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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, March 25th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: March

      Man, what a nasty two week stretch. Wind, clouds, more wind, more clouds. Despite that
      The surface temps continue to run into the mid 60’s on most afternoons, and the fish have continued to elude most chasing them.

      Last Week

      This past week was no different. BBT had it’s Wine Region event here last Saturday and while it took 36lb to win, more than half of the 86 boat field failed to weigh a limit. Not the norm for Clear Lake in the Spring, and if that weren’t bad enough I checked ion with a half dozen “Top Ten” Pro’s that were pre-fishing for this week’s CTT event. Four of them reported “no keepers” for their weekend efforts. These individuals are guys that are always sniffing around the top ten here and they were pretty frustrated.

      This Week

      Well, so far this week is starting off just like last week. Wind, more wind, and more wind. The result is some pretty dinged up water conditions, and while I’m sure someone will find some fish shallow, it won’t be everyone that’s for sure.

      The Weekend

      Well, we really need this wind to stop and stop for a prolonged period if the water is going to clear at all. My suspicion is it won’t clear before the weekend. Perhaps by
      mid- week next week if it lays down. Either way, the five days of warmer weather forecast should help things somewhat.

      Last Resort

      The minnow bite is off the hook right now, and while that won’t help the tourney guys, anyone who wants a shot at a DD, now is the time. Focus on pre-staged areas and please practice catch and release. Measure her, take a pic, and have a replica made. Call ahead for minnow reservations as I suspect the word is going to get out!

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: As always, we released everything!

      Tips: Larry, was that you who came up on us Weds the 4th at Konocti Harbor Resort aroung 10 pm? If so stop by next time & I can tell you how it's going for us. I was in the White Champion with yellow & black stripes!
      Clum553946

    • By

      Water Temp: 56- 59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: We came on Sunday the 22nd & hit the water at 11 PM. We had our lines in the water for 10 minutes when this 10lb 1 oz beauty crushes a jig under a dock in Konocti Bay & we think this is gonna be a great trip! It was, but the bites were sporadic, but the ones we did get were large fish! We had exactly three more strikes for the night & they went 7.11, 7.7 & 1.1, all on jigs. On Monday, got on the water at 6 pm, managed to get a pair of 6's, then got blown off the water. Tuesday, also got on at 6 pm & the wind was howling! Tried Monitor but couldn't keep the boat in place. Went to Wheeler, then Jago trying to find wind breaks. Went into Richmond for some wings, came back out & the wind went slack around 10 pm & so did the bite. We had a 4 & a couple of deuces with a bunch of dinks til the bite & wind went south. Weds. was a nice day & we got on at 2 pm. Ran all over the place, Shag, Henderson, Buckingham Pt, Anderson, Monitor, Konocti, Wheeler, Jago, & Jones & managed to get a bunch of swimbait sized dinks on 6" power worms. Went into dinner & came back out at 2AM. Fished Frazier with no strikes & then went to Wheeler Pt. We weren't getting any bites on the jig so I remembered an old school combination I learned from Larry Hemphill years ago; Rodstrainer Jig with a single tail grug trailer. Figured what the heck & tied one on for Paolo Mangini & he promptly gets crushed by a 10.7 lb beauty. Managed two more at 5.3 & 3.13 & that was it. We threw Double Wide Beavers, Brush Hogs, Blades, Swimbaits, Cranks & Jig 'til our arms were about to fall off & got the big ones on jigs & the sixes on Beavers save for the 7.8 coming on a crankbait. For the trip we had, 10.7, 10.1 7.11, 7.8, 6.6, 6.3, 5.3, 3.13, two 2 lber's & a plethora of dinks!

      Tips: The fish are tremedously fat & healthy. I think because of this, you have to cover a lot of water, throw a gazillion casts, & put the bait right in front of them. There is a big fish bite, but you really have to work for them. We got the majority of strikes on the jig & double wide beaver with the lone exception of the 7.8 hitting a crankbait (our only reaction strike!) Pics are in photo section with Paolo holding the two 10 pounders. This was his first trip to Clear Lake & he's hooked for life on the lake & bass fishing in general! There's still a ton of baitfish in the water & the bass are fat,fat, fat & on the lazy side, not like the last two springs when we were catching 5-9 lber's in droves! I think the summer bite will be lights out this season, hope I'm correct!

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58 - 62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out several times in past 2 weeks, to test everything on my boat...and primarily worked on main body, a bit of North and West forks and some coves/points around. It seems like fish are staging against steep cliffs, and good drop offs around shallow points with some rocks. Averaging about 15 basses each trip, about 3 hours each. Last trip, one spot along the drop off by shallow area, brought bass after bass, on about each cast, about 30 basses. Average size is about 14 to 15 inchers.
      City: PARADISE

      Tips: Texas rigged worms in pumpkin color, and senkos...Work the bait very slow! No reaction action yet!

