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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Thursday, August 30th, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76-79

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: What is with the 3 PM afternoon bite?? That is supposed to be the dead period in August. Mike Sperbeck got 2 nice bass last week about the same time after we had just started. I took "Cover Girl" Clara Ricabal to Berryessa on Tuesday, (Last week - Western Outdoor News - holding two foreign fish - salmon!) I confess - I fished for them many year in my backyard Feather River. She wanted to learn about spoon fishing, summer areas for bass, etc. We were using Blade Runner spoons in the 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 oz size, Again, the bite was fair, not as good as normal. She is a talented angler and picked the technique up pretty quickly. She even caught the biggest bass, a nice 3 1/2 + pound largemouth. She always does! Good summer bass, again, caught around 3 pm! Who needs to get up early anymore!! She did some drop-shotting also, and that technique was still good. She has her own collection of worm colors, so not sure what was best. We had to deal with a fair amount of wind on the main body but still were able to fish ok. Our best five only about 12 lbs, but we had a short day because of her work schedule. Caught all 3 species again - one 2 1/4 lb smallie and several good spotted bass.

      Tips: One needs to look for the bait if possible as summer bass will follow it around. There are lots of bait balls but not as many bass around them as in normal years. There are bass roaming that are not tied to the bait. We found a big school or bait in the morning, caught a few and then left. Came back in the afternoon - the bait was nowhere to be found. Water level at Berryessa is excellent - only dropping very slowly. We found a lot of worm fish as shallow as 30 feet, but 40 to 50 feet was the prime zone.

Tuesday, August 28th, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75.3 degrees, elevation 744.22

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Slept in a tad and got launched about 5:50 am, still a tad too soon. Stopped fishing right at 10 am. Water going around the corner at the bottom of the ramp as expected. Fished the same point at the end of the boat docks as first stop, picked up 8 spots again. That point has been consistent for 3-4 weeks now. Second stop no fish, third stop at the point right side past hyw 70, got 2-3, got to N. Fork and found fish, but no real size to any of them. Mostly 13-13 1/2" and 1/4 of them under 13". Headed back in and finally found a couple decent fish at the hwy 70 bridge pilings. Picked up 22 spots today, best 15", second best 14". Water cooling fast, high 75.3 degrees, Couple more weeks if no hot spells, should be back under 70 degrees and fishing get better. Pictures in fishing forum.

Monday, August 27th, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: Water Temp 67 -71

      Report: by AKBASSFISHING » Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:40 pm

      California Delta 8/27/2018
      Water Temp 67 -71
      Visibility 1 – 4 feet
      Wind 10 - 18 mph

      Had the opportunity to fish with my buddy today. Hopes were high for a good striper bite. Conditions were right, western wind with an outgoing tide.

      We put in around 6 in the morning. We ran to a large flat with sparse weeds. I started with a Punker, hoping to get big mama, but she wasn’t around. My buddy opted for a spook and managed a couple small bass. Seeing that the big stripers were not in the area, I switched to the trusty white swimbait. After a few casts, I got a good thump. To my surprise, it was a healthy bass. Thinking it was a fluke, I didn’t think much of it. On my following cast, I hooked another healthy bass.

      Thinking we were on a possible pattern, we moved to another flat. Sure enough, the white swimbait produced more bass. We followed this pattern with mixed results, but found bass were we normally find stripers. A nice surprise.

      By 10, our bite fizzled out on the swimbaits, but switching to crankbaits picked up where we left off. Fishing the same areas, we found bumping the crankbait into the weeds produced the best fish, while fishing open water yielded smaller fish. The bite was very consistent, but the wind forced us to seek cover.

      After seeking shelter, our bite slowed, but we found another pattern. By this time, the tide was bottoming. This actually helped us, targeting the weed pockets, we bumped swimbaits, cranks, chatterbaits, and glide-baits into the grass. Once the bait contacted the grass, a sharp rip and pause seemed to be what the fish wanted. A lot of small fish were caught, with a few decent ones in the mix.

