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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Friday, September 28th, 2007

  • Santa Barbara County
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      Water Temp: not measured

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Went evening bank fishin' along the south shore from 5-7 pm. Tried roosters in purple, white, and brown, kastmasters in silver and gold (I always do this for some reason). Worked a lot of water at different depths--different speeds. Got little guys (bass) and tossed 'em back. Tried jerking top waters (Zara)--nothin. A little windy and cool but beautiful. Encountered nobody.
      Very peaceful. Saw a few big ones jump.
      City: Goleta

      Tips: Banks are steep! Get your surfin' legs ready to slide with a few rocks if you try this. Maybe bring the fly rod next time. Had fun--didn't fall in.

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

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

      Report: Arrived at about 8:30am and only one boat out before me.Started at the first two point's at the ramp and picked up two small fish on Crankbait.Then went a little farther south and picked four more on topwater about 2.5lb's each.

      Then ran down and fished around and under the bridge and saw alot of fish working but tryed more topwater,crankbait's nothing.So I then ran to the north end of the lake just past the two cove's along the steep wall and picked up eight more on drop shot but only about 1.5lb fish.

      Finished the day around the day use area back south and picked up two more on a Fluke but better fish close to 3lb's in some grassy cover.
      City: Salinas

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: all over the pl

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: fished middle delta yesterday, tide was upside down from what I normally seem to see there - high tide at dawn and a .3' tide at 1, water didn't seem to move as well as I'd expected with a 3' swing. tough to get on any size but caught 10 or so, largest around 3.4. best 5 maybe 11 lbs. but it was nice to be back out on the river after 2 weeks off. all fish caught in the front of the weedlines - my boater pounded the banks without anything to show for it but a few non keepers. sonar showed fish stacking up on deeper structure. with the really different water temps we saw in various areas the deeper water probably seems more consistent for them or something... caught them on spinnerbaits, red timber tiger crank (delta craw color), texas rigged trick worm in green pumpkin, and green pumpkin kreature - and of course that d*mn senko. with the senkos and the worms look for holes and pockets in the front of the weedlines, drop in and see if you get bit, if not then swim it to the front of the weedline and drop it, let it sit for a few, bounce, bounce. lather, rinse, repeat till they jump on. areas with light current next to deep water drop offs produced better, YMMV
      City: Sonora

      Tips: get off the banks, get in front of the weedlines

    • By

      Water Temp: 66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: That was a 5lber caught 3 feet(correction) on a MS Slammer in a weed bed in the middle of the tules. Fishing is slow otherwise due to the dropping water temp (per Rich Thiel delta guide.
      City: San Francisco

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 71-75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I took a nice gentleman to Clear Lake - his first visit and his first major bass fishing trip. I needed to show him the lake and how to bass fish - in one trip!! I think we did ok on both. The bite was slow but the day was beautiful (that means no wind)! He picked up worm fishing pretty fast - as a matter of fact - put the first two bites in the boat! He understood the concept of "hookset" from the getgo. Something fun happened early in the trip that is always "cool" for a guide. We were fishing a "Rattlesnake rockpile" and he was having difficulty working the Robo worm over the jutting rocks, so I told him to watch me once. I made a cast with my black 10" Power worm - twitching and finessing it over the rocks. Suddenly there was pressure on the line, I set, and a 4 1/2+ pound "prop" found its was into the boat. Hey - those "demo" bass are hard to get to bite at the right time!!! Believe it or not, my client caught on real quick! Usually when I have a client watch me, I get hung up just like them! We fished the Oaks and Lower Lake arms and toured above the narrows but didn't fish much up there. He did well, landing 4 of several bites and I got a few small ones besides the 4 1/2. After resting for awhile, I went out for the last hour bite and found a ledge near Anderson that had willing bass. Using only the 10" black Power worm, I landed 3 of 5 bites, a 4-6, 3-13, and a 2 1/2. Had dinner at Konocti and fished a little after dark, landing only 4 up to 4 1/4 lbs. I needed to fish shadows in the bright full moon but I was testing some new areas before I left at midnight. Long day, er, two days!!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: I was amazed to see "normal" green water up past the narrows - around Shag and Horseshoe Bay. Like the 'ol days! I also noticed Griebs diving for good sized bait in the Oaks arm. They looked like mature shad? The movements of bass this late summer have been amazing. This may be caused by the lower water levels in addition to fishing pressure. Areas that held tons of bass 2 months ago are now devoid of bass - not ever a straggler. Got to move a lot! The bite should pick up when the water temp reaches the mid 60's and below. The jig bite is still slow for my boat. The 7 1/2 inch Robo worm and the 10" Power worm have be doing well lately - in dark colors. I tried some drop-shotting yesterday with no takers. The early morning bite for some reason hasen't been all that great - seems to get better a few hours after sunrise. Just my observation. I usually don't say much about tournament fishermen, but they really better watch their public image. Many still think it is just fine to approach another watercraft at 70 mph, missing them by 50 to 60 feet. Like it or not, this is not NASCAR on the water!!

  • Yuba County
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      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I guided two fellows last Sat, wanting to learn the lake better. We had quite a bit of rain and cold (Is this Sept?), so they only lasted about 4 1/2 hours. We used Robo worms and had about 7 or 8 bites with only 3 in the boat. One was a 3 1/4 lb spot however! Two other largemouth in the 2 lb range. The lake is lower than in past years, so off-shore structure fishing is a must!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: Bass are still very deep but some are feeding shallow early and late. The topwater bite is usually great in October - don't miss it!!

