Northern California Lake Fishing Report
- Almanor Lake
- Berryessa Lake
- Cachuma Lake
- California Delta
- Camanche Lake
- Casitas Lake
- Clear Lake
- Diamond Valley Lake
- Don Pedro Lake
- Folsom Lake
- Iron Gate Reservoir
- McClure Lake
- New Melones Lake
- Oroville Lake
- Perris Lake
- San Luis Lake
- Shasta Lake
- Sonoma Lake
- Almaden Lake
- Almaden Reservoir
- Amador Lake
- Anderson Lake
- Barrett Lake
- Black Butte Lake
- Blue Lakes
- Bullards Bar Lake
- Calero Reservoir
- Camp Far West Lake
- Chabot Lake
- Chesbro Lake
- Collins Lake
- Contra Loma Lake
- Coyote Lake
- Del Valle Lake
- Dixon Lake
- Eastman Lake
- Guadalupe Lake
- Hennessy Lake
- Ilsanjo Lake
- Indian Valley Lake
- Kelsey Bass Ranch Lake
- Lafayette Lake
- Lake of the Pines
- Lexington Lake
- Loch Lomond Lake
- Los Banos Lake
- Los Vaqueros Lake
- Mather Lake
- Mendocino Lake
- Mendota Slough Lake
- Merced Lake
- Millerton Lake
- Modesto Reservoir
- Morena Lake
- Murray Lake
- New Hogan Lake
- Nicasio Lake
- Oso Lake
- Pacifica Coastline
- Pardee Lake
- Pillsbury Lake
- Pinto Lake
- Piru Lake
- Quarry Lakes
- Radio Lake
- Rollins Lake
- Ruth Lake
- Sacramento River
- Salt Springs Lake
- San Francisco Bay
- San Justo Lake
- San Pablo Lake
- Shadow Cliffs Lake
- Shastina Lake
- Skinner Lake
- Soulajule Lake
- Spring Lake
- Stevens Creek Lake
- Trinity Lake
- Tulloch Lake
- Turlock Lake
- Uvas Lake
- West Delta
- Whiskeytown Lake
- Woodward Lake
- Woollomes Lake
- Yosemite Lake

Saturday, July 16th, 2005
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Clear Lake
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Water Temp: 84-86
Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: Fished Friday PM, Saturday AM & PM and Sunday AM in the Rattlesnake Island area. The heat was brutal!! Ended up a with 30 fish total. One 4lb'er on white spinnerbait, lost one at the boat that was pushing 5lb on a black jig. All of the rest of the fish we caught were on drop-shotting purple or blue Robo's. Those 1-1/2 and 2lb'ers sure are a lot of fun on light spinning tackle!!!
City: Santa RosaTips: All of the fish that we caught were holding in 10 to 12 ft. of water
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Diamond Valley Lake
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Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: When we got to dv lake we fished the brush piles, and points with lizards and brush hogs we got hits but nothing big. when we went to the dam we through plastics and silver kastmasters we finaly got one bass that was 3lb's we went back to a cove and found tons of small blugill and caut 4 of those on mealworms and crappie nibbles.
City: RiversideTips: Use silver lures by the dam on the staircases it looks like baby shad. also use yellow jigheads tipped with mealworms or crappie nibbles for blugill
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Millerton Lake
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Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished the night tourney for FBC at this Dead Sea. Results from the 109 degree blast off or should I say melt off were 18.5 lbs for two outings/4 fish limit each for winner and he had big fish of 4.10. Add the humidity of the lake and some of the 36 may have driven past their favorite holes just to catch a breeze. As usual for this time of the year, it cooled off to 78 degrees about 4 AM for about 1 hour.
City: FresnoTips: Dark blades and worms right next to the bank.
