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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Monday, April 18th, 2005

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53.7

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: On water at 10am from Red Bud heading North, However turned back due to monster swells and high winds (very cold). Seek protective areas along the east side of lowerlake. Caught 5 bass
      3 to 4 pounds on homemade baits. Shad all over
      even the ducks had a piece of the action. It got too windy to enjoy the rest of the day gone at 3pm.
      City: Fairfield

      Tips: Dress warm

    • By

      Water Temp: 62-63

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Monday afternoon from 2:30pm till 7:30pm. It was tough fishing in the wind, but finally found some relief as far back in the 5mph zone as you can go. From 5:30 till 7:30 the bite really picked up. The fluke and senko bite I was hoping for finally materialized. I also had quite a few bites on a spinner bait. Those fish were all two cranks off the bank. These little cold fronts we keep having are frustrating. Saw lots of fish on the graph in the 15-25ft range but had no luck with the drop shot. Might not have been bass, but the marks on the graph looked great. A few more warm days and a full moon should help. The lake looks great a full pool. All the little pockets in the back looked perfect with bushes, wood, rocks, etc. in the water.
      City: Clovis

      Tips: Bite should keep getting better if we can hold on to some stable weather along with the full moon.

    • By

      Water Temp: Not Tested

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Keylolo

      At least someone's posting, I don't even know if there are some more people fish in SP, I haven't seen any much report. Have you fish there lately?.
      City: San Francisco

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

  • Mason County
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      Water Temp: Still cold

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Kayaked south by the bridge and found very few fish in the mood to bite. Mostly small males to 1.5 pounds. The lake got tea colored and cooled off because they did another dump from coyote lake. I don't know if the spawn is going to be very succesful this year because of the way they are managing the two lakes! Wish I had a boat, I would head up north to some of the banks way in the back. The water should be cleaer and the temps more stable at that end of the lake.

      Tips: Find the clearer water and you will find a better bite with more agressive fish. North end!

    • By

      Water Temp: 58-62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Tough day on the pond. I caught fish consistantly all day. ( about three an hour) I don't know how the guys in the tourney did but the north wind blew and made the bite tough. I caught all of the fish in 0-15 feet really tight to the cover. I caught all but one flipping junebug brush hogs in the thick brush and laydown trees. I caught the other one,a two pounder, crawling a crankbait slowly along the bottom. I was surpirsed that the water temp was still so cold.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: With the front that moved in and all the wind, it made the fish move tight to the cover. Work the plastics methodically through the cover, if you feel anything different, set the hook. All the bites were really subtle. Good luck!

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: i saw 2 people catch 20 inch stripers off the pier in down town antioch on anchovies
      City: Antioch

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Is anyone catching any striper.I would like to here about it.
      City: oakley

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: ???

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Caught a couple small bass texas rigging a 6" purple straight tail, and 6" Prow Craw all in the tulee's of Half Moon Bay, & Honker Bay. Lots of nibble's which I assume where more small fish. The Christmas trees are starting to pay off
      City: Oakland

      Tips: Put your time in, because it's always tough.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Huddelston swim baits thru the grass patches near nice caught 2 over 8lbs with in the 1st 2 hrs then went to senkos and caught several on the watermelon Red till about 11a after that could'nt seem to get bit after that.. Wind got worse and a little rain late in the afternoon hopefully will be clear thru the weekend for the BASS tourn this sunday..
      City: Kelseyville

    • By

      Water Temp: 63-66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: WENT OUT SUNDAY TOOK FAMILY ALONG.BIG MISTAKE HORRIBLE DAY OUT VERY WINDY ALMOST EVERYWHERE ON THE LAKE.MY BATTERIE'S MUST BE GOING BAD BECAUSE I WENT THROUGH THEM IN ABOUT 3-4 HOUR'S.ANYWAY'S THE DAY DIDN'T AMOUNT TO ANYTHING .CAUGHT MY FIRST CRAPPIE EVER AND A VERY SMALL BASS. NOT YOUR TYPICAL EASTMAN OUTING BY ANY MEAN'S . I STONGLY BELIEVE THE FRONT SCREWED THING'S UP .WHEN I LEFT ABOUT 5:30 THE WIND WAS DYING DOWN AND MY BATTERIE'S WERE TOTALLY DEAD.
      City: TURLOCK

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: not sure

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: headed to southfork first thing and hooked a nice spot rippin a fluke,that was our only luck there so we headed up north fork and nailed 8 more, 7 of them all spots and one nice smallie, all those were caught wacky wormin a purple robo worm and a chartruse senko...
      City: Lincoln

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58-61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Sunday the 17th from about 7am-noon.

