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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Tuesday, September 20th, 2016

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: Don Pedro Lake Camping, Boating and Fishing
      Attention Boaters! Due to overhead construction on the James E. Roberts (Hwy. 120) Bridge, a portion of the lake beneath the bridge remains closed by floating safety booms. The opening to allow vessel passage has now been moved to the east side of the bridge. Please slow your vessel speed and boat through this opening with caution. These safety booms and an opening for passing boaters will remain in place as work continues on the bridge.

Sunday, September 18th, 2016

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73-78

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Jim's day on the lake!
      Went with my buddy Jim McDevitt and his son Sean, first time on Clearlake for Jim or I this year. Sean has been telling us the lake is on fire, him and his cousin are killing them. Got a late start but first spot Sean brought us to was nice. Probably 6-8 fish in the first half hour. The same thing at the next place. Every place he brought is to we got fish. Heard about guys that say "50 fish days" but never been there to see it myself. Well I write every fish I catch in a little notebook with the lure and weight of the fish (or just "dink' when appropriate) and Jim and Sean helped keep it current all day. 22 fish per page and on page 5 the last fish of the day was literally number 100. Not sure how many we did not write or if we maybe double counted one or two but regardless it was a blast.
      Sunday started out the same. Got a fish on my first cast, then on my second, then Sean then Jim you get the pattern. They stopped counting after 20 or so, I had 37 in the book but totally safe to say 70 or so. We fished till 3:00 to head home.
      Details: Fish came from 2 feet to 22 feet, a few fish on Crankbait, couple on jerkbait, Sean even got one on an umbrella rig. But most fish on one form of plastic or another. Shad everywhere on the lake, almost every place you stopped they were everywhere. From 1" to 3". 80% of the fish were dinks but mostly good fighters, 15% were 1.3 - 1.95. Saturday only one fish to weigh 4.67.
      Sunday after about 15 fish we abandoned our pattern and changed locations and some presentation. Good news I got a 2.9 so things looking up. Then at about 11:00 Jim tossed a little 6" robo worm to a nice rocky point and got bit. Looks like a nice one. he smiled but said let's wait till he shows himself. Two or three minutes later he finally comes up and dances across the top. Jim freaked a little and said "Dave, do you have a net"? nice fight light action 10# mono and a tiny hook but eventually he guided her to the net 7.78 lbs. Jim's PB! He was shaking, dropped the poor girl twice trying to weigh it and take a picture to post to the gram.....It was a beauty, so happy for Jim, fun to see his hands shaking, hope it came out on my gopro! Sean stuck a 4.75 and the size seemed to be lookin up. Then a little while later some guys in a tourney jumped right on top of us kind of burned the spot. Great Clearlake weekend. Jim's ready to buy a house on the lake! Sean can be the guide.

      On a related note:
      Launched out of the little ramp in Clearlake oaks. Saturday evening went to leave around 7 and two guys pulling out. Long story short, inexperienced boater tried to pull out a large Pontoon Boat with a little Ford Ranger. Big Boat, small truck, inexperienced driver, you guessed it. Sunk the truck, barely got his girlfriend out of his window just before the truck finally sunk. Water pressure would not allow her to open her door and her window was up. She could easily have drown! 3 hours later after the Fire department declared the ramp unsafe the last 5 of us with boats in the water went to an adjacent ramp not fit or real boats and pulled out, we were first and it was a little sketchy, hope the others made it. In the end driver and passenger survived and the fire department team did a great job. Odd end to a great day of fishing.

      Tips: Get out there as soon as you can - the fish ate every kind of plastic you threw at them.

      Tip #2. Put the truck in drive and 4WD if you have it when you are on the launch ramp and don't back your tires up to the moss on the ramp! No one is really sure exactly what happened.

Friday, September 16th, 2016

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. East County Fishing rolls as Salmon Stripers surge

      Don Lee Memorial Tournament Heads Out of Russo’s Marina Saturday AM. Weigh- in Awards, Raffle and Fun starts at 300 pm.

      R2SeaTournament is just a Two weeks away and promises to be Epic event! More Next Week!

      Bethel Island promises to be packed all weekend with the annual 50’S Bash Various venues across the Island will be hosting specials and live music.

