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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, February 1st, 2006

    • By

      Water Temp: 51 to 53

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Well looks like were in for some nice weather so if you can get to the lake from now till sunday there my be some really nice bass in the shallows points and flats for swimmbait fish and brushogs and jigs for bass on rock piles and brush piles also shallow water with a dropoff near by are good to fish right now. Swimbait anglers are still hitting nice fish. Also jig fish are not far behind. Trout color swimbaits are the color of choice and bass jigs in green pumpkin are still working well.Also drop shoting been working on bass to 4 pounds there are good fish from 2 to 4 pounds and from 12 to 30 feet of water but with this warmer weather it could bring fish up shallower.
      City: kerman ca

      Tips: pick and area and fish slow. Last sunday my partner and i fished one aera all day and caught are fish in a 60 yard area. When you find and area you like fish it slow as these bass move in and out off rock plies or dropoffs and off points we had 3 different time of the day are bass hit and it was all about 30 to 45 minutes at each time so really there no big hurry on this lake to cover alot of water. So good luck if you need info e mail me here ill be glad to help.

  • Mariposa County
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      Water Temp: 55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Ok got on the water around 7a.m. caught one bass about 2 lbs on a watermelon grub first cast. next two hours nothin I tried slow/fast retrieves
      I could see bass in about 5-6ft of water under rock ledges using polarized glasses. So I decided to go buy some live medium minnows we caught 10 bass, 1 trout sizes varing 2-3 lbs in about 4 hour period.
      trolling .5 to 1mph running parallel from the bank about 8 to 10 ft.away
      dropping the minnow down to the bottom, and reeling up about 2 ft
      I try to fish McClure lake at least once a week so if anyone has any questions or facts you can email me at jacobsherman20@yahoo.com
      City: Turlock

      Tips: If you dont have polarized glasses GET SOME its a good investment, and if all else fails go to the marina and buy some live bait.

      I believe you can never work a softbait such as a worm grub crawdad imitation to slowly

      BE SAFE HAVE FUN AND REPORT POACHING

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

      Report: Went out early few jig/worm fish seems tough, dont know how all these guys are winning with these big weights?
      City: Redding

      Tips: pray for some bites

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 51-52 Degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Did a Guide Trip with a Gentleman from New Jersey today. Weather was nice considering a day after a Front moved thru. Lake was flat, dead calm, no wind at all. This made the fish very spooky and nervous.

      We nailed a couple fish early on Hula Grubs 1/2oz/HDs. After the sun hit the water the fish went into TIGHT LIP MODE with very little lip service. I thought to myself "Wheres the Wind", I need the breeze to activate this fish to commit.
      For every fish we put into the boat we as a whole missed 3 non-comittal fish. Up until Noon we used 194js, 208's 127s. 208's seem to produce more bites but it was a flip up. After running North and finding dirty water I only give it an hour with Zip in the boat.

      Moved to the center of the lake and started dropshott'in Arrans Magics and we put 3-4 more in the boat with one 2 1/2lb Largemouth and a decent Smallmouth Cross Breed. Moved back down South into the Narrows and fished walls looking for disturbed shad. Found them around 40-45ft and dropped shotted 4 more on one wall, missed just'us many. All you felt was dead weight, no movement. Set are free as they say.

      Finished the day with around a dozen or more keepers in the boat. With the weather forcast has rain, the lake will fill up even more. Right know its 3inches over the Glory Hole 440.??
      City: Rio Vista

      Tips: Tips,,,Hmmmm, fish slowwwwwwwww and methodical and by all mines watch your depthfinder for shad activity from 30-45/50ft. 44ft was an active depth. With the water color chang'in with the storms, pay attention to this. One area you maybe catching on Arrons magic, then move to another and have to change color say to a Mutilator or a Morning Dawn. Try and find the Breezy areas of the lake if no wind in present. Once the wind picks up the bite will pick up. Nothing was caught on Ripbaits today. With conditions changing daily Im looking for it.

      For Guide Trips in Instruction or just fish'in you can contact me at (H)374-1446 or Cell at (510)289-3748 or go to my web-site above.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: OK GUYS THAT 12.03 POUND BASS I CAUGHT ON 1/29/06 IM HAVING IT MOUNTED IVE FISHED THIS LAKE SINCE 1973 AND CAUGHT 11 BASS OVER TEN POUNDS OUT OF THE LAKE AND IVE PUT EVER FISHIN THE 1000 EVER CAUGHT IN THIS LAKE BACK EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE THIS WILL BE ON THE WALL IN MY OFFICE OF MY LURE COMPANY FOR ME TO ENJOY. THIS WONT DESTORY THIS FISHERY
      City: kerman ca

      Tips: I DO PRATRICE CATCH AND RELEASE

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 51

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Landed one smallie today, after the good fishing yesterday during the heavy rain. Fish took a jig in blue/brown up the south fork. Saw quite a few bass boats, but didn's see one fish landed. Partly cloudy conditions, then clear very little wind.
      City: carmichael

