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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Saturday, September 20th, 2003

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I spent Wed, Thurs, and Fri guiding olks that are soon to be ishing tournaments at Clear Lake. The ino here will be general because o their upcoming competition. I wish we were in a tournament Wed - what a day!!! We started ishing topwater and cranks, but because the lake temp had dropped several degrees, I wasn't too excited about our chances, though we did catch a ew 2 pounders. About 9 am we Senkoed and drop-shotted with some success. The weather was warming up and I told them when we started that the bite might pick up later. Well, guess what!! About 10 am I was excited to stick an above average ish on a drop-shot rig - 4 pounds even. Soon one o the clients sticks a good ish drop-shotting which turns out to be 5 lb 11 oz. That made the day I thought! Little did I know that this bass was his warm-up act!! About 11:05 he sets on a good one! I had borrowed a net that was air size (mine had blown out o the boat) and when this bass made its inal jump at the boat I put the net under it and hoped that most o her would all in the net. It worked and I struggled to lit her in the boat. Using my three scales we did our best to get her to 10 pounds but he caught her a month too early. We were all pretty excited about 9 lbs 13 oz however!! What a beautiul bass or this time o year! Maybe I am crazy, but to put 19 1/2 pounds or three ish in the boat in an hour drop-shotting - well - I didn't think that was possible. I wish I could tell you how and where we did it, but I can't. We wound up with 26-2 or our 5 best and caught 19 total. Thurs and Fri trips were very similar with 23 bass being caught each day. We could have caught more but we spent a lot o time running - looking at dierent areas. Most were cranked, drop-shotted, and Senkoed. Thursday broke my string o big bass trips - the biggest was only 2 1/2 pounds. Friday we managed a 3-10 or big ish and another near 3 pounds, with lots in the 2 1/2 pound range. I hope my Friday client does well - we ound a "sweet" spot with lots o quality 2 to 3 pound bass. I wish them all the best and it was really un to help "prep" them.
      City: Yuba City

      Tips: Thurs and moreso on Fri we tried rogs, again to no avail. I saw a ew mats o-shore with bait all around and not a single blowup. Amazing. There were balls o shad everywhere on the meter and we saw several dead ones loating. There are some colors that are working best, so experiment 'till you ind a good one. I went out night ishing rom 10:30 'til midnight just around Rattlesnake Island or un. What a waste o time - I got one small bite. I'm sure they ed sometime - but not when I was there. For those that are interested - I heard one retarded carp roll the whole time I was out! Again, no carp activity - no bass activity. It works or me (unortunately sometimes!).

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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Pardon me but I orgot to mention Mr. KNUCKLEHEAD, I do walk on water, in a 107 mph Sanger latbottom, my nonishing boat.
      City: Los Gatos

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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: To those it may concern.I'm about as real as it gets.I've been chasin' ish since I could walk and I've got more rods and reels than ingers and toes, mostly Fenwick thank you.And as or what else I do, I probably built your house AND the piece o s@#*! building you work in, IF you have some type o gainul employment.
      City: Los Gatos

      Tips: To show my gratitude to my new socalled anclub, here are a couple o REAL tips. Fish the eastside o Lexington in the ugliest water you can ind. Remember, it doesn't matter what it looks like to you, only to what you are trying to catch! And here's another, the Campbell perc ponds are RED HOT right now and I don't mean or planter trout

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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Hey big harry,Are you or real or a ictitious character? Most anglers have to work or their ish. To imply that you can catch a lot o ish while drinking with your buds and playing with your dog (or was it the other way around?)seems a bit ar-etched to me. What else do you do? Walk on water? Raise the dead?
      City: San Jose

      Tips: Senko is spelled with a "K"

Friday, September 19th, 2003

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished rom 6:45 a.m. to noon. Beautiul day. Started at Yorty Creek with top water. One medium ish hit a buss bait. No other bites. At 7:30, drop shotted with several colors o robo worms. One 12" bass on a morning dawn worm. Then ished gigs, carolina rigged worms, texas rigged worms, and only one more 11" bass on a morning dawn worm. Two riends also ished today and caught three bass around 12" drop shotting. Not good - any tips? Just could not determine what they are hitting.
      City: Novato

Thursday, September 18th, 2003

  • Amador County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: On the water at 6:30 Am, ished just past the narrows and had my irst ish 7AM 2.2 lb spot ate a Fat Free Shad Suspending crank bait. That was the only ish that would eat a crank bait. Switch to Pro Worm's Mean Green and ished just outside the stick ups caught 8 more Spotted Bass, one dink and the rest rom 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds...
      City: Roseville

      Tips: Comanche is coming up and cooling due to water released rom Pardee, which is really nice. All the ish I caught today were in 13 to 27 eet o water. Most o the bigger spots I caught would have another spot o equal size ollowing it to the boat...I was using a quarter oz Mojo weight pegged 5" above the hook equiped with a Mean Green Pro worm and I would drag it a bit and shake it a little. I like this lake and ish it every Saturday...

