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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Monday, August 23rd, 2004

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75 -77

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Started off the day with topwater, no luck! The overcast day should have been great for it. We did find bass on Senkos on rock piles it 10 - 15 feet of water. Found a bridge north of Jack's Shack that runs across the river channel that I never knew existed. I have that spot on my GPS for the next time the water rises. Wind starated to blow and we were off the water by noon with only 3 in the boat, nice day.
      City: Sacramento

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Temp: 77.9

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: the report below should have been dated the 23rd of August, not the 16th.
      City: Redding

  • Trinity County
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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Spent the last week of aug 23-30 at trinity with my wife .first 3 days very unsettled weather light rain high winds but still lots of fish averaged 25-35 fish per day, though biggest fish only about a pound and a half, though we also caught 4 large trout 2-31/2lbs. It took a while to figure out the lake for the larger fish though, and as the weather stabalized the larger fish became more active.Largest fish caught were a 5.9sm,3.7sm 6 between 2-3lbs and another 20 fish at 1-2lbs.
      City: tracy

      Tips: most fish caught dropp shotting in 20-35ft of water in the squirel gulch area.A special thanks to John Grey who was kind enough to call me after I sent him an E-mail. I just followed his advise on patterns and the rest just fell into place. The lake fished different each day and we had to adjust for the falling water, wind ect... Great lake can,t wait to go again.

Sunday, August 22nd, 2004

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Hey DG
      we used to fish black butte all the time and had discovered the same thing. the first couple of times early morning the bass are jumping all over and around(especially in anglers cove) the boat yet nothing in our arsenals could entice a single one of them! after two years we came to the conclusion that these fish are all feeding on the same thing and nothing else as they make them selves known to us. what? we dont know. but we gave up on the top water, although we catch alot of bass here. toss senkos close to where you see the fish jumping but not right on top of them. the quiver on the senko attracts them on the downfall, but dont do anything, just let it fall all the way down. sometimes they will pick it up before it hits bottom, but most times senko is on bottom. an extremly slow reelin drag along the bottom is all you need. stick with pumpkinseed colors. small crankbaits in perch and babybass work well too with a steady retrieve. pick up a FRENZY perch pattern rattletrap and give it a shot. also, my fishing buddy nailed the heck outta bass with firetiger patterns here to my suprise. i refuse to use such an unnatural color but they have truly worked at black butte. dont be suprised to land a few channel cats on the crankbaits too, or a decent size crappie. i landed a couple of crappie slabs slinging crankbaits. good luck on your next trip. well be back there soon.
      City: yuba city

      Tips: FORGET THE TOPWATER! ONLY WAY TO CATCH THEM IS WITH A 20 FOOT NET!

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70-74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Don't Mess With TEXAS is what they said! I took out two guys form Texas,we caught and released 169 bass the biggest was about 3lbs most were small but we did manage about 60 or so keepers. Most of the fish were caught drop shotting pumpkin helix cut in half we also caught a ton on the southern shad assassinator spinner bait, bleeding shad speed trap and watermelon and pumpkin helix fished weightless. The fish were everywhere we stopped form Frank's to Holland except the rocks on Holland cut. On the high tise we fished shallow rocks and islands when the tide went out we fished canals and areas that concentrate the fish. The better fish came from prime ambush spots mostly points.
      City: Concord

      Tips: Toss the Helix weightless www.docwaterslures.com then when it get torn up save it for drop shotting, it really works great. For non believers I can suppply the guys email address.

    • By

      Water Temp: 75 deg

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Quency Malone and in the water at 9am in the south shore ramp, drove into bear creek and started on the big rocks with a darter head lizard. the first hour we put in the boat 20 spots and smallies, the winds were not so bad by now. moved into the trees with a jig brown/brown with a 180 grub double tail and picked one keeper 1 1/2 lb. went home at 1pm with 10 keepers the best five 8.5 lbs.
      City: rocklin

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 74-75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Yes, the bite is still ON at Clear Lake! We arrived at Redbud before sun up and waited for some light before blasting off. It was really windy and the water was very rough. We started not far from the ramp looking for some top water action, but no luck. My buddy was tossing a crankbait and landed 2 keepers right away. We headed toward Jago and caught several more on cranks, still no top water action. We later fished some deep water docks and caught several on drop shots, cranks, senko and carolina rig. Headed in around 1:30pm. Overall we caught over 30 fish up to 4 lbs with the best 5 close to 15 lbs. Nearly all the fish were keepers. We also saw some other anglers catching fish on jigs and senkos. Everyone we saw on the water was catching fish and a variety of baits.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: Fish the deep water docks where you have at least 15' depth nearby. Rocky areas out produced the tully areas. Crankbaits down to 10'. If you see fry or baitfish near the docks, fish that area thoroughly and you will be rewards. The bass are very fat and healthy.