      The wind picked up pretty good around 9am and I had a decent rip bait bite. Only 3 barely over the slot though. Biggest was 15". I have problems catching big fish. Which is why i was fishing a rip bait that day. I was trying to catch bigger fish. Which I did overall I guess. Still not the limit of 2+lbers I was hoping for. Of course the guy at the sporting goods store made it seem like even my grandma was catching 3 lber's. So I must be an idiot :)

      So anyways I was fishing a Luckycraft Staycee 90 in Chartreuse Shad. Oh, and I was using 3 suspend lead dots on it to drop it down a few extra feet.

      I fished the north fork this time. Water temps were 58-61. I had the most luck this time on points within the north fork. Not much up in any of the coves. My budy in the back seat fished various colors of 4" robo worms drop shotting and managed 5 fish. I landed 17. But judging how prior posts claimed we should catch 100 we must suck. Arg.
      City: Chico

      Tips: Ask the people catching all the fish. Please brag and post your freaking reports so I can get a clue. This lake kills me :) If you caught more than 17 and 3 over the limit Sunday in the North Fork spill the beans please!

    • By

      Water Temp: 57-60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: fished both sat and sun. lots of boats from tourneys. caught most of my fish on drop shot. but also caught fish on every thing i used not just the drop shot. found fish in about 15ft of water around trees and med. size chucks of rocks. avg. fish went 1 to 1 1/2 lbs
      City: elverta

      Tips: just about everything worked

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56-58

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Thursday through Saturday last week camped at Hirz Bay so spent most of time in McCloud, caught lots of fish on plastics, Senko's catching the biggest fish had one 5lbs and lots of 2lbs.
      Fished the willows with Senko's and caught some split-shoting the points. color didn't matter as much as presentation
      City: Cameron Park

      Tips: Fish the willows slow watch your line if you don't get a fish in the first 3 or 4 casts move to another willow.

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 52 TO 55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: TOP 5 FISHERMAN- ALL FISHED THE UPPER END OF THE LAKE. WINNER LEE RIP A 6 POUND L.M.B. AND DROP SHOTTED A 7.56 POUND L.M.B.-BIG BASS OF THE TOURNAMENT. TOTAL 13.58 LBS.
      2ND PLACE PHIL USED A SWIM BAIT TO CATCH HIS TWO L.M.B. ONE 3.5 POUNDS AND ONE 6.19 POUNDS 2ND BIG BASS OF THE TOURNAMENT. TOTAL 9.67 LBS.
      3RD PLACE STEVE CAUGHT A-L.M.B. ON A DARTERHEAD AND A-S.M.B. ON A GREEN TUBE. TOTAL 7.28 LBS.
      4TH PLACE KEN RIPPED HIS TWO KEEPER.TOTAL 7.14 LBS
      5TH PLACE SCOTT WAS KEN'S BACK SEATER ALSO RIPPED HIS TWO KEEPERS. TOTAL 6.72 LBS.
      ALL THE GUYS CAUGHT OTHER BASS ALONG WITH OUR OTHER 33 ANGLERS, THE WEATHER WAS SUNNY AND WINDY.
      City: SHASTA LAKE

    • By

      Water Temp: 52-54

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Been on the lake for the last few days and things have finally turned around. Fished with a client Thurs who just wanted to learn the lake better. Fishing was slow in the AM but picked up as the day went on. Ended up with a 4.25 smallie and a 4.5 LM for top dogs, and hopefully a better understanding of Trinity. The last 2 days I took a fellow who is writing an article for a new Magazine called Lake Life. We struggled for a while but accomplished what he needed for scenery shots and when that was taken care of we managed to pick up enough smallies over 4 lbs. to give the readers an idea of what a great smallie lake this can be. I kept telling him that this was also a great LM lake and Sat PM we got back to the dock just in time for the Burney Club weigh-in where he was able to get a pic of an 8.56 LM. I heard that today the Redding club tourney was won by 2 fish @ well over 13 lbs, topped by a 7.36 LM. I think you could say that the fire has been lit. With predicted weather conditions of fair and warm weather for the next few days I suspect we'll experience some of the best fishing since Feb. I certainly intend to find out.
      City: Weaverville

      Tips: Bring whatever and fish wherever. If Trinity is truly turned on it doesn't matter what you throw. If it isn't turned on, it doesn't matter what you throw. Get my drift?