      By 3 in the afternoon, we called it a day. Not how we expected the day to go, especially since we wanted to target stripers, but I’ll take what we were handed. Overall, we had maybe twelve-pounds for best 5. Not a huge sack, but a fun day.

      Tips: Notes

      The bass are still offshore. Even though the stripers are here, the bass don’t seem to mind.

      Paying attention to the small details is very important. Running the crankbait into the weeds, ripping it out, and then pausing it produced a good amount of fish. Just see what the fish want.

      The fish are definitely eating shad.

Friday, August 24th, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 79-83

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Had a nice trip yesterday with LONG time fishing buddy and owner/creator of Blade Runner Tackle, Rick Tietz! Most of you know he created the now famous Blade Runner spoon, with the most natural colors ever seen on a spoon. When I fish spoons with Rick, I do my best not to be embarrassed. He is the best! The bite was slower then expected in spite of bait everywhere now! Yesterday was cooler and windy which might have slowed the bite. Yea, we only caught around 50 and lost 15-20 more. It wasn't a search and destroy trip, just covered about 2/3's of the lake, checking out locations of bait, etc. Wow, Berryessa is one healthy lake!! In one section of the narrow, we saw an amazing feeding period of about 45 minutes, bass chasing bait all over the place. Makes one realize how many bass are in the lake - that don't BITE!! We did catch a few of them. I caught a few drop-shotting a MM111 Robo worm in 40 feet of water. We didn't catch any big bass, but several in the 2 1/2 to a little over 3 lbs. All three species were biting - and the smallmouth were back!!

      Tips: We didn't fish much on the bank, just tried to find off-shore structure with ledges, rock piles, and creek channels. These are the new homes of summer bass, following the bait! We use the 1 3/4 ounce spoons. Don't waste time with a light spoon! As in drop-shotting, get down to where the summer bass are.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report….Stripers and Salmon are starting to show in better numbers.

      Isleton Finally and handful of Salmon Anglers have seen success, a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. Water temperatures have dropped with the cooler evenings. Many anglers to the west are seeing more salmon daily… getting close. . Capt Stan’ sare the best bet for those who want to try. Catfish are the best target species this time of year that can help you beat the summer doldrums . Anchovies, Mackeral and Sardinescs are good choices here for the whiskerfish.

      Walnut Grove No Change, Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. The Sacramento Turning Basin continues to be decent with stripes caught there by lure tossers. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well.

      Discovery Bay Hint of fall? Cooler evenings have the bite changing. Current and shade are the key. Stay near main river current with Crankbaits Strike King XD 6 and 2.5 square bills. Punching is scoring bass on the main river points. Bass pushing the 4 to 6 mark are showing on occasion. Jig bite on points is also good!

      West Delta A few more Salmon success stories have come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s in Pittsburgh and Humphries areas . More Anglers in search of stripers are finding a few keepers on occasion from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 30 inches this week. From as far west as Honker Bay to the Broad Slough plug casting is getting fish when wind cooperates. Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Cranking and spinnerbaits is starting to improve daily. Punching get’s the bites the key is staying square to your target and setting hard.

      Provided by Dan’s Delta Outdoors, 1625 Main St Oakley CA 925/234-4694 Follow us on Facebook

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: Water Temp 69 -71

      Report: by AKBASSFISHING » Wed Aug 22, 2018 4:29 pm

      California Delta 8/22/2018
      Water Temp 69 -71
      Visibility 1 – 3 feet
      Wind 9 - 15 mph

      It’s been a while since I was on here. A recent issue with our electric motor has set us back a few weeks. That said, we got desperate and launched the boat without our electric motor. A short trip of drifting and fighting the wind.

      We put in around 11 in the morning. The tide was incoming, and we had our usual western wind. Water clarity was mixed, with pockets of clear and dirty water.

      We made a quick run to an expansive flat. The tide was rolling over it nicely, so I opted for a white and chartreuse tail swimbait. Fan casting the flat, we had a few bumps, but no takers. I switched to a glide-bait and started to work it erratically. About 10 minutes in, I had a good striper rise on my bait, but missed it.

