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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Monday, May 19th, 2003

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 67-70

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: wellll......today i went back to sonoma with my riendand.....in my mind i was saying to mysel let's go ish the back o the coves and the creeks because those bass have to be spawning!!!! guess what people i was wrong, those bass are all over!!1
      City: san rancisco

      Tips: throw what is realistic....use colors that meet the orage....o-yea last but not least tight lines!!!

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished a tournament with the Cottonwood Bass Club, My irst with the club. Got on the water at 5:22 am and didnt do much till I ripped a lone smallmouth in squirel gulch at about 9:30 it was a 2 1/4 lb. Ripped on a Lucky Crat, Ghost Minnow, StaySee. Then we headed south and Got onto a pretty good blade bite. Bladed 6 smallmouth Clones which were 2.5 lbs.
      City: Redding

      Tips: Use Chartuese spinnerbaits with double willow golds. Also try ripping and lipping submerged willows.

Sunday, May 18th, 2003

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: ??

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: The custom Valco Bass Boat is back on the water YYAAHHOOOOOO!!!!!!! Found a 1.5 " crack in the hull next to the transom. Lucky I paint my boat inside and out, it held the leak back. New bottom paint and interior paint. Polished and bued out the remaining exposed aluminum. Service the 20 hp Mercury outboard. The 36 pound thrust MinnKota trolling motor was another story though. Ater I cuaght the irst bass on a buzzbait I decided to move in shallower at the back o the cove. I raised the trolling motor to use my oar. I noticed water coming out o the head. OH BOY!!! trouble, I was waiting to see my use blow on the way back to the luanch ramp. I ound out later there are no eletronic boards in the heads o the newer power drives CCOOLL!!! I thought. Took the lower unit o again when I got home and pulled out the wiring rom the shat. Every thing is drying out now while waiting or a new seal kit to arrive.
      City: Stockton

      Tips: When ever you break apart your trolling motor to service it always reassemble with a new seal kit. Could have been more expensive to replace eletrical componets. See you guys on the water soon.

    • By

      Water Temp: ???

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: First o...Way to go Aaron!! A 6-11 is a pretty good hawg!! Congrats bud! Glad to hear that the tips paid o. d:o) Ya, I wanted to get out there yesterday too, but I've got some riends rom Utah staying here, and so I would've elt bad just kind o leaving them here at my house ater I already ditched them or 1/2 the day on Friday to do stu with my girlriend. LoL. I may get out tomorrow or a little bit though. Looks like me, tom, aaron, and crappiekid are going to try and get some sort o day planned to all meet out up out there and ish and share some secrets and whatnot. Ought to be un...
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Can't go wrong with a senko right now...

    • By

      Water Temp: 71

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: My buddys work held their annual tournament on Hogan Sunday. My buddy and I won it with 14.05 or six ish. We caught 90 percent o our ish rippin mega baits. Caught a ew split shottin but the worm bite was slow. Most o the that guys wormed and had a rough day. The best ishing is early in the morning then the bite slows around 8:00 or 9:00 A.M..The ishing is airly tough or both bass and stripers right now.
      City: Modesto

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65-72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Saturday and Sunday and caught about 100 ish. Lots o little ish between 10 - 13 in with quite a ew ish over the slot limit but had nothing over 2.5 lbs all weekend. Better ish came shaking a darthead worm and on the super luke. Caught ish on just about everything we threw at them.Even had a ew bed ish
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: Backs o coves and cuts was the best place . The ish are also stacked under trash pockets o wood in the backs o the coves and cuts esspecially in the heat o the day

    • By

      Water Temp: 60's

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: got out on the water around 6:30, in the back o the lake. Started out with top water with no luck, and switched to my suspending jerk bait. A ew cast later by some trees, I caught a 3+. It had a crappie in its mouth as well. Continued and caught several other 1 lbs ish. AROUND 8 I casted adjacent to a tree in the center o the shallow area and hooked up with a 7 pounder. great ight and a great ish. Looked like she was ull o eggs. great day. Early bite has been good and with the warm weather it will probably get even better. tight lines
      City: Palo Alto

