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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Saturday, March 25th, 2006

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50-53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: First trip of the year to Berryessa with my brother. Fished the northern end of the lake mostly in Putah Creek. First fish was taken by my brother at Rancho Monticello campground, about a 1.5 lb smallie. Picked up 2 more smallies before heading up the creek. First stop the boyscout camp cove. Nothing. Went up the creek and fished the south side in flats from shore to 15 ft. Picked up 6 fish mostly smallies but 1 largemouth at 4.5 lbs. Headed back down to the lake and fished the shoreline south of the boyscout camp and picked up 5 more, mostly smallies, 1 spotted and 1 largemouth at 3 lbs.
      Used ring worms in a variety of colors and caught fish on all of them. The 2 largemouth were caught on brush hogs. Rain off and on most of the day. Fished from 9AM to 3PM.
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: The largemouth are sluggish and not on a reaction bite as the water is still too cold. Smallies hit like a rocket. Fish the points for the smallies. Once we get some warmer weather the largemouth will be on a great bite.

    • By

      Water Temp: 51-55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I had a busy week with guide trips Tue, Thurs and Fri. I guess I have covered the world now having had clients from as far as Japan and now from South Africa. He and I fished Thurs and Fri and did quite well for smaller bass. Big females were hard to entice. He started well on Thurs morning with his FIRST cast producing a 2-7 spotted bass on a chartreuse/white Blade Runner spinnerbait! Welcome to America!! He is a bass pro from S. Africa and he landed that bass like a pro!! I think he is in second place now in their national circuit - an excellent fisherman!!! He loved that spinnerbait and I couldn't get it out of his hands for two days and gave it to him as a souvenir! After 18 bass and 20 or so misses on that lure in the two days - it was still in perfect shape. The unfortunate event of the two days happened in Wragg canyon after the rain started Fri afternoon. We pulled up on a point and I got a 2-2 smallie right away on a brown/orange Rodstrainer jig. He had picked a baby bass color small fat-free shad to throw, catching a few on it. As we moved to the inside of the point which had deep water near it, he threw - cranked once or twice - and stuck a hog. I'm not sure what happened but we never saw that crankbait again as the 12 lb test broke and the fish never surfaced. Not a nice California welcome!! The gentleman was not used to tangling with bass like that!!! Thurs was the only warmish day of March and the bite was fair but we only put 12 in the boat. We didn't fish every minute as I showed him much of the lake. He loved it! Lots of missed fish on jigs and spinnerbaits. We were throwing big baits looking for big fish. Friday I went to a smaller bait, landing a near 3 lb spot on a 4" Berkley green lizard. As the rain moved in the fishing picked up a bit and I lost count after 20 bass in the boat. Our limit Thurs might have gone 10 1/2 lbs. I had another excellent fisherman with me on Tues and he did well getting a limit as the fishing was very slow. I caught a few myself and a trout of all things! We studied the meter a lot as I was showing him some of the nice off-shore structure Berryessa offers. He was doing well on a purple jig of his. The highlight of the day was only seeing 4 boats - and only 2 were bass boats.
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: It is hard to give constructive tips when the weather is so stormy and the lake is not only above full pool but still dropping a bit. Lots of trees have fallen in the water in the narrows as a result of storms. We saw several mudslides too. The reaction baits were working the best certainly on Thurs and Fri. The jig bite has slowed a lot - at least in my boat. I imagine small baits would work well, but we didn't fish them much even though the big spot fell for one. We threw swimbaits a lot on Tues and I threw one some on Thurs - nothing.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: got out there about 8 am fished tell about 2pm caught 17 keeper and a few dinks. fished out in the main lake along the dam with dart heads and caught a bunch of dinks. went up rock creek and with split shot and caught a couple of nice spots best 5 went about 15 pounds.biggest went 5 1/2 water is still stained but will get better in a couple of weeks
      City: sacramento

      Tips: get back in the creek and split shot a little yamamoto cut tail or dart head. watermelon work best for me today

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 49-51

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: The shad that you see dieing and floating are mostly dieing from birds and crappie hiting and missing them,I live in the keys,and I have been whatching the shad schools alot the last month.Your right there is a lot more bait this year.
      City: Clearlake Oaks

      Tips: south west end bays.

