Submit
Report

Northern California Lake Fishing Report

Limit:

Saturday, September 16th, 2006

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 71

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: windy,but not to hot.Started fishing 6am-1:30pm.
      fished around line saddle and picked up a couple nice 3-5 lbs.on spinner with green/white wiskers.moved further up Nelson bar north side and thru rubber worm 4"close to shore north side and cought 8 more between 2-4.5lbs.wind got to bad so we left.will be back in 2 weeks on this lake.
      City: orland

      Tips: throw all the way to shore.when the imitations quit working try some real worms and the bites back on this spot anyway.start up on the north side let the wind push the boat keep about 30'from shore and toss all the way to the shore.
      see you there in 2 weeks rain or shine good fishing and keep the line wet.

    • By

      Water Temp: 68-72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started in the middle fork at first light. First fish of the day was our big fish. A 2'4 spot on a rip bait. Then we got our 2nd big fish, a 2'3 spot on a buzz bait. Good start, but the quality went down from there. The bite really slowed in the middle and around 10 am we headed for the main body. We got on a good jig, dropshot and VooDoo bite and boated another 30 fish or so with the biggest being just under 2 pounds. We then went in to Potters to finish the day and got a bunch more jig fish up to 2'2. Most of the better fish were in the deeper water around 32-36 feet. Our best five went 9.90.
      City: Roseville

      Tips: Use your electronics. Find the bait balls and you've found feeding fish. Look for the balls that have the snakes running through them. Then drop right underneath them. Usually your better fish will be on the bottom feeding on the injured smelt that is coming down. Another fun pattern was throwing the VooDoo in the backs of coves. The high water the last 3 years has really helped the largemouth bite. My buddy and I are averaging 4-5 largemouth everytime we go to Folsom or Oroville now. Some of the largemouth were caught in 1-3 feet of water in the coves with brush in them. You just need to have wind blowing in on them and some stain. Throw the VooDoo to the back of the cove and just slow roll it out by the brush. Vicious strikes. Green Pumpkin and Ch/White worked best. Check them out at fishinmagiciantackle.com Good luck

    • By

      Water Temp: 66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Beautiful, sunny, windless day on the lake...and a fine day of fishin', too. Not many boats on the water as some folks may have given up after the slow fishing of the last weeks.
      Beginning early in the morning, I got a total of four bass on crankbaits, both crawfish and shad finishes, to 2 1/2 lbs. Made lots of casts with buzzbaits and Tiger Tube, but no action on those from the big'uns.
      John had a slow start, not getting a fish until mid-morning, and then he got ON'em!!! Beginning with three fish on three successive casts, he wound up with nine nice bass to three lbs...all from the same spot...and all on a slow-rolled white spinnerbait fished at 15 to 25 feet deep. He'd heard about that presentation on a TV show the day before, gave it a try, and wound up with a very successful day on the water.
      City: Monterey

      Tips: Key to John's success was the slow retrieve and bumping the spinnerbait into something...hits came after the lure deflected off of the bottom or some other object (weeds, rocks, stick-ups, etc.) on the bottom.
      Water temp has dropped in the last couple of weeks, and thermocline is now at 32 feet. Cooler water signals time for slower presentations in the still-oxygenated zone above the thermocline. Lake turnover may be right around the corner.

Friday, September 15th, 2006

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished last fri, 8th, down south. Tide was high and falling in the am.. temp was warm with no wind. Had decent action on a spook and buzzbait catching about 10 to 3lbs. Switched to a white chatterbait outside the the weedline and caught at least 20 more. Mostly little ones with a few 2's mixed in and lots of missed bites. Tide bottomed out about noon and I switched to punching heavy vegetatation with a tube bait. First flip into the mat and a 3 1/2 comes out. A few flips later and I boat a 7..nice. Off the water at 2 with about 35 boated, best five around 17 1/2lbs.. Went out Fri 15th down south and it was cold and windy. First few hours were slow, but magaged a 3 on a buzzer and a 4 on jig from a deep ledge. Tide botomed out about 9am and the bite was wide open on little fish to 2lbs for the the first hour of incoming.. 10-15 on a buzzbait inside an island and at least 20 on a rat-l-trap outside the weedlines.. Went back to the jig (blk/red & brn/orng)looking for a better bite and got another 4. Proceeded to catch jig fish all day long and ended with a 3 and a 5. Close to 50 fish in the boat today with best five about 18 1/2lbs.
      City: TRACY

      Tips: All the better jig fish came from rocks/wood in deeper water in the main current.

