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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, July 13th, 2008

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      Water Temp: 84

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: On the Lake about 9am not many boats at all. hit the 5 MPH zone for some small fish in the trees on silver and shad cranks. My wife hit some on drop shot in purple and Eran's magic. Moved up the day use side did OK along the rocks for fish to 3# on drop shot and swim baits. Hit the dam face hell we went all the way around the lake and we did our best along the rocks on both sides but, the better fish came off the camping side on rock piles in 10' to 20' of water. I hit 2 fish on Texas rigged lizards 1 3# and 1 about 6# but the numbers came on the drop shot. Off the lake about 4Pm.
      City: Fresno

      Tips: Blades, cranks and drop shot did good today. We did best with a slow retrieve and drop shot for numbers and better fish on Texas rigs.
      Have a safe one....

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 73-74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: weird day...hit up franks at 7 am. The sun was out, but really red/orange. it looked overcast, but it was just grey smoke filling the sky (from all the fires) with a slight breeze and "overcast" skies, that could only mean TOPWATER. tied on a buzz bait, and worked inside of franks (near false river) I got a few blow ups and had a good size one on for a 20 seconds, but it was able to shake it off. Meanwhile my partner in the back was working with a series 3 strike king crank (sexy shad) and was killing them. All clones of 2 and 3lbs. I was stubborn and kept with the buzz bait, and missed out on some fun fishing. bite went dead in franks, so we headed out towards mildred island, and fished tules. just killed them on wacky robo worms. according to the boga grips, my best 5 weighed 23 lbs,...with a nice 7 lber. All of my fish were caught with really light tackle (8lb test, 721 IM6 loomis rod) and the drag on wheel never peeled off so much line before. catching a 7lber anywhere on anything is fun...but landing the fish with light tackle...made it 3x better.
      City: el cerrito

      Tips: use anything that has chartreuse in it. The bluegills are spawning, and the big bass are waiting for a free meal. Drop shot and wacky ROBOWORMS were the meal ticket for me. Can't wait to get back out there!!! Have fun

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      Water Temp: 82.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The 12th was supposed to be one of the worst days of the month to fish according the lunar chart in my BASSMASTER mag, but I guess the spot's at CFW didn't read this months issue! I had a rewarding day of fishing. The spots were quite accomodating to most anything I threw, with the exception of top water baits. I did see quite a few fish busting the surface chasing after dragon fly's but they didn't want any of my topwater offers though. Get out there and have fun.
      City: Plumas Lake

      Tips: Hold on to your rod/arm, a few of those fish nearly pulled me in the water when they hit, it was bone jarring how aggressive they were. Also I had quite a few fish come out of the water like they were ICBM's, so keep the rod tip down and reel quickly!

  • Ventura County
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      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I was out Saturday fished East shore to no avail. Threw everything: Top,Jigheads,Drop, nothing! Then went to Station Canyon fished the South shore and coves and finally got one with the jighead/Robo oxblood worm. Used the advice Mr. Ripa gave me a while back, fish both sides of points in 5 ft. of water. The weather was cloudy at first then cleared. Saw quite a few boats out. Bite was tough today. Could it be that the bass are returning to their old selves? Pressure or just deeper?
      City: Oxnard

      Tips: For me, this week the jighead/oxblood worm worked for one bass.And it worked the same way with a green/Prpl. Senko two weeks ago too. Had one LM and one Spotted along with a pretty big sunfish. Sure miss your guys' posts! Keep it fun!

    • By

      Water Temp: 77.5--mid 80's

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The water has turned an ugly greenish color as there is an algae bloom of sorts going on right now. Prior to this the fishing was pretty decent for numbers of fish on worms/cranks/swimbaits but right now it is mighty tough out there. Took out a fellow angler for a days fun and it ended up closer to work. I ended my 13 hour day with a couple of limits for myself and one limit for my co angler. Our morning topwater was nonexistant and when we switched to worms I was surprised by how much the bite had changed in a week. In our case we had shad in the area we were fishing and the bass were literally flopping around on the bank after chasing the bait into the shallows. When we fished tight to the bank we caught a few but even that didn't last. As the day progressed it was evident that the fish had vacated the shallows and we started catching them further and further offshore. By the time the wind picked up the fish were back on the bank and much more agressive but that was the last two hours of the day.
      City: Ojai

      Tips: Don't give up on topwater as it seems to be an on or off thing. Oxblood Robo is still a good bet but try it wacky style on a dropshot for more bites. I have had some big girls behind my trout baits for three weeks now but none commited only 3-4 pounders on swimbaits for me at this time.

