Submit
Report

Northern California Lake Fishing Report

Limit:

Wednesday, December 30th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Woke up today with 1/2" snow on the ground, thinking, am I sure about going fishing, yep, going to toss worms anyway. Launched about 6:30 am at the spill way, got to fishing spots in the middle fork and had my first fish a tad after 7am. nothing special fish, but heck any fish this time of year is good. Fished the morning out and only had 4 small spots barley 13" Stopped at a rock pile that went under from the water rise and picked up my fifth fish, a decent 16". All fish taken about the 35-40 foot mark. Slow bite as expected, work baits slow, as the water was right at the 50 degree range. Off the lake at 10:30 am. Minor wood floating, so be careful. Fish picture in fishing forum.

Monday, December 28th, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I've been out the past three weekends with very little success. The water is on the rise with a slight stain to stained in some areas. I've tried from 1ft to 80ft using just about everything from rip baits and a rigs to a dart head, jigs and everything in between. I know someone out there has figured out how to get the big girls but i'm definitely not one of them. All i can catch is rats. I'm pretty sure the lake is on a turnover or the inconsistent weather has given the big girls lockjaw. Yesterday the ramp was iced over so be careful launching the boat. 4x4 was necessary after a few boats launched and the ramp froze. Fish have been scattered in all depths but the 15 to 30ft zone seems to be where the majority of bait is holding. Tried main lake points, secondary points, bluffs, cuts, you name it. Lots of suspended fish as well.

      Tips: 4x4 if its below freezing and watch out for debris floating in the lake. yesterday was the first day in 3 weeks the lake had a lot of wood floating around. Be safe and have fun.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 48

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched from orwood at sunrise. Jogged down to lido bay. Started off tossing jerkbaits at the slips saw 1 dink follower. Then started to drop shot the pylons zip. About 11 picked apart each dock dead sticking a jig with short hops stuck a 3.2 and a 4.1 back to back casts. I couldnt believe it. No real patter took off. 2 fish 2 bites that was it.

      Tips: Wear gloves and fish slow real slow. Slow as you can it sucks.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: Don't know

      Report: Just want to thank Larry for his reports ,
      Larry is way more hard core than most of us half his age. Thank You Lunker Larry.

Thursday, December 24th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Well, someone has to do a Christmas report! Buddy Mike and I went to Clear Lake Tuesday afternoon. We looked at the lake while the whitecaps roared! Jimmy, at CL Bait and Tackle said: Well, it was calm 'til you got here!! So Mike and I looked at the lake again and then he said: "You have a 521 Ranger, let's go for it!" So we did. Actually, the ride wasn't as bad as it looked. We fished a few spots on the west side of the lake and found a calm spot off Frazier Point. We fish for about an hour there - Mike was throwing a swimbait out in deep water and actually hooked one and soon I netted his 5.88 lb bass. The trip was worth it! He had another hit - I think I had a hit - and that was it! We decided to call it a night - at dusk - 5:30 PM!! Brrrrrr!! Winter arrived during our boat ride back to the dock!!

      Tips: Mike's bass was very deep, maybe about 35 feet deep. We saw deep fish on my new Gen 3 meter, not sure what they were. Saw very little bait. Hope those bass enjoy their new cold water for Christmas!!

Friday, December 18th, 2015

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: From Shasta Lake
      Good evening Shasta Lake Fans!

      Enjoying this this wet weather...rain and SNOW!

      The lake is rising! grin emoticon We reached around 155' below full pool for our low this year. The recent rains stabilized and even saw some elevation raise. With this series of storms coming through, we should see the lake jump in elevation quickly!

      Even though we have had a few storms come through, they have not delivered a large amount of precipitation. This looks as if it is going to change with an anticipated 2-5" of rain expected this weekend. Since midnight last night, the McCloud has already received 2 inches as of 2 pm...very promising numbers!

      Although the comparisons below paint a dim picture, we did have extremely heavy storms in December last year which skews the snapshot that we have for this winter.