      Tips: reaction baits, anything that resembles a trout

Saturday, May 17th, 2003

    • By

      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Hey Sturgeon Kid, I also set my own personal record today. I started out at channel point at about 7:30. I caught a small bass on a senko at about 8:40 that went 1lb.11oz. About an hour later I caught another dink on a spinnerbait that went 1-7. I went on over towards the boat ramp and saw a ew big bass on the way. I stopped and tried to get them to bite on a senko. One o the bass, which I thought was probably a 4.5, hit my senko. I set the hook but not hard enough. She came unbuttoned ater 2 seconds. I pithced out one more time and this time she ate it good. I set the hook hard and hauled her up on the shore. She went 6lb.11oz. My biggest bass ever! She came on a 5" blue black/chartreuse lake Senko. Ater I released her, I tried to catch one that looked even bigger that was nearby. Couldn't get her to go though. About an hour later I caught a 1-1 on a senko.
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Try senkos in the tules and on bedding ish.

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Saturday rom 6 a.m. to 2 with a riend and caught several nice bass in the north end o the lake. Caught all my ish on a senkos ished slowly. My riend caught several smaller bass drop shotting a robo worm. Spoke with another angler who caught ive bass beore 7 a.m. on a white and chartreuse spinner bait. He said that once the sun hit the water, the bass quit biting.
      City: Novato

      Tips: Fish the senko slowly. Have patience.

Friday, May 16th, 2003

  • Amador County
    • By

      Water Temp: unk

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: All right!! A nite trip to Amador!! Full moon!! Gonna get me dem BASS!! Sandwichs, snacks, two thermos o coee. Get to the lake about 1pm. And the motor won't start... oh well ...the grass needed mowing anyways. But! I just paid $21 and I got a trolling motor!! Ease out on the lake and the trout ishers are killing them! My third cast I catch a 2.5 bass on my avorite Disco plug. And then nothing. I ease my way down to Jackson Creek tossing crankbaits, spinner baits, and a 10" black worm...nada. Not even seeing any bass. Wind is blowing straight into Jackson Creek and it's a long ways back on the trolling motor. And now my depth inder in the ront o the boat dies. Zip (well..crawl) into Cat Cove and decide I'm gonna see i I can get the damn motor running. Duck into a windree cove, ease up to the bank. Pop the cover and I'm getting uel. Pull the plugs and clean them up. As I'm leaning over the back o the boat putting the plugs back in, a pair o 5 pound bass come cruising by! I start tossing hardware and no takers. Engine still dead. Putting the cover on the motor and I look down and sitting there by the prop is the biggest bass I've ever seen! I ain't never had my hands on a 10 pounder but this was at least that!! Fat! Hadn't spawned yet or been eating good on those trout. I could have sworn that the ish were there to entertain me and now I'm entertaining them! Troll my way back to the dock and pack it up. It just weren't meant to be. Now I'll be up all night. Got two thermos o good coee that I can't let go to waste.
      City: Sloughhouse

      Tips: Can't help ya on the bass. Troll or trout. they were culling anything under 20 inches on some boats.

    • By

      Water Temp: 64-68

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Got out on the Butte rom 1930-2030 on Friday. Used a black jitterbug. Got 6 or seven hits, one good bass that jumped completely over the bait and one that stuck. A 2.75 lb largemouth. My best ish or the Butte. Got it in the cove north o Buckhorn cmpgrnd.
      City: Redding

      Tips: Watch the wind. Got blown out Saturday. Didn't even put the boat in. Let or home and a windless weekend.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: unk

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: My 2 cousins and I caught 3 limits o black bass, 5 keeper stripers (3-4 lbs), and 2 catish (largest 6 lbs). Stripers and catish caught on Rat-L-Traps. Most bass caught on Senkos inside the weed line. Biggest bass (5lbs) caught on a brush hog. Caught a lot o small bass and stripers. Bass were tight against the bank.
      City: Dixon

      Tips: Black emerald brush hog and watermelon green senkos. Check the tide table - ished the morning high tide to get inside the weedline.

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Holy Crap...another record has been set! My longest report yet! I must be excited...that thing is a reakin' novel!
      City: Antioch

    • By

      Water Temp: ???