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Oroville Lake
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Water Temp: 81-83
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: I guided a grandpa, son, and grandson, Thurs and a single client for half day on Fri. No heatstroke thankfully! Water was 81 on Thurs when we started in the south fork, and then went to the middle fork which I thought would have an afternoon breeze. Bingo! - it saved us!! We caught around 40 bass up to 14 1/2 inches, including lots of 12 inchers. It was the fun they were looking for! Green pumpkin and morning dawn were the worm colors that worked best. We were split-shotting the worms. I tried topwater and did catch 2. We fished every shade pocket we could and that helped - especially in the middle fork. That is a good pattern when the lake is full - look for overhanging trees. Most of our bass were caught on points or cuts. They were from 2 feet deep to 25 feet - bigger ones were deeper - no surprise. Small bass were chasing bait all over in open water. Friday was different. The water was 2 degrees warmer and the fish were more scattered and smaller. There were small bass everywhere near the surface but they had no bait to chase is my guess. The bait went deep. There was no surface activity and it was hot!!!!! We stayed in the south fork and did catch 20+ - including my client's LARGEMOUTH. Where did that come from?! Interesting to fish back to back days and see the changes that take place as the weather dictates.
City: Yuba CityTips: All the bass were spiting up pond smelt - lots of them! The smelt were sure small - no wonder the bass are skinny! At least they are feeding well. It is fun to guide clients that are using my 782 G. Loomis rods! Those spots won't quit in 80 degree water. The clients just love fighting those fish on a wonderful rod. I found flats that extent out 20-25 feet from shore and then drop off - held the most and the biggest bass. Definately - Structure 101 for summer!!
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Shadow Cliffs Lake
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Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: tubed the island pond from 7-12, 7 fish, two over 3lbs., one over 5lbs. Bigger fish came from the weed islands
City: p-townTips: around 9:30 a.m. there were dragon flies everywhere and then the fish started jumping and didn't stop till noon. tried to match the hatch all I had was 4" watermelon w/red flake senko's. only one other tuber out there this morning and we made the most of it. He caught more on an oxblood roboworm than i did on my senko but I caught the bigger fish
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Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: I'll be out there tomorrow with a green caddis tube. that's fine..i already know what i am doing.but i'll see you around.
good luck to you tomorrow.
City: FremontTips: fish with respect
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Sonoma Lake
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Water Temp: 78
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Launched boat at 5:45a.m. to get an early start. Headed up to Cherry Creek and started throwing crankbaits,zara spooks and frogs with no success for the first hour. My partner, Jack Rosetti started throwing senkos and nailed a 2.5lb. I was determined to catch a frog fish so I kept on trying with still no blowups while Jack gets two more 2lb. fish. We had a bet for first,biggest and most fish so I put down the frog and started throwing senkos. I missed the first two hits because I set too soon so I said next bite I'll let the fish take it before I set. My partner was fishing on the outside edges of the grass so I decided to go shallow and right away a I got a light tick tick. I waited until the line started to move and when I set the fish immediately broke water and I knew it was a big fish. I kept the rod tip down but the bass still jumped out of the water and seeing the fish I knew it was a Hawg. Jack gets really excited and asks where's the net which I never take out of the locker when I'm fun fishing. Well the fight is on and the bass dives into the weeds and keeping pressure on I bring her up close to the boat and then Jack lunges out and grabs the fishes jaw and brings her in the boat.My biggest bass at Lake Sonoma weighed in at exactly 8lbs. We proceded down the bank and caught four more fish.By 9a.m. we had 7 bass with best five going 17lbs.
City: Santa RosaTips: Keep the boat out in deeper water so you don't spook the fish. Throw on the outside edges and in pockets of the grass and keep a eye on your line. When it twitches wait a few seconds until the line moves and then set. The fish were aggressive and didn't hesitate to run with the Senkos. Best colors were watermelon with black flake and green pumpkin although other colors worked also. Here it was Saturday in the middle of Summer and we didn't see another boat until after 10a.m. It's definitely a early bite so get on the water at first light.Good luck and tight lines.
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Trinity Lake
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Water Temp: 78-81
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: First time ever on this lake. Fished one of the large side arms about half way up the lake. Got several smallmouth on top water poppers. Nothing of any size maybe a pound at the most but lots for them. Did get a few on gitzit's and plastic worms also. Lots of fun.
