Northern California Lake Fishing Report
- Almanor Lake
- Berryessa Lake
- Cachuma Lake
- California Delta
- Camanche Lake
- Casitas Lake
- Clear Lake
- Diamond Valley Lake
- Don Pedro Lake
- Folsom Lake
- Iron Gate Reservoir
- McClure Lake
- New Melones Lake
- Oroville Lake
- Perris Lake
- San Luis Lake
- Shasta Lake
- Sonoma Lake
- Almaden Lake
- Almaden Reservoir
- Amador Lake
- Anderson Lake
- Barrett Lake
- Black Butte Lake
- Blue Lakes
- Bullards Bar Lake
- Calero Reservoir
- Camp Far West Lake
- Chabot Lake
- Chesbro Lake
- Collins Lake
- Contra Loma Lake
- Coyote Lake
- Del Valle Lake
- Dixon Lake
- Eastman Lake
- Guadalupe Lake
- Hennessy Lake
- Ilsanjo Lake
- Indian Valley Lake
- Kelsey Bass Ranch Lake
- Lafayette Lake
- Lake of the Pines
- Lexington Lake
- Loch Lomond Lake
- Los Banos Lake
- Los Vaqueros Lake
- Mather Lake
- Mendocino Lake
- Mendota Slough Lake
- Merced Lake
- Millerton Lake
- Modesto Reservoir
- Morena Lake
- Murray Lake
- New Hogan Lake
- Nicasio Lake
- Oso Lake
- Pacifica Coastline
- Pardee Lake
- Pillsbury Lake
- Pinto Lake
- Piru Lake
- Quarry Lakes
- Radio Lake
- Rollins Lake
- Ruth Lake
- Sacramento River
- Salt Springs Lake
- San Francisco Bay
- San Justo Lake
- San Pablo Lake
- Shadow Cliffs Lake
- Shastina Lake
- Skinner Lake
- Soulajule Lake
- Spring Lake
- Stevens Creek Lake
- Trinity Lake
- Tulloch Lake
- Turlock Lake
- Uvas Lake
- West Delta
- Whiskeytown Lake
- Woodward Lake
- Woollomes Lake
- Yosemite Lake

Saturday, November 1st, 2003
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McClure Lake
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Water Temp: 65
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Ater the irst cold ront o the year, the bite seemed to improve. Caught about 20 keepers between 1.5 and 2 lbs. Much better than the previous week. There is a reaction bite early, then dropshotted ater that. Most ish came on points between 15 and 35 eet. You can see ish on every point with your graph but you work hard to get them, still heavily eeding on shad and not very committal to baits, but getting better.
City: Madera
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Shasta Lake
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Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Anglers- A reminder that the irst B.A.S.S. ederation tournament is Dec. 14th on Shasta. Flyers are at Phil's prop or you can go on the website @ www.caliorniabass.org and download an entry orm. Cut-o date is Dec. 8th. Please contact me @ 243-7348 i you have any urther questions. Good luck and see you on the water. Tony
City: Redding
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Friday, October 31st, 2003
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Casitas Lake
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Water Temp: 68
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Fished a trout swim bait,caught a 8.5 and a 7.5 on the same spot the weather was cloudy only 4 or 5 boats on the water. Rained heavy ater lunch. There was only one other boat beside me then. Caught another niceish Jigging. Had several very nice ish ollow the trout to the boat. A blessed day
City: OxnardTips: Its time to throw those trout baits.Remember God who created all this and thank Him or everthing. God Bless, and Good Fishing.
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Contra Loma Lake
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Water Temp: ?
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Scott, the biggest bass caught at Loma sure wasn't 3lbs. LOL. I have caught 9 bass at Loma this year over 3lbs including: a 3-3, 3-11, 3-13, 4, 5, 6, 6-ll, 7-8, and an 8-6. The 8-6 is my biggest bass ever. I thought it was the second biggest out o Loma but I guess you got a bigger one than I did. Exactly how big was that one you got on the spinnerbait? Just curious.
