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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Thursday, March 17th, 2005

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished putah creek area from 8.00-5.00 caught 10 smallies from 1 to 3 pounds,on dropshot,most using a white tube bait.also caught 4 lgm and 3 spots on same baits.caught 1 nice crappie on a rip bait.no takers on reaction baits.
      City: newark ca.

      Tips: Fish are pretty much mixed up from 5 to 25 feet,lgm,spots,and smallies together.Try soft plastics in white or crawdad colors.dropshot and small jigs seem to produce the best at this time.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63 Degrees

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of whiskey. Fished the slough early morning caught senko and fluke fish to 6lbs. Picked up the wife at the launch ramp at noon went over to mildred caught several 2lbs to 3lbs on senkos and drop shotting robo worms. Finished the day throwing topwater back in the slough fish to 3lbs Some big swirls around the baits at times. Must be the Big girls checking out the baits. Success to all.
      City: Tracy

      Tips: Slow action for topwater almost motion less once the lure hits the water. Let all the rings dissapear before the next twitch of the bait and wait to set those hooks you may miss a double digit fish.

    • By

      Water Temp: 60-61.5

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: launched out of suger barge fished the docks and entrance to franks with no bites,water as muddy as i have seen it.headed to north side of franks where the water was much clearer. end up getting 8 bass all the same size, about 2 lbs.2 on shade colered rodstainer blades the rest on watermelon/red flake cut tail worms though i tried alot of different plastics. fish seemed scattered but shallow.
      City: oakland

    • By

      Water Temp: 59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Thursday afternoon from 3:00-6:00 Didn't get squat, Right Vaughn?;)
      City: Ben Lomond

  • Benton County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58- 62

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Manage 5 nice fish 2-4lbs. Cauhgt all fish shallow on B-hogs and senko's. Water very clear so we had to make long pitches to structure. Tried to sight fish a couple 7& 8 lbers. but got spooked. They are starting bed and should be good the next full moon. Goodluck!
      City: San Jose,Ca.

      Tips: Bring some good polarize glasses.

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the WON BASS tourney on Saturday, caught fish from 10-45 feet, we had no reaction bite at all, fished 6 " worms in a brown color on 1/4 ounce darthead, the fish are hungry and the bite is good. Fish are starting to cruise the shallows.
      City: Red Bluff

      Tips: Good luck

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 47-49

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Had clients out for the last 2 days and encountered some of the toughest fishing I have ever seen this time of year. Sunday, when we came off the lake the water temp was almost 55. When we launched Tues it was under 47. 2 days of high winds and a cold front really put the chill back in the lake and the fish were not happy. Although we were able to watch quality fish cruising the shallows, getting them to bite was another matter. Beleive me, we gave them every opportunity. Fortunately we were able to do some serious wildlife watching and I beleive the clients went home happy campers. We had 9 or 10 fish for the 2 days with a 4 lb LM topping the list.
      City: Weaverville

      Tips: No clue!

Wednesday, March 16th, 2005

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Landed 6 stripers, 5 on topwater and one rattle trap thrown as a back up after the fish missed the popper. 1st fish of the day went 30 pounds! Other 5 were 15,12,8 and two sixes. Best bite on high incoming tide.

      Tips: Walk the dog with the slowest cadence/ rythm that you can and don't set the hook till you feel the weight of the fish. All fish were caught shallow.

    • By

      Water Temp: 61-63

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched outta Ladds this morning about 7, headed for Dissapointment. Pulled up to a tulie island on a point,on my fist flip I missed a nice one, (me and my weak hook set) I set on the fish and my rod loaded up instantly my wrist bent i could fell the fish for a second and she was gone, this is what i get for not having my rodbutt braced, i think this is the fish iv been looking for and i only hope i get a second chance the next time. From there we hit the Mildred area,Franks,Sandmound and even the entrance to the Calavares,(I think it was the calavares)wherever we went my brother was throwing 5" senco and hitting the smaller males, as for me i was sticking with the bigger baits, 9x senco and double wide beaver.
      City: modesto

      Tips: next time be more focased and dont miss that big pig!!

