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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, January 25th, 2009

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: WHAT BOAT RAMPS ARE THE BEST TO LAUNCH AT RIGHT NOW?
      City: Coast

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

  • Napa County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: First time at Berryessa. I was shore fishing the northern part of the lake, near Putah creek I think. I was hoping to get some action on crankbaits but nothing was working. Toward the end of the day I switched to a Texas Rigged 5" Senko and found a couple of Spots near the bottom next to a point.
      City: Fremont

      Tips: Fish slow, fish deep.

    • By

      Water Temp: 48-51

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Well i was pleasantly surprised to see that the lake has finally come back up to somewhat healthy level again. Its still pretty low but at least you can successfully launch your boat. My two brothers and i went out sat to fish and check the lake out for this spring and had an okay day for January. Youngest brother caught a nice spot on the first cast of the day on a drop shot to the right of the dam in about ten feet of water. About ten yards up the bank i caught another one about 1.5 on a crawdad colored gitzit. I threw dd12 and 22's along the rocks with no luck. tried a spinner baits in 20 feet of water...nada!!! Only seemed to get bit on the plastics... We went up the south arm for two hours without a bite!! Fished from five feet to fifty five feet and didn't even graph a fish? i fish this lake a lot and i have never seen that? I really hope the population of fish is not hurt because of how low the lake got this fall and late summer!!! I was glad to see lots of boats fishing out there.

      Tips: Wait for the lake level to hopefully top off and get out there before all the weekend boaters tear the lake up to bad!! March and April is a fun time to fish out here so gear up and look for some spots to fish when the lake finally does fill up!!

    • By

      Water Temp: 45-47

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Well for those of you that want to stay at home and wait for spring time, you are missing some of the best fishing in Northern California. Basin Bassmasters did their first Turkey Shoot for the 2009. 15 boats launched on a long but not so bad ramp. Five more feet and the concrete ramp will be used at the North shore side. The bite was tough for most of us but Drop Shot, Rippin did work for others. One five fish limit came in by Joe Everett and John Bounds. Two boats with four fish and a few with three, two and one fish. Most of the bass came in 15-35 ft in the main body and some in the creek channels.
      Good fishin and have fun.
      City: Rocklin

      Tips: fish very slow so that the fish have time to see the bait.

  • Nevada County
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      Water Temp: 43-48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Much better day today. My bud Dan nailed one about #5 on a chatterbait right off, and then we caught 7 over the next 4 hours.
      The largest was 6.4 We had no small fish today.
      Almost all came on either blades or a chatter in a couple feet of water. A freezing cold northern wind was blowing and the protected coves held the fish.
      Probably a #23 limit.
      City: auburn

      Tips: the warmer water is where they were today

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 46

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Good to be back on the lake after 1 1/2 years. What a sight to see some of our favorite holes 250 feet out of the water. Wasn't too bad of a day for the most. There were times it rained so hard that I thought the lake might fill up in one afternoon, but we were prepared for it. Started very slow. We only had one fish by 11:30. Then we got on to a great bite the rest of the day. I can't tell you exact baits because of an upcoming tourney, but I can say you just have to cover water. The bulk of our fish were in the 10-20 ft range and the bites were soft. However, when you got bit, there was usually 2 or 3 more around. The nice surprise was the quality of the fish. We finished with 11.7 pounds for best 5. I would gladly take that in the tourney. Usually a winning or a good check weight.

      Tips: Stay patient. Middle of winter and the fish won't feed all day. Try and find clean water. We were thinking the warm rain would have the spots feeding up the creeks, but we couldn't find them there. Ramp is steep. Defintely recommend 4 wheel drive.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Has anybody been fishing this lake? There's a boat dock at the spillway and lots of gravel to keep you out of the mud. Same amount of fish but lots less water like a rain barrel.
      City: Marysville

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: went out with my brother caught 2 trout trolling 10 to 15 feet down . did not get a chance to break out bass rods cause my optima 115 took a dive brand new not a year old, used trolling motor to get in back to markleys . took boat to gone fishing and they could not figure it out what a dissapointment , hope to get boat back so i can get out and fish....
      City: Elmira

      Tips: none

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

      Report: Hey Larry. Just quick question. What color of brushhog do you use at night? I have been hearing you have success with the brush HOG.