      Regardless, it is raining, snowing and the lake is rising! We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is just the beginning of wet and wonderful winter! grin emoticon

      Merry Christmas!

      Lake Level Report (12/18/2015 at 2:00 pm)
      Lake Elevation: 915.32' (151.68' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 927.57' (139.43' below full pool)
      Storage: 1,361,442 af
      Storage (2014): 1,531,010 af
      Outflow: 4,139 cfs
      Inflow: 4,024 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.02" (Estimate)
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 11.10" (Estimate)
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 28.26"

Thursday, December 17th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 48

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of rivers end, Water Resources cleared hyacinth near pump station. Looked so good, I had to fish the area across from the electrical tower. Tide was coming in. Tried top water and a swim bait, got nothing. Headed around the corner toward Oasis. Fished the big side of the canal first. Got nothing, talked to a couple other boats, they had nothing. Headed to the smaller side. Caught a couple small stripers on a large gold kastmaster. Headed to the Clifton Forebay dock area. Tide was heading out at about 3pm, got nothing. Switched to chicken livers and caught a bunch of really small stripers. Back to the drawing room to draw up a new plan for next week. Good luck.

Wednesday, December 16th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Dang, was it ever cold fishing today. 33 degrees when I left home. Started bad, got the trailer into the water, went to take the boat off and water went over my boots, now wet feet!! Got the boat in the water, going to take the trailer up, can't find my keys!! Looked everywhere, no keys, checked the boat, checked my pocket 10 times, crawled around in the dark looking for keys on the ground. Now what am I going to do, can't move the car out of the way. Did a last check and keys were in my pocket all along! Felt pretty silly! Only caught 6 fish, one nicer 4-5 pound catfish, but battery wend dead on the camera, so let the fish go, then changed battery. Fingers hurt, only thing cold this morning. Smaller fish in the picture in fishing forum. Ramp is shallow, making you have to back further into the water, need tall boots if alone or good rope!!

Friday, December 11th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. Bait fishing Stripers Sturgeon Solid

      Isleton
      Salmon winds downs and striper sturgeon takes off. Salmon anglers still seeing quality fish most have started changing there focus. Silvertrons leading the way for for the last salmon of the season. Cooling water have slowed the stripers in the Cache Slough area. Spoons and hair Jigs have become favorite tools of lure tossers in the area.

      Walnut Grove .
      Slow for the trolling anglers, but stripers cracking the 15 pound plus keeps anglers hopes up. Savage Prey series and Angry Eyes are the top choices here as well, there seems to bit more call for chartreuse patterns here. Bank anglers tossing shad and eel prevail for an occasional Sturgeon or Striper those looking for Cold night fun. Bass anglers try some smallie fishing, crankbaits and brown blue jigs and getting the Smallmouth.

      Discovery Bay
      Stripers finally showing in solid numbers on both sides of Disco Bay. Some nice black bass coming out of Discovery Bay this week. Bigger fish have been falling for a 8" Savage Gear 3D GLIDE SWIMMER in the Hitch color. Dropshotting will put more fish in the boat but the size is just not there. Remember to throw those big baits you need the right equipment, try the OKUMA TCS 7'11" Mat Daddy rod and OKUMA TCS HELIOS reel spooled with 65lb VICIOUS braided line, make sure to have good polarized glasses on because you are going to see some big fish coming to check out this bait. Dress warm and enjoy the your time in Discovery Bay. –Charlie King

      Frank’s Tract
      Stripers and bass bite both OK but ya gotta Slow down with the cold temperatures. It’s no secret what a little fall weather can do. 6th Sense Ripbaits are great options while small swim baits and swim jigs get the mention as well. We found plenty of Stripers and Black Bass with Hair Jigs, Swim Baits, like the BIG 6thSense Hollow Bodies getting grabbed. Lot of Stripers in main River and Mildred areas.