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Ok, well, here's a report or ya. Yesterday, I went ishing and just took three poles and the lures tied to them with me just to walk around the lake and catch a ew ish. As I was walking around, I had caught a ew 2lbers pitching a 5" chartreuse senko. I walked up to a spot, made a pitch to some tules, and then saw a BIG ish out o the corner o my eye. I couldn't quite tell how big she was because she was just barely visible but she looked long enough to go at least 5-6lbs, but I could tell it was a bass or sure. So I pitched my senko out in ront o her ace and let it sink, and sure enough she ollowed it down, but didn't bite. So I sat there shaking it and my line went slack. So I set the hook, and my hook came lyin' back to me with no senko! I've never quite understood how a ish could pull that o so easily. Well, I almost wanted to cry ater missing her like that, but then I noticed her come back into view a bit....right in the same spot in about 2t o water. So I put on another senko and pitched it at her another 20 times but she wouldn't eat it....just look at it. A couple o times she would get kind o irritated with it I think and she would swim o and come close to the surace, and just kind o swim around in a big circle then come right back to that same spot. When she came to the surace I realized she was a little bigger than 5-6lbs...maybe even 8. By now I was iguring she was on a bed because she kept moving right back to that spot. Ater she reused to hit the senko, I grabbed my rod with an 8" worm. I lipped that out a couple o times, and let it sit and shook it on her nest or a bit. I saw her go down to take a look and disappear out o view. Then my line went slack again...so I set the hook...and brought back a worm with no tail. LoL. Obviously a bed ish...she was just picking stu up by the tail then carrying it o the nest. Put on another worm and made another 20 lips with it to no avail. So I grabbed my last rod with a 3.5" grub on it. Once again, shook it on the nest, elt her pick it up, set the hook...and no tail again!!! ARgh! Anyways, I spent 2.5hrs yesterday trying to get her to actually eat, but I only got her to hit those 3 times beore I had to leave or work. At one point, a bluegill must've come near her nest because all o the sudden she was chasin' a bluegill and chased it right up shallow right in ront o me...I could've hit her with my rod tip. That's when I saw how big she really was and thought she could possibly go 9, even 10lbs!! So on my way to work, I stopped at my house and grabbed a ew more rods and practically all o my tackle. I igured I would go straight back to the lake ater work and throw everything I got at her and make her eat. LoL! Then ater work, I went straight there and decided to go through the ront gates because it was late enough to where the rangers shouldn't be there to make me pay a gross amount o money to ish, and because the ish was right there at the ront o the lake. Well, I got there, and the main gate is locked up and totally blocked o!! Apparently they were re-paving the entrance road...well, I was pissed and went home. I igured I'd wake up real early this morning and take everything with me over the back side o the lake and walk all the way up ront to the ish and hope that she was still there. I made it there at around 7:10, and irst decided to try a big 3/4oz jig...igured she'd have to eat the whole thing in order to take it o the nest then. I couldn't see into the water though that good to see i she was still there or sure because o the act that it was still pretty early in the morning plus it was pretty shaded where she was. Well, I made about 5 lips with the jig, and was shaking it or about 30-45 seconds, and I elt it get heavier all o the sudden...set the hook...and sure enough...once again...NO TAILS!! Well, at least I know she's still there. Put on another trailer and lipped it another 15 times but she wouldn't touch it again. All right...next lure...5" Bass Candy tube bait...kind o a black smoke color w/ red & black lakes...with a heavy 3/8oz sinker. I igured the back end o a tube bait would be harder or her to hold on to especially with a heavier weight like that...to make her really eat it. Made two lips...2nd time...I started shaking it on the nest or about 20-25 seconds, and the line kind o went slack all o the sudden again...set the hook...and the rod bends over like I stuck a log!! WOOHOO!! It's on!! LoL. She must've jumped about 4 times clean out o the water, really gettin' my heart pumpin' and my knees shakin'...LoL...she also made a some good runs beore I horsed her in while she was still loppin' a bit, and I grabbed her lip and held on!! Lited her up and I just started laughing hysterically. hahahaha. d:o) I held her in the water or a bit, so I could get mysel ready to run over to the ranger's station to weigh her...lucky she was about as close to the ranger's station as you can get...d:o). I ran her over and yelled inside to get the scale and camera...she looked out, and said...Oh my gosh, that's the biggest black bass I've seen caught out o here! That's probably the lake record!...so she pulls the scale out and I lit her on...10lbs 3oz!!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!! She took 4 photos with her polariod camera, and then took 2 with my camera. In them meantime an older guy drove up to the rangers station and just sat there in his car looking at it and also said...Wow, that's the biggest bass I've seen caught out o here! How big is it? 7? 8?...when I told him 10-3 his eyes just about bugged out o his head. Anywho, I ran her back down to the water, and held her in there to get her wet again...then I grabbed some ishing line and got measurements or weight and girth...length 25" and girth 19.5". Then I eased her back in, and as soon as I let go o her she just swam o lookin' good!! Anywho, so I went back to the ranger's station to give the lady ino on the catch. I asked her what the lake record was anyways, and so we started looking through the record book, and apparently it was the 8-1 that I caught in March! Oh ya, and some guy also caught an 8-1 sometime this last week using a nightcrawler at the boat ramp...I'm not positive, but I would guess that it was the same one I caught in March because I let her go right at that boat ramp. Anyways, so the 10-3 is now the lake record I guess. WOOHOOO!!! I you want to see the pics o this ish check 'em out on the photo section o this website...http://www.ncb.com/ncaliornia/photos/showphoto.shtml?213.shtml
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Now that the weather is FINALLY stabilizing, looks like there are more ish on beds. I orgot to mention that some o the ish I caught yesterday were by sight ishing beds real shallow as well...just 2lbers though...

