao — 83.25”
      Big Fish: John Heller — 19.75”

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      With a steady drawdown pushing fish deeper, start on rock humps in 30–40 ft and steep banks with a Neko rig. If the morning topwater slows, work a brown 7” Trick Worm (¼ oz shaky head) through productive coves. On structural breaks, use a ½ oz Keitech football jig and pop it off bottom—most bites come right after the snap. If you mark a fry-guarder, drop the Neko straight to it, and use a tube/spoon to finish upgrades.

Saturday, June 21st, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Hi all, I also launched from Paradise last week, and headed north from there. Throwing top water everywhere, I landed a few dinks around whites. Headed farther north to find muddy water in the river. So decided to get to clearer water in the backs of sloughs. Did much better, landing three 3lbers in a row. And a few smaller ones on the exit of Sycamore. I fished spinnerbait on tulies heading back south in that muddy water and only managed a couple dinks. It got super windy. I had to shut it down because it wasn't fun anymore...lol
      "I'll be back"

      Tips: Stay positive. Have lots of fun..!!

Thursday, June 19th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76.6° - 76.9°

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched early at Paradise, low outgo maybe an hour from bottom low tide. Since it was low tide, followed Steve Cooper's low tide guidance and stayed out in deeper water and casting in and retrieving over outer weedline and ledges. Picked up a few 12"ers and 1lbers on hula popper initially and changed to a poppin' frog when we got to surface veg. Also managed a few on wacky stick baits (6" strike king ocho and 5" senko, green pumpkin/blue flk and junebug) Brother picked up a few on t-rigged baby brush hog with 1/8oz pegged bullet sinker.
      Alternated between rock wall and tule islands and continued to pick up mostly juveniles and a few 1lbers, nothing over 2lbs. Worked the plastics slow casting to rock wall and working over weedline and letting drop at the ledge...most bites came at the ledge.
      Decent day but wished they were interested in cranks and chatterbaits...zip, zero, nada on those two. Managed a couple schoolie stripers on the jerkbait. Still a fun low tide morning. Thanx to Steve for his latest low tide overview vids Parts I and II.

      Tips: Not qualified to give tips but here's what worked for us:
      - hula popper, very subtle twitches
      - poppin' frog (snag proof) (white)
      - baby brush hog / 1/8 oz bullet pegged, t-rig
      - dropshot , junebug
      - t-rigged and wacky stick baits, crawled them from the wall, through the trough, and over weedlines, then drop at the ledge... bit at the ledge.

      hope this helps...most of the pros and experts have their proven methods and locations, so this likely doesn't matter to them. But for anyone scratchin' their heads or just lookin' for options, the above worked for us on a tough low tide bite.

Friday, May 30th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Fishing Report Trends for May Evening Bites on The Delta
      Bite tough, needed a big bite to separate. Most teams reporting limits under 16 lbs.
      Mid-month was a “funky bite” for most. Drop-shot produced the WWN biggest fish (8.16). Many teams only weighed 4 fish.
      By end of month, conditions improved, bites came from grass flats, punch rigs, frogs, and shad imitators (buzzbait).

      Across May as a whole, slower finesse tactics (drop-shot, flipping, dragging plastics) consistently produced keepers, while reaction bites (frog, buzzbait, glide) delivered the kickers. Tough but improving bite, big fish every week, and 20+ lbs required to win WWN

Sunday, May 25th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: California Delta Fishing Report – May
      By Bearded Bassin’ – from Windy Wednesday Nighter Episode Three 2025 @BeardedBassin (Watch on YouTube)

      Good weather. Fishing described as “funky” — needed to slow way down

      Techniques
      Early success came when Pops connected with a five-pounder while they were literally on the phone arranging a tow.
      Punch rig and frog accounted for several keeper bites.
      Fish were caught on shallow grass flats and around grass patches, including a solid upgrade late.
      One key bite came on a drop-shot for another team, producing the tournament’s big fish (8.22 lbs).