    • By

      Water Temp: 70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went to Sycamore and White Slough for 5 hrs before the wind picked up making it real tough to hold positon. Total was 9 for my partner and I with two decent size, biggest went 4.2#. No surface action. Fish were hanging at 5 - 8 feet.
      City: Elk Grove

      Tips: dropshot with brown & blue 5-in roboworm at outside edge of hyacinth did best, followed by Wtrmln/red flk 6-in Senko. The fish are definitely deeper with this post-front, nothing on the inside. Move till you find a few takers, then work it.

  • Ventura County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: tough,alot of little fish,went thru 18 before one keeper,wed caught 6lb on crank first thing,sat cranked, no fish,drop shot the rest of the day,ox blood,2.5lbs,suggestion,crank inside brush and hit as many stickups as possible on the way out,also blades.
      City: la canada

      Tips: crank,blades,then drop shot

Thursday, September 14th, 2006

    • By

      Water Temp: 71.4

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished topwater in my tube from sunrise until lunch time. Caught 2 right off then had to really work for the rest. They didn't want anything fished fast.
      Just a slow twitching minnow floater from the reeds or bank out 12 or 15 feet. They didn't kill it, they just took it under without a splash.
      Nothing on frogs today.
      City: Santa Rosa

      Tips: The weed is getting thick and the water is getting lower.

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Hey Don!

      Great tip on the bird fishin!! Never had that happen yet and yes, it must of felt like a huge toad! Hope things are going OK fo U. Any bites on a partner yet?

      Bob
      City: Santa Maria

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73-75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Topwater bite changed a little from Monday in that the fish were a little less committed to taking the bait. Fished same pattern of submerged or emerging islands that are marked by hazard buoys with deep water nearby. Biggest was a 3 1/2 lb. Largemouth on a Rico and had 4 more for around 11 lbs.
      City: Roseville

      Tips: Move around a bit until you find active fish, not all hazard buoys are marking the best areas. There has to be some deep water close. Vixen and Ricos were my baits for the day with dropshotted or dartheaded roboworms for the deeper fish.

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at 6:00 out of Markley, hit a few points on the way out to the main lake. Had a few blow ups on top water, but no hook-ups. I did manage a couple 13" fish throwing a jerk bait. Fished around Big Island and caught 6 throwing Jerk bait, biggest was 2.5 LMB. By 9:00, I had made my to Putah and hit some outside points, switched to a tube and drop shot, picked up a few dinks. Couldn't buy a bite from 10:00 to noon. Ran back down the lake and managed a few more dinks but caught a 4 pound LMB on the Jerk bait. Wasn't a great day, it was 100 degrees by 1:00 off the water at 2:00. Finished up with 20 fish for the day.
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Should have fished the Delta.

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Dinged around Storke Flats tules with topwater. no luck. Dropshot hump mid lake and got 1 keeper and a couple of dinks. Fish seem to be nr 25 ft.
      City: Santa Barbara

  • Merced County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78-81

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the forebay in the evening. Started near the tower islands at about 4:30. Got several small largemouth bass on a sweet beaver. At the last hour and a half before dark, the lake came alive with striper's busting bait everywhere. Fished the flats in 2-4 feet of water and caught at least 20 striper's, (lost count after the first half hour), to 20 inches. All on top water. I was fly fishing with a Guggler and also throwing a small Zara Spook. Was getting fish or at least hit almost every cast for over an hour. Don't get this good that often, and I practically had the lake all to my self. Awesome evening.
      City: Ben Lomond

      Tips: Fish the last hour and a half before dark on those evenings when it is flat calm and the top water action can be unbelievable this time of year. Almost any top water popper or plug will work.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got on water late...about 7 am..trolled rapalas, bait (crawlers and anchovies) and didnt get a strike or a nibble.
      City: Monterey

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I just wanted to say thanks to Mike for posting. I just found this site and will start posting here also I fish San Antonio and San Luis.
      City: Visalia

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74*

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Started out @ 8:00am and fished 'til seven, with long lunch and a nap in between. Bite was on all day, with 14 fish in the boat and a lot of near misses. Great day, but frustrating, too. Almost all fish were smallies, best 5 around 11-12lbs, biggest going around 3+lbs, and the thing was, half the time when I was reeling in one of these guys, a huge largemouth was either chasing him or the bait. They were obviously competing to get to the lure, and the bronzebacks won every time! I'm not complaining...I just wish one of those big pigs could've outraced the speedy smallmouths. Tried several techniques early in the day, and finaly patterned them out around 10:00am. The answer was grass, usually w/ some wood mixed in, and a shallow slope of land going into the water. Stayed 20-30 feet off the weed edge, and cast either a weightless t-rigged soft plastic jerk or a senko onto the mat, dragging it quickly to the edges(make a commotion), then letting it drop and jerking it back to the boat. Frog techniques, but w/ senkos or jerkbaits. Tried same technique w/ a frog earlier, and had a couple blowups, but no follows after the frog dropped through or off the mat. Most bites came on the green laminate senkos, surprisingly, which I worked exactly like a j-bait, a few twitches, pause, repeat, etc. The impending cold spell realy helped the bite. They're eating now while it's hot. Saw another guy sticking to the grass too, so I figure he was onto the same deal, but maybe w/ frogs. Good luck and aim for their mouth.
      City: San Anselmo

