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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Monday, July 3rd, 2006

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: 79

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: 12 bass in total (1 smallie) and three trout. The trout were accidentally caught while fishing for bass. They were good ones three, seven and eight pounds! Drop shotting or dart head 4: Robo Worms in Aaron's magic color.
      City: San Ramon

      Tips: Find the bait balls. Bait was schooling in pockets at around 20 feet deep. Small worms to match size of minnows. Topwater action early with poppers around tules.

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

      Report: My friend and I made our anual hike up to my favorite float tubing lake. We got on the water around 7am and had the lake to ourselves. We slayed fish all day. We caught them on spinnerbaits in white/chartruce and chrone speed traps, drop shootiong and flipping.
      I caught 34 fish with the largest being around 3 pounds. My buddy Dave caught 35 fish. We had the lake to our selves all day. We saw two float tubers coming up as we where leaving. We fished until 2pm. If you haven't hiked up to Sanj, then you must try it. Strap your float tube ontop a backpack and enjoy the walk. Leave early in the morning and take a lunch and get ready for a great time on the water.
      Also please visit our float tube club web page at www.scbbbc.com

      Rich
      City: Santa Rosa

      Tips: Keep all your gear simple and be sure to bring a flipping stick and a drop-shoot rod.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Took My little brother bass fishing in the back pond (arroyo) We caught 4 all on plastic worms! I was wondering how the catfish bite was, I noticed they planted 750lbs of cat! Is anybody catching them? Keep us posted here people!

      Tips: Catch and release all bass! Pickup your trash! I sick of seeing beer bottles and empty worms buckets.

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: 80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Hit the water at 4:00 pm to fish the end of the day until midnight. Started out pretty slow as expected. Caught 1 on a white spinnerbait and a 2nd on a brushhog. The bite finally kicked in as the sun set. Had 3 blow ups on a frog and lost another on a buzzbait. Finally landed a 2-9 on a senko next to a tree. The senko continued to work until after it was totally dark. Saw some buddies who mentioned they landed a 5 lb'er on a buzzbait.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: buzzbaits around trees early or late. Senko in dark colors also around trees. If your looking for the frog bite, look around the weeds in Cherry Creek and throw to the shore then pull into the water.

    • By

      Water Temp: i dont have a t

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: well i got to the marina about 3 am and started the long hike to the hot spot in cherry creek. i slow walked along the bank while i held the rod over the water with a slasher popper on and cought 3 catfish but they will only hit the popper when you slow crawl it. about 9 am i reached my destination and started to do what i do best which is catch the bucket mouth bass. i through on my #1 bait a 1/0 hook with a night crawler cut in half weightless and started wacking them i cought about 11 bass and the biggest was only about 9 pounds i had 5 fish on my call em rite weighing about 29 pounds.
      City: rohnert park

      Tips: get fresh crawlers the best spot is the lagoon in sebastapol bring a shovel and dig 2 feet down and 6 feet from the oak tree on the left.

    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: ME AND A BUDDY FISHED FOR A FEW HOURS IN THE MORNING OUT OF OUR PONTOON BOATS. I ONLY CAUGHT ONE ON THE WEST BACK NEAR THE DAM 1 POUNDER. HE FISHED ACROSS FROM THE RAMP AND CAUGHT THREE (BIGGEST 1.5 LBS.)CRANKING THE FLATS CLOSE TO THE DROP OFFS.
      City: GILROY

      Tips: FISH SHAD COLORED CRANK BAITS EARLY THEN SLOW DOWN AND FISH BRUSH HOGS LATER IN THE DAY WHEN IT WARMS UP. GOOD FISHING.

Sunday, July 2nd, 2006

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

      Report: Thanks to everybody who posts Clear Lake reports.........I had friends up for the long July 4th weekend, so fishing time was short and everybody I took was pretty new to it all. Sunday I took 2 guys out leaving about 8:30 am. We tried drop shotting some deep rocks on the Clearlake end, but it was a little windy out on the open water and holding the boat in a spot then instructing wasn't working out.........I picked up after no bites and moved to the first cove in Konocti Bay. No wind issues, and calm water. We fished in front of the pumphouse in the cove below the steep vineyard out just a little 20 feet maybe.........We drop shotted again with 4 inch Margarita Mutilators and in 1 1/2 hours we all caught fish. I switched up to a Norman Shad deep diver crank bait and got the biggest, close to 4, the others were under 1 to 2 1/2. We got a few bluegill and even a catfish. It was shallow there, but even in the summer it was holding fish.........So a quick trip with some friends was fun, we headed back to pick up everybody else, and the fish and ski boat became family friendly and we went to have lunch at Konocti.........Monday I took my wife out, she also doesn't fish much, but maybe now will. I wanted to go to a favorite spot near Redbud but there was a guy on it with 2 dogs in the boat just pounding the fish with a drop shot rig. I fished a little away from him, but no luck. So I moved to the same spot as above and we caught a few fish each, she missed 2 and boated 2 I got about 4. We spent an hour there and headed back........Tuesday I went out alone to fish, but the wind was up pretty good. I wanted to jig the rocks before Konocti Bay and a few other places, but was blown off every point I wanted to try. Short day no fish.........Clearlake (the city) had a great 4th weekend. Some of the resorts were full and there was a good fireworks show and a carnival midway. My friends were impressed by the friendly laid back attitude by everyone and will be back.
      City: Clearlake/Oakland