City: Antioch
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Shasta Lake
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Water Temp: 64
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: I Would Like To Know What Is going On At shasta Lake? Have ished It For 20 Years, Have Been there The last Two Days & Caught Two bass, Love the lake, Help Would Be Appreciated.Tried Plastic, all Kinds,Minnows,See ish On The screen But No Takers. Thanks Richard
City: Tulelake
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Thursday, October 30th, 2003
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Lexington Lake
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Water Temp: Who Knows?
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Caught about 4 dinks rom the shore to the let o the dam on +oz RT's (shad pattern)SLOW retrieve.Fish are chasing shad. Smoke tube on a C-rig banged a 3lb and about 3 more dinks, not bad or LOW ASS waster and 2 hrs rom shore. Rain PLEASE!
City: Los GatosTips: Anything that looks like shad will rip em, pre winter eedbag is on...Spinnberbait, Rattle Trap, smoke plastics. Fish slow, these ish are COLD!
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Wednesday, October 29th, 2003
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Contra Loma Lake
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Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Nice to have some aces with the names. I appreciate the advice rom both you guys. I am very new to bass ishin and am learning as I go. When you say ripbaits/jerkbaits what exactly are you speaking o. Brand?Plastics? I am hjealous o that 4 plus. Biggest I've gone is probably 3.5 on a speed trap. Also when you guys say the island are you reerring to the area where we crossed paths in the loat tubes? Thanks again.Sorry or using the reports page or checking in. Take care and good luck.
City: Concord
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Mendota Slough Lake
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Water Temp: 69 to 72
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: We when back on monday to try again.We caught 5 small lg.bass. But we caught 30 to 35 stirper bass on chrome and black rat-l-trap. The guy at bait shop weighed are ish that we caught on sunday. The ish we caught were turn back to the water on sunday and on monday.
City: FresnoTips: The main thing is to ind the bait.Look or the birds in the water the baits.
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2003
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Berryessa Lake
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Water Temp: 69
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: I was excited to be able to guide again at Berryessa ater what seemed like a hundred trips at Clear Lake. I wasn't too excited about how the ishing has been rom what I have heard. I suggested to my clients that we start at 10am and ish 'til dark - hoping or a longer topwater bite window. That proved to be a great decision 'cause the daytime bite was as tough as I have seen in years. It was hot, calm, and the water was clear - not the best conditions! We all had a ew hits and I inally land a giant 7" bass on a dropshot rig. I told them things should pick up around 3 pm and they did. They wanted to learn to drop-shot and one o the ellows got his irst drop-shot bass near Big Island - a 2 pound largemouth. I had him using a Yamamoto Kut-tail worm. About 4 pm we started to see some surace activity and about 4:30 we all went to Chug Bugs and the un begun - FINALLY!! Each client landed quality largemouth with the biggest at 3 pounds even and several 2 to 2 1/4. We wound up with 11 or 12 bass total with our ive biggest pushing 10 pounds. This trip deinately had a happy ending!
City: Yuba CityTips: We looked long and hard with the X-15 to ind schools o bait. Most the the bait we saw was in Markley Cove. Places that have always had bait didn't today. The bait we did see was 30 to 50 eet deep! Wow!! So much or turnover!!! It was interesting to see trout in Wragg Canyon eeding on the surace in 70 degree water. That was a irst or me. As soon as the sun set, the ish appeared on the meter and the topwater bite took o. My clients loved it!!
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California Delta
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Water Temp: 64
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Launched out at b&w at 6 sunrise and no more than 10 minutes into ishing i land yet the biggest ish o my lie. it was 13lbs on a senko. it took a couple o seconds o ighting but i landed it.then i ound a spot that blocked the wind.the wind wasnt too bad and i ished topwater. i love topwater. so i pulled out my repel pop r and i smashed them. i could 6 ish. best 5 going about 19lbs. thats pretty good or the water temperature at 63. over all today was a good day . some spots were rough because o the wind. got o the water at about noon.
