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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Thursday, April 6th, 2017

  • Mendocino County
    • By

      Water Temp: 67

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Not having much luck at Clear Lake, decided to head over here for the first time on Tuesday 4/4. The lake is pretty much full & there was a very nice Smallmouth bite going on. They weren't very big as our largest went 2.5 lbs, but we sure had fun. The best bite was 5" Senkos in Green Pumpkin with a few lipless crank fish thrown in for good measure! Tried blades, but couldn't get them to go on them, but the Senko bite made up for it! We did the best on the west side of the lake in the fallen lumber & caught a little over 30 fish in four hours. We just kept running the banks!

      Tips: We tried quite a few spots just to get familiar with the lake but had more success on the west side. We threw the Senkos in about 6 ft of water at the edge of fallen trees & they just picked them up & ran with them. I would like to come back when the reaction bite is going strong. This is a really nice lake!

  • Butte County
    • By

      Report: Just want to thank Tom for all his excellent fishing reports on Oroville. It's hard to get a straight report that current.

Wednesday, April 5th, 2017

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: thru 4/5/2017

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Evan you did a great job with your drown video showing the lake when it was down 45feet and now when it is full and over flowing into the gloryhole just arrived back from miami happy easter to you and your family.
      Lake Berryessa Fills and Glory Hole Spills:
      The Video History
      This amazing series of Lake Berryessa News Drone videos by Evan Kilkus documents the 45 foot rise of Lake Berryessa in 2017.
      It was the second largest annual increase in the history of the lake. It was also the second highest level the lake has reached in its 58 year history.
      The lake has only spilled into Glory Hole 26 times in those 58 years. Also the rainfall total (46.7 inches as of 4/12/17) is the highest in 20 years.
      The video below shows how low the lake was 2 years ago. You should watch it before the others to get some perspective on the amazing rise of the lake in 2017.
      http://lakeberryessanews.com/photo-album/videos.html
      Low Lake Berryessa in 2014
      1. Fishing guide, Lake Berryessa
      650-583-3333 Book trips now!
      www.fishingconnection.net
      Y.B.A.C. Fishing Chariman
      Sid 650-867-9999

      Tips: fish are on beds now looking to go this week to the lake, Happy Easter to everyone happy holidays .

Tuesday, April 4th, 2017

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-54, elevation 842.90

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched about 6:45am at Lime Saddle, off the lake right at 11am. To begin, tons of wood in the launch ramp again, hate that stuff. Water seems to be clearing slightly, not clean but much better then two weeks ago. First fish a decent 15" spot, with the rest basic 13-13 1/2" for a total of just 5 fish today. Bite was slow, difficult to find them today. Good part is the water warmed a tad and water beginning to come up slightly, now 842.90. High water temp was 54 degrees, mostly 52 degrees in most locations. Had to fish today as rains are coming!! Still plenty of wood to avaoid, many large logs, so be careful. Picture in fishing forum.

Friday, March 31st, 2017

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49-52 degrees, elevation 838.70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at Lime Saddle about 6:40am, off the lake at 11am. A little breezy today, just as the weatherman said it would be. Surprised to see the lake cooled a tad rather then warm, down to 49-52 range, mostly 50-51. Cool water holding off the spawn, but bite not bad, not good either. Managed to get 7 spots today, largest right at 15", one 14 1/2", with the rest 13-13 1/2", nothing less then 13". Fished mostly the Lime Saddle area or basic area. Funny, ducks followed me for nearly an hour, begging for something to eat. Never had them act friendly like this before. Water still dropping, down to 838.70. Pictures in fishing forum.

Saturday, March 25th, 2017

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. San Joaquin OES South Delta Boating Restriction update. Click Here

      Spring Striper Start to Show !

      Isleton

      Striper Trolling and plug casting has started to recover a bit from the dirty water. Water temps raised a bit this week and a few more stripers in the Cache Slough area responded. Sturgeon remains the focus here. Diamondback anglers are heading to 41, Liberty and Cache Slough areas with roe and eel reporting success.

      Rio Vista

      Capt. Stan reports, Savage Prey and P-line Angry Eye lures are key for the trolling anglers. Red White Classic Shimmer jigs around pumps getting stripers.

      Sturgeon anglers in front of Collinsville or Red Barn still get bit. Shore bound anglers are scoring both species. The best place to score a striped bass or sturgeon remains Sherman Island in the area of the Power Lines, use Sardines or Red’s Bloody Eel. P

      Walnut Grove

      Trolling for stripers cracking the 10 pound plus keeps anglers smiling Brite colors 8 to 10 foot deep is key as the spring push starts up. The Dirty “D” is keeping its name and muddier conditions make it tougher. Stay in the Wimpys area for best conditions.Best bet, Savage Prey and P-line Angry Eye lures. Bank anglers tossing shad and eel prevail for an occasional sturgeon or Striper those looking for bigger bites.