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 46-49

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Glad the reports section is working again - thanks Gator! Last Wed night (14th) I fished by myself from 7:30 pm to midnight and found the bite to be good - first trip in '09! I used Power worms, brush hogs, and a Chatterbait-like thing I bought from Bob Higgens. It worked! I had a 23 lb + limit and told myself I had to quit at midnight because the ISE show was the next day. On schedule - at 11:58 pm! - in 30 feet of water my brush hog got crunched. For the first time ever I was totally fooled - I knew it was a catfish by the way it fought, side to side motions. But she gave up after two minutes and I netted something without whiskers. "Mama Bass" weighted 10 1/4 lbs and filled the length of my salmon net. The 10th bass of the evening was a "10", and I could leave on time - almost! Friday night was much slower - I only had 7 bites and landed 1!! How's that for Clear Lake payback?! My fishing buddy landed 3 or 4 nice bass, but nothing over 4 lbs. We went again this Tues evening, fishing from 7 to 1 am and found the bite to be pretty good - for me! Yea, poor guy. He only landed one - at 6 lbs 5 oz! I did pretty well with my biggest at 7 3/4 lbs and several from 4 to 6 1/2 lbs. We did put together a nice limit between 29 and 30 lbs. Nights were chilly but calm.
      City: Yuba city

      Tips: When one fishes several days (or nights) in the winter, it is amazing how important the timing is. A spot will be great at 11 pm one evening and dead two evenings later. The first trip I mentioned found the bass more active for a longer period of time than is normal for winter. They got more active as the last quarter moon rose, about 10:30 pm. The bass seemed to move into the new forming shadows and that is where I hooked the "10". It is dark of the moon now so none of that will matter for awhile. I am using a lot of Smelly Jelly this time of year. The night I lost 6, many were on the chatterbait thing, but they wouldn't hold on long enough for a good hookset. One needs a good hookset for that bait! We only fished deepwater areas that had ledges, or a flat with a breakline. That is the key for winter fishing.

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 47

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: warmed up a little but still tough fishin. my partner and i caught 3 LGM with 4 bites. largest fish went 2.5 and total weight just over 6, not impresive but it beats being skunked in JAN. all fish came on drop shot (MM111 robo worm) in a 8' weed line
      City: oakley

      Tips: don't know if it's relevent but all bites happend as soon as the sun was over the area we were fishin. i doubt the water warmed up but my partner and i took our jackets off!!

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: 51 F

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: What a day. STarted out around 39 degrees but warmed up to around 65 or something!! by 10 am, all the thermal underwear was off. sure is fun fishing in Jan with short sleeves! okay, to the fishing. overall it was a tough bite. our club fished with around 22 boats blasting off at the North shore low water ramp (1 lane only with short dock). we caught a total of 8 fish. first 4 on one spot we camped at from 7 till noon: one on tube, others on darterhead, all in around 10 feet. tried adjacent deeper water with no luck. when we decided the fish were not going to move up on this spot (like they had in pre fish the week prior for my partner), we moved to a side of a hump adjacent to a creek near Hat Island. we dragged along this slope and hooked up 4 more to cull out 3, and missed 3 more. all on jigs or hula grubs around 20-30 ft. weighed in 11 even for 4th place, with 1st place around 12.2 lb. despite 1 week of stable and warming weather, the reaction bite was not there. minimal wind today. water level around 38% of full. no one broke a prop (that I know of) and everyone made it back safely.
      City: Folsom

      Tips: Fish slow. try shallow, try deep, try all your slow techniques. we marked no bait nor fish when we caught these. brown jigs, green pumpkin tubes and hula grubs are what worked for us today.

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: wow what a great two days of fishin. started on friday in the morning and netted a 6.8. in the south end. then later on found a honey hole and ended up with 24.8 pounds for best five. all caught on artificials. all fish caught were from rattle snake area to the south end. then the next day ended up with 24.12 pounds big fish was 7.12.the fish were all on ledges or drop offs working the bait from deep to shallow. my favorite thing to do in the fall winter periods.
      City: fremont

      Tips: reaction type baits.

  • Yuba County
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      Water Temp: 48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: We took 4 total, 2 Largemouth, 2 Spot, Largemouths to 2.5 lbs. Spots about 15 inches. All on the main lake, but all were scattered. On fish at 17 feet, on fish at 30 feet, one fish at 10 feet and one at 40. The two deep fish came on Senkos the other 2 on 4 inch worm.
      City: Woodland

      Tips: All was scattered for us with no particular pattern that we could get on.

