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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, March 1st, 2009

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 53-55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Out with my two sons knew it was going to be a tough bite. When your 4 year old gets up at 6 and the first thing out of his mouth is daddy are we going fishing you have to go. I decided to check out some staging areas. I was throwing a crank and they had brushhogs on a mojo rig. First cast of the morning I get a 2lb LM the kiss of death getting one on the first cast.Worked several more areas woth no results switched to a jig to slow down and had several hits but they just would not eat it. Same thing with the brushhogs even after soaking them with sent. By the end of the day the fish did start eating better after the water warmed a little. Ended the day with 8 fish 5 best at 11lbs thanks to a 4lb SM.
      City: Vacaville

      Tips: The fish have yet to move up in any numbers yet. Started in areas with grass and found they were just not moving. Also very hard for kids to fish. Decided to leave the east shore and move to the west side where there is less grass for the fish to bury up in. That was the key to the day fishing ditches and points with clean bottom in 12-30ft leading into a spawning area with jigs and brushhogs. Did not get a reaction bite other than the first one. You really need to be on your toes because they are giving a very light pressure bite and not really eating.

  • Santa Clara County
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      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: skunked
      City: pv

      Tips: dont listen to pat

    • By

      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: skunked
      City: pv

      Tips: dont listen to pat

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 47-49

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Spent Sat. and Sun. on the lake. 6 bites on saturday, 5 in the boat for 10.93 with my big fish right at 2 1/2 lbs. I fished alot of good looking stuff but all my fish came on a very specific kind of bank. Changed up where I was fishing sunday in the rain and got 1 bite all day! Wow! Tough bite!!! Covered a bunch of water too! Sorry, but I won't talk about what I'm doing or where I'm doing it until after the Anglers Choice. After the Pro-Am I will spill the beans and hopefully pay some guys back for all the info I have dredged from these reports. God Bless
      City: hollister

      Tips: Not Yet!! :-)

    • By

      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Didnt fish this weekend but someone asked about the ramps. The new ramp at Bidwell (and the parking lot) are now entirely submerged. We will have to wait 'til summer to use the new ramp. The two lane cement ramp at the spillway is in the water..in fact, if we get 20 more ft (at the 740 mark), the regular lower ramp(s) of the spillway will be useable. Thats good news! Nice to have multiple launch sites available now!
      City: Oroville

      Tips: Bidwell area is closed still as of Sunday 3/1. Signs send everyone to Spillway.

    • By

      Water Temp: 58

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Tim, I too feel your pain. It's why I've stopped fishing here altogether. I havn't been here since last summer. The dogs are RIDICULOUS. I almost got into a fight over it. It's funny. I've seen DFG tell PEOPLE to stop swimming, but the dogs are allowed to go right in! The EBMUD has lost my money for good. I will never fish at shadow cliffs as long as the dogs allowed rule is in effect. You know, it's funny, Us bass anglers always release our fish, we pay money just for the sport of it, yet the EBMUD let dogs in to disrupt our fishing. They make nothing but money off us. You'd think they would try to support us more than dog walkers. I think you have to pay $3 per dog or something like that, but if you want to fish you have to pay $5, maybe it's more this year, like I said, I havn't been there specifically because of the dogs. Good luck to all that perservere. Hopefully the dogs allowed rule will stop. Untill then I will take my business to other lakes in the region. Note to EBMUD, I used to fish 2-3 times a month at Shadow Cliffs, $5 per day comes out to $100+ a year. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have given up on this lake. You're losing money. Get smart.
      Andy
      City: Hayward

      Tips: Don't fish here, this lake is for the dogs.

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 47-48

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished for 2 days in pouring rain and 20+ wind and rising muddy water. The lake came up 4 feet on Sunday. I threw everything at them and only caught two fish on Sunday. Both were caught on a senko on a bridge piling. I lost one on a spinnerbait and one on a crankbait up the Sac. On Monday more of the same with 4 fish off the same piling. The lake is fishing tough right now or I'm doing something wrong.