      Isleton Windy Conditions accompanied by the approaching full moon slowed salmon a bit. Still salmon anglers are seeing success, a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. Water temperatures have dropped with the cooler evenings. Many anglers to the west are seeing more salmon daily… getting close. Silvertron’s are the best bet for those who want to try. Smallies are getting more attention now as 2 to 4 pound fish show more often now… Jigs and flukes are getting them!

      Walnut Grove Salmon are increasing in numbers Silvertrons and K-14 getting mentioned Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well. Small swimbaits are scoring Largemouth and Smallmouth in the Meadows.

      Discovery Bay Stay near main river current with Crankbaits Strike King XD 6 and 2.5 square bills. Bobby D’s Swim Jigs and Spinner baits getting mentioned often. Jig bite on points is also good, the TNT Booby Trap is a great replica of Delta Craws come by and check them out ! Top water stripes are showing in the deep water side. Topwater scoring striped bass on the main river topwater look for birds.

      West Delta WOW! More Anglers in search of stripers are finding solid numbers of keeper stripers from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 38 inches this week. Shad is top offering. The West as in Honker Bay to the Broad Slough plug casting is getting fish when wind cooperates. Go On Top with Dan’s Delta Mizers. A few more Salmon success stories have come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s in Pittsburgh and Humphries areas . Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Cranking and spinnerbaits is starting to improve daily.

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

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Report: It's time to go fishing at your favorite lake! 750 lbs. of rainbow trout was just planted into Lake Chabot.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Clear Lake this week 9/16/2016

      Lake level today is 1.95 Rumsey, compared to last year’s 1.05 on the same date. Water is still being Pulled around the lake so I expect we will be close to where we were last year by month’s end, 1.0 Rumsey or less depending.

      Watch the skies, and the water if you’re out this weekend as it is the annual “splash-in” weekend, with water aircraft of every era and style landing and taking off around the north end it should make for an interesting weekend, I know it was yesterday for sure. Pretty cool actually!

      Around the lake this week the word is CRANKBAITS! All shapes, all sizes, and all depths! Yes, the jig bite is still there but the better fish seem to have moved back and are suspending in and around the bait balls.

      The weights last weekend in the annual Bob’s Marine event were pretty impressive and again there was the haves and have not bags. None the less a fun time was had by most I spoke off as 12-15 lb limits were quite easy to come by.

      We ventured out twice this week and found fish in the 1 to 20 foot range both days and managed several decent bags throwing cranks in 1-25 feet of water and fishing a jig likewise. Either end of the lake produced for us. “Pick your poison” as they say as both the north and south end produced equally for us each day.

      Forecast overnight temperatures are beginning to touch the high 30’s each night so things should continue to get quite interesting over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

      Oh, one more thing! I was made aware yesterday that there will be a $100 all in tournament here on October 9, 2016 to benefit the Clayton fire victims. Redbud will be the host ramp and details will be posted later this weekend, and I will post and update with next weeks report. All proceeds will be donated to the Clayton Fire Victims Fund. One interesting thing is that the event is from 9am to 5pm so no early morning awakening with plenty of time to get here.
      ReelEx, your source for quality, professional service on your Shimano reels.
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Thursday, September 15th, 2016

  • Mariposa County
    • By

      Report: by Keith Rakoncza » Thu Sep 15, 2016 2:05 pm

      Fishing has been hit and miss at McClure Robert. The spots are FAT CHUNKS! I did get this 10.2 to go a few weeks back there. South launch ramp at Barrett Cove is good with all islands marked pretty well. Lake is at 43% I believe. Good luck!

      See pic here: http://www.westernbass.com/forum/post568969.html?hilit=mcclure#p568969

Tuesday, September 13th, 2016

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 71 TO 76

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Subject: Fishing with Sid
      This past Sunday I took Fabrice and his five year old son Matthew out. The weather stayed cool the whole day and the fishing was a little off but father and son had such a great time with the fish they caught. Matthew brought his new rod and he wanted to catch a fish with it and I was going to make it happen. He was using one of my rods and kept catching fish after fish. At one point they had a double hook up that they brought within twenty and ten feet of the boat they were so excited that they stopped reeling for a split second and both fish jumped in the air and spit out the lure. This happened a couple of times during the day. After a fun filled day we headed in with a very happy Matthew smiling from ear to ear(see photos).
      'til next time.......................................................................................good fishing!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or would like to share a story or if you are interested in booking a guided fishing trip please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
      California Fishing Guide - Bass, Salmon, Trout, Catfish
      Sidney Silberberg is one of the hottest fishing guides in Northern California. As a World-Class professional fisherman he helps anglers of all ages enjoy ...