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      Water Temp: 75+

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: started o late ishing the north end,with 4" handpours in the oxblood.got many ish draggin across the bottom.ishing is good now that the lake is at it lowest..catish are biting pretty good right now too..
      City: sac

      Tips: ish are close to the bank.......

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 78

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We have been getting our limit everytime in the last two weeks. Last time ishing was yesterday. Using down riggers, 60 to 113t. Catching the largest ones with Red Rooster Tail lure; Hawaii Coconuts; any silver and red lure. Going in ront o Dam, and Digger Bay-also that irst inlet north/east o Dam, can't remember name.
      City: Redding

Wednesday, September 17th, 2003

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: 76

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Just a quick report. Fished rom 5 pm till 1 am. There was a good jig bite during the late aternoon, and a good crankbait bite at dusk. Night bite was next to dead. Most were about 12" with only a couple decent ish, a 2 and a 4.2. All ish came on crankbaits even though got some good hits on the jig.
      City: Folsom

      Tips: Cover a lot o water during the evening until you ind the crankbait ish.

  • Mono County
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      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got (3) 4-6 pounders on my irst 3 cast with a bass ry plug in the grass holes 2-3 eet rom shore. Most success on drop shot at greeen weenie colored reapers. Ended up with 25 ish. 20 ish rom 3-6+ pounds and 3-4 smaller 1.5-2.-3 pounders. Only ished until noon due to prior commitments. Cant wait to go back. this has to be one o the best bass lakes in the country when its on.
      City: Yorba Linda

      Tips: Slow presentation with plastics o any kind and keep a close look and eel on your line because the bite can be very light.

Tuesday, September 16th, 2003

  • Solano County
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      Water Temp: 69-71

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched out o Tower Marina or the First time Tuesday morning. The ramp is pretty steep and it is not super easy to drop your boat in. Anyways, headed to Whites slough. The water was glass until about 11:00 A.M. threw lots o topwater and got a couple o 2lb bass on the spook. Switched over to a white/white spinnerbait. Got a couple o nice ones and then got slammed by a 7lb Striper, my irst on a spinnerbait. It started to get pretty windy so I headed or some protected water and got a ew more on various plastics. All in all a great day best 5 went 12.
      City: Walnut Creek

  • Tuolumne County
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      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started out at 6am and ound some good spots around the lake..catching them on drop shotting and spidergrubs around the humps. Big bass...5 1/2 lbs. Caught at least around 25 bass in 1-3 lbs. Will go back soon to preish beore the tourney.
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: 6 inch worms and spidergrubs in motor oil color will do.

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Don't bother going ishing or a week or so, just about everybody having trouble catching a limit over the past week, out last night with Syd, a irend rom the MGM shop, in at 730PM at Jones Valley and only two rigs in the gravel, DON"T use the two lanes on your let when backing down, stay close to the loat on you will back o the end o the ramp. We are nearing the point where the ramp will go down to 2 lanes, I just got o with one tire but you could damage things i you are in a hurry. the lake is 51 t down, airtemp was 83 with a 5 knot wind out o the west that swung around to 25 knots out o the north by 930PM. We ished some humps in the lower Pit and I got a 1.5 at 750PM and igured we would get on them a bit. Syd had a bunch o bites on a worm but was getting back a hal a worm as they were hitting short. I got a hal dozen taps ater that but nothing else in the boat. We pulled out at 1030 and outr success at least matched the catch o most other olks I have been hearing about. The Bass Fed event had 6 or 7 boats that didn't bring anything to the scales and I think there was only 2 or 3 limits out o 19 boats. Give it a couple o weeks until the water temp goes down.
      City: Redding

Monday, September 15th, 2003

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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: caught one nice bass on white rog at south end around 9:30am. Battery went dead on scale so don't have a weight but it made my day. Met anouther isherman, Daniel ? who had a camera and have a picture or the record.
      City: Gilroy

      Tips: The lake is going be closed shortly or road repairs, so check it out beore driveing to Gilroy.