Tuesday, March 24th, 2015

  • Alameda County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-64

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing was off the hook in the morning. First cast on a jerkbait a small stripper, then pick up a flippin' stick with a brushhog (watermelon red) 1/2 oz. tungsten and picked up 6 bass on my first pass on this flat with lay downs. Biggest was a 6 lber., they're just starting to move up cause all were in perfect shape, not a mark on them. Started at 7am and had 10 fish by 9am, all caught a released. About 10 am they stopped hitting the hog and switched to dropshot and got them to eat a morning dawn robo worm, also got one on a spinnerbait. Tried a jig and got dumped no takers. Now's the time , fish your strength and go have fun.
      City: Fremont

      Tips: Didn't fish a senko but should have, a good bait choice to try. Good Luck

Sunday, March 22nd, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 57 to 62.5

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I went out Friday with Judge and John. Our first stop was to show them the fish in Willy's ski school. I couldn't find their bedding area but saw four nice size female bass and one male swimming around in three feet of crystal clear water by a fallen tree did our best to catch them but they weren't interested in any bait we threw out. After spending almost an hour getting frustrated we headed to my favorite location. We fished in two to four feet of water using Carolina rig, texas brass and glass and a top water chugger with good results. John was throwing the chugger into very shallow water many times without any success he was ready to change his bait but decided to try one more cast and it was worth it a 5.5 pound bass hit the chugger at full speed and the fight was on. From this point on he was hooked and his full limit of bass were caught on top water baits. Judge was using brass and glass with senko 6" worm I told him to slither it slowly along the bottom and on the first tap you feel set the hook. He caught a few nice bass using this method. We had a very good day (see photos). Judge had such a good time he joined me and Albert the next day too. On Sunday Greely and his son Elijah went out with me for a few hours. I went to the same spot I had fished on Friday. Elijah was using a Carolina rig set up with a baby red and black brush hog slathered with Procure crawdad scent and he landed the first bass of the day which he successfully brought to the boat (he is eight years old). He was so happy I gave him the brush hog and he's dad told me he brought it to school for show and tell. We only fished a couple of hours but had a great time. I enjoyed watching the father and son bonding (see photo). '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.
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: Lake is down 28 feet use caution when fishing points and shallow waters

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Starting to get a litter clearer in the back sloughs. Fished Big Break. High tide was at 5:50AM. Was on the water around 7AM and fished until 11:30 before the weather started to change. Wind non-existent to about 5MPH. Caught 16 LMB with biggest around 3 pounds. Most were in the 1.5 to 2 pound range. Fun day. Had a few nibbles throwing a slip-sinker with flapping hog but no takers.
      City: Orinda

Saturday, March 21st, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-64

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Spent a bunch of time fishing from the drop offs but then found 'em in tules shallow. Only managed one decent size fish.

      https://youtu.be/ZKADE5Sf0z0
      City: San Mateo

  • Tuolumne County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-64

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Club tournament, but there was also a Future Pro tournament going on at the same time. 100 boats launching at the same time with only 1 ramp with 2 lanes open...no good!!

      I hadn't fished this lake since I was a kid so I went in blind. Everything looks the same, all submerged trees. Water was really clear and then when the wind picked up it created at mud line. Lots of 13" fish throughout the day, could not find any big fish. I caught most on finesse, a couple on a shad color swim jig, one on a spinnerbait, and one on an A-Rig (which I ended up losing the rig in a submerged tree). Back seat was catching the same fish over and an over again everywhere we went fishing a finesse worm.

      I went there expecting to through big baits all day, but couldn't find anywhere where I felt like I could cast it w/o getting snagged in the trees. Tough day, I took 8th with 7.72 and 1st was 8.69 with a 2.7 big fish...terrible, when the week before 1st was 30lbs..

      Tips: I can't offer much in the form or a tip for this lake, other than if the water level is the same in the summer I'll be back to throw topwater all day. Green pumpkin worms either drop shot or other finesse styles and be prepared to re-tie all day.

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55-58

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Mike Sperbeck and I made our first trip to this beautiful lake (especially in the spring!) on Wed, and found the bite to be kinda slow. Usually I catch the big smallie when we fish there, but it was his turn this trip. Not a monster, but a solid 4 lb smallie. He landed 3 or 4 other smallies while I got 2 largemouth at 2 1/2 lbs and a smaller one. They all seemed to be at the 10 to 20 foot depth! We really covered most of the lake and found on here and one there! We didn't stay for the evening bite - if there was one!