City: sacramentoTips: in the morning its very good or senkos.within the 10 minutes i managed to get alot o dinnks and one killer 13lber and topwater was good until it got later into the day and never give up!!!
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San Luis Lake
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Water Temp: n/a
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished main lake out o Bassalt with two partners on Tuesday the 28th. Started trolling with nothing then decided to ish accross the lake by the small rock wall along the hwy then it happend, Stripers busting shad along the rocks. We were in the right place at the right time and took ull advantage o the situation by tossing jerk baits and shad raps. Bite was wide open and the ish were 21 to 26 inches. Then ater 12 or so hookups it quit, they were gone. Then we went to the trash racks and ound nothing went back to the rock wall and they were back again. Same action, three hookups at once with keeper ish then again they let. What a great day, we were just lucky to be there.
City: VisaliaTips: Watch the shore or busting ish on the surace early and hold on or a nice ride.
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Monday, October 27th, 2003
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Almaden Lake
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Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: The quality o ish in this lake is outstanding. Between mon and weds last week we had 6 ish over 7lbs and 1 over nine. On ri I did a guide trip and we had 1 9lber and a ew missed stripers oppurtunities on the big baits.I moved back rom the Delta a couple months ago and have been shinning this lake on a little, what a mistake. I am a licensed guide and typically guide a ew private lakes and pyramid, castaic and San Vicente. This will now be on my list o available lakes.
City: PalmdaleTips: Cory Dispensiero (415)336.1254 (661)272.0951Licensed Guide Silverwood, Castaic, Pyramid, San Vicente and privates Lakes
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Chabot Lake
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Water Temp: ?
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Topwater action is on. I had great success on Rebel Poppers. Just search or bait ish breaking surace. Also drop shot thick weeds. Please release bass, there wont be good bass ishing much longer i they keep getting taken out.
City: San LeandroTips: PLEASE CATCH AND RELEASE BASS, EAT THE TROUT INSTEAD
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Contra Loma Lake
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Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: P.S. Sorry about the length o the report...I igured since I haven't been posting many reports I'd try to make up or it by making one SUPER DETAILED one. Har Har!!
City: Antioch -
Water Temp: ???
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: So David, were you the other ellow loat tuber who was out there on the water? I just remember the other guy out there ollowed pretty much the same route you said you ollowed. haha. Sorry to hear about the tough ishing you ound out there. I it helps, I had trouble inding any really good ish mysel. I caught a lot o ish, but had trouble getting anything over 3lbs. My biggest was a 4-15 though. My top 5 ish gave me a total o 14-1. Those ish were 4-15, 2-8, 2-8, 2-2, and 2-0. I went out big ish hunting yesterday in the tube and ound that the 1-2lbers just wouldn't leave my baits alone. LoL. I started o early in the morning throwing a large loating jerkbait on the dam. I worked the dam pretty ast though as my main goal was to make it towards cattail to throw my buzzbait around some weeds. Anywho, picked up 2 ish on the dam with the jerkbait (1-9 and an undersized ish), but lost a BIG ish. I guess that was my shot at a 5+ (Although it was probably more like 6 or 7+) or the day and he just didn't eat it too well. He came up on it like a trout comes up to take a ly on the surace real slow and lazy like, then I elt the weight so I set the hook, and had him on or a ew seconds but then just popped o. Bummer!! Anywho, made it to the other side o the dam then picked up a buzzbait, still covering water pretty quick like trying to get to cattail. I skipped that whole cove on the backside o the lake working towards the dock on the backside. Switched over to a spook and had one ish swipe at my spook a rod length away as I was liting the bait out o the water. Once I made it to the dock where there's some good weeds, I switched back over to my buzzbait. I had one swirl on it but missed it, so I quickly