  • Sacramento County
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      Water Temp: 75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Started at 4:30 p.m. around Anderson Island with white terminator spinnerbait however no hook-ups in 20 mins. Moved out to point and graphed bait and ish in 25-30 t. Fish associated with bait readily bit dropshot 4 in. Roboworm sculpin (Aaron's Magic)on 4 lb. P-Line CXX. The ish were smaller, mostly squeekers and rats, but the numbers were there and most importantly, they bit. Moved to islands west o loating outhouse in North Fork (Eddie Murphy's Cove?) and ound numerous ish, mostly the same grade as above. The ish were outside the hazard buoys in 20-25 t. Again, they ate the dropshot sculpin. Tried ripping but no dice.
      City: C.H.

      Tips: Find the bait, ind the bait, ind the bait. Mostly inding active ish on points in 20-35 t. water. 24 in. between bait and weight.

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Went up on sat. around 5:00 and ished until about 9:30. Didn't get much or about an hour or so in the north end. Caught one that went about 4 swimming a black jig along a weedline in about 10'. Around 7:00 the bite switched on hard, and I picked up 13 ish in about a hal hour, including a 5.1 and a 5.7 on consecutive casts. All bites came o o a single, massive weed bed. Threw a shad pattern popper the whole time. Best ive went 18+.
      City: Rohnert Park

      Tips: Threw the popper to small pockets in the middle o the weeds and twitched it once or twice, then just let it sit there or 5 or 6 seconds. The last hal hour or so beore dark has been the most productive or me lately. Nothing new here, but the topwater bite is pretty good right now very early and just beore dark.

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 70's

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing has been tough or me, with only 1-3 keepers per trip to the ponds opposite the lake. biggest ish are around 2 lbs. done a lot o dragging worms, some jig ish,drop shot, and just started cranking a ew days ago, and managed two, a baby, and a 2 lb spot. rom what ive gathhered so ar, there must be rocks or crank ish, nothing on wood, nothing on grassy banks.
      City: redding

      Tips: craw cranks,morning dawn worms, YAMA supergrubs, just about any plastic bait 4"-6" will get you ish.

Sunday, September 14th, 2003

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: On water rom 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or a ishless but very enjoyable day with very ew other anglers on the lake. Son, John, and I ished swim baits, large plastic worms, Senkos, Md Man craws and jigs looking or the one big bite. We ished at and above the thermocline. Wind was calm in early morning, then light rom the north. Water had more color than we usually ind at Chabot. Schools o small bait-ish were being busted by carp over the main channel. Son had a large bass ollow his Optimum swim-bait almost to his boat and lost another that wrapped him up in a submerged snag ater taking a Mad Man craw. I had no takers on stitched 12" Power Bait worm, large jig with 5" Mad Man Craw trailer, trolled Castaic Trout, or Huddleston Deluxebow deadsticked on surace. Chabot remains a challenge, but our anticipation is still high, knowing that any cast could produce a giant bass.
      City: Monterey

      Tips: Not much help here...we anchored and ished down-wind mostly. Next time we may move more requently to try to get on ish.

  • Lake County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Sunday 9/14 rom 9:30 am to 3:00 pm and tried cranking irst but no luck and than went to a drop shot rig with a brown/green 4 inch worm but no luck and than changed to a 3 inch purple reeper and that was the ticket. I caught 14 bass to 3 lbs, the bigger ish came rom 10-15 t rock piles in open water and I got a lot 1/2 to 1lb ish o o low docks with lots o shade and they were in about 6-8 t o water. The great thing about 8 o the ish is that they hit it as soon as it hit the water and I have not seen that there in 10 years, lots o small ish but what un or the kids. PS I spoke to a guy who said he caught a 16.5 lb bass on a crank bait and he did not take pictures and let it go, I told him that may have been the lake record on an artiicial lure but he did not seem to care, he only wanted to make sure the ish lived. He is a better man than I because I would have got it weighed one way or the other.
      City: San Jose

      Tips: drop shot rig with 3/16 weight 15-24 inches down depending on how deep you are ishing and purple 3-4 inch worms or reepers.

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: ???

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: went ishing with my lil bro and got on the water around 6:45am. went around the lake hitting rocks, rocky points, downed trees in the south end. just got one bite on a senko.didn't get any other action or bass, so around noon i anchored my boat on the shallows. caught about 20 cats rom 1-2.5lbs.got bored o all those cats (too bad they weren't bass) and went home 1.5hrs later...
      City: Hayward

      Tips: I don't know about bass. this was the irst time i ever went on this lake with a boat to catch bass. any suggestions?or cats, go to the narrows and soak some anchovies, mackerel, or liver. they are easy to catch i you ind them.