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: south end of the lake is all muddy, go past the narrows the water is clear and the fishing is good. drop shotted and deep cranked the points for a total of 14 fish. (4)lg. mouth
      (7)sm. mouth and(3) trout
      1 to 5 lbs was the weight range.
      City: RWC

  • Siskiyou County
    • By

      Water Temp: 41 to 44

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Four fisherman on the boat and nothing bit all day. Water level was okay, but too cold.
      City: Medford

  • San Francisco County
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      Water Temp: COLD

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 6 to 7:30am at the north lake boat launch .Threw spinners and a crawdad Rat-L Trap.....on my very first cast on my spinner a nice 2 pounder smacked it instantly so that was fun and yes I release em all..didnt stay too long because the weather was bothering me so I'll be back tomorrow for a better chance
      City: SAN FRANCISCO

      Tips: Like always fish slow...and pay attention to what it is your really trying to do. Goodluck

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 46

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Weather was nasty out their. hailed on us for about 5 min. or so. worms worked the best in earth tones, on dart heads. Fish wer in top 20 feet.
      City: chico

      Tips: dart head robo worms 4 1/2 in earth tones

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Took my dad out Thursday, for some bassin, we fished the Pit all day only went as far as Dark Canyon. Caught Two good keepers up there, both over two lbs.. Fished mostly main lake points, better fish caught on clay banks using tubes or drop shot 6" robo's. Muddy banks were excellent for tubes and jigs. Caught the nicest of the day on the way back at the mouth of the pit on a cinnamon spider grub-2.5 lbs. Caught 25-30 keepers, best five would go 9.5 lbs.
      City: Susanville

      Tips: Fish the clay with tubes or jigs. Look for mud lines when it gets breezy.

Friday, March 24th, 2006

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 51-54

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Very interesting day today. I had a party of two today, both avid fisherman. They wanted to know how to establish a pattern within a pattern. With the weather forcast for rain (which it did) my hands were full. In the Dam Area I established a pattern in creeks using depthfinders to find the baitfish. Accomplished that with the resolt of 3 fish and 1 miss. Running in and out of canyons I found 2 out of 5 with fish moving in to spawn, average depth 25-30ft.

      Ran to the West bank of the main lake about 10 in the morning and established another pattern with totally a different weather seniorio. We caught around 12-15fish by fishing windy banks pertected by shelfs or points. These fish were feeding on anything that blew over there heads and were suspended off the bottom. Biggiest fish went around 2 1/2lbs with a lot of 2's and 1/3/4lb smallmouth. We only caught two largemouth and about 5 spots out of the total fish for the day. We were done by 2:30.
      City: Rio Vista

      Tips: Go too your favorite area look at the conditions and think outside the box. You will be surprised of the results.

  • Santa Clara County
    • By

      Water Temp: 57

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Friday fishing trip. Went out from 1:30pm - 5:30pm. Had a good day, 8 total fish with the two biggest just under 5 pounds. Caught 6 of the 8 fish in 5 ft. water in back of cove using rip bait, they couldn't leave it alone!! The two bigger boys were caught using a double tail grub....slooooooooow........
      City: Fremont

      Tips: Switch up your baits. Went back into a cove where two boats had been fishing for hours with no bites using plastics.......I threw a rip bait and got 6 in an hour (all between 2 and 3.5 pounds)

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 51-53

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Lakeport and decided to fish the north end. Caught about one-third of my fish on Senkos, one-third on dropshot and one third on jumbo minnows. Best five went about 23-24 pounds. Overall pretty slow, only had about 15 fish.

      Tips: Slow, Slow and slower!

    • By

      Water Temp: 48-50

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: After the last two posts, I feel like I completley missed the boat, not to mention the bite. I put in at the keys, seeing dead, dying shad on the ramp, in the water, everywhere. Every bird in the whole lake was in the rattlesnake arm. I wasted 2 hrs throwing swim/rip baits near keys off rattlesnake. Still dead/dying shad everywhere. Finally at 1:22, they ate my pointer minnow for 20 minutes and I caught 2 and lost another. I saw the two guys in the previous report and they were dropshotting fairly shallow. I just figured that the fish might wake up w/the warmer weather that was forcasted. It never did get warm as I never took my jacket off all day. I just hear about these big sacks and figured they mights start chasing. Thanks to the older gentleman from Auburn who told me they started biting at 1pm!
      City: Yuba city