      Tournament Spotlight
      Phil & Aaron — 21.38 (all solid 4–5 lb fish, no single big fish)
      Wyatt & Maddie — 17.53 (Big Fish 8.22, drop-shot)
      Robert & Dylan — 17.10 (Second Big Fish 6.45)

      Weights are trending upward: more limits in the 16–17 lb range, and one bag breaking 20 lbs.
      The difference-maker continues to be landing a big bite over 5 lbs to separate from the pack.

Wednesday, May 21st, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: First day out after being out of the area for a couple weeks on vacation. Took a little time to figure out what the fish were doing but as the tide got higher the top water bite was consistent above the weeds on the flats. Fish were relating to current cuts and were subtly taking the bait vs blowing up and hitting it hard. Overall good day with about 16 pounds for the best 5. Always fun to catch them on top. TIDAL CA Delta Fishing

Monday, May 19th, 2025

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Clear Lake Fishing Report – May 19

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      Clear Lake is producing solid limits with fish holding around docks, tulles, and ambush points. Cloud cover early in the morning helped the bite, but once the sun rose, the action slowed. Protected areas out of the wind proved most productive, especially coves with multiple dock slips. Clear Lake continues to deliver mixed patterns, with docks, tulles, and shallow vegetation all producing. Reaction bites with the LV 500 and swimbaits are strong early, while frog fishing in heavy cover provides explosive action later in the day.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Strolling / Mid-Strolling with Mooch Minnow on a 1/16-oz jig head, targeting roaming fish and docks.
      Drop Shot Rig near docks for key keeper fish.
      Lipless Crankbait: Lucky Craft LV 500, ripped hard to trigger reaction strikes in 6–10 ft of water near tulles and baitfish ambush zones.
      Swimbaits for additional quality bites.
      Frog Fishing: Black and white frogs pitched into tulles, duckweed, and hitch-rich areas. Follow-up bites came on 6” Yamamoto Senko when fish missed the frog.

      Key Depths:
      5–8 ft around docks
      6–10 ft near tulles and ambush points
      Frog bite shallow in 1–3 ft vegetation mats

      Tournament Spotlight:
      1st: Reed Frazier & Nick Doring (Quality Control) – Strolling with Mooch Minnow + Drop Shot near docks
      2nd: Drew Boles & Paul Mata (Slaughter Houze) – 101.00” (Big Fish: 23”) – LV 500 & Swimbaits
      3rd: Isaiah West & Shaun Leytem (Shisiah) – 101.00” – Frogs (black/white) + 6” Senko follow-up

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      When the morning cloud cover keeps fish active, rip the LV 500 hard in 6–10 ft to trigger reaction strikes. As the sun rises and the bite slows, shift to finesse presentations under docks or throw a frog tight to tulles and duckweed. Always follow up missed frog strikes with a 6” Senko — those pressured fish will often commit the second time.

Saturday, May 17th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Report by Lucca Rossetti
      27.34 with a 7.80 big ol' bass!!!
      Here's what Lucca said....
      We caught 'em on spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits, and Senkos in the trough by the tules and rocks.

Friday, May 16th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: California Delta Fishing Report – Windy Wednesday Nighter Week 2
      By Bearded Bassin’ – from Windy Wednesday Nighter Episode Two 2025 @BeardedBassin (Watch on YouTube)

      Weather stabilized with a light breeze. Started on low tide; incoming tide expected a couple hours later.
      Water temp low 60s. Water clarity “about the same” as prior outing.
      Early bite was slow. By 5:15 PM there was one keeper in the box and two bites in two hours. Fish were tight to the bank and often short-striking.

      Techniques
      Started with flipping baits and drag baits; Pops began with a drop-shot.
      Missed several good bites (fish wrapping in trees / not getting hooks).
      Topwater interest noted; later switched to a buzzbait (shad imitator) after seeing fish busting shad on a grass line and caught a solid keeper.
      A frog also produced a keeper (“another two-pounder frog”).
      Best bites came on shallow grass flats; a quick flurry put together a limit (“four fish in 30 minutes,” then culling).