      Tips: Stay home till the weather breaks.

  • Trinity County
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      Water Temp: ????????

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Come on John Help us out. Its been a month scence you've posted anything. I understand why you dont post anymore, but for every one of those jack asses there's 10 honest catch and release guys just lookin' for some good fishin'. Or even if we cant make it over there its nice just to here about whats goin' on. Come on PLEASE throw us a bone.
      City: McKinleyville

      Tips: Go try it and tell us how you did:)

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Basin BassMasters went out after Anglers Choice at Markley Cove. My first stop was a Island top near Rag Cove, my partner got two draging a smoke/purple tube. Started working down the left bank into Rag Cove and found 10 more small bass, even some small mouth. At the weith-in one of the anglers came in with a 6.0 lb largemouth that he caught on a green pumpkin tube in the north end of the lake. 15 teams 8 limits, big bag was 13.66 lbs. The weather was good. Work most of the main points in the narrows with small rock.
      There was a "BIG" Tournament at Clear Lake with the "West Coast Bass" now back. Look up Larry's web site and go to his next tournament. Pays well and fun fishing. It is a pro/am team.
      City: Rocklin

      Tips: Jigs in a Brown/Purple, Green pumpkin working them slow. Feel the bite it is soft and sometimes very light. Nor reaction bites yet but coming. As the water warms up closer to 56-58 the bass will move up. Water is coming in and the lake is rising. Markley is charging $15.00 to launch until summer.

  • Santa Clara County
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      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: SENKOS AND SPINNER BAITS SLOW AND FAST.
      City: SAN JOSE

      Tips: SENKOS AND SPINNER BAIT SLOW AND FAST. 4 FISH 1.0-1.5-1.5-3.3 LBERS.

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 54

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished inside and outside of Little Mandeville from 8 to 2. Jigging, senkos, & fishtraps. Boat was usually over 5 to 10 ft of water. Conditions were cloudy on day B4 the rains, but only landed 2 bass under 2 lbs. Expecting better days in the next few weeks.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Should have fished a little slower and little deeper. I think the good bass season is about to start.

    • By

      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: lauched out of paradise pointat 6 am i thought i would have to wait to lauch i was wrong there was no one there. fished disapointment slough for an hour and obviously i got disapointed. the water was so polluted (grease and gas stains all over the water) then i moved to white slough the water was still murkey but less polluted. the only fish i saw was from another boater. then we went to mildred island. My buddie and me targeted bass caught a coulple of keeper striper and they made a good meal. Guess you always have to make the best out of the worse. We threw everything at them nothing not even a bite. the only thing that worked was zara spooks and the black dog lunker punker stripers hit them call us lucky i guess.
      City: sacramento

      Tips: prespawn sucks. it was nice to have alot of fishing space in the delta but it sucks. The guys who didnt go out must have known something i didnt. I should have just stayed home with the kids.

    • By

      Water Temp: 51.4 deg

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Left out of B&W resort in early am Took off straight to Venice Island by fourth of July house water was a little better than in the Mokolemme river not as muddy, fished the prisoners point with 2 takers one went 3 and other almost 4 lbs worked really hard to get on pattern. Finally , sweet beaver blk/ red flake . Was throwing senko , blades, crankbaits they did not like anything till i stuck two rattles inside the sweet beaver ,fished Texas style the water was a little warmer in southeast delta , picked up went towards Stockton in ship channel to pick up a few more nothing to bragg about doubled back and went up potatoe slough water was getting muddyier fished tower park bridge hooked up with a schoolie striper on crankbait red and black craw, picked up and finished my day at bouldin Island with no takers water was low and very mudddy fished sweet beaver hard and slow with no takers covering every inch had a good day, fish I caught were really nice lookin with no marks took some pics will post, most fish were found at the toe of levee with rock 10 to 13 ft of water and slight current, bites were very light got to pay attention or you will miss bite I broke one off over by tower park had drag set to tight , for ten pound line ,and I need to re-tie more often, Got some fishing in before it rains cats and dogs. tight lines to all cya on the water
      City: Elmira

      Tips: fish south delta look for warmer water even if it is a couple of degrees, and cleaner water slow it down and try to get pattern down , Use rattles in plastics for noise in darker water some times I double up rattles seems to work, try up towards Stockton.