  • Sacramento County
    • By

      Water Temp: 61-65

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Well, I Started out doing what I am not good at!! Trying to run the banks and ind those bed ish the Dean said I was ishing the wrong Folsom Lake or. I am not a shallow water isherman ater a hour and a hal o watching other olks close to me catch ish I abandonded this or real ishing, suspended post spawn Spots and smallies on o shore structure WHAMMO!!I got three spots that went 3.9,3.8, and 3.9 on my Berkely hand held. Then proceeded to some o shore stu and got two Smallies in the 2 - 2 1/2 lb range plus about six keeper Bass. I then went to a spot that is now under water with big boulders as this seemed to be key, I tossed my darthead Pro worm out Saw a huge lash and the ight was on!!!! This ish took me around the boat and back, as I innaly got a glimpse I thought OH no I need a net. As I tried to work her towards me to get the net rom under the console............that heart sinking gut wrenching eeling happened...... nothing there. She broke my 8 lb P-line louro at the knot. Who knows maybe I woulda inally eclisped the 10+ anyway that was my only shallow ish and I cannot say I caught her!!! All in all a Great Day on My avorite body o water, Folsom ya either love it or hate it... O to Oroville or a Tourney See ya!!!Hippie/Mark
      City: Sacramento

      Tips: I was Dropshotting and Dart heading what else it's what I am good at, Good ish to be had in 20- 30 eet o water. There are the Largies uo to bed but ya better know how to catch um!!! Not my style.

  • Sonoma County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished early morning on the backside o the island at Island View. Caught my irst 7 pounder. See the picture at http://geocities.com/dov7/08.jpgCaught her on a Baby Brush Hog (Pumpkin).
      City: Sunny San Diego

    • By

      Water Temp: 62-65

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Cherry Creek rom 7am to 1:30pm. pinpointing all the shallow lats. Saw 2 male bass on beds. Thru swim baits, senko's, zarra spook, drop shotted, spinnerbaits. Had one hit on the spinnerbait and one ollow-up on the swim bait. That big ull moon all night along with the eclipse had to eect those ish. The only bright spot was a couple o guys I saw hook and land about a 7lber on a spinnerbait and they released it too.
      City: Sebastopol

    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Yorty Creek and struggled all day. Threw everything at them and the only thing we hit with was with Senkos. It was a pretty slow day or everyone. We caught only 3 and a couple o guys we talked to had the same luck as we did.
      City: Rohnert Park

Thursday, May 15th, 2003

  • Plumas County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55-60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The bass have moved back up in the shollows the males are in making beds and lots o ish pairing up they are real spookey not wanting to have anything to do with bait should get better as the spawn gets alittle more astablished. remember it is the spawning season so you realy need to practice catch and release. We are still working hard getting our large mouth back so i you are lucky and catch one it needs to be released were you cought it. we have all the clubs that visit are lake doing small mouth only.
      City: Chester CA USA

      Tips: right now your best bet is to put a top water lure over them early in the day.

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at markleys about 7. Had a great reaction bite. The ish or the most part were on wood. A speed trap did the trick, irst ish was a spawned out 4lber. Did catch a couple o ish on plastic. Fished the ive mph coves most o the day. Ended up with 25-30, with the largest being the irst ish o the day. Most were large and spots, did catch 2 smallmouth.
      City: sacto

      Tips: I you could see wood, there was a ish holding on it.