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: This is a tough lake to fish folks. Don't know if it is the boat traffic or what. Fished from 0730 to Noon. Caught 11 bass - 4 SM and 7 LM. The biggest was 7lbs. It was so convinced it was a 10lb fish that I had the guys at the dock weigh it to confirm my cheap scales. BIG BIG fish but no big gut. He had fishing line and a hook he had digested coming out his butt which I removed. Probably why he was skinny. he'll be fatter next time I catch him/her. Caught 2 on top water early. Swithed to carolina rigged plastics and got 7. The other two came late on a speed trap crank. Caught 4 fish in real shallow water near the weed edges. The others were caught in 10-15ft along the outside weed edge. Nothing on rocky shoreline or rocky points. Talked to a few other boats and no one had any fish.
      City: Foster City

      Tips: Get there early and start with top water in close. The bite only lasts about 45 min. When it slows don't hesitate to got deeper to 15ft with plastics on the weed edges. When the wind comes up try cranks. Don't wast your time past about 11:00 AM. You will not get fish until the evening bite.

    • By

      Water Temp: 70-75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: went out with a friend rented a boat caught one....would somebody tell me what ton use and were to fish this lake? some one please tell me i caught a 2lb. SM bass near the north end by all these rocks on a lizard some one please tell me
      City: morgan hill

      Tips: dead stick it worked

    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: WATER FINALLY STABILIZED, FISH TO HAVE GONE DEEPER MANAGED TO CATCH A COUPLE. NOT A GREAT DAY BY ANY MEANS.VERY WINDY SATURDAY EVENING AND THE MOSQUITO'S \ GNATS ARE REALLY BECOMING A PROBLEM. GETTING AROUND IS HARD ENOUGH WITH WATER LEVELS AT PRESENT LET ALONE WHEN YOU AD WIND.WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WEEK-SEE YOU OUT THERE !!!
      City: turlock

      Tips: ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE NOTICED .SOME GUY'S AREN'T USING ANY NAVIGTION LIGHT'S. I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE GET HIT AT NIGHT NOT USING LIGHTS.IT AIN'T PRETTY ON EITHER SIDE :BE SAFE NOT SORRY

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 77-79

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Windy evening on the lake. Stayed in the south fork to try and avoid blowin around. Caught 5 keepers, again on Rat-L-Traps. Two of them were 2 and 3 pounds. Took my son and let him real 'em in. He was stoke'd. Blades and plastics were not workin for me, again tonight. I'm sure it's a confidence thing by now, so fish with what works for you. Wind muddied up the waters a bit.
      City: Fair Oaks

      Tips: Fish with something noisy. Rat-L-Traps working for me. Bleeding shad w/ golden back in original size working best. Moderately fast retrieves over submerged humps, rocky points, drop-offs, etc.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: i waited until 6am for the gate to open and drove down to the boat ramp, the winds were blowing 20-30mph, so we decided to go to Camp Far West. got 20 bass within the first hour. maybe wedesday will be better on folsom lake.
      City: rocklin

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I needed redemption after last weekends trip to Pedro!!

      Overcast skies and Cool morning I thought topwater would be the tickect, not for me. Went ot rippin nada, ran to wall in the South Fork by the pump house and started dart heading (What Else for Hippie) I thought for a minute I was at Oroville!!!!! Found a school of 12 - 14 inchers that were on the bite. Fish after fish for about a 1/2 hour then STOPPED. Anyway had fun, be careful on the main body as humps and islands are just under or just starting to show thier heads. It was pretty windy ans nasty as well on the main body. It is weird to see the lake this low in August, look down at the water temp and see 75 degrees it felt like winter I expected to see 48 with the conditions
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: There is topwater I am sure for those in the know I have not had a good topwater season this year. Pro Worms in Pro-Gold or Mean Craw for me.

Saturday, August 21st, 2004

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: warm

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out from 6:30-10:00 with my son and my brother. My 6-year old outfished us both that day. The fish are getting harder to find and catch. My son caught 3 all on grubs, all different colors. While my brother and I managed to catch one each. Nothing of size except the one that got away from my son. Had a great time anyway. Saw lots of fisherman out on the lake, in boats and shore. Nobaody really catching anything.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Take a kid fishing!