City: Ben Lomond
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Friday, July 15th, 2005
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Calero Reservoir
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Water Temp: 77
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: fishing was ok.... windy as a mutha fcka.. overcast... blowing hard... had trouble controlling the boat,, so decided to turn the bow out.. stay off the band around 30 feet and start crankin..just outside the shit stinkin moss line..did well.
City: morgan hillTips: the tip of the day is.. throw a deep diver..just outside of the smegma line.. crank hard.. and hang on... also .. let the ranger's know if any of the "J " skier's and or other wake board boat.s give ya grief.. bring a piece of paper and write down the CF number's and report them.. WE ALL HAVE TO BE SAFE AND SHARE THE WATER!
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California Delta
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Water Temp: Mid 70s
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Got on the water by 5:15A this morning. Fished Disappointment Slough and Columbia Cut. Went to the same sweet spot in Columbia Cut as yesterday and caught over 15 keeper size bass by 7:00A. Caught a 6+ lb fish in Disappointment using a Sizmic Toad. Our best 5 weighed 18+ lbs. Off by 12:00P.
City: DixonTips: It's cool in the morning, but watch out for the heat. Bring plenty of liquids. Rat L Traps and wht/char spinnerbaits worked well today.
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Clear Lake
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Water Temp: 76-83
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Fished at night 9pm-1am on Friday and caught 6 totalling just over 20 lbs (biggest going just over 6 lbs) all on buzz baits and jitterbugs - nothing on plastics the whole night. Dropshotted, t-rigged, senkos...but all the fish came from top-water. Focused on grasslines near lakeport.
City: San JoseTips: Fish the grasslines- black buzzbaits and dark green jitterbugs. I tried throwing all kinds of colors, black was the only one working. Most fish were caught about 4-6 feet off the grass lines.
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Shadow Cliffs Lake
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Water Temp: bathtub
Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: i looked at my post again was kind of rude! although that was not my intentions
City: redwoodTips: i will be using this for fishing reports only in the future
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Water Temp: bath tub
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Tim/rexx-
I will be out there on saturday 6 am
yellow float tube
show me where you are on the shore I will show you fish
smoke-smoke more be happy, 420 :)
City: redwoodTips: buy a float tube
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Thursday, July 14th, 2005
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California Delta
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Water Temp: Mid 70s
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Launched out of Paradise at 5:30A. Fished Disappointment Slough and Columbia Cut. We caught over 15 keeper size bass. Found a sweet spot in the Columbia Cut area and caught 7 keeper size bass in about 15 minutes on a shad colored Rat L Trap (including my all time best - a 9.1 lb hog -- took some pictures and released her). Best five was around 19+ lbs. Off the water by 12:00P before it got too hot.
City: DixonTips: Caught early morning bite fish on a white/char spinnerbait. Saw another fisherman that caught a 8+ lber on a buzz bait.
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Clear Lake
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Water Temp: 81
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: After 2 years of not night fishing this lake, I got the green light to go. Kris and I arrived at 8:45 and tried flipping trees in the south end w/no luck. Just at dusk, Kris bangs a 3.5 and I soon feel like I've got a weed on my brushog. I keep reeling until all of a sudden it is below the boat and up comes a 5+ and goes down and throws the hook! I thought that might have set the tone for a not so well evening, but it turned out ok. We ended up w/ 11 keepers by 2:30am. All fish caught on plastics. I must say that the water is higher than I've ever seen it on this lake in july. Some of my rocky spots had bushes hanging 10 feet over the water, so proper presentation next to the bank was not a possibility.
City: Yuba CityTips: It became apparent that all fish that bit for us were right on the bank. Working the lure back produced no bites all night. None of our spots were red hot, just a fish here and there. This was the calmest night I've ever seen on this lake. One interesting side note: After a long dry spell, I decided to turn the flourescent light on along with the black light. I did this so I could get my lures as close to the bank as possible. I cant ever remember catching a fish with this white light on. On this night though, We did get 3 good ones and missed one with it on.............I shall have to experiment more.
