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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Thursday, July 9th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Went out today with Jeff in his boat, launched a tad after 6am. Headed to north fork, picked a couple steep points and found fish. Most fish deep 20 foot 30 foot range, where the water is a tad cooler. One nice spot at 15" plus, maybe even 16", didn't measure, taking too long to get the board out, so just released it right away. Also got a nice scrappy small mouth, all other fish basic fish. Got 6 fish and Jeff needed to find a bathroom bad, so headed back to main lake bathroom. When we stopped, notice vapor from the motor, in the exhaust, trip over!!, took the boat off before we cause more problems. Two trip now in a row with a breakdown. My boat going in for repair Friday, so hope to be back fishing next week.

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: Good morning fans!!! grin emoticon

      I am very excited this morning for several reasons!

      The first is that we had a wonderful summer storm come through last night. Lightning, thunder and heavy periods of rain. We received about a tenth of an inch here on the McCloud, while North of us was 1/2 an inch. Not much, but we will take every last drop. Currently, it is 66 degrees, 99% humidity and the air is calm as can be.


      Another reason I am a ecstatic this morning is that the new BOR predictions for the lake are out...and the numbers are much better than what was released after the March figures.

      Predictions state that we have a 90% expectancy that in October and November we will hit our low elevation of 917' (150' below full pool). Although that is still lower than we would like, it is 17' higher than earlier predictions, and 27' higher than last year's levels!!! grin emoticon (Monthly levels posted in the pictures)

      A reason for this change is probably due to a new development in the water deliveries. An article in the ACWA (Association of California Water Agencies) stated that the State Water Board approved a new Sacramento River Temperature Plan submitted by the BOR. In a nutshell, the lake will remain at higher lake levels during the summer months, with a sharper draw down during the fall salmon runs.

      (Follow the link below before detailed language: http://www.acwa.com/…/sacramento-river-temperature-plan-app…)

      This is simply a win-win situation here on the lake. It will help the water temperature for the fall salmon runs and it will certainly help recreation on Shasta during the summer months!

      Have a wet and wonderful day out there! grin emoticon

      Lake Level Report (07/9/2015 at 6 AM)
      Lake Elevation: 965.14' (101.86' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 943.86' (123.14' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,137,667 af
      Storage (2014): 1,777,745 af
      Outflow: 5,863 cfs
      Inflow: 2,081 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 49.43"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 30.53"

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: This past weekend, Shasta Lake made the news in an unexpected and disheartening way.

      Media outlets on the west coast started spreading the doom and gloom of high levels of mercury in the fish of Shasta Lake. The majority of the stories contained a slew of "maybe's, could be's and what if's."

      What they skirted over was that there is simply a request to do a new study this coming summer.


      The most recent report listed (2006) portions of the Sacramento River as impaired, however Shasta Lake was not.

      Our local news station located a local fishing guide and his response was outstanding. (Posted video)

      We will have to wait and see what the test results come back with after this summer. Until then, for those that are concerned about the quality of fish, there is always catch and release. The trout have seemed to remain below the limit for safe levels. Bottom feeders such as catfish have a tendency to have higher levels.

      The news reports haven't caused me concern...as I am heading out again this weekend to catch some fish! wink emoticon

      Lake Level Report (07/8/2015 at 8 AM)
      Lake Elevation: 965.58' (101.42' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 944.31' (122.69' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,145,577 af
      Storage (2014): 1,784,896 af
      Outflow: 5,617 cfs
      Inflow: 1,629 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 49.43"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 30.53"

Friday, July 3rd, 2015

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: Good morning Fans, and Happy 4th of July weekend! grin emoticon

      There has been a dramatic change in the weather this morning. Right now it is overcast, 77 degrees with 57% humidity and a few rain drops!

      There is a possibility of some scattered showers and even some of Mother Nature's fireworks later this evening. There is nothing like watching a good lightning and thunder show on the lake! grin emoticon


      It is going to be a perfect day for fishing, and spending all day on the lake without having to worry too much about getting burnt (at least this morning).