      Tips: Grass mats, weed edges, stay out a ways and work it back to the boat. A lot of bites came on drops off of or follows past the weed edges.

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Mon and Tues. Monday was a numbers day, lots and lots of little guys with a few decent fish topped by a 4.92 smallie. Caught a couple topwater fish, this should get going any time now, but most were on worms and, you guessed it, Gitzits. The better fish were caught in about 25' in the center of creek channels. Every stump had 2 or 3 dinks. Not every creek channel held good guys. Saw a nice buck swimming across the East Fork, saw a swimming snake, saw a Kingfisher doing his thing, played with the Eagles, saw a ground squirrel lose a little fur to an osprey, (he survived). You wonder why I love this lake? Tuesday the smoke moved in, and the fishing went to h*ll in a handbasket. Weird!
      City: Weaverville

      Tips: Today the wind picked up near the Pigeon and Bake-Oven fires near Junction City. The wind is out of the Northwest wich will blow the fire back toward Junction City. Winds of 30-50 mph are predicted. Save a spot in your prayers for those folks.

Monday, September 11th, 2006

  • Mason County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Best day yet on this lake. Caught a couple small ones on drop shot under Cochrane Bridge. Then went to the back of the river arm. Caught a limit plus one of nice keepers, including a 3.2 and a 2.5 on shakey head worms and Pro-Line jigs. Best 5 went for 11.2 lbs. Not bad for this lake, since it's usually more of a numbers lake. All fish came from 5-7ft of water on shallow stickups. Current seemed to help. I'm moving, so I'll give it all up!
      City: Monterey

      Tips: Tackle used - Shaky Head: 6' G-Loomis GL2 Worm Rod, 10lb Seagur Flourocarbon, 1/8oz. Ikey Head, 6" Roboworm in "Peoples Worm" color. Jig - 7'6" Shimano Clarus Medium Heavy Flipping Stick, 17lb BPS XPS Flourocarbon, 3/8oz Pumpkinseed Pro-Line jig with Strike King Denny Brauer matching chunk trailer. Both rods matched with Curado reels.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75-77

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started out in the north near Rattlesnake Bar and had two blow ups on a Rico from small fish. Moved to the middle basin area and found a 2 1/2 lb. Largey that ate a Vixen on a submerged island top. Moved to Anderson Is. and had a big fish blast the Rico, but didn't get hooked. A little further down the bank came the first Spotted Bass in a couple of weeks and he had a few friends with him. To another submerged island below Anderson and a 5 lb. Largey exploded on the Vixen. Off to another submerged island top near the campground and a another 2 1/2 lb'er comes aboard. Dropshot a 2 lb. Spot off a ledge in 25 ft. in Granite Bay, off the water at noon.
      All told, 5 fish limit for around 13 1/2 lbs.
      City: Roseville

      Tips: Didn't think the topwater would be as good as it was after yesterday, but the fish were coming from submerged island tops in about 6-10 ft. with 50 ft. close by. Bigger Spotted bass are suspended in 25 ft. over as much as 100 ft. of water chasing Salmon and trout, cooler, rainy will bring them closer to the bank, but for now it is the Largemouth show on Folsom

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: who knows what the bite is like up there
      City: fresno

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Harveys cove mostly from the pier. I had a great time messing with the same 1-2 pound clones. By the end I had about 18 fish in 20ish feet of water best five probably 11. Only one decent fish that hit a junebug brush hog went 3. I also had a diving bird grab my drop shot rig. That was disturbing to say the least. I didnt catch another fish the rest of the night. bird swam across the bay, screamed a lot and then went back to his fishing. I think he will be ok. I let the ranger know. Has this ever happened to you? That bugger got me off the bottom! Scared the heck out of me. I thought I had a toad.
      City: Goleta

      Tips: bird fishing is a popular sport in the lower nile river region by the godiwannabucketmouth tribe but you should check local laws before trying it here.