  • Nevada County
    • By

      Water Temp: 66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Was lucky enough to get on this awesome lake last week. Absolutely blistered them with 50+ fish in 6 hours of fishing. Biggest was 7'2, with the average fish going 2 1/2 or so. Best five went 22#'s. Fish were up shallow and wanted the bait moving fast. Topwater, swimbaits, traps, didn't really matter. Saw a few bed fish. Great time.
      City: Roseville

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished all day on the Upper Sacramento Arm.. Used Jerry's MGMs.....Caught fish about 40ft down....Size 20 to 30pounds...Nice fat ones..12 Fish in ALL..A few gave a good fight. Im heading to the Dam tomorrow...Im hoping to pull in some good size fish....Kinda tired of these little 20lb teasers....
      City: Redding

      Tips: If your Irish you will have Good Luck...and get some good bite..This is great fun...Best O LUCK to ya

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: This will be my last post in the reports area regarding this subject. I have deleted all of the non-report posts that were here. The reports section is for just that, reports. If you want to complain about something, come into the fourm and do it there. As is stated right above the "Submit report" button, offending report posts will be removed.

      In the case of Jerry Waltman and MGM lures, the facts were simple. We felt that his constant posting of and constant references to a manufacturer were advertising. We asked Jerry to continue to make his reports, but to offer a generic description of the baits used, along with his email address in case anyone wanted more specific information. As simple as that. Jerry was told this by email and by telephone.

      Jerry was not "run off" from this site. He has chosen not to post in this report area any longer. It was his choice and his choice alone. In the last conversation that the owner had with Jerry on the telephone, he told Jerry that he could post whatever he wanted but he could not guarantee how long that the site would be available if sponsors were run off by the posts. That was not a veiled threat, it was a statement of fact. If we make our sponsors mad and they choose to end their relationship with our site, it WILL shut down.

      It is a simple fact that our servers cost money, the bandwidth costs money and the site work costs money. Yet we allow everyone to use this site for free. It is free due to the sponsor dollars that are paid to us. If we did not have sponsors, we would not exist. We have a duty and an obligation to those sponsors to see that they are treated fairly. When another company is able to come in and advertise their product for free, why should our sponsors continue to pay us for essentially the same service?

      OK. I have laid all of the FACTS out on the table for all to see. We are not hiding anything from anyone. If anyone would like to discuss this further, you can do so via email at webmaster@westernbass.com, or via posting in the forum. I will respond to all emails and will make public replies to any posts in the forum. Further posts that are not a fishing report will be deleted from this area.

    • By

      Water Temp: 53

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: camping on a dirt point in jones valley. caught all my fish wuth brown minnow baits and brown sara spoks.most over 2lbs. and biggest over 5lbs. they are really easy to catch. my dad is bringing me back next month.
      City: los gatos

      Tips: dont kill the fish save them for next time.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Need a little help with a fishing report. I know that somebody has to be fishing the lake. I am in a small tourney this weekend and would appreciate any help you can give me.
      City: Burlingame

Tuesday, March 15th, 2005

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the narrows in the morning. The two of us caught 50+ fish, mostly spots up to 16", a few smallies, and half a dozen largemouth to 2.5 lbs. Caught 'em on everything, mainly dart heading plastics. Headed out to the main lake near the big island around 11:00am. Caught one LMB about 2.5 lbs crankin' and that was it. Wasted about 3 hours looking for fish in the main lake before heading back toward the dam to stroke the spots.
      City: Dixon

      Tips: Throw a 4" straight tailed weenie worm. Spots don't care too much. They're just hungry. Fish were in the pockets.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55 - 60

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I wanted to catch crappies, but I didn't find them and had to fish for bass instead. Fished the north end of Clear Lake seriously for bass on 3/13, 3/14 and 3/15. On 3/13 I caught many around 2# and one 23 3/4" long, probably about 10#, using a 2" silver Rattlin' Rap. Hooked 6 big ones on 3/14, landed 5 totalling about 31# using a silver Rapala Husky Jerk (3-6#, 1-5#, 1-8#). Caught a few 2#-3# using the Rattlin' Rap on 3/15, but the calm, stable weather of the previous week changed to strong winds and rolling waves and no big ones hit.
      City: Santa Rosa

      Tips: When there is a lot of boat activity, fishing pressure and ambient forage, the bass must usually be finessed or provoked into biting. If the weather is favorable for the fish, fishing loud, flashy lures using fast and/or erratic retrieves can provoke strikes when finesse or "normal" presentations are ignored. If everyone around you is throwing a rip bait, try burning or rip-jigging a lipless crankbait. The 2" and 3" silver/black Rattlin' Raps are my personal favorites.