ollowed up with a senko (5" wtmln w/ red lk) and he ate that up (1-3). I kept working my way down along that long stretch o bank between the dock and cattail cove making sure to throw my buzzbait around the weeds growin' up there. I picked up one bass along that bank on the buzzbait (1-9). Buzzbait = blk/blu/red. I made it into cattail and switched over to a SnagProo Tournament Frog. I worked the weedmats in there and walked it all around in cattail and along the bank going towards the swim lagoon. Not a looker in the bunch! I made it to the lagoon rocks and switched over to a large ghost minnow colored lucky crat pointer. I've been catching a lot o ripbait ish lately, so I was hoping to get some better ish throwing a bigger ripbait. Didn't quite work out that way though. I picked up two bass along the lagoon rocks with the pointer (1-3 and 2-2). Then I started ishing the weed lat just on the other side o the lagoon and caught two more bass with the pointer (2-8 and one less than a pound). Once I reached some tules, I started lipping a t-rigged SnagProo tournament rog and throwing the pointer every so oten until I reached the Channel Point dock (caught one on the pointer...2-0) I made it to the dock and decided to try some split-shotting with a small inesse yammamoto craw (wtmln w/ blk lk). I lost one rom right under the dock when he got tangled up in the dock cable. Then I landed one as I was dragging the crawdad o o a ledge near some tules over there (another 2-0). Kept throwing the split-shot until I reached the back o the channel pt. cove. I had some small ish rip the claws o the crawdad, but that's about it. Still throwing the ripbait here and there but no takers. So now I inally made it to the island. This is what I'd been wanting to ish all day. I wanted to go around and lip the hole island and hope or a big one. Started o lipping a jig into the tules with no takers. Picked up the ripbait again or a ew casts and caught one that was maybe a pound (too lazy to weigh...har). Then I switched over to lipping a tube bait and still didn't have any nibbles. Ater that I switched over to lipping a Wave Worm Snake that I got in a sample pack rom the Clear Lake BASSMASTER. I lost two solid ish lipping in the tules (both seemed like 3+). Just couldn't get them out o the tules quick enough I guess. This is when I crossed paths with the other loat tuber out there (I'm assuming that was you David). Ater I lost that 2nd ish, my snake was too ripped up to use, so I picked the pointer back up. I made my way to the point and started working the point with the pointer heading out towards the rockpile. I caught one more bass that was about a pound. Once I made it to the rockpile I tried crankin', t-riggin', jiggin', and split shotting. I only had one bite and that was on the split-shotted craw again...but I missed it. Anywho, I dunno why I did it, but there a ledge just to the side o the point there and I decided to start out at the very end o the ledge in close to 40t o water and try dragging my split-shot all the way along the ledge back into shallower water at the tules. I picked up two bass that were deeper than I think I've ever caught bass at loma in my lie. They were in close to 40t o water (1-11 and 1-13). Inact, they were caught in such deep water that when I went to release them they had trouble trying to swim back down to the bottom without loating back up to the surace a ew times! LOL. I probably could've caught a bunch more ish out that deep, but I didn't want to take the risk o a ish needing to be popped and I didn't bring my needle with me. Once I made it back into the tules I switched over to lipping a junebug Brush Hog. I lipped it into a weedmat and that's when I stuck the big ish o the day (4-15). So that's what I shoud've been doing all day...lippin' the weedmats! LOL! Anywho, I saw some tules shake behind a smaller weedmat so I lipped back in there and stuck another one...and to my surprise, it was a good riend o mine that I've already caught 4 times beore this one! (I recognize him by the circular scar on his gill although it was almost totally healed up now, and by a large cut that he's got in his dorsal in / back). He's gained a couple o ounces since I caught him last and weighed 2-0. Anywho, ater that I started lipping my way back into that cove between the island and the boat ramp. Picked up the pointer or a ew casts and stuck a 1-4. I made it to the weedmats in the back o that cove and once again started lipping the brush hog deep in 'em. Tom was there to see me pull a 2-8 out. Ater he let I lipped one more 2-0 out o the weeds and then it was time to call it a day.