      With no other action on the flat, we made another move to a sheltered bay. Within the bay, tullie points spanned far from the shore. Casting swimbaits at the tullies, we managed a few decent stripers with the best going about 13 pounds. Surprisingly, we also located a good school of healthy black bass mixed in with the stripers.

      By 1, our bite slowed. Knowing the stripers were in the area, we moved offshore. Targeting the furthest out weedlines, we located schools of stripers. Nothing big, but enough to put a bend in our rods. Action was good enough for a couple doubles as well. Again, the swimbaits caused the majority of our damage.

      By 3 in the afternoon, we called it a day. Overall, the bite was ok, especially since we were drifting. It took some time to find the fish, but when we did, the schools were aggressively feeding.

      Tips: Notes

      When fishing swimbaits for stripers, I notice that stripers tend to hit or slap your bait. When you feel a hit, keep reeling; when your rod loads, swing.

      White with chartreuse tails and plain white swimbaits did all the damage today.

      Fishing the glide bait erratically was key to getting the fish to react. A slow retrieve, like we so often do for bass, will not cut it. Fast retrieves, mixed with pauses and rod twitches were important for getting the stripers to react to the bait.

Tuesday, August 21st, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78.2, elevation 752.34

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got launched way too early at lime Saddle today, right about 5:30 am, Dark! Need to adjust clock another 15 minutes later to wake up. 6 am about right time to launch now days. Burr, cool, almost cold this am for a change. Bite was a tad slow, fish still holding on the point left of the docks, just not as many, and slightly smaller. Picked up 8 spots then the bite dies. Fish were still deeper, 30-35 foot range. Hit 3 other location and picked up another 8 fish, all the basic spotted bass, nothing of any size today. Other then the Catfish that hit a worm soon as it hit bottom. Love the feel at first, makes you think you have a giant spot, till they begin to shake the head. Looked to be 6-7 pounds. Water cooling still, right at 78 to 78.3 degrees. Water beginning to make the turn at the bottom of the ramp!! Released all fish as always, to grow bigger and catch again one day. Pictures in fishing forum.

Sunday, August 19th, 2018

  • Merced
    • By

      Water Temp: 80s

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got on a nice afternoon/evening bite with Michael Tongson. This was his first trip to Kelsey Bass Ranch and he witnessed firsthand what this fishery has to offer. We got on some nice bass and bluegills. We were primarily throwing topwater and mixing it up with soft plastics here and there. It was a blast catching big bluegills on topwater.

      Tips: Report submitted by Motherlode Kayak Angler Guide Service (209) 230-3159.

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 80-84

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The bass fishing on New Melones continues to be productive. With only a month or so of summer heat left, we can start to anticipate the fall bite, which is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. The thick smoke from all the fires has begun to blow through and it is much clearer than it was a couple weeks ago. Timing has been a very important factor. The fish will move into an area to feed and then move out once they are full. When they are actively feeding the fishing is great when they pull back the bite can get rather tough. The key is to keep moving from area to area to find aggressively feeding fish. First, I will try to coax them with a reaction bait, starting with topwater and moving down in the water column with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Often times they are feeding but not willing to chase. This is when I will switch to a slower moving bait fished on the bottom. A dropshot has been good for quantity and a shakeyhead or Texas rig will attract larger bites. The evenings and mornings are best. Stick with shad and crawdad patterns and you will be sure to find some fish.

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

Friday, August 17th, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 79-84

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Mike Sperbeck and I started our trip out of Markley Cove about 3 pm, planning to do some night fishing. The afternoon/evening bite was good - better than we expected! Mike caught 2 very nice fish right away including a smallie over 3 lbs and and a 2 3/4 lb spotted bass. First place we stopped! And this is summer?? Those were in the narrows. We worked our way out to the main body, catching quality 2 to 2 1/2 bass of all three species. The smallies were back! We did catch a few dinks mixed in! Mike lost the usual "one that got away" right at dusk - a 6 lb plus that he lost on the first jump! Sad!! The mid afternoon good bite was a pleasant surprise! We were going to night fish some, but forgot about the Thurs night tournaments, and it was late, so we left at dark. If we didn't have a 14 lb limit, the best 5 was very close.