      Lake Level Report (07/3/2015 at 6 AM)
      Lake Elevation: 967.89' (99.11' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 946.90' (120.10' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,187,398 af
      Storage (2014): 1,826,415 af
      Outflow: 5,391 cfs
      Inflow: 2,600 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 49.43"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 30.53"

Monday, June 29th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 79

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The parking has been fixed at Lime Saddle for us old disabled fisherman. Wrote the state and complained and they moved the signs down, but short one post as it's been in the past. Walks up and a fraction better now for the early arriving fisherman. Launched early, 5:30 am trying to beat the heat. Got a couple in the ramp area, set of towards north fork. Opened the boat up at the bridge, got to the second point and the boat motor died, dead in the water. Of all days, no boats anywhere around, headed back with trolling motor, and a slight kick from the motor, as it would idle for a few minutes and then die. Did this all the way back to the ramp for the next couple hours. Fished the ramp area from about 8:30 am to 10 am and managed 17 fish, largest a 14" with most 12-13". Also got one 3-4 pound catfish. Damn hot day on the lake for those who really got to fish. Away till the motor gets looked at and fixed, then back fishing. Guessing 2 more weeks before the ramp closes due to low water.

Friday, June 26th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 77-83

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I had another nice guide trip on Wed - out of the Oaks. I hadn't been in that area for awhile, so I pick a ledge to start on at 6:45 am. My client made a few casts with his rod but I saw that it was just too light. I gave him one of my G Loomis rods to use and within a cast or two, he hooks and lands a 5 lb 2 oz bass. We had been on the water for about 10 minutes! Why doesn't that happen on every trip??? Talk about taking the pressure off the guide! I had him using my hot Berryessa bait - a 6" MMIII Robo worm. We fished all the way from the Oaks to Henderson Point, where we found aa floatilla of boats - that means a LOT of boats for a summer Wednesday! We got bites and landed bass up until the time we quit at 2:30 pm. Our best 5 was about 17 lbs.

      Tips: I tried a frog in the afternoon with no takes. Also couldn't get big on a jig - the bait that was so good last June. After my client landed his 5, I missed another bass in the 6 to 7 lb range that jumped and said "look at me!" The breeze was blowing most of the trip which made for a confortable trip before Thursday's heat. Most of our bass were caught at the 10 to 15 foot depth. Couldn't get the deeper bass to bite!

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: Clear Lake this Week 6/26/2015

      HOT HOT HOT!

      Early

      Get up early and chase a good to very good top water bite! Spooks, Stickbaits, and Buzzbaits are all producing a good number of bites EARLY each morning until the sun hits the water. The bigger bites are coming on the Spook and Ima lil’ Stickbaits fished in and around spawning flats. Once that bite goes slows, pick up your chatterbait and go through the same areas for some additional fun. Should you find the right area topwater bags of 22-27 lbs are not un-common.
      The fish are loading up and chasing the bait first thing in the AM…..4:30 AM until 7 AM has been prime time, so get at em’ early.

      Mid-morning

      Now it’s time to get out the jig, or Carolina rig and get after them on the ledge areas, deeper docks, and rockpiles. You may have to weed through some lil guys, but the better bites will come, just stay with it.

      Noon

      Kermit time, and while there not a ton of big bites, the action can be non-stop if you hit the right area. Tules lines, and weedy areas are all producing 2-4lb fish with an occasional 5-7lber thrown in if you stick with it.

      Afternoon-dark

      This is when the chatter bait takes back over once again and really begins to produce some good numbers and size, and don’t be afraid to chase the evening with the frog, or even the spook once more.

      Night Fishing

      The night bite is improving with this rising moon and should continue to get even better. Big jigs, swim baits, and chatter baits will all produce for those who brave the bugs…

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: Good afternoon fans!

      It's going to start getting REALLY hot up here!!! What better way to cool than the lake?! wink emoticon

      The gap is continuing to grow between lake levels between last year and this one. We are now close to 17.5' higher than last year to date and right around 250 miles of shoreline.