      Tips: Tried drop shoting I prersonaly don't care for it but it catches fish 1 year ago my friend Albert caught a 10.5lb large mouth in two feet of water will try the same spot friday

    • By

      Water Temp: 73-75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: With the wind and unusual Sept cold front, wasn't sure how my guide trip would go. I had a great guy - a repeat Florida client from this past spring. In a word - we had the lake to ourselves - no one out there. Spooky moon showing thru the trees - not a surface fish or swirl to be seen, no bird sounds - nothing!! I guess they don't like cold fronts either!! So, my report is very short. He landed one bass - but is was his biggest California bass ever. Yes, she went 6.26 lbs!! Evidently, she doesn't know the rules of the a summer cold front - you don't eat! The largemouth cleared the water by a foot or so after he hooked her - what a sight - and sound!!! He played the fish perfectly! My net job wasn't bad either - lucky I guess!! Right at dusk I caught my only fish, a nice smallie at about 2 1/4 lbs. He did hook another good fish, but lost her.

      Tips: With the weather pattern we were faced with, I targeted the steepest walls I could find - and, those with shadows. I tried some different baits at night, but again, the 7" Berkley Power Worm is the only thing they would hit. His big fish was very shallow, up in the moonshade of over-hanging trees. My smallie was in about 20 feet of water. I thought we could get some other "shady" bass to hit, but it didn't happen. I hate cold fronts!!

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Report: Don Pedro Lake Camping, Boating and Fishing
      September 13 at 3:13pm ·
      Hwy 120/ James E. Roberts Memorial Bridge Update #3.
      The second phase of work will begin on Sunday, October 2, 2016, when the bridge is scheduled to close Sunday through Thursday nights from 5:00 pm until 7:00 am. Crews will be replacing the bridge deck during these nightly repairs, which are scheduled to end in February 2017. Please be aware of these delays and closures if visiting Moccasin Point or Yosemite.

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73-74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fall bite seems to be beginning. Got launched about 6:15am, fished till 11am. During launch today it was raining, enough to wet everything pretty good, glad it was just 15 minutes of rain. No winds to begin with which helped, but 9:30 10am or so, it got blowing from Oroville towards the mountains, so headed for shelter, as holding the little boat is not fun in the wind. Managed 23 fish today, but a few decent ones for a change. One 16 1/2", another 16", one 14 1/2", 3-4 right at 14", with all other the basic 12-13" size. For a while today, every cast gave up a fish, all one location producing 10 fish or so. Nice when they want to bite and hang out together. Trying my night trip this coming Thursday, should be interesting, since I've never done one. News said a couple days ago, lake now half empty. Pictures in fishing forum.

Monday, September 12th, 2016

Sunday, September 11th, 2016

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 69 degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out of Big Break Marina at the beginning of incoming tide with a good friend of mine to fish for striped bass and Large Mouth. Put in around 7:15 and flew over to Dutch. My buddy threw his rattle trap before I could even get the trolling motor down and he caught a small dink, but a very good sign. He ultimately caught about 7 SB on a red crawdad colored RT. His largest striper was probably 16 inches. I had no luck fishing for stripes on top water fishing with a Whopper Plop. Switched to a RT, same color, caught 2 but never got 'em in the boat. It was pretty windy so we moved further into Dutch and began catching a few 2-3 pound LMB on wacky rigged worms in motor oil color. The bite turned off around noon and the wind kicked in so we high tailed it back to the marina.