      Top 3
      Mike & Fuge — 22.88
      Rodney & Tom — 16.98
      Phil & Aaron — 16.90

      Big Fish Awards
      1st Big Fish: AJ & Landon — 8.16 (weighed 4 fish; reported dumping another big one)
      2nd Big Fish: Jake & Dennis — 6.95 (weighed 4 fish)

      Bite described as tough across the field; many missed fish and short strikes.
      Pops & Bearded Bassin' finished with a decent limit but no >5-lb kicker; heading back to figure out adjustments for next week.

Monday, May 12th, 2025

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62 and up

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: We pent the day on Clear Lake. We launched out of Red Bud. The water temp when we launched at 6:30 am was 62 degrees. We started with reaction baits, Trash Fish, spinner bait, and an underpin.We fished the docks to the south of Redbud for about an hour and got 3 catfish but zero bass. We moved over into some coves, throwing the same baits. The water was an off-green color, but at about 9 am we started looking for beds. We caught a couple 3's. The fish where acting really funny, maybe because they were so shallow. We could only see shallow beds due to time of day.Throwing a minnow around, we caught one around 5. WE kept fishing around and found a couple small fish on beds and left 'em. WE went around to the Rattlesnake arm and start throwing minnow baits around docks, a Sakamoto Shad and Sixth Sense juggle minnow and caught about 10 to 12 fish up to 3 pounds. When we ended the day the water temp was at 66, the water clarity was up to 3.5 ft and best five went 20 pounds.

Friday, May 9th, 2025

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Headed up to Amador to see if the bass were ready to play. Started out with a couple reaction baits to test the water and the spinner produced a great bite in the first five minutes. Finally got the fish close to the boat and was disappointed too see a big hungry 4 pound catfish. Worked all the local hotspots and deep cover to shallow shaded areas. Ended up with five total fish for the day. Bass were not aggressive as all were caught off slow fishing soft plastics. All fish were in the 2-3 pound range. It was a grind in the heat.

      Tips: Bring sun screen, something to drink, and a lot of patience. Hopefully the bite will pick up as the temperature increases over the next week or two.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: California Delta Fishing Report – May
      By Bearded Bassin’ – from Windy Wednesday Nighter Episode One 2025 @BeardedBassin (Watch on YouTube)

      Calm at launch despite a forecast for 15 mph winds.
      Less than 1.5 feet visibility in some areas.
      Tough fishing. Anglers noted long stretches without bites and needing to slow down presentations.

      Techniques
      Spinnerbait and Texas rig were in play, along with the “donkey slayer” setup.
      Early action was slow — it took nearly an hour before the first bites.
      Fish were tight to the bank and short-striking baits.
      Reports of needing to drag baits slowly out from the shoreline to get consistent hookups.
      A limit eventually came, but overall size was small.

      Notable Catches
      Pops and Bearded Bassin’ managed five fish for under 9 lbs — one decent fish but mostly small keepers.
      Biggest fish weighed at the event: 9.80 lbs by Phil & Aaron (part of the winning 20.22 lb bag).
      Second biggest fish: 7.60 lbs by Crowley & Crowley.

      Tournament Spotlight – Top Weights
      Phil & Aaron — 20.22 lbs (Big Fish 9.80)
      AJ & Landon — 18.30 lbs
      Austin & Nico — 18.21 lbs
      David & Steven — 17.72 lbs

      Tips: The bite was described as one of the toughest in a long time — far fewer fish than just days prior when 20–40 fish per trip were possible.
      Postspawn conditions left many fish skinny and reluctant to chase reaction baits.
      Key to success was securing one or two big bites on top of a solid limit.
      Pops’ pre-event prediction of “20 lbs to win” proved correct, with the winners being the only team to break 20.

Monday, May 5th, 2025

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: California Delta Fishing Report – May
      by Bearded Bassin' From Big Girls up Shallow and First Frog Bite of the Year

      Weather: Stable, with air temps in the high 60s to low 70s. Light breeze tapering off in the afternoons.
      Water Temp: Around 69–70°F.
      Tides: Low tide in the morning shifting to an incoming tide through the afternoon.