      West Delta
      Sturgeon quietly is slipping into the spotlight. Eel is the best bait over all, but roe and shad also scoring diamondbacks Broad slough and surrounding cuts. There were many shaker sturgeon reports in double power lines in Decker Island and Sherman Island. There were few shaker sturgeons also reports from Light 42 to Light 49 in the deep channel Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad, anchovies and sardines allow Sherman Island rd like on Bubba Murphy caught this week . George Cardinale was soaking eel and landed a Nice Striper as well..

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

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: A little cool on the lake, but what the heck, tossing worms anyway. Launched about 6:30 at the dam, ok, but the dock is 3/4 out of the water, I guess they can't be bothered to adjust!! Light breeze, went to south fork for an hour, got one fish, left to middle fork. where I know the area. Manages just 7 fish today, one decent 15 1/2" and all others 13-14" I fished deep, the largest one hooked right at 40 foot mark. Typical slower days for winter, water still clear in most areas, down to 56 degrees. State better work the ramp a little, or I see it becoming an issue in a few weeks. Narrow at the dock as the sides of the dirt sluffs off towards to dock at the waters edge. Off the lake at 10:30 right when it was getting nice out. Pictures in fishing forum.

Friday, December 4th, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: getting cold

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: My family and I celebrated Thanksgiving at the lake. We got there on Wednesday early afternoon and my son and I headed right for the lake. There was a definite chill in the air but the water was fairly calm and we had bundled up pretty well so we headed out to the west side. In less then an hour and a half we had double hook ups and a total of eight bass from three to five pounds. We headed back to the house to warm our frozen bodies but were very happy with our catch (see photos). Thanksgiving morning my son's friend Steve joined us but this time the water was not calm. There were white caps all the way to the Narrows and let me tell you it was a rough ride but we made it and the water was calmer. We started fishing heading towards the dam and we started hitting nice size bass almost immediately. We fished for a couple of hours till we couldn't take the cold any longer and headed across to the west side towards home and trolled our way in using crankbaits #1 color was silver and blue and 2nd choice was chartreuse and green. We tried top water with no luck. Luckily the white caps worked in our favor as they pushed us in. We had a great time and landed limits and now we were heading to the house for a scrumptious feast (see photos). It was a great couple of days and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 'til next time......................................good fishing!!!!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or are interested in booking a guided fishing trip please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.

      Tips: Fish loading up for winter

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: Delta Report…. Bait fishing Stripers Sturgeon Solid

      Isleton
      Looks good as Salmon anglers take advantage of rain and cooler water temperatures with Silvertrons leading the way. Water temperatures have dropped with the cooler storms. The salmon bite remains good as season winds down. Salmon anglers are seeing success.

      Walnut Grove .
      Slow for the trolling anglers, but fish cracking the 15 pound plus keeps anglers hopes up. Savage Prey series and Angry Eyes are the top choices here as well, there seems to bit more call for chartreuse patterns here. Bank anglers livers and cut baits prevail for plenty 2 to 4 pound catfish evenings are top for those looking for night fun. Bass anglers try some smallie fishing, crankbaits and brown blue jigs and getting the Smallmouth.

      Discovery Bay
      Some nice fish coming out of Discovery Bay this week. Bigger fish have been falling for a 8" Savage Gear 3D GLIDE SWIMMER in the Hitch color. Dropshot will put more fish in the boat but the size is just not there. Remember to throw those big baits you need the right equipment, try the OKUMA TCS 7'11" Mat Daddy rod and OKUMA TCS HELIOS reel spooled with 65lb VICIOUS braided line, make sure to have good polarized glasses on because you are going to see some big fish coming to check out this bait. Dress warm and enjoy the your time in Discovery Bay. –Charlie King

      Frank’s Tract
      Stripers and bass bite both OK but ya gotta Slow down with the cold temperatures. It’s no secret what a little fall weather can do. Ripbaits are great options while small swim baits and swim jigs get the mention. We found plenty of Stripers and Black Bass with Hair Jigs, Swim Baits, like the BIG 6thSense Hollow Bodies getting grabbed. Lot of Stripers in main River and Mildred areas.