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 78-80

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Another boring report from Clear Lake! I took three people again yesterday (if I guide one again, it will be lonely!) and fishing was about the same as Tues except the bass ran a little larger. Strange since the water was flat the whole trip. Wind usually produces bigger bass. The numbers were down a bit, catching only 37 - I can't believe I said that!! We also caught 6 or 7 under 12". I always try to zero in on larger bass for my clients and for the second trip in a row we had a limit of over twenty pounds (20-3). I like the consistancy but can't seem to get a trophy bite lately. One of the fellows from Texas (near Lake Fork) had to come to Clear Lake to catch his biggest bass ever at 5-9. He used the red shad Dead Ringer most of the time for an 18 lb plus limit himself - he was a happy young man. One of the fellows was drop-shotting an 8" Dead Ringer and caught mostly 3 to 4 lb fish. We Carolina- rigged large worms, trying to attract larger bass. When it slowed down around noon, we got out the Yamamoto Kreature baits and had an instant hot bite. Wow! Again, we Carolina-rigged these. Want a hot color - try any color!! We used #208, 221, 222, 301, and 330 - they all worked. The crank bite really slowed down for my boat except early in the morning. Jigs are still working very well too. We fished north and south of the narrows again, and this time in Horseshoe Bay. Lots of bass there!!
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: A suggestion for fishing Yamamoto Kreature baits. If you have a 1 to 3 pound bass on, I would worry about getting you Kreature back in the boat more than the bass. They don't last too long - maybe 2 to 4 fish. If you have an 8 pound bass on - forget the Kreature!!!!

    • By

      Water Temp: 78-84 depending

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Visibilty is nill! 6" at the best...several times we scraped rocks on the bottom of the hull while using the trolling motor-good thing we werent haulin tail thru there! Lake is REEEEEALLY low-I have fished here since it opened and have NEVER seen it this low....30 boats on the lake and there was practicually no place left to fish! Annnnyway just be careful not to damage your boat if you go. We did manage a fish or 2-several dinks in the 5"-13" size but I was rewarded with a very nice fat 3.5lber! We caught everything on either a Spro crankbait or blades. Tight Lines,BE CAREFUL UP HERE!!!
      City: Chowchilla

      Tips: WAtch for underwater obstacles! Go slow on this lake right now!!!

Friday, August 20th, 2004

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: How's the fishing near the dam? everytime I get there in early mornings I see fish jump everywhere......yet, I can't never get a bite on top water! what's up with that? what'm I doing wrong? C'mon san bruno help me out......(:
      City: San Bruno

      Tips: keep your eyes on the road or you may hit a dear!

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 73-74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Paradise Point at 6:00A this morning with my 2 cousins. Caught 3 limits of black bass and 1 5lb striper.

      First black bass caught was 4 lbs. Last black bass caught was 7+ lbs (took time to weigh her and then released her). Most of the bass caught were 1.5-2 lbs. Caught a ton of dinks. Off the water by 1:30P. Best 5 around 18 lbs.
      City: Dixon

      Tips: Fish caught inside open areas of weed beds or along outside edge. Most of the bass (including the big one) were caught on a 1/2 oz shad colored Rat L Trap (color code RT836). Used 1/2 oz char/white or 3/8 oz white spinnerbaits and got a lot of action too.

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Went out for the morning with my brother in law from L.A. ,started in the North fork ,as usual the wind was blowing again ,never fails.First few cast caught one a little over 12 inches off a rock pile with a crank bait .moved back down the north fork and was casting at when looked like a boulder and hit a nice fish maybe 4 lbs. ?the fish jumped once and it was free ,caught a few more just over 12 inches and lost one that i didn't even see .all were on lucky craft crank baits ,in 2- 12ft of water all bites came early a few cranks of the reel .waitning for a few more days of cool weather and maybe they will think fall is here ,good luck and tight lines
      City: roseville

      Tips: the only tip I have is lucky craft baits they rock

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I am happy to report that the owners of B and S worms have purchased the MGMLURES company this afternoon and will now be known as MGMLURES. They intend to build a website soon. Until then they can be contacted at (530)347-1779 and by email at brycensusan@juno.com
      congratulations to MR. & Mrs. Fuller.
      City: Redding