      The heat is going to make for some great, late evenings stargazing, early morning fishing and water play the rest of the day. You know where you'll find me this weekend! grin emoticon

      Lake Level Report (06/23/2015 at 1 PM)
      Lake Elevation: 971.28' (95.72' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 953.87' (113.13' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,249,812 af
      Storage (2014): 1,941,508 af
      Outflow: 6,350 cfs
      Inflow: 2,456 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 49.43"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 30.53"

Sunday, June 21st, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 77to 81

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing with Sid
      8:54 PM
      To: Sidney Silberberg, lake b Peter Kilkus new

      Wishing all the Dads out there a very Happy Father's Day!!! John, Albert and I went out for a great day of fishing. Since John had to get back early we fished hard and fast. We saw lots of bait all over the lake and in about 120 feet of water John landed a 3+ pound trout which he planned on having for dinner that night. I caught a few nice bass. (see photos) I went into a shallow area where we could see nice size bass swim through the grass chasing the bait fish. The grass was very thick so it was difficult to throw any kind of bait and we didn't have time to really try anything because we had to get John back home but I will make sure to try that spot next week maybe with a fluke. 'til next time....................................................................good fishing!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or would like to book a guided fishing trip please email me at bestguide@Hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.

      Tips: Fluke and Carolina rig will be on my agenda` for next week Albert was drop shoting only catching small bass same method he caught hi's 12.5 pounder a couple of weeks ago fishing with me shallow.

Saturday, June 20th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 76

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Video: https://youtu.be/ju6sdraGA9c

      Got a late start - launched out of Russo's at 10AM. Luckily the tide was still up. Flipped the tules for only one or two barely keepers. Fished grass line on a break and caught a 3-6 with a 5 following it to the boat. Caught ten or so more in a 10x10' space, some back to back. Hit some more breaks and did the same. Caught 'em on drop shot, senko and jerk bait.

      Tips: Fish the grass lines on breaks or where ever you can find them near deeper water.

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78-84

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Mike and I made a quick trip yesterday afternoon, since we had not been there in a few weeks. Nice to see the lake still above last years level. We started about 3:30 and quit at dark. We found that some of the dinks are now keeper size - wow!! We caught 4 nice bass from 3 1/4 to the nicest - Mike's 7 pounder!!! Our 4 went about 17 1/2 lbs. I had the pleasure of snagging a big crappie on one cast and landed a catfish on the next cast - ugh! We were going to fish at night for awhile but just got tired of the wind.

      Tips: We just fished shoreline structure near deep water, using worms and beaver type baits. Could not get a Senko bite. I worked a frog some - just small bass were interested. I was VERY sad to hear about the number of bass that died during the Calif Open - and after. Isn't mid-June a little late for an 8 hr day on a noted "big bass" lake in California?

Friday, June 19th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Report: General Info

      Lake level this week is 3.29 Rumsey and falling, but the bite is actually beginning to improve dramatically. Now, the average fish runs 3-4 pounds, with an occasional 5 pounder for a picture.

      Water Conditions

      Water conditions vary day to day depending on wind and air temps but in general they are really good for this time of year.

      Techniques

      Carolina rigs, drop-shots, senkos, jigs, frogs, and chatter baits top the list of offerings
      producing 10-15 keepers a day. Plastic colors, MM3, green pumpkin/watermelon, and watermelon candy are the big three this week.

      Locations

      Both ends of the lake and most areas in-between are producing fish, with the North end and mid-lake topping most reports.

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished again making up a messed up trip last wed. Launched about 5:45 an at lime saddle, fished till 10 am. Fished the north fork area from west fork towards the main lake. Seemed like the bite was slower, onlt managed to catch 18 fish, with just one at 15", a few in the 14" range with all others the basic 12-13" variety. I did catch one jumbo sun fish, had to be over a pound, darn near as big as a dinner plate, also one 3-4 pound catfish. Fish seemed deeper today, most in the 20-30 foot range, better fish on the deeper side. Me, generally stay away from 0-10 foot, too many dinks.