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: First boat out today, I was at my first spot by 6:30. It was very windy so I threw a heavy spinnerbait and got four fish from 3-4lbs in 1/2 hour. I tried a small swimbait and got hit but no hook ups. I caught 2 more on a very big jig, 4 dropshotting and 4 dartheading. Besides the blade fish, the rest were 1-1.5lbs.
      City: elk grove

      Tips: Better get there early after the full moon, because the bite shuts down once the sun gets overhead. Water is cooling down pretty fast and patterns are switching with the season

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

      Report: Started with topwater before sun up and missed a lot of blow ups, but got a 3.8lber. Then got some on senkos and flukes. Dropshotting in 25-30ft got quite a few up to 2lbs. There were a few on brown jigs with a smallie beaver trailer. Mid lake to the lower end (cottonwood area).

      Tips: Find wood and rocks in a cove. Picked up fish here and there all over. For the jigs go to 76 station at Snelling or the Baitbarn, www.berserkbaits.com. Need info. email me

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

      Report: I think Jones Valley is your best bet. The secondary ramp is very useable. Good Luck
      City: Cottonwood

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

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

      Report: It is a swimbait.
      City: San Jose

  • Riverside County
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      Water Temp: Low 80's

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started out at 630am with the early birds. Fished a dam on the west side of the lake in the AM and did pretty well. Caught fish in about 25-45 feet of water, mostly by drop shotting 2" panic minnows in shad pattern and morning dawn 6" worms.

      Boated over 20 keepers by 9am and had over 17lbs. One of the better morning bites I've ever had at DVL for numbers. No giants but lots of 2-3lb keepers and my buddy caught a smallmouth. Love this lake!

      <img src="/shared/photos/photos/resized/4827_resized.jpg">
      <img src="/shared/photos/photos/resized/4826_resized.jpg">
      City: Irvine, CA

      Tips: Fish deep and slow.

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

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

      Report: took my son fishing on saturday. launched out of whiskey slough. had a friend and his son in another boat. we caught fish on everything we threw. my 5 yr old son caught a 2 lber on a red and white crappie jig. big fish was a 5 lb on a white w/ black flake senko. lots of fish on crankbaits just outside the weedline. off the water by noon the boys were soaked. they had a great time.

      can someone tell me what a shellcracker is?
      City: Ripon

      Tips: toss the senkos into every hole you see in the weeds and watch your line.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Great weight for tracy bass big daddy blue ranger but I do have one question for you. You seem to really know what you're doing out on the water so why fish with amateurs. You should be fishing as a pro in another division. Maybe the stren series or something similar. You keep placing in the money in tourneys, you wont be able to fish tracy circuit next year anyways. Dont take this the wrong way, because any one of us that sees your pics should have some respect. Good luck from a delta rat that never sees a 29lb bag. Or even a 20 for that matter.
      City: tracy

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-64

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I took a good friend and fisherman out today hoping that the change in pressure and full moon would not effect the bite too much. It was a little soft however we did manage to boat 26 with 3 over. We hit lots of spots on the lake. West Branch, North Fork and main body. Although we didn't get a lot of bass we did get them on a variety of baits. Gitzits, darthead worms, spinner baits, senkos'and crank baits.
      City: Paradise

      Tips: We had to cover a lot of water. When the bite slowed up we went to the reaction baits.

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: cold as ice

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I would be out there with you fellas racking up the fish but I am haveing a case of the marrital bug,
      But I did sneek out in the middle of the night though and cought a catfish,,,
      :FIRST TIME IN YEARS,I THREW A POLE IN THE WATER IN,,,PEACE...,AND NOW ILL BE BACK ON THE LAKE FELLAS,
      NO MATTER WHAT..
      City: Central Valley

      Tips: Ask her if she REALLY likes to fish before ya tie the knot!!!!!!

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Reaction Bite Turning On!!!!,Blades,Cranks And Topwater caught Bass On Everything I Threw.Not Alot Of Biggens But Was A Good Time.
      City: Redding

      Tips: Fall Bite Starting To Happen,YAHOOOOOOOO.

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

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

      Report: Tough bit out of wimpy's. Fished all the way up the skinny in beaver. 2 on a sinko, 1 on a jig. Few on a rattle trap. Really tough bite about 1 fish for 300 casts. Did get one about 4 but I had to drag my boat over a tree to get back to were the fish were. Wish I new what I was doing. My bush wacking into the skinny stuff didnt work this time.

      Tips: Take a old aluminum boat and use a come along to drag it into spots less traveled. And bring a cell phone when that goes bad.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: 2 little 10 inch bass on little plastic minnows while fishing for crappie. no bass saw a big 8-9 pounder chasing a bluegill.
      City: P

      Tips: i dont even know

Saturday, September 22nd, 2007

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

      Report: Thanks for the last report. I came down to visit a friend and fish the famous Delta. I picked up a Shellcracker after reading the last report. i stayed in franks tract all day. I hit alot of 3-4 lb fish as close to the tules as I could get. I got my personal best a beautiful 6.3lb beauty. Even the blowups i missed made my trip.
      City: Bellvue Washington

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

      Report: Pre fished the JT night tournament and found the better fish to be way deeper than I expected. 35-50 feet!!! I caught some fish on silver buddy type baits but not worth my effort as they were just school sized fish. My partner caught some better fish in the deep water but that bite seemed to fizzle in the rain. More often than not it's been my experience that with the dark skies and rain the fish will pull up shallow but this was not the case for us this day. Shallow very early and late but otherwise going deep is the way to catch fish. Cranks early shallow should get you some really nice fish but because of all of the bait it is tough right now. I look forward to my first winter fishing at Casitas but the fall bite is not what I expected so I'd better rethink what I know and see if I cannot find the " biting " fish here.
      City: Ojai

      Tips: main lake points fished slow with a dropshot...Robo red crawler or a brown jig as long as you fish DEEEEP!