      Observations:
      Grass growth is improving, creating more cover.
      Many shallow beds are currently empty — likely one big spawning wave already passed on the recent full moon.
      Clear water in many areas; fish often hard to see when buried in grass.
      Noted a lot of “dead water” — areas with no activity if fish don’t show quickly.

      Best Techniques & Baits
      Frog: First solid frog bites of the year, including blowups and one landed fish. Fish are beginning to show interest in topwater.
      Bed Fishing: Sight-fished a pair (male ~3 lbs, female 6.15 lbs) using a glide bait after working them carefully.
      Soft Plastics:
      Wacky-rigged Senko — produced bites when pitched to empty beds, cruising fish picked it up.
      Weightless dart/fluke — worked well blind-casting through grass, produced a solid keeper.
      Punching: One solid fish came on a punch rig in the grass.
      Reaction: No real chatterbait/moving bait bite established yet.

      Notable Catches
      Multiple fish landed, including:
      A female bed fish weighing 6 lbs 15 oz.
      Several solid keepers on plastics and punch rigs.
      First frog fish of the year.

      Tips: Bite is improving: Delta is “starting to turn on” with fish being caught on a variety of techniques (frog, punch, glide, plastics).
      Key right now is mobility — many areas are completely dead; move quickly if bites don’t come within 10–30 minutes.
      Spawn activity is tapering; most productive fishing should soon shift toward pre- and postspawn reaction bites like chatterbaits and faster frog action.
      Tournament prep note: current patterns likely won’t hold for two weeks, but conditions signal the Delta is ready to fire.

Sunday, April 27th, 2025

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 64-68

      Report: I have made a trip a week for the last month. The fishing has been very good, 20 to 30 plus fish a day. Have caught fish on just about every thing you can tie on. With plastics being the method that has been catching the most fish, there are times when I’ll get fish on a crank bait 2-3 cast in a row, then nothing for a while. Pick up the plastic though and bam. The tough thing has been, how many small fish to get to a 3lb plus?

      Tips: Dead sticking has been almost essential at times, wacky rig has been very good.

Saturday, April 19th, 2025

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Report: by dfishing1 » Fri Apr 18, 2025 6:22 pm

      Here is my experience. Went to Beals Point at 5am. Was the 14th one in line. At 630 gate opened w the rangers. The line is split into 4 lanes, each has an inspector. At 930 inspections start. All compartments open and inspected. Done in 10 mins and on my way. Now, your quarantine is 30 DAYS from your inspection date. Mello Marine does them by appt for $50 BUT state parks is free for now. When quarantine is up you can launch after inspection and removal of quarantine tag. They say there will be inspectors at ramps during PARK hours to give your green tag at take out. Decon stations are pending and will cost upwards of $100 or more depending on your boat but will be by appointment. Be patient with the inspectors and they will get u in and out.
      Top

Tuesday, April 15th, 2025

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Spent a week on Clear Lake
      Weather temps ranged from 44-78 degrees
      Water temps ranged from 56-61 degrees

      The fish were moving up on beds as would be expected with the big moon. Let me say hats off to all the guys who did successfully at the Open. Big fish were everywhere on the North end. I could see them in bushes and on beds, but the bed fish where super skittish due to the only ones that I could see where the ones that where less than 3 feet deep. I caught em fishing the old tule line with a 1/2 ounce spinnnerbait (white on white), a flashy swimmer with 3.8 Keitech for first hour in the morning. After the sun came up, I would start flipping a dropshot and a Missle bBait Destroyer to all the holes in the tules. After I found minor success with that, although everything seemed right, I went to forward facing mode and started catching them although it was not easy. By far, the best way to catch fish for me the last three days was throwing a Crush City boot tail strolling bait that I didn’t have to shake to get it to roll. I’m one of the guys that has fought FFS trend but it’s a dealbreaker at Clear Lake.