Thursday, June 18th, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78-81

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I had another really nice guide trip yesterday with a really good fisherman! My 521 Ranger seemed really roomy after guiding 3 guys on Saturday. The bigger bass were active again in the narrows and main body, and just like previous trips, were most active between noon and 2 pm. I caught a nice one - a 5 lb 10 oz largemouth while my client (an excellent fisherman) caught several quality bass including a 4 lb largemouth. Our best 5 were again almost 18 lbs. Six inch Robo worms were the main bait again and MMIII was the best color. I did work a topwater bait for awhile and had a giant bass explode on it - but totally missed it! Fish needs to go to accuracy school!!! Again, we didn't catch many small ones. We did catch some of our bass as deep as 25 feet, so they many be moving to deeper water now as the heat is on!

      Tips: I would think that drop-shotting will become more effective as the bass more deeper. I didn't see any bait on my meter yet. The quality bass are really spread out - some major points only have one or two willing bass on them. You have to move around a lot. Weedbeds are beginning to appear everywhere, but only a few feet off the bottom.

Monday, June 15th, 2015

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Report: Bass fishing has started to pick up and many bass anglers are catching them each outing. If you are fishing for bass, the early mornings and in the evenings, mostly on plastics, jigs, hula grubs and top water will be your best bet. If you do want to try your luck a couple good spots to fish for bass are; near the island or the tulles by Raccoon Point. Please practice catch and release for bass, as they are not stocked into the lake and their population depends on you!

Sunday, June 14th, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74-77

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Would I be smart enough not to guide on a summer Saturday?? I guess not! So, out of Pleasure Cove, I guided 3 young guys - who spoke Japanese the whole trip - with a bit of English! In spite of the pleasure boat activity, I had a second good trip at Berryessa in a few days. I took them on a milk run over half the lake and found some good quality post-spawn bass! This was their first American bass trip and they put together an 18 1/2 lb limit - one of the guys landing a 5 pound largemouth. This trip we fished shoreline structure as well as off-shore structure. After a good morning bite, as was on my last trip, the bigger fish were caught around noon to 2 pm. We didn't fish mudlines as many do, just structure around the 10 to 25 foot depth. They only caught 3 dinks and 3 or 4 smaller keepers. About 7 of their bass were 3 to 5 lbs, including a 3 1/4 lb hybrid smallie/spot. Beautiful fish!! They lost 2 big bass as well, but landed their other bass with lots of skill. One of the fellows was a top bass fisherman in Japan.

      Tips: Since there were 4 in the boat, I was planning to start them with 6" Robo worms. They worked so well we just stuck with them. Several colors were good, but again, MMIII was the best color. I had them using a Texas rig the whole time. Drop-shotting didn't work as well. That technique usually works better as the summer progresses.

Saturday, June 13th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got on the water at 6:30 and ran to Little Franks only to find out my trolling motor was dead. Back out on the water again at 10 and started fishing the breaks then the tules. Got a couple keeper sized stripers including this 6lber: http://youtu.be/sPR9pq02Z58

      Tips: For a cheap dinner hit the breaks on the flooded islands!

Friday, June 12th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Report: From Otay Michael Photos can be seen here: http://www.westernbass.com/forum/some-pics-from-past-few-times-out-the-delta-t96343.html
      Just got back from the Delta a couple of days ago. Got to go out two times before last weekend
      (taught a photo class in Napa). Once with my buddy up there, and once by myself,
      then two times this week, Mon. and Wed. (glad I did not go out Tues, man it blew didn't it?).
      First day I backseated on his boat, and we got 50 we figured (me 20) on just about everything,
      and ran from Paradise to Discovery and back. Of course it was a long day, so we had time, as
      5 am. till 10 pm at night is a lot of hours. But what fun, but the wind in the afternoon made it
      tough. No biggies that day, but lots of 2's, 3's and 4's. Lost a couple of monsters at dusk. Got
      them on crankbaits, d/s, spooks, buzzbaits, frogs, gunfish, chatters -both white (he)and black-blue (me). Pix http://www.westernbass.com/forum/some-pics-from-past-few-times-out-the-delta-t96343.html
      Next day I went out of Tower Park, my usual, and as I was beat from 17 hours the day before
      (and handling a flat when we go back on my trailer) I did not start till about 3.