      Tips: Key Tips

      1) Don't let your fishing buddy sneak up on you and cast before you do to land that first fish
      2) Keep the flask at arm's reach versus at the bottom of the cooler
      3) Follow the marine weather report and don't take chances when you're in a wind protected area. It can get ugly out there so make sure you take every rolling wave one at a time, because they are all different

Saturday, September 10th, 2016

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78-82

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Mike and I fished Berry late Thursday afternoon - planning to night fish some also. That didn't happen! The wind was blowing when we started, then the lake went dead calm until just before dark. Then came the wind again - big time - and back to the dock we went. We caught a bunch of bass, with 4 good quality, over 3 1/4 lbs. My biggest smallie took a 6" shad colored Robo worm - great summer fish at 3 lbs 10 oz. A short but sweet trip - EXCEPT for the carp that Mike accidently snagged. It was a 20 lb bass before we actually saw it!! Ugh!!! I was there today (Sat) with clients who caught 2 nice largemouth and several smaller bass. The lake was dead flat calm until 2 pm and made a tough bite for them.

      Tips: We saw lots of small schools of shad that seemed to be scattered all over - but not on the bottom. Not many bass around the shad - maybe because of the flat water and weekend pleasure boating.

Friday, September 9th, 2016

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report….Great Weekend ahead for East County anglers!

      Bethel Island’s Russo’s Marina and BBT scheduled to host BassFest this weekend. Representatives from many different companies will be on hand, many different speakers and tourney on Sunday! Sugar Barge to Host C.A.S.T for kids event Saturday! This great event brings many young anglers to the river for a lifetime experience. Boaters always needed be at Sugar Barge 7 am Saturday!

      Isleton Capt. Stan Reports Salmon Anglers are seeing success, a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. Water temperatures have dropped with the cooler evenings. Many anglers to the west are seeing more salmon daily… getting close. . Silvertron’s are the best bet for those who want to try. Catfish are the best target species this time of year that can help you beat the summer doldrums . Anchovies, Mackerel and Sardines are good choices here for the whiskerfish.

      Walnut Grove Salmon are increasing in numbers Silvertrons and Mepp’s FC 78 getting mentioned Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. The Sacramento Turning Basin continues to be decent with stripes caught there by lure tossers. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well.

      Discovery Bay Cooler evenings have the bite changing combined with the wind have Spinnerbaits and crankbaits doing better daily. Stay near main river current with Crankbaits Strike King XD 6 and 2.5 square bills. Top water stripes are showing in the deep water side. Punching MegaStrike Tubes and Cliff’s Wild Craws getting the most betterbites.

      West Delta More Anglers in search of stripers are finding a few keepers on occasion from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 30 inches this week. The West as in Honker Bay to the Broad Slough plug casting is getting fish when wind cooperates. A few more Salmon success stories have come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s in Pittsburgh and Humphries areas . Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Cranking and spinnerbaits is starting to improve daily. Punching get’s the bites the key is staying square to your target and setting hard.

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

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Clear Lake this week 9/9/2016

      Lake level is 2.16 Rumsey and dropping quickly. Water temperatures have dropped as well, most mornings you will see 71-74 degrees, with afternoon temps just barely getting into the low 80’s, and the water is beginning clear as well around the lake. As a result the bite is changing daily.

      Fall patterns are now becoming more and more prevalent with the squarebill now contributing to some big bags, along with its deep diving cousins. Jackall, Megabass, and Strike King squarebills, as well as their deep runners are all producing, and then there is the ole stand-by DD22.

      Now, in all honesty this has been a really weird week with the morning bite going to heck, unless you’re throwing a hard bait tight to the bank. Afternoons the deep crank and jig bite tend to make a rebound, with shade lines becoming more and more of a key.

      Forecast lower temps, and the cooler nights should begin to really kick this bite in, along with the morning topwater bite. Right now that has been spotty at best but don’t ignore it! Give it a shot!

      In closing, the key word for this week is “changing”, and it is daily, so get out and chase em’ down.
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  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73-74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Finally could get out on the lake after waiting all week for the fire to get under control and get me an open road to get to Lime Saddle. Weird, no sign of the fire from the lake! Got launched about 6:10am, fished till 10:30am. Nothing special day, other the the bite was fairly good at the bride supports for hwy 70, picked up one 15" on the way out and 3-4 nice fish on the way in to the ramp. No schools found today, but did manage 18 fish. 2 right at 15", 3-4 in the 14" range with the rest basic 12-13" fish. Water is beginning to cool, so fall bit not to far off, found 73-74 degrees, so figure in 3-4 weeks the fall bite should get going and produce some bigger fish. Fished were from 20-35 feet mostly. Pictures in fishing forum.