      Tips: We were looking for the bait balls in the afternoon and found a few - one big one with some fish around it. The intense heat this summer might delay the bait balls for a week or so. Mike tried some topwater baits and caught a few small ones. I only had one or two hits on a spoon. How can one beat 6" Robo worms for a steady bite under tough conditions. MM111 was the best color yesterday. As the summer progresses, I have found the bass not as attracted to the morning dawn color as they are in the late spring and early summer. Just my observation. The night bite and topwater bite should pick up when the water cools a bit.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. Overall slow but Stripers are starting to show

      This Weekend Hook Line and Sinker open, Russo’s Marina

      Isleton Catfish are the best target species this time of year that can help you beat the summer doldrums . Anchovies, Mackeral and Sardines are good choices here for the whiskerfish. Still waiting as I Looked again for a few anxious Salmon anglers while there were only a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. While the temperatures get ready to heat up again this weekend look for no change in the Salmon bite this week. Silvertron’s are the best bet for those who want to try.

      Walnut Grove Salmon showing, Mepp’s Flying c’s and Capt. Stan’s Spinners. Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. The Sacramento Turning Basin continues to be decent with stripes caught there by lure tossers. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well.

      Discovery Bay Really while we just had a nice stretch a couple cooler days ahead this next week there is hope for the Punch bite to be decent once again. Golden Shiner patterns are proving to be a rapidly growing favorite. Current and shade are the key. Punching is scoring bass on the main river points. Bass pushing the 4 to 6 mark are showing on occasion. Jig bite on points is also decent!

      West Delta More Anglers in search of stripers are finding a few keepers on occasion from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Sardines and Shad. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 36 inches this week. From as far west as Honker Bay to the Broad Slough and Antioch pier persistent bait dunkers with Mackeral and Sardines ae finding fun action. A Salmon success story or two have come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s in Bencia . Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Punching get’s the bites the key is staying square to your target and setting hard.

      Provided by Dan’s Delta Outdoors, 1625 Main St Oakley CA 925/234-4694 Follow us on Facebook

Wednesday, August 15th, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 48.5 degrees, elevation 760.39

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Decent fishing today. Got launched at 5:30 am, stopped fishing right at 9:30 am. Fished the point at the end of the boat dock first, and picked up 14 spots, spent 1 1/4 hours working back and forth. No giants, but all decent 13 to 13 1/2" fish. Remember, catch a fish, stay on the location, working it, as so many times the spots are schooled up. Second stop, nothing!! held fish last week. Third location gave up 9 fish, and a little better size with one 15", one 14 1/2", one 14" and the rest 13 1/2" for a total of 23 spots. Seems better fish are coming around as the water cooled down to 78.5 degrees. Just about all fish hooked right at 30-35 foot mark. Hardly any breeze this am, making for easy boat holding on location. Wild guess, but figure Lime Saddle has 7 weeks left before running out of ramp water. Lake dropped 25 feet last month, only 48.39 feet of water left before ramp closes at 712 feet. Pictures in fishing forum.

Sunday, August 12th, 2018

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 83

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Subject: Fishing with Sid




      I took out Gary in the early afternoon and headed to the east side of the lake towards the vineyards. Along the way we caught some nice bass trolling. His five best bass weighed 16 lbs 7 oz the largest weighing almost 4 lbs. Our system was easy we used Procure trout scent on the crank bait and the fish kept biting. The next day I decided to fish in the narrows. I headed towards the dam and fished the rocky shoreline trolling back towards the main lake. I caught 41 bass in less then three hours with only one keeper weighing 2 lbs 4 oz it was a fun morning. The average size I was catching were about ten inches. Hope I get lucky when they get bigger next year. Fishing is still great and I hope it continues into the fall. 'til next time.............................good fishing!!!!
      https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.fishingconnection.net&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb08dcbeba714496bc29d08d600c5bb06%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636697246570250252&sdata=D%2BLuba6nEOeh%2F70eOtKAl36De5blekzVnivVOc0%2BWew%3D&reserved=0 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.