Saturday, April 16th, 2005

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished fairfield suisun bass reapers open tourney this weekend. went out on friday and found fish on points and flats. sat. mostly mainlake points around downed trees look for beds in trees.weighed 7fish caught 12 8 plb. total bag with2 lb big fish. good weekend overall.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: use small 1/4 oz darter head with 6 inch worm shake away and feel for pressure then set the hook.

    • By

      Water Temp: 58-60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Today I took Ken Bull, regional sales manager of Save Phace, makers of the great Fish Hedz, or as I call it, my Blue Bonnet!! What an addition to my boating accessories!! Along with us was his lovely 14 year old daughter Jennifer. The idea was to get Jen into some nice bass and hope dad could keep up. Actually, neither Ken nor I could. After the first hour or so, the score was Ken - 1 small bass, guide - 1 dink, Jennifer - 4 nice bass including 2 smallies at 2 and a little over 2 lbs. Wow!! Dad and I would cast to the bank and retrieve our baits, while Jen would cast to the 15-20 foot level and slowly drag her split-shot rig until she set the hook. She was 4 for 4 - fought these bass like a pro! I had her using a 4 inch Camanche Jack twilight worm (purple/blue). Dad and I did make a move later in our 5 hour trip with me drop-shotting a 2 lb largemouth and Ken getting a spot almost that big. We ended with 16 in the boat and our 5 best were just under 10 lbs. Great weather (for a change), great company, lots of laughs, good father - daughter bonding, and some beautiful bass. Some folks have to live like this, and we did today! And watch out for Jennifer - you better hope she doesn't turn pro. She has the touch!!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: Since the trip was going to be shorter, we started about 8 am, trying to stay in the shadows of Markley Cove as long as we could. It worked - for Jennifer at least!! Then we hit the narrows and looked for some early season mudlines. They did help a bit. We found fish on points more, but some walls with indentations did hold some fish. We went into the back of a large cove and did see some bass looking to nest. No beds yet!

  • Santa Barbara County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63+

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Water is cleaned up to reveal a surprise...Not as many beds as you'd expect. I fished W.O.N. Team on Saturday and it started right but went south. I was on to a flip bite in the Red pollen like stuff that coats the backs of little pockets. The ones that have water that ran into them a while back that are full of wood and branches but are really thick with the red stuff. I was useing a 1 ounce black flipping jig with a big 5/0 hook and a Black sickle tail 4 or 5 inch Power worm. I had used a Black/blue 4 inch power craw the week before for the same results.That tail moves alot of water and I got two fish in the first 30 minutes that were about 6+ pounds for the both of them. That was it! There were smaller fish to be had but I didn't need three more pounds I needed a least 9 to make a showing. It didn't happen. I caught shorts on dropshot and blades. My 2 fish outweighed a five fish limit so I would say the fish are in the spots that I'm fishing but you need to hit them all to get the numbers and I only had one more bite with ten minutes left on the clock but that fish dropped the bait fast. I am using an 8 foot rod and 65 power pro and I still missed that fish.The swimbait bite did not appear and this may mean the pre spawn girls are off the trout and onto the all you can eat craw diet for their egg developement. I didn't catch any of the skinny guys that were starving in the shallow water as in months past. Cachuma will Soon go off big time.
      City: Santa Barbara

      Tips: It is my belief that the better fish are in the jungle and you ned to change color after the first two hours to a more brown color with the clearer water. The big jig or a 3/4 oz. sinker if you plan on using plastics is needed to get into the spots. I have only dumped one fish on the big rig and that one fell off the hook at the boat last week. A 1/2 oz. white blade worked in the big coves and the river area Could be on or off. If you get wind you can slow roll it anytime of the day.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Last Saturday was the best with 15 lbs for 5 fish by 9:30 a.m. Got the monster 8 lber plus for more good ones. 16th was great also but the fish were a bit smaller. Still weighed a 6.5 a 2 and some ones. Don't know if it's luck or I'm just getting better at it but the last 2 weeks in the south have been my best ever. Got pictures and witnesses!!! It' might have been beter than 8...gotta check my scale!!! I also caught the same fish 2 times...how do I know? He broke me off the first time and the 2nd time my hook and line were still in his gut. Minor sugery and the fishy was on his way.
      City: San Leandro

      Tips: Caught the 8 on a Zoom green pumpkin lizzard with a 3/16 brass and glass Texas rig. The 6.5 with the same 6" lizzard and a small split shot using a 3/0 hook.