      I went all top, buzzbaits, and got them all on that, except for a follow up fish on the Senko.

      Here's some from that day (more scenics, as no bass went over three).After three days of giving my photo class in Napa I was back out. I stayed with friends in Davis
      so it took awhile to get to Lodi and get the boat, then to Tower Park, so I started at 7.
      It got up to 103, wow,
      I did not even thing about it getting that hot, as I got into a frog bite mid-day- open water/ sparse tulles.
      By 3 pm I realized, with no wind, I was about dying!
      Back to Tower, took a break, had a beer, rested an hour, then got back out.The nicer one this day came as the sun got lower.

      Day four, two days later (Wed) we had that nice storm and rain come thru. Made for great
      topwater bite and I went out from 7 till 5, and got 14, all on top.Because of the long drive (and the crossing the Grapevine mtn in East L.A.,
      I usually bring the aluminum boat instead of the Skeeter. A bit slower but
      saves on gas, both on the road and on the water.Had to end early (5 pm) so I could start my trip back, to get through L.A. early enough
      to beat the morning rush, about 3 am and home to San Diego a couple of hours
      after that. Fun times, can't wait till August when I get to go up again, frog bite should be wide open.

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 74

      Report: Launched at lime saddle about 5:45 am, headed back in at 10 am. Decent day, headed from lime saddle and hit the north fork headed to the main lake, got 32 fish, 10 fish in the first hour. Largest a nice 16" large mouth, the other a 15" spot, with all others 12-14" basic size range. Fish were tight to shore, or deep, depending on the location. Glass lake for the first 3 hours, light sprinkles of rain, light breeze the last hour.

      Tips: wacky weightless senkos got 3-4 fish, all others on roboworms, brown colors.

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Report: Good afternoon Shasta Lake!

      Wow, what an interesting past 24 hours it has been weather wise!!! Yesterday we had a high of 109 and sunny at our location. Within 1 hour, the sky became dark, dropped nearly 30 degrees, high wind gusts, and had a huge lightning and thunder storm with sudden downpours!

      Currently we are at 92 degrees with 45% humidity (a bit muggy with the evaporation of the rain)...there is hardly a breeze and the water is as calm as can be smile emoticon

      This is certainly going to be an interested year in terms of water deliveries and storage levels at Shasta Lake.

      If you have noticed the lake level comparisons, you'll notice that the gap is slowly growing between 2014 & 2015. Right now we are 14.30 higher than last year. The water releases have been slowed down due to warmer water flowing into the Sacramento River from Shasta Dam. A lower start level and lack of snow pack (melt-off) have warmed up the lake temperatures. This rise in water temperature has caused significant concern for the fisheries, hence the cut back in water releases. This of course will keep the water level dropping at a slower pace than last year.

      Now, on the other side of the coin, we start this season with the majority of CA reservoirs at far lower storage levels than we did last year (see the graphs for percentage comparisons). With the other CA lakes having depleted the majority of water, one could only assume that Shasta Lake will have to buffer the water deliveries. This would result in a faster draw down rate than we experience last year. This will remain to be seen as we head into the summer months.

      In the next couple of weeks the BOR should be releasing new predictions on the draw down levels of Shasta Lake. I will be sure to post once I receive them. wink emoticon

      Lake Level Report (06/10/2015 at 10 AM)
      Lake Elevation: 976.41' (90.59' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation (2014): 962.11 ' (104.89' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,346,600 af
      Storage (2014): 2,083,788 af
      Outflow: 5,741 cfs
      Inflow: 2,451 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 49.43"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 30.53"