      Tips: one day all large fish next day onlt one keeper that's why we call it fishing.

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: Warm

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Spent the day on New Melones Reservoir with Ryan Cook and Moo Lee from MooMoo Outdoors fishing out of a bass boat. The bite was a little tougher than expected but we ended up finding 3 nice ones. Bites came on topwater, jigs, tubes, shakyhead and dropshot. Got on a consistent bite throwing green pumpkin finesse worms on a dropshot and shakyhead. We found fish from the bank to 30 feet. Points were the most consistent and a little bit of wind always helps. We ended up with a few mechanical issues and wrapped it up early around noon. The smoke wasn't too bad but it was hot!!!

      Tips: Report submitted by Motherlode Kayak Angler Kayak Bass Guide Service (209) 230-3159.

    • By

      Water Temp: not measured

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: good fishing in full sun on a 90 degree day. Not much at first using "yellow swimbait" with a float. Later used "wacky bait", Yamamoto 5" worm with "Hogy Lure" hooked mid worm. Dragged on bottom, hooked a 15" Bass......tossed back for someone else.

      Tips: see above

Friday, August 10th, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. Overall slow but Stripers are starting to show

      This Weekend

      Oakley Kids Fishing Day Saturday August 11th at the Antioch-Oakley Pier. Registration available Here at Dan’s Delta Outdoors and start at 8AM at the pier.

      Dan's Delta Outdoors Last Team event of the Year is AN OPEN event NO Membership Required. Would would like Those who haven't fished with us to have the opportunity to join those who are helping make this series a Growing success. Check in will get underway at 430 am at Russo's Marina and Blast Off When Safe and Ready. This is a 6hr event with BBQ Scheduled from our Sponsor Laura Medina of Keller Williams.

      Isleton Catfish are the best target species this time of year that can help you beat the summer doldrums . Anchovies, Mackeral and Sardines are good choices here for the whiskerfish. Still waiting as I Looked again for a few anxious Salmon anglers while there were only a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. While the temperatures get ready to heat up again this weekend look for no change in the Salmon bite this week. Capt Stans are the best bet for those who want to try.

      Walnut Grove No Change, Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. The Sacramento Turning Basin continues to be decent with stripes caught there by lure tossers. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well.

      Discovery Bay Really while we just had a nice stretch a couple HOT days ahead this next week there is hope for the Frog bite to be decent once again. River2Sea FROGS and Snag Proof frogs getting some explosive strikes. Current and shade are the key. Stay near main river current with Crankbaits Strike King XD 6 and 2.5 square bills. Punching is scoring bass on the main river points. Bass pushing the 4 to 6 mark are showing on occasion. Jig bite on points is also decent!

      West Delta More Anglers in search of stripers are finding a few keepers on occasion from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Sardines and Anchovies. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 36 inches this week. From as far west as Honker Bay to the Broad Slough and Antioch pier persistent bait dunkers with Mackeral and Sardines ae finding fun action. Soon a few Salmon success stories will start come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s . Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Punching get’s the bites the key is staying square to your target and setting hard.
      Provided by Dan’s Delta Outdoors, 1625 Main St Oakley CA 925/234-4694 Follow us on Facebook

Thursday, August 9th, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78.6, elevation 768.046.58

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: ays started bad, left, got 5-6 miles down the road and had to turn around, forgot the camera!! Still, got launched at Lime Saddle about 5:40 am, fished till 9:30 am when it began to get hot. Better fishing today, first stop in Lime Saddle area got 10 spots, all from one location, all at about 35 feet. One cast, soon as the worm hit bottom, wham, thought it was a giant spots for a second, then realized a cat fish. Second location just 2 spots. Third location, made me happy, slightly larger fish, picking up another 10 spots. Caught 22 fish today, about 60 percent 13-14 1/2", the rest the basic 12-13". Water cooled a tad due to smoke, think that helped the bite some. Just about all fish taken 35 to 45 foot mark. Best fish 14 1/2", second best 14", not counting the catfish. Released all fish as usual.Pictures in fishing forum.