      Tips: Small beaver type baits worked the best - mostly in green pumpkin color. I caught one of the largemouth on a 6" Robo worm - MM111 color. I forget what Mike was using for the big smallie. Points seemed to be the preferred structure they were using. I think the north wind - though not real bad - did prevent a better bite. It was a post front kind of day!!

Thursday, March 19th, 2015

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Forgot to post my last few trips, mostly because I did really terrible for 3-4 weeks prior to today and busy and forgot to post. Getting just a few fish-3-5 per trip, just couldn't find them. Today was better, launched at Lime Saddle and fished mostly north fork north and south of west fork. Just about all my fish from steep rocky banks or narrow, steep points. No fish on basic banks or coves. Managed 10 fish today, with one at 16", and funny, got a giant blue gill, dinner plate size, had to be over a pound. Somehow He got hooked with a roboworm texas style. All other fish basic 13 inch stuff. Guessing a few more weeks 3-4 and the bite will be full on like we all like it. Catching a blue gill is a good sign, both fish mingle together many times and are moving up.
      City: Magalia

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58-61

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Why does one guide for bass on a day after a 97 boat tournament and all the other fishing boats? Because that is when the clients have to go - so we did!! Actually, the fishing was pretty fair in the main body. I had one pretty good young angler and one that had never caught a bass before - his second bass trip. Well, we got that monkey off our back when his first bass hit the net at 3 lbs - smallie!! The experienced fellow - and probable future pro, caught 3 or 4 with his biggest also a 3 lb smallie. They really were twins. I was showing them some of my favorite baits and colors and did manage a few quality bass - the biggest a 4 lb largemouth. We only wound up with 7 or 8 bass, but a respectful 13 1/2 - 14 lbs. Most of our bites were on various color 6" Robo worms, 4" Berkley Chigger Quads, and similar baits.

      Tips: We fished main body points and ledges. We actually found a few quality smallies in the back of one of the large coves - about 5 feet deep. We didn't throw anything with treble hooks.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-68

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Bass fishing The River continue to be good - Excellent all weekend. The fish are moving up and down in many areas, gotta bounce around till ya find the right group. If yer only catchin 2 pounders all over in less than 3 feet, yer in the wrong area. Best bite all week has been out in the grass flats where ya got 4-7 foot. A variety of baits have worked for us including weightless Yamamoto baits, Flipshotting, T-rig and the Jig. Still not many bites during the day with a blade, V-jig, paddle tail or cranks, Sign show it's comming!

      Tips: Be patient, fish methodically slow and GIT OFF THE BANK! They are not spawning yet, just the juvenile , virgin males are up makin ya think so. It's not about how the weather feels to us above the water, in that River bass' word, they're gorging and getting ready to pass the Winter Transition and go to spring pre-spawn, then we'll git all them staging hens up there!

Saturday, March 14th, 2015

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59-62

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Cloudy and no wind. Lake like glass all day. 7.25 pounder on first cast(wow), but slow rest of day with some dinks and a 2.25 thrown in.
      City: Reno

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65 degrees

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished out of big break on Saturday and the bite was on! Fish were staging due to the dramatic increase in water temperature over the last week. Caught a RECORD 37 bass in 4 hours, largest was 6 pounds with the rest in the majority of 2-4 pounds. Not much wind, highly overcast most of the morning. Fished wacky using Zoom trick worm, really slow.
      City: Orinda

      Tips: When you think they are out there, get out there.

    • By

      Water Temp: 60-68

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out of Russo's at 7:30. Fished staging areas. Threw reaction baits but better quality fish came on jig and senkos. Nothing better than two lb. class fish though. Couldn't find the big mamas. Video here:

      https://youtu.be/25myFDSLCTY
      City: San Mateo

      Tips: I think the fish might have been a little more scattered given the cloud cover we had. Probably should have covered more water instead of grinding away with the jig and worm. Didn't see any beds in Franks and Little Franks yet.

Friday, March 13th, 2015

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Clear Lake this week 3/11/.2015

      Conditions

      What a difference a week makes. Talk about transitions? Well, we’ve seen three or four up here in the past two weeks alone. We’ve gone from what was a pretty consistent “good” bite to one that’s not all that great right now.

      Changes

      1) Well let’s see, two weeks ago we had water that was still in the low 50’s each morning, climbing
      into the mid to high 50’s by the end of the day.
      2) We had no moon to speak of and the bite was really good through noon on most days.
      3) Boat traffic was way down.

      Now, all of the above has changed dramatically. Water temps are now in the mid to high 50’s and they’ve ranged into the mid 60’s for several days prior to this rain.

      Then we had the full moon and that really changed things, with the bite dying early each morning. Great for the night guys, with the warming water temps and the full moon the night bite took off big time, with a number of anglers reporting multiple DD’s each evening.