      West Delta
      The West as in Honker Bay to the Bait tossers are getting fish when wind cooperates. Sturgeon quietly is slipping into the spotlight. Eel is the best bait over all, but roe and shad also scoring diamondbacks Broad slough and surrounding cuts. There were many shaker sturgeon reports in double power lines in Decker Island and Sherman Island. There were few shaker sturgeons also reports from Light 42 to Light 49 in the deep channel Most of the nice stripers coming soaking Shad, anchovies and sardines .

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

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Report: jaybird » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:44 pm

      I was there on Saturday. 28th with four wheel drive almost got stuck. The problem is that the trailer started to sink in the muck (sand) and I also was by myself which did not help.
      If you have 2 people I feel you would be fine, as I had to park my boat close enough to the ramp because the footing is like quick sand. I sunk about 4 to 6 inches walking on the bank. Therefore my trailer was a bit off line from the ramp which probably added to the left side of the trailer sinking. Just a heads up, with 2 people and four wheel drive I think you would have no worries.
      Hope this helps!

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-56

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Yes, it is midnight, but I am still slightly wired! Mike Sperbeck and I got back from Clear Lake about an hour ago - very pleased with another 30 lb 11 oz limit! Two 30"s in a row - which is harder to do these days! We caught several up to 5 lbs before dark. Good jig bite. After dark, another 5.48 and one well over 6 lbs. Then Mike caught his first ever swimjig fish, 6 lbs even, using a D&M Piranha bait. We were just about to leave one of our favorite areas, but decided to make one more pass. GOOD decision!! I had a good hit, but not that exciting - until I set the hook! Wow - what a powerful bass - all 8.57 pounds of her!! Those D&M Piranha hooks are great! No wonder my right shoulder is a bit sore now! And we beat the rain!

      Tips: I thought the jig bite would pick up with the cooler water, and it did. Still using my brown/orange Rodstrainer jig w/ Yamamoto grub trailer. I got those bass trained - LOL!! Again, saw lots of bait but most of it has moved off-shore, which should be no surprise. Saw some down to 30 feet. Our bass seemed to be spread out too - from 10 to 28 feet.

Tuesday, December 1st, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Thought I's give the lake a try today and toss worms in the middle fork, as weathers going to turn bad soon. Talk about cold at 6:30 am, around 36 degrees. Burr, dress warm and no problem. Slow bite, water getting stained in many areas, some place still clear, just depends on where your at. I managed just 7 fish today, very slow bite, one fish here, and one there, no hot spots as we all like. All fish 13-14" range. Fished deep, fished shallow, only got fish at 30-35 feet, one at 40 foot. Think the winter blues has begun, hope not. Busy ramp when I got back at 11am, one fisherman said Bidwell ramp not very good, many getting stuck. The ramp at the damn is still good. A little mushy at the waters edge, but workable. Ramp looks to be another 5-10 feet longer today. Water still dropping, but slower rate these days. Ramp pictures in the Fishing Forum.

Monday, November 30th, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Report: Knowing spotted bass are one of the hardest fighting fish, Brent Ehrler was surprised when he easily landed a fat-bellied brute last week.

      “It just came right to the net,” said the Bassmaster Elite Series angler, who took Mark Zona’s invitation to film a Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show at New Bullards Bar Reservoir in northern California.

      While Ehrler had a great trip, he didn’t receive a great pull on his personal best spotted bass.

      “I referred to them as being like Jabba the Hutt,” he said. “I believe the fish are so fat, they literally can’t move.

      “These fish, they’re not right. Proportionally, they look fake. We’ve all caught 3-pound spotted bass, and it’s a giant battle. They are the hardest pulling fish. I just envisioned what the fight would be if I caught one of the big ones, a 7-, 8-, 10-pounder.”

      While he was disappointed in that battle, both anglers caught their personal best spots, and each might have had a world record on the line momentarily. Spotted bass from Bullards Bar, which Zona calls the “biggest secret, non-secret lake in the world,” have broken the IGFA world record several times in the past two years.