Monday, August 6th, 2018

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: Water Temp 74 - 75

      Report: y AKBASSFISHING » Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:34 pm

      California Delta 8/6/2018
      Water Temp 74 - 75
      Visibility 1 – 4 feet
      Wind 9 - 17 mph

      We got in around 6 in the morning. The tide was outgoing and was due to bottom around 9. The wind was blowing steadily out of the west.

      We made a quick run to an isolated tule island. I opted for a plopper and my father went with the chatterbait. Almost immediately, my father boated the first fish, a solid two and a half pounder. We continued down the island with mixed results.

      Hoping to find some good fish, we made a run offshore. The wind was howling, the tide was ripping, and it made for rather interesting conditions. Bouncing about, we fired our crankbaits across the flats. BAM we doubled up, but these fish were too hot to be bass. Sure enough, I saw the telltale white flash. We both hooked into decent sized stripers. That said, as soon as we found them, they vanished.

      After our brief scuffle with the stripers, we made another quick run for more protected water, to fish frogs and spinnerbaits. I fished the frog while my father loaded the boat with fish. After numerous blow-ups, missed fish, and a perfect frog sized welt on my side, I put the frog down and switched to a buzzbait. The fish seemed to like this change, but nothing over a pound.

      By late morning, the tide had switched and wind had subsided, we went back to fishing the offshore weed flats. The fish were plentiful, but couldn’t get anything over two-pounds. With conditions being so calm and the water clearing, I feel the larger fish went into a more negative feeding mood. Making a slight adjustment, we switched to Senkos’ paired with Tsuyoi Weedless Wacky Hooks. Targeting the holes and irregularities in the weeds, we finally found some better fish. We followed this pattern until mid-afternoon with great success. The two and three-pound class range of fish were feeding.

      By 3 in the afternoon, we called it a day. Not the most spectacular day, but we managed to grind out a couple decent fish.

      Tips: Notes

      Nothing new, the cranks and senko still seem to be my best bet at catching fish.

      It’s August! The stripers are starting to run, which makes for a fun day of fishing. It’s still early in the month, but we should start to see more in the coming weeks.

Friday, August 3rd, 2018

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 81.7 degrees, elevation 774.34

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Not a good morning on the water for me. To begin with, half way to the Lime Saddle ramp, realize I forgot my morning meds, which includes allergy meds, not going back so get launched about 5:30 am, and fish in the smoke haze. Didn't take long for my allergies to get going, feeling like crap but fished anyway. Funny, when one is not feeling well, hard to get into the hunt and catch fish. Only got 13 fish this morning, could not seem to find them at all, like the smoke seems to bother them too. Best fish right at 13 1/2". My last Friday fishing forever. Get back to the ramp at 9 am and it looks like a circus, boats sitting at the launch, yet no one launching. I call them weekend boater, no clue how to keep a ramp moving, like they are the only ones around!!! Took nearly 25 minutes to be able to get the boat off the water! Picture in fishing forum.

Wednesday, August 1st, 2018

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 80-84

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The dog days of summer are here. But, they should be called the hog days of summer as we are catching some big ol’ bass on New Melones Reservoir. The smoke continues to cover the State, but on most days, it has not been too bad down on the water. Usually there is enough wind and we find ourselves fishing under the thick smoke. The fish are cooperating and the bite continues to be really good. I have been guiding morning trips, evening trips and even all-nighter’s. Each morning we have been starting with topwater lures and swimbaits. Then as the sun comes up we will switch to reaction baits and finesse presentations. In the evening will we reverse this order. The nighttime bite can be exceptional and is a great way to avoid the summer heat. Lures and presentations that displace water and create sound and vibration will work best. The lake is extremely healthy and the water is dropping slowly in comparison to years past.

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