    • By

      Water Temp: 57 in am

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I fished the FLW this past week, was in 7th the first day. Got all my fish on swimbaits by 8 am the first day and culled three times by nine am for 19.11 lbs. Fell apart the second day, couldn't concentrate and focus on just catching fish. we had a warming tred prior to the tournament and water temps were getting up to around 62 in the afternoons. Almost all the top finishers except one said they threw swimbaits, jerkbaits and the winner even used a lucky craft lv500. I have had two guide trips out this week, both minnow trips, one trip, 31 fish, biggest a 6lber and three over five on that trip. Yesterdays trip resulted in a 10.3lber, my biggest by a customer this year. It came in five feet of water along a wall on a minnow. The Northlake Ford tournament is this weekend. It's suppose to rain Friday and again some rain On Saturday. The lake is loaded with bait fish and they are covering the north end of the lake pretty rapidly. My thoughts are to try and stay away from the huge concentrations of bait to have better fishing results. Jerkbaits and swimbaits if you stay with them should produce some decent results and just cover a lot of water. This cooler weather has lowered the water temps by about two degrees. Check out the 10.3 lber on page five of my photo pages on this site for guides. JFYI, Bassin' With Bob
      City: nice

      Tips: Try a carolina rigged lizard popped and fished threw the tules. Also test the fluke bite in the tules. """Good Luck"" e mail me if you need more info. bob@fishclearlake.com

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Jack's Shack early with cranks and topwater, lots of fish busting the surface but no takers. We moved down to New York Creek cove and were fishing a bank when we were approached by another fisherman on the water. He suggested a spot back in the cove and told me my kids would surely hook up. I want to thank that fisherman for the advise! My 6 year old daughter caught her first bass, a 3 pound spot that was the highlite of the day! My daughter handed me her rod and said "Daddy, I'm caught on a rock again". I tugged to free it and it tugged back! I told her "your not caught on a rock, your caught on a fish!" After a short fight and a lot of yelling we took her piture with her first bass!
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: Thanks again to that fisherman who pointed me in the right direction. His advice on location and bait put me in the winners circle with my daughter today! We split shotted 3 inch green Senkos for 3 fish. Share the wealth of information, it is sure to make a difference in someones day, it did today!

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 57 TO 59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: FISHED SONOMA AGAIN TODAY WITH LITTLE BOAT TRAFFIC COMPARED TO SATURDAY.STARTED AT 7AM ON CLEAR CALM WINDLESS MORNING.STARTED WITH A POINTER MINNOW NOTHIING.SWITCHED TO WATERMELON RED FLAKE TIKI STICK AND STARTED GETTING BIT.AFTER 4 OR 5 FISH I SWITCHED TO A PEARL BLUE FLUKE ON BRUSH AND LAYDOWNS AND ACTION PICKED UP. THE FIRST FISH ON FLUKE WAS A 3LB SMALLIE ON THE MAIN LAKE IN THE NARROWS. FISHED TO LONG POINT CATCHING 5 MORE ON THE FLUKE. ON THE WAY BACK INTO YORTY CREEK I SWITCHED AGAIN AS THE WIND BEGAN TO PICK UP.7 INCH RED SHAD CULPRIT WORM. I USED EIGHTH OUNCE TEXAS RIG .CAUGHT 4OR 5 MORE ON THE WAY BACK TO THE RAMP.FISH THE TREES STUMPS AND LAYDOWNS AND SET THE HOOK HARD.
      City: SANTA ROSA

      Tips: LOTS OF ORANGE SMELLY JELLY.

Monday, March 14th, 2005

  • Mason County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-63

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Lake is in great shape!! Todays guide trip was with Chris Young of San Jose and Nate Sullivan of Venice,Ca. Wind out of north kept us on are toes but it was managable.

      We covered a lot of water with reaction stuff for 0 bites!! That suprised me. We did find a couple of banks loaded with keepers but no size. These guys were good sticks and kept there head down and fished hard through a tough mid day bite and in the process brought 20+ keepers to the boat. Many many short strikes today!! They are return customers and it was fun to get on the boat with them again.

      Dave
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Large Plastics fished slow in the 5-10' range.