      Discovery Bay

      As water temps Stabilize in the 60’s the black bass bite is rolling. Most Blackie anglers are sticking with Senkos and slow rolling blades searching ledges near sparse tulle flats. Others looking to beat the clear conditions are starting to crank Red-Eye Shad and Big Poppa’s. Keeper sized stripes are grabbing Bubba Shad a bit more this week and trolled Angry Eye baits. Packman A-Rigs also solid options

      Frank’s Tract

      Black bass bite is picking up at a consistent pace warm days only helps the Big Girls bite. Mike Birch of The Dan’s Delta Pro Staff landed a 11.58 yesterday on R2Sea Whopper Plopper and AC Minnows are great options while spinnerbaits get the mentioned as well. Hematoma Beavers on over cast days also working well.

      West Delta

      The stripers starting to show anchovies and sardines in many areas for bank anglers, Antioch Pier and along Sherman Island rd. Stripes to 18 pounds have grabbed Red/White Classic shimmer jigs. Trollers it’s getting started. Chartreuse patterns are the best bet. We found a few Stripers and Black Bass with 200 S-Wavers and Red Eye Shad.

      Contra Loma

      Trout fishing is still good at the east side, north side of lake or from a boat with nightcrawlers, Power Eggs, or mice tails. Water up fast slowed the bite for now. Black bass have been biting on artificial baits/lures and nightcrawlers around the lake. Try a AC Minnow wake bait or a Savage Trout.

      Los Vaqueros

      Trout action best bet. They are being caught in South Cove and Oak Point as well as Cowboy Cove. The baits of choice for shore anglers is garlic scented PowerBaits, nightcrawlers or Kastmasters. Trout average a pound and a half but range to over 5 lbs. Light tackle is important for catching trout with 4-6 pound test being plenty. There was a 1000 lb DFW plant on March 8th. There was also a 1000 lb Lassen plant this week. With the continuing plants, trout fishing has been holding steady with more limits being caught from all around the reservoir.

      Del Valle

      Trout have been active this last week. They have been in the shallow water; anglers are having good luck on Power Bait, nightcrawlers, Rapalas, mice tails and Kastmasters. Many anglers have reported catching their limits.Black Bass are on fire with anglers reporting having caught and released up to 12 bass. Most are smaller and in shallow water creating their beds. Best bet is still Senkos, either wacky or traditionally rigged. Also try a plastic crawdad, on either a half-ounce, or a one-ounce football jig head. If you do catch a bass, please release it, as she maybe pregnant. Remember that by taking one bass, anglers could be taking thousands away from the lake, so please, during the crucial spawning period, release any bass caught.

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



      Dan Mathisen

      209-612-5028

      Dan_Mathisen@att.net

      "Reaching Outdoorsmen and Women over 30 years"

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-54 degrees, elevation 847.44

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at Lime Saddle about 6:45am, off the lake at 10:45am. Fished the local Lime Saddle area. Bite seems to be improving ever so slightly, but a long ways from being good. Did catch my first 15" for the year along with a 14 1/2, and the rest 13" range for a total of 6 spots. Me and my Camera have issues, dead battery again and no spare with me, so no pictures!! The 15" fish was takes in about 15 foot of water, all the rest 25-30 foot range. Water no warmer yet, high 54.4 degrees, most areas 52 degrees. Water clearing ever so slightly, depending on where one is at on the lake. Think the water people are scared as the lake is down about 20 foot from my last trip, now 847.44. Guessing they are spooked by the mess up at the damn. Someone cleaned the ramp of wood finally.

Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58-60

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the Tri-Valley Bassmasters tournament on March 18th. Typical of lakes this time of year, had to work hard to catch anything. Fished from Spanish Flats to the dam. Threw the tackle box at them and got 10 small fish for our efforts. Biggest fish was a 22 inch rainbow. Saw fish down deep at 60 feet on the graph but few close to shore. Angler of the year John Herrera had the biggest fish weighing 4.0912331 lbs (we'll just round that off to 4.09). With the help of his partner John Williams, they had a bag totaling 12.15 lbs. Biggest fish was caught on a grub.

      Tips: Lake looks really nice, was nice to fish it with out a huge wake every few minutes.