      Tips: Make sure your wife catches a fish.

  • Tuolumne County
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      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Blue Gill were extremely excited about the night crawlers our children were using. They all caught their limits and were ready to fish for bass.
      City: Modesto

      Tips: The fishing doesn't get any better than the coves of Woods Creek Arm at Moccasin Point, Lake Don Pedro.

    • By

      Water Temp: 80-85

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: caught about 15 fish manly all bluegill and sunfish. my friend dalton caught a nice 3/4 of a pound bluegill saw some nice 2-4lb. bass, and many small bass about 4-12inch range and had some hits on senkos and caught a small bass on a night crawler.
      City: vallysprings

      Tips: we used senkos,spinner baits,night crawlers,and red worms to catch fish

  • Calaveras County
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      Water Temp: 84

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished here for the first time this year..Started with topwater..Buzzbaits got lots of attention..Lots of small fish in the nine to eleven inch range..Did catch about 12 keepers to 3 1/2 pounds.
      City: Sonora

      Tips: Work buzzbaits over weeds that are off shore and there is visible dragon fly activity..T-rigged worms at ten foot brakes..Also yabbies on rocks..

Saturday, July 1st, 2006

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 83

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Markley Cove from 5 am till 10 am. Threw everything at them. Got a big strike on a drop shotted purple worm, but the fish ripped it right off the hook. Boaters showed up at 9 am, speeding and making noise as usual. I fished dropoffs from 20 to 30 feet and got skunked. Where are you guys catching them? I am baffled right now because I was at the right depth with supposedly the right baits, but the fishing was slow. Any recommnedations would be helpful. Sid, if you read this, can you help me out please?
      City: Vacaville

      Tips: Get on and off before the knuckle heads show up. It seems that the bass are going to be deep.

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 74-78

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Hit the water at Wimpey's Marina just at 6am. Headed down to Beaver Slough using frogs, spooks, buzz baits and spinners. Got our first three on a chartruse/white spinner. Then the senkos came out in black/red flake. With a out going tide we worked fast up in the rocks and tules find most of out fish in 2-3 lbs. The tide was a slow mover, but as it came back in we found the points with rocks our best place to be. Worked the weed mats, but no takers.
      City: rocklin

      Tips: Dog Days of Summer is here, fish slower and deeper.

    • By

      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: SPLASHED THE NEW KLAMATH BASS BOAT AT SUNSET MARINA 5:30 AM, HEADED FOR SAND MOUND SLOUGH, TURNED UP THE FIRST SLOUGH INTO THE ILANDS, TOSSED A TOP WATER POPPER INTO THE WEEDS, AND ONLY SAW A SWIRL IN THE WATER, LURE DISAPPEARS DOWN, NO SPALSH, SET THE HOOK AND LANDED A 7.2 LBER, NEXT 2 CASTS, 2 5LBERS, BEST WEIGHT FOR ME TO DATE, HAD 17 FISH LANDED TOP WATER BY 7"30, FISHED WITH PLASTICS TIGHT TO THE LEVY WALL ROCKS NEAR FRANKS AND NAILED 5 MORE 2 LBERS BY 10:00, GREAT DAY ON THE WATER, NOT TOO HOT, SLIGHT BREEZE, WATER CALM UNTILL THE SKIERS CAME OUT AGAIN**, ROBO WORMS AND POPPERS WERE THE TICKET, OFF THE WATER BY 11, WAITING FOR NEXT WEEK END TO DO IT AGAIN, KEEP TIGHT LINES SEE YA ALL* FISH ON*
      City: PITTSBURG

      Tips: POPPERS AND BUZZ BAITS REAL EARLY A/M SUN RISE TIME, TIGHT TO THE OCKS AND IN WEED POCKETS, HAVE FUN**

    • By

      Water Temp: 86

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: got out @ 530am w/our tubes. top h2o bite was on black buzz bait,outside weedline few 2#rs. stick bait in weed pockets, one 4#er,few dinks. noticed that the green moss disapeard(were i nailed an 8#er last sat. w/ the heat late evening on a frog)frog bite still gr8 butt in open pocket behind weeds tight next to bullrush(cattails)lo & behold another 8#er WOW!continued to nail bass 2 to 3#ers tight in pockets.
      City: salida

      Tips: bet everthing on black/retie frog ever so often when using mono(weeds)/look both ways be4 crossing/ braided line is mobeddah bhradda!/early 2 bed early 2 rise... damn catches the bigguns/ wipe from front to back!