  • San Francisco County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: fished from 3till 6.30 fished north lake all over from shore docks and the hill that run parallel from the street fish evry thing from texas rigged worms beaver and plastic crawdads. also threw spinners and senkos with no luck. water level is coming up which is a really good thing!!!! that means the golf courses arnt pumping as much water. water is still dirty though from all the run off from the golf course. the impound does have bass bye the way they are tough to catch but they are there! i too have seen lots of koi in the impound as well all three lakes have a bunch of carp as wall as a few koi. ive seen koi in all three lakes and some of which were HUGE. I also saw koi breeding with carp at the 18th hole on the north lake. and believe it or not i have caught a smallmouth in the north lake once. very rare ive been fishing merced for 15 years and only caught one small mouth i know some of you dont believe me but i hav a pic as proof so ha ha. any one else herd of small mouth being caught in the lake please make post. no fish for me today but A BAD DAY FISHING ISTILL BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK!! <*){{}}><
      City: pacifica

      Tips: FISH SLOW NATURAL COLORS GO GET EM

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Had a great time with wife marian. Caught 2 limits over 15 inches. Largest 3lbs. Fish were in the 15 to 20 foot range. Jigs tubes and 6 inch worms. Very lite bite even on jigs? Wife only caught 2 this time but caught 8 2 weeks ago. I kept telling her the bite is very lite.
      City: orangevale

      Tips: fishing between fronts can be tough. slow down and let the bait stay in one place five to ten seconds before moving it. Use lots of smelly jelly or fish attractant in the stained water. re apply frequently. Also keep checking your line for little abrasions. Lost a couple of nice ones when the line snapped.

Monday, January 30th, 2006

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

      Report: My brother-inlaw Curtis Sanchez was the one to catch that 15.86 TOAD.I was duck hunting should have heard the message left on my cell phone.He has A few picture and will try to get them up soon.
      City: Sac

      Tips: Put the gun away and break out the rods!!!!!!!
      Folsom Bass League next Sunday the 5th.
      folsomlakebassleague.com

    • By

      Water Temp: 51 to 53

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Swimbaits are still the hot bait here also for anglers who know how to fish them. Abt swimbaits are the most popular baits going now here at this lake. Nice limits bass are been caught on theses baits. 7 to 10 lbs. bass are being caught here in good numbers.
      City: kerman ca.

      Tips: I my self dont throw swimbaits but there are angles how do contact your local tackle shops in your area for help on how to use these baits. Weather from monday to fri should be in high 50s to near 60 degrees these bass are starting to move shallow 12 to 30 feet you should put nice bass in the boat.

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: FISHED SOUTH FORK ON A WINDY, HEAVY RAIN. CAUGHT 7 SMALLIES AND THREE LARGEMOUTH; ALL ON JIGS. WATER SEEMS TO BE CLEARING AND IS RISING EVERY DAY. ALL FISH AROUND 2 LBS.
      City: Carmichael

      Tips: FISH THE SHORE TO 15 FEET OF WATER.

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      Water Temp: 48-52

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 8:30-3:30 total score was 13 spots from 1-2.5lbs. Excellent weather for January!Little to no wind most of the day. Alfish were caught on cranks in 4-12 of water. The key for finding fish was to find an area where there was a steep drop off near shallow water.Fish seemed to be hanging around the edge. Caught 7 of my fish in an hour on this pattern by an island in the main body of the lake. Color of cranks did not sem to matter much-caught fish on 4 different colors.
      City: antelope

      Tips: Great winter fishing!

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

      Report: Ive seen big koi fish in the impoundment lake. I think that is all it has..... And that is great news about the tules....
      City: San Bruno

Sunday, January 29th, 2006

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

      Report: Caught 8, including a 3.5 pounder, deep on points. Pretty nice day on the lake. June Bug Brush Hogs and Purple with blue and green Flake Cut-Tail worms were the baits I chose to use.
      City: Morgan Hill

  • Santa Barbara County
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      Water Temp: 54

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I only fished from first light until eleven. I caught fish on crawdad colored cranks in the morning at Arrowhead island but not of any size, Keepers but that is all. I doggedly went back into big Cachuma and tossed blades and cranks until 9;00 with a few small fish and trout and pulled up stakes and fished jigs for another fruitless hour. Back to the spoon! I caught maybe half a dozen in Johnsons and burned down to Santa Cruz for the last hour. I'm sure a fella could dropshot some small fish but the larger fish have not shown scale or fin as of yet. The good thing was there were maybe 6 bass boats on the water and there was plenty of room unless you wanted to toss swimbaits! I just don't feel like wasting my precious time when I have such a limited day. All the prime locations were getting burned and I'm sure the fellas will report on there sucess or lack of it here on the reports page.Wanna Bet! My final hour was spent spooning in Santa Cruz and I am ashamed to say that I sat 75 yards off a father and his two boys and fished their used water. I know I had ten fish ...two were trout....but sadly the size was gone and no smallmouths but fish that tugged my line non the less. The wind was just fixing to blow good when I left which means the bite was only going to get better but ....Honey-do's forced my early retirement. To my credit I did go over and explain why I caught fish on the spoon when the three after switching to the spoon only caught one in my last hour of fishing. I gave them my secret and sent them off to my best location when the wind blows but sadly a friend of mine found them inside a cove staying out of the wind around noon tossing crankbaits.
      City: Santa Barbara