  • Nevada County
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      Water Temp: 43-48

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: A zero, skunked, zip, zilch, nada.
      I fished hard and quietly for 8 hours and could not get a fish in the boat. I only had one bite I'm sure was a fish. Bluebird skies 70 degrees and cold water made for a tough day. I did see a pair of bald eagles chasing each other all day. Still it beats work.
      City: auburn

      Tips: Dont do what I was doing. I tried everything, deadsticking senkos, grubs, jigs. jigs and pigs tried dartheading,spoons,tubes, ripbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, swimbaits, chatterbaits traps(speed and rattle), flukes, and spooks, dropshotting, Tried brush hogs, and frogs,tried Logs, Tried shallow, deep, flats, grass, mats, docks, rocks, cattails, tules, buoys, aerators, the dam, the launch and everywhere in between.

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: 47-55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Beautiful day! Took my son Mikey (11) out for his first trip of the new year. Went up to Cherry to try our luck and there was very little water up that way. Lake is really low. Tried thumb camp location with Spinner Bait, T-Rig, Crank Bait, Jig, swim bait. Nada, zippo, nothing. Started at 8:30 one fish on T-Rig lizzard that got wrapped on one ofthe thousands of trees that are now visible and broke off. Tried south for 1 - 3:30 no results on same baits, even whimped out and tried a drop shot down there. No fish but we had a great time mikey even jumped in (lasted about 2 seconds) he said the Lowrance is wrong that the water was 35 degrees.

      Tips: Don't do anything we did.

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

  • Napa County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Able to get out with both my boys. Stayed in the lower end trying new water for a change. Started out with a jig and the boys were working mojo rigged brushhogs. Cought fish in the first thing and the bite stayed steady all day. Most fish came on the brushhogs with a few on jig and dropshot. Nothing very big most were spots in the 1.5 - 2lb range. One smallmouth around 2.5 and a 3.5lb spot on a dropshot at the end of the day. 17 fish for the day best 5 at around 10 lbs. One of our smallest limits of the year but still a good time.
      City: Vacaville

      Tips: Most of the spots were cought on the sides of the points but the bigger ones were in the tops. All the fish were cought in the 20-40ft range. Most fish were pinned to the bottom so watch your graph.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 48-52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: First boat on the water and quickly got rewarded with a rip fish. However, it was a 2 pound trout. Sucker pounded the super rogue. We started kind of slow, but then we got on to a great jig and drop shot bite. Most of the fish were in less than 15 feet of water. They were really getting active from the solid wee of sun. We fished the last 3 hours of the day in shorts and t-shirts. Beer tasted dang good as well. Fish were puking up pond smelt, but it was very digested already. I bet they had fed on the moon and that would explain the slow morning bite and digested bait.
      City: Roseville

      Tips: Just like how my Oroville trip would be the next weekend, the fish were concentrated. 3 or 4 in some areas and then nothing for an hour. Of course, I'm sure the bite is totally different since I am writing this report on 1-26. Our best five went 12 1/2 pounds. Big fish was a 3 1/2 pound spot.

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: 45-48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Had our club Tourney it was a great day. 76 no wind and no bite. We went up yordy creek. i started throwin a Sexy red eye shad while my partner was throwin his basstrix swimbait nothin. so we went around the bend a little bit throwin swimbaits. jigs, brushogs, crankbaits, weightless reapers,senkos, shakeyheads. i even whipped out the ol" dropshot. I had two bites flippin the many trees out of the water. I lost one about three pounds. My partner also shook the hook on two swimbait fish but oh well. We had six boats and four fish were caught. we had four fish on and the tourny in our hands. but thats why its fishin and not catchin.but it beats sittin on the couch at home.
      City: Ukiah

      Tips: Stay on the outside tree lines in 25-49 feet and stick with plastics and 5 inch swinbaits.my opinion dont go 2 sonoma its a waste of time and wrong time of year..but goodluck anyways.

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 45

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: sturgeon bite just got a lil better. started out fishing out at little cut during the incoming tide for about an hour and caught and released a 69 incher and had a few shaker stripers.just as the tide went slack i decided to fish the flats at grizzly island, had no success so i pulled up and went towards the mothball fleet in about 11 feet.just as the tide started going out i managed to land a 59 lb diamond back a about 15 anoying flounders and 2 schoolie stripers. all the fishes was caught on ghost and pile combo. great start hope yall do the same
      City: sacramento

      Tips: bring you heater