    • By

      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: float tubed the eucalyptus trees near road and caught 2 in the 1.5 range. got in at 615 got out at 915. Drop shot is the ticket. Holding close to the weeds. Lots of bites, only two takers. all in all a good 3 hours. GETS WINDY!
      City: San Jose

      Tips: try wacky rig senko slims....

    • By

      Water Temp: 70

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: went fly fishing with my brother-in-law at the main lake. The water was like glass with a very little breeze. we decided to start at the second dock my brother-in-law caught a 6 pound bass on the first cast I caught 35 fish just walking up and down the shore line with my fly rod.
      City: livermore

      Tips: they were biting on senco's and popers.

    • By

      Water Temp: 68?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: got on the water at 8 am, in my kick boat. Started in the back and caught two small fish, about a pound, pound and a half on a hard suspending jerk bait. continued towards the main boat ramp with no action. Tried spinner baits, drop shotting and flipping, with no action.
      City: Palo Alto

      Tips: get there early and stay in the back near the bushes. there seems to be a window of like 30 min where the fish are feeding, and being agressive.

Friday, June 30th, 2006

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 87

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went back to Clear Lake and fished Monday the 27th and part of Tuesday. After my last trip, I was expecting to get into great numbers of bass. Boy, was I wrong on Monday morning. A hot spell had come in over the weekend and I barely boated eight fish on Monday, between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm. I went to some points around Clearlake Oaks and barely managed a couple of bass on some deep diving cranks. Tried a crawfish pattern that had worked last week, tried chartruese, a bass pattern, and even a white shad imitation with minimal success. I moved off the points and targeted some isolated tulies near deeper water and ended up getting a half dozen more fish in the two to three pound class, before quitting for lunch and switching over to crappie. Bassing wasn't quite the fast and furious action of the week before, but it was still all good. By noon, it had gotten to 98 degrees ( not as bad as the previous day's 104 degrees, thanks to some cloud cover.) So, up went the bimini and out came the crappie pole for some low key minnow dipping. It sure was fun!
      After an early supper, I got back on the lake at around 6:30 pm. I stubbornly decided to try the points again with a deep diver. Ended up getting a channel cat of about four to five pounds on the first few casts. After that, I landed a nice bigmouth that looked like a football. I was so astounded by the huskiness of this fish that I threw it in the live well, to be released and weighed later, with a borrowed scale. As mentioned in the preceding post, this fish ,too, looked no more than fifteen inches in length but turned out to be 4.8 lbs.! At this time, I decided to switch over to crappie and ended up getting five more channel cats that evening, on my crappie rig! Needless to say, it was pretty exciting.
      Tuesday morning, started the boat up at 7:30 am, but only because a buddy of mine insisted on getting an early start. This morning, I decided to try a different strategy than the one that had served me so well the week before, but failed so miserably, yesterday. However, I still couldn't resist throwing a few casts at the first point we passed. I got one bass on a crank, while my buddy nailed three on a tandem carolina/drop shot rig. Sometimes they hit the bottom rig, at other times, the top.
      Needless to say, I switched to a drop shot rig and decided it was time to move on to some off shore rock piles. Upon starting the motor, the starter threw its top nut. We took the cowling off the motor and saw the spring and starter washer precariously perched on the starter shaft, but couldn't locate the nut. We decided to just fish the Rattle Snake area, using the trolling motor. We ended up at a rock pile west of Rattle Snake and proceeded to pull seven fish out of it. I was drop shotting 4" purple and black, curly tail worms. My buddy was using his tandem rig with various types of worms. However, he kept hanging up on the rocks because of the carolina part of his tandem rig.
      My friend decided to look for the starter nut one more time and miraculously found it. He wound it down tight with some wrenches I had on the boat and we came back in for lunch. After lunch, I went back out to find some more rock piles close by. I had wanted to go out to deeper water like Shag Rock and Kono Tyee, since the weather had turned so hot. However, I decided against it, until I had my starter looked at by the shop.
      I'm glad to see by the helpful preceding post that the fish are still on ledges near fifteen or plus feet of water. That is exactly where I found the bass, early Tuesday afternoon, between 1:00 and 2:30 pm. I found a 6", two tone, dark and light blue, curly tail worm that my friend had left on the back of my bass boat. Just for the hell of it, I cast it out and dragged it down the end of a rock pile. Wham! I got a solid strike and started to fight what seemed to be big fish. After a few shakes of his head, the fish dislodged the hook and I lost the first fish. After some colorful exclamations, I cast out the same worm again, and again, I got a tremendous strike. The fish shook its head as I fought it to the boat and again, I lost it right at the boat. The water was so algae stained that I never got a look at the fish. This time, I changed over to a larger sized hook, because I was using a longer, 6" worm with a wider girth. After that, I proceeded to land bass after bass, without losing a single fish, including what looked to be at least a 15 lb. channel cat. I ended up landing about eight more chunky bass of up to three pounds, over the next hour and a half. This also included several more juvenile channel cats. Not bad,for a day that included engine trouble.
      It was incredible how many fish I caught on my friend's worm before it finally got too beat up to stay on. I tried a June Bug straight tail and several other colors, including curly tail worms, with little luck. Either it had gotten too hot and/or the fish had moved off the rock piles, by 2:30 pm or the fish only wanted my friend's 6", two tone, blue, curly tail worm that day. The bad part was, my friend had no idea where the worm came from or what it was called!