    • By

      Water Temp: 52

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: great day out on the water. fish are active. went out and through crankbaits and rattle traps and caught four right away. than switched to chatterbaits and caught a few. than cranked and caught a few more. caught 12 total with big fish of 3 pounds. could not find big fish but had an 8 pounder follow red and blak voodoo chatterbait
      City: b town

      Tips: the flipping bite is off and the reaction bite is on. keeep covering water

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 45-51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got a day to fish solo Sat "Very Rare" main reason to get on the water was to tune up the 175 Merc, she's running "OK" Any to the report, finally started fishing about 10:45, I fished south of Red Bud real shallow 2-6 with rip bait stacey 90, 6" baitsmith and my favorite jig, with no takers, decided to drag a jig on the flats close by no takers so off to deaper clearer water with rocks, I finally got 3 fish on my LV 500 and 1 fish on a crank bait, I tried the jig & drop shot in the same area where I got the reaction fish with not even a touch, for me it was a reaction bite. Spoke to about 4 different guys pre-fishing for the Stren coming up, nice guys all of the ones I spoke to, some were not doing as well as me and some a little better.
      City: San Joser

      Tips: Some guys shared a little of what they were doing and some did not and you can understand that but like I stated above for me it was a reaction bite and I had to cover a ton of water for the 4 I did get.
      I did see a lot of guys fishing real shallow around Red Bud, I do not know if they were getting anything but there were about 4 guys in 2 feet of water fishing the bank. Good luck to all the guys fishing the Stren, it looks like rain rain rain, bring your rain gear at least you will stay dry when you spear one of those rollers!!!

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 51-54

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: on the water with my wife at 2:00 to 5:00 .We caught a total of eleven fish, all 10' or less. ten on senkos and one on a chatterbait. Tried jigs but they were not hitting them. Two days ago they just hit jigs, go figure.All the fish were 1.5 to 2 lb clones,wife 7 me 4 , I quit.
      City: Granite Bay

      Tips: wacky with 6 lb fluoro dykertchaikovsky's

  • Nevada County
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      Water Temp: 49-54

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: 20 fish, mostly shallow cranking. A few on cb's. One on a kong swimbait
      best 5 went #25
      City: auburn

      Tips: couldn't get bit on plastics or jigs

  • Mariposa County
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      Water Temp: 50(bagby) 55(mc

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 1130-400pm. Tried crankbaits, spinnerbaits, dartheads and wacky worm without luck. to be fair I was with my son and spent time practicing casting.

      100 percnet Bass was out enforce. Again, many of the tournements are allowing poor behavior on the water. I saw a guy going 30mph in the 5 mph zone inbetween the houseboats. I saw racing. I saw guys going full blast near the shore ruining the fishing in that area for a period of time.

      I wish there were rules or officials to control that "stuff".
      City: Atwater

    • By

      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished 100% WRL, great tourney but fishing was tough overall. #7.56 was winning weight with 1.81 LM as Big Fish. Fished slow all day. Spent the morning in temperence and last half of day in Piney. Fished brown/purple jig and drop shot, no reaction bite.
      City: modesto

      Tips: Fish were either right on bank or in 25 feet. Good luck!

Friday, February 27th, 2009

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54.3-58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Was out on the water at about 11:00 am out of Cappell. Couldn't figure out why there were so many boats fishing the cove until I looked out at the main body, 3 to 4 foot winds waves. I thought I was out on the bay for a moment. Needless to say it was a rough ride to Putah where I did most of my fishing. Wound up with a tad over 20 fish using Robo-Worms and ring worms. Smoke and Oxblood where the colors. Water temp at 11:00 was 53.4 then after 3:00 pm it rose to 58. Wind died down so the ride in was smooth.
      City: Sacramento