Saturday, September 3rd, 2016

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 80-83

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I took a few hours to check out the bite at Collins Thursday afternoon. Weird - knowing what the holiday would bring in terms of boating on the lake, I and another boat, trolling for trout, were the only ones on the lake. I fished from 5 to 9 pm and got about 12 bites, landing 6 from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. The bigger bass were all largemouth, hitting Robo worms in the MM111 color. I had 2 good topwater hits, landing one of them - a 2 lb spotted bass. My 5 biggest went close to 10 lbs. As is normal in the fall, all my bass were caught on off-shore structure.

      Tips: Collins is an amazing lake and fun if you like fishing off-shore structure. it is just amazing to see when the lake is down - island tops, ledges, rock piles, stumps everywhere!! Speaking of the lake level, it is higher than I can remember for the Labor Day weekend.

Friday, September 2nd, 2016

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report….Stripers and Salmon are starting to show in better numbers. Wind and blustery conditions have kept many anglers off the water yet for those who venture out there are a few to be caught.
      This Weekend- Be Safe Boat Smart Wear your Life Jackets!
      Isleton More Salmon Anglers are seeing success, a few fishing finally started getting an occasional report of success from Salmon searching anglers. Water temperatures have dropped with the cooler evenings. Many anglers to the west are seeing more salmon daily… getting close. . Silvertron’s are the best bet for those who want to try. Catfish are the best target species this time of year that can help you beat the summer doldrums . Anchovies, Mackerel and Sardines are good choices here for the whiskerfish.
      Walnut Grove Salmon are increasing in numbers Silvertrons and K-14 getting mentioned Bank anglers Pile worms and cut baits prevail. Catfish action is getting the most praise, Few Stripes are in the area as anglers recover still around as temperatures return more seasonable in the Walnut Grove area as the trolling bite is OK mostly small fish. Best area has been Courtland to Walnut grove. The Sacramento Turning Basin continues to be decent with stripes caught there by lure tossers. Red Eye Shad and small shad patterned plastics are the top choices here as well.
      Discovery Bay Cooler evenings have the bite changing combined with the wind have Spinnerbaits and crankbaits doing better daily. Stay near main river current with Crankbaits Strike King XD 6 and 2.5 square bills. Top water stripes are showing in the deep water side. Topwater Spook Type baits scoring bass on the main river topwater look for birds. Jig bite on points is also good, the a TNT Booby Trap II is a great replica of Delta Craws come by and check them out !
      West Delta More Anglers in search of stripers are finding a few keepers on occasion from both boat and bank. Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad. Antioch Pier scored stripers to 30 inches this week. The West as in Honker Bay to the Broad Slough plug casting is getting fish when wind cooperates. A few more Salmon success stories have come on the incoming tide with Mepp’s Flying C’s in Pittsburgh and Humphries areas . Bass Bite stays solid in the Break and surrounding cuts. Cranking and spinnerbaits is starting to improve daily. Punching get’s the bites the key is staying square to your target and setting hard.
      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, September 1st, 2016

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 77

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Took an old friend of mine Randy Stratton up to the the lake to see if we could find a spoon bite. Using a 1-3/4oz. morning dawn BLADE-RUNNER spoon, our first stop on an off shore reef, in the Spanish flat area, produced several spotted bass and smallmouth bass and squaw fish in the 2-1/2 to 4lb. range and a 42lb. catfish that kicked my butt. They were holding in about 30 to 40ft. suspended over deeper water. We also found several other schools of bass in the same depth all over the main body on flat points. Pretty good day with about 25 quality bass, now back to making more lures.
      Rick Tietz

      Tips: find the thermocline with your meter and look for stacks of fish

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The bass bite has been okay for the last couple months. The summer heat and dropping water levels will push the fish off of the bank and out toward deep/cool water. There is an abundance of shad schooling in deep water and many of the bass are feeding on them. Small topwater baits early and late will work from day to day. Switch to a subsurface bait once the sun is up. A small swimbait is a good choice and can be fished at various depths. When all else fails a dropshot rig will catch a bunch of fish and some nice one's too.

      Tips: The concrete ramp is in the water with courtesy dock. There is and will be a dock on the dirt launch for the remainder of the year.