Sunday, March 19th, 2017

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62.5

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished out of Big Break Marina on Sunday. Incoming tide at 7PM- High tide around 8:30AM, pushed quickly into Dutch Slough and started fishing with spinners and jigs. Fished from 7AM to Noon and the bite was ON in the shallows. Caught a total of 26 fish with the majority in the 2-5 pound range. Biggest was 6 pounds, caught two five's, and a lots of 2s and 3s. Slow presentation wacky style with pumpkin trick worms won the day.

      Tips: When you think the bite is going to be on, get ON IT.

    • By

      Water Temp: 59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Exactly like the man said...Got out on Saturday out of Orwood,. Water is stained and clearing up nicely in areas. Fished from there to franks hitting every good spot I know. The bites I got were good ones. A 5.6 in Old, A 4.11 in Franks, and a couple smaller. Not a limit, but better than nothing right ?? Rain again this week, so who knows what will happen....I LOVE THE RIVER !!!

      Tips: Just keep fishing....

Friday, March 17th, 2017

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65-67

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: When I get my boat checked out with Jeremy at C&C Marine, Sacramento, I often add Lake Amador to my trip. I thought I would night fish a little, but just fished the afternoon. Found some bass already on beds, though they were very hard to see. I caught 3 males, all about 2 1/2 lbs, and lost a bigger female. Just before dark, I made a blind cast next to a rock and got hammered! Fought that bass for a long time and finally netted a 4 lb male largemouth! He was not a female, just a big male bass!! All my action was in various coves.

      Tips: I was pitching brown jigs with a chartreuse tail - weird bait but works when sight fishing. Water is still dingy, but fishable! One can see the results of the winter storms - lots of trees blown over - split in two, etc!! There is lots of NEW cover in the water. Lake has only dropped about a foot from high water mark.

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: high 54.6, elevation 863.73

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at Lime Saddle about 7:15am, off the lake at 11am. Ramp was packed with big wood going out and in. Thought they were supposed to clean the ramp now and then! guess not. Found water had warmed a tad, high temp found 54.6 degrees, elevation 863.72, still coming up. Water looks a tad better but still murky and lousy visibility. Bite beginning to come back slightly, got 5 spots today, all 12 1/2-13", didn't measure them. Wood is increasing as the lake comes up. Worked my way to the north fork, picking up a fish every now and then. N. Fork is dirty as all get out, and fair size wood jams all over the place. Might get on the lake next week, if the rain allows. All fish looked like the one in the picture. Pictures in fishing forum.

Tuesday, March 14th, 2017

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-57

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I did a rare Sunday guide trip. Don't usually do Sunday trips, but these two are busy ER nurses with little time off. They came self-contained with their own equipment and baits. I think this was their first time to Berry, but I could be wrong. Excellent fisher-people with good baits and rods - she even had a G.Loomis NRX rod!! First one of my clients to have one of those great rods. I showed them around the lake and tried to stay out of the way of folks fishing a 30 + boat tournament. Bass boats everywhere! In spite of that, they landed 7 smallies and spots, but only up to 2 1/4 lbs. I really think they enjoyed the beautiful day - away from the pressures of their jobs.

      Tips: They caught their bass on a variety of baits - didn't seem to be a favorite. Most were in the top 15 feet of water. He even caught a nice one on a rip bait, which surprised me a bit considering the color of the water. It really was fun watching them fish hard - enjoying every minute!! Darker plastics seem to be the best. Now we all need to remember how to fish a full lake! What a beautiful sight!!!

Sunday, March 12th, 2017

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58 to 67

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out with Albert on Saturday our first stop after the Narrows was the cove near the Ranch house. The water covered most of the trees on the side of the cove and I was able to steer my boat behind the trees to fish. We tried our luck there for about ten minutes but the water was so murky we had little visibility and decided to look for a better spot will definitely come back to this spot. Headed to the Vineyards and fished in two feet to a little over four feet of water landing four bass weighing in at a little over fourteen pounds using a chartreuse spinning bait only. The water warmed up from when we started at 58 degrees to 67 degrees with about a foot and a half visibility. What I liked about this area it had a lot of activity birds all around and the fish were jumping all over. Thinking that it was a school of large bass I threw top water lures waiting for the explosive hit with no luck then I noticed the fish had orange stomachs so what I had hoped was bass turned out to be carp. Albert caught his largest fish on a red and black Speed Trap. I attribute my success to using Procure scent on my bait which contributes to luring the bass in murky water to my bait and to Hobie polarized sunglasses which lets me see into the water and cuts the glare. My prediction is that within two weeks the bass should be on their beds as the water continues to warm up and get clearer. 'til next time.......................................good fishing!!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net 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: Never to young to enjoy fish see photos