City: AntiochTips: For numbers o ish...throw a loating ripbait early in the morning and then go to a suspending ripbait once the sun comes up. I you went around the lake and threw that, you'd catch a ton o ish.
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Water Temp: ?
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Got out beore noon. Started lipping worms around tulles to the let o the boat launch. 4 ish only landed two. Both under 2 lbs. Crossed over to dock-directly acrossed lake to the let o the dam. Don't know names o areas sorry. Threw a senko around the dock-no luck. Threw on a silver blue back 1/8 speed trap and landed 2 immediately-small. Next ish as I made my way to the dam was my biggest ish o the day-sadly enough it was a trout. Worked riprap and tulles to the right o the dam with no luck. Frustrated I went home. Trout were eeding heavily. Water was like glass. Any recommendations when water is that way(glass),never ished those conditions beore. Tom, was that you near boat launch yesterday-Mon? Looked like you rom your posted photos. I was loading up my van approx. 4pm. Can't get into any larger ish or good numbers. Driving me nuts!
City: Concord
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Shasta Lake
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Water Temp: 64.6 to 65.9
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Well the bite hasn't improved, at least or the Blonde and mysel. Managed to get two 13 inchers early and that's all. They came on jigs in 30 to 40 eet o water. Graphed alot o ish but couldn't get them to go. Cooler weather expected later in the week, so maybe the bite will improve. Did I mention I caught the two spots! The Blonde did manage a 2.5lb. rainbow and I added a small salmon later in the day. The lake level is holding about 54 eet rom ull.
City: Cottonwood
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Spring Lake
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Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Got out on the water ater school at about 3. started ishing the deep weeds witha spinnerbait, had one hit right away while the spinnerbait was sinking but didnt hook up. got my irst ish about 3 lbs 50 t o the south island in the weeds on the spinnerbait. started making my way to the north end but right in the middle o the lake i ripped the sb through a good clump o weeds and it got whacked. landed a nice 4 1/2 lber ater a good ight. i was up in the northeast side o the lake where i picked up 2, one nonkeeper and a 1lber. both were on senkos up against the tulies. i tossed the spinnerbait again around the north island and missed another one that hit while it was sinking. i picked 2 more up on my way in in the northeast cove. one was 2 lbs on the spinnerbait on the lone wood and the other was about 13 inches on a buzzbait .
City: windsorTips: jdogg, send me an email and i will let u know what you need to know about deep water on spring lake.
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Sunday, October 26th, 2003
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California Delta
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Water Temp: 63
Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Fished around the B & W area rom 7a to 2p. Best bite was early on high tide to irst part o out going tide. Caught most o our ish, biggest was only 2.75 lbs., along a plain rip rap bank split shotting a Renegade motoroil twirly tail worm. Did catch one keeper on a Crystal Craw Speed Trap and another on a watermelon Senko. My wie did hook into a 30+ lb salmon on a split shot motoroil worm. Nearly ripped the rod out o her hand so she handed me her light wt. w/10 lb. test line outit and the ight was on. I loosened the drag and the ish drug us around or almost 10 minutes. We ended up in the middle o the channel beore she inally rolled on her side and started coming to the boat. Just out o net range she made one last lunge and the hooked pulled out o her mouth. Great ight but she never would have it in my double wide live well.
City: DelhiTips: Split shot worms in 3' to 5' o o plain rip rap bank on higher end o tide.
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Chesbro Lake
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Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished it 3 days in a row and basically could not get the bigger ish to bite. The little ones are hitting my big baits and swallowing them. There is just too much shad and little bass to keep the big ones ull.
City: San JoseTips: Maybe try using 10+ inch baits.
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