      By the way, on the days the fish were biting best, I remember seeing and hearing plenty of carp rolling and splashing. I must say that I subscribe to Hemphill's Theory of Relativity. The correlation between bass and carp activity, that is. Happy fishing!
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: Change your hooks to match the size of your bait.

      During hot weather, drag your bait across the tops of submerged rock piles, but don't forget to continue dragging them down the slopes to deeper water, as well.

      Find a two tone, light blue, dark blue, 6" curly tail worm and when you do, please post and tell us what it's called!

    • By

      Water Temp: 82

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I had a fun trip today with a good angler - good fishing - good conversation - and hopefully some good knowledge for him about the lake! After a night-day two trip marathon at Lake Amador the previous 24 hours, I needed a good client to keep me awake!! He did and the bass did! I was interested in the previous report - I am not surprised that the crawdad-colored crank bite was good. Again today, as in my previous report, the jig bite was great for us, especially in the afternoon, producing many bass to 5 lbs 3 oz. I was using my standard "Larry Hemphill Special" - brown/orange jig with #180 Yamamoto single tail grub, and my client had success with a #301 Yamamoto Kreature bait stuck on the back of his jig. I had him switch to that bulky bait (looked kinda funny)and he predeeded to catch two near 3 lb bass on, I think, back to back casts - or close to that. He had all kinds of action on that ugly combo!! We started early in the Rattlesnake Island area and my client had a good chartreuse spinnerbait bite going and I caught my first few bass on a Lucky Craft Lv 500. I think that is what it is called. The morning was spent in the Rattlesnake area and the narrows, targeting rocky areas with ledges. The bass are beginning to position themselves around these areas for the summer. We worked some rocky areas above the narrows in the afternoon - looking for some better quality bass, and they were, but the two biggest were only a little over 4 1/2 and the 5-3. We caught 28 with the 5 best pushing the 20 lb mark. We might have had one or two bass under 2 lbs - all the rest were over 2. You won't find post-spawn quality like that anywhere else - meaning the weight of the bass compared to their length. I'm telling you - that 5 pounder - if you glanced quickly at it - looked about 15 inches long! I think we should put more baitfish in the lake, har!!!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: The early summer bite is definately on for the average 2 to 4 lb bass. Their diet seems to included crawdads in addition to all the baitfish. We actually saw bass chasing bait out of the water and one doesn't see that much at Clear Lake. The biggest bass was caught under the boat around 20 feet deep. I assume many of the larger bass are in deeper water now. Ten to fifteen feet seems to be the magic depth on my boat. Green pumpkin and black grape worms continue to do well for us. I did try some buzzbaits this morning early with no results. That bite may be aways off since the bass don't have to work too hard for their meals now! Remember to try to tick the rocks with your crankbaits or spinnerbaits. And finally, NO bluegills this trip!!!!

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

      Report: FINALLY BACK TO MERCED TODAY AND MAN,THIS LAKE IS GREEN GREEN GREEN....STAYED IN THE NORTH LAKE AND TOSSED SPINNERS/CHATTERS/AND SENKOS FOR ABOUT AN HOUR WITH NO LUCK. WONDER WHEN THIS LAKES GONNA CLEAR UP.
      City: SF

      Tips: TRY FISHING ANOTHER SPOT FOR NOW