      On Dec. 27, angler Wes Roberson caught an 11-pound spotted bass, weighed it and released the fish alive. The IGFA is considering his record submission, and if certified it would overtake the current 10-6 record.

      Read the rest at Bassmaster.com http://www.bassmaster.com/news/daily-limit-jabba-spotted-bass

Sunday, November 29th, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Report: AmberRusso » Sun Nov 29, 2015 12:47 pm

      Fishing report for Bullards bar. Thank you everybody for all of your information Bullards was great really windy a little cold but the fishing was excellent. I launched out of dark day and it was a challenge because I was by myself so two people is definitely recommend it. As soon as I was leaving dark day the wind was so bad making the water very rough I headed for the first cove I could see. I noticed the steep rocks and targeted that area. I was using a margarita mutilator and caught fish back to back but they were all small. I used a weedless Huddleston and was able to catch a fish over 3 pounds. I decided to go to Emerald Cove to get some coffee and fish that area. I was using a black and red jig with a black and red Yamamoto double tail grub as a trailer and stuck a largemouth bass around 6 pounds. I was very surprised to see a largemouth this big here. I fished the area for the next hour and caught quite a few more fish ranging 1 to 2 1/2 pounds. despite the wind and the cold the fishing was awesome and would definitely recommend taking a trip there before it gets colder. Definitely focus on areas that have steep rocks and areas where the sun and the shade line come together. The lake is very low in fact Emerald Cove guy said it's the lowest it's been since 1979. These fish were shallow surprisingly so try not to target Deepwater too much Right now.

    • By

      Report: Fishing report for Bullards bar. Thank you everybody for all of your information Bullards was great really windy a little cold but the fishing was excellent. I launched out of dark day and it was a challenge because I was by myself so two people is definitely recommend it. As soon as I was leaving dark day the wind was so bad making the water very rough I headed for the first cove I could see. I noticed the steep rocks and targeted that area. I was using a margarita mutilator and caught fish back to back but they were all small. I used a weedless Huddleston and was able to catch a fish over 3 pounds. I decided to go to Emerald Cove to get some coffee and fish that area. I was using a black and red jig with a black and red Yamamoto double tail grub as a trailer and stuck a largemouth bass around 6 pounds. I was very surprised to see a largemouth this big here. I fished the area for the next hour and caught quite a few more fish ranging 1 to 2 1/2 pounds. despite the wind and the cold the fishing was awesome and would definitely recommend taking a trip there before it gets colder. Definitely focus on areas that have steep rocks and areas where the sun and the shade line come together. The lake is very low in fact Emerald Cove guy said it's the lowest it's been since 1979. These fish were shallow surprisingly so try not to target Deepwater too much Right now.

Saturday, November 28th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launching in the morning from paradise point, went out to the Hilton pulled up to buddy who was out there 2 hours ahead of me had two fish one 22" and one 27" High tide at sunrise on drifting bluegill. I fished the area and nothing lots of geese no fish, I tossed plugs, worms, drifted shiners, bluegill, even trolled, Nothing. Pulled the trolling motor and headed to turner cut tossed in some rebels and trolled to the bridge nothing tried four different colors. pulled up to the bridge talked to a bass boat, no luck for him either, tossed on minnows and slow trolled the bridge, for 45 minutes with the bass boat throwing everything he had at them. Nothing we both left I went to windmill cove pulled up another bass boat talked to them same thing catching nothing. trolled it for 30 min nothing, going into the garlic brothers on the way another buddy was fishing off of ridge track, he had shad and fish and was doing well. dunking shad was the way to go for the day.

      Tips: find a spot anchor and bait fish

Friday, November 27th, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Report: by Larry Hemphill » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:10 pm

      With lower lake levels everywhere, it is a great time to take a few photos of structure that may not be visible for decades - if the heavy rain and snow does happen. On my last trip to Berryessa, I saw a rockpile with steep dropoff that I had never seen before. On my first or second cast, I caught a near 4 lb spotted bass. It was a perfect structure that may be under 40 feet of water by June. Let's hope!!