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 78

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Temperatures finally started cool off to the low 90

      Tips: <a href="http://www.russnyders.com/">Rus Snyders Guide Service</a>

    • By

      Water Temp: 78-82

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Continued from last report, I forgot something:)There was an English family camping next to us, a 20 year old kid just getting into bass fishing float tubed all the way around M & M pennisula thats about a mile in a float tube, he did not get one fish, I asked him if he wanted to go with myself and my buddy for a few hrs he said SURE!!!
      The first thing I told him was just switch the color of the worm he was using to my fav worm and he did, on his first cast he hooks up but she comes off, on his second cast he catches the biggest bass he has ever caught, a solid 5 lber!!!
      He and I could not believe it, the cool thing was there was a huge crappie tail sticking out of its Gullet!!! that was way cool for all of us also.
      He wound up catching 5 fish to 5 lbs and I got 3 fish to 3 lbs in about 3 hrs, yes the rookie out fished me but thats happened more than once to me:)
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Color makes a dif, expecially with the clear water we are dealing with right now.

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      Water Temp: Hot

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: First time I have fished here since 1989.Only really got to fish one morning and I started out on the South end of Soda Bay.This was the only area I could identify from my last trip.I fished the rocky area with one lone pump house right next to the water.Not one bite but alot of boat's were hiting that area.I just went north along the Lake and cought one about 2-lb on a Pop-R.So I continued to use it and the third Dock in I cought a 5-lb fish.Not another look at that lure.So I switched to a Baby Brush Hog and fished around that Island where they have some sort of Sulfer Hot Spring with a Warning sign and cought Two fish there one 7-lb.What a Lake compared to what I fish.
      City: Salinas

      Tips: None I just fished.

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      Water Temp: 82

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: This the first time I've seen the lake this clear. Now the Hydrila is dieing off and leaving a dead long weed all over the lake. Six of us got in the water @ 4pm and fished until midnight. The wind was 10-15 mph for a short time so we found a cove to hide in. The frogs were working, buzz baits, Jack's Jigs and Texas rig a senko worm. Most of the bass were in 2-3 lb range. Did find some bass chasing bait into dark.
      City: Rocklin

      Tips: fish slow and look for rocks

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      Water Temp: 76-79

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Same place - same frog! 07:30
      4-12 in the boat this time. Numerous misses also. They're baaaack!
      City: Clearlake

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      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Caught 1 fish close to 4lbs flippin a robo craw blk/blue.Tried dropshoting and topwater but no takers.
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Flip brush and smoke grow up and go catch something

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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 5 pm until dark. 2 frog fish, 9 dinks a 3 pounder and an 8 pounder all on small plastics in about 10-15 feet.
      City: Atwater

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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Lake level is dropping daily. A few weeks back the boat sat up at the dock, now you almost need a ladder it get it!!!

      Got out to the lake first thing around 6:45am. Ran down the channel on the north side of the lake between the island and the running trail. Got a 2 lber that fought like a mother!!!

      I then fished the rest of the lake without anything. Does this lake have any top water action. The only thing that I seem to ever get fish on is with crankbaits. Used a green bush baby and was very successful.

      Talked to few people in tubes and they are stating that people are keeping all the bluegills for dinner!!! Unbelievable!!! Go back to where you came from!!!

      All in all, this lake can produce but you need to get there early. Best bet if you really want fish is to venture up to Sonoma or Clear Lake.

      The lake also has an algee bloom going on and the weeds are a pain to deal with but who cares, its in my back yard and with gas these days it works.
      City: Santa Rosa

      Tips: Crankbaits and get there early. They say the gate opens at 7am, really it opens earlier and if needed you could always wait at the gate. I've yet to do so, no matter how early I've gone.

Friday, July 11th, 2008

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 82-84

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I was able to guide two great guys - experiencing their first night trip. Dad was a senior citizen who had a little trouble getting around in the boat but when he was perched on the back seat of my 520 Ranger - he had NO trouble setting the hook. His son and I were constantly asking: "dad, you have another one?!!"
      He would quietly say: "yes, I think so". What a hoot! I lost 5 lbs running to the back of the boat with the net all night!!! If you ever go on a trip with me - grab the back seat - it's hot!! Seriously, it was wonderful seeing him have all that action since he just got over a medical problem and had to postpone this trip previously. We were split-shotting Robo worms in the narrows and main body before dark. Dad wanted to learn to drop-shot and picked it up pretty good but the wind was just too much. Tried topwater some but no success - fish had probably moved deeper and that technique would probably be best at first light. The night bite was pretty good but not great. Again, the 7" black Berkley Power worm is THE bait to use at night at Berryessa. I tried a Yamamoto Kreature bait (black/blue) and it worked too. Dad's best was a 17 1/2" smallie - very skinny after the spawn. I have no idea how many we landed but around 40 give or take a few. Everything we caught - narrows included - were smallmouth and largemouth. The first spot was caught at 1 am and then one more. They were completely out of the picture. Amazing. Getting back to Markley Cove in the dark of the moon with some smoke proved to be a bit of a challenge but got back fine - all of us happy campers!
      City: Yuba city

      Tips: The lake level seems to be holding better than I expected. It's dropping but not too fast. We found bass on several flats, running out from shore and a few island tops. Ledges were now producing too. Deep water access is now important. Points produced bass at the 15 to 20 foot level. Thermocline seems to be about 30 to 35 feet. No fish below 40 feet that we saw on the meter. Many fish suspended - that is probably where the spots were.