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-62

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished for three days & nights starting on Sunday the 12th. Pretty calm conditions. The evenings produced larger fish & the days more strikes. We fished south in Konocti Bay & Buckingham.Ted caught a 9.4, 8.8, & 6.7 for the trip, all at night around 2AM. They were hitting Texas rigged Flapping Hogs in Watermelon/Red Flake with the most consistency with strikes on the Kreaturebait & Double Wide Beaver also. During the day, they actually hit Senkos & also a few Crankbait fish. Most of the day fish were in the 2-3.5 range, I think they were mostly males staging. The best day was Tuesday which was the warmest & the water temp climbed into the 60's. The strikes were very subtle as most fish were just picking up the bait & running with it. Our best limit was around 20 lbs as we could not string any of the big fish together. A lot of that was due to me as I lost more than my fair share of good bites! I was snakebit this trip. Could be the speeding ticket I got pulling into Clearlake jinxed me! Lol. Ted had to carry the load! There were no blade, jig, or swimbait bite for us which was suprising; especially the lack of jig bite for us. It's usually one of the most consistent techniques. Also threw jerkbaits but no takers. All of the fish were fat & happy, there's a ton of baitfish in the water. Not a bad trip for early in the season.

      Tips: Move around until you run into fish. We were fishing slow as faster didn't get us any strikes! We were fishing an area in Konocti in front of a trailer & caught 6 fish one right after another. Then it took us 4 more spots until we got another bite. You just have to find them. Monday they were under docks in 14-20 ft, Tuesday they were shallower toward walls & structure. All of the structure I'm used to is under water right now, so you have to fish varying depths to find them. A small system came in Weds & slowed things down so I bet it's day to day for awhile. Coming back in a few weeks to see if the bites improving before spawn hits! Good luck & be safe!

Saturday, March 11th, 2017

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49-51, Elevation 860.03

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got launched about 6:30am at Lime Saddle, off the lake right at 10:30am. Good time on Oroville lake today, but fishing not so good. Only caught 0ne 13 1/2" spotted bass, but my luck, the battery died on my camera, so no picture. Didn't want to stress fish changing the battery. Water on it's way up again, ever since they let it all out during the spillway fiasco, now 860.03. Giant wood all over the lake, slow boating for now. Water is beginning to clear up a tad, much better then my last trip. Skipping next week, waiting on the water to warm some more. Up to 51 degrees in some of the coves. 49-50 most other open water locations. 58-60 degrees the fish will feel like eating again and catches will be good again. Picture in fishing forum.

Friday, March 10th, 2017

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52-57

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of 3rd street ramp. Surprisingly we saw only 15-20 boats on the lake all day and we travels from Lakeport down to south lake. Water was at 52 degrees in the morning and jumped up to 58 around 4pm. Water was remarkably clear, i've never seen the clarity in the narrows like that which is a good sign. Bite was a little tough in the morning with most of the fish caught on an A-rig. Debris was not as bad as i expected, only debris we had to watch out for was the east part of north lake. When the water temp hit 55 the bite came on hard! Hitting Drop shot, Jigs, underspins and the A rig. Most fish came at around 10-15 foot mostly around the docks at their furthest pillars. We did catch fish in the shallows when the water temp went up. They should be in the shallows soon. North lake produced the most bites. The bite should only get better as the warm temp heats the water up. Remember no wake 1/4 mile from shore. The marshall was patrolling most of the day. Happy Hunting! Fish on!

      Tips: Don't wait until the last minute to get back to the dock. 5th st. ramp is closed so when the sun sets and everyone came in at the same time, it was traffic jam at the ramp. By the time you get on trailer, it will be dark.

Wednesday, March 1st, 2017

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-55

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Mid February we experienced a climb in the water temps to 61 degrees here, fish were moving up and feeding in shallow flat areas. The past week the temps have pummeled back down to the low 50's and the bite has gotten very tough for most anglers. The fish are very inconstant in their feeding tendencies right now and we're struggling to catch a limit on most days. Water clarity is still very low, although in many areas it is clearing some to where we have stained conditions where ya can see 1-2 feet, as the winds have died down from last month, many areas are improving. The best thing right now is, it's winter on the Delta, at least when ya do catch some fish, they are in the 5-9 lbs range, with a few smaller 2 pounders showing up. You can catch em big in a small area right now and miss in others, as well as go back to that very same area and not git bit the very next day.