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Don Pedro Lake
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Water Temp: 82 DEGREES SURF
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: LOTS OF FISH , 2 TO 4LBS ON 5" CLEAR,HOLOGRAM & SMOKE GRUBS BY YAMAMOTO & KALIN'S. FISHED DEEP ROCKS UP RIVER & ALSO BY THE DAM IN THE ROCKS.
City: LA GRANGETips: USE DARTHEADS 1/16 TO 1/8 OZ CAST TO DEEP ROCKS AND ROCKY SHORES, LET IT FALL. ALL HITS ARE ON THE FALL. GREEN LINE OR FLOROCARBON. WE USE 12 TO 17LB TEST.
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Water Temp: 83 DEGREES
Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: WEDNESDAY WENT OUT FOR SHORT TIME 1 P.M. UNTIL 3 P.M. GOT FRIED IT WAS 105 DEGREES, IN THAT TIME WE CAUGHT 6 BASS RANGING FROM 2 TO 4 LBS. ALL CAUGHT ON YAMAMOTO GRUBS. TOSSING INTO DEEP WATER AND LET FALL, ALL STRIKES WERE ON THE FALL. LINE WAS BASS PRO NEW XPS FLORO-CARBON. GRUBS WERE CLEAR SALT & PEPPER AND SILVER FLAKE
City: LAKE DON PEDRO (LA GRANGE)Tips: IN TIHS HOT WEATHER, LOOK FOR THE CLEAREST WATER YOU CAN FIND, AND FISH DEEP WITH SMALL WORMS AND GRUBS HERE AT DON PEDRO , AS THE WEATHER IS HOT HOT HOT ! WEAR SUN SCREEN, AND JUMP INTO THE LAKE ONCE IN AWHILE...
JIGS
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Folsom Lake
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Water Temp: 82
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Yep, the fish have definitely moved. A month ago I was practically catching them at will on a split-shot rig in 20 ft of water, yesterday I fished from 9am-4 with no luck. Oh I forgot, I graphed some bait in 35 ft of water, threw out my drop-shot, set the hook, and pulled up a 12" trout. Classic!
Tips: This time a year you're better off riding the tube.
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McClure Lake
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Water Temp: 78 DEGREES
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: CAUGHT LIMITS TUESDAY UP RIVER FROM HORSESHOE BEND ALL ON YAMAMOTO SENKOS IN CLEAR SILVER FLAKE AND WHITE. ALL FISH WERE IN THE 2 TO 4 LB RANGE AND MOST EXCEDED THE SLOT OVER 15". ALSO CAUGHT SOME NICE CRAPPIE UP BY BAGBY SOME TREE TOP ARE SHOWING AND THEY SEEM TO BE FULL OF CRAPPIE..
City: LA GRANGE (LAKE DON PEDRO & MC CLURE)Tips: LAKE MC CLURE GETS LESS PRESSURE THAN DON PEDRO, WE SUGGEST TRY IT YOU WILL LIKE IT, IT SEEMS COOLER, CALMER AND THERE ARE LOTS OF FISH.
JIGS
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Nicasio Lake
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Water Temp: ?
Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: Got on the water around 6pm on the upper arm of the lake (side closer to town). There were about 5-6 fishermen on the rocks, i think jigging for crappies. I crossed the heavy weeds to the far side, but i brought my tick repellant this time, so no worries. Nailed two small shakers around 7:30pm on a crawdad crankbait. Got a nice 3# on a white spinnerbait around 8:30pm. Tried senkos, brush-hawgs (jerk bait style and texas), but no luck.
City: San RafaelTips: They hit hard on the crankbait. Steady retrieve. Not to slow. Tried all type of presentations w/the spinnerbaits. Finally i just brought it in steadily with no stop and go. She didnt hit hard, but kind of started to swim away with it, kind of like a drop shot fish. I barely felt any preasure on the line, but saw the line moving up stream. When in doubt-set the hook!
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