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The combination of temperatures over 100 and all the smoke in the air made for a muggy day. We started the day off fishing rock piles around the narrows. Using jigs and dropshots we caught a dozen fish to 3.5 pounds. After that we moved up north and fished offshore weed beds in between the state park and Lakeport. The key was to find weed beds that were a little more isolated with pockets of open water right next to them. Sometimes this meant fishing 200 yards offshore. Throwing 6 inch swimbaits and senkos we caught another 8 fish, but nothing still over 3.5 pounds. Towards the end of the day we made a move up shallow and threw frogs and buzzbaits. Still only smaller fish.
      City: San Bruno

      Tips: <a href="http://www.russnyders.com/">Rus Snyders Guide Service</a>

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      Water Temp: 77-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: fished a two day this weekend.. saturday 2-8pm and sunday 6-12pm . friday prefishing everything worked.. saturday was tougher at the end of the day i went to six pound line and a small worm to fill out limit.. sunday started out ok with senkos working then bite stopped for me. my partner was again using six pound line and the small worm and catching fish so here i go .. about 8:30 am i stick a MONSTER .. partner and i saw it jump twice and then it made a run from about 40 feet behind the boat to 40 feet in front of boat in what seemed like two seconds.. and then BYE BYE.. i said it had to be 10 but partner said he fishes a lot of tourneys and he thought it was at least 12 !! i think 6 lb line might have gotten the bite but was useless against that fish .
      City: sunnyvale

      Tips: when bite stalls go small.. BUT i think at clear lake or delta i'm going to at least 8.. maybe ten.. that for me was the biggest i've ever had on even at el salto .. and it was in a tournament..

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      Water Temp: 76-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Put in at first light in Lucern and fished the north end for a good part of the morning with very little action, back seater landed two on senkos. No top water action at all. Moved around all morning looking for some good areas to fish without so many weeds. By 1 pm I was still fish less and we moved by shag rock and they began biting. Fished that area for a while and headed for some docks with fish on almost every dock. We found some good shorline with overhanging trees and caught more. Nothing bigger than 3 all day but a good day none the less. We finished with over 25 for the day mostly on senkos and dropshot.
      City: Grass Valley

      Tips: Get on the lake and go with what you know, I have never fished the heavy mat and weeds like what we found in our normal spots. Once we figured it out we turned a bad day into a good one.

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      Water Temp: 79-82

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished this past wed, thur, fri in the middle portion of the lake. I did not do as well as expected. The water is too clear (hardly any algae)and had too many weeds. The worse kind of weeds I have seen on any lake. The are long and stringy. Some are as deep as 15 feet! Not even a texas rig worm can get through them without grabbin weeds every time. What a bummer. The clear water and weeds threw me off. A lot of my normal spots were all jacked up. Anyway, we made the best of it and were able to catch fish. I saw some fish caught. Most people said they were catching them too, but it was not great fishing by any means.

      I did see some shad 1/2" - 1".
      City: Elk Grove

      Tips: Crawfish patterns worked better than worms....Good luck lets hope shad and algae are just getting a slow start...

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 81

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: On the water at 6:15- tried topwater with no takers. A couple of bites on a swimbait but they wouldn't eat it. As soon as I picked up the darthead, it was on! I caught about 20 with the best 5 going about 15lbs. Hint- fish very shallow.
      City: Elk Grove

      Tips: Windblown rocks on the main body were best. I tried the South Fork and it was not happening for me. Smokey skies were helpful.

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      Water Temp: 80

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Worked the North Fork from 9am-3pm. Wind gusts to 15 in AM, 10 in afternoon. Smokey overcast. Best three: a nice 4 lb'er, 3 lb, and a 2.5 lb. Only small ones in AM on topwater. Bite turned on for me around noon. Had best luck with slow-dragging craw color jigs at the base of rockpiles, and shad color swimbaits (6") over tops of shallow rock gardens.
      City: Folsom

      Tips: Rockpiles on edge of deeper (15' or more) water is the key. Only a few more days and the rec boaters are gone, then lake back to 5 mph. Wahoo.