      Tips: I dropshotted enough to get a bite or two, but I guess I was moving the bait too fast. I've never seen the amount of dead/dying shad as I did today. I wonder why. Natural dyoff, extreme temp fluctuation, heaven forbid pollution.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Whats a good bait for this time of year for the bass?Thanks
      City: antioch

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: BIG...BIG kudos to you guys landing that MONSTER!! >>>BUT...I cannot for the life of me understand WHY you would put her back before being weighed on certified scales!! I am a big proponent of catch and release myself...and I too would hate to see that fish die...but let's be realistic here...you've been trying to catch this fish for a LONG time....the record has stood for 74 years....that fish was your ticket to riches!! Maybe she would have died, maybe not. She could be swimming in a tank at Bass Pro Shops headquarters, your name on a plaque, a FAT check in your pocket from BPS and God knows who else!! As many fish as you have turned back, I would say that you would not be frowned upon for keeping the monster of all monsters!! I just don't understand it...catch and release even has its limits and I'd say that was the end of the line right there. To be honest, I'd say you have done that fish and big disservice....because now every Tom, Dick and Harry...and every ditch bank Okie for miles away are going to pound the hell out of that lake and jeopordize not only that beautiful mama, but all her kin. God knows how many fish will be taken from that lake and become dinner...and if some other lucky bastard does actually catch that fish before she spawns out, he may be the one reaping all the benefits. I think you made a HUGE mistake and to be honest, I don't think it should be officially recognized as the new world record...not because it was foul hooked, but because DFG or IFGA did not see the fish themselves nor was it weighed on certified scales or measured. I cannot for the life of me understand an accomplished trophy bass hunter putting that hawg back in the water...I mean, how much bigger can she get...how much longer will she even live? And like I said before, she could very well be swimming on display for everyone to see and appreciate at BPS headquarters in Springfield. I mean as long as you've tried for this fish...you would think you would have a definite game plan as to exactly what you need to do to get it certified, measured, photographed, transported live or whatever you would need to do if and when you caught it. This is THE biggest thing fishing has ever seen and you blew it in a big way in my mind. All you guys who said it was commendable for turning her back, well, although it may be commendable, it was a huge error in my opinion and I'd like to see what you would have done had it been on the end of your line!!
      City: Atascaero

  • Calaveras County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: No cover at all and a very shallow fishery. The wind was so ruff it was near impossible to fish. Will be back on a summer night.
      City: copper

      Tips: I want my $15.00 back.........lol

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

  • Mason County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-56

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I fished from 2-5pm. I fished flats close to the creek channel and found staging fish. I caught 23 bass up to four pounds. Mostly throwing crankbaits, a few on the blade. The lake is almost full and not too muddy.
      City: san jose

      Tips: The bite on the crankbait was consistant but the fish didn't exactly rip the rod out of my hand. Use a soft tipped crankbait rod with some back bone and set the hook if you don't feel the crankbait wiggling at the end of your line. The fish just pick it up and swim with it.

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: ???

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Got on the water abot 0800, caught my first fish on a watermelon senko at 0825. Caught one more in the next hour on a 6" t-rig fat Robo in Oxblood. Fished points with scattered shale in the north end for a total of 6 fish, smallmouth, LM, and a spot. Quit at 1230. Let's pray for a warm week...no rain=warmer water=good fishing!!!
      City: Davis

      Tips: Fish are still really inactive, but fishing the slower baits will probably yield a few bass. Oxblood worked for me, I talked to a guy catching them on "shad" colored baits.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Big Break for a evening bite with my son. I quickly discovered that I had a cranking battery problem, so I dropped the trolling motor and got after them. I went and check the shallows but with the water temp 58, the banks were bare. So we started throwing beavers to the weed line with good success for bites with the biggest fish going about 3Lbs.
      City: WC

      Tips: For being out for just a few hours, it was fun, but I am still looking for the bigger fish to come to the banks.

    • By

      Water Temp: 53.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished tues, weds, and thurs; broke the water up in sections from franks to disappointment hitting some different areas each day. Slow bite at times and great at others. After my buddy Brian took an 8.12 last week flippin' I figured that would be tough to beat; I ended up close with an 8.8 on a blade weds. Action seems to be in tight to the tules, look for deep water near by; if theres not atleast 15 to 20 feet drop offs near by I suggest moving till you find some. The fih seemed to be more active in the inclement weather.
      City: placerville

      Tips: Fish tight and slow, choose nuetral colors, and don't leave any stones unturned