      Tips: Covering a lot of water up in the shallow, dirty areas with a vibrating jig has produced well, darker colored baits with long skinny trailers have worked best. TNT's Dragonfly & Cicada Claymores have worked best for clients and I when we find active fish. Pitching and flippen a black/blue or Dragonfly Wadda in 1/2 oz has produce the best results for us since mid January. Covering a lot of water, dissecting rocky and tulley scatter banks have been best, hopping n popping the jig from behind and out in front of the sparse tulle clumps.We're having to move around a lot to catch em, this will be hindered by the resent closures of the Delta by the OES in San Jaquine County. Currently from the top of Lil Mandy from Old River thru Columbia Cut to the SJR and too the deep south is all under restrictions. There's not a lot of info out for anglers in regards to the closures, yet in my travels the past two weeks, I can see where it is warranted by all the levee erosion at the top of the rocks that have been laid in place the past two years on many of the levee islands here in Contra Costa and thru the restricted areas. There are a lot of bass boaters out running around in this middle part of the Delta, I haven't seen any Sheriffs out issuing warnings or tickets, but I'd recommend until otherwise notified, fish north and east of the SJR and areas around and west of Frank's Tract and avoid the Middle and Southern parts of the Delta..

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 46-47 degrees, 842.27 feet elevation.

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Been a super long time since being able to get on the lake, all rainy days for nearly a month or the lake was shut down needlessly!! Launched about 6:30am today, off the lake about 11am. Where did the fish go. Fished hard and only caught 1 spot about 13", nothing else. Tried just about everything and no bites except for the one fish. Water looks like half mud, pretty darn dirty if yo ask me. Fished the lime saddle area, and several locations going to the N. Fork, which was blowing as usual. Could not buy me a bite at all. Lots of wood in the water, be careful. These are pictures the day the lake got closed, right at 902 feet at lime saddle. Pictures in fishing forum showing lime saddle at 902 feet elevation.

Saturday, February 25th, 2017

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report….Big Black Bass start to show along with this shiny thing, Oh My the Sun!

      Isleton Fishing Report

      Water temps raised a bit this week and a few more stripers in the Cache Slough area responded. Catfish started stirring in dead end sloughs, Cut Baits and Crawlers get the top call. Sturgeon remains the focus here. Diamondback anglers are heading to 41, Liberty and Cache Slough areas with roe and eel reporting success.

      Rio Vista Fishing Report

      Small stripes and occasionally, a 12-15 pounder caught. Savage Prey and P-line Angry Eye lures are key for the trolling anglers. Eel continues to lead the way for sturgeon anglers in front of Collinsville or Red Barn. Shore bound anglers are scoring both species. The best place to score a striped bass or sturgeon remains Sherman Island in the area of the Power Lines, use threadfin shad or Red’s Bloody Eel.

      Walnut Grove Fishing Report

      Most are sturgeon fishing now with eel and cured ghost shrimp. Bank anglers tossing shad and eel prevail for an occasional sturgeon or Striper those looking for bigger bites. Trolling for stripers cracking the 10 pound plus keeps anglers smiling as the spring push starts up. Best bet, Savage Prey and P-line Angry Eye lures.

      Discovery Bay Fishing Report

      As water temps reach mid-fifties the black bass bite is rolling. Most Blackie anglers are sticking with jigs and slow rolling blades searching ledges near sparse tuie flats. Others looking to beat the clear conditions are starting to crank Red-Eye Shad and Big Poppa’s. Keeper sized stripes are grabbing Bad Bubba Shad a bit more this week and trolled Vibrating baits.

      Frank’s Tract Fishing Report

      Like a army marching forward the black bass bite is picking up at a consistent pace. Black Blue Fizzles, Swim Jigs and FatSack jigs are great options while spinnerbaits get the mentioned as well. We found a Striper (1) and Black Bass with Savage Glide Baits and Red Eye Shad.

      West Delta Fishing Report

      The stripers starting to show anchovies and sardines in many areas for bank anglers, Antioch Pier and along Sherman Island rd. Trollers surprisingly, it’s getting started. Chartreuse patterns are the best bet. Dino’s, Eel is the best bait over all, but roe and shad also scoring diamondbacks Broad slough and surrounding cuts. There were many shaker sturgeon reports and double hook ups. Bouy 18 at Collinsville West to Honker Bay has been best.

      Contra Loma Fishing Report

      Water up fast slowed the bite for now. Black bass have been biting on artificial baits/lures and nightcrawlers around the lake. Try a wake bait or a party crasher. Trout fishing is still good at the east side, north side of lake or from a boat with nightcrawlers, Power Eggs, or mice tails. Try fishing at Channel Point, Loma Island or from a boat with nightcrawlers or chicken liver.. Try fishing for Crappie or Bluegill with jigs or worms at the boat ramp area, Loma Island or Channel Point area.

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