      Tips: Wind and fog are your friend and will only make things better during your day at Cachuma. Make sure you can tough it out at the most wind tossed locations and you will have an exceptional day here. The trout are on the top and down to two colors with many fish coming on Rapala's with a lot line let out right on top. The best areas for trout are the mouths of the coves. Going in and out of the bigger coves ..Johnsons and Big Cachuma paid off for all thr trollers when I saw and spoke with them...

      RIP

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 48.5

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out Saturday for a day of fishing. Had incoming tide the whole time. For some reason, during that tide the bite shut down. Finally picked up a Rattle Trap and caught a couple of good ones. It seems like the fish were more tide sensitive than usual for winter.
      City: Stockton

    • By

      Water Temp: 51/52

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: That Cooch is just too good with that jig. Winter fishing been hit or miss for me until today. I launched out of New Hope in search of bass in the Northern Delta. Nope too muddy no fish. Then headed south to target the dead end sloughs. Started off with slow rolling spinnerbaits with no takers. Then I went with Cooch's advice and went to the blk/blue Pig and Jig. Second cast 3lb. 10th cast a 3.5lb. These areas were rocky coves with grass as deep as 18ft under the boat which was positioned about 30ft out. I tried to repeat the pattern on other spots. I found that not all banks held fish--so you just have to work it slow and keep searching. Because time didn't permit it, I ended the day with only three but the last one was a 6lber. Thanks Cooch for all the advice--HAR it works.
      City: sac

      Tips: Like Cooch says fish deeper this time of year. All my fish came from 12-18 ft rock banks with grass. Definately look for clean water. Hop and move that jig all the way to the boat.

    • By

      Water Temp: 46.9- 52.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished today with James Nevels of Discovery Bay. Decided to test a few new winter time spots in the middle portion of the Delta today. We found a little warmer water in a few of these areas. The fish seemed to be shallower in areas where the temps were above 50. Caught 12 or so keepers today and one dink. Our two bigger fish today, a 6 lb 11oz and a 5 lb 7 oz, both came out of less than 6 foot of water, tight to cover. But deep water was right there close by. Most all of our other fish came out of about 10-12 feet. Jigs on the open rocks and Zippers in the grass worked once again for us. It was an absolute gorgeous day early, then go brisk and cloudy(slowest point or us) then cleared later. We only fished in three basic areas today in the middle Delta, mostly just off the San Jaquine River. Fish were once again grouped or onesey twosies along small stretches of bank.
      City: Oakley

      Tips: Keep yer trolling motor in the water, on as low as ya can stand, cover long stretches of bank and try to stay off the top of the fish. All day long, I was pointing out other bass boats to James fishing down different banks, every single one of em was right on top of the fish we wuz catching. It's a common mistake made at this time of year on the river.

    • By

      Water Temp: 51 to 53

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Will another week gone by and fishing here is good. I was going to fish saturday here but im glad i waited till sunday. Dwayne lucceski and i made too the lake at 9 am sunday morningwe fished till 4: 45 pm we had 18 bass big bass was 12.03 pounds. We had 14 between 3 and 4 pounds all caught in 14 to 30 feet of water.Green pumpkin 3/8 oz football head jig tip with ( yamamoto ) watermelon red/black flake single tail grub. Rock piles are still holding fish the east bank from ranger station to the keep out bouys hold the best fish. The morning was cloudy til mid afternoon and best bite was after 1pm with most bass we caught after that time.
      City: kerman ca

      Tips: The bite was lite on some fish slow was the key and some fish were off rock piles on flats and drop off near deeper water. My big fish was in 14 feet of water and ended up in 25 feet when i landed it. I will have some pictures posted tuesday this bite will get better if this weather hold up starting monday through friday should produce some nice bass temps should be near 60s all week.

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 50

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Met my good friend Steve Young at the Granite Bay ramp at noon and proceeded to fish main body. Steve was dragin a worm and I was working the Jig catching all the fish 5-15 feet. Most were chubby 2-3+ lbs fish. I switched over to a crank and proceeded to pick up 7 fish with one Largemouth at an even 6 lbs. Total fish caught 20-25 with best five 3.11 2.86. 2.62 2.42 with a total of 17.01 pounds.
      Take a friend fishing, be safe and keep the rod bent.
      City: Roseville