      This weekend will make three weekends in a row for tournaments and the resulting pre-fish has the shallow fish extremely jittery. Not really un-common for this time of year but with the unusually clear water for this time of year the fish seem to be a tad bit spookier than normal.

      Forecast

      Who knows, this has already been a weird pre-spawn and I suspect it will continue. Everyone is asking the same question. Why? Again, who knows? I suspect it’s mainly due to how fast the water warmed and then all of the changing conditions every third day or so. The lake went from 52 degrees or so (PM temp), to 64 degrees in 8 days.

      Right now you can move around and find fish in all stages of pre-spawn depending on the area of the lake you are in. Once we get a week of steady weather on the dark of the moon, things should improve. We’ll see, but that said, it’s still not that difficult to catch 15-20 fish a day and have 15-23 lbs. to show for your best 5. It’s the big girls that have become a bit more difficult to pin down right now.

      Want a big fish? Let me throw this out there. If this past full moon is any evidence of what will come on the next one, I’d reach out to a night specialist a book a trip. I know I’m planning on being out there. Below are a couple of specialists you may want to contact.

      M and P Night Fishing- Marty 530-308-8453
      Larry Hemphill-530-674-0276
      Clear Lake Guide Service- Carl Keller 707-543-6677

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60-62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing the past two days during the rain storm of Wednesday and the wind storm of yesterday provided great action for numbers. During Weds rain, fish were up shallow in the tulle groves gorging themselves. Thursday, although bluebird skies early, the winds really helped the bigger fish bite and fish were set up on the transitions in 7-10 feet. Thursday we caught six fish between 5 - 6.5 pounds on a variety of baits, Biffle bug, Wadda Jig, Kut-tail, DS Robbo worm and Big Hammer SB.

      Tips: During cloudy overcast skis, look for em up in the tulles roaming. Clear and or windy days, think grass beds off big points and secondary edges in the flood ponds, islands & lakes. Reaction bite still not strong on a regular basis, but ya can stumble into a feeding frenzy early in the morning if ya guess right on yer location. Move around, don't hang in one area too long if ya ain't gettin bit. Bite is good all over the Central and East Delta.

Wednesday, March 11th, 2015

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 57 TO 61.5

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Took my new friend Mario out on Friday it was a beautiful spring day the lake was like a mirror. I showed him different spots on the lake and asked a few fisherman if they had any luck yet and the unanimous answer was the fishing isn't any good. Not willing to give up I decided to try our luck going north to the boy scout camp area. Mario's first cast gave us hope. I thought he had hooked a good size bass but when we netted it we saw it was a large trout weighed in at 3+ pounds (see photo). He also hit a bass wacky style with a senko. Even though it was a tough bite kind of day we had a good time on the water. The following day weather seemed the same but with more fish activity. My largest bass for the day was 5.5 pounds and as you can see in the photos we caught limits and all nice size bass. As I went to get the trailer Albert caught the last fish of the day using a cast master he didn't need a net to land the bass and it weighed in at almost 1 ounce (see photo)!!!!! 'til next week.................................................good fishing!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share or if you would like to book a guided fishing trip please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com
      0r call me at 650-583-3333.
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: Find the birds then find the bait then find the fish it works

  • Shasta County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: RAIN!!!

      Albeit, we are not expecting a large amount of precipitation, we will take every last drop! The long term forecast does call for a little more sporadic rain through March. April may bring us more wet weather as well. Unfortunately the later in the Spring that we get, the more unpredictable the weather can be.

      Regardless, the lake has rebounded rather well since November. We have risen close to 102 feet to a 58% reservoir capacity! Currently about 34 feet higher than we were last year on this day and we are almost at twice the rainfall totals. Given the water situation that California is faced with, we are not looking bad at all. Once again, Shasta Lake may be the "Oasis of fun" this coming summer wink emoticon


      Although everyone on the lake is waiting for the rain and rising lake levels, we are not staying idle. We are gearing up and planning events throughout the 2015 summer. The Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is planning to a season long celebration of it's 50th Anniversary with multiple events for the public! grin emoticon

      As more of these events become concrete, I will be sure to pass on the details. Until then...bring on that rain!

      Lake Level Report (03/11/2015 at 7 AM)
      Lake Elevation: 991.32' (75.68' below full pool)
      Lake Elevation 2014: 957.30' (109.70' below full pool)
      Storage: 2,643,952 af
      Outflow: 2,581 cfs
      Inflow: 4,473 cfs
      Precipitation (24 hr @ dam): 0.00"
      Precipitation (Season @ dam): 45.89"
